Zak's blog

It feels like the holiday is drawing to an end.

Jason leaves for NY very early in the morning (a cab pick him up). I sleep in, and do my last shoppingwhilst here in College Ave. i buy my last gifts, and head home, last coffee in Nomad's, last pack of smokes at the local Grocery in Telegraph etc.

At home I do my last washing, and start tidying up the place, washing the floors, and watering the garden.

I dread the long flight ahead of me - and cannot figure out a way to wake up at 4:00 in the morning. There isn't any alarm clock, and somehow my phone's SIM pin has slipped my mind. I pack - and figure, maybe i should just stay up the whole night so that I can get my pick up early in the morning...

Bad plan, at 3:00 i fall asleep on the Sofa, all dressed up etc. only to wake up in a perfect panick at 4:00, the Cab is late, and I am totally mixed up. At 4:30 the cab pitches, and I am furious, hopefully I will still make the plane to NY in time.

When i arrive, I have to check my luggage in outside the airport - but the guy who has to check me in is not responsible for International connections, so I have to go inside, re-check in and everything is just a disorganised mess - eventhough I was eally well prepared.

When at last in the line for the screening a policeman starts talking to me - I answer, and the guy he was talking to before starts shouting at me, who I think i am etc. because he was busy talking to the officer. Already Highly strung I told him to lay-off: The policeman started talking to me...

At last on the plane, I have time to recapitulate the incident, I am furious, because everything had been perfect during the whole hoiday, but this asshole who screamed at me in the line had the potential to ruin my whole impression of the holiday. Brooding about it the whole stretch to NY I decide to let it go. Assholes everywhere in the world.

I have three hours in JFK, and then off to Berlin. I left SF on Saturday at 6:30, and arrived at 8:30 on Sunday morning. I spent the whole day sleeping at René's.

So a short wrap up: I have had enough of the States for a while. SF is beautiful, but the superficiality of all the people really bugged me after a while. Glad to be back in Berlin again.
I loved Seattle, and maybe next time I would visit Portland and Chicago, but I think i will head to Japan or South America next year.

Downtown day. We rush for town - have breakfast, walk up and down Valencia Street, Shop around in the mission District, have coffee at Dolores Park, and sit in the park... again.

We love it here, and just lie around, lulling, laughing and checking out people.

We get back to our car, and it is towed away, but instead of getting all excited, we simply get a cab to the pound, and get the car back.

In the evening we decide to hit town again, but it is futile to try and find an exciting night life in SF. The bars are empty, and we give up. Instead we head home, and enjoy the Garden till really late... Nesting, like everyone else in SF.

Local Day.

We drive to the University, and shop around the Campus. Officially we are looking for Art Supplies.

Having seen Berkeley, we head towards Oakland, and for the umpteenth time, I have the feeling that Oakland is deserted. At Pete's Coffee the woman recognises me again (last time I was there was almost three weeks before) - which certainly impressed me. We try to have lunch in towen, but the Restaurant we found only opens ten minutes after we are there - needless to say we do not return. We shop for Dinner at Berkeley Bowl, and at home we get an amazing Dinner together.

BBQ Steaks and Rosemarine/Lamb Sausages - with Asparagus and Patti Pans with Wild Rice. We eat outside in the garden - and enjoy the beautiful evening. At 22:30 we decide to go to the Movies, in Emeryville to see Brüno. We get there in a total rush - and go into the wrong cinema, missing out on the first hour of the film. But we only realised this at the end of the movie. The movie is funny - and shameless.

We get lost on the Parking Lot of the Cinema. Eyh - if we could only stop giggling.

Officialy on Holiday for three weeks.

We actually planned to leave the car, and stay at home today, but the weather is fantastic, so we get ready, and go to the Beach.
The hottest day in the last three weeks - we decide to head for Baker Beach - with a great view over the Golden Gate Bridge.
This beach is one of the few beaches that are actually within the town perimeter, upon arriving we get a parking space directly where i ordered it - and we find the best possible space to lie down. A Yoga person Yoga-ing behind us, two girls to our left, and a rather disturbed naked person, getting up and running around frantically every ten minutes. My mom used to say you can eat everything, but you do not have to understand everything...

We stay on the beach for a good deal of the day, looking at the marine life, ships passing underneath the bridge, and the people of course. After the beach, we decide that we have to take a look at the park where the intro of "Full House" was shot, and we photograph ourselves with our cell phones with exactly the same backgound. Such Tourists!

The Park itself is a haven for Dog Lovers. Jason learns the meaning of the Word DINK, and we laugh at all the gay couples with their "Kids". A Buddhist Monk follows us around town - we see him for the second time here, playing with two little black dogs that look like pom poms.

In the evening, we stay at home. Only after we make our daily pilgrimage to "Berkeley Bowl" and "Wholefoods" where we got Dinner.

Sunday. Breakfast. SUV. Brittish Directions. Underslept Driver.

