Belvedere Castle + Upper East Side

I wanted to visit the Belvedere Castle since I had heard of it but never seen it before, and this seemed like a good day to go out, the weather was super nice and it got a little too crowded because of it. 

There was a small street fair going on when we got off the train but unfortunately had no cash to buy any snacks.

The Upper East Side and around Park Ave have so many nice buildings and churches. 

This is the Waldo Hutchins Bench, I looked it up after getting home since I've never heard of it. According to the Central Park website it says "Alteri vivas oportet si vis tibi vivere (One must live for another if he wishes to live for himself)"

This is the lake that you can use remote control boats, I don't remember ever seeing it not in the winter. 

Over the front door to the Belvedere Castle, which I think is a Cockatrice (a chicken headed serpent or dragon) at first glance? 

We arrived just before it closed, but there were still many people there. The castle was built in 1872, and has two observation decks you can go onto to look out over the lawn and water. When it was built, there was still a larger reservoir here to look at.  

I defiantly would love to go back on a day that it wasn't so crowded, the view is really nice and there were some signs that said it was a good birdwatching spot. 

We visited Glaser's Bake Shop, a 115 year old German bakery on 1st Ave and 86th street. It has such a classic and authentic feel and sign. I love finding new bakeries that are so old, and the fact that they're still around for over one hundred years. 

They had a lot of good looking stuff here! We got a few different things, including the black and white cookie that many say they're famous for. I'd like to go back to get another since I only had a few bites, but I enjoyed that and the brownies.