8 Things We Didn't Know About NYC

1. That subway is nuts! Wait- you really CAN go through connecting subway doors, even when it's running? I thought that was movie magic. Apparently it's real...and crazy.
2. New yorkers are Nice.  Just as in Paris, we suspected the "rude New York attitude" was probably more myth than truth....at least coming from über gruff Berlin. People held doors open, said hello/please/thank you, and were just generally pleasant. Hello America!
3. Times Square is basically just advertising. Impressive advertising, but really just a bunch of brightly lit bilboards and tourists. I don't know what exactly I expected.
4. Wicked is totally about Nazis. Wizard of Oz is a dictator, cruelly taking away the rights of his citizens (animals). He treats them as sub-human and enforces his rule through a campaign of terror (Just go with Ian on this one).
5. NYers be dressing crazy yo. Not just "cool" (Navajo prints are so hot right now), we saw people dressed with bare legs in February, slobby sweat outfits, and heinous colors galore. This must be the outward manifestation of the inner crazy.
6. You can go to Mood. Like, regular people, can. There is even an elevator operator! Felt like I was on Project Runway - but terrible at it. Ian and I were seriously lost. "Can you make a quilt with cotton?" "Is it bad it stretches?" "Do these colors go together?" If you're not convinced Project Runway is awesome - clip please!
7. They really talk like that. After getting over everyone speaking American, we couldn't believe people really talked like that (we're looking at you Cherie). Craziness! Although - sadly - we did not hear "I'm walking here."
8. You've already seen NYC. I didn't realize it, but I've been seeing the city on tv/movies my whole life. That's not to say it's not amazing to see in person or that you'll know your way around, but it's crazy how much you recognize. And watching shows set in New York is so much better now because I see it & can say "I've been there!"

If you are really friendly, you may like to see loads of picture of NYC or the best of the bunch OR 10 Things We Didn't Know About Paris.

Favorite Part of My Job

After weeks of trying to hang on to a work schedule amid travels (NYC, West Side & East Side of WA), family reunions, and meet-up with friends in Seattle, we returned to Berlin and I, for one, was ready to work. Our internet connection, however, had other ideas.

We flew Seattle-NYC Sunday March 18th, the day after St. Patrick's Day. Strategically, we planned an evening flight. This turned out to be unnecessary as a stomach flu made swift work of the Porter family on Thursday and we were still a bit weak on Saturday. We were only able to handle a few tiny American beers for St. Patty - a sad send off of debauchery. No matter. We said good-bye to family, then friends, only to be dropped off at the airport and note a 6 hour delay. Shit.

"Call them back!" we yelled at each other. Our friends were roped into another 3 hours with us (thanks Matt & Brayde!) Arriving back at the airport at the new designated time, the rest of the flight was made easy with in-flight booze and good movies (hello vodka & tonic and The Descendants), we were wiped out arriving home in Berlin at around 11:00 p.m. on Monday. And here we are back to it - the internet was out.

My mum admitted, it doesn't worry her not knowing where we are in Berlin, but there is something about being in transit that makes her nervous for us. We had promised we would write/call when we got to the apartment. We were not walking back down those 111 stairs to find an internet cafe to tell her we were home. Sorry mum!

Days later, the internet is back and I take back any mean thing I ever said about it. I love you internet.

And I know I shouldn't pick favorites, especially in a job I enjoy so much, but I personally, really truly, enjoy our expat interviews. I like hearing what excuses other rational people give for leaving their life behind for expat adventure. I like reading about new places with habits I can't imagine adjusting to and wonders I have yet to explore. I like their stories about their past, present, and possible future. That's why I was thrilled to realize today marks one year since we launched our series of Expat Interviews and we have featured 105 amazing expat stories! I put together a little write up of some of my favorite responses to our 12 questions (although by no means all of the best) and have myself enjoyed reading over them, again and again. I recommend you do the same whether you are an expat, traveler, or just enjoy a good story. After all, we all have a story.

Expat Interviews's 1 year Anniversary!

Making it happen in Berlin

Escape to New York

What is there to say about New York that hasn't been said before? We LOVED our 4 night detour in the city on our way home to Seattle. They say a picture says a thousand words, so in my typical unable to edit fashion....

View of Manhattan from our AirBnB Room

We've had a lot of success renting rooms/apartments from AirBnB & did so again in New York. The room we stayed in was in a 3-bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. The two guys were great, and the room was just as advertised - private, access to rooftop deck with view of Manhattan, wifi, etc.

