Krista, one of the girls I had met up in Santa Cruz, came down to visit for the last three days of my trip and we had a really nice time together.

Together we explored some of the many things that Los Angeles has to offer, such as Hollywood boulevard, Beverly Hills, Mulholland Drive, Silverlake and Santa Monica.

This is me on Venice Beach, on the last evening of my trip. Despite being in the middle of November, the temperature was comfortably warm. I think this picture sums up my whole feeling that night. There is an element of sentimentality, knowing that my journey has come to an end and that I will soon be back in rainy London having to look for a job. But there is also a feeling of great happiness that I have had the chance to experience such a friendly, exciting and beautiful country. It was a great adventure for sure.

I hope to be back soon!

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 20, 2009 from Los Angeles, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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After this visit I said goodbye to Jay and Joyce and went to meet Soozie - another couchsurfer whom I had arranged to stay with. Soozie had an interesting hobby – breaking into, and exploring, old derelict buildings. Equipped with torches I went with her and her friends to try and enter “Hamm’s”, an old disused brewery complex. According to Soozie’s friend, climbing around in the metal brewpipes was an “amazing experience”. Unfortunately (or perhaps fortunately) we never managed to go inside as a police car was parked right outside the building. Plan B was to go to an old park, open a manhole, and explore some underground tunnels. Being slightly claustrophobic I was quite happy that we never found that manhole. I also figured that if I got caught by the cops, they might send me on the next plane back to Sweden, and I definitely wasn’t ready to go home yet!

Instead we ended up going downtown to visit the statue of American TV legend Mary Tyler Moore. Above is a picture of Soozie giving Mary a kiss.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 17, 2009 from Minneapolis, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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I slept at the house of Carla, Martha, Leila and Dustin, another group of couchsurfers willing to host a weary Swedish traveller. They joined me for one night at the ska festival and also took me to hear some Chicago house music at a club.

I thought Chicago’s skyscrapers were more impressive than the ones in New York. This is perhaps because Chicago has more open spaces, allowing you to get a better view of how tall these monstruos structures really are.

The skybar in the Hancock Building allowed for some stunning views over the city.

The last night in Chicago I visited the Green Mill, an old jazz club which apparently used to be a favourite of Al Capone. The underground tunnels beneath the bar, directly connected to an old theatre one block down the street, are rumoured to have been used by Capone to hide liquor.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 17, 2009 from Chicago, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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I took an overnight train from Chicago to Denver and actually managed to get a full eight hours of sleep sitting up. When I woke up in the early hours of the morning I discovered a completely flat landscape outside, glowing in the yellow morning light.

I used Denver, at the very foot of the Rocky Mountains, as a base to explore the mountains. The actual city did not excite me very much although I did see some surrealist pop art at the Denver art gallery which I though was interesting. I also visited the Santa Fe district, home to another few decent art galleries.

I stayed with Jim Bergstrand, the son of Jay Bergstrand, who works as a Project Manager for a construction company. I also met his girlfriend Tina. Together, the three of us went to a restaurant where I was served a ridicolously big milkshake

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 17, 2009 from Denver, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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First on my itinerary around the mountains was the Rocky Mountain National park, one of the most visited areas in Colorado. I tried to do some exploring by foot, but because of the high altitude I quickly became out-of-breath from just doing some easy hikes.

In the evening I arrived with my rental car at a beautiful serene mountain lake. A few times I stopped and explored its large beaches and a deserted campsite.

Next day, on the way to the village of State Bridge, I discovered a beautiful gorge with a river.

I had to climb down for an hour to get to this river, which I then followed upstream for a few kilometres.

In the evening I arrived with the car into Glenwood Springs through a ravine that was so steep that the road was built hanging off its walls, with opposite traffic running on a road built underneath. Glenwood Springs, where I stayed for the night, wasn’t my kind of place. Apart from two bars serving beer to loud snowboarder types there was not much entertainment to speak of.

The next day I drove to Aspen, one of the most famous ski resorts in the US. As the weather was quite rainy I decided to continue on with the car.

About half an hour outside Aspen the weather turned very snowy and the road took me up some steep mountains. With only a few months of driving experience I was a little nervous driving along this icy road.

My next stop was Leadville, an intriguing little mountain town full of trashy but eccentric houses / trailers. I spent a good hour just driving round with the car, marvelling at all the odd architecture. Each house was a spectacle of its own.

From the local museum I found out that the town had been a significant silver-mining town some hundred years ago. Things used to be very rough here with gunfights, train robberies and drunken brawls. The town also used to feature countless brothels and saloons. A few people became rich and built themselves grand Victorian villas on the hills. Most residents however remained very poor, even to this day.

Many original residents were of Slovenian origin but at this graveyard I also found tombstones with several Swedish names.

The Swedes used to live in this part of town called Chicken Hill, named after a local fortune seeker called “Chicken Bill”. They moved here after having driven away the Irish whom they were constantly in fights with. Before I came to America I had not seen many trailer-houses, but this place was full of them. I suppose it’s a cheap alternative if you cannot afford a house.

