What we've been up to in New York ( - with our map of cool and unusual places!)

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An apartment filled with a thick layer of black soil. A floor filled with exactly 500 highly polished brass rods - and a house filled with a continuing woooosh-sound, which has played for almost 30 years.

What do these places all have in common? 

Earth Room, Broken Kilometer, and Dream House are all some of the cool and unusual places you find in New York City if you look closely.



During the last weeks, we located or revisited so many quirky spots, which you rarely read about in guide books, that we decided to place our findings on a map. 

In this way, friends, who come to visit New York City, can see suggestions for experiences, which might be a bit secret or at least off the beaten track.

(Putting them out here might eventually make them not so sectet anymore, but, well - 'that's life!')


See the bottom of this post for  how to use our map

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Our weeks in NYC are almost over, and here are some photos that didn't make it into a blog post. 


'The Cage' in Greenwich Village, where you can actually experience professional basket players just having fun.
 

Remnants of the old New York Harbor. The 69th street Transfer Bridge is one of our favorite ruins in NYC. It is a miracle it is still left standing.


What better to do on a weekend? Locating a diner, (they are increasingly rare, but still to be found!), ordering eggs, bacon, and lots of coffee - and plowing through the Sunday edition of New York Times (which actually isn't as massive as it used to be years ago).


Planning the next Nosegrind, Lipslide, or Kickflip


Inside and out - the Santiago Calatrava-designed World Trade Center Transportation Hub is an absolute marvel. 


Little India in Jackson Heights is one of the exciting micro-neighborhoods scattered across the city


It might not be summer yet, but the boomboxes are already out in the open



Visiting a gallery in Dumbo


Even in the subway, covid-masks are beginning to come off


The Brooklyn Bridge is a must-walk for all NYC visitors, and it is often crammed with people. The almost top-secret walkway across the Manhattan Bridge has an advantage: From this, you have a view that actually includes the Brooklyn bridge!
 


An actual bona fide hipster as seen on Williamsburg's Hipster Avenue - and the shadow of what might be a wannabee!


Joining local artists in an abandoned factory building in Greenpoint - with readings of Ukrainian poetry (in Ukrainian!) and the playing of strange, dodecaphonic music inside a ring of fire.


The 'Nothing Really Matters' bar is for people in the know, as it is hidden inside the dingy 50th street downtown 1 subway station. When you walk down the dirty, trashy, graffiti-tagged stairwell, next to a Duane Reade shop, you might believe you are entering into Michael Jackson's 'Bad'-video!

You're not!


Pastrami - tender slices of smoky beef laced with garlic and pepper - were once to be found at corner delis across town. Now they are quite rare, but the old Pastrami Queen on Upper East Side is the real deal!


Park Avenue has just recently been taken over by origami-shaped creatures - made by global art sensation Idriss B



The Bushwick Collective in Brooklyn is one of the major graffiti centers in NYC. Here you find lots of murals made by famous local and international artists.


Hurricane point in Williamsburg is one of our favorite places for a sundowner (although, in NYC, you still have to sip from a bottle hidden inside a paper bag!)

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SOME TECHNICAL STUFF:

This link gives a peek to our map of cool, quirky, often hidden, places in New York, Paris, and Copenhagen:
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If you want to use the map, install the app Mapstr on your phone (both Android and IOS), create an account (it is free), and allow the app to access your location.  

Now, press thís icon in the upper right corner of the Mapstr map: 

Search for user  '@breum' (that's us!) - and press 'Follow'.


When you are walking around,  open the app - and at the lower right corner of the Mapstr screen, you find this arrow icon:

Press it, and you see your own location on the map as well as blue pins representing the interesting places, we have found in your vicinity (that is, if you happen to be in New York City, Paris or Copenhagen!). 

When you press each pin, you can see a photo and some info about the place, and - who knows -  you might find it worth a small detour.

Enjoy! It has been so much fun finding all these places!

- and 

when you eventually get around to make your own map of your own favorite places (it's very easy), we do hope, you'll share it with us!
 

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