Taking the bus from DC to NY takes a little over four hours, and sets you back $40 for a round-trip. A friend of mine joined me in DC some days earlier, and we decided on going to NY for a day.

We started the day early and with running in rain towards the bus. Under a half a minute later, we were soaked and standing outside waiting for the bus. We arrived in NY around 12:30 PM and had only seven hours until we had to be back for the bus home. Ready, set, go!

Our first destination was Hard Rock Cafe at Times Square, for my friend to buy the very much original “Hard Rock New York” t-shirt. By then we had also bought the $2 t-shirt “I<3 NY". Such tourists.

Damn tourists

Broadway by Times Square

Batter up

As the time ran out we didn’t get to do much, not even walk the Brooklyn Bridge. We did however go underneath it, and we’re pretty happy about that.

After some seven and a half hours of running around the city, and getting confused and impressed by the metro system, we once again sat on the bus back home to DC. What a city.

For added effect of geekyness, I added the GPS route the bus drove.

I headed out on the 10th of July, after being in D.C. for a week. My good Samaritan friend, Audun, picked me up at  the airport and gave me shelter for my stay. I didn’t have a flight out of Chicago, so the plan ended up being; there is no plan.

The next day we took the train in to Chicago, as Audun lives way out beyond the suburbs. It was a one hour ride in kettle transport/two stories train cars.

Arriving at Chicago Union Station, I soon realized how inferior our trains are compared to the ones in the US. Bigger, faster, better, stronger!

I would like to add: the roof isn’t painted black; the trains all run on diesel.

Well inside Union Station.

Little did we know what the city of Chicago had in store for us. Apparently they were shooting scenes for the next Transformers movie, all in the middle of The Loop in Chicago.

Words cannot describe how cool this is.

It’s on wheels! If only I had a hitch on my car.

At first glimpse, this doesn’t look good. At all.

At an other location, a couple of blocks west of the Willis Tower.

Seemingly an unrelated picture, but if you click on the image and look closer you’ll see four people who have just jumped out of the helicopter above. The antennas on the building nearby is the Willis Tower (Sears Tower).

The sky’s were generally swarming with helicopters this day.

Luckily we had some freaky bikes as well.

The Aon Center, which looks a little too much like two buildings that used to shape the skyline in New York.

A mysterious metal bean in Millennium Park.

The skyline of Chicago seen from Millennium Park.

The marina.

I think it deserved a picture.

Bridge crossing the Chicago city river.

The Willis Tower. Probably better known by its former name, Sears Tower.

We had some bad weather heading back home. Luckily it didn’t start until we got on the train. There were some epic thunderstorms in the horizon seen from the apartment in Woodridge.

Monday consisted of yet another trip to Chicago, while my good Samaritan was at work. I took a trip to the University of Chicago and sat at one of the many libraries there, and went in a bad neighborhood on my way out. Long story short. Later on I met up with some good friends, for great food, live music and good company. That same night I ordered a ticket back to Washington D.C., for the next day. Little did I know that being a foreigner, ordering a last minute, one-way ticket to the capitol, would probably light up some alarms in the TSA profiling system.

Okay, I should probably make it clear right away; behind enemy lines is a bad title. The US has treated me well so far, despite some unnecessary heat and humidity. It’s soon to be a week since I arrived, and I’m still up and going.

I arrived last Friday, and finally after dragging my way through the slow moving line in  immigration, I made it into DC. The rest of the day consisted of attending at Poets, the weekly social event at the museum. Come Saturday it was an all out pool party, with many slow moving people as a result of the night before. Despite the well organized Sunblock Patrol, I ended up in the shade; hot-hot-hot.

It deserves a mention; there are still squirrels around in DC. Many squirrels. You would’ve thought that 100+°F (37+°C) would get the best of the furry animals, but no.

I live at a friend’s apartment, who graciously offered me a room for my week here in DC. It’s just some blocks south of The Mall, and about half an hour walk to the museum. On the way you walk under some old railroad tracks, which seems to have had overhead lines some good years back. I think it deserved a picture.

