Day 15 – Los Angeles

I woke up late and went to have breakfast at IHOP down the street from the hostel. LA makes me really tired somehow. I’m not sure if it’s the weather, the busyness of the city or the constant paranoia of getting robbed… One day in LA feels like 3 days anywhere else. I have to come back to this city with a car, it will be a totally different experience.

After breakfast I went back to the hostel to do some writing and computer stuff, and I wanted to research things to do on my last day in LA. I took the red subway line from Hollywood Blvd. all the way to Union Station to explore downtown Los Angeles. In cities like Vancouver or San Francisco it is so easy to just walk around the downtown area, in LA not so much.

From Union Station I walked past Chinatown and followed the skyscrapers into the heart of downtown. It feels like the city is bilingual, like Quebec or Montreal. Every sign on subways, busses, stores and streets is in English and Spanish. If I didn’t know I was in America, my first guess would have been Mexico.

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I grabbed a sub on my way to Perishing Square, one of the ‘parks’ of LA. I miss nature and being able to step out of my front door and be in the wildernis. There was an ad for Whistler on one of the busses and it felt so weird to see the village centre, covered in snow, while driving through the heat of Los Angeles.

The tiny grass field of Perishing Square was filled with people trying to escape the concrete jungle for a while and homeless people using the shade of the trees as a place to sleep. I sat down on the grass and finally got the chance to continue reading Emerson! I really like the book, it is so inspirational and I can identify so well with Emersons thoughts. Eventhough he is from a completely different time and space there are lots of things we have in common. Love for nature is definitely the biggest one!

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After wandering around downtown a little longer, I headed back to the hostel to pack my things and get ready for my trip to San Diego. My Australian roommates invited me to have a beer with them and I called it a night after that.

Los Angeles was an unforgettable experience for me, but it will not make the list of my favourite cities, as Eddie kept on asking me. For now I’m happy to continue my trip and move on to San Diego. Hopefully I will be able to end my trip on a chill vibe with water sports, beaches and relaxing!

Day 14 – Los Angeles / Malibu

I got up really early to meet up with Eddie again before he started work at 1pm. One thing on my LA-bucket list was going up to the Hollywood sign and getting as close to it as possible. And that’s exactly what we did.

We met up at 8:00am and took the bus up north. At the busstop there was a homeless guy taking a soap bath in one of the big water fountains, it was quite entertaining for everyone waiting! After getting off the bus it took us approximately 1 hour to hike up the hill on very curvy, dusty roads. The views along the way were awesome and the higher we got in elevation, the more we were able see of the city below us.

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It felt so weird to be that close to the sign because I’ve seen it on TV so many times, but actually looking at in in real life was awesome. Unfortunately we had to rush back down so Eddie could make it to work on time and I returned to the hostel, exhausted from the sun and the hike, to take a nap.

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When I got back up about an hour later, I took the bus going to Malibu. A surfer that I met at breakfast earlier had told me that Point Dume on Malibu Beach is a must-see in when you are in the area. It took me probably about 2 hours to get there by bus. I enjoyed the ride, with the Pacific to my left and lots of really interesting people on the busses. The beach itself was really beautiful and I laid down on the beach for a while, listening to music, enjoying the sun, watching surfers and recording the sunset with my GoPro.

While I was watching the reflections of the sunlight glittering on the harsh waves crashing in, I saw three fins popping out of the water. I was shocked. There were three dolphins right in front of me, jumping out of the ocean, spraying water around and looking as free as can be. This was the first time I have ever seen wild dolphins in real life. I had goosebumps everywhere. That moment was just perfect. The sun setting in the background, the last rays warming me as I was watching pacific wildlife only metres away from me. It was magical.

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These are the kind of days that I want to have when I go travelling. It was filled with action, excitement and beauty.

Day 13 – Los Angeles

I left the Hollywood hostel to get a ‘real’ breakfast after having had pancakes for the last 3 weeks. I treated myself to some eggs and bacon which made me miss Canada and my awesome breakfasts there.

