New York X

To make it short: I love New York! Some months ago, Tokyo was kind of the number one. But now I'm not sure anymore. I guess, New York made it to the top. Paris is also cool, so is Vienna. But they are too normal, too much european, too small. New York is just another feeling. A feeling of belonging to the sophisticated. And I kown there is much more to see, much more places to go, much more restaurants to eat, much more bars and lounges to have a drink, much more clubs to dance. So I'll take every chance to return to New York. Maybe not next year, but certainly within the next three years! Because I guess you need to experience NY as long as you're young.

Back here in Switzerland, I still feel in another mood. I just feel more relaxed, more confidential than before. The trip was just great, not only New York, but also Montreal, Toronto and all the other places we visited. Awesome. Now I look forward to some other trips. Maybe Singapore next year, but certainly Hong Kong and Shanghai. And what I still like to see is Oman, or the United Arab Emirates. Nobody knows what the future brings, so watch out!

New York IX

The last days in New York were just awesome! We had so much fun and enjoyed the city as much as we could! Thanks to Kai we got free entrance to the MoMA, the Museum of Modern Art. I'm not an art student or something like that, but the MoMA is really well worth seeing. No wonder it's often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world. It has one of the best collections with works by such famous names as Warhol, Dalì, Picasso, van Gogh, Monet, Matisse or Cézanne. But the museum does not only feature paintings but also includes works in architecture, design, sculpture and photography. And for those who don't know: They have the first Freitag bag in their collection. And I loved all design pieces such as the chaise lounge by Le Corbusier or the Eames lounge chair.

As we alread talk about style and design, I had to buy a Jack Spade briefcase! We were walking through SoHo, which is the hippest neighbourhood that you can find in NY. And actually we just had a coffee at Café Café on Greene Street, when we saw the store. Honestly, I didn't need a briefcase but that one was just awesome! And even though the price was also awesome I bought it. SoHo was really cool. Fabulous young couples, wealthy singles, and ex-suburbanite empty-nesters long ago took over Soho from the artists. Now, the cobblestone streets, cast-iron buildings and designer boutiques draw quite a crowd. Literally. The people on the streets look exactly like I imagined people from NY have to look. And the streets in SoHo look pretty devoid, but as soon as you enter an unimposing store, it's huge and heaps of young people are inside! That happened with the Café Duke. Outside it looks like nothing but as soon as you get through the entrance you feel absorbed in the crowd.

That evening I went to buy some Zoot running shoes in a cool store some blocks from our hotel. As Thomas and Kai were at the tennis game, and Laura was out to meet a friend, Sandra and I went to eat at Spice Market (403 West at 13th Street) in the Meatpacking District, where you can see, especially on weekends, celebrities and fashion models all over the place. I actually feel pretty small compared to these 1.85m girls. Anyway, the Spice Market is a restaurant by Jean-Georges Vongerichten, one of the most celebrated chefs on the planet! New York Magazine wrote that in the past two decades, no single chef has had more influence on the way New Yorkers dine out. And it's true! The menu was pure explosion of the senses!

New York VIII

After dinner at Wolfgang's we met two friends of Kai, that also study at the University of St. Gallen. After visiting the top of the Rockefeller Center, we walked to the Times Square with all the colored lights and advertisements and heaps of people on the streets. We intended to have a drink there at a cozy lounge bar, but it was already full. Fortunatley, you just can walk around the corner and you're prone to find another good bar or lounge. However, better stick to the following recommendations, an incomplete selection of the best bars and lounges in New York, or better, in Manhattan:

The Stone Rose (10 Columbus Circle at 58th Street), a 510 square meter lounge located at the Time Warner Center, is capable of seating 300, and its massive windows facing Central Park make the city itself feel like a hired character. Leather and light wood paneling, plush banquettes, and muted lighting lend the enormous, marble-floored space surprising intimacy. The lounge was designed by Yabu Pushelberg, two great interior designer! To stick to the topic, the W (1567 Broadway at 47th Street) was also designed by Yabu Pushelberg, hence its interior is modern and invites you to relax. They serve marvellous drinks but you might need to come early to get a seat. Salon de Ning (700 Fifth Avenue at 55th Street) lies on top of the famous Peninsula Hotel. Drinks are good but expensive, the atmosphere is relaxed but views on Manhattan are better from the top of the next rooftop-bar. The 230 Fifth (230 Fifth Avenue at 27th Street) fills up the penthouse and the 2000 square meter roof of a former hotel. Great location, stunning views of Manhattan by night, but drinks are lousy and come in plastic cups. The Brasserie (100 East 53rd Street) is located in the Seagram Building and was built in 1959. The stunning reincarnation showcases the award-winning, ultramodern design of Diller + Scofidio. Drinks are perfect but the bar is rather small, better come for dinner.