Sunday, 4th of July, Independence Day. Combining watermelon, nachos and fireworks is a safe bet. We walked our way towards The Pentagon, as we made it to the Air Force Memorial. In disguise was a scared little Norwegian boy, trying to avoid being part of  the “beat the foreigner” fest.

We got ourselves prime seats for the event, overlooking The Pentagon and downtown DC.

The fireworks was, not surprisingly, overwhelming and good, with lots of over-stimulation; perfect.

As the fireworks was over, we made our way back home. The roads looked like scenes right out of an Armageddon themed movie, with people all over going in one direction and flashing blue lights everywhere. For the effect, several street lights went out as well.

Looking back was the Air Force Memorial, once again eerily alone.

It’s now two days till I fly up to Chicago. The plan was to stay there for some weeks, and then go inland in the country before I made my way back to DC for a concert in mid August. That was the plan. Since that plan was made things have changed, so now I’ll stay in Chicago for only a couple of days before I again start moving down towards DC. I’ll be staying in DC for the rest of the summer, working on an internship for the Smithsonian Institution, and now I’m hunting for an apartment in the DC area. May be games begin.

On a non-context related note, I want to add a picture of some busy ants. Because I can.

Help, oh help, I’ve been bitten by spontaneity! Tomorrow I’ll be heading towards the US in a haste. For a while now I’ve been planning to go to the US, and the other day it hit me; who needs a plan anyway. Two days later here I am, and tomorrow I’ll be getting up at nothing earlier than 3-ish AM, and fly out from Gothenburg, Sweden.

It’s not all that spontaneous as I’d like you to believe though; there is a plan. First off, I’m heading to Frankfurt, then to DC. I’ll be staying there for a couple of days, until I head up to Chicago. Interestingly enough, adding the domestic flight to Chicago lowered the total price of the trip by nothing less than $130.01. Where’s the sense in that? It just underlines the fact that there is no sense in the domain that is airline companies. I recently heard an explanation for it that I liked; many years ago, a brilliant COBOL program was made for calculating optimal flight routes and total fare price. Now, an eternity later, no one understands what happens inside the demon that is the route calculator. Now that makes sense.

Oh, and the picture? Completely out of context. Who needs context anyway.

I was supposed to leave this week, but it turns out that things are not that simple. Since last week I’ve packed, cleaned and moved out of the old apartment- thank you M and M- I’ve acquired a visiting researcher pass at the University of Chicago, and I’ve gotten even more uncertain of where I’m gonna go.

The initial idea was to go directly to Chicago, stay there for some weeks, stride around in the inland of the US, and finally end up in DC by mid August. Right now I’m considering going to DC first for discussing a potential internship, and then head up to Chicago after some days or so. I’ve been looking into some schools in the US to do my Masters degree, and though it would be tactical to go see some actual campus’, connecting with people working there. Generally getting a foot at the inside of the door. I’ve contacted some universities about working on campus and living in the dormitories connected to the respective institutions. Hopefully I’ll get a hit or two, and I’ll get to experience a semi-real American university campus.

It’s been nothing less than a half year ago since my last post. Since then I have finished my bachelor degree as a computer engineer, worked, lived and traveled with two good people every day of every day, even without anyone killing each other. I have an unpaid hospital bill for $14,085 because of a insurance company’s lacking communications skills, and I’ve acquired some wicked sunburns. Conclusion? So far the best chapter in the book that is Lars.

My excuses for not having written anything here for a while are many, but the only valid reason would be because of this last half years bachelor thesis. Me and my two other humble friends have been working on a project for the Smithsonian Institution, and we’ve spent about 40 days in DC doing so divided over three round-trips. One thing’s for sure, I never would have guessed that a year ago. During the course of this project we have met many good people, some extraordinary people, and probably made some friends for life. And dare I say colleagues? On top of that, the result of the project was A’s for the whole lot. Finally some weight of the shoulders.

