After a comfortable 3-hour train ride, our small group finally arrived in the city.  We took a short walk past the Empire State Building and through the busy and hectic streets of Manhattan to get to our first stop: The Reichenbach hall, a genuine and authentic German restaurant. Here we ate traditional Bavarian food. From cheese spaetzle to bratwurst and a huge pretzel, it was all there. Freshly fortified and with bright smiles on our faces, we continued toward the real highlight of our little trip: the Franz Kafka exhibition at the Morgan Library. But before that, there was one thing we couldn't miss: a little detour to the “Christmas market” in Bryant Park. Unfortunately, we didn't have that much time, so we just marveled at the gigantic Christmas tree before continuing on towards the exhibition. 

And what can we say? We were incredibly impressed. This is the very first time that Franz Kafka's original manuscripts have been on display in the USA. Having read and discussed his work in class, and attending Prof Petropoulou’s lecture on the Kafkaesque the previous week, to see manuscripts and notebooks that Kafka once held in his hands, and lines that he wrote himself, was an incredible experience for us. The exhibition revealed surprising aspects of Kafka’s personal life and works: We saw the joking postcards he sent to his younger sister Ottla, and a model of the apartment he lived in with his parents, which made clear that his family members had to walk through his bedroom to get to the other rooms. We found out about the letters he wrote to comfort a little girl who had lost his doll, and the role that the burgeoning field of entomology played in The Metamorphosis. Some members of our group also explored the iconic J. Pierpont Morgan library. Treasures include three copies of the Gutenberg Bible, and Sir Isaac Newton’s Pocket Memorandum Book.  

Still very excited and full of joy, we continued our journey to the Upper East Side for some truly authentic Viennese coffee and cake. After a very packed (!) bus ride, we were guided through a large building and suddenly found ourselves in the middle of a cute little café called Café Fledermaus.  The café is part of Die Neue Galerie, an art museum which exhibits German and Austrian artworks from the early 20th century, e g. by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele and Oskar Kokoschka. 

Café Fledermaus had everything that makes the (German/Austrian) heart beat a little faster when it comes to “Kaffee und Kuchen”. From Mozarttorte to apple strudel, from Wiener Mélange to Kaffee Crème - they had it all! And it was incredibly delicious! Sadly, we couldn’t stay for long, and after a short subway ride we were already back at the station, where we reviewed the day together while we waited for the train.