On the way back from the restaurant I walked along Hollywood Blvd. and spontaneously got a ticket for one of the ‘cut-off van’ tours through Hollywood. It’s such a touristy thing to do, but since I don’t have a car I wanted to go on a ride through LA and this was a great opportunity to do so. The theme of the tour was “Rockin’ Hollywood” which was cool because the driver played all kinds of California themed songs and explained the lyrics and history of the music while passing the historical places they were recorded at.

We made our way to the Hollywood hills, getting a beautiful view of downtown LA and the famous Hollywood sign. We passed Madonna’s and Katy Perry’s house, just two of the many, many celebrity houses on the tour. I definitely understand why they choose to live in the Hollywood Hills. The area is so beautiful and the view of LA is stunning.

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Next we went past Runyon Canyon Park and started approaching Beverly Hills. The driver really knew his way around and took us to the homes of Justin Timberlake, David Beckham, Michael Jackson and many more. We continued on to Rodeo Drive and saw all the expensive stores and boutiques. Ferraris and Porsches everywhere, and Louis Vuitton and Gucci of course.

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We ended the trip where we started and I got some lunch and returned to the hostel for a nap before meeting up with my travelling friend Eddie, who I had met in San Francisco 2 weeks ago.

Eddie and I met in West Hollywood at a very popular and super busy restaurant called ‘Masa’, right next to Echo Park. We ordered a deepdish pizza in advance and walked around in the park before returning to the restaurant for dinner. I have never had a pizza like that in my life. True italians would probably insist on calling it a cake!

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It was great to meet up with Eddie again and I loved the opportunity to get to see LA from a local’s perspective. On our way back to the bus stop Eddie bumped into a friend that he had met at some Filmfestival and she turned out to be an actress from a great show called ‘Freaks and Geeks‘ with James Franco and Seth Rogan. It was so cool to meet her and listen to her and Eddie talking movies and the industry. I recognized her from the show which I started watching last year in November in Whistler!

After that full-scheduled day I went back to the hostel and slept like a baby. Let’s see what else this city has to offer before I move on to San Diego!

Day 12 – Los Angeles

Leaving the hostel and stepping into the bright LA sun felt amazing after a good night’s sleep (despite sleeping in a room with 7 other people). I wanted to go to a close “Ross” store which Simon recommended a few days ago in Santa Barbara. I walked down Sunset Blvd. in search of the store and found it. It was very similar to Winners in Canada, very cheap clothes from last years’ collections. After Ross I headed further into the West Hollywood area and started walking towards Supreme, a store that has been on my bucket list for ages.

There were lots of skate shops in the area and you could see people of every age skating in the streets. Whenever I walk in the streets here I get kind of paranoid of getting robbed. Maybe it’s just the bad image that the city has or it’s the fact that every other person in the streets is talking to themselves and there’s weirdos and beggars everywhere. Everybody seemed to be friendly though and I have been very lucky to still be in possession of my top 4 items: my computer, phone, camera and wallet. Let’s hope it stays that way.

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Once I stepped out of the Supreme shop (not having bought anything, yet) I walked past two guys sitting outside on a bench in front of the store. Walking by I realized that it was one of my favourite rappers, Earl Sweatshirt and professional skater Jason Dill. I couldn’t believe that I was standing right in front of them, looking into their eyes. Too bad they were having lunch, otherwise I would have had a photo with them… I guess I’ll just have to wait 3 weeks until Pemberton Festival to get that photo, because Earl will be playing there.

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I find myself getting tired of the streets and craving more nature so I instinctively decided to head over to Runyon Canyon Park for lunch again and enjoy a less stressful, peaceful environment. As much as I love the busyness of the streets and people in the city, sometimes I just have to get away from it and change my surroundings. I don’t think I could live in a city like LA. At least not without a car. The bus system isn’t as good as it was in San Francisco and somehow every street looks the same to me. 7 Elevens, Subways and burger restaurants. It’s like there’s a prototype of how an American street is supposed to look like.

