USA & Canada

Day 14 - Goodbye

We started the day by getting coffee and walking around Prospect Park before sitting down on a bench by the water. It was weird to think that this would be my last day here. I knew I had to get home, I was exhausted from travelling by now. Still, a part of me wanted to stay. I enjoyed my time here a lot. I'd miss New York. Matt told me that from his perspective as a local, my New York experience came close to being perfect. I definitely do agree with that, it has been an amazing trip and I really didn't look forward to having to say goodbye tonight. I could already feel myself getting emotional about this - it would probably stay this way for the rest of the day. We drove into town to get some shawarma and went back to the tattoo parlour, which turned out to be closed that day. I texted the artist and we agreed that Matt would go there to give her the rest of my money the following week. Since the sun came out, we decided to get some ice cream and hang out at Washington Square Park again. We took a last walk around the city together and ended up at Union Square where a lot of artists were selling their paintings accompanied by the sound of street musicians playing their instruments. On the metro back to Matt's place, I got my last view of Manhattan while crossing the bridge back to Brooklyn. We relaxed a little at his apartment before I needed to get ready to leave. This evening, I was again reminded why I hate goodbyes so much. It always feels like something very precious is ending when you have to say goodbye to a person you care about. Especially when you know that you won't get to see the person again any time soon. You never know what the future brings, after all. On the drive through Brooklyn, I also had to say my goodbyes to New York, this entire trip, this continent. Somehow, I felt that at least this one would be a goodbye for good. At the airport, most of the self-serving check-in points were out of service, so the line was incredibly long. I made it through the security check 5 minutes before boarding would start and rushed through the airport to find anything edible since I didn't have the chance to have dinner. I basically inhaled a hot dog and finally got one of the infamous largely produced American canned beers. I then ran back to my gate, only to discover that the flight has been delayed now. Thank you very much for that. On the plane, I was seated in between a lovely grandpa from Montenegro and Raphael, a 29 year old guy from Vienna with whom I ended up exchanging travel stories. At first, both of us wanted to sleep on the plane, but we decided it would be smarter to pull an all-nighter and go to bed early the next night. We ended up drinking a couple of beers, listening to music together, having some great conversations and playing games. At the passport control, I made an ass out of myself by saying good morning to the police officer who then pointed out that it was afternoon already. I made it back to my apartment around 2pm and was greeted by my cats. I was home again. My break was over. Life would continue now.Read more