::: BLOG ::: --- ::: WILSON ::: --- ::: PIX ::: --- ::: ::: --- ::: :::

Knut, a friend from Darmstadt, spent with me one week vacation: we decided to go for the 10h Half Dome Hike in Yosemite Park. After that awesome experience, we stoped at L.A. and finally enjoyed the beach at Santa Cruz.

After a short stop at the Governators Office in Sacramento, we spent a weekend in a cabin at Lake Tahoe. 12 Guys, a lot of alcohol, biking, gambling and nice beaches ... 30°C at 2000m height. Landscape you can not describe ... you have to see the pictures.

On a beautiful sunny day, i decided to bike the Golden Gate. Awesome !!! By Bart to SF, bike along the Piers to the Fort. Over the Bridge to the sightseeing places and finally to Sausalito. It was HHHOOTTT. I felt like a loser after a marathon, and my arms are sun burned. But it was worthwhile.

I've never been to north california. So, on a three days trip with the Rückert Sisters, we went up to Eureka along Highway 1, spent a full day at Redwood National Park. On the 3. day, we visited Lassen Volcanic National Park. California can be so different. Hot, dry south and a wonderfull green north.

My life as a hostel :-) The Rückert Sister (Fiona and Jessica) arrived in SF for 3 weeks vacation. So i have shown them SF and spent one day in Napa Valley for SOME wine tastings. We had really funny days.

Daytrips with Ann around the Bay. San Francisco sightseeing, Oakland Zoo, Rollercoasters at Great America, Beaches around Muir Woods, Sea kayaking in Santa Cruz, Shopping in SF ans some pics from home.

We spent 11 days in the car/tent/hotel to see South California, Nevada and Arizona. San Francisco - Highway 1 - Big Sur - Santa Barbara - Santa Monica - L.A. - Hollywood - Long Beach - San Diego - Joshua Tree National Park - Hoover Dam - Las Vegas - Grand Canyon National Park. 2500 miles (~ 3800 km) and temperatures around 115°F (~43°C), busy cities and awesome wildlife. Days we will never forget.

Long time ago, Mabrina get married. I promissed to organize a movie night (i hate wedding games). So i decided to go to Albuquerque over the Independence Day weekend. Additionally, we (Marius, Sabrina, Matthias, Erik and me) celebrate a second marriage ... Erik's. So we had some nice days in NM doing a kind of german reunion: all guys were/are students in the same Darmstadt group of Prof. Markus Roth. Beside celebrating this fact several times :-) we went to the july 4th fireworks in Albuquerque, went hiking at Petroglyph National Monument, visited the Sandia National Lab, the "National Museum of Nuclear Science and History" and the "Rattlesnake Museum".

Dieter, some friends and me, we decided to go down to L.A. to visit some friends, go to an Expo and celebrate a filipino birthday. A nice warm holiday weekend with a lot of fun.

University sightseeing with Stefano. The places where we want to be ... in our next life ... unfortunately. After leaving the foggy East Bay, the weather was sunny the whole day. Nice beach finish in Santa Cruz, enjoying a cold beer and a good pizza with an italian guy.

Military parade, music, flags ... a whole bunch of patriots celebrate their heros. Nice to see but a little bit exaggerated. With a U.S. flag in my hand, i tried to sing the national anthem.

Carnaval ... May ... something doesn't fit, but it was great. It is a different kind of Fastnacht. No alcohol and a lot of naked people.

My parents and me, we spent the day at Point Reyes Seashore Park. The weather could be better ... but nevertheless, it was a wonderful day on the beach. On our way back, we had a short stop at the Golden Gate Bridge ... awesome during night !!!

Pretty hot day in San Francisco ... 12km from the Bay to the Pacific ... including Hayes Street Hill. It was a nightmare, but i'm a finisher !!! 1:27:10 and overall position 8073 (65000+ runner).

Daytrips to Santa Cruz, Monterey, Mount Diabolo and Rock City. Pretty good weather. I enjoyed it..

An exhausting trip from Victoria BC to Seattle WA. But it was worthwhile. Ferry to Port Angeles, 350 km around the Hood Canal (because Salisbury Bridge HW 104 was closed) up to Seattle. Wow, i like the Space Needle.

A beautiful sunny day on Vancouver Island. From the ferry harbour Duke Point (Nanaimo) to Cowichan Lake, Butchard Garden and Victoria. A typical canadian day with a lot of water and flowers.

Beside the PAC09 conference, there was also time for sightseeing around Vancouver. I never saw such a beautyful city before. And the Trip to Whistler ... wow. Why not emigrate to Canada ?

No traditionell my 1st cider ... vine tasting at Napa Valley. Bad weather ... but who cares ... kathrin and me, we were inside. Champagne, sparkling vine and a couple of different vines.

Kathrin and me, we were heading down Highway 1 to Santa Cruz. Nice spring weather, flowers in any color and a feeling ... little bit like holiday !!! Beach after beach, kit bording and surfing ... and a pretty good dinner on Santa Cruz Pier.

A 30°C weekend in the Yosemite National Park ... but still snow. Huge spring water falls and a lot of different animals. The main valley was pretty crowded, so we decided to spend the 2nd day in Hetch Hetchy Valley ... almost more beautiful.

Before i left Germany, i've promissed to visit Dominique in NY. Here i am ... and Dominique had no idea. Besides, i've visited the Niagara Falls on the Canadian side and had a nice easter hunt with Dominiques family and guest-family.

It looks like vacation ... but the experiment is pretty hard.