So now what? Who knows! Starting this coming Friday, June 25th, I am officially homeless. The plan for this summer is to flee off to Chicago and stay there for some weeks while working on a project, and then make an appearance in DC by mid August if nothing else were to happen. What to do in the two months between will reveal itself as time goes, but I’m hoping to make a trip to New Orleans, and I’ve been told to make it down to the Florida Keys. Following that order might be easier than most. I’m dreaming about paddling down the Russian River in Sonoma, CA, but doing that without a certain someone would be to step on their toes. In DC I will hook up with a friend of mine who’s flying over and we’ll go to The concert, with Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers playing, backed up by Crosby, Stills & Nash. Third row, baby!

Come autumn I will go back to school and attend some courses and do some projects, all to improve my chances of getting into the school I want to the next autumn. Unless of course, some other hard-to-refuse options were to show up. I hope they do.

Quick, look up!

Chicago- mother of all that is tall.

Day 19:
Chicago, or Chicag’a if you’ve been here awhile. We landed at O’hare at around 1 AM, and quickly got stunned by the sudden climate change. Who could have known?

Artsy O'Hare

The tunnel from the main terminal to concourse D.

I’d say the streets aren’t coincidental. Half an hour drive- far out.

Safe and sound at Cece’s place, we got to bed- at least in the end.

Eerie alley

Good morning, Chicago. Oh, and good morning to you, Lake Michigan.

Squirrels are to be found in Chicago as well

Here comes The Noise

Capitol T, capitol N. Chicago’s elevated train tracks origin from as far back as 1892, a fact that proclaims itself loud and clear.

Downtown

Welcome to the flatlands

From the 99th storey of the Willis Tower, formerly better known as the Sears Tower. And I though Denmark was flat.

The root of them all

There’s been some progress since the Home Insurance Building.

Trivia hour: tallest building in Norway; 117 meters. Tallest building in Chicago; 527 meters.

Traffic, painting style

Chicago river, downtown

Eerie downtown

Bente and Chad at the pizza place

We met Chad and Cece downtown for dinner. Thanks, Chad.

The cold Lake Michigan

Look for the stairs.

Chicago seen from the north

Cece and Bente

At the local tea shop, a place where taking photos is not allowed. Go figure.

Bobby Broom of Deep Blue at the Green Mill

We headed out for Ethiopian food, at a place called Demera Ethiopian Restaurant. Great success. This was swiftly followed by a visit to The Green Mill, an equally great success.

Cozy Chicago

The gang- Bente, Cece and myself

The last day, and the last meal.

Tomorrow we’ll be heading out and home. Can’t say that I’m not curious to see how that’s gonna be.

Sunset at the Bixby Bridge

Got a car, got destinations. Ready, set, go!

It’s new years day, and we finally had the heart to leave San Francisco.

We had few, but good destinations. We would visit a couple of campuses, UC Berkeley and Stanford, and drop by Googleplex, Google’s headquarters.

Being that it was the morning after new years eve, the city was eerie quiet. The only people you could see was the ones who heroically tried to rid the streets of broken bottles and confetti. After half an hour of waiting for the BART- Bay Area Rapid Transit, we found ourselves at the airport, one car richer.

Women are also allowed to drive in California

Who would have expected that.

Palm Drive, Stanford

First off, Stanford. Of course, they have a palm avenue.
Thanks to Bente for the picture.

Not your average car

After half an hour of jaw dropping driving around the Stanford campus, we stopped in a nearby town, called Menlo Park. Breakfast got devoured.

This one’s for someone back home- Audi R8.

Google Campus

We had ourselves a little walk on the Google Campus, when all of a sudden a security guard showed up. He was very sorry, but it turns out it’s not allowed for the deadly to be on Google property. Apparently, you have to know someone who works there. I asked if it was sufficient if they knew us, but he didn’t seem to get that joke.
Thanks to Bente for the picture.

Looking towards Castle Rock

After a trip to Gilroy, an outlet town south of San Jose, we got the idea of catching the sunset at the famous Bixby Bridge in Big Sur, south of Monterey. After an hour or two we actually made it, in the nick of time.

Flying objects in the sunset

Fisherman's Wharf, Monterey

Monterey bay

In Monterey we had the best burger to date, a The Island. That burger alone is gonna make me come back to Monterey.

