NYDiscovery

And off we go...

New York is currently not really a fun place, with everybody talking about recession, lay-offs and the stock market. I think this is a good time to leave town for a while and hope that thing are looking better when we come back.
Of course, we will take a lot of pictures on our trip and I'll try to post some of them via satellite from the ship (if the costs are not outrageous). Elke would prefer to forget about the net for a while as well, but I'm far too geeky and too fascinated by the possibilities of the Internet that I could let go if I don't have to.
When we'll be back in a week, New York will be in full holiday mode, something to look forward as well. Starting December, we're planning a big photo project - more about that later.

Change We Need

I am amazed of how much of a pop star he is! Not surprised, because it doesn't come as a surprise, but it's astonishing and sooo cool!

Somebody from MY generation! As I've just learned (again) today, somebody who's a "baby boomer" like me. Granted, I am only a "baby boomer" by 2 months and he's full 3 years into it but that's besides the point!

He's young! Hell yes! 47 IS young! It's especially young for a president. And his face is everywhere: on stickers, on t-shirts, on buttons, on books, on magazines, name it, he's on it! Since I am living in this country, the United States hasn't seen such a phenomenon. He's unique and ground braking and he's not being left alone. Each of his steps get tracked and analyzed. Must be tough to live with all the attention.

And so he makes me believe in a better tomorrow. And he makes me read his second book - Audacity of Hope. I like it, I like it a lot. Cheers to our president elect! Now we all must work together and help to turn this ship around.

Photo Update: New York City Waterfalls

We took more than 300 pictures of the four waterfalls that Olafur Eliasson installed along the East River. This is, actually, not much, but it took still a while to sort through them and select the best ones. Please have a look at the final selection on Photrade.

The Countdown Begins...

One more week and we finally go off to a vacation for 10 days - something we haven't done in years. Yes, it feels a little decadent to go off to a luxury cruise, when everybody talks about recession, but it's our tenth anniversary. Also, since we experienced the last recession pretty much in full force, it would be nice if this one is a little easier on us.

Anyway, we're traveling to three Caribbean islands (not Barbados, pictured on the left), but I like cruises mostly, because I like ships and not because they are a convenient to see a bunch of places in a single vacation. That's why I'm looking forward the most to the sea days, which are really fantastic to just hang out.

And it's so cool to just ride a cab to the Brooklyn terminal. We leave our home and maybe an hour later we'll be in full vacation mode, probably sipping champaign and watching the New York Skyline.

At least that's how it's supposed to work out. We'll let you know.

What a Night!

Back in Germany elections were a pretty solemn event. A Sunday, usually with bad weather, voters would go to the booths and sometimes not even tell their children who they voted for. You're supposed to vote in secret after all. Then, a couple of minutes after 6 pm, when the polls closed, the result was projected and usually didn't change much. And in any case, people would root for one of the parties, but no matter the outcome, not much would change.

The Presidential election this year in the U.S. was much different. Everybody was greatly engaged and I can only imagine how collectively depressed New York City would have been if McCain had won (we had a little taste of that in 2004).

For me, one aspect was probably the most important: Obama's demonstrated that the spirit that made us move to America almost eight years ago was not lost, as it often seemed during the Bush years. That, with all its flaws, democracy here still can forcefully kick out an administration with a twenty-something approval rating and not just let it fade away. That, not only multi-millionaire white men can become president. And, finally, that racism can be overcome (although, personally, I'd have preferred seeing the first female president).

Nobody knows for sure what will happen next, but I'm very optimistic that this Tuesday was a big step in turning the next decade in to a good one again. After all this gloom and doom we really could use it.

Photo Update: Montauk in Fall

Pictures from a rainy weekend in Montauk on Long Island

Rise Bar at the Ritz Carlton

In a place with so many tall buildings as New York you would expect a lot of opportunities to have a drink while overlooking the city from some rooftop. But there are not so many rooftop bar around (neither the Empire State nor the Rockefeller Center has an easy accessible one). Also, many of those bars are pretty secretive and not obvious to spot. Such as the Rise Bar at the Downtown Ritz Carlton. There's no visible sign and once in the lobby one needs to proceed to the elevator and go up to the 14th floor to arrive a smallish bar with a beautiful view over New York harbor, the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island and Brooklyn (and New Jersey, of course).

If you get one of the few seats with a view, that is. Many of them, including the ones at the bar, don't. There's a terrace, too, but it was closed for the season. The staff is very nice and professional as you would expect from an international hotel, but the interior is uninspired at best and looks like the set of a cheaply produced sitcom. All in all, it's a place that could be anywhere (save for the view) and has absolutely no NYC touch to it.

There's a good wine selection at prices that top the Waldorf Astoria, some fancy X-tinis, none of them sounded after our taste, and some snacks, which we didn't try. Again, it was Sunday afternoon and we realized that was probably not the best time to visit a hotel bar, because the patrons are mostly tourists that got good weekend deals. So we decided to check out the next hotel bar on a weekday.

Panasonic DMC-LX3

In preparation for our fall cruise we decided to buy a new camera, which is easier to carry around than a DSLR. Encouraged by the good reviews, such as Scott Bourne's, we chose the Panasonic DMC-LX3, so so far I'm amazed. I gave up on Panasonic last year, because of the bad low-light quality. That of course, is exactly what supposedly has changed and after a couple of days of casual shooting, the results are very encouraging. More samples are coming soon here, on Flickr and Photrade.

Goodbye to Queen Elisabeth 2

Under a gravel sky the two Cunard Queens are leaving New York City. One of them - the smaller Queen Elisabeth 2 for the least time before she sails to her final destination as a tourist attraction in Dubai.
Elke and I have a special relationship to the QE2, because she was the location of our honeymoon almost ten years ago. As it happens, we will be on the Queen Mary 2 for our ten years anniversary trip.
So when we went out on a little boat trip aboard of Circle Line's Zephyr, organized by the South Street Seaport Museum, it was the perfect opportunity for reflecting the past and anticipating the future. The open bar and a decent dinner buffet also helped to keep the spirits bright.
As opposed to an earlier excursion for celebrating the three Queens (including the new Queen Victoria), this time it was dusk and a perfect opportunity for taking pictures. Many pictures. The best ones are on Photrade.

Sir Harry's at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel

After almost seven years, New York City doesn't jump in you face as it used to in the first years after we moved here and we need to dig a little deeper to explore the city. That's why we decided to see what's going on in those countless hotel bars spread all over Manhattan.

The idea came to us when we walked along Park Avenue on an Sunday afternoon, which is something that only tourists are doing as there are only office buildings around - and the Waldorf Astoria hotel. Being in the mood for something different, we walked in to have a drink at the bar.

The Waldorf as actually a bunch of bars (five to be precise), but the first one we stumbled upon was Sir Harry's, right left from the lobby. The Waldorf by itself is so laden with history, real one and made up one in movies, that we expected this bar to be a very special place with special people doing some special business.

Of course that's not the case, at least not on a Sunday. The place was mildly filled, exclusively with tourists. Instead of a live piano player there's a TV screen showing football and a wild music selection from tape (something between Ella, Italian canzione and pop music). At least the prices were as expected: outrageous. But the wine was decent and the service friendly, so nothing really to complain about.

Two more interesting tidbits: The bar stools are dangerous - during the 45 minutes we stayed, two of them fell over accidentally. And the bathrooms are free now (as opposed to my last visit in '96), means nobody is in there who passive-aggressively asks for tip.

In the end we had a nice, but unspectacular time. The best thing was, however, that I could convince Elke that we need the Panasonic LX3 for our upcoming vacation. Maybe this wouldn't have worked in a less luxurious environment.