On June 1st, the city started to feel even more apocalyptic than it did so far. Almost all stores around us started to close their store fronts with plywood to protect themselves against looting or broken store fronts. This was an unfortunate side effect of the protests. Media coverage was overshadowing the real purpose of BLM, even though only a very small percentage of protests actually turned violent. Another result of that was a city-wide curfew which started on June 2nd and was extended until Sunday, June 7th. The curfew began every day at 8 PM and lasted until 5 AM, which meant no going outside during that time and no vehicle traffic below 96th street. Accordingly, our first week of June was fairly calm and consisted mostly of work, walks and Pizza Friday. On Saturday we witnessed some more protests in Washington Square Park.
On Sunday, we rode to Brooklyn Bridge Park. We strolled around the park, enjoyed the skyline and some fresh air before the curfew. Sunday night was again a classic taco night.
100 days of COVID
On June 8th, 100 days after the first confirmed COVID case in New York, the governor announced the first phase of reopening. This essentially meant that construction, manufacturing and wholesale supply chain could come back to work. In addition, curbside pick-up was allowed for retail, but only for orders made in advance. On Wednesday, we had some socially distanced outside dinner at Tre with a bunch of friends. On Thursday, June 10th Franzi’s project did a virtual cocktail-making class as a team event. A great option to still connect as a team outside of work and enjoy some margaritas.
Motorcycle Adventure for Alex, Me-time for Franzi
On Friday, Alex took off on a motorcycle trip with his friends upstate to do a part of the North Eastern BDR – Backcountry Discovery Route. BDR is a non-profit organization that creates off-highway routes for dual-sport and adventure motorcycle travel. Basically since 2010, every year a new route with free GPS tracks is introduced for the community. The work of the team includes rider education, safety campaigns and promoting responsible travel for motorcyclists traveling in the backcountry. The organization works with agencies and land managers to keep trails and remote roads open for motorcycling through promoting and encouraging responsible behavior.
In the meantime, Franzi hung out in Prospect Park with some friends Friday night. On Saturday, Franzi met up with Vlad who is an old friend from university. They strolled around Williamsburg and Green Point enjoying some frozen Aperol Spritz. On Sunday, before Alex’s return his birthday prep and present packaging was in full swing.
The next week was a big one for Alex’s motorcycle portfolio. He found a 1988 BMW R100GS for sale. Love at first sight since the bike and Alex share the same year of “birth” and the GS is a true German classic. We picked up the new family member Tuesday early evening and celebrated with some lovely Indian food from our favorite Indian restaurant Mughlai that we discovered during our first week in NYC.
Later that week Alex met with Matias and Daniel. Before buying the BMW Alex read a nice (coffee table) book, “Two Wheels South“, telling the story of two friends, one of them from Brooklyn, travelling through entire Middle and South America (from Brooklyn to Ushuaia) on old air-cooled BMWs. After getting the BMW, Alex said to himself why not check whether the author still lives in Brooklyn and fancies to meet to chat some Benzin and share his experience on riding old airheads. Luckily enough, Matias still lives in Brooklyn and shared Alex’s interest in meeting someone with a common passion. That way Alex also got to meet Daniel who has the very same bike as he does now.
Surprise trip to Cape Cod
On Friday, we finished work and headed to the Upper West Side late afternoon to surprise our friend Fabi. His girlfriend Char planned a trip to Cape Cod and secretly invited us. We surprised Fabi in the car rental spot and then got on the road with a quick stop at Shake Shack. In the evening, we partied into Fabi’s birthday with some bubbly and cake. On Saturday we went to Mayflower beach and found a beautiful bay to dip into the ocean. Afterwards we got some ice-cream and headed to Nausset Beach. Definitely recommended for a lovely walk on the beach! Afterwards, we headed to Plymouth for an Italian birthday dinner. On Sunday, we made our way back to New York and stopped in Rhode Island on the way. Alex and Fabi used to study here together so it was time for some nostalgia. We drove by their old house and picked up lunch from Crazy Burgers. We enjoyed that at the Point Judith Lighthouse before heading back home.
Alex’s birthday
On Monday, we were off from work because it was Alex’s birthday! This was also the first day of phase 2 of the reopening, which allowed for outdoor dining! After a relaxed morning with cake, unpacking presents and some FaceTime with friends and family, we headed for brunch at Mogador. We found out that we were their first guests after the reopening and everybody was excited. Afterwards, we walked around Noho and Soho, to check out some newly opened retail. Since it was boiling hot, we took a break to cool off at home. Later in the afternoon we had some drinks and appetizers at Frank (see title picture). In the evening, Franzi organized a socially-distanced birthday picnic at Tompkins Square Park. It was wonderful to spend some time together with friends and realize how many lovely people we’ve met since moving to New York.
A silver lining
During the week, we took a walk in Tompkins Square Park and had some drinks at Numero 28. At this point New York began requiring travelers to self-quarantine for 14 days if traveling from an area with high infection rates. On Friday, we participated in the virtual German summer party from our firm. We guided a cocktail making session and reported back some news from New York. Friday evening, it was Pizza night again. This time sitting outside at the restaurant. It felt like living!
Over the weekend, we did a tail tidy on Franzi’s bike (getting rid of unnecessary plastic that is only there for meeting regulatory requirements). It was a very easy DIY solution which turned out to look a better than any expensive solution for purchase. On Sunday, we had a beautiful sunny day in the city. It was Pride Day, so everything was colorful and nicely decorated to compensate for the missing pride parade. We walked through the West Village and Franzi snacked a cupcake at Magnolia bakery. In the evening, we had our friend Jay over for some cashew-ginger chicken with beans and basmati rice.
