Hudson River Cruise

October 7th (second part), Albany -- Enjoy the following photos of our Volkswalk around downtown Albany covering 6.4 miles.  Although overcast, the day was surprisingly warm.

Visitor Center, across from the oldest building in Albany.

The oldest building in Albany, now a pub.

One of the many decorated Albany dogs.

A grand entrance on a historic side street.

New York's Capitol Building.

Construction began in 1865 and took 30 years to complete.  It is one of only 8 State capitols in the US that does not have a dome.

This is the historic road to my birthplace.

Statue of Joseph Henry, in front of the original Albany Academy, a private boys school.  He is remembered as the first person to generate electricity by passing a magnet through a coil of wire, which enabled modern technology.

Some of the 36 columns outside of the State Education Building, originally one of the "top 12 buildings in the  world" (circa 1912).  Back then the New York politicians were willing to invest in grand buildings with grand public purposes.

We left the Volkswalk route and toured inside the capitol building.  The legislature was not in session.  They work from January to July each year.

The Senate Staircase, one of three impressive stairways inside the capitol, all masterpieces of stonework.

The Great Western Staircase.

Ditto.

One of the many light fixtures in the staircase.

The Senate Chamber.

Schenectady County.

The Capitol, looking north from Nelson A. Rockefeller Plaza. 

The Egg, a performance venue with 2 theaters.

A long view of the Capitol from the far end of the Rockefeller Plaza past the 4 angled and cantilevered  government  buildings (left side), The Egg (right side), and fountain ponds (one is used for ice skating in winter).

Before finishing up the walk, we stopped for dinner at the Dove + Deer Restaurant in a historic neighborhood.  It was a great place to stumble on.  We shared crab cakes, parmesan truffle fries, tropical salad and stuffed portobello mushrooms, all very tasty.