Autumn Trip to New York

I recently visited New York City, known as the capital of capital and consumerism, but also an exemplary melting pot of humanity or even a microcosm of the world? This blog post features pictures and impressions of art, culture, and street life, ideas and inspiration for your itinerary, and some practical tips to put on your preparation checklist.

Destinations beyond the Clichés

There are many interesting and slightly less obvious things to do beyond the usual “must-see” tourist clichés. You could visit the American National History Museum, not far from Guggenheim. Its Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education, and Innovation features a unique architecture built like an ants nest and hosting actual ants. The museum was founded by the former US president and amateur scientist Theodore Roosevelt and inspired many other Natural History Museums around the world. Its extensive show rooms with large hand-painted backgrounds make it a kind of art museum in its own right. In addition to animals, plants and ecosystems, human habitats and artefacts are also on display. Updated information boards provide a contemporary perspective on old exhibits, such as the migration of the Lenape, the city’s indigenous people.

You can walk the High Line, a revegetated former train path in West Manhattan offering scenic views and contemporary art partially overgrown by urban gardens. You can visit the Brooklyn Museum and save on a combined ticket together with the adjacent Botanical Gardens. You can visit The United Nations Headquarters to see their eclectic art collection including the iconic Knotted Gun sculpture by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, and enjoy a remarkable view of classic Manhattan skyscrapers.

You can cross a bridge over the river by bike, riding next to the deafening rattle of the train and reward yourself with the view of southern Manhattan, before being brought back down to earth by the exorbitant expenses for a short bike ride at throttled speed. Apart from the costs, bikes are an alternative to public transport. There are bike lanes in Brooklyn and in Manhattan, including the Two Bridges area that native New Yorkers call Chinatown, which I heard will become the new hip village. Areas like East Village and Chinatown seem to blend in blurring lines anyway, according to the New York Times survey about the neighborhoods of New York City.

In October 2025, New York saw the exceptional free exhibition Dear New York. The art project featured excerpts of the Humans of New York story project by Brandon Stanton and live piano concerts in Grand Central Station. Indoor exhibitions, museums, cafes and live music bars are perfect places to spend a rainy day, but most of our trip was exceptionally bright and sunny. So, don’t forget to put sunglasses on your travel checklist even when you’re planning to go in Autumn.

New York is worth watching with its variety of people, food, events, and culture. Among them, there are Chinese, Korean, and Japanese people and places all over Manhattan, and if you don’t like low-lit bars, you might love sharing a piece of layered cake or a scoop of Cotton Candy ice cream with a friend or fellow in an Asian Desert Bar and have a bubble tea or a pink creamy lychee cocktail.

Being German in New York

German things to do: invite your American friends to beer, sausage and Belgian fries at Spritzenhaus in Williamsburg, pay cash, and rent a bike to get home. Buy a kilogram of organic fruit when shopping groceries at a local street market, grab oats and oat milk at Trader Joe’s or have a seven-minute egg at Ciao Gloria where they still serve the coffee in ceramic pottery cups. You can refuse plastic bags and correctly separate your trash into organic, recycling and landfill. You can stop at every red traffic light, exit the lift on the ground floor, or speak German in public and believe that no one understands you. What you can’t do is open a window or expect food places to have a toilet just because they sell drinks. If they do have a loo, it’s called a restroom and has sign that “employees must wash hands before returning to work”.

America might seem more superficial than Germany, but also in the positive sense of being less pedantic about details that don’t really matter. On the other hand, Germans, Austrians, and other Europeans, pride themselves for their historic and authentic material like glasses made out of real glass and reusable porcelain dishes, ceramic cups and metal cutlery served with care at your table. If you try to buy French pottery in the Village, it will cost you a fortune. While Americans are said to be too honest and direct at times, they’re still more polite than most Germans. As a German traveller in New York, I should at least try to show my best side and still keep an open mind for other people and their culture, as much or little that’s possible in a short visit. Viewing my hometown and country from a greater distance have hopefully also changed my perspective beyond my trip, at least a little.

I followed up with some thoughts and observations about long-distance flights and culture, not directly related to New York, in my Substack post Autumn in New York, Long Distance Flights, and a Slight Second “Culture Shock”.

Preparing for the Trip

My key takeaway so far for travel preparation: networking and personal connections are very important! Without up-to-date first-hand and authoritative information you might not even make it into the USA or get lost and broke after reaching your destination. Good advice can save you time, money, and prevent missing out on inspiring sights and events. If you don’t have a friend or host as a local guide, ask locals for tips where to go and what to skip on your itinerary. Don’t trust outdated or half-knowledge! Any advice or answer provided by a search engine or a  chatbot might not be true or missing an important detail. Likewise, the following paragraphs are based on my own experience and research as a German traveller in 2025 and might be outdated or not suit your situation.

VISA/ESTA Application

Don’t wait too long to prepare for your trip! Apart from flight prices, you will probably need a VISA or ESTA application. Understanding how to fill the forms correctly can be a challenge due to ambiguous wording or little pitfalls like the “city”. New York’s boroughs are considered distinct cities in the American postal system, like “Brooklyn, NY”. That’s especially important when there is no field to enter a ZIP code. Broadway, Vanderbilt, and Fifth Avenue exist both in the Manhattan (the city of New York) and in Brooklyn. German travellers might find useful tips in the ESTA Antrag – Anleitung und Ausfüllhilfe, blog post regularly updated with recent experiences of other travellers.

