Wake up in a city that never sleeps - New York (New York)

New York is big - you may have heard of it. And most of the sights are in a small area of Manhattan. So 6 days are not nearly enough to see New York in its entirety. At the same time, the impressions are so varied that it is impossible to capture everything in a short blog post. We are therefore writing down individual impressions and episodes in a somewhat mosaic-like manner and hope that this will create a picture that captures the colorfulness of New York.

Arrival with George

We actually wanted to take the train from Montreal to New York, but Amtrak informed us a few weeks before our trip, which we had booked several months ago, that they had rebooked us. We would not be starting from Montreal but from Albany. In terms of distance, that is as if we had been told that our train to Milan would not be leaving from Bremen but from Stuttgart - not to mention that Amtrak apparently had no idea that the US border was between Montreal and Albany. So we quickly booked Greyhound tickets. No matter how comfortable (and we had the best seats) - 8 hours on the bus is too long. And it doesn't necessarily get any easier when the driver is called George:

Before boarding the bus, George said we should have all the papers we needed ready. When another passenger hesitantly asked what kind of papers they were, George just said, "What do I know what your papers are?" Very helpful. Otherwise, he was initially rude. Then he warmed up, became joking and helpful. At the border, he gave everyone very good instructions and crossing the border was very easy and relaxed. Even for Mrs. Waas, despite the fact that she has Kummerland nationality in addition to her Lummerland nationality and therefore needs a visa.

George's mood continued to fluctuate during the rest of the journey: sometimes he allowed us to take a break at McDonalds (of all places) or stopped longer at a stop with clean toilets so that we didn't have to use the ones in Albany, then he complained about the people when they only returned to the bus after 5 minutes (when the agreed 10 minutes were reached) and drove off briefly without any passengers before he burst into flames again. Later he again warmly presented his New York City to us with obvious pride.

The following remains to be said: 1.) The hinterland between Montreal and New York is beautiful and almost deserted and is reminiscent of Sweden. After all, Lake Placid has hosted the Winter Olympics twice. 2.) The question arises whether a bus driver should take the prescribed psychotropic drugs before a journey or not.

Smells

Manhattan doesn't smell of roses - there are hardly any plants growing there. When we arrived in the somewhat shabby West End, it quickly became clear: New York, like almost all big cities in warm regions, often smells of garbage and other things. And it often smells of cannabis. The Waas/Ärmel team saw and smelled more joints than classic cigarettes during their trip to New York.

Life

Ms. Waas and Mr. Ärmel could certainly imagine living in New York City (although that applies to many cities), although you first have to be able to afford it. Apart from the exorbitant cost of living (for example, you might be asked to pay €6 for an exotic can of Coke or €10 for a loaf of bread), an apartment in the most expensive residential high-rise costs up to $10 million. Brooklyn is more likely. However, here too, the prices are often not shown on the products - and you find out why at the checkout.

Despite the high prices, Ms. Waas's special shopping tip is West Village and Greenwhich Village: Shortly after you pass through Christopher Street (yes, that one), you can, for example, get advice on lingerie from a cool but down-to-earth middle-aged saleswoman in Hanky Panky who wears nothing but her own products. Unfortunately, there are no photos of this - just as there are no photos of the New York passers-by, who in their sometimes queer, sometimes daring, sometimes reckless, sometimes bizarre outfits make up an essential aspect of New York's charm. There are also understandably no photos of the often extremely emaciated homeless, who sometimes sacrifice their little money for crack and other things and are often in conversation with invisible others.

The helpfulness and friendliness of New Yorkers cannot be captured photographically here. Instead, the picture shows one of the numerous Christian sects who walk through the streets on Sundays and celebrate their services there full of missionary zeal, while in Brooklyn, for example, there are almost exclusively Jewish quarters again.

Religiy and homelessness can also be combined, as in the case of the homeless man who walked through the subway begging and told us that drugs had made him homeless and who asked us to "Let's say it together: no drugs no alcohol" and then passed around the collection.

Other business models for the homeless: a beggar opened the emergency door at the subway for us and others when our tickets were not being scanned by the machine and received a small donation in return; another beggar held open the door at Grand Central Station in his wheelchair, which would otherwise have closed. This door opener also earned a donation.

In addition to the ultra-orthodox Jewish district in Brooklyn and the hipster district in the West Village, there is of course also Little Italy and China Town. Little Italy seemed charming to us, but less like a living space than a series of Italian restaurants and cafes - and it is much smaller than the neighboring China Town, which had far less charm for us. Instead, there is a Buddhist temple with a large neon sign on the roof.

skyline

A trip to the top of the Empire State Building costs €79. Perhaps it's not so much a question of whether it's worth it, but rather whether you can afford it. But the view over the Manhattan skyline really impressed us and we don't regret it. It's also cheaper to look across the East River to Manhattan from Brooklyn. The even more expensive option would be a private helicopter flight, like the one we saw taking off near the really beautiful Brooklyn Bridge.

Sauna visit included

Even if the prices have been a bit of a fuss here, a visit to New York in midsummer includes a sauna visit every day: you keep moving from the 35° hot, humid streets to buildings that feel like they're cooled down to 15°. That keeps your blood vessels going. A little life hack: always have a warm jacket in your hand luggage when you go to a museum, for example, otherwise you'll lose interest at some point.

Museums

We went to the Met (Metropolitan Museum of Arts) and the MOMA (Museum of Modern Art). Mr. Ärmel's opinion: you can do it, but you don't have to. Ms. Waas' opinion: you can go to the Met, and you could easily go to the MOMA several times a year, as it contains a huge number of impressive works of art in a wide variety of styles.

Broadway

The colorful neon signs in Times Square are familiar to even those who have never been to New York. Less well known are the less glamorous corners of Broadway, which, like the other avenues, stretches through the whole of Manhattan. However, in keeping with the tourist cliché, we were drawn to the musicals.

We decided on "Back to the Future" ("Get your tickets yesterday"). A good backdrop, very good costumes and great stage effects were, for us, offset by an absurdly loud sound design and compositionally forgettable pieces of music. The best actors and singers were the actors who played George McFly and Goldie Wilson.

Overall, however, the piece seemed like an American caricature of a musical.

A personal highlight for Mr. Ärmel was the time machine that a resourceful businessman had parked in front of the theater.

The freedom of money

At the very top of Manhattan you will find the Financial District and the view of the Statue of Liberty. But you have to be able to see the Statue of Liberty first. Freedom here is well sealed off behind walls and fences, unless you pay for it and buy an expensive ticket.

“ I asked him, what is the name of this animal?

That is freedom, he said to me

These are so rare in the world now

That is why it is displayed here for little money

I looked and I said, dear Lord

I don't see anything, the cage is empty

That's exactly the joke, he said

You lock her up and she’s gone in an instant.”

(George Danzer)

Ground Zero is impressive. The huge fountains (or rather falling fountains) at the site of the old World Trade Center are a reminder of the collapsing ruins, framed by the names of the dead who died that day as innocent victims.

Farewell

We leave New York saturated with impressions and are looking forward to a beach holiday on Long Island, but we also feel a little sad. It is the first place on our trip that we will probably never return to - except in films and music. Mr. Ärmel had his photo taken on 10th Avenue, which Springsteen once sang about, and Mrs. Waas is now watching an old episode of Cagney and Lacey. Thank you New York for all the wonderful memories.