The beach in Santa Monica yesterday was a nice alteration to plain cement everywhere, with really nice parks, grass and the view of the beach and the ocean. I probably need either oceans or mountains to be happy in a place. San Francisco and Santa Barbara had both. But there is still so much in this city to discover and I still have 3 full days left. I love travelling and I am so blessed to be able to do this. This planet has so many amazing places to discover and I feel like I can’t be stopped right now!

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Day 11 – Los Angeles / Santa Monica

I decided to check out Santa Monica on my first full day in Los Angeles. So after breakfast I walked towards Hollywood Blvd. and caught a bus going to Santa Monica. The pier was the first spot I visited and it was packed with people. Many of them were splashing around in the ocean or simply enjoying a walk on the endless beach. It is so big that I had no trouble finding a quiet spot to sit down and enjoy.

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After walking around Santa Monica Blvd. and Broadway for a while, stoping in shops along my way, I made my way towards one of many movie theatres and watched a movie to avoid the burning mid-day sun. I was so amazed by the cars driving around in the area. It was easier to point out the cars that were not Mercedes’s or Porsche’s than the other way around. Whenever I walked around I kept my eyes open for celebrities but I haven’t spotted any yet…

I grabbed a burrito from Chipotle’s for lunch and started walking towards Beverly Hills. It’s always been my dream to spend a day walking around the houses of the rich and famous and since I was so close I though I might give it a shot. By the time I had reached Rodeo Drive I was already exhausted. It is so hot in LA that every little bit of walking is really exertive. Continuing on to the super rich neighbourhoods simply left me speechless. Never have I seen houses, better palaces, like these.

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It was a real experience to walk through a neighbourhood like this and seeing the houses of some of the richest people on earth. Dreaming is allowed I guess… One day I wish I could see one of these houses on the inside. The architecture and landscaping were really one of a kind. Every house had me wondering which millionaire lived in it and what brought them to live in a place like this. One of these days I think I might want to do a guided tour through the hills just to find out more about the people living in these fortresses.

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Day 10 – Santa Barbara / Los Angeles

Yet another day of travelling. Today I made my way out of sleepy Santa Barbara in the morning via Amtrak train. The ride was about 4 1/2 hours of going through endless fields, deserts and coastal lines. It reminded me of the dunes in Northern Germany just mixed with a desert and on a way bigger scale. I reached the ‘City Of Angels’ around noon and got a week ticket for the subway and bus system, since I want to see as much of the city as I can without a car.

I took the red line going to North Hollywood and got off at Hollywood and Vine. Stepping out of the subway and walking onto Hollywood Blvd. and the worldfamous Walk of Fame was just unreal. I’ve seen that place so many times on TV that it seemed weirdly familiar to see it with my own eyes. Of course there was all the touristy stuff you could imagine – Spidermans, Captain Jack Sparrows and Elvis’s everywhere!

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After checking in to my hostel I walked around the block to the nearby Runyon Canyon Park, one of the biggest Parks in LA, located in North Hollywood. On the way there I grabbed a burger at ‘In ‘N Out’, the famous westcoast fast food chain.

I though it was cliche that everybody in Hollywood was good looking but somehow I can’t help but admit it. There were people so fit and good looking, running around in the sun with their personal trainers, it felt like a movie already. Can’t wait for what’s awaiting me in this place.

Day 9 – Santa Barbara

The last day in Santa Barbara was spent entirely with my new French friend Simon. We got along really well from the beginning and we are passionate for the same things. He played runningback in France, I played quarterback in Germany. We both love making and listening to music and he even went on a European tour with his band. Even though I’m in the US, I have met way more international travellers than actual Americans.

I have spent some time in San Francisco with Eddie from LA who was very American to me but had Chinese parents. In Santa Barbara I met Denny. He was a picture perfect American. My first question to him was if he played football because we was probably around 2 meters tall and built like an offensive lineman. He was really friendly to everybody, singing and humming everywhere he went and spreading good vibes across the hostel. Simon and I were simply shocked by how fast he was able to eat a huge, huge burrito at Chipotle’s within less than 5 minutes. Our European stomaches could not handle those amounts of food, especially not in an eating-competition record-worthy time.