"Do you know the way to San José"... Off to Santa Cruz, Looking for a Beach.

We get lost in Santa Cruz, but we see the towns hookers - around Lunch time.

Looking at Seals - which we didn't see but only heard, we develop a new vocabulary to be discreet. Germans walk by with a nifty map - and I corner them about where our Beach might be. We head towards Davenport and get out on the Beach - which is completely deserted - and extremely windy. We get our daily exfoliating (only calves) and decide to drive on Highway one towards SF again. The landscape is amazing. We have a coffee in San mateo - but the name might be something else, as our Brittish Directions Giver (via GPS) is extremely unclear.

As we get home, we dress for the night about town. We head for the Castro - find a bar where you get $1,- off any drink if you wear only your underwear (and people actually thought this is a good deal) - we stayed for half a drink, and then found a nightclub. Jason liked the music, and there were actually people dancing, but I thought the music was crap - Charts, with Music Videos on the wall...
The last bar of the night was the Moby Dick. The only place really worth mentioning. Nice crowd (all ten people) - normal, down to earth neighbourhood bar - with a nautical theme and fish tank.

Back at home, we sit on the steps like white trash and have a chat with our neighbour, who is extremely stoned and cannot get one sentence together...

Jason and I wake up at 9.50 after having a few drinks outside in the garden... We had to hurry to get our car by 10.00 - but first we had to figure out getting there. I really think Public Transport should be a number one priority for any town with more than 10.000 inhabitants.

We take a cab, and pick up our little Golden Calve. A Toyota Rav4 - in gold, Claudia Schiffer in Boots. The two of us feel like we are losing it completely. Everyone else in Berkeley drives Priuses - only we in a fat SUV (which is not true, but as neither of ever drive - this was a real treat).

We head for Suasilito, which is not easy as our Navigatress only speaks Texas American - so we change her to Brittish English - and then she only says the bare neccesities. After we had figured this out - we were already on Highway number 1 at the Muir Woods.

The forrest is fantastic, and the landscape is great. For some reason we see a lot of woman dressed in pink walking on the side of the street - it takes us a while to realise we are in the middle of the "Walk against Breat Cancer".

Needless to say, Jason and I laugh a lot.

Evening at the Pilsner Inn in Church street (Castro). Jason and I are the only people not dressed like pirates, so we leave after watching some really mean lesbians play Pool.

Wake up at 4:00, get a cab to the airport, and fly with Alsaka Airlines, back to SFO.

Quote from the Trolley Dolly:
1. "If you are looking for any blankets or pillows, we do not have any".
2. "Those passengers traveling on to Cancun from San Francisco, that sounds nice, but I am not sure whether this plane actually carries on, or whether you have to get off in SFO".

I swear.

Back in SF by 11:00, take the BART to Berkely, do some shopping, shower and have a snooze, then get back to the airport to pick up Jason.

Jason and I met two years ago in NY.

He arrives, and we BART back to Berkeley, and go for Dinner at Zacharies, which is already closed at 22:30 - but we get them to make us a "half-Baked" Pizza - which means we walked back home with the Pizza carton, and actually had to stuff it in the oven.
You don't understand though - Zacharies Pizza is the absolute best Pizza I have ever eaten. Well worth the hassle.

Waking up really early to get the train to Vancouver. I get a taxi from the Hotel, and get to the train station 10 minutes before the train leaves at 08:00, I try to buy a ticket, but somehow the machine does not work with a foreign Credit Card. With two minutes to go before the train leaves, a helper comes along, and asks me where I want to go. I answer that I am trying to get on the train to Vancouver... He replies that it is already too late, no chance of getting there by train anymore today.

So, two cities three hours apart, across one border - one train per day connects the two...

I rush to the Greyhound bus station, the next bus to Vancouver leaves at 8:35. I get there at 8:15, I mean this is great, as I had to go across town during peak traffick.
There is one cashier, and 10 people in the line ahead of me. The people that were helped when I get there, are still at the desk at 8:30... The clerk is actually helping them to fill out Name Tags for their bags. Their Bus leaves at 11:00 to Chicago.
I ask, whether it is possible to buy tickets on the bus - but it wasn't - and you have to reach the bus 10 minutes before it leaves at least...
The next bus to Vancouver leaves at 15:00...

But, I am not giving up. I rush to Union Lake to get a water plane to at least fly to Victoria, to see their amazing Botanical Garden. But when I get there, the person is not sure if I am allowed to travel across the border with a German Passport...

This is where I give up - have breakfst, and decide to be a perfect tourist, by going up the Space needle.
I took some great photos, and will be sure to upload them as soon as I am allowed to upload again...

Today I wanted to discover more about Seattle. I love the city, find it more exciting than San Francisco, and the people seem to be less "California" - and more natural. Maybe it is the close proximity of nature, maybe the closeness of Canada - I cannot really pin-point it.

