My Experiments in the Practice of Everyday Life

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November 23, 2010
13 Comment

Happiness Is…Platform 9 and 3/4 in New York City’s Union Square Station.

A friend sent me this photo. It made me so happy. I love New York City! And, of course, I love Harry Potter.

Platformhogwarts
* On Twitter? Follow me @gretchenrubin.

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  • Peninith1

    Love it! Put me on the train to Hogwarts I say!

  • http://life-dots.blogspot.com/ Maria Barker

    I just made what I think is a pertinent posting about holidays, travel, happiness, wants, needs. Maybe my rant is not what you want to read, but it felt important to me, that stuff is not what makes us happy.

  • Christine

    There’s an even better instance at (appropriately) London’s Kings Cross station:

    https://secure.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/wiki/File:KingsCrossStationTrolley.JPG

    There are always people stopping to take photos of it!

    • gretchenrubin

      That is BRILLIANT. Absolutely brilliant. I honestly feel a little teary.

  • M13

    seeing your post made me smile :) i love harry potter and i love that sign!!

  • Rachel

    I don’t get this. Is this a Harry Potter reference (as M13 implied in the comments)?

    • gretchenrubin

      Yes. In the Harry Potter books, to get to the train to take you to Hogwarts,
      the school of magic, you have to get to Platform 9 3/4 at King’s Cross in
      London.

  • http://www.facebook.com/leahgraves Leah Silver Graves

    Re-posted to my FB! :) Thanks Gretchen!

  • Tymchatyn

    So for those of us who have no idea what Harry Potter is about – other than a children’s book – what does this mean???

    • gretchenrubin

      When magical children leave to go to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
      Wizardry, they take a special train, the Hogwarts Express. The train boards
      on Platform 9 3/4 at London’s Kings Cross. When Harry first discovers that
      he can do magic, and is going to school, he’s told to go the platform but is
      told — no such platform! He sees on Platform 9 and Platform 10.

      One of the first things he does as part of the magical world is to run
      through a brick wall to get to the hidden platform.

      So for Harry Potter fanatics, this is very meaningful!

  • Souri

    There is a 9 3/4 at Wellington (NZ) as well. :)

  • Sarahhp

    I have photo’s of myself and my husband pretending to go through the wall at platform 9 and 3/4 at Kings Cross. I love them. Funnying thing is I go through that station quite often for business trips and it still makes me smile.

  • http://www.simplyjunebug.com Junebug

    I got a pic of myself pushing the cart at King’s Cross. I giggle every time I look at the picture.

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