After our little spree down in the south, we decided to get up back north. Tomorrow we would visit the UC Berkeley campus, and we wanted to beat the morning traffic. Trucking on, we ended up in Alameda. After some shady looking motels, we found our way into the right side of Alameda. Trust me, you want to stay on the right side.

Chaotic traffic machine

Just like back home. No, wait.

Map of UC Berkeley campus

With 30-some thousand student, you have a decent sized campus.

Looking up in the Richmond-San Rafael bridge

Headng back up to Sonoma.

A not-so-good-looking mishap

Just happened. We passed the specter of emergency personnel as we drove further north.

I couldn't resist it

Hurray, more rust!

Armstrong Redwoods State Park, Sonoma.

Overdimensioned trees

Speechless.

Crazy redwoods

They sure know how to grow a tree.

Not to worry, they have spiders as well

And you though you’d get away.

Frodo seeking vengeance

Again back in Sonoma.

Back with the gang in Sonoma

From left; Jacob, Liam, Jean and Kevin.

We slept over at Anya and Gabor’s house. We will leave for Chicago tomorrow, so this will be our last whole day in California- for now.

Chinatown, SF- the oldest in the US

Three days of nothing in San Francisco- gotta love it.

We had one agenda in San Francisco: we would write down some words from the meetings in D.C. in a more specific way, and then ravage around in the city.

We started the day by going out and having a late breakfast, and walking up and down Chinatown. This would be sort of an appetizer for the city, since we “had to work”. After biting down on the sour apple the evening had arrived, and we found ourselves at a Japanese place called Sakana.

Is it the gray or the gray wire?

Even MacGyver would be lost here.

As we are lazy no-good tourists, we hopped on a sightseeing bus. Easy mode.

Mosaic walls and street musicians

Trolley wires all around

Most of the buses are driven by electricity, making the city a web of wires.

The Transamerica Pyramid

The tallest building in SF, with some 260 meters (853 feet).

Wall art

Believe

Segway tours

I wonder how long it would take before I’d brake out of the tour…

"Gives it a nice antique look"

Spot the quote.

The Rock

So many quotes I’d like to say- which I’m not gonna.

From left: Whiney and his not-so-pleased mother

Last call for this years bumble bees

The city of San Francisco

From vista point, Needles.

A mandatory picture

There’s just no way around it.

Luckily there's seldom snow

It explains why they have automatic transmission.

There's only one way

Viewing east towards Coit Tower

Try to count the number of floors

The remains of yesterdays posters

Macro time.

New years traffic

Oakland-San Francisco Bay Bridge

Chaotic New Years eve

How do you spend new years in SF? Easy; pizza, beer and TV. One hour before midnight, walk down The Embarcadero and wait for the fireworks. Like I said, it’s easy.

The clock ticks and passes midnight- happy new year!

San Francisco by night

After a couple of days in Sonoma County, we again packed our bags and headed south for San Francisco.

Sitting around the fire on Brissmas

A part of Jacobs family has a long tradition of having a party on second Christmas day. They’re Jews, and their excuse is that this is supposedly the day of Jesus’ briss. Makes a good excuse anyway. To the left, Dusty, Jacobs dad.
Thanks to Sylvia for the picture.

Jacob at Brissmas

Frodo

Safe and sound back in Forestville.

Squirrels all around

Sleepy Frodo

So obvious

Norwegians in distress. We got to Santa Rosa and waited for the next bus for a couple of hours, when we learned that the bus driver wouldn’t let us on with our luggage. He told us to go to the Greyhound Station two blocks down. Turns out, there is no bus station two blocks down, but there’s one three miles down. Only one bus is heading for San Francisco each day, and we missed that. Help! After realizing defeat, we called our savior Jacob, who then drove us to the ferry that goes in to SF. Rescued. Oh, by the way; damn you Sonoma County Transit.

The ferry towards SF. In the back, San Quentin State Prison

Richmond-San Rafael bridge

Golden Gate in the sunset

Very original

Street musicians jazzin' it up in SF

True love to the president

Street corner, SF

A day that should have been short turned long. All in all, who cares- we’re here.