Finally, we went to have a drink at the Stone Rose and used the personal atmosphere for good talks about architecture, banking, fashion and a lot more. After two hours we had spent enough money and decided to go back to the hotel. The two girls also joined us and so we could continue our discussion there. It was pretty late when we went to bed that night, so we decided to sleep a bit longer in the morning. I was hungry, so I went to Starbucks quite early and then walked along the busy 42th Street. My hunger was calmed and so we went to the Guggenheim Museum at 89th Street, right across the Central Park. The museum was built in 1939 by Frank Loyd Wright and is the permanent home to a renowned collection of Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, early Modern, and contemporary art, and also features special exhibitions throughout the year. However, most of the floors were closed at the time of our visit. Still, the paintings by Picasso, Chagall and Kandinsky were worth seeing. After this cultural visit we walked through the Central Park, where you kind of feel as if you were in another world. Or at least you wouldn't expect to be in the largest city in the United States. And as we the walking made us hungry again, we went to eat the best burgers in town at Shake Shack (Madison Avenue at 23rd Street) located at the corner of the Madison Square Park. Besides, Kai had bought tickets for the US Open some time ago. Unfortunately we didn't see a game with Roger Federer, but the match of Djokovic vs. Verdasco was quite ok.

New York VII

The next day we went to eat bagels at Ess-a-Bagel (831 3rd Avenue). I strongly recommend the whole wheat bagel with baked (not smoked!) salmon, it's just delicious. However, expect long lines at lunchtime. Then we boarded a Greyhound Bus to Atlantic City in the state New Jersey. The city is famous for casino gambling, shopping malls and sandy beaches. As we stayed over night, we booked a room in the Trump Plaza, which is a hotel with a huge gambling hall in the heart of the building. Funny enough, we all slept in the same room that had two beds for the five of us. As the name Atlantic City already indicates, it lies directly at the sea. So it was just rational to eat at Phillips Seafood. But don't expect much, it's pretty touristy and there are heaps of people eating there. The main dish, Ahi Tuna, was delicious but the starter, a shrimp cocktail, was nothing special. After dinner we took a taxi to the newest and most glorious casino in Atlantic City, The Borgata. It was build for $1.1 billion in 2003 and indeed, it's grand and carries the glory of Las Vegas. And here the impression comes true, money does attract beautiful women. There was a dance club in the Borgata and as we glimpsed inside, we had the feeling of taking part in a movie, all the tall tanned girls were dressed in very short skirts and high-heels that could not be higher, gorgeous. You can imagine the contrast we felt when we returned to our room with the two beds for five people.

The next day we returned to New York. We purchased a combined ticket for the Rockefeller Center, so we could go up to the top both on daytime and at night. The building with a height of 259m is only the ninth tallest in New York. However it offers spectacular views on Manhattan with the Empire State Building, Downtown, the Hudson River and Central Park. The $30 entrance fee is a lot, but I guess it's worth it. That evening we went to eat at the second-best Steakhouse in New York, the Wolfgang's. However, to the pleasure of my friends, I ordered a grilled tuna and the Wolfgang Salad as starter. Actually I preferred the Wolfgang's, but more because of the location and the interior because I couldn't compare the steaks.

New York VI

The very same night we went to the ever-so-stylish rooftop bar Plunge on top of the sophisticated Hotel Gansevoort (18 9th Avenue). There's a skinny pool on top where guest can swim overlooking the Hudson River. At night this rooftop-bar attracts block-long lines and if you are dressed in t-shirt the doorman won't let you in. Understandable, nobody was tired that evening, as it was our very first night in New York! Anyway, the next day we walked all the way up Fifth Avenue, had breakfast, read the Times, and enjoyed the city and did some windowshopping. We went to Abercrombie & Fitch, where you are served by male models showing their six-packs. And another thing for the girls: We went to the flagship store of Tiffany & Co., undoubtedly the most famous jewellery store in the world, that became popular when Truman Capote wrote his novel "Breakfast at Tiffany's". Not far away, Apple's newest flagship store lies below a huge glass cube at 767 Fifth Avenue. It's open 24 hours a day, but there are still heaps of people at every hour of the day. For lunch we went to Peter Luger Steakhouse located in Brooklyn. It was rated as New York's best steakhouse for 24 years in a row. For dinner, you need to reserve a table months ahead!

Actually New York has a great subway network and the price is ok with 2 Dollar for a ride. However, we almost always took a taxi to get from A to B. First, it's pretty easy to get a yellow cab in almost no time, except from 4 to 5 in the evening. Second, we were mostly a group of at least four, so we could divide the amount, which was rarely more than 10 bucks.