Accommodation Costs

New York is expensive, and so is accommodation. Pet and house sitting communities like home exchange or Trusted House Sitters may partially replace hotels and the limited Airbnb options, but it takes time and patience to find a match and get an answer — unless you’re willing to care for elderly Labrador dogs in Staten Island 24/7 or trust a random stranger in the couchsurfing network. It may depend on your age, adventurousness and the time of travel. In any case, membership feeds for accomodation communities don’t guarantee that you will find any affordable place to stay.

Adapting Power and Communication

Don’t take for granted that your phone will work in the USA. If it works, phone calls and internet roaming might be extremely expensive! Check with your provider and consider getting an additional American SIM card if they don’t have offer a flat rate for USA calls and mobile internet. If in doubt, always prefer public Wi-Fi and and your favourite messenger app’s voice call option.

A power adapter and/or a phone charger with an American power plug is important, and you probably know someone to borrow it for free. Last but not least, most travel blogs fail to advice how to leave your home before heading to your destination, cleaning up your fridge and eating up food or passing it to a neighbor or interim tenant. Don’t take more food and drinks to the Airport than you need. I forget to drink my carrot juice before the security check and ended up wasting everyone’s time arguing that it’s no harmful liquid. Don’t be that carrot juice guy!

Getting around without a Car

You definitely need a pair of good shoes!

New York is one of the walkable cities with a slightly European culture, which means that they do have sidewalks, bike lanes, and public transport, and that people actually use them. Don’t confuse different streets and stations that have similar names. Remember your address and nearby bus stops and subway stations. Prefer subways over buses, as they don’t get stalled in traffic jams, but mind that their routes may vary at night or on weekends.

Citibike provides classic and electric bikes that you can rent as you go and I found it to be not cheap but fun, especially in areas with plenty of bike lanes and not too much traffic.

Misheard Announcements

Although the announcements in the underground are loud and clear, American English might sound unfamiliar to first-time European visitors. My favourite misheard sentence, “the alligator is in the middle of the platform”, inspired me to create a little work of art. The crocodile’s handbag betrays the template for the image, a picture of my wife Tina, posing for an outfit of the day. Can you spot the original picture on her social media feed?

I found New Yorkers to be very friendly, except for the airport clerk yelling “bye, bye, baby! Next!” Strangers compliment each other on their outfits. When asking people for directions, I got 90% correct answers. An occasional a wrong advice got corrected quickly by another traveller.

Of course, there is no alligator, but an elevator lift in the middle of the subway platform.

Apps to reach your Destination

For first-time visitors, public transport can seem confusing, and there is not even reliable internet under ground, so make sure to start your navigation by hitting the GO button in the Transit app before going downstairs. Uber and taxi apps show the price before you decide to ride, so you can compare and prevent getting ripped off when you’re in a rush and don’t know the way. Most navigation and transit apps are not limited to New York but will work in other cities as well, so you might try them out at home before you go.

Cash or Credit Card?

You will rarely ever need cash, but using cash can reduce costs in some situations. However, don’t think it is easy to withdraw with your foreign card — even if it’s a VISA. Make sure you know your PIN code and unlock North American payment and withdrawal in your banking app before the trip. Extra costs: local banks and ATM providers keep a fee and limit the amount that you can withdraw. Overall, using your card might be easier and cheaper, considering the total costs and issues. Check with your bank and recent travel blogs and forums to compare costs and see if you’re card is well-suited for transatlantic travel.

New York on a Budget

When on a budget, check local markets, and healthy fast food places like Sweetgreen where you can stay use Wi-Fi and recharge your battery after ordering a cheap salad. Use happy hours of bars and TooGoodToGo offers at bakeries and pizza places. There are public drinking water fountains. Some of them are specifically suited to refill bottles. A stock of oats and nuts might replace some expensive meals. Supermarkets like Trader Joe’s are often cheaper than small grocery shops, but check the current prices to decide where to get your food essentials!

Check last minute ticket selling services like TodayTix for reduced show tickets. Many museums are free to enter each first Saturday of a month. In pricy places like the Guggenheim, consider visiting the museum shop and enjoy architectural highlights and exhibition previews for free before deciding if and when to buy a ticket. However, many buildings like The Brooklyn Museum only reveal their architectural beauty when you’re inside. If you’re a student, bring your ID and try to apply for a library card to obtain free or reduced admission in many places.

Some expenses are cheaper if you pay cash, especially in small shops, bars, food or flea markets. Look for signs or ask the owner. Vendors might be willing to bargain, especially those selling second-hand products, and even more so if you buy more than one item or come back and recommend them to your friends.

If you’re really running out of money, you could omit the suggested “tip”, but please don’t omit tips if you can afford them. American employees often have little or no other income and really rely on them, unlike in Europe where tips are more of an optional gratitude.

Should you go to New York?

New York is definitely worth a visit, but you need to have enough money for your expenses. Also you should be fine taking long-distance flights, unless you’re already in the USA or in Canada. New York is not the only interesting and inspiring place on this world, and New Yorkers know that.
I found it funny how many New Yorkers praise Berlin and queue up at European cafes, pubs, and food places like Spritzenhaus, Döner Haus or La Lisbonata. I also heard someone say New York reminds them of Vancouver, only bigger, and while that’s not literally true, they might have a point. I’ll have to check out Vancouver some day. If you choose New York, September and October are good times to travel as New York can get hot in summer and cold in winter. I visited New York together with my wife in October, we were lucky to stay in Brooklyn. We enjoyed some sunny and some cloudy days without too much rain, and we definitely spent too much money and made some mistakes, but I don’t regret it.

I wrote this post as a little journal sharing some aspects you don’t read in every other travel blog post. Here is a little gallery of pictures that I took on my trip. All images on this page are my own. Faces were pixelated to respect privacy. Have a look!

New York Image Gallery