Travel

Travel Life after AirBerlin : Norwegian is the Way to Go

August 28, 2018 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

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Robbed Of Our Favorite Choice to Fly to Germany, We Were On A Mission to Find A Replacement.

AirBerlin used to be our go-to airline for years whenever Germany was calling . Even though the leg space between seats seemed to have shrunk a bit each time we booked another flight, we appreciated that it was an airline that would only have one stop-over (depending on the destination), and that one was already in Germany.

Besides, AirBerlin always surprised with a special touch like giving out chocolate hearts upon boarding or sometimes upon arrival, or delighting kids with little toys like stuffed toy airplanes and such. Best of all was that it was an airline that proofed reliable, at least to us, and was not breaking our bank; an important factor if you travel as a family with kids in tow.

Unfortunately, Air Berlin filed for bankruptcy last year, in 2017. “Now what?”, was my first desperate thought. Knowing we would fly to Germany in the summer of 2018 I was determined to find an airline option that would offer me a similar service at a price that would still let me enjoy my vacation. [Read more…] about Travel Life after AirBerlin : Norwegian is the Way to Go

Back At the Happiest Place on Earth

February 14, 2018 by Anne-Kathrin Leave a Comment

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BACK AT THE HAPPIEST PLACE ON EARTH

Since June of 2017, I have been counting down the months, weeks, and days to one particular event happening on February 1st: a trip to Disneyland. Yes, you read that right, I bought my ticket back in June to go to an event the following year. But it was for a very good reason. [Read more…] about Back At the Happiest Place on Earth

Looking back at the 2017 Oktoberfest in Munich – A Report in Pictures

October 6, 2017 by Christopher Chin 3 Comments

Auf Wiedersehen Oktoberfest

– A photo of Matthias-Pschorr Strasse from the Bavaria Statue –

Greetings from the Wiesn! For more than two hundred years, the Oktoberfest has been the highlight of Munich’s calendar, and is considered the world’s largest folk festival. This year, the weather has been very cooperative so far, with mostly fair weather greeting the estimated three million visitors to the Theresienwiese in just the first week and a half. By the end of the 18 days, an estimated 6.2 million visitors enjoyed the Wiesn.

Typical food offerings like Hendl, Brezn, and Spätzle have been abundant, and a wide variety of vegetarian and vegan dishes are also available in many tents. In the Ochsenbraterei, sixty (60) Ox were already cooked and served by the Fest midpoint (in comparison to 55 by the same time last year), and by the end of the Fest, 127 had been served!

This was my second time auf die Wiesn; I was out here last year for the marriage of two dear friends, and their celebration coincided with Oktoberfest, so it was practically a requirement that we make a trip to the Wiesn part of my visit. I immediately knew that I’d be returning again and again, and that I would want to share my experience with others.

A quick tour of the perimeter to get a feel for the Stimmung of the fest revealed the usual revelry and an abundance of souvenirs including the famed Gingerbread Hearts (Lebkuchenherzen).

– One of the more robust offerings of Lebkuchenherzen –

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We then made our way to the Ochsenbraterei for lunch and a Maß, and while the Ochsenbraterei is best known for its meat offerings, there were substantial vegetarian offerings noted on the menu.

– The front entrance to the famed Ochsenbraterei –

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– Interior of the Ochsenbraterei, which seats nearly 6000 people (with another 1600 outside seats) –

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– Rows of empty mugs await filling –

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– Hungry fest-goers are served –

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Our next stop was the Löwenbräu Festzelt, where we enjoyed a bit more food and a change in atmosphere. Even at 5pm, the mood in the tent was starting to change, but it was almost on cue at 6pm, when the tent felt more crowded, and more and more people began singing and dancing on the benches. The “Oktoberfest-Barometer” (available via the official Oktoberfest App) can predict when the Wiesn might be busiest, and the App can also inform on how full various tents are. The App can be downloaded from www.muenchen.de/app .

