I had an absolutely amazing day in Yosemite today! I thought of how much we always managed to do each day while we were on the Stray-bus and so I tried to do it like that. I'll give you the details when I'm back in SF but here is the raw meat: In the morning I climbed my first proper mountain - the 220 meters high Manure Pile (now, is that a nice name or what?) with ropes and helmet and everything. More »
I just arrived in the Yosemite National Park - after having made a few, ehem, detours on the way. What little I have seen so far is absolutely awesome and I'm already considering to change my plans to stay here for a few days longer. My rental car is really, nice, btw. I've never had a rental car before! In a few hours I'll probably drive to Glacier Point to see the full moon shine over Yosemite Valley. Supposedly it's awesome! More »
I so love this city! Seriously: San Francisco is gorgeous! It's got cool cafes and restaurants, a nice number of parks and places to hang out and quite simply a really nice architecture. And even though it's a big city it does not have this claustrophobic feel to it. More »
Yesterday I arrived in San Francisco on what was the longest day of my life: Including the time difference between Aukland and SF, Sept. 23rd had 41 hours for me and I was awake for most of it. But San Francisco is so nice and my welcome here was so warm, that none of this matters. More »
In the last week I had to say "good bye" a lot. And I'm wondering: why are good byes so often so awkward? Or rather - the hour or two leading up to saying good bye. I mean, it's too weird - there you are, sitting with someone whom you spend quite some time with and during most of that time, you were busy trading anecdotes and stories and then all of a sudden you sit there in awkward silence. More »
I can't remember when was the last time that I spent as many days with as little sleep. I've basically been awake constantly since I came to Christchurch, with only two or three hours of sleep thrown in every day. And I'm feeling great! I think it's all those endorphines that are cruising through my body that keep me all high and happy and running around with a mad grin on my face. The reason: a woman! Or rather - two! More »
Yesterday I finished the southern loop of New Zealand, from Queenstown to Christchurch. It was nice, but to be honest, except for Milford Sound it wasn't too spectacular. Milford Sound and the trip to the Sound are really, really pretty, though. The scenery is very spectacular. Example: Right at the Sound you have a mountain that rises 1,600 meters out of the water! More »
Aaaahhhh! I'm haunted by techno-lust again, that old desire of mine to always have the newest and best equipment. I haven't felt this urge for a long time. But now, that I'm approaching the U.S. it's back with a vengeance. After all, the U.S. do not only offer the newest gadgets, no they are also cheaper there than in Germany, I might get the tax back when I leave the country and it might even be tax-deductible. Oh, sweet temptation! More »
The good news is: my mothers house is still standing. It didn't burn down or get washed away in a mudslide. No major catastrophy at home. Everything is in order. The reason for the weird message that my mom left on my phone was just her being slightly overcautious. More »
I got the weirdest voicemail from my mother last night. I really can't make sense of it. She called me and said that they had moved houses and that her new phone number was this-and-that. But that doesn't make any sense at all! Neither she nor Steffen had ever mentioned thinking about moving, nor did they tell me that they had found a new place or something. More »
Queenstown has an attraction that is a source of infinite joy and immature jokes for me: The Luge. So what's so funny? Well, "Luge" is how most English spell my name "Lüge" since the English alphabet doesn't have umlauts. So of course I had to walk up the mountain and find out what sort of little ride I am. More »
I've now been in Queenstown for a few days. And everything I said in one of my first posts about the Kiwis being absolutely mad is 100 % true. In Queenstown you can do things you haven't even heard about. Like: Go approx. 100 meters up into the air on a parasail and then bungee down from there! I mean, what sick mind has come up with this idea? The two other most crazy things you can do here are: More »
I just arrived in a town called "Franz Josef", where they have one of two glaciers worldwide that goes right from the top of the mountains into the rainforst - the second one is in South America. Pretty amazing stuff, really. And tomorrow I will put on some ice talons, be issued an ice pick and off I'll go on the ice. It's said to be pretty amazing and it looks like even the weather might be nice, which is a pretty big thing in a place with more than 300 days and four meters of rain a year. More »
Bad surprise in the morning: The sea is pretty rough and our ferry was cancelled! And the next ferry is fully booked, so we can't get onboard that one either. Fortunately it looks like we might be getting over on a different ferry with a different ferry company. I just hope that their ship is gonna be built slightly more stable! More »
The town of Taupo, in the heart of the North Island, is another reminder of how strong the seismic forces are that shape this country. I had never realized this, but New Zealand is the country with the most earthquakes worldwide (about 15.000 per year) and has some of the most active and most dangerous vulcanos on earth. More »