PART III. CENTRAL PARK: My life in New York

My runnning hours in Central Park as a scenic adventure!


My wish always was to jog in the Central Park. Like Madonna, like all the Big Great People, like all the people they have power and put this power in the park back!! Yes, Central Park is really one big powerfull place!! I was sometimes feeling a shine of the power when I was also jogging in Berlin, in the parks like Friedrichshain or Humbolthain, but never such a great one. Just to walk there is a big joy, to be surrended by the joggers, or by the trees, from the perfectly manifacured lawns of that iconic Central park to the majestic trees of the Upper West Side´s Riverside Park. What a challenge to jog in the Central Park, I was always thinking! And NOW I could fullfill my DREAM! My WISH! I can jog there as often as I want. I stay in the Upper West Side, near to the Columbia University. How beautiful is here! On the one hand is  Central Park and on the other is Hudson river with its track also for runners!
Forget the treadmill of the big city, it seems to me that New York with its parks and the river was build for the runners! Absolutely! To live in NYC it means you must be either a strong person either a runner, someone who never stops, just for a short sleep! Every large or mid-sized park has a well-maintained jogging trail waiting for everyone just to run it!!


So almost no one be deprived of suburban greenery, just because in New York you live in an urban jungle!


In Central Park the best of the best is the 1,58-mile track that rings Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis- Reservoir (Main entrance East 90th Str at the Metropolitan Museum).
When I run, then I take a track through the MORNINGSIDE PARK, a sweet park, sometimes rubbish on the way, or some people live in the "jungle", at any case a nice loop just for relax! (West 112st). The Morningside Park for the morning picnic or reading newspaper...
And then I run directly into Central Park, up the hill with the bikers, runners, athletes on the asphalt street, along the green sidewalks for young and old ladies and men with cats and dogs, security patrols and other moving people. You can see, how EVERYONE enjoys the move!! People sing, read and walk alone or in groups around, everyone is in luck! Even theater fans can have fun with a free William Shakespeares Adaptions for the free-style-in park. New York Classic Theater (now I saw a production about 6 people) presents William Shakespeare´s Twelfth Nigh from May 31 till June 24th, in Battery Park too. Free to the public!! How nice. Almost always when I run there I meet a group of people watching them... I was also watching them for a while, the point is that they move - they don´t play on one place. Around are rocks, small lake, small "jungle" and plain terrain... so it is very vivid!! I like it.
Interesting is, as I found out, that almost all Shakespeare´s productions are for free to the public in New York! - Just in the different places. Nobody would go the theater like in Germany to listen / watch to the old English with the old manners and poetic, even so trully real in the end.
So far. This is Central Park, well just part of it, there are many parts for different activities, each year open for recreational activities... like winter skating at the Wollman Park, visiting the Zoo, watching many weddings outside or on the weddings parties, taking pictures, reading, dating, jogging, eating in the restaurants. Good to mention is also another man-made lake: Harlem Meer, nice nice. like a "Meer" / sea....
It is very refreshing to goin Central Park in every time, to hang out with other people, readers, and also Frisbee-players. I was invited by the warm-weather-picknickers, but never for grill-parties, this is in CP forbidden.
I love that green place with lakes, runners and all the lucky people being healthy and wealthy to be here! Over 20 milion people flock to the Central Park, I can read the statistics....
This city of steel and skyscraper is a city of spectacular parks, scenic views... we can always admire, as a city main spot!  I am happy to be a runner in that wondeful park!!
Cheers!!
See more: www.MilenaOda.com

MILENA ODA´S USA-BLOG: LITERATURE&TRAVEL.: Part II. BROOKLYN / My life in New York

MILENA ODA´S USA-BLOG: LITERATURE&TRAVEL.: Part II. BROOKLYN / My life in New York: BROOKLYN As I mentioned I didn´t know how famouse and popular Williamsburg is. I was wondering how well I feel there, it is not New York...

Part II. BROOKLYN / MY LIFE IN NEW YORK

BROOKLYN.


A CELEBRATION OF AN INFINITIVE CREATION IN THE UNIVERSE.