– The front entrance of the Löwenbrau-Festzelt, which seats 5700 inside and another 2800 outside) –

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-The interior of the Löwenbräu-Festzelt –

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– A tray of food headed to hungry fest-goers at the Löwenbrau-Festzelt –

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– Traditional breads, including the giant Breze –

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– Festgoers in Tracht in the Löwenbräu-Festzelt –

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– The servers working hard to keep everyone happy, with just a few of the estimated 7.5 Million Maß served –

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One of the treats this year was the Oide Wiesn – a traditional and historical corner of the Wiesn. An estimated 480,000 visitors enjoyed this look back into history as well as the constant cultural performances in the Festzelt Tradition like partnerdances, Schuhplattler Dances, and the Whip cracking (Goasslschnalzer).

– Festzelt Tradition, with a capacity of 5000 inside (and an additional 2700 outside) features a large dance floor for performances –

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– Festzelt Tradition offered more traditional feel and plenty of Tracht –

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– The Alphorn performance was a crowd favorite –

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This year’s Fest ended on 03 October 2017, and I’m already looking forward to kicking off next year’s event on Saturday, 22 September 2018. For more information about Oktoberfest, you can visit the official site at www.oktoberfest.eu.

Until then, Prost!

All Images: Copyright ©2017 www.splitsecondimaging.com

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Christopher Chin is an accomplished underwater videographer and writer who has traveled extensively and speaks several languages. He studied German at the University of California, Berkeley, and quickly fell in love with the German language, culture and people. In early 2006, Christopher co-founded The Center for Oceanic Awareness, Research, and Education (COARE), and currently serves as its Executive Director.

Christopher is an internationally recognized expert in ocean policy and conservation issues, and has provided valuable and persuasive testimony to various governing and legislative bodies in the U.S. and in Canada, and he has had the privilege of addressing the General Assembly of the United Nations on two separate occasions.

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Art Sampling in Los Angeles

April 28, 2017 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

Art Walks are calling

These days beautiful Southern California weather and warm temperatures are beckoning us outside. What better time to check out the LA art scene, especially since some great art events are just around the corner.

One is in fact happening tomorrow. The Brewery Art Walk Community opens its doors tomorrow and Sunday from 11am to 6pm. More than 100 participating artists in residence let you experience up close how they live and work. If you see some artwork you like, strike up a conversation with the artist right there and then. At the Brewery Art Walk you are basically breathing art. Anything you can remotely call art, you can find here.

Brewery Art Walk is fun, it’s hip and eclectic! There is a spring and a fall art walk and we used to visit at least one of each every year. The atmosphere is definitely a bit crazy but totally fun and groovy. Even people-watching becomes an adventure.

The famous Venice Art Walk is coming up on May 21^st (12pm to 6pm). Contrary to the Brewery Art Walk it is not a free event since the proceeds of the event go to the Venice Family Clinic. Artists as well as architects are opening their homes and studios to the public and let everyone participate in their creative process. Special Studio tours are often offered and apart from fascinating art you can see some stunning homes. The impressive silent auction features famous names like Ed Ruscha, Billy Al Bengston , Sam Durant and many more.

What’s the atmosphere here? You are walking along the cool Venice community close to the beach with all its restaurants and bars. It’s quite a different setting compared to the Brewery Art Walk which is housed in a previous industrial zone with artists’ lofts in former warehouses. And, yes, people-watching is definitely a must also here… you are in Venice Beach after all!

We started our “art walk season” with last week’s Spring Fling at Bergamot Station. Another art haven, this time in Santa Monica. The venue is easily accessible with LA metro’s Expo Line. If you arrive by car, parking can sometimes become a bit challenging.

The Spring Fling event was a collective Open House of about 30 galleries, welcoming art enthusiasts to check out what’s hot in the contemporary art world. Bergamot Station used to be one of our regular art venues to get our ‘art fix’ quite some years ago. So upon hearing of the spring event we packed up the family and left for LA.

Having not been here for a while I perceived the audience and overall vibe as quite a bit different from the exhilaratingly crazy, creative chaos at the Brewery Art Walk. While still colorful and vibrant the audience seemed to be more on the ‘sophisticated’ side and one could feel that the venue here was managed by various gallery businesses rather than an artist community. But that didn’t mean the art was less intriguing. In fact some of the galleries put on some well curated shows. Walking through Bergamot Station felt more like visiting a bunch of micro museums.