This used to be the Swedish church.

This bearded man, bearing the unusual name “Cosmos”, was a walking museum of his own. He had lived in Leadville for over 20 years, but came from Armenia. He had many interesting stories to tell about his life as we sat and talked on his front porch.

I found Leadville so intriguing that I decided to stay there overnight. These people were a couple from Denver who I met in one of the local pubs.

The next morning I went up the mountains to explore the remains of the old silvermines above town. Among these mines I met some local skateboarders who were shooting a skate-video to raise money for rebuilding their local skatepark.

I left Leadville feeling that I had seen a a place left untouched by business interests and large-scale tourism. There were some grave social problems with poverty, unemployment and drug addiction, yet I felt that people maintained a lot of pride in their place. It was a fascinating blend of redneck trash and arty bohemia that I did not encounter anywhere else on my travels. The town even had a college, several bars and restaurants, an opera house and its own film festival - so it was definitely not lacking in entertainment.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 17, 2009 from Leadville, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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Salt Lake City is perhaps best know for being the Mormon capital of the world. This religious group came here in the 1840’s after having been driven away from settlements in Illionois and the East Coast. Polygamy, previously a common practice within the church, was offically banned in 1890, but I was told that a number of mormons still live in such arrangements.

I visited the temple area in the centre of town where young Mormon girls of many nationalities eagerly await visitors who are looking to receive a guided tour. I met a Swedish Mormon girl from Jönköping, the closest Sweden comes to having a Salt Lake City of its own. Above is a picture of the holy temple, which you can only enter if you are a Mormon.

My host Kristina showed that there is more to Salt Lake City than bible-studies, anti-drinking laws and polygamy. She is a big fan of rockabilly music, swing dancing and 20s burlesque performance art. One night she took me to a club full of tattooed, beer-drinking locals, where I (despite futile resistance) was forced to participate in an introductory swing-dance lesson. I experienced a short-lived sense of relief as we left, only to be subjected to further public embarassment at a karaoke bar later on. Half of Salt Lake City are strict followers of the Mormon faith, while the other half seem more devoted to partying and wreaking havoc. Kristina was good fun.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 17, 2009 from Salt Lake City, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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After checking in at a youth hostel I decided to begin my trip with some sightseeing in the central parts of town like Beacon Hill, a grand upmarket district with leafy boulevards. However my jetlag soon made me feel very sleepy and early in the evening, after experiencing my first over-sized American meal, I decided to head back to the hostel.

The following day I moved my bags over to the house of a guy called Ken. I had met Ken through the www.couchsurfing.com website - a brilliant thing where people who are interested in meeting foreigners agree to let you sleep on their couch or show you around town. During my visit to the US I stayed at five or six different homes of total strangers, and only had very positive experiences. Not only is the Couchsurfing alternative a money-saver, you also get to see a town from a local’s perspective and discover things that you otherwise probably would have missed.

Later in the day I met up with Brianne, another person from the Couchsurfing website, who had kindly agreed to be my tourist guide for an afternoon. Brianne took me to see the Christian Science centre, as I hold a curious fascination for oddball cults.

Like many other groups, Christian Science has its fair share of controversy. Treatment for an illness is not sought through consulting a doctor or by taking medicine, but by “Christian Science treatment” – a form of prayer said to have a healing effect. Followers believe that illness is caused by fear, ignorance or sin. Brianne told me of recent court cases where parents had refused to take their cancer-suffering kids for conventional treatment. Staff at the Centre did not seem to be very happy to talk about this though.

Over the next few days I checked out Harvard university, saw the house where JFK was born, visited a Kabbalah temple, had some food at a Greek festival and walked for miles through suburban landscapes. Everywhere I went, I would see people jogging or doing some form of exercise. I was surprised to see such fit, health-conscious people in a place like this.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 16, 2009 from Boston, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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Vermont is a beautiful state with rolling green hills, some pretty little towns and an interesting element of counterculture. This used to be a rather conservative place, but things changed with a large influx of hippies in the 60’s. Nowadays there are countless organic farms run by yoga-practising new-agers. Recently a group of teenagers caused a national uproar by walking round naked in the downtown centre of bohemian Brattleboro, claiming being naked was just “exercising their rights”. Some 13% of the population also support the idea of Vermont breaking free from the US to form an own independent country – further evidence that Vermont is not quite like any other state in the US.

Two friends of my parents, Marianne and Roland Kuchel, live in Fairlee on the border to New Hampshire. I stayed for a few days in their beautiful early 19th century countryside villa.

Roland took me on some trips to nearby towns like Hanover (home to an Ivy-League university) and postcard-perfect Woodstock. One day I rented a car and drove up to Montpelier, the tiny capital of Vermont, which basically consists of just one main street. I also visited the Ben & Jerry’s icecream factory, saw the Von Trapp family lodge (inspiration to that awful film Sound of Music) and visited Burlington – the largest city in Vermont.

I also visited White River Junction, a tiny little town but with a young, arty population. Usually I get claustrophobic after spending too much time in sleepy rural places, but this had a young, eclectic vibe to it. (later in my trip I happened to pick up a travel magazine which listed White River Junction as one of the top-10 hidden gems of America.)