You’ve heard it for years, accepted it as gospel even, that New York City is the center of the universe as far as culture, and music in particular, is concerned. Now more than ever, the New York City they’re talking about is Brooklyn. And they’re right: There’s no other place on earth that’s so immediately identified with the idea of “what’s next.” But who makes it that way? Well, the artists of course — the out-of-her-mind drummer - in the streets or in the subway, the gutsy documentary filmmaker - you see them talking & walking, the unorthodox painter - you smell and see their dress and authors, small publishers who think and write in the coffeeshops... You can see them everywhere! But it’s the bloggers too, the independent show promoters, the record label operators, the technological innovators, the gallerists, and all the other creative types who live here despite the exorbitant cost of living.
Taking place in the walkable radius of Williamsburg and Greenpoint, Bushwick is a showcase of the work these people do behind the closed doors of rehearsal spaces, studios and makeshift home-offices, as well as glimpses from their contemporary creative communities around the world. Above all, it’s a celebration of these so-called dreamer types. Because they’re the reason I am here, at the center of the universe.


As I mentioned I didn´t know how famouse and popular Williamsburg is. I was wondering how well I feel there, it is not New York with Skyscrapers, it is an individual holistic very European landscape of an island Long Island, part called Brooklyn with the famous Brooklyn bridge.

In the next days I was just walking through Williamsburg, which is the most famous part of Brooklyn with the long Bedford Avenue.  I was like in love... and all the guys could feel it! I was just sitting in a coffeeshop, and every second started to speak with me, "where I am from?" I was like a bird, singing the song about European writer, artist... Berlin, Prague, almost everyone expressed some feelings to one of the cities... with some of them we met then again, by chance... actually it happened that I met some really twice, three times... and then they diappeared. Once - on saturday I expressed for me a wish, that I would like drive thorugh the whole Brooklyn on bike... And I was walking when I suddenly bumped into one of these bar-friends... I asked him immediatly, just still dreaming about the riding through Brooklyn, if he has two bikes and would like to show me a bit of that island... and he just said: YES! Yes, with pleasure! Whew! I was so happy, we met in one hour, I dropped by him, and we were riding... we stopped talking with his friends, he seemed to me to be very popular in the district, and we had fun, he showed me a lot around, and sure also the Brooklyn bridge! It is really a lovely bridge with the beautiful view on Manhattan!! Wow, it was great to drive there through on bike... we made a turn and we drove back... no Manhattan, this is too crowded!

When one goes with L-train to Manhattan and goes out there it is like coming from the country to the big city!! The difference is really big, still and I think it will remains!! This is great to have Brooklyn, calm, artisitic bohemian place in NYC!! I love to be there, even it is changing, there are more and more fancy shops, cultivated, not like many years before, but there won´t ever be the tall skyscrapers and so crowded streets, I suppose.
Beautiful design shops, charming small restaurants, not as big as dining halls in Manhattan, a lot of RETRO-shops, bookstores, record-store with old vinils, small swimming pool, old houses like that one:  almost crashed, not clean houses, it looks like in old parts of Amsterdam sometimes, low not high houses, some lofts spread fast...  at every corner you feel the joy of the human infinitive creation...
In Brooklyn was born & lived my absolute favorite writer: HENRY MILLER. And he lived not far from the Bedford Ave - a place I stayed, so far so good, I was close to him, literary.
Brooklyn means more than only Bedford Ave - Williamsburg and Williamsburg Bridge.
By the way a flat in Williamsburg, I mean one room and half costs like 1200-1500 dolars. So just dream about it or move in! I don´t know how they earn money for such an expensive flat! Here live mostly artists, students and sometimes you see some managers, but they still don´t fit here... it still feels great for creative people, not business people like in Manhattan. I say this is for me a part of my Middle Europe - like Berlin, like Prague, I walk here, here I return to my way of life, even over the Pacific ocean and with completly different people who think and feel different, this is what I love!!
Brooklyn is sweet, but it can be still also dangerous, is big enough, and not all parts of Brooklyn are popular or safe.
There are other districts like for example Bushwick, there should be the largest hub of Brooklyn's Hispanic-American community, now also very popular for artist, not so expensive like W-burg.
Also very popular Park Slope and Greenpoint, there in Greenpoint is the largest Polish community. I walked here through and everywhere only Polish people speaking Polish, this was strange! Shops with the Polish aestetisc like I know from Poland. People - immigrants don´t want to loose their identity here, and they needn´t this is the freedom, well, there are other restrictions.
And Coney Island & Brighton Beach is already full of Russian and Ukranian people. Many shops are designed like in Russia, food, drinks, fishes... everything like in Russia. And the ocean here isn´t for free! You must pay the beach-entrance: 12 dolars! So don´t go to Coney Island, go to Brighton Beach ( I hope it is a right advice... if not, tell me it...:-)) 