It was quite a coincidence that we stumbled upon the abstract architectural sculptures by German artist, Manfred Müller from Düsseldorf, whose work was featured in a show called “Not From Here” at the Rosegallery.

Taking in all what Bergamot Station had to offer, we particularly enjoyed the art installation “People I Saw But Never Met” by Zadok Ben-David at Shoshana Wayne Gallery. 3,000 hand-cut aluminum figures are installed on the gallery floor covered in white sand (see this post’s featured image).

Another highlight was William Turner Gallery’s “Chance and Circumstances”, an exhibition that featured new works by 91 year-old famous and prolific Los Angeles painter, Ed Moses, a central figure in post-war West Coast Art.

One Show that really captivated us long after we had already left for home was Stephen Wilkes’ “Ellis Island- Ghosts of Freedom” at the Peter Fetterman Gallery. The photography exhibition took you on a trip through an abandoned hospital on Ellis Island that the early immigrants to this country had to pass through before they were allowed access to the ‘land of the free’. Stephen Wilkes captured the eerie atmosphere and its history so perfectly that one was literally pulled into each picture’s story.

One picture was taken from such an angle that the Statue of Liberty was visible in the mirror over a sink in a room, where some Eastern European woman might have had to stay to get her health monitored. Wilkes writes in his remarks next to the image, that he was wondering if this was perhaps the closest she could ever get to the freedom she so had longed for…

Striking, thought provoking compositions left you wanting to find out more about this part of history. Apparently Wilkes just came to visit the hospital for a one-time article assignment but it turned into a 5-year project. You can feel his fascination with his project in his exceptional capturing of the various moods and energy in every image. History comes alive under his camera and we seem to become an invisible witness of the many impactful moments that might have had occurred at that time in history.

Still in thought we solemnly made our way back to our car and were grateful for the appeasing pictures by Tamayo and Diego Rivera at the Latin American Masters Gallery before we found ourselves back on the freeway chaos of the late afternoon traffic.

All Images: ©CaliforniaGermans

Get Your Art Fix in Los Angeles

January 16, 2016 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

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Los Angeles, a metropolis that has so much to offer in all kinds of areas, shines in the field of the arts. Be it film, music, literary arts, fine arts, culinary arts – you name it!

The first weekend of 2016 we explored two famous museums in Pasadena in LA County: The Norton Simon Museum and the Huntington Library (which is technically in the neighboring city of San Marino). While the Norton Simon is solely an art museum with a beautiful sculpture garden, the Huntington Library’s extensive grounds are home to a library and a variety of art galleries, which are sprinkled in among the various botanical gardens.

The Norton Simon Museum of Art

Formerly known as the Pasadena Art Museum it combines the private collection of businessmen and philanthropist Norton Simon with the one of the former Pasadena Art Museum. The museum is famous for its remarkable private art collection. Walking towards the entrance of the museum you are greeted by several of Auguste Rodin’s sculptures. “The Thinker”, one of Rodin’s most famous sculpture has its home right here at the museum. Upon entering the museum, the galleries start out to your left and right but one seems to be magically drawn to the sculpture garden that is in the middle and right opposite the entrance.

Therefore, we started out with walking the sculpture garden which is beautifully set around a large pond and features several sculptures by Henry Moore and other sculptors. Before we started touring the garden though, the garden café beckoned us to take a little rest and just sip on a coffee while taking in the serenity of the site.

Adam & Eve by Lucas Cranach, The Elder ca.1500 — Adam & Eve by Lucas Cranach, The Elder

Once back inside the museum we took a quick tour of some of the five different galleries. The 14^th-17^th centuries gallery had some real treasures to offer and we literally soaked up some artworks many of us just know from art history books. If you like Picasso, Braque, Jawlensky, and Klee as well as Sam Francis, Warhol, Lichtenstein and many others, the 20^th century gallery will make your heart swell.

Huntington Library – Art Galleries, Botanical Gardens and Home of a Gutenberg Bible

Get ready for a day’s worth of walking! The Huntington Library is gorgeous and getting blisters on your feet is totally worth it! Let’s start out with the spectacular botanical gardens. “More than a dozen principal gardens cover 120 acres of the 207-acre ground.”

