My Life - So Far

"Unbounded ambition makes an obscure existence simply impossible for me"
Lucien de Rubempré

Wednesday, September 09, 2009

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.

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