Prospect Park is a very nice public park created by the same person as the Central Park ( Calvert Vaux). The emphasis on the creation of parks is in NYC very important.
So far, Brooklyn is still my favorite place, even I lived then in Manhattan, I always went/come back to visit my favorites bookstores, New Yorker Muffin - there are made delicious baggels with avocado, cheese, vegetable etc for just 4 dolars! Todays I discovered a new lovely coffee shop, I would say the best coffee I have ever drunk in NYC: "Swedish expresso" also at the Bedford. And sometimes I meet faces I still know. There is a great street-bookseller, he has been selling book in the street for 20 years! His name is Luftmensch! We always meet by chance and I also got to know another bookseller in East Village who knew Luftmensch. Luftmensch and me met probably because we both can fly with our books! Luftmensch means - Airman. But the German word is sooo nice! This is what I love about the German language!
I describe Brooklyn just how I discovered it when I was here. There are many encounters I had with people twice or three times. - This seems to me to be very thrilling especialy in NYC. I will describe that phenomena in the next part. "Encounters by chance in NYC".

Cheers!!
See more: www.MilenaOda.com

MILENA & FRANK LITERARY & CULTURAL RADIO TALK SHOW FROM NEW YORK!

NEWS from New York!
Me and the talkmaster Frank Ferrante start a NEW LITERARY & CULTURAL RADIO TALKSHOW - see the link: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/milenafranktalkshow- in New York!

Today we introduce each other and let´s talk about the culture of the continents!
TODAY! USA-Time at 3pm !! European time 9pm! Listen now or later, it will be online!! http://www.blogtalkradio.com/milenafranktalkshow/2012/06/14/new-literarytalkshow-frank-ferrante-w-the-writer-milena-oda-1

PART I. ARRIVAL TO NYC / MY LIFE IN NEW YORK CITY

    MY LIFE IN NEW YORK!!
   
    STARTED IN THE YEAR: 2010

  

Two years ago I decided to go for the FIRST TIME to New York... well, a bit too late, but every human being has a proverb for every way and situation in its life, so I say... never too late... important is the action!
I was quite desperate by searching online a flat - from up Europe in NYC - I am used to say "a flat" but in NY I should say it proper - a room - online... I discovered the craigslist.. there were a lot of offers but nobody wanted someone without seeing him, or I should transfer a deposit of 300 dolars, and this was too insecure for me... well I didn´t know in NYC anybody!!
Nobody would believe me that I made it a few hours before flying to NYC! I don´t believe it now myself, how "easy going" I was... but yes sometimes I am... and I trust myself and our great God...

Well, I asked two days before departure my US-Friends - I just knew some American friends in Berlin, the Couchsurfing and I discovered a Czech-Slowak group in NYC by "Meet Up"..  Do you know "Meet Up"? - Very usefull in NYC!  

Well, I posted my search for a room...  my US friends posted for me on their FB-pages (my thanks to Michael, the tenor singer and Jean-Ronald!) ... I got a few feedbacks, offers immediatly, how nice I was soo delighted about the offers... but everything was for 1-2 nights - and I needed for 4 weeks!

But suddenly I got an answer from one Czech woman... I forgot unfortunately her name, and she wrote me about one great flat in Williamsburg, for 3 weeks! It seemed to be too perfect to be true, exactly what I needed, I wrote her, yes and called her, him...  I was very happy! So a few hours before the departure I called/talked with the guy, who was also still searching someone, he wanted 500 dolars, for me impossible, so he put it down on 350 dolars... this was a lucky number for me... and he was also ok with it! He was happy to have me, who cares about his cats and is clean, tidy...

I should share with him and other guy a flat for a few days and then he flew for another country... I didn´t know him his flatmate... I just knew that the Czech girl told me he is ok and friendly... he had just two cats in the flat so nobody wanted to share a life with his two cats, I supposed, I could, I love cats...   

 And when I arrived in the night to the Bedford Ave - WITHOUTH knowing HOW FAMOUS this district is ( I love to discover it en place.. And as I mentioned I didn´t have much time to do some online-discoveries... how nice it is to be SURPRISED positively!...)