We set out to visit our favorite two gardens this first Sunday of 2016: The Japanese and the Chinese Garden. Both of them are so beautifully and genuinely designed, every time we just enjoy sticking around for a while, taking in the peaceful scenery from one of the benches at the Japanese garden, or the Chinese pagoda or the peaceful Zen garden.

As you are walking the gardens you happen upon the various galleries. Here you can educate yourself on European art from the 15^th to the early 20^th century as well as on American art from the late 17^th to the mid-20^th century.

We skipped the art-viewing part on our visit this time since high on our to-do-list was seeing the original copy of the famous Gutenberg Bible that is on display in the actual Library. Our visitors from Germany were quite surprised to see a Gutenberg Bible right here in California. And what a beautiful copy it is on top of it! We were stunned to see this book from the year 1450 in such perfect condition. The illuminations were so rich in color as having just come of the printing press. Besides the Gutenberg Bible one can admire numerous other historically important documents and books on display.

After having visited the Library and having walked through the Rose Garden we called it a day and pledged to come visit the desert garden another time.

Should you plan on visiting the Huntington Library, come with a lot of time! You might even want to start out your visit with an English Tea experience at the Rose Garden Tea Room. It’s an event that one needs to make a reservation for ahead of time but I heard it’s totally worth it.

Check out some of SoCal’s great museums for FREE on January 30, 2016. (Unfortunately neither the Norton Simon nor the Huntington Library has free admission on the day)

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Universal Studios – Revisiting SoCal's Famous Theme Park

September 13, 2015 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

A visit to Los Angeles is not complete without a visit to Universal Studios, Venice Beach, Sunset and Hollywood Blvd, the Chinese Theatre and of course Disneyland in Orange County. At least that’s how it used to be, a few years back.

Today we have a Disneyland theme park not only on the East and the West Coast of the USA, but also one in Europe (Paris). Hong Kong, Tokyo and Shanghai can call one their own as well. Visiting Disneyland therefor in the U.S might have lost some of its appeal compared to other theme parks and other famous sites unique to the USA. While you can find a Universal Studios also in Japan and Singapore it has not yet made its way to the European continent.

After many years living here in California but not having been back to Universal Studios for quite a while, our family decided to check it out again and I found that quite a bit has changed, or …have I changed? In my view Universal Studios has lost some of its magic vibe that had lured me in so many years ago. Then it seemed like the gateway to the secret world of movie making and movie stars. The actual machinery behind Hollywood’s magic.

Visiting Universal Studios this summer I sadly realized that it was just another theme park competing with Disneyland in new ride attractions. And while the original “Hollywood Studio Tour“, a behind-the-scenes tour, still exists updated with modern attractions like the world’s largest 3D experience, as we were told, to me it has lost a bit of its intimate charm of the earlier days.

Instead of the small trolley train, that had room only for three people in each of its rows, was riding low and put you close to the action, today you’ll find big trolly buses that hold double the number of people and put you high above the action. On the other hand these robust and technically equipped trolley buses let you experience the latest attractions like the award-winning King Kong 360 3-D sensation created by Peter Jackson with an all around intensity that would not have been possible with the fragile little tour trains of the old days.

Hollywood’s magic toolbox that makes unbelievable things happen in movies, has evolved and has become much more versatile thanks to modern computer simulation technology. While torrential rains and a flood took away your breath some 20 years ago, and the masses of water that burst down a hill right towards you sitting in your little tour car made you feel threatened to get swept away along with the flood; today you are part of a thrilling fight in 3-D between a scary T-rex and King Kong. In fact you are right in the middle of this spectacle getting splashed with dinosaur saliva and pushed around by KingKong, who is trying to step onto your tour bus.
The tour crowd was mesmerized and thoroughly enjoyed the experience from what I could tell by their screams and beaming faces.

The previously mentioned torrential rains by the way still exist and still turn into a flood, but the experience is quite a different one these days so high above the action and boxed-in into your sturdy tour bus. The famous shark attack in the shark lagoon lacks some fright appeal as well. These wonderful, former attractions have lost some of its intensity and enjoyable thrill. They now seem like a remnant of an aged Hollywood and stand in strong contrast to the modern attractions of the Hollywood Studio Tour that immerses you in a much more emotional experience.

