I thought that now that I am going to move to t h e City (in 39 days by the way), I slowly want to shift the focus to New York. Today I want to introduce to you five places that I liked so much that I feel you should visit them too:
The Vessel
This spring the Hudson Yards opened, a giant real estate development at the end of the High Line a little north of Chelsea. Besides a shopping center and many residential buildings, there is the Vessel – a honeycomb-like structure that everyone can enter. Tickets are free and you either can reserve them online or get them from the ticket office there. I was lucky enough to get one for sunrise one April evening. I climbed all 16 stories up and down. It is actually quite exhausting because due to the structure, walking on (or through) the Vessel requires a lot of exercise. There is an elevator though for physically impaired people. Granted, the view is nice, but not amazing because there are higher buildings on three sides of the Vessel. But the structure itself is so pretty and shiny. It is definitely worth visiting.
Morgenstern’s
A friend and I walked by the Morgernstern’s flagship icecream store on 88 W Houston Street in Soho and just had to enter. The store looks big and clean and just very appealing. It is close to Washington Square Park and I can imagine that there usually is a line – we were lucky because we went there early in the day. The list of icecream flavors is giant. I ended up trying pistachio black currant jelly and cinnamon whiskey. It was so delicious that I’ll definitely be back this summer. I mean I have to show my boyfriend where he can get great icecream, right?
The Shed
The Shed is a new art center, which is also part of the Hudson Yards. It only opened in April and I was very excited to see such a pretty building in the middle of the city. You can find art exhibitions and also performances there (the last time I visited the cafe hadn’t opened yet, but I believe it now operates). I went to see Reich Richter Pärt, which is still on until 2 June. This is a two part performance combining visual art with music: first I looked at famous German painters Gerhard Richter’s prints while a choir was singing. Then there was a small orchestra playing synchronized with a film showing computer graphic patterns changing. I enjoyed the performance a lot, it was interesting and at the same time relaxing. In my opinion the performances are affordable, that one costs $ 25 for instance.
For this summer the Shed even has an open call program which one can reserve free tickets for. It presents rather unknown local artists. Of course, I have already reserved some tickets.
Steamy Hallows
I had seen on Instagram a while ago that a Harry Potter style cafe had opened in the East Village: Steamy Hallows. For a huge Harry Potter fan like me it was a must to visit. I arrived one early afternoon when the tiny cafe was quite empty. The decoration is already amazing. They paid attention to tiny details like spiders running along a wall. I ordered a love potion (latte with raspberry, rose water and some pink glitter) from the friendly wizard behind the counter. He even wielded his wand at the computer when I paid by card.
My favorite part was when a family with kids entered and the kids were totally astonished. When they asked why the keys were hanging on strings from the ceiling, the reply totally silenced them: “That is unicorn hair. Each piece is very expensive.”
The Oculus
Ok, the building is “already” three years old. But it is so pretty being all white and symmetric. While I like being in the Oculus as it houses a great shopping center, I am even more a fan of the outside. Rather recently, there have been more and more graffiti walls nearby adding some colorful details to the Financial District.
The Oculus is connected to the One World Tower, which is still on my bucket list. Once I have moved, I hope that it will be rather easy to pick a day with great weather and visibility to go to its top.
© janavar