 I went out from the L-Train (having trouble with my broken lagguage... already in Berlin - Lol - this happened...) and as I came up, saw the night in the 5th-6th Street at the Bedford Ave I disclaimed: I FEEL LIKE AT HOME!! Be honest, I have never said that - feeling like at home, never ever in some place ourside in the world! So it had for me a deep context - meaining! 

It was an amazing atmosphere there!! I loved that immediatly!! Clean, rationaonal, intelectual, inspirational, light and hidden sexy... in the night!!  

I stayed in Brooklyn, in Williamsburg - Bedfort Avenue - I was very fortunate to have the first possibility to stay and feel a life there! The guy was Ok, the other also... I was happy one!!

And when just relaxed... went down to the shop, just in the same house... A Czech drinks often beer, and in that moment I really wanted to drink a beer... searching some beer... What a SURPRISE ---- there among the beer bottles  was ONE - SPECIAL ONE - from MY HOME: from my hometown Nova Paka, well, Stara Paka, where is a very traditional brewery NOVA PAKA´S BEER!! one sort of beer calls: BROUCZECH! and THERE I SAW like never ever in the world, just in my hometown I was drinking BrouCZECH... I should drink it here, in the place I called my HOME.

below you can see how proud (Lol) is the BrouCZECH Brouczech means in fact: Little Beetle but written Brouček and the endling - ček we pronounce in the same way like English say CZECH, so here is the Czech humour acurate and makes it lovely for the Czech-Speakers!   

I realized the BrouCZECH is a premium Czech Beer deliver in the USA I was glad to find him there where I started my life in New York City!!
NA ZDRAVI!  http://www.brouczech.com/   

Im Staat IOWA unter Tschechen und Deutschen friedlich!

Milena Oda

Im Staat Iowa unter Tschechen und Deutschen

Es gibt zwei Filme, die den Staat Iowa bekannt machten: „Irgendwo in Iowa“ mit den berühmten Schauspielern Di Caprio und Johny Depp in den Hauptrollen und „Cedar Rapids“. Sie ist auch eine größere Stadt, die für die Tschechen besonders interessant ist. Hier befindet sich nämlich seit der Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts das berühmte “Czech Village”. Als ich davon hörte, habe ich mir ein ganzes Dorf vorgestellt, aber im Grunde sind es nur ein paar Häuser und eine große Straße, an der die tschechisch-amerikanischen Läden stehen. Wunderschön sind zwei Läden "Děda and Babi's Antiques", wo ich einiges aus Nostalgie meinen Freunden in den USA kaufe und die Pekárna – Bakery Sýkora (http://www.sykorabakery.com/).

Herr “Sýkora”, John Rocarek, ist unglaublich nett und hat mir gleich die ganze tschechische Bábovka geschenkt, als ich mich vorstellte. Er freute sich so sehr über den seltenen Besuch aus Böhmen, dass ich noch houska, rohlík und ein T-Shirt, mit dem Bild vom tschechischen Hamburger, im süßen Sinne Kobliha mit Mohn, bekam. Der Weg wurde richtig gewählt: nachIowa. 1995 war zum letzten Mal der berühmteste Tscheche - Václav Havel, noch als Präsident - zusammen mit Bill Clinton und dem damaligen slowakischen Präsidenten M. Kováč hier. Sie eröffneten das neue Gebäude von National Czech & Slovak Museum. Leider kam 2008 vom Fluss Cedar eine große Flut, die das Museum komplett zerstörte. Viele Einheimische bedauern das bis heute. Es soll ein wunderschönes Museum gewesen sein, doch der Wiederaufbau ist schon in Planung. Die Anhänger des Museums haben durch Spenden die Mittel dazu gefunden und am 14.07.2012 wird das Museumsgebäude feierlich wiedereröffnet. Wo kann man also den Tschechen in den USA begegnen? In Midwest.      

