Summer in the city

A summer morning's view from Roosevelt Island 

Even after a good year in the city, the weather in NY never ceases to amaze me. After we had a comparatively cold Memorial Day where many people just tried sipping hot tea in their homes, this week summer hit with a brutal force that I seem to have forgotten over the past few months. And while everyone was complaining that it was way too cool for this time of the year the past few weeks, now everyone is complaining that the heat struck.

I have to say, there are some things I could live without, with the heat comes quite an omni-present smell in the city and the differences between the very, very cold air-conditoned office and outside are getting more striking (I also forgot that it's important to always have a scarf and a sweater in a drawer at work in order to be prepared for any temperature).

It also seems as if people are getting a little more aggravated, which is actually strange because everyone also seems to want to go out more, so as more people are on the streets, in the restaurants and especially in the subway, people also get less friendly - not a great combination. I have a feeling that people in Germany, probably because they get so little of it, just welcome the good weather and appreciate it so much that it also lightens their mood. Here, sometimes I am seeing quite the opposite. That's why my yoga teacher taught us some great 'cooling' breathing exercises last night - feels a little strange to try to roll your tongue (especially when you are missing the gene for that) and then breathe in through your mouth while making a zzzz sounds on the subway platform, but hey, if that's what it takes to stay chilled, I'll do it...

The good thing about the summer being here is that there is a lot going on and everyone wants to be part of things such as the outdoor movies, the free concerts and just sitting in outdoor patios and bars, sipping a spiked lemonade or frozen margaritas.

What's most stunning about the city when summer approaches is the explosion of the rooftops or rather the movement of everyone in the direction of a rooftop, terrace, balcony or whatever else you could possibly use as an excuse to have a party and drink lots of booze. I really don't understand how some people do it - it's almost 90 degrees (or 30 celsius) and people start drinking at 11 am - I guess the city may drive you towards borderline alcoholism.

Many also resort to frequenting one of the many beaches around which of course is a great idea, if only it was't for the gazillion other people with quite the same idea. Especially those beaches that are accessible by public transport, i.e. the subway or the long island railroad, tend to be very crowded. Would probably be a better idea to try to go after work during the week. I guess another thing that complicates the situation this year is that not all boardwalks and beaches have re-opened after Superstorm Sandy. But all these beach communities actually need the money badly. So fingers crossed for many of them to be able to reopen.

One thing I really like about the summers here is that the nights are almost always what we call 'tropical' - meaning you hardly ever need to even bring a jacket. So sitting outside watching a movie or just chilling is really not a problem at all while in other parts of the world, you almost need to bring a blanket for these kind of events. However, here it's never bad to bring a jacket either, especially if you want to go into a supermarket or even just draw money from an ATM. BTW, great way to cool down if you just realized that your subway is not running and you need to walk all the way up to the cable car - hit the next Chase bank and just chill, alternatively Starbucks or Duane Reades also works - all proven concepts from last year that I had almost forgotten about.