And so it came that after years of sailing, travelling and constantly waking up in different places & countries, I had finally stepped out in New York. I glimpsed it once previously, trough the window of the plane and it was thrilling to see that famous buildings even just for a moment, to confirm, yes it is real, not just the movie fantasy. But this time there was actually time to go outside and see it for myself for the first time - like the first kiss, the first time ever you see New York is unforgettable experience, a wonderful thrill and almost overwhelming feeling of achievement and happiness, although of course this is purely subjective & childish - I have seen and indeed lived in some of the world's most famous cities, but New York is really unique place in the world. For one thing, there is a special atmosphere and almost physical sense of being in the middle of human beehive, since thousands of completely different people whizz around, everyone minding their own business and going their own way but you do have a strong feeling of seeing the whole world represented in one city - black, white, homeless, rich, beggars, policemen, fashionable, Asian tourists snapping selfies, lawyers with pink ties, yellow cabs, Broadway dancers in red socks advertising hit shows, it is almost overwhelming but thanks to my previous years of travels, I felt just completely at home being in the middle of it all and quick glance at the map made it clear that city (as enormous as it is) is actually extremely easy to manoeuvre since streets are built horizontal and avenues vertical. I have stepped out on 50th Street and decided to walk right down, thinking at least I can always go back the same way.
It is interesting to note what actually motivated me during my very first time ever stroll into New York City - out of hundreds different landmarks, the one that really attracted me the most was not any of the commercial, gaudy or glitzy tourist attraction but something that would (hopefully) speak to my heart. I couldn't care less for Broadway, shops, Tiffany or anything commercial (although I did stop and admire pearls in Mikimoto boutique on 5th Avenue, out of professional curiosity) but I really, really wanted to see The Metropolitan Museum of Art, located right in the middle of Manhattan, just next to Central Park. Somehow I imagined New York City to be place absolutely impossible to walk around but actually I got there by simply strolling along very easily as my very own 50th Street brought me to crossroad with 5th Avenue and from here I just walked along Central Park until I finally reached the famous museum. Easy as pie.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art was - is and ever will be - one of the most exciting place for an art lover. Years of roaming trough some of Europe's largest museums trained me a little already, so not only that I am able to admire & recognise pieces in their historical context but at this point I am actually familiar with some of the world's famous art pieces (indeed some are gracing my computer screen) so naturally seeing them in real life is a pure delight. Even more exciting is to experience discovery of new favourite pieces, however what thrilled me the most was the sheer exuberance, luxury and smorgasbord of choices: where famous Hermitage in St.Petersburg just gave me a headache (not only because it was too huge to enjoy but also because I could sense local employees intensely disliking visitors) the overabundance of exhibition here was delightful and done with style. Yes, everything is huge, massive and extremely rich but this is exactly why we came to admire it - where some of European museums loom large, dusty and empty (yes, I am talking about you, Budapest) this museum brims with people and even though probably half of them are too busy with taking selfie snapshots, another half seriously admires incredibly exciting and tastefully arranged art exhibition. I have started with art of ancient Greece and Rome, than went on to see Egypt and this was just the ground floor - one hour - after which I needed a break. Gimme a break. Luckily there is a nice little coffee place where I treated myself with Key Lime Pie and Cappuccino, rested a while and gave myself another hour, before (inevitably) I need to go back to the ship.
For the second hour in The Met, I decided to forget about any maps and instructions because otherwise I will be stuck in one corner the whole day. So I threw myself completely into the various rooms, like diving into waves of art, without having any idea where exactly I am going and just waltzed from room to room, from exhibition to exhibition with pure delight and excitement of what I have discovered. I whizzed trough centuries, kingdoms and genres, with burning cheeks and clasping hands, often giggling with excitement and entertaining security staff who laughed at my excitement. (Some of them look incredibly bored and blasé, like their mobile phone is far more interesting than beauty around them)
One thing that came to my mind during this art pilgrimage is that its interesting to discover how some museum pieces are simply that - old museum pieces, worth seeing because they are reminders of incredibly old culture that disappeared thousands of years ago. Ancient Egyptian carvings or sculptures are fascinating because someone made them thousands of years ago, yes they are incredibly old but so far removed from our time that after initial curiosity they still leave me cold - this has absolutely nothing to do with me.
On the other hand, there is another kind of museum pieces and I am talking about art objects that stir our hearts. They can still be very old but if we talk about roughly last thousand years, they are definitely more closer to our reality - perhaps not religious art which curiously leaves my barbaric, heathen heart unmoved - well every now and than I encounter something that profoundly moves me and the best of all is that it happens completely spontaneous. I don't necessary need to know the painting is by Pieter Bruegel the Elder or Johannes Vermeer in order to enjoy it (I have mentioned these two since they are represented in this museum and I happen to like both of them) however the beauty of particular art piece speaks to our heart (or spirit?) and this time, out of thousands different things my heart completely stopped when I saw a little porcelain figurine of so called "Chinese Slave" that curiously don't even look Asiatic at all, but the exquisite beauty and almost painful sadness of it absolutely stole my heart. It spoke to my heart and I admired it immensely, I almost feel that (crazy as it sounds) this little figurine posses some of my own soul in it. Truly curious experience to recognise ones own spirit mirrored in the piece of art.
This gave me a taste for visiting NY again. Will I ever go there again? Who knows? It took me a lifetime to get a chance for even these brief few hours. But I can safely say that given time, I would probably enjoy a full week really exploring it my way and would definitely re-visit same art museum again, if nothing else than just to greet my little Chinese Slave again.
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