Und da in mir auch die deutsche Kultur tickt, kann ich, die in Iowa besonderes religiös geprägten, deutschstämmigen Amischen – nicht ignorieren. Wie bekannt zog es Mitte des 19. Jahrhunderts viele Einwanderer aus aller Welt nach Amerika. Verlockend war auch dieses Agrarland Iowa. Die Deutschen ließen sich im Jahre 1850 in Amana Colonies, sieben Dörfern, unweit von Iowa City nieder. Eine der Gruppen nannte sich Inspirationisten. Sie glaubten an „Werkzeuge“ – so steht es auch im Englischen. Sie benutzten moderne Technologie. Ganz stolz ist Amana heutzutage auf deren moderne Erfindung: die Mikrowelle. – Jetzt verstehe ich warum uns in jedem Hotelzimmer in Iowa City eine Mikrowelle anstelle einer Küche zum Kochen zur Verfügung stand. Die Devise einer Mikrowelle ist doch: Kochen ohne Ofen. - Das Gegenteil von den Inspirationisten sind die Amischen, in Englisch: the Amish oder Amish People und Mennonites. Der Begriff „Amish“, „Amische“ entwickelte sich aus dem Namen: Jakob Amman dem Ältesten, der Gemeindeleiter einer Mennonitengemeinde in der Schweiz war und sich 1693 mit Gleichgesinnten vom Hauptzweig der Mennoniten abgrenzte.

Die Amischen glauben an „Ordnung“ und sehr stark an die Bibel. Ich habe zwei Brüder, in der Amish-Kolonie genannt “Kalona”, angesprochen und zwar auf Deutsch. Sie waren sehr überrascht, aber sie haben mir gleich zurückgeantwortet: auf “Schwizerdytsch”. Auch seltsam, inmitten der USA sprechen sie „Deutsch“ und leben wie im Mittelalter. Ihr Leben führen sie bis heute streng ohne Elektrizität. Sie benutzen Diesel anstatt Strom, haben keine Autos, kein Telefon und kein Internet. Der Blick auf den schwarzen Pferdewagen, den die Amischen anstatt Autos fahren, ist bezaubernd romantisch. Click, click man fotografiert! Ein anderer Planet innerhalb von 10 Minuten. Es ist ihnen verboten, ihr Gesicht zu zeigen und fotografiert zu werden. In ihrem Pferdewagen sind sie auch ganz gut versteckt, eine Kutsche mit Dach und nur kleinen Fenstern. Meine Neugier wurde durch das interessante Gespräch mit den beiden Brüdern gestillt. Es war eine Kombination aus Englisch und „Deutsch“ gesprochen. Über ihre strenge Lebensweise muss man sich sehr wundern, aber sie scheinen glücklich zu sein, sie kennen nicht die Grenzenlosigkeit, die wir kennen. Sie leben nicht weit weg von der Zivilisation, sondern nur ein paar Meilen von den Fastfoodketten und „Big Supermarkets“ entfernt, trotzdem interessiert sie unsere Lebensweise nicht. Männer und Frauen tragen ein traditionelles Trachtenkleid und dazu auch eine traditionelle Frisur. Alle sprechen unter sich das andere “Deutsch”. Amish People sind in ganz USA verbreitet, vorallem in Pennsylvanien. Mein Besuch bei den Brüdern im Garten und das stündige Gespräch hat mich sehr bereichert. 
http://www.kalonaiowa.org/

Iowa scheint ein Paradies für die deutschen und tschechischen Landsleute zu sein.In Iowa City besuchte ich einen Friedhof, den mir der angesiedelte deutsche Künstler Hans Breder gezeigt hat. Er wusste, wie überrascht ich war, er lernte mich gut kennen. Grabsteine mit deutschen und tschechischen Inschriften stehen hier nebeneinander wie die Nachbarländer in Europa. Hier scheinen mir die deutsch-tschechischen Verhältnisse eindeutig nicht so aufgewühlt, missverstanden zu sein. Hier liegen alle friedlich zusammen, in keinem Streit, sonst würden sie nicht so beisammen liegen. Wer möchte schon neben seinem Feind begraben werden! Selbst Antonín Dvořák musste, wie ich, überrascht gewesen sein - auch er war hier!!
Er fand in Iowa seine Schaffensruhe und komponierte hier seine 9. Symphonie „Aus der Neuen Welt“. So wie ich über die alte und neue Welt berichte.

Dieser Text ist in der "Landeszeitung. Zeitung für Deutsch in Böhmen, Mähren und Schlesien" stark gekürzt April 2012 erschienen.

My message to the world we share. I call on the peace love, no nuclear weapons

This is my message about our peace, love and world we share! Please send it further if you like to create a magic! forget the hate, create the magic!!
Spoken words written by Milena Oda, Video made by Topalante. es