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It is true what Simon said, in Europe you order a coke. A coke. Here you order coke. There’s no limits. Everything is free refill, all you can eat, all you can drink. It’s such a consuming lifestyle. Bigger, faster, stronger. It’s crazy to have this everyday, but for a short period of time it is just so amazing!

We met up with Simons best friend Jordan from France and hung out around the parks and beach and met some really cool locals at the skatepark on the beach. The overall image I have of teenagers and young adults over here is quite positive. Everybody seems to be really confident, open, and very friendly. In Germany there is  much telling everybody who to be, what to do and who to be with. Here I have the feeling that people are more confident about who they really are and they don’t have to be ashamed of themselves and put on such an act. I love this lifestyle because it’s easier to reach people and connect with them if they are themselves around you and don’t have to hide behind walls put up by the people around them…

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For dinner we got some chicken nuggets and went back to the hostel to enjoy our American meal and watch a Mike Myers movie that Simon suggested. It’s funny that a French guy is showing me a Mike Myers movie, one of the best Canadian comedians in my opinion.

Santa Barbara was such a cool place, I think I had just the right amount of time there. I can hardly believe the luck that I have had on this trip so far. It’s going better than I could have ever dreamt of and I am so very thankful for that. Next up is Los Angeles and I am so excited to experience that world city. 10 days ago I started my journey in Vancouver and now I have only 15 days left until I go back. Time to live it up to the fullest!

Day 8 – Santa Barbara

Alfonso made me some eggs, coffee and orange juice for breakfast before he headed back home and I stayed on the patio enjoying the sunshine and writing. I met Simon pretty early on the patio and we started talking. He is a 23 year old french musician travelling with his best friend and band mate Joe. Together with an American, Danny, who studies philosophy here in Santa Barbara, we headed for State Street after breakfast and met up with Joe. We walked around for a while and took in all the sun rays and the great atmosphere of this place.

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On the way to a nearby park we played music, showing each other the different types of music from our home countries. It was so cool. I often wonder how different my life would have been if I had grown in a place other than Germany. I feel the same excitement of a school trip or an exchange except for the fact that I meet new people from different countries everyday and I can decide entire by myself what I want to do next. It’s awesome.

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Day 7 – Santa Barbara

The craziest thing happened when I woke up in the middle of the night. After going to sleep in an empty room, I was awoken by loud noises and looked up and saw a group of people standing around. There was a guy passed out in the middle of the room lying in a puddle. Turns out it was an American army guy who was sleeping in the upper bunk bed above me. He got so drunk that he fell out of the bed twice and pissed himself on the floor. It was the grossest thing I could imagine.

After that upsetting event I went back to sleep and luckily the drunk guy was already checked out when I got up for breakfast. I sat down on the patio for pancake breakfast and met one of my roommates, Alfonso. He is a 66-year old spaniard who has lived in San Francisco for the last 40 years. Alfonso had some great stories to tell about all his travels around the world. To stay young and active he always stays at hostels to be around young people, which I think was very cool. I had the feeling he was very young at heart and was really impressed by his energy and motivation on life. And I even got to speak some Spanish with him.

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After breakfast I went to my room to watch the Germany vs. Ghana game on my computer. It was intense. An up and down of emotions throughout the whole game, which resulted in a 2-2 tie. Once the game was over I decided to check out Santa Barbara a little more. I headed over to the beach and walked along the water for a little while. There were so many beautiful people from all over the world and everybody seemed to be effected the same way I was by the great weather. Lots of young people were playing beach volleyball, tanning and skating in a nearby skatepark.

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I saw that the University of Santa Barbara was nearby so I though I should stop by and check out a real Californian campus. It was just the way you would imagine it looking from the movies. Palm trees, ocean views and sports fields. I could only imagine going to school here, I’m not sure if I would ever study…

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After wandering the school grounds a little bit, I sat down in the shade, overlooking the bay and some boats sitting in the harbour. It really does have a vacation feel to me, I really love it. Some people at the hostel were saying earlier that there’s a festival/parade going on in downtown Santa Barbara (on State Street), so I went over and had a look. I found the park that people were celebrating in by simply following the music and the glitter on the streets. When I got there, I saw the wildest costumes, a lot of partying college students and good vibes everywhere.

