The city that never gets boring
Due to the visit of our friends from Germany, I have explored many places this week that are normally on the tourist agenda. Including places I didn’t know yet. I realized once again how diverse New York City is.
When I think of New York and when I’m here for a longer period of time, it’s almost exclusively everyday life that comes to mind. Because I’m usually here to be with my partner. I usually spend my days unspectacularly and not much differently than in Basel. Yoga and a jog in the morning and then work in the studio after breakfast until lunchtime. I eat something small, take a short nap and then continue working until the evening. I visit museums, meet friends and we go out for a drink or a meal together. And I like walking through the city and observing the people.
A sightseeing week
The sights make the city, of course. They’re just there, but I don’t usually visit them for their own sake. You pass by when you’re doing something nearby, take note of them and enjoy the views you’ve seen in so many movies. Thanks to my visitors, I got to know the city from a tourist perspective. At least a little, because everything was too much for one week.
An unspectacular New York City moment, but that’s what I like about being here
Halloween
After a gray start to the week, it was quite sunny all day and unusually warm for the end of October / beginning of November. In addition to walks in Morningside Heights, we went to the Village, Washington Square Park and enjoyed the Halloween decorations.
Halloween decoration in the West Village
A day in Bushwick
We spent a day in Brooklyn and admired the street art of the Bushwick Collective, which is located around Jefferson Street Station. I felt like I was in a completely different city there. No tall buildings, electric cables over the streets, different people and a totally different atmosphere in the air. But it was great and the art was impressive.
Some of the artworks around Jefferson Street Station
A Swiss moment
Also on the weekly program was a visit to the Edge to once again experience the city from this perspective. It’s simply impressive how big New York City is and how small life seems when you see it from up so high. Hudson Yard was already decorated for Christmas and, as soon as Halloween is over, the Christmas season is noticeable everywhere. Afterwards we went to the Upper East Side and took the Roosevelt Island Tram over to Roosevelt Island – just for the sake of the cable car. It felt a bit like Switzerland…only a lot more urban.
Roosevelt Island Tramway
Breathtaking moments
One evening we had dinner at Enoteca Maria on Staten Island. Of course, the ferry crossing was just as much a highlight as Nonna Maria’s food. The view of Manhattan, Brooklyn and New Jersey at night is simply breathtaking. And when you pass very close to the Statue of Liberty, the New York City feeling is perfect.
Amazing views from the Staten Island Ferry
Time to relax
On the last day before my friends left, we visited Little Island. A place that I also like and that is beautiful at any time of year. Next door is The Beach, the first sandy beach in Manhattan, which stretches right up to the Hudson River and gives you a relaxed beach feeling with a view of the skyscrapers of the metropolis.
Little Island and Gansevoort Peninsula
I ♥ NY
After this varied week, which was complemented by morning jogs in Riverside Park and evening restaurant visits, I can only say what I already knew: New York is simply THE city and definitely one of my favorite places in the world.
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