Part of the “Hollywood Studio Tour” is also driving by staged settings for certain TV shows and movies. As you are passing by the various small bungalows that once had been used as temporary housing for famous Hollywood icons like Doris Day, you get a glimpse into the fantastic world of Hollywood’s entertainment industry, a world that still has its home right here in the midst of Los Angeles but is impacting millions of people around the world.

I personally think that the Hollywood Studio Tour is the first ride one should engage in when visiting Universal Studios. It sets the mood for your overall experience and makes you remember what Universal Studios Park was originally all about – giving you a peek behind the scenes of famed Hollywood movie making.

Today’s Universal Studios theme park offers an array of fun rides. Some of them are not your usual roller coaster but rather its virtual counterpart, which can be just as wild as the real ride. The Despicable Me -Minion ride that my son and husband were looking forward to was fun but in their opinion way too short after the nearly one hour wait and therefore a bit disappointing. Instead they enjoyed the Transformers-Ride much more. And… we were terribly excited to see that Harry Potter’s Wizard World is coming to the park by spring next year! Behind some fences we could already make out the towers of Hogwarts and the crooked chimneys of Hogsmeade!

Aside of the ride attractions, which are quite different to the ones at Disneyland, and therefore not really comparable, my personal opinion is that Disneyland
offers a more fulfilling experience than Universal Studios. In fact, just walking around Disneyland’s various theme sections is entertaining by itself. Food options inside Universal Studios are also much more limited than at Disneyland, but there is always the Universal City Walk right outside the official theme park gates that comes to the rescue with quite a variety of restaurants that are sure to please any palate.

Overall, we will be back, and be it only to check out Hogwarts and Harry Potter’s Wizard World!

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Dining along the Beach – Restaurants with a View

February 15, 2015 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

You love sunrises, sunsets or just in general enjoy walking along the ocean and breathing in the salty air? Well, what a better way to start or end a day in a nice restaurant along the seashore!

From Europe we are used to numerous restaurants or cafés crowding next to one another along the beautiful Mediterranean shoreline inviting us in for a delicious lunch or dinner. Here in Southern California I was sometimes surprised to find not at all the ubiquity of restaurants that one would expect with these endless miles of supreme coastline. Along Venice Beach for example one finds the quick snack type of restaurant with plastic chairs rather than a restaurant that offers quality cuisine in a nicer setting. There is even a German pub along the Venice Beach boardwalk, which I only entered because of the pretzels, they advertised. I would not willingly go in for a meal since the restaurant doesn’t look that inviting unfortunately. Although the pretzels were quite tasty I must admit.

A restaurant which I have in very good memory and one that has a spectacular view is “Gladstones” in Malibu! On some days you can see the dolphins swimming along the coast while you are sipping your cocktail and slurping your Oysters! Wonderfully relaxing experience!

Another option to enjoy good food while taking in the beach views and seeing the sunset in a cozy ambience is the Cheesecake Factory in Marina del Rey on “Marina Mother’s Beach“. Yes, it’s a chain restaurant, but at least one with an extensive menu of good choices and that in a beautiful setting at night. Torches illuminate the outside all the way to the boardwalk. One doesn’t get open ocean views like at Gladstones but a cozy Marina view.

Shoreline Village in Long Beach makes for a fun outing. Lot’s of things to check out around before stopping in for a Happy Hour at the Yard House or Parkers’ Lighthouse. Enjoy a beautiful sunset over a good dinner with views of the Queen Mary across the harbor!

Speaking of the “Queen Mary“, a visit to the historic ocean-liner-now-hotel is absolutely worth it. Take the tour and you’ll learn a lot about the historic times of great Atlantic ocean liners à la Titanic. Even though the sunsets are stunning aboard the Queen Mary, I wouldn’t recommend to stay there for dinner. A restaurant nearby, Fuego (haven’t been there myself yet, but want to check it out), might be a romantic alternative to dine with an ocean view after having toured the Queen Mary.

