NYC – JOLLYS IN THE BIG APPLE
Words & Photos – Fabian Reichenbach
Unfortunately, even before the start of our last big tour in August, there were some complications, at least for me personally. Just like it is with bigger trips outside of Europe, you first and foremost inquire about certain entry restrictions. What do you need to enter the destination country? In most cases this is a temporary residence permit for vacations, basically a slimmed down version of a visa, which in most cases is completely unbureaucratic. A few weeks earlier, I copied the necessary links of the ESTA form into the WhatsApp group to ensure that those who traveled to the States for the first time were not unknowingly sent back at the airport due to an invalid entry permit.
After all, this has all happened before and as we know: “Ignorance does not protect against punishment”. Now the departure was getting much closer and it was about time to take care of the form in question. Before our tour, I was allowed to accompany another tour, which merged seamlessly into the one in question and during which I would not have the time or my passport to hand to take care of everything. No sooner said than done, I took the time on a Sunday morning to check this off. Finally we went on the first tour in three days! Until then I had no stress at all and was convinced that the Esta from my last trip to the USA was still valid. Some feeling finally made me check this again and fill out another form. Of course, all items on the passport were queried: name, date of birth, passport number, date of issue, expiration date… why am I getting an error when entering the data? After re-entering the passport details, I was shocked to realize that my passport had recently expired! – Okay.
After re-entering the passport details, I was shocked to realize that my passport had recently expired!
Internally, my nervousness increased to infinity and I was about to accept the idea that my trip to New York wouldn’t work out for me. My mind went crazy for a short while, looking for a solution to the problem, after all, I had never found myself in a situation like this before. At the same time, of course, I imagined the worst cases until I got to a point where I just had to act. After extensive research, for example, whether you can enter the USA with a temporary passport, how quickly you can get something like that, and whether the federal police at the airport can issue you a valid document. My head was still going crazy at that moment and tried to find a solution as quickly as possible, because I was already on tour in three days and, realistically speaking, there is hardly any way in this country to get a new passport in that time.
The next morning I woke up hoping that the email hadn’t been lost and I had a reply in my inbox at 7:03 a.m. that I could show up at 8:30 a.m. to apply for an express passport. – „Fuck yeah, everything’s settled!“ I thought to myself and, much more relaxed than before and with anticipation, I went to the local town hall. Exactly four days later, I received a message from my wife with a photo of my new passport so that I could arrange everything necessary for the trip on the way. Holy shit, that was a really close call and it could have gone way differently! After I had collected myself a little and found out that there was the possibility of applying for an „express passport“, it was just a matter of getting an appointment at the relevant office to initiate such an issuance. To be honest, I saw nothing here and since it was Sunday, all my hands were tied to react quickly. After a short research, several cigarettes and a few deep breaths, I was left with only one option: just send an email with the aforementioned urgency!
The validity of ID cards in particular is rarely checked. It always feels natural to assume that they are still valid and everything is cool. Especially if your driver’s license or ID card has expired, it’s usually not that big of a deal. On an international trip, however – outside of Europe – it is anything but easy, which brings me directly to another anecdote from the trip in which this matter-of-factness and habit put me in a very unpleasant situation.
Just around the corner to the next deli and got a cold brew – this went without any problems, especially not with showing my ID.
It’s actually been quite a few years now. Maybe 15, but maybe less or even a little more. I definitely can’t remember the last time I was asked for my ID. This isn’t about police checks, checking in for flights or picking up packages in branches that couldn’t be delivered, no, it’s simply about entering a bar. Not a club, not an event, just a completely normal Bar in the middle of Williamsburg that required ID to enter. I just got a little nervous and thought to myself: “Fuck, you don’t have anything with you!” Well, now I was standing there, in front of a regular bar, without a “physical ID” but I’ve got a photo of my ID on my phone for such cases, which unfortunately was not accepted by the bouncers in this case. “No chance today, sir!”, they simply said and directed me to the side so that other guests could enter the bar. Furthermore, I can’t remember the last time I was shown the door, well, „fuck it,“ I thought to myself.
The general tenor of the crew was to focus on the variety of spots in New York City and to get the most out of each day!
