Leaving New York, never easy
It is almost 9 am, and I am sitting in Shelley’s garden, for the last time, drinking coffee. The weather is cooling down, exactly like 2018 on the day that I was leaving then.
In a way, I will leave home today. It is not only, because I love New York, it is because of my friends, the old and new ones, the walks and talks, we had, and the laughs and the tears. Well, I came here to live a different life for a while, to be a different Arne, who lives in New York, who walks down Flatbush or Fifth Avenue, who sits in a restaurant with a friend in the Village, who eats a slice of Pizza on his way to the next Photoshoot. I will leave him here too, today. He will be waiting for Arne, who loves Hamburg.
Harlem and a few Last Times
Since my Flight back to Hamburg is tomorrow and today I have a Photo Shoot, I spent the last two days saying goodbye to places and things. On Thursday, I went to Harlem for a nice lunch at Harlem Seafood Soul, a place I heard from through the Netflix Series “Streetfood USA” (Episode “New York, New York”). I had the “Uptown Combo” and it was delicious. After a Stroll through Harlem with a visit to the Apollo Theatre, I said my goodbyes to Central Park and relaxed on a bench at Columbus Circle.
And Yesterday, I had my Last Hot Dogs at Gray’s Papaya, my Last slice of Pizza, and my Last Caramel Ribbon Crunch. Back in Flatbush, I visited my favorite Supermarket for the last time. Yes, those last Times had nothing to do with Landmarks like the Statue of Liberty or the Empire State Building. It was just about the things I enjoy being here, and the places have to do with the streets and the light in them. The everyday life, I got to experience here, is what I’ll miss.
Bryant Park and Rooftop Bar
After a three-hour photo shoot for the Project in Little Caribbean, I took the Subway to 42nd Street and laying on my back, I enjoyed the sky above Manhattan. Again, I did Street Photography on 5th Avenue all the way down 29th Street, where I met Michela for the second and unfortunately last time for a beer with a view.
Brooklyn Heights in Rain
As mentioned before, one of my favorite places in New York is Brooklyn Heights. You find some nice stores and Cafés and when you get closer to the East River, the streets are getting smaller, the houses are beautiful Brownstones and the light is awesome. And at the end of some of those Streets, you’ll find the Brooklyn Promenade where you walk along the East River with a great view of Manhattan.
Yesterday I went there for the second time this year with all those things in mind, before a thunderstorm hit, and caved me in the protection of a construction site. So no Manhattan view for me today, but I did some street photos, of which here is one.
Roosevelt Island
One Place I missed the last time, is this little Island in the East River, where you can relax your body and mind while having a great view of both Manhattan and Long Island City. I got myself a coffee and relaxed in the shadow of a tree, enjoying the sea breeze. After that, I took a stroll through the upper east side on 1st and 2nd Avenue, doing street Photography.
A walk through Little Caribbean
If you now ask my feet, they would suggest calling it Big Caribbean…
So Yesterday Kenya and I took a stroll through Little Caribbean, me with two cameras and she had her Bag full of Stickers and Passports (More about that later).
So we walked nine kilometers in seven hours, me taking photographs of Caribbean businesses for the Little Caribbean Project… soon to be released 😉
Downtown, Central Park and West Village
Yes, I am on the streets again, finally. On Wednesday, I spent my time Downtown, and Yesterday, I began at Central Park and made my way through beautiful Paths from the fifth avenue side to the West side. I visited “the friends place”, before I took a break from the sun in a little Park, writing a postcard. It is one of the perks, of having so much time here – I don’t plan so much – I don’t have to. Although, I feel that might change, now that I only got about ten days left…
Summer Flu in New York
Yeah, it doesn’t sound good, does it? And it isn’t. Sometimes, life doesn’t through you a bone but a Summer Flu, to keep you at home, when all you wanna do, is to go out. Well, I was out a few times, but just in the neighborhood to get me some food. And I took a few pictures with my Phone. So, this is all for now. I am feeling better and tomorrow is the first of three shootings. I am excited…
A walk across the Manhattan Bridge
I had been off Yesterday to work on my Projects but on Tuesday I did, what everybody visiting New York should do, walking the Manhattan Bridge. You also should walk the Brooklyn Bridge, of course. And don’t do it on weekends to avoid the Busloads of tourists…
Either way, the Manhattan Bridge is more of a quiet walk, I saw maybe twenty people the whole Time. You will stop a few times to enjoy the view and take photos, so it took me about 45 Minutes to get to the Manhattan side of the East River. There I took a left into Chinatown, where I walked the little streets for a while before I got into a Restaurant to get some lunch. That Place opened in the 70s, and they were only taking cash, which was the first time for me…
I ended my walk at the courthouse, where I sat down in the shadow with a coffee…
A weird and kind of annoying day
I just spent five minutes thinking about, whether I should write anything about yesterday. And now I do it, because it is too good of a story, not to. And it is a good example of how things can (not) work out when you are caught up in certain expectations and can’t let go of them.
I was working in the garden when two things emerged … I was hungry and I was developing a craving for a specific Coffeerelated drink by Starbucks. Not a big deal, I thought, my part of the fridge is empty, so have to leave the house anyway. The only reason, I had to make a plan, was that there is no Starbucks in my neighborhood (I know, that is weird by itself, because there is only one thing, that you can find more of in New York than Starbucks, and that is grains of sand). No Problem right? I looked it up on maps – there was a Starbucks just one Subway station away, inside a Target, where I could buy Milk for my morning Coffee and Beer for my night cup.
So, I went out into the hot streets, took the Subway, and got out at Flatbush Ave Station. By then, I was even more hungry, so I decided to first have lunch at Applebees. Well, so far I haven’t heard anything good about that chain, but I thought, I see for myself… The guy at the door seated me, gave me a menu, and told me to wait for the waitress. I decided what to eat and waited… after ten minutes I was so hungry that I couldn’t remember my choice anymore and the lady at the next table asked the guy, how long it might be until the waiter arrives… So I packed my things and left, with a new Idea: I would do my shopping at Target and I would get a snack from Starbucks – with my Coffeething…!
Well, when I arrived at the Starbucks booth inside Target, I barely remembered my name, and my stomach was about to make itself heard by everyone standing in line with me. Finally, it was my turn, and I ordered a Caramel Ribbon Crunch and a Sausage Sandwich. The guy at the counter let me know, that they were out of Caramel Ribbon Crunch and that he was sorry. … Not as sorry as I am, I thought to myself, and I left the building. I fainted a little when I got back out on the street and into the hot sun. With my last energy, I dragged myself to the next food cart, took out the last cash I had, and got myself something with chicken, wrapped in something like bread. And you know what? The man in that cart was a fast chef and the food was delicious – I ate it under a Tree on the sidewalk, like a raccoon. After that, I got my strength back and the world was colorful again. But the craving for that coffee beverage was not gone, so asked maps for the next Starbucks and it was only about eight minutes away, by bus. But I am a hero, I took that bus, I got my Caramel Ribbon Crunch super grande bucket tall whatever and there was another bus, that took me back home. It took me 30 minutes, so I had to cool down that thing to make the sugar in it not take over all the flavor.
Yes, I laughed a lot about myself, but I also felt good, because I conquered those two tasks, however ridiculous in hindsight.
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