New York City, NY

Long before I entered this country I was filled with excited anticipation to finally experience one of the world’s major cities, New York. I haven’t been disappointed. It is a masterpiece of human achievement and to me, one of the wonders of the modern world.
Regardless the scale, ranging from pieces of art in New York’s several museums, single architectural masterpieces to the landscape-like skyline as a whole, New York City is truly breathtaking. Walking through the sky-high streets doesn’t feel less impressive than a natural canyon and seeing the city from a distance is as grand as a mountain range.
Sure, a city like NY is an expression of the human alienation from the nature. However, residing in tiny apartments with a whole world in public-transport distance, the average New Yorker’s carbon footprint is just a fraction of most small town dwellers.
Now York has almost everything: big city standards like a rich cultural life and fast public transport, delicious food, the whole world of different cultures (with over 800 languages spoken), great parks and the magnificence of the rivers and the harbor. There’s only one thing missing: affordable rents.

Jim Thorpe, PA

In an earlier post I expressed my surprise about Pennsylvania’s beauty. The tiny town Jim Thorpe and its surroundings are some of the reasons. It is situated right in the Lehigh Valley, an one hour drive north of Bethlehem. As you approach this town, you dive into a magnificent valley covered by deciduous forest. I can’t wait to see it changing it’s colors, as the fall hits in.
The Lehigh river itself is rather unspectacular, purling it’s way through the mountains and creating lovely sandbanks. Probably a great place for fishing and wildlife-spotting.
The town is made up by an interesting collection of 19th century architecture. Forget the cars and you feel like a time-traveller.

Philadelphia, PA

On our way back from New Jersey, we spent the afternoon in the US’ fifth-most-populous city, Philadephia, PA. The former federal capital and birthplace of the independence, Philadelphia has a historic center that dates back to the 18th century. That is not at all impressive by European standards, but a refreshing change compared to other North American cities. You walk around between the buildings where the declaration of independence has been discussed and written and you wouldn’t be surprised to queue for a hot dog with Ben Franklin.
Take some steps out from the center, and you can promenade along the huge Delaware river or just hang out in a nice, bohemian cafe. All that being said, you won’t assume to be in Europe even a fraction of a second. Phillies layout with parallel streets that seem to never end have been a blueprint for most other American cities. Add highways with more than ten lanes and a classic skyline full of adventurous skyscrapers and you know what I’m talking about.
All in all, my favorite American city so far.

Ocean City and Cape May, NJ

Seaside never fails. Even if I’ve seen wide sand beaches, lush dunes, luxurious holiday resorts and marshes full of mosquito before, the Jersey shore makes a great weekend trip. Olivia and me good invited by her mother’s cousin in Ocean City, only three blocks away from the beach. The city itself is rather boring. It’s made up by a few mile long rows of the same kind of pretend-Victorian beach villa and the odd boardwalk. However, on the beach all people are created equal (however, they dare to charge for visiting the beach. Luckily, no one can be bothered to actually ask for your tag) and it is big enough that everyone finds a big area to put a chair on. We’re talking peak season! Considering a water temperature of 24° Celsius, this is quite a nice change from the mostly over-crowded European beaches.

The main attraction of Southern New Jersey, however, is Cape May. Unlike Ocean City, this historic sea town wouldn’t surprise anyone to be situated at England’s Southern Coast. Non-parallel streets and this-time-real-Victorian beach houses give it an almost European feel. Grab some delicious seafood and you have quite a lovely day at the sea.

Bethlehem, Pennsylvania

After a ten hours hitch, I arrived safe in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. I was very anxious about hitchhiking in the US. Many people told me it’ll take ages and it might be dangerous. People all over the world seem to say that, unlike www.hitchwiki.org. So I give it a shot.
I think you might need to wait a bit longer, but it wasn’t to much of a hassle. It took me 4 cars to arrive my destination and all my drivers where nice people.
Anyhow, Pennsylvania is gorgeous. When we entered the states, we drove all a long the scenic Sasquehanna valley and the Lehigh valley (in which Bethlehem is situated) isn’t worse. The area is surprisingly hilly (my lowland mind wants to call it mountainous) and covered with forest. Unfortunately it extremely hot. It seems weird, since in Europe you would expect an mediterranian landscape with these temperatures.
However, I’m pretty happy to be here. Being at my girlfriend’s place is reason enough, but I also manage to find time to do some study work while Olivia is at the university and hopefully, I can use the college’s pianos for practicing. I’m considering changing my wwoof schedule…

Niagara Falls, NY

Niagara falls is definitely one of the US’s #1 tourist attractions. OK, it is overrun and the whole city is pretty dorky, however, the falls themselves are breathtaking. Stunning so to say. It feels like the whole Lake Ontario crashes into Lake Erie (or was it the other way round?). Look at the pictures and get wet.

East Aurora, NY

First two days of farm work done. East Aurora is a lovely, historic (by American standards) village and people seem chilled out. While I wouldn’t call this place outstanding, it is a nice, foresty area with gorgeous sunsets. Working (mulching, seeding, weeding, …) on the farm is easy-going, though it can be tough if the sun shines right on your hat. Obviously, the field doesn’t provide any shadow, so there’s no way escaping the heat.
There’s not much more to say about this place, but that it is a good starter for my US-travels and definitely worth to get involved with, if you’re in the area. There a couple of volunteers here at the moment, so it’s fun (so is the farmer) to be here.

East Aurora, New York

After a not-so-scenic drive and a just slightly annoying interview at the border, I entered the USA at Buffalo today. Now I’m on a nice farm in East Aurora, New York, about a 40 min drive east of Lake Erie. Updates soon.

Toronto, Ontario

First day’s impression:
Looks like Toronto’s buildings has been built by sculptors and the city by a museum curator. All single elements (streets, cars, houses) looks like cubistic pictures, but they aren’t quite linked up. They just poke out a massive field of concrete.
That being said, this city is probably perfect if you are into cruising around in your car. But to meander around by foot, it sprawls to much.
Don’t get me wrong, there a pretty places here. The harbourside, the Royal Ontario Museum, the university or the Art Gallery of Ontario. But unfortunately, they are too solitary from a pedestrians perspective.

Toronto, Ontario

No jetlag (yet), which I appreciate. First Canadian experience though; my debit card doesn’t seem to work over here. Need to get into that. Also, obviously, cars and houses seems to be bigger and the downtown is much younger than they use to be in Europe. Try to find a means of uploading pictures (I left my laptop at home).