There are many beautiful places on this earth. There are places, where fascinating things happen, places with a special vibe, but New York is a class of its own.

I travel to New York to visit my clients. And it’s always the same deal: I know in advance, that I will work like crazy. That I will not get enough sleep and that my tiredness will rob me of my ability to think properly. All that scares me. But then I get to experience things, which are simply impossible to live anywhere else in the world.

The drive from the airport to the city is always a nightmare. Bumper to bumper traffic jams all along. As a result of the time difference of six hours between Switzerland and New York I will be awake at 3AM. As I’m only bound to stay a couple of days, I do bother to adjust to the local time. I go to the gym, watch the local news and at 4AM, freshly showered, I check the everlasting flow of emails from my homebase.

More often than not, I work 14 to 16 hours while in New York without even really noticing. Of course, every day after noon, there comes a moment where I fear to fall asleep during my meeting, banging my head on the meeting room table. It never happened though. But maybe I’m lucky enough to be able to report on my favourite topic, like the controls on delivery processes or such. This is so exiting I feel like on speed. Nope, it is not very healthy at all, but it is working just fine for just short time I am there.

New Yorkers are extremely friendly and likeable. They help without hesitation, they make me laugh and feel as if I belong. Very much indeed. There’s always action, I can’t get enough of the variety. The agility of the city and its residents, the enthusiasm and serenity at the same time is very unique.

It is late in the evening and I am sitting in an Uber driving back from a difficult client meeting. I just want to go to bed but all of a sudden my driver stops and tells me to get off. I reply, “no way”, as my hotel is on 42nd and he just stopped at 3rd avenue. But he refuses to drive any further even though I paid until 42nd. The downside of modern technology, I suppose.

Whenever I’m in New York, I can feel the ecstacy, the motivation and an overwhelming joy. I feel inspired and even though my body feeds on its last resources, my mind is flying towards outer space. The evening when I fly back home, I fall asleep immediately after take-off and sleep heavenly until we land in Zurich. I leave the creative, inspiring chaos behind me once more and immerse myself in our orderly, accurate Swissness. Here’s to the variety of life.

Bildquelle: Pascal Corbat Photography