America: San Francisco

San Francisco is a very unique and beautiful city. The weirdest thing for me was getting used to the very steep streets. Driving upwards I sometimes couldn't see anything ahead but the sky, making the driving somewhat challenging. On the other hand, driving down a hill, especially when headed for the bay, gave me a beautiful scenic view.

Things to see here include the harbour with some historical ships

 

Alcatraz

China Town

The Asian Art Museum with its marvels

 

Lincoln Park and the Japanese Garden

Presidio, where the scent of of the giant cypress trees hangs in the air

and Baker Beach with a good view on the Golden Gate Bridge and the spectacular sunsets

 

For more and much better pictures of San Francisco, I reccomend following the resident photographer Dave on Instagram. Here are some samples of his work:

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America: Hearst Castle

On my way to San Francisco I stopped at Hearst Castle, a remarkable location built by William Randolph Hearst. After watching "Citizen Kane" I couldn't just drive by without visiting.

Located on a hill the whole complex has what is called for: location, location, location.

The view from up there is simply stunning

 

The entrance of the main building:

 

 Inside it you can find pieces of art (many things centuries-old) from all over the world in abundance, ranging from tapestry and paintings to furniture, silverware and a fireplace, the bigger things disassembled, shipped here and reassembled later.

Outside pool, not much water

And, of course, an indoor pool as well. Should I ever get my own one it has to look exactly like this

These are just a few examples of the things to see there. If you should ever travel between Los Angeles and San Francisco, take a few hours, enjoy this remarkable place and learn about the story behind it.

America: Los Angeles

Late, but not too late (I hope) I will post a few impressions from my trip to America made in spring this year, starting with L.A.

Nicely decorated mid-sized car

Art by the street

Santa Monica beach

Some wildlife

I´ve taken a tour at Sony Pictures (formerly Columbia). They have many buildings and stuff from lots of films there

From the very old... (You recognize the bank building from "It's a wonderful Life", don't you?)

...via the fairly old by now...

...to the more recent.