Welcome to Los Angeles #2

Time in Pilsen was running fast ... a language class, english test, talks to give and visit, new Biomedical Center, new friends, new colleagues .. so much more to tell and talk about, but so much more time to do it once I am back!
Until then - let's talk about glamorous and vivid Los Angeles... I was sooooo worried to move into this big pile of cars, houses, streets and people ... scared to get lost and to not feel at home - but pretty much the opposite happened!
I found a beautiful home with great people! So amazing colleagues ... and a city full of possibilities, new things to see and visit each day and a beauty I haven't quite met before... This is just a start, but there will be more to show - I am sure! And I will try to put special events up or just random, but interesting things!

Predatorrace 2015 in Obora

If you run for a couple of years it is not really a challenge anymore  except maybe to get up on a regular basis to go out there for your routine.

When I saw my colleague looking at this website for a czech obstacle run, I was instantly interested. Running through the forest, crawling through mud, climbing obstacles - that just seems to be the opportunity to be 8 years old again. I am happy that I had a friend by my side to master this challenge, but it also was sooooooo much fun and I will definitely do it again!

Plzen

When I applied for a PhD position with a professor in San Diego - I never thought I would move to the Czech Republic one day. It never even had crossed my mind. I had seen Prague - about two years ago during a business trip and loved it, but that was all I knew about  the people, the language and the country just across the border from Germany. But - things change, people get offers and my future boss moved to Los Angeles.. and well - Los Angeles sounds great at first, but it is a big, expensive city far, far away and it did not sound tempting to me to spent years of my life there.

 One year on the other hand sounds great, so I was offered to do a colaboration - with the Charles University in Prague.
And I took it.
And here I am .. in a city about 50 min away from Pague and 30 min from the german border. The city of beer - Plzen. New language, new culture, new work, new people. Let's see how that goes. A new start always comes with an end.. and to let something go - is the hardest thing in life. But sometimes we have to do it - to be able to move on.

Saying Goodbye to San Diego

 It was time to say goodbye to this beautiful location and those great people around me.
But I know I will be back - even though it will be a different location.

I am thankful for the time here, the great beaches, regular surf, fun roommates, helpful colleagues, amazing food, lots of sun and this cool cake Elvia got me for a last coffee break in the garden of the institute... Thank you so much!

Los Angeles

San Diego has been great, but in order to get a little prepared for living in Los Angeles for a while I have been up there for a weekend to check it out. Last time I have been there is over 10 years ago - crazy! And I must say: It's not as bad as I thought! There are nice parts of the city like Long Beach, Santa Monica with the pier, the beaches and the whole surfing vibe. But there is Venice as well with it's gallerys and all the street art and the colourful beach walk full of the most different people.

 

Of course Hollywood with all the famous, but not so shiny places in real life like the walk of fame. 

Or 'The Getty' in Bel Air and of course Beverly Hills... 

 

Nice neighborhood.. If somebody likes to donate a couple of million dollars - great! But actually  it could get a little boring .. I think Venice or Santa Monica would be great, but Culver City is the last Metro Stop and the vibe there is a little like in a smaller city - a bit in between Santa Monica and Downtown.

 

I definitely look forward to moving to LA! It seems like there is a lot to see, do and experience! And they even have some decent surf!

One of the things I had to see was: Rodeo Drive. I had never been there and only knew the strip from some TV shots, but I was especially interested  in the hotel from 'Pretty Woman': The Regent Beverly Wilshire! 

It is located at the end 

of Rodeo Drive and you can even have a coffee and some fancy snacks in their own very, very fancy Café! On Rodeo Drive itself you cannot really shop, but it is beautiful and strolling through the street while window shopping is definitely worth a visit!

White Party

Party Location: Beachwalk!

On my last visit in San Diego I already had the luck to be invited to one of V's and Shereen's famous parties. And this time I got lucky again. They threw a 'White Party' at their house at the beach walk in Mission Beach. 

The occasion was to have fun, but also to promote a new app that one of their friends developed: 'In or Out'. It is an app to invite friends. You send them the request with time and location and they simply klick 'in' or 'out', no questions asked, no long explenations why not.

The party started around 1pm, I showed up around 3pm and stayed until after dark. And the later the hour, the more people showed up . They had a DJ on their 'Party Patio' who was great and after a while everyone was dancing - on the patio, on the little stage, on the handrail or like me - on the wall!

Of course there was a bar with all kind of drinks and any time you get tired of being within the crowd, you can just hop over the little wall and take a walk at the beach.  And because V is a collector of sunglasses - Becky and I got to try a lot of different models :) Thanks Becky for including me in all those events and introducing me to your friends. And thanks V and Shereen for throwing those cool parties - I really had a great time!

Brian's Famous Ribs!

This time I got so lucky to be invited to a BBQ party. Everyone brings food andso I was able to whitness Brian's magic... He is really making the best ribs in the world! They taste amazing without any kind of glace or sauce - they just turn out perfect right from the grill.
And he is even teaching people how to do it right, which everybody can pick up at:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBlUPkoLVaM

And that wasn't the only thing .. there was pulled pork as well, pork sirloin and BBQ chicken - it was aaaaaawesome!!