Another Long Beach restaurant we like is Claire’s at the Long Beach Art Museum. One doesn’t sit right next to the water while dining but since it is on top of a cliff and a bit set back you can take in great views of the ocean while enjoying an artistic crowd around you. Open for lunch, brunch and Thursday Happy Hour until 8pm. Check the days!

Traveling south our next stop brings us to Newport Beach where The Beachcomber in Crystal Cove invites to ocean front dining par excellence. The restaurant in the midst of Crystal Cove Historic District sits literally right on the beach! So, while waiting to be seated you are encouraged to take a little stroll along the beach. Coming by The Beachcomber always feels like a little vacation!

Following the coastline south we are getting to Laguna Beach where several restaurants have at least partial ocean view but none of them sits practically right on the beach like The Beachcomber. There is Ocean View Bar & Grill located in the historic hotel “Laguna” with a grand terrace above the shores offering unobstructed views of the ocean while enjoying breakfast, lunch and dinner. A fun restaurant we love in Laguna Beach is the Big Fish Tavern. It’s not at the beach but one street away; but since it is on a hill you can enjoy great ocean views while dining on their terrace. And the food is delicious!

In the end, we admit there are quite some fun places to enjoy great food while admiring the shoreline in Southern California. It’s just a matter of finding them. And there are so many more we still need to discover. In fact we haven’t even started to explore all the culinary jewels along the coastline going south all the way to San Diego, with San Diego itself offering plenty of ocean dining options. Therefore, if you know of a restaurant along the coast that you absolutely love, please let us know, so we can include it in our list at the end!

And should you not find the perfect restaurant that suits you after all…, there is always one easy option available : Pack a basket with your favorite foods and have a picnic right at the beach. You’ll get spectacular views for free!

Other restaurants Along the beach in SoCAl:

Coast in Santa Monica within the Shutters Hotel is apparently a good if expensive choice to have an exclusive dinner or brunch at the beach.

Coronado Sheerwater Restaurant at the Del Coronado in San Diego

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Summer in California – Let the Adventure Begin

June 26, 2014 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

Cool Places to Stay to Make this Summer Special

Summer vacation has started for so many families in California! School is out and summer is rolling in. Are you ready for the fun?

Make it a Californian vacation if you are not traveling overseas to visit family and friends. There is so much to see and do right here, and summer especially is the perfect time to go and experience California inside-out.

Take your family on the spectacular scenic route along the coast, on the famous Highway 1, covering San Francisco all the way to Santa Barbara or even San Diego. Along the way take in not only the stunning views but also some history, and visit some of California’s historical treasures, the early missions. The “Queen of the Missions” you’ll find in Santa Barbara, but don’t miss the one in Carmel, which was the 2nd California mission built in Moorish design in 1770, and the one in San Luis Obispo, which has a rare collection of early California photographs.
Along the way stop in one of the following quite unusual lodgings. They are for sure not your typical hotel, but you will undoubtedly add character to your trip!

Live The Life Of The Wild West

Would you like to go back in time and experience living like the Indians or does the life of an early American settler during the Gold Rush appeal more to you? Along the Coast you can settle in for some great adventurous overnight stays, and choose between staying in furnished tepees at Ventura Ranch KOA in Santa Paula or having a camp out in covered Gold Rush wagons arranged around camp fire pits at Rancho Oso Guest Ranch & Resort .

If this is too rustic for you and you would rather have it a bit more luxurious, give Flying Flags RV Resort a try. Vintage Airstream trailers still give you the feeling you are camping, but you can enjoy all the amenities of our modern times. In these glamorously restored and updated vintage Airstream models you’ll get the latest in technology like an iPad bar, and you can enjoy a 21st century camping vacation in an iconic setting.

Staying Aboard But Not In The Open Ocean

Okay, early California life is not for you, but you have always dreamed of owning your own vessel, and you wish nothing more than to be rocked to sleep softly by the waves . Dockside Boat & Bed in Long Beach offers you just that. Feel like a captain for a night. The quite different Bed & Breakfast Inn offers a variety of boat types to chooses from, from luxurious to cozy. Located near the Convention Center many Long Beach attractions can be reached on foot.