In the afternoon we walked over the Williamsburg Bridge to Manhattan. Actually we wanted to see the Brooklyn Bridge, but the waiter at Peter Luger suggested to walk across the Williamsburg Bridge instead. After crossing the East River, we went to see Chinatown, the Finance District with the famous Wall Street, and walked down to Ground Zero. Actually you can't see anything there, except for a big gap between the buildings which is now a enormous construction site. As we were tired of walking we went to Starbucks for a coffee. By the way, there are currently 209 Starbucks stores in Manhattan. And compared to Switzerland, the products are bloody cheap in the United States. Finally, we walked down to Battery Park, where you can see the Statue of Liberty standing far away.

New York V

The trunk of our car was completely full when we put all bags in, stuffed with clothes and shoes that we had acquired after our extended shopping tour. At least it was no long way to the John F. Kennedy Airport in New York. But we soon after had another problem. We were a group of five and normally it's difficult to find a taxi that has enough space for five. But it might even be impossible to find a taxi for a group of five plus eight pieces of luggage. So Thomas and my humble self agreed to take the Air Train to Midtown Manhattan. As we were studying the New York City map, a big Afro-American soldier dressed in desert uniform got on the same train which kind of seemed to come directly form the Iraq war. He looked at us and asked where we were going. We told him that we were heading to Manhattan and as he had to get off on the same station, he helped us with purchasing tickets for the metro. When we had to say goodbye to Mr. Watkins, he gave us a handshake that almost broke our fingers. Probably, he was really in Iraq.

We got off at Penn Station, near the Empire State Building. When we arrived after a 40min or so ride with the train, it was already dark. But as soon as we, after a cookie and a coffee to go at Starbucks, entered the streets of New York, it was as if it was daytime. There were so many people out in the streets, so many lights on the buildings, so many yellow cabs, it was just awesome! We walked all the way to the Hotel Kitano at Park Avenue, buying another coffee at Starbucks as well as the New York Times.

The rooms at Kitano were spacious and just great! It's actually some sort of japanese hotel, thus the interiour design was pretty japanese, which I like, of course. In the lobby they have live jazz concerts every weekend, from our rooms we had a direct view on the Empire and we had a personal cleaning lady, that even came to prepare the beds for the night after they had already been made in the morning. Pretty cool service.

After relaxing a little bit we dressed for dinner and went to the italian restaurant Salute (270 Madison Avenue). It was a recommendation of the Kitano staff, and a good one. The interior was modern and held in white, still with a view on the busy streets. Kai and Thomas got the five course menu for 80 Dollar, whereas I was not so hungry that evening. However, the Bresaola with Mozzarella di Bufala was brilliant. So was the Risotto ai frutti di mare. But I did envy Kai and Thomas a bit, as all courses looked very delicious. At least I was still ready for a drink somewhere. The place to be at night is, no question, the Meatpacking District, which runs roughly from West 14th Street south to the Gansevoort Street. One hidden spot is the APT in a nondescript building on West 13th Street, mixes high-style with homey comfort. The bar was honored as New York's best bar in 2001 and has been described as a nightlife masterpiece. Indeed it's pretty cool inside, even though the music was kind of strange that evening.

New York IV

In the morning of the next day we had a relaxed breakfast at Starbucks and then just strolled around the city, did some shopping, and watched all the different people passing by. As we had to check out at the hotel we soon were looking for a place for lunch. Near the Four Seasons we found a nice restaurant, that rather looked small at first glance, but we could get up to the first floor where we were lucky to find a rather large terrace with palm trees and a small bar. I had some whole wheat pasta (yeah, whole wheat!) with chicken, cherry tomatos and pecorino! Fabulous, especially as that was a nice little spot to eat! If you want to know the name, just ask. Soon after we were back in our car, heading in direction of Niagara Falls. Due to our incredible TomTom GPS navigation system, we never had to think about wrong turns. Moreover, we were totally five people in the car. Especially the backseat in the middle was not that comfortable, so we always changed our sitting positions at every eating or fuel stop. And there was just one way to put all the baggage in the trunk! The doormen at the hotels always tried to put the baggage in, but we had to help or at least tell them how to put it in correctly.

Anyway, the Niagara Falls were pretty amazing. The falls are situated at the border of Canada and the United States. The Niagara River connects Lake Erie with the Lake Ontario and drops down for more than 53m between the twin cities of Niagara Falls, ON and Niagara Falls, NY. That's approximately twice as high as the Rhine Falls, but what makes it even more impressive is the fact that they are more than 790m wide! Actually it's pretty difficult to get a full picture of the falls, because you have a cloud of tiny water drops in the middle of the falls. At least there's always a rainbow in the sky.

