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USA

Digital Nomad Stop #9: USA – Los Angeles

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Near the end of my 90 days in the US, I decided that I still wanted to see some more of the US. Los Angeles seemed like an obvious choice, as I didn’t feel like renting a car by myself and flights from San Francisco were cheap and short. To be honest, LA does not really deserve its own blog post. It just didn’t quite fit in with any of my other blog posts about the US. Plus, it is the only other place I have worked from remotely, next to SF. Hence – my digital nomad stop #9.

I had booked myself a central hotel, just around the corner of the Walk of Fame. I had 3.5 days in LA, which would have been way too much time – but given that I travelled during the week and had to work part-time, it was just right. LA has some busses and metros, but when I started looking at where the actual sights are located, I realized that it would be very time-consuming to travel around on public transport. So, for the first time in a very long time, I booked a hop-on hop-off bus tour ticket. I found a deal and went for the maximum version that included all 3 different routes, going all the way to Santa Monica and Venice Beach, around Hollywood and Beverly Hills and into the center of LA.

During the next 3 days, I did all of these routes and they actually weren’t too bad with the audio commentary. The sights themselves though were kind of underwhelming. The city is very spread out, there are odd empty/industrial areas between places, lots of homeless everywhere and the weather at Venice Beach and Santa Monica was just as grey and foggy as in San Francisco. Some places that I did enjoy were: Santa Monica Pier, the skate park at Venice Beach and the modern architecture around the Disney Center in the center of the city.

My definite highlight of LA was a hike I did in the Hollywood Hills to the Hollywood sign on my last day. Shows again how I’m just not a city person anymore, but will be happy as soon as you put me into any kind of nature. The hike wasn’t even that spectacular and unfortunately views were not clear that day, but it was nice enough and good to get away from all the people and traffic.

I had very low expectations for LA, and in a way, these low expectations were met. Been there, done that. Here are some more photos.

USA

Digital Nomad Stop #8: USA – Yosemite National Park

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During my time in the US, Kesh and I visited Yosemite National Park 3 times, and every time was special in its own way.

Our first trip to Yosemite was straight away on my first weekend in the US. Yay! It was mid-April and still a bit chilly at times, but perfect weather for climbing and the sun was shining all day long! We spent 2 days climbing 2 different multi-pitches, starting with The Grack, a beautiful 5.6 following very obvious cracks up to the top. Next day, we went up Munginella, another 5.6 which in my opinion was much harder than The Grack though. I thought about leading a pitch, but still felt a bit unsure about the different climbing style that Yosemite requires and placing trad gear at the same time, so just followed. The views were once again amazing! Kesh also showed me around some famous viewpoints in the park and of course we had to check out El Cap and spy on some climbers on The Nose. So cool!

During our second trip to Yosemite, we had a special mission: Half Dome. On our first day though, we just took it easy as we had arrived late in the night and went on Sunnyside Bench, a 5.4 which was easy enough for me to lead. I was a bit scared on the first pitch, but managed my way up. The rest was easy. Very happy to have led my first trad route in Yosemite with hopefully many more to follow!

Day 2 was Half Dome day. We woke up super early and started hiking at 5.45am, as it is a very long approach to the start of the route Snake Dike 5.7 R. The day started with a long approach, but a beautiful one leading past gushing waterfalls!

During the climb, we unfortunately got stuck behind a group of 3 that probably cost us around 2h. So despite starting early, finding the start of the route quickly and not getting lost, we arrived late at the top. The climbing itself was easy apart from two slabby parts that were the cruxes of the route. I was very happy not having to lead any of the pitches, as it was by far the most runout climbing I have ever seen. There are almost no bolts, and no options to place trad gear. The route ends about 1/3 of the way up to the top from where on you have to walk up on never-ending slabs. A true calf- and achilleas-tendon-burner! We were very happy when we finally arrived on the summit – a flat area full of granite blocks with stunning views into the valleys below.

What followed, was a decent that took forever, and ever. It was a bit shorter than the approach, but somehow felt much longer as we were tired and the day was coming to an end rather quickly. We spent the last hours hiking robot-like (out of tiredness) in the dark, arriving back at the car at 11.15pm. A looong day, but one that I will remember forever!