The second weekend, we went for a New Mexico Roundtrip. First we've visited the Trinity Side, where the first atomic bomb exploded. After a hike through a lava field, we were heading down to Alamogordo (1 night in Hotel). Sat. afternoon and So. morning, we had some nice hikes in the White Sands Dunes. WOW. Besides a visit at the space museum, We've spent So. sunset at the Very Large Array (Radiotelescope).

On the first weekend here in New Mexico, we've checked out some nice spots like Santa Fee, the Hot Springs in the Rio Grande Canyon and Sandia Crest.

What should i say ... it was ... outstanding !!! Take a look at the pictures and you can imagine what i mean. One week camping with Friederike and Christoph on Maui Island.

Friederike, Christoph, Alex and me, we've spent a weekend in Santa Barbara, Los Angeles and Hollywood. Sunny weather 25 degrees and a lot of fun.

... because of all complaints now pictures of myself.

Blue sky flights ... unbelievable. Eastbound: San Francisco - Lake Tahoe - Deserts - Colorado River - Frankfurt. Westbound: Norway - Greenland - Canada.

My special present for Dominique. Pictures of Fastnacht in Seligenstadt. All you friends never forget you !!!

A special day during my visit in the US. We decided to go to the Hard Rock Cafe in San Francisco for New Year's Eve diner including Live-Music and fireworks over the Bay. Classified picture material is not on my camera ... sorry. Hehe !!! You will find it on my doctor trolley.

Again ... my substitute family and me, we went out for one day to Monterey CA. After visiting the Aquarium, we have done a short trip through the town and spend the time around sunset on the beaches of 17-miles-drive.

I went together with my substitute family to Las Vegas over christmas. Tina Tanja Thomas Markus and me, we had luck with the weather and spent some time in front of ringing slot maschines, at "Mamma Mia", Lake Mead and Hoover Dam.

This weekend was full moon. Best time to brew our spring beer. 2 different sorts, 10 gallons of nice stuff. Also last weekend of Alex here in the US. We went for christmas shopping to San Francisco ... pretty successful !!!

AC/DC live at Oracle Arena, Oakland. "Black and Ice" - Tour. This concert will be in my mind as long as i live. Beyond words, really loud and AWESOME !!! Here pure SEX: video 13min 90mb DOWNLOAD.

The second try for a day on the west coast. This time, we checked out Highway no. 1 from Santa Cruz across Half Moon Bay to San Francisco: 80 miles coast ride with the Oldsmobile. Wonderful sunny weather and one beach better than the other. This day was like holiday.

I've never seen such a beautiful nature and so much wild animals (including Alex and me). Mid of november and 23 degrees but night frost. 2 days were definitely not enough. Our program was: EXTREM-Hiking, EXTREM-Waterfall-looking, EXTREM-Wild-animals-picture-taking, EXTREM-cruising, EXTREM-sequoia-running. So the big diners were legitimated.

Weekend trip to Los Angeles with the Greyhound Bus over night. 3 wonderful days in LA, Hollywood and on the beaches with temperatures around 30 degree. Alex and me, we had a lot of fun on Sunset Strip and Hollywood Blvd.

Halloween together with Alex in San Francisco: AT&T Park and Castro. The halloween party at the parking lot beside the baseball arena was rather boring. A lot of music stages but only a few people. But in the Castro destrict ... unbelievable. Castro is the gay district of San Francisco. Freaky people ... amazing atmosphere.

This is a car ... no not a car ... a space ship ... a destroyer. A typical US car. I like it from the first day i saw it.

I've never seen so much suicide. In freaky crafts with heart-stopping speed Dolores Street in San Francisco down-hill. About 75,000 crazy people were watching this spectacle at sunny 23 degree blue sky. Alex and me, we enjoyed this party for some hours before we went to a nice dinner in downtown.
Here a short video to get a feeling.

Can you remember ... Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, and Ed Harris ... Nicolas Cage on his knees. I like this movie. Theater becomes reality. One afternoon with Alex on the Alcatraz Island. At the moment, it is not a prison anymore, the island is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area. Alex and me, we have a small sunburn. Maybe because of the ... sunny weather ???

"Join us in our celebration of the men and women of our armed forces. A spectacular weekend family event featuring the Navy Blue Angels, a Parade of Navy ships and other exciting demonstrations." http://www.military.com/fleetweek
Unbelievable pictures made from Alcatraz island. Noisy, smoky and sensational event !!! I will never forget a Hornet some meters above my head. Here a 4min video of this event.

Such a store is necessary in Seligenstadt just before Fastnacht. It is a playground for everyone. Costumes, decoration, games and miscellaneous accessories. I like this store. Look and see!

Yesterday, i moved in my new home. A small house in El Cerrito, 3 miles north of Berkeley. Here some pictures of the house, the garden, kitchen and living room. My room is of the size 4x4 square-meter with a big window and hardwood floor. Nice choice ;-)

One cannot believe. At this place i have to work ... its very hard, you can imagine ;-) The whole lab is surrounded by lots of old trees lying on some small hills above Berkeley. If you turn around the see the whole bay area: Berkeley in front - Oakland and San Jose on the left - the Bay Bridge, Downtown San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge (on this pictures unfortunately overclouded) in the background.

My first weekend in the US. During a short walk through the University of California, i watched a nice water polo match in the Aquatics Complex. I found out by accident that there is a football match in the Memorial Stadium of Berkeley as well, between the California Bears and the Arizona State Sun Devils. Together with 60.000 people, this was an nice rainy and sunny afternoon with an clear result for the Bears.
And here a nice video of the football match (22 MB).