Times Square

New York Taxi

Firetruck in Manhattan

Rockefeller Center Ice Skating

1st (up close) peek at the Chrysler Building

New York Traffic Cop

View from Empire State Building

As expected, the view from the Empire State Building was spectacular. This was my favorite picture of the trip up, looking at the shadow of the building.

However - the price is nuts for most of the big name attractions ($20+). On top of that, getting nickel & dimed for photos etc is ridiculous. But this was a must do for Ian & it was totally worth it for Mr. Mann.

Ian helps me pick out some fabrics at Mood.

For the uninitiated, Mood is the fabric store used on the TV show Project Runway. I never actually believed normal people (i.e. non-sewing) were allowed in here! On a whim, I looked it up and found that you could ride a magical elevator run by an actual operator to the 2 floor store in Manhattan. We were overwhelmed by the selection and our ignorance, but eventually picked out a few fabrics for my mum's growing quilt materials. Whew!

The Dakota

Located on the northwest corner of 72nd Street and Central Park West in the Upper West Side, this beautiful building bordering the park is widely known as the home and site of the murder of musician John Lennon. Yoko Ono still lives in the home.

The Met

The Met is world famous, but we weren't sure if we were going to make it in with the $20 suggested donation. Not to say it's not worth it, this place has more than two million works. But looking for a bathroom we kinda wandered in. An art lover could live here and never get bored.

Wicked stage at the Gershwin Theatre

Our benefactors, the parents, were nice enough to send us to a Broadway show. We ended up at the  Gershwin Theatre seeing a performance of Wicked. I had read the books years ago  & as it's been on for years at this point, we thought it was a good bet. We thought right with insane levels of set display, beautiful singing and acting, and a jovial experience that had us chatting with the elderly Long Island family we sat next to and a Seattle group we bumped into.

(Bozo Tip: If you are clueless like us, you can't necessarily just go to the hottest Broadway shows. Tickets to The Book of Mormon were available...for November.)

NYC Subway

Brooklyn Bridge

9/11 Memorial

We were wandering past a tourist center and stopped to get a map. "What's this?" I asked. Plainly written on the side, there was info on visiting the memorial. "Do you want to go?" Yes, yes of course. 

We got in on the next tour and walked through numerous security checks to the memorial. I had kinda lost track of what exactly the memorial was going to be. Thoughtful, somber, respectful...it was perfect. The names engraved around the largest man-made waterfalls in North America were definitely tear-jerking. I thought I had it under control until I saw a women's name listed with her unborn child. I'm glad we went.

Financial District

Katz's Rueben

This sandwich was dammmnnnn!expensive. Tasty, and $16.95. For one Rueben. And a plate of pickles. Plus $1 for the taste they give you when you're ordering. Wow.

Chinatown

Battery Park & Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

Statue of Liberty

We took the free ride out to Staten Island and timed it for Sunset. DO THIS. No doubt - one of my favorite moments of the trip.I took just short of a billion pictures and I love each one. Plus - some of the cheapest beers in New York. We enjoyed some Coors while traveling amidst the commuters. Yeah, we're classy like that.

Comedy Cellar

Ian's become a bit of a comedy nerd and going to a comedy club was up on his list. Our trip to the Comedy Cellar was AmazeBalls. The scheduled comedians blew our minds and THEN Chris Rock showed up testing out material for the Oscars. Trip Made.

New York Streets

NYC Diner experience & cheesecake!

Coney Island Boardwalk

I touched the Atlantic!

Getting some Atlantic airtime

Prospect Park in Brooklyn

Want even more pictures? BAM! Full album.

8 Things We  Know about New York

Re-acquainted with "Home"

You can always tell when real life is is much too fun because your internet world suffers. Sorry Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, work (sorry Cyril!), and -yes- even you dear blog. Being back home in the USA has proved to be all-consuming. Going on art walks with friends we haven't seen in over a year, playing Taboo with family (guess what my Father-in-Law was trying to get me to say with "cum fish"), eating steaks the size of our head....it's been Americana. We hadn't realized how much we'd missed it.

Trip at Warp Speed

Besides questions about Berlin and "When are you moving back?", the other frequent question has been regarding the filming of House Hunters International. I wrote a little update on my new work blog concerning Americans Abroad, but we don't have a release date yet. We promise we will shout it from the rooftops as soon as we do. We're going to be stars, you know.....

UPDATE: Air Date May 23rd 10:30pm & 1:30AM 

House Hunters International: Back to Berlin

And for good measure, how about some jump pictures from the Brooklyn Bridge?

Or an absolute bunch of shots of NYC?