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Before I went back to the hostel, I enjoyed some dinner on the beach with the sun setting behind me. Alfonso and my other roommate Declan from Australia were already waiting for me at the hostel with more food and a bottle of delicious Californian Merlot. We sat on the outside patio of the hostel until midnight, with our table growing and growing. There were 3 guys from Dublin, Ireland, a guy from Russia, two German girls, a french girl with 2 brits and an American, Denny. Everybody had a story to tell and we laughed and enjoyed ourselves so much. I decided to go to bed right away, I was so tired from all the walking, talking and taking in all of those magical moments. The laidback vibes in the place are just one of a kind. Everything seems to run an hour behind and everybody is a little more chilled than they were in San Francisco. This is a cool place to be.

 

Day 6 – San Francisco / San Luis Obispo / Santa Barbara

Leaving San Fran. It felt like I saw so much of the city, but I could have easily spent another 2 weeks and not get bored of it. I had such a great experience in a great city with ever greater people. Whenever I start a new trip I get that feeling of excitement and uncertainty, that feeling in your stomach when you don’t know what’s next but you’re just about to find out.

I checked out of the hostel in the early morning hours and headed down to the piers to catch my 7:30 bus to San Luis Obispo. On my way there I passed a guy who was walking down the street and came right towards me. It took me a few seconds to recognize his face. Something in my partially sleeping brain told me: “You know this guy.” After he passed me I looked back and just saw this athletic, ripped guy walking away. Thats when I realized it was NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick of the San Francisco 49ers. He has always been one of my favourites because of his fast shotgut offense, the same system we played with the Tigers back in Osnabrück.

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The bus was big and modern, equipped with TVs, air conditioning, Wi-Fi and best of all – it had tinted full panoramic windows. On top of all that I was lucky to say that I had the coolest bus driver in the world. His name was Jessie and he was from a little village in the south of Italy. His announcements through the microphones were so funny and friendly, I know my little sister would have fallen in love with his kindness immediately. He took us down the coast to a town called San Luis Obispo. On our way we passed through Palo Alto, Salinas and King City and just before we arrived he said he had a little surprise for us and played us a video of his favourite Italian singer – which was hard to hear over him singing along at the top of his lungs.

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In San Luis Obispo I waited for about and hour to transfer to the train headed for Santa Barbara. Once again I was more than pleasantly surprised when I boarded the train. Onboard wifi, electrical outlets, panoramic windows. The Deutsche Bahn looks unprofessional compared to the Amtrak trains and busses. Without a doubt I can say that this is the coolest way of travelling that I have experienced in my life. I sat by the window as we headed further down the coast. I had read earlier that the trainride from San Luis to Santa Barbara is one of the most scenic rides in the world and that turned out to be quite true. For about two hours we drove parrallell to the pacific, passed deserts, hills and vineyards. I just could not get enough of the views and my window seat felt like a movie screen.

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The train stopped in Santa Barbara around 4 pm and I started walking towards the hostel which was about 20 minutes from the Amtrak station. The further south I go the more latin the people are. There are palm trees everywhere and it feels like I am on holiday. I checked into the IHSP, a tiny little hostel about 5 minutes from the beach. At first I though I was in the wrong street because all I saw was little family-style houses. There are maybe 5 or 6 small rooms with 4 to 8 beds and when I checked in, my 4-bed-dorm room was empty.

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After about 7 hours of travelling I was really hungry so I walked down the street and found a great little Mexican restaurant serving homemade food. I got three tacos (probably the best I had in my life) and walked down to the beach to enjoy the sunset and sit by the water after a long and exhausting day. When I got back to my room, which was still empty at this point I decided to call it an early night and get some rest for the next day. Or so I thought.