This week was a week without travel for a change, which we both really appreciated! In addition, it was a short week because 4th of July was around the corner. We worked from the NYC office from Monday to Wednesday and started the long weekend on Wednesday night with a hangout in Tompkins Square Park, accompanied by some delicious Vietnamese sandwiches from Xe May Sandwich Shop.
On 4th of July itself, the city seemed like a ghost town. Apparently most New Yorkers leave the city for a long weekend, so it was very calm and empty. We took advantage of that, strolled around and indulged in some Italian delicacies from Eataly in Madison Square Park. After soaking up some sun and people watching, we went back home and got ready for the evening.
On July 4th, the Americans celebrate their Independence Day and Macy’s shoots off their famous fireworks in the evening. Since we read that about one million people are expected at the shores of the East river, we didn’t really feel like squeezing in with the crowds. We took our bikes and cycled to Williamsburg. Well, we tried. The bridges closed earlier than announced, so we brought our bikes into the subway and continued to cycle in Brooklyn. We went over to our friend Jay and started the night with a lovely dinner at Sunday in Brooklyn. Back home at Jay’s place, the original plan was to watch the fireworks from the rooftop terrace. However, he warned us before coming that we might not be able to see the fireworks due to a new skyscraper which is currently growing right in front of his house. As anticipated, we could only see the reflections of the lights left and right.
So be it, we went down to the apartment and watched the fireworks on TV. Before leaving, we made plans to meet up the next day for a motorcycled ride.
We took off early Friday morning and drove part of the Seven Lakes Drive, which is a beautiful ride through nature. We ended up at the Greenwood Lake, where we stopped for Lunch at The Breezy. After gaining back some energy, we rode back into Harriman State Park where we stopped at a beautiful lake. It was just us there & we enjoyed a swim in air-temperature water and dried-up on some sun-warmed stones afterwards.
On the way back, we stopped at Bear Mountain Outlook. If the air is clear you can even see the skyline of New York from the top! Back home, we fueled up with some fresh veggies and fruit and called it a day.
On Saturday, we went to the MET – the Metropolitan Museum of Art. We specifically went for the exhibition “CAMP – Notes on Fashion”. The exhibition showcases more than 250 objects dating from the seventeenth century to the present and explores the origins of camp’s exuberant aesthetic first mentioned in Susan Sontag’s 1964 essay “Notes on Camp”. The exhibition was a bit crowded but included some really interesting pieces. Overall the MET is just overwhelmingly large, you can easily spend several days in there. We will definitely come back in fall, once the weather is colder, to see more of it!
Afterwards, we needed a snack and walked to the German butcher Schaller & Weber. We got a typical German “Feinbrot” (mixed wheat and rye bread) with some “Lachsschinken” (smoked, rolled filet of ham) and Mustard. It was lovely to taste a piece of home and we bought some German beer, chocolate pudding, “Rotkohl” (red cabbage) and “Sauerkraut” (pickled cabbage) for dinner.
After, we walked back to the Met and took a walk through Central Park, had some popsicles and watched some children playing with huge soap bubbles.
On Sunday, Franzi’s manager Phil invited us for dinner. Since he lives in New Jersey, we hoped on our bicycles once again and rode to the Ferry Terminal. The ride along the Battery Park City Esplanada was beautiful and the Ferry ride offered a great view of the city. Once we arrived, we met some really lovely new people and enjoyed a delicious home-cooked meal! They even had two cats, which were a great opportunity to get some cuddles in. We ended the night with a desert on the terrace and watched the sunset accompanied by great conversation.