At the border to the United States we had some little problems. As Laura had a student visa, she was actually not really aloud to re-enter the States without a green form. Thus, we had to wait in a overcrowded waiting room, full of Asians and Mexicans that were waiting for their visa. You were not aloud to make phone calls unless you wanted to get arrested. And Barack Obama was smiling at us from the picture frame on the wall. Eventually, after waiting for an hour, we got our passports back and could pass the border. As it was already late, we decided to sleep in a cheap motel in Syracuse, NY. The next day we drove to Central Valley, NY where, hidden between green hills, lies the Woodbury Common Premium Outlet. Here you can find brands like Lacoste, Ralph Lauren, Tommy Hilfiger or Salvatore Ferragamo. We spent quite some money there!

New York III

The next day we left Quebec pretty early in the morning because we wanted to get all the way down to Toronto, which covers a distance of approximately 800 km. As we just had short stops in between it didn’t take too long to get to the largest city in Canada whit a population of more than 2.5 million. After a seven hour ride we arrived at the Four Seasons Hotel in Toronto. Again the hotel was great, with a beautiful lobby and friendly and helpful staff. However, the rooms at Westin in Montreal were better. The weather was great and we had warm 25 degrees which were much more than the 8 degrees in the morning in Quebec. Besides, Toronto is one of the world's most diverse cities by percentage of non-native-born residents, as about 49% of the population were born outside of Canada. And indeed, the folks on the streets were really cosmopolitan and international. And that's cool.

We had a short rest at the hotel, then went out and were just amazed by all the skyscrapers. We walked all the way down the Yonge Street to the CN Tower. In between we stopped now and then for photos and went to see the Allen Lambert Galleria, a 6 storey pedestrian avenue designed by Santiago Calatrava. The CN Tower with a hight of 553m was the highest construction built by men for more than 30 years. Now only the Burj Dubai is taller (actually way higher with 819m. Crazy. The Empire State Building in New York which is 381m tall, was built in 1931 and held the title of the worlds highest building until 1974. And now we are at 819m. Crazy!) We took the elevater to the observation deck on 346 meters and enjoyed the sunset on Lake Ontario. Everything has other dimensions here. This lake has half the size of Switzerland. Even on 346m you can't see the end of the lake and you inevitably think it must be the sea. Besides, on the observation deck you can stand on a glass floor, where you can see down on the ground. Cars seem like ants and people are just tiny points moving so slowly.

New York II

After a very delicious breakfast at the Westin with toast bread, salmon, ham, egg, yoghurt, cereals, fresh fruits and coffee, we went out in the drizzle and walked to the old town of Montreal. In 1967 the Expo 67 took place in town. For that event Moshe Safdie built an interesting living complex called Habitat 67 which is located on a small island behind an ugly wheat factory. This factory is just huge and the biggest part is shabby and derelict. From Habitat 67 we walked over a bridge from where we had a good view on the skyline of Montreal as well as on the Saint Lawrence River, a massive river that connects the Great Lakes with the Atlantic. We then took the metro to get to the Olympic Stadion that held the olypmic games in 1976. The stadion looked like a building of Calatrava (in Toronto we later saw a gallery of Calatrava). Montreal has a huge underground city. You can find the entrances at some metro stations or in the underground level of shoppings malls. You'll find restaurants, bars and many shops down there. In the evening we went to Vargas for Dinner. I had a Tataki Salad with grilled tuna that was just great. Unfortunately, that was only the appetizer and I was already quite full. As main plate I had a Chicken Teriyaki with chinese noodles. However, I couldn’t eat all of that even though it was really delicious. After eating we intended to go to a rooftop bar next to the Vargas. There was already a long queue of girls in short skirts and high heels waiting to get to the top of that building. We also took the elevator to get up, but as we had to pay 15 Dollars to get in, we decided to just have a drink at the Hotel bar, because we didn't wanted to dance as we were all completely full.

The next day we drove to Quebec, which took us about 3 hours. Quebec is rather small compared to Montreal or Toronto and has a unique french character. There are narrow cobblestone streets, with small european houses. The old town is even on the UNESCO world heritage list because the protection wall around the city is the only remaining in North America. We strolled around the old town, went to see some churches all called Notre Dame, went to see the Chateau Frontenac, which is really beautfiul and reminded me of Schloss Neuschwanstein in Germany. From there we had also beautiful views on the Saint Lawrence River. The weather was fine and sunny and we even met some swiss guys from Basel when we visited the citadelle of Quebec. In the evening we even witnessed a firework in town. Our Hotel was the Loews Le Concorde, which was inside one of the highest buildings of Quebec. On top, there was a revolving rooftop restaurant. We went up there for a drink and had nice views on Quebec by night.