I am lucky enough to travel for work and this was one of those opportunities. When I was in New York for the first time, I did not estimate and could not imagine the distances in which it is built, so for some strange reason we lived in New Jersey in a random Motel 6. Every day it took 3 hours of our lives to travel to Manhattan and back, and so 10 kilometers of walking to the train. I didn't make that mistake a second time, and since then it's always Manhattan. It will save you all the animate and inanimate assets you have.

Accommodation in Manhattan may not be as expensive as it seems. It will cost you like in any other big city. But if you like to travel, run marathons, walk for fun, New Jersey is the way to go.

But you still can't avoid New Jersey. If you are flying from Europe, the best way to get there is Newark, New Jersey. There are two more airports directly in New York, JFK and LaGuardia. For the first hour, you will stand at immigration, where you will prepare a story about why you are traveling to the USA and don't forget the place in New Jers...that is, in Manhattan, where you live. People who do not know anything about their journey to the US are at risk, at least in the form of a suspicious look from a mustachioed immigration officer. It takes about 40 minutes from the airport to the Penn Station train station in Manhattan.

Orientation in such a big city can be unpleasant. But New York as we know it is built on a 19th century grid. So all vertical streets are Avenues and are numbered from right to left. All horizontal streets are Streets and are numbered from SOHO upwards. It will be a little more interesting with the subway. You don't always hit the right boarding stop. Mainly follow the official metro map. When deciding which train to board, decide on the color, number or letter and then the destination station. Easy... In practice it looks like you take the red train number 1 towards South Ferry, i.e. down. If you want to blow your brains out of it, you can walk. But be prepared for dozens of kilometers and a date night with muscle fever.

Okay, we're in Manhattan, we know how to get around, so let's go eat. In New York you can taste absolutely everything. Literally. Even the asphalt after the mustachioed policeman knocks you down if you are rioting. You'll find mobs... Italian restaurants, American burger joints, where by the way I had my best burger ever, and then countless Japanese restaurants. I can do you. For some reason, the Japanese in New York are much more real than here. You feel like you're in the middle of the Shogun series, only you're not being boiled alive as an infidel. And the food! Unreal.

Even the iconic Friends house has a restaurant. I wanted to save money and only have a beer there, but we are in America, so I was also forced to have fries, and as the cheapest side dish, they cost 11 dollars. New York is notorious for its prices. It's true that you pay for good food. But not everything costs a knapsack. That's why I chose Japanese restaurants where full ramen costs $13. You will leave 30 for a giant bento box, but you will find yourself 2. Avoid alcohol, or paying in general, rather run away... but no. Prepare mainly for a different type of tip. Not to mention that the tip goes from 15% up in pre-set values, 15, 20, 25, 30… but strangely for a European you don't pay it when you pay, it's taken from your card only after you physically write it on the bill and sign . If you're in the IT world like me, relearn how to type before you go, it'll help.

In the US, there is a Whole Foods chain of stores. This grocery store is close to the incredible and magical world of Willy Wonka. Unlike Czech stores, empty shelves don't echo "Where's the butter today?" in the early evening on Sundays, but the endless selection of mostly organic products will put a smile on your face and put a Green Peace recruitment flyer in your pocket, which they'll take away from you when you leave, because they're out and about any monstrosity with eight or more cylinders under the hood. Such happiness can be experienced even in London, where the network of these markets is also hiding.

In addition to gastro, they go to New York for all kinds of human creations. It starts with the Statue of Liberty and ends with Central Park (if that's a word). There are an endless number of these things in New York, and you only need to visit them all once. He was waiting for me that week from the new Brooklyn Bridge and MET museum attractions. Well, actually the Empire State Building at work. An interesting point of interest, it was built in just 13 months. That's about as many months as it takes to repair 100 meters of road in our country. I can think of one under-the-counter tip for him. Don't go there. Choose Top of the Rock instead. There is a nicer view, and most importantly, you can see the Empire State Building from it. On the contrary, for obvious reasons, you will not succeed. I also looked for Banksy's paintings for a while, but to no avail.

The MET museum disappointed me a bit. I try to paint the big galleries in every major city because I enjoy art. The MET is great for people who don't live in the historical center of Europe and don't like 12th century castles. You will find a cross-section of the entire history of the world there, but it is too general. European galleries keep a close eye on their national artists, so you won't find any Goya, DaVinci or Bosch at the MET. For that, you can find ultra-lousy coffee there, like in the entire United States. But no, I wouldn't like to offend, so just avoid Starbucks and do a little research on where to go for good coffee, because there are some, you just have to look harder.

Just look better. This is my advice to anyone flying to New York. Behind the backdrop of skyscrapers, tinsel, sweets and expensiveness, you'll find something more. There you will find an experience for all tastes and senses. You will find kind-hearted people there who will help you with everything. And you will find a slightly different world there than you are used to. And maybe that's a good thing.