I took the Water Taxi across the bay to Aki Beach, and sat down on the beach, reading. It drizzled now and then, but I loved my book, and sat there, taking photos of ships passing by and children singing on the beach.
I have reached my Upload Limit - already, so till next month, nbo more photos from Seattle I am afraid.

I walked back from Aki Beach to where the Water Taxi stopped, strangely, even here in Seattle the recession is vividly noticeable. Many houses are for sale, and business seems slow.

I went to Pike/Pine for dinner, in a little Restaurant I read about in the local newspaper. I had a strange Tortellini, filled with Pear Mousse and Cheese - which just sounds strange, but it was really good. I walked back to the hotel, planning to go to Vancouver tomorrow morning.

I slept in, the Hyatt bed is simply fantastic. I checked online, but it is only deliverable in the USA, and I would so much like a bed exactly like this for home.

I walked Downtown, and went to the modern Art Gallery, which had an amazing exhibition. Traditional Native American pieces were exhibited next to African contemporary art, and somehow, it all made perfect sense. Then there was an exhibition about destructive art, which was extremely interresting.

I spent most of the Day in the Museum, the weather wasn't that great, so no need to feel guilty to sepnd the day indoors.

In the evening, I went for Dinner in a Diner, bought a few beers which i drank in the hotel room watching TV. A luxury to catch up with News - and watch Michael Jackson's Saga unfold.

From my hotel room, I have an amazing view over town. I opened my curtains, and just watched the city from above for hours.

Seattle is absolutely great. I woke up early (slept fantastically eventually) and went for a swim in the hotel pool, showered and went for breakfast o0n the search for WiFi to get my mail. The WiFi I could not find, as most of the places were still closed when I started my walk. I had a coffee in Starbucks - for the first time on the trip in a Starbucks - because Starbucks actually comes from Seattle.

After breakfast, I went back to the hotel and had a morning snooze. Love those.

Got on my running shoes, and decided to go train - so I jogged a while in the fitness studio of the hotel - which was my first sport in two weeks. It felt great.

For Lunch I studied all my maps, and decided to discover Seattle. Walked to downtown, then to the Fishermans wharf, then back to the top of the hill to Pike/Pine district, found a great Coffee Shop (Bauhaus) with WiFi, and checked out my maps again, and walked to see the Jimmi Hendrix statue, and just walked around Pike/Pine, going into furniture stores, little galleries etc.

The feeeling of the city is amazing, and I simply love it.

So, two weeks on holiday. Now it starts to get to be a sin. I am enjoying being free a lot.

Today I cleaned the house, and packed - and got everything ready for my late night flight to Seattle. I read a bit in the garden and got a dreadful sunburn.

On my way to the airport I had my camera ready to take a photo of the Cranes in the harbour, which supposedly was George Lucas' inspiration for the big war machines in the Starwars, and looking at them, there is some similarity.

I left for Seattle late at night, got there at past 12, got into my ride and got dropped off in my hotel. My first impression of town was amazing, driving into the nightly Seattle was truly beautiful.
I remember always when I am in the Alps, I wonder what it would look like to have a city with high rises and all in the mountains, and Seattle gets pretty close to that, with lakes surrounding the city and all, and Mt Rainier in the background... Beautiful.

I got to my hotel, which is truly beautiful, and has a great location it seems. My room is on the top floor, and as I laid down to sleep, the airconditioning (for the hotel) that seems to be directly above my bed. It is too loud to sleep in the room, so I changed to a bedroom on the 14th floor. I felt guilty doing so, but I thought that as I am paying for the room, it might as well be as perfect as it gets.

The new room is beautiful. I have seldom slept on such a comfy bed.

This was my off day. I read, and watched TV and felt guilty for doing that here - but I am on holiday - once is fine.

It was the fourth of July, so everywhere there were Fireworks, but you couldn´t see anything, as it was extremely foggy.

Artmurmur Oakland

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Today was quiet, I started reading "Me talk pretty one day" by David Selar - and I have not been able to put it down...

My Origami is getting excellent, I think my farewll gift looks pretty in the Washing room!

Not much to tell there... Sorry!

The Hangover

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The Ting Tings - Great DJ (Galaxy Of The Dead Remix)

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What a quiet day. I got up early, ate some Yoghurt and Muesli, and sat down with a book in the Garden. Around lunch time when I was bored with just sitting around, I got on my bike and cycled down to the Aquatic Park... Which was a nice cycle. I stopped in Downtown Berkeley on my way back, and had a coffee, before coming back home.

I have been wanting to fold paper birds in Origami style - so this evening I sat down, and tried. I thought it would be something easy and chop-chop, but it is not at all. I want to learn how to fold the Crane, and after reading the instructions and practising quite a lot, I sort of got it... But I obiously still have to practice more.

I had a beer, and then watched "Awakenings" - a film I remembered moved me when I saw it the first time, and now, almost ten years on, I can see why it moved me - but that was it. Good acting etc.