After all, the guys are just doing their job and it was obvious that I looked older than 21 and it was simply a matter of securing the bar so that you would only be allowed entry with a valid ID. We’re used to a significantly different approach in germany, but as I said, fuck it. Just around the corner to the next deli and got a cold brew – this went without any problems, especially not with showing my ID. So it wasn’t wild at all, just quite unusual and, above all, a forgotten situation that gave me a real throwback to my teenage years and threw me briefly out of my comfort zone because of the excitement. Oh, always those damn ID documents…
Fortunately, this situation only arose after our tour, as we were spared from extensive “clubbing” during that time, as after a whole day on the street, we rarely had the strength or motivation to go out in the evening and go to the clubs and bars together. Sure, one or two beers were smashed, but mostly in chill mode in the apartment. The general tenor of the crew was to focus on the variety of spots in New York City and to get the most out of each day, as for the majority of us it was a completely new experience in the city that never sleeps.
Planning and implementing another tour to New York was out of the question after our last visit in 2019. Perhaps the unlimited possibilities, the anonymity or the diversity of the big city were factors in the decision to choose NYC again as the destination for our Irregular annual tour? – Yes, exactly, all of this influenced our decision, as well as the fact that we had already fallen in love with this city and the vibe during the tour four years ago. With the Jollys Marco Kada, Jelle Maatman, Nassim Lachhab, Christian Kessler, Michael Brunner, Denny Pham, Daniel Ledermann & Julian Lopez, we had a solid crew at the start that could focus exactly on what the days in the Big Apple were about – enjoying the vibe and stacking a lot of footy – after all, you’re not in the Big Apple every week!
So at the beginning of August we found ourselves in a second floor apartment in the middle of Brooklyn, right on Broadway, which turned out to be the perfect hub for future missions – both skating-wise and culinary-wise. In addition to the nearby „Myrtle Ave.“ Metro stops, we literally just had to fall out of the front door to get into one of the numerous deli’s that provided us with vitamin water, overpriced normal water, bagels, rolls and various kinds of hero’s every day to start the day supplied.
I have just inspected the map on Google Maps again to check where
we actually were and looking back, especially considering the size of New York, there is still so much to see and discover whats worth to see but completely impossible on a ten day trip.
As soon as we arrived, I noticed a Mexican restaurant ten meters from our house entrance where, with a few exceptions, I was able to try a variety of tacos or other delicacies every day. I don’t know exactly why, but on this trip I wasn’t in the mood for burgers or the typical fast food that you get in abundance on every corner, unlike Gotti, who always knew exactly where the nearest Shake Shack location was . For me, the question of what I would eat in the next few days didn’t even come up because it was clear that I would just go downstairs, walk a few meters and get incredibly good and „somewhat healthy“ food from „Cholulita“. . After a few days and my constant praise about the Mexican cuisine, I got the other guys to at least try the shop. This meant that from then on I usually no longer had to go there alone, so the shop even became a spot for our last evening with a communal meal plus karaoke by Jelle and Juli.
Sorry again at this point to the actual solo entertainer on site, who ran away slightly pissed after Jelle’s appearance and his unbeatable performance.
Sorry again at this point to the actual solo entertainer on site, who ran away slightly pissed after Jelle’s appearance and his unbeatable performance. No hard feelings, But Jelle and Juli could actually do it better. Not only we thought so, but also the other guests! In addition to the culinary missions and our pretty good location with perfect connections, it was completely unproblematic for us to travel either on the board or by metro, either to Blue Park or towards Manhattan. For further missions, such as to Flushing Meadows, which felt incredibly far away by subway, we treated ourselves with an Uber. But overall it’s easy to get around by board and metro, in contrast to Los Angeles, where a car is standard equipment. This meant we could easily reach the “tourist spots” such as the Courthouse with the Black Hubbasat the Foley Square and the entire Financial District. I have just inspected the map on Google Maps again to check where we actually were and looking back, especially considering the size of New York, there is still so much to see and discover whats worth to see but completely impossible on a ten day trip.
Nevertheless, I look back fondly on the incredibly good time with the crew with a grin on my face – with lots of new impressions and a unique experience – am now planning another irregular trip to New York City in four years at the latest and hopefully can look forward once again tot he support of Vans, Blue Tomato, Titus, Reell Jeans & Volcom, who made all of this possible for us!