The queenly neighbor of Dockside Boat & Bed Inn is just around the corner. Queen Mary, historic ocean liner gone hotel, let’s you step back in time. Originally built in 1936 the luxury liner did 1001 transatlantic crossings and is now berthed in Long Beach. Book one of the historic staterooms for a night and feel like going on a transatlantic voyage during the 1940’s. The location is prime, close to the Aquarium of the Pacific, Shoreline Village and the revamped downtown of Long Beach. The Queen Mary Hotel offers an all-round experience, so while you are aboard make sure to check out the various tours that bring alive the glamorous history of this majestic ocean liner. It might give you a glimpse into why the Queen Mary has been voted one of the Top 10 Most Haunted Places in America!

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Photos: Tepee by Ventura Ranch Koa; Queen Mary by Twentieth Century Ocean Liners

Autumn Fun in Southern California

October 26, 2013 by Cornelia Leave a Comment

Enjoy Fall in Southern California

Before the colder weather sets in be sure to visit some great destinations in and around Los Angeles and San Diego. Southern California has a lot to offer when it comes to outdoor activities. We are close to the ocean but also near the mountains. The options are plentiful.

In the following you’ll find four different locations that we have enjoyed in the past and which are always worth a visit, but fall is just a perfect time to check them out.

Safari Park San Diego

The Safari Park in San Diego is a must in October. Not only since San Diego county has its great “Kids FREE in October” promotion all month long, which lets you visit nearly 40 museums and great destinations like the San Diego Zoo, and also the Safari Park for a fraction of the usual price. But what’s really nice about visiting zoos in fall is, that you can actually see the animals! It happened so many times to us; we are in one of the great zoos around California in the summer and… all the animals are hiding from the scorching heat and from us. Frustrating!

So this time we actually could witness antelopes run around the “plains” , a rhino taking a walk with its cute and playful little toddler rhino, watch some California bisons picking a fight amongst each other, see a lion lazily catching some of the rare sun rays that day, and have a laugh at the Gorilla encounter. In fact I have never seen any gorillas ever more engaged than these here at the Safari Park. There is so much more to see and for children and adults to explore than we can mention here. It’s definitely a great alternative to the famous San Diego Zoo.

National History Museum

We have mentioned and dedicated a whole article to the newly re-done Natural SAMSUNG History museum in L.A., which became one of our favorite museums. It means hours of great engaging education on wildlife that’s in our closest neighborhood and beyond. With Halloween coming up, the Spider Pavilion is an exhibit not to be missed. One that gets you into the eerie mood. Before you go into the actual exhibit where you can observe spiders in their natural habitat eating their prey and be eye-to-eye with them (watch out that you don’t run into a freshly constructed spiderweb!), check out the various display cases outside with Tarantulas from different countries and other venomous spiders. Spider Pavilion is only open until November 3rd!

On November 5 and 6, the museum celebrates its 100th anniversary and the opening of the L.A. Aqueduct with FREE admission and a new aqueduct-themed exhibition.

Griffith Observatory

If you want to make it a day in L.A. head over to the Griffith Observatory once you are finished with visiting the Natural History Museum. The observatory at Griffith Park is open until 10 pm and watching the sun set over Los Angeles from this location is phenomenal. Plan having dinner at “The Cafe at the End of the Universe” which is operated by Wolfgang Puck, and you can enjoy the sunset while sipping on a glass of wine! While the location itself is stunning, the exhibit inside the observatory is extraordinary, not to mention looking through one of the high-quality public telescopes. Once a month, the Los Angeles Astronomical Society and Sidewalk Astronomers hold a star party at the Observatory in which many more telescopes are available for public viewing. Find out more online.

Julian – Charming Gold Rush Town

Fall is the best time to visit Julian, a quaint mountain town famous for its warm apple pies, apple cider, apple butter and anything else that’s made of apples. Nestled in the scenic Cuyamca Mountains, it is just one hour east of downtown San Diego. Julian found its beginning during the 1870‘s gold rush and is an official California Historical Landmark. It’s a charming little town that is home to many historic buildings, and is unique since you can experience the changes of the four seasons. Watch the changing colors of fall leaves and experience Christmassy snowfall in winter. Don’t miss the annual fall apple harvest that runs from mid-September to November when fresh apple pies and just-pressed cider await you.