144/365: Hello, Düsseldorf!
It’s always amazing again how quickly you can be in a completely different part of the world.
The flight was ok. I managed to sleep quite a bit. I’m still pretty tired and I think I’ll take a quick nap… zZzzzzz
143/365: Relaxing at Brooklyn Bridge Park.
It was our last day in New York City. After packing our bags, we went to the Brooklyn Flea in the late morning. We checked out the various really interesting vendors and had a great Indian Dosa(i) for breakfast.
The weather was fantastic and so it was a good choice to visit the Brooklyn Bridge Park. It was absolutely packed with people, but we still very much enjoyed walking along the waterfront, enjoying the view and the sun.
Via ferry, we hopped over to Manhattan for one last time to check out Chinatown again. For a very early dinner we ate at Nyonya: a well-rated Malaysian. And yes, it was fantastic: Roti Canai, Poh Piah, Char kway teow and Beef Rendang. Delicious! We’re full now!
We’re currently picking up our backpacks at the apartment and are now off to JFK. See you in Ddorf!
142/365: The Apollo theater in Harlem.
Lots of walking on this day: through quite a bit of Harlem, through the Central Park again, down 5th Avenue. We went on top of the Metropolitan Museum of Art for very nice views across the park and the surrounding buildings. For the evening, we went over to the hip Williamsburg neighbourhood, ending with a few beers at the metal-pub “Duff’s”.
141/365: The bubble-master of Central Park.
After a stroll through the posh Upper Eastside neighborhood, we’ve finally been to this Central Park everyone is talking about. The weather was ok and we walked through a few parts of this huge park. We’ve also visited a few landmarks around the park, like the Metropolitan and Guggenheim museums and the Mecca for Apple fanboys.
And then it was already quite late and we decided to go for a sundowner at Pod39 – a cozy rooftop bar on the 17th floor with a nice view of the Empire State. Choice!
140/365: The view from the Top of the Rock over Manhattan.
On day 7 in New York, we first went on the Staten Island ferry - the free commuter boat between the southern tip of Manhattan and the island. There were good views of Manhattan and The Statue to be had. We like!
Via subway – as always – we went up to Chelsea. After lunch at the Chelsea Markets, we walked along the High Line, an abandoned elevated train track that’s repurposed as a pedestrian walkway with lots of green. It was a nice stroll with good views of the streets below and the architecture around.
Around sunset, we went up to the Top of the Rock, the observation deck on the GE building of the Rockefeller Center. And what can I say: the views were simply stunning.
For the evening, we went back to Greenwich village where we were entertained by another great ensemble called “The Kennedy Administration”.
139/365: North tower reflecting pool at the WTC memorial.
This day started relatively late with a lunch at the famous Katz’s restaurant. And we sinned badly. Don’t tell anyone! ;-)
Then we went down to Lower Manhattan where we had a beautiful view on the Hudson River, Brooklyn and the Statue of Liberty. And then some less enjoyable things.
We went along Wall Street, which to me by now is just a symbol for capitalism gone mad, injustice and inequality. So, not much time wasted here.
In the late afternoon we visited the 9/11 memorial again and also the Memorial museum where we stayed until they closed at 8pm. And this museum left a bitter taste in our mouths. It’s no question that this was a horrible day especially for those who died or lost someone they knew and/or loved. And it’s good to remember this. But using this once again to justify their wars is just disgusting. There are endless rooms and exhibits on all these individual tragedies. You can’t help but feeling terribly sorry for these people. And after that you’re in a room that’s like: “well, and here are the bad guys and that’s why we needed to start all these wars”. I just have too many mixed feelings about these events and their repercussions and this museum just re-confirmed my contempt of the US government.
138/365: Dining at the street food market at the Flatiron building.
The day started with breakfast at Square Diner in Tribeca, a classic as-in-the-movies type diner. After that we went over to Sacred Tattoo and their gallery, where D Randall Blythe (Lamb of God’s vocalist) was exhibiting his photos. We very much enjoyed this one, especially because you could read about each photo’s story.
Then we just wandered the streets of SoHo, NoHo, Nolita and the Flatiron district, before finding this really neat little street food market right next to the famous building. We had a few craft-beers and some really delicious food. The pizza was without a doubt one of the best we ever had. The perfect ending to this day.
137/365: Coney Island.
On this warm and sunny Sunday, we went down to Coney Island, New York’s amusement park and beach neighbourhood. We rode the historic Cyclone roller coaster – built in 1927 – which was surprisingly thrilling. And it was just good fun to walk around, look at all the characters walking the boardwalk and enjoying the sun with a slightly cooling sea breeze.
The late afternoon and evening was spent in Manhattan again, walking around East Village and the Lower East Side, having a few drinks on this very mild evening.
136/365: At the MoMA.
This painting is One: Number 31 by Jackson Pollock. I really like it. Mostly I think because it stimulates my mind to imagine how it was created. And then I’m reminded of The Big Lebowski.
But this wasn’t my favourite painting in this huge museum. There were so many world-famous paintings, it’s impossible to mention them all. I particularly liked the works by Vincent Van Gogh, Umberto Boccioni and Pavel Tchelitchew’s Hide and Seek. But there was so so much more. It was very impressive and inspiring. We spent hours.
After the visit to MoMA, we were pretty hungry and mentally exhausted. We decided to head over to Chinatown for some Asian flair and great, cheap food. And that was definitely a success. We’ll visit Chinatown again, though, since we’ve mostly seen it at night while it was raining.
Another really good day.
135/365: At Grand Central Terminal.
After our late night out yesterday, we were late to start our second day. And that was a day amongst the Midtown masses. It’s just an incredible amount of people in that area. And it was once again an attack on our senses: the noise, the smell, the taste – and don’t even get me started on all the visual impressions. You probably could get exhausted just by standing at one corner of town and trying to take it all in. It’s quite overwhelming – in a good way.
So: we started our day at Grand Central Terminal. Walked around the Chrystler building, paid a visit to the NY Public Library, and went to Rockefeller Plaza. We originally wanted to go up to the Top of the Rock, but unfortunately had to postpone it, since it was booked out until 10:30pm that night when we got there at 6:30.
Instead we walked another few blocks to dine at probably the most hidden Burger Restaurant: Burger Joint. It’s tiny and it’s inside a fancy hotel, with no sign or advertising on the outside at all. And even when you’re inside the hotel you could easily miss it, if it wasn’t for the telling end of a queue in the corner of the lobby. Anyway: we had very delicious cheeseburgers in cozy, down-to-earth atmosphere. :-)
Then: Times Square. Tourists, billboards, musicals, selfies, costumes etc etc. The place for the wacky and tacky. Crazy!
And then it was time to get our tired bodies home again…
134/365: Hello from New York and happy anniversary to us!
It was our 10-year anniversary and we had a great day in New York with beautiful weather. We had breakfast in our neighbourhood in Brooklyn, walked across the Brooklyn bridge, went to One World Trade Center and the 9/11 memorial. In the evening we had a fantastic dim-sum dinner at RedFarm on Hudson St. and we spent the rest of the night in Greenwich Village at Bar 55 where we were entertained by an awesome Jazz-trio.
133/365: New York, here we come!
132/365: Daneben.
131/365: Elephant.
Mother, Brother. Châtel 2015.
