New York. Snowstorm.
The comfort of a hotel bed after a flight is unparalleled, especially when you can luxuriate in 8 hours of sleep instead of a cramped 4 hours in an airplane seat.
New York City’s Mayor Bill de Blasio had declared a state of emergency just the day before due to an approaching snowstorm. With schools and kindergartens closed, the city – usually teeming with its 20-million population – turned eerily quiet. Well, almost. The subway and hipster cafes remained open, and the snowstorm turned out to be less severe than anticipated.
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A snowstorm in New York is a unique spectacle. Due to the city’s proximity to the ocean, the snow is dense, not fluffy. About 20 centimeters of snow had fallen overnight and into the morning, creating a rare opportunity for tourists to see the city free from the usual crowds.
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After a delicious breakfast, we set out to explore the classic sights of New York. Walking these streets felt surreal, like déjà vu – I’d seen it all before in GTA video games and countless Hollywood movies. It was like stepping onto a film set.
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We planned to explore the iconic views of Manhattan – the Empire State Building, Broadway, but the highlight awaited us at Madison Square Garden. This isn’t just New York’s premier arena; it’s a symbol of America’s entertainment and sports scene. We were lucky enough to get a tour without a reservation or a long wait.
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Preparations were in full swing for Justin Timberlake’s concert that evening. And the next day, the same venue would host a Rangers game, followed by a Knicks game. In a city where space is a luxury, it’s not feasible to have separate arenas for basketball and hockey teams. Hence, they share Madison Square Garden, ingeniously converting from a hockey rink to a basketball court in just four hours. The process is more complex when setting up for concerts.
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The locker rooms for the Knicks and the Rangers are separate. The Rangers, who had a tough season in 2018, are quite superstitious; they cover their club logo with a special carpet to prevent tourists from jinxing it. The Knicks, on the other hand, proudly display their logo in their locker room.
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Our departure from Newark Airport in neighboring New Jersey wasn’t delayed by the snowstorm. Surprisingly, the usually congested journey from Brooklyn took us only 30 minutes, a trip that would typically take an hour and a half.