Our last and final visit to Yosemite was mid-June when the road into the High Sierras was open. The idea was to climb one of the famous routes, like Tenaya or Cathedral Peak – but unfortunately Kesh got ill so I spent the first day going on a hike by myself. The hike I chose was Mount Hoffmann – a great choice with amazing views all the way up (and down). From up here, Half Dome suddenly looked like a dwarf.

Next day, we drove onward to Lee Vining and Mammoth with lots of photo stops. A beautiful region with quiet lakes and bizarre rock formations. We went on short walks here and there and also took a dip in one of the hot springs of the region. A nice and relaxing day! On our last day, we visited Owens River Gorge, a famous single-pitch sport climbing crag where I climbed 6 or 7 random easy routes as we didn’t have a topo on us. I enjoyed the climbing, even though it was a bit less my style than for example Red Rocks. Or maybe I just had a weaker day. A really cool location though and a good way to end our time in Yosemite! Here you can find some more photos.

USA

Digital Nomad Stop #8: USA – Time for a holiday

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Even digital nomads need a holiday. My first one since becoming a nomad! After spending 2 weeks in San Francisco, Kesh took me on a 2 week surprise trip around the US to see some cool places. I didn’t know where we were going which was a first for me and kind of fun and exciting!

Our first stop ended up being Las Vegas, the unreal casino city in the middle of the desert. It was fascinating to see this fake world with an Eiffel Tower, a New York skyline, all those casinos with black jack and roulette happening everywhere. Just so different from anything I had ever seen before. Kesh surprised me with tickets to the „O-Show“, which is a well-known trapeze show that has been held in Vegas for many years. If you have followed my blog, you would have read in my article about my stay in Koh Tao that I recently got into flying trapeze and aerial silks. So I was super excited for the show and watched fascinated as the artists were performing their stunts. Definitely one of the coolest shows I have ever seen! We also went to my first ever comedy show which was fun too.

Another reason for stopping in Vegas was to go rock climbing in Red Rocks, a famous climbing area just outside the city. We relocated to a hotel with a beautiful view of the rocks and got 4 solid days of climbing in, including one really cool multi-pitch. I really liked the climbing in Red Rocks, the style suited me and it is just a beautiful place to be at. The multi-pitch Big Bad Wolf was definitely my highlight!

After Vegas, we boarded a plane to Chicago. From the desert into a city with skyscrapers and much cooler, windier climate – quite a change! In Chicago, Kesh showed me around the city and its famous sights, like „the Bean“, a really cool sculpture shaped like a bean (obviously) and I tried famous drinks and dishes, such as the deep dish pizza.

We also went to watch my first ever baseball game, to tick off another „America must do“ for me. It was interesting to see, but as there is not much action on the field, it gets a bit boring not knowing all the rules after a while. Chicago was a cool, unexpected stop which is probably not on every typical tourist agenda but definitely worth seeing!

Our third stop was… New Orleans! The city of jazz and beautiful colonial houses. What a contrast to Chicago again. Back to the heat, this time to a more humid version of it. And also, no skyscrapers, but small, colonial-style houses. I really enjoyed walking the streets of New Orleans, taking hundreds of photos!

In the evening, we were drawn into the bars and had the chance to listen to some amazing live music. I never knew I would like jazz that much! Really cool experience.

One day, we ventured out to the sculpture garden, which was nice to see. A definite highlight of New Orleans though were the beignets at Café du Monde which were always tricky to eat without creating a sugary mess all over yourself but super delicious and a great breakfast and in-between snack.

Our fourth and final stop of the trip ended up being – New York! On the days we spent there, we just walked around soooo much, through all of Manhattan, and across Brooklyn Bridge. It felt so cool to be in between all of these crazy high skyscrapers and to actually be walking down the Broadway.

We only had 2.5 days in New York, but it feels like we did so much! From exploring all the main sights to eating delicious food, grabbing drinks, to watching a comedy show and even a musical (Hamilton) on the Broadway, another real highlight! We definitely made the most out of our time in the Big Apple and I must say that New York is not over-hyped but an actual highlight and worth visiting at least once in your life.

And with that, our 2 week trip across the US came to an end – a trip filled with lots of adventures and fun and that I will keep remembering and looking back to! Here are some more photos of our trip.