Walking in New York

I did not expect it – New York as a treasure box for beauty! Skyscrapers disappear into the mist, disappear into undefined, mysterious space. In the deep canyons made out of buildings, brilliant yellow leaves  of  rows of ginko and acacia trees illuminate the streets down below and paint the sidewalks with happy dots of colours.

t

A person cleaning the street of fallen leaves in front of a shop.  The huge building is the MET.

The windows of the shops like Gucci are like temporary art exhibitions. They smile towards the viewer with cool elegance, pretending to not want to lure the people into the shop. Each of the windows is a piece of art. There is a playfulness in the windows, which makes the viewer smile back.

Yves St. Laurent window

The world seems to be a perfect world in the streets of Manhattan,  where poverty does not exist. However, especially in front of the Trump Tower, one sees that the wealth has to do with power, which has to be protected.

Patty and I with one of the guardians in front of Trump tower. Inside the tower, the golden walls with the letter T – which show up in every corner – reflect the light and make the walls look like they are on fire. No other image could portray better the megalomania of this person.

Inside the Trump Tower

The Trump Tower is located near Central Park, another jewel of a city, whose vulnerability to natural or other disasters I felt so strongly.

David, Patty and Thomas underneath an arch in Central Park near the Zoo

The Lake

New York recovered after 9/11. On the place of the tragic event, impressive and very touching memorial sites where erected. In two large, rectangular pits of black marble, water splashes down into a black pool of water which flows deeper down into a black rectangular ditch.  The blackness and down movement of the memorial sites is posed in opposition to a building in the form of a white bird lifting its wings to take off.

Inside the Bird Building with access to trains and metro stations

Walking on the Brooklyn Bridge and on the Sky Walk (a former High Line for traffic transformed into a public park) showed, that practical and functional buildings can uplift the human spirit by their beauty.

My daughter Anna-Sophie and I

Looking from the sky down to Lower Manhattan, Battery Park and the Statue of Liberty was truly a special experience. Knowing that millions of immigrants came in the past with all their hopes for a better future to New York and first saw the Statue of Liberty as a sign of their longing for freedom, was very  touching.

Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island

Midtown Manhattan with Central Park

In New York, I walked many miles. They included rests in cosy cafes, strolls through calm and peaceful neighbourhoods with little parks in between and walks along the Hudson River. Being with family and friends was crucial for feeling connected and enjoying the beauty.