Wandering around Prenzlauerberg

A return to Berlin!
It's a big city and I have the fortune of being hosted in the Prenzlauerberg neighborhood for my first month back. I decided to walk around a "3-block radius" of my current home in Berlin to see what gems of the neighborhood I could find.

Brunch and a Walk

Kicking off the New Year with an American tradition of weekend brunch and a lazy walk. The weather cooperated beautifully this year, not a cloud in the sky, giving the air an intense, brisk quality. All the better to enjoy the spectacular views of the mountain ranges on the other side of Puget Sound.

Panteón de Mezquitán

Putting 2015 to rest with the Cemetery of Mezquitán.
It's been an adventurous year for me, starting in Berlin with a visit to a friend, which gave me the drive to quit my job in the tech world and dedicate myself full time to traveling and teaching English.
I've visited Pittsburgh for my brother's wedding; spent more time in Berlin with quick side trips to Leipzig, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam; gained a new appreciation for walking around Los Angeles; spent over a month in Guadalajara getting my TEFL certificate; met wonderful Couchsurfers, fellow life travelers, and reconnected with old friends.

There will be one more post from me before the year is out, but for today, enjoy a look at the Panteón de Mezquitán.

Parques Agua Azul y Mirador Independencia

Having been cooped up in classes for most of the month, it was only in my last week that I had time to wander and appreciate the parks Guadalajara has to offer. The city is dotted with green spaces, large and small. On this Wednesday, I visited two- one in the south of the city and another on its northern edge. All thanks to a great BRT line.

Parque Metropolitano

I may have a new favorite place in the world. The Parque Metropolitano in Zapopan can occupy a park lover's month, let alone day. Located a quick 20 minute bus ride from Parque Revolución on Tren Linéa 1 (a bus line, not a train line, no matter the name), the park is full of activities to delight kids and inner kids alike.

Festival Internaciónal del Globo 2015

An easy 2.5 hour drive from Guadalajara, the ITTO graduating class of Nov 2015 decided to check out the International Balloon Festival held in Leon every November. There are worst ways to spend a weekend than in a park enjoying hot air balloons play in the wind. If you ever make your way to this event, do yourself a favor and camp at the park. There's an ample supply of hammocks for sale for you to enjoy throughout your visit.

Mountain Biking with Couchsurfer Francisco

Oh, does my body hurt, but oh, how much fun I had last night.
Francisco invited me to the Paseo Nocturno en las Montañas that happens every Wednesday, organized by Gdl Bikers/MTB. After outfitting me with the requisite gear, we were off to La Primavera.

Día de Halloween

The party started at dusk and continued for many until late into the next day. Mexicans seem to personify the saying, 'Work to live, don't live to work.'
The holidays of Halloween and Día de los Muertos are starting to blend in the larger cities of Mexico. Some traditionalists are not happy with this, as Halloween is seen as an infection on the true spirit of Day of the Dead, which is supposed to be a time to reflect on and celebrate the life of those departed, not an excuse to dress up and party at a bar.

Hurricane Patricia

Traveling can take you on some wonderful adventures. And sometimes nature can meet you on those adventures and give you a spin.
I got to class yesterday around 9am with other students going on about this tropical storm that had just been upgraded to the worst hurricane that had ever been recorded. Knowing we were protected by a couple hundred miles and some mountain ranges, I wasn't too concerned about us. The danger to the coastal regions was quite real, however, and I'm glad that the best case scenario of the hurricane making landfall away from the major population centers and quickly losing intensity happened.
One of my classmates tells me the worst of the wind passed by us around 1am, furniture banging around the rooftop patio of our hostel woke her up. Having experienced a few Seattle windstorms, though, I slept right through and didn't realize anything had been out of place, the staff having set everything to right before I left my room.

I took some videos of my school shutting down in preparation for the event- flooding was a danger here, so it was important that students and teachers were able to get home. Unfortunately, when I uploaded the videos, the sound wasn't working, so I'm going to have to figure out what the problem was if I want to share some moving pictures.

Walking around this morning, I did notice a sign in the park near my hostel still knocked over, so Guadaljara wasn't entirely unaffected.

Hiking to the Hollywood Sign

The great outdoors. Even in L.A., there's plenty of opportunities to get away from the urban environment, right in the city.