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 16, 2009 from White River Junction, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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New Hampshire, famous for its ridiculous state slogan “Live Free or Die”, had some very beautiful country roads that I found by accident after having taken a wrong turn with the car. I drove slowly through these roads, admiring every little apple-farm and artist’s residence along the way. In the afternoon I arrived in Portsmouth – a pretty seaside town. After buying some CDs to play in the car (Frank Black and some ska music), I drove North to York where I spent a lonely night in a motel.

The following day I drove North, stopping at posh seaside towns like Kennebunk where the Bush family are regular visitors. In the afternoon I arrived in Portland, Maine. This town is an attractive, young, liberal, arty enclave situated on a narrow peninsula with water on three sides. I visited an old observatory where I got a very good view. I spent the night further North at the massive house of George and Connie Beasley - a retired diplomat couple who are friends with Roland and Marianne.

The next day I made a trip to the Acadia National Park.

The park itself was nice, although I would find even more spectacular environments later on my trip. I took a little hike, had picnic, swam in a lake and at sunset I drove up to Cadillac Mountain where I was greeted by a magnificent view.

Driving back to the Beasleys, I kept myself awake with the nasty rants of Fox News Radio (their jingle proclaims them being “fair and balanced” but in my opinion they are anything but). It was interesting to be in America at this time with the presidential race in full swing. But it was also quite disturbing to see the amount of backstabbing going on from both sides. TV adverts from the Republicans would portray Obama as a pedophile and a terrorist, and the Democrats would counter with equal doses of scaremongering about McCain. Is it really necessary to partake in such playground tactics to win an election?

I returned to Vermont and the Kuchel’s house through the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Although it was too foggy to get a good view of the actual mountains, I was happy to find this pretty creek.

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 16, 2009 from Portland, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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I spent eight exhausting days in New York. During my stay I did lots of gazing at skyscrapers, browsing through record shops and visiting art museums, bars and clubs. I also did lots and lots of walking around the various neighbourhoods such as East Village, Greenwich Village, Chelsea, Upper West Side, and the Downtown area.

I had heard many scare-stories about former no-go areas like Lower East Side, but I did not ever feel unsafe. Rather, I felt that a lot of the grit, which sometimes can bring an exciting edge, had been cleaned up. Dirty, low-rent concrete jungles often provide fertile ground for an amazing flora of street art and counterculture. I don’t enjoy walking around with fear of getting stabbed, but gentrification too often comes at a price where the heart and soul of urban life is sacrificed for big business, tourist shops and Starbucks coffee.

Anyone visiting New York on the cheap should probably consider pre-booking their accomodation much in advance. I had the discomfort of having to move from hostel to hostel, and I met several others who were in the same position. One day I got so tired of ringing round to hostels that I decided to make a trip to Harlem. Although the area is probably a lot safer than some decades ago, many people still consider it a no-go area. I figured that it could be easier and cheaper to find a spare room up there. Well, sure it was, but perhaps not the kind that I had expected. The hotels that I visited all rented out their rooms by the hour, one of the owners wanted to know if I smoked crack, and one would keep a 15 dollar deposit for “soiled sheets”.

My housing situation was eventually resolved by bumping into Mariam, a friend from London, who was willing to share a downtown hotel room with me to keep both of our costs down (and spare me from the experience of staying in a bug-infested semi-brothel).

Some of the other people I met during my stay in New York were Madi from Germany, who I went to see a rock concert with at a venue called the “Cake Shop”. New York has a mythical place in music history through legendary, now defunct, venues like CBGBs and Max´s Kansas City, but this place felt like any East London dive back home. I was more impressed by the Harlem jazz club that I visited together with Tuomas, a Finnish friend who works as a chef in New York.

One night I also met a German guy who took me along to see the musical “Hair” in Central Park. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about this sing-a-long performance but my new-found German friend was almost in tears with joy, saying how it ‘reminded him of his puberty’. Another day I also hung out in Central Park with a Scottish guy called Rich. He plays bass in the Swellbellys, a punk band that I was familiar with from the years that I lived in Edinburgh.

During my time in the Big Apple I also had time to visit the MET art museum, attend an independent film-makers conference, visit the Empire State Building, Ground Zero and Wall Street, take the ferry to Staten Island, see the graffitied walls across the Brooklyn bridge and make a long night-time journey out into the Bronx to find a ska concert (I never found it).

Due to some consecutive long nights and early mornings I spent the last day relaxing on the sunny beaches of Long Island.

New York was a great place, but too often I woke up with lack of sleep, and the trouble I had with finding a hostel was a downside. As with my hometown London, I sometimes felt that it was slightly too big and dirty. Rats will scurry away beside you on the sidewalks and subway platforms, and the place can sometimes feel quite claustrophobic. It’s a nice place to visit but I am not sure I would want to live here

written by  niklasbergstrand on January 16, 2009 from New York, United States
from the travel blog: Niklas in America
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