Category Archives: Brooklyn

Brooklyn Bridge

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Being New York, there are always another few thousand people waiting in line to do whatever you’re doing. But if you can navigate your way past the hoards of tourists and cyclists, walking the Brooklyn Bridge can be a truly special experience.

Starting in Brooklyn Bridge Park just before dusk, the scene was set. It was like a digital SLR camera convention. Tourists and locals were all there, ready and waiting to catch the sun set over Manhattan. 

Manhattan Bridge was also at its best from this angle.

A few blocks down some cobblestone streets and up a well travelled path and I was staring down one of the most iconic structures in the world.

There’s no one selling souvenirs, no buskers and no hot dog stands. All you do is walk.

As you approach Manhattan your appreciation for the city with limitless opportunity exponentially grows.

It’s not just a bridge over the East River. It’ll take you wherever you want.

Misadventurous Exercise

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I start my last full day in Brooklyn with a morning jog to Prospect Park. I felt I needed to offset some of my indulgence over the past few days.

The first leg of my journey was fine. There were even a couple of friendly/jeering shout-outs, as I was wearing my Arsenal jersey. Coming back was a different story.

I thought I mapped out my return leg in my head just fine. I’m going to blame it on moisture seeping from my brain due to the sunlight and 95F degrees (35C) heat. I got lost.

What I thought would be an easy 30-40 minute jog became a 1 hour 50 minute epic. I don’t regret the experience though.

It took me through some neighbourhoods I never would have seen. My hostel was located in a predominantly African-American, Caribbean and Dominican area. Not far north of there I discovered a huge Hasidic Jewish community. And for half a block shortly after, all I could hear on the streets was Spanish.

NYC really is the melting plot and I don’t think I’ve seen the half of it. Maybe 1/10th.

Billyburg Flea

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Sleeping-in and feeling a little dusty from drinking beers on our hostel roof, my Japanese room-mate and I decided to take it a bit easy. Hopping on and off stifling hot subways all around NYC can get tough on a recovering body.

On Sundays the Williamsburg Flea Market by the East River in Brooklyn’s north runs throughout the day. Without too many delayed subway transfers, Daigo-san and I were there by lunch.

There’s local art, trinkets and vintage clothes galore. I could’ve filled another whole suitcase with shirts and pre-loved shoes, but I only brought one and it was already pretty full of recently bought attire.

And there’s food. And coffee. The single origin Ugandan over ice from Crop To Cup went down a treat and the allure of fresh pork tacos was too strong to resist.

There were plenty more consumables where that came from but I’ve only been in America less than a week and my appetite hasn’t increased enough yet.

Coffee, food, sunshine and fresh air. Hangover cured.

Red Hook

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No, I’m not writing about an amputated, ginger-haired pirate. This mainly industrial part of Brooklyn is home to a large Latin-American community, baseball and football pitches and lots of street food on Saturdays.

It’s a bit of a walk under freeways and past steel factories but an avenue of shady trees and wide open green spaces welcomes you like a second home. There’s a mix of families, amateur ball players and perhaps a small segment of nomadic wanderers such as myself.

I didn’t want this blog to become TOO food-related. There’s plenty of those around already. BUT, if you enjoy Mexican, Columbian, Ecuadorian or Puerto-Rican food, Red Hook on Saturday’s is the place to be.

I’d sampled a bit of Mexican food already so I decided to opt for the slightly less-busy cart preparing culinary delights of Ecuador. There was not a lot of english going on so I pointed to the spicy looking stew with beans and rice and said “pollo por favor”. 

At that moment the only thing I could’ve possibly wished for more was a larger stomach. I tried my best to finish the delicious plate of food but failed.

Sipping a fresh cantaloupe (rockmelon) juice and walking with as much vigour as possible to aid digestion, I ventured further into the park.

To my right were two Jamaican-American teams fiercely facing off on a bumpy football pitch and to my left was a collection of 15 Latin-American families, or one very extended family, playing baseball and barbecuing chicken quesadillas.

I finished the afternoon listening to an African/Fusion band playing for a pirate festival outside Ikea. Don’t ask me why there was a pirate festival or an Ikea in Red Hook. All I know is that the Swedish furniture giant’s presence meant there were free ferries going across the East River. I wasn’t a yuppy or a young mother but of course I still used it.

The perfect afternoon to get away from the concrete jungle that can be NYC at times.

Buy-Beer-Tip-More-Beer

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Tipping finally gave me something more than a friendly smile!

It’s the one thing EVERYBODY knows and reads about before they visit the US. The standard procedure when buying a drink is to lay down an extra dollar bill.

Yesterday I spent the afternoon of my most enjoyable outing in NYC so far at the Brooklyn Brewery. It was busy, but I wasn’t surprised considering you could buy six beers for $20 during a five-hour happy hour. 

I tried their wheat beer first. It was a bit lighter in than I expected and maybe not ‘wheaty’ enough. But a refreshing beer all the same. For my next beverage I decided to venture into IPA country.

Noticing their tip jar, I dumped a dollar bill in along with my beer token. After chatting a bit more about beer with the barman he gave my token back and told me “this one’s on the house”.

The beer. Their East Indian Pale Ale is perhaps one of the best IPA’s I’ve had. Certainly the best FREE beer I’ve ever had! There’s a lot of hop but without overwhelming bitterness and a full hit of malt. Good head, satisfying viscosity.

I would also strongly recommend their Lager and Brown Ale. There’s a few 8% – 11% concoctions I haven’t tried yet. I’ll definitely be heading back at least another 23 times before I leave.