Located in the same park as the Griffiths Observatory, there are a few paths to get to the Hollywood sign, I chose a 6.5 mile hike that starts at Canyon Drive that just happens to be right next to the Bronson Caves, also known as the Batcave from the 60's Batman. Quite a treat.

Griffiths Observatory in Los Angeles

The City of Angels.
It's a place I've visited a few times in the past due to growing up for a time in Central California, but in all those visits, walking was not an activity I really engaged in. Friends and family with cars always shuttled me around when coming to visit. For good reason, as Los Angeles might be the most car-centric city in the world. Cars are the dominant force on the road, and everyone knows this, so you really must be aware at all times of traffic signals and the potential for cars to make a right turn into your walking path.
It's a bit unnerving.
All that being said, West Hollywood is actually a nice place to walk around. My friend happens to have an apartment near a lot of neat tourist destinations, all of which I shunned in favor of hiking up to the Griffith Observatory about an hour and a half away from her.

Art Around Seattle

A brief respite in my city of origin, the graffiti scene in Seattle isn't as rambunctious as it is in Berlin, but there are some interesting pieces you can find if you keep your eyes open as you wander the streets.

Copenhagen Couchsurfing Host's Tour

I was so fortunate to be hosted by a wonderful couple living near the center of Copenhagen. My timing couldn't have been better, as they were packing up to move to a new location the coming weekend. The morning of my arrival, I was greeted with coffee (brought from the husband's, Thomas, favorite roastery in Southern California) and fresh backed bread. After an overnight bus ride from Berlin, these touches of hospitality were greatly appreciated. The wife, Karina, was full of wonderful ideas that took me to some tourist spots and some spots off the beaten path. She had grabbed a map of the city and we spent about half an hour marking interesting spots to visit. Being a world traveler herself, it was great talking about the differences in culture you see when flying around the world and the things that makes your home feel comfortable to you.

Wandering Copenhagen

For only being in the city two days, I feel I got a good taste of the people and culture. Copenhagen is a capitol city, but it feels much calmer and quieter than Berlin. The biking culture blew me away and it was hard returning the bike I rented for a day since it was so nice to be able to ride around without the fear I'm used to in the States.
I'd love to return one day and get to explore some of the neighborhoods I rushed through with my limited time.

Miscellaneous Berlin

Sometimes pictures just don't fit in a themed post, but that's no reason not to share the interesting sites encountered in Berlin.

A weekend in Leipzig

A short 2 hour bus ride from Berlin, Leipzig is a fabulous day or weekend trip. I'm lucky enough to have a friend from the States who immigrated here a few years ago with his wife, who is from Germany. We spent a few days wandering around with his daughter, showing a family friendly side to Leipzig.

An ode to laziness

The other day I wandered down Torstrasse heading west. I had no destination in mind, but chose to turn only when the street stopped me from going further. Three parks drew me in, each delightful in their own way, a respite from the busy street I was ambling down.
Berlin seems to be made up of a series of parks, buildings fitting in where there happens to be space. The amount of green space in the city makes it feel human in a way most American cities can’t capture. The acknowledgement that people live here and want to spend time relaxing. There are so many opportunities to stop and sit, no shame about looking like a vagrant.
It can be difficult to get out of the American mindset of productivity. The feeling that, if you aren’t producing something useful to the community, you are being a bad person. It’s no wonder the American entertainment business is so successful, we need distraction from the guilt that permeates our every minute. I’d thought that I had escaped a lot of that poisonous thought, but swimming in the muck leaves its trace.

Viktoria Park

Wandering around the Kreuzberg neighborhood this afternoon, I came upon a park with a winding trail up a hill. Hills are quite rare in Berlin, so I figured this was just one of the larger Tueflsburgs (sp?), mounds of detritus from WWII covered with dirt.
That turned out not to be the case, as I reached the top and came upon the Prussian Memorial to soldiers killed during the Napoleonic Wars.






The view from the top was quite nice.





The waterfall pictured escaped my notice on my walk up because I came into the park from the opposite direction. But I couldn't leave without enjoying a bit of time sitting nearby and listening to the rushing water.





And a great statue was waiting to be admired at the bottom of the waterfall.