Engine Swap, March 19

I used the spring break week to swap the engine in my f150. My friend (Castor) towed me to his hometown and helped me in his dad's shop. After 6 very rough days without a lot of sleep we managed to get everything running again. Thanks a lot to all the help I got.

towing bar

Frozen, February 1

There might be people that don't like cold weather.
But being below 0C (32F) for months has advantages as well.

Lake Menomin, Racing

Calle 8 Miami, January 23

Yes during my break I stayed in the warm Florida for a week.
The day I arrived my friends picked me up at the airport to drive down to Key West with a rented car.
I have to say I am a little disappointed by Key West itself. It is basically a tourist place with many vacation houses. I thought there would be more open beaches and something like a beach promenade.
At least the southernmost point is there :)

Keys

Einen guten Rutsch Chicago!, December 31

Einen guten Rutsch 'Happy New Year',,
Pablo, Andres and I stayed in Chicago for about a week to pass the holidays together.
I picked them up at the airport on Christmas Eve. From then we have seen each district of the city very well. We have seen the loop, lakeview, hyde park, pilsen, chinatown and many more!! And as usual, touristing with Pablo involves getting to know the city well.

el frijol 'the bean' or by its original name: 'cloud gate'

Madison, December 22

The fall semester ended very well! So I started driving down to Chicago a little earlier and I slept one day in the truck and two other nights at a very nice and welcoming family in Wheaton.

Parking in Madison, although the guy in front of me got stuck actually

Mexico City, November 30

Long time since I updated the blog....

Well since I found a cheap flight I stayed in Mexico City for 2 weeks end of November. Most of all I wanted to visit my friends and families, which was a total success. Some highlights in this trip include climbing one of the tallest climbing walls, visiting my old high school, playing ice hockey and go to a bull fight.
As soon as I got back I was busy with homework and finals.

TACOOOS, best food in the world!

Like an Amish, November 15

Through my host I had the opportunity to get to know an Amish community. Last Thursday I drove to my hosts farm where me and my host had supper. Friday we woke up at 5am to have breakfast and to drive to the Amish farm. We have offered them earlier to help them work on the farm and thats what we did on this Friday.

24°Fahrenheit = ~-4°Celsius, at my hosts farm

Las Vegas, October 30

Hi guys,

after getting used to the 'Stoutonian Way of Life' me and some friends decided to take a break and visit Las Vegas. Since it was a long weekend we took a cheap flight (spirit airline, 117$ roundtrip) and booked a cheap hotel 'off-strip'.

Bellagio fountain show

Fútbol Americano, September 25

Fútbol Americano (American Football) is probably the most famous sport here. There's always TV's showing games and everywhere it is what people are interested in. I was asked lots of times which would be my favourite team.... How couldn't I be a Packers and Vikings fan :)

Nice Superman-Tackle

UW Stout it's on, September 15

I am getting to know the surroundings more and more. My university gave us the opportunity to meet locals as a host family. I have met a very kind couple (Lynn & Polly) which has a very nice house by a lake. I took some photos of it. Also I will participate two clubs. One is boxing and the other is an automobile club, so we will work on cars trucks. Very nice people and I will probably see them a lot, as I also want to work a little on my truck. Next time I will take pictures of the vehicles they have.

         Lynns House, we had a nice BBQ after being on the boat

Welcome Stout Students, September 2

The road trip from Delaware to Wisconsin was long and tough. Since I had problems with the engine before starting the trip (just 2 spark plugs and wires needed to be changed), I didnt depart until Tuesday morning. I had around 23 hours to make 1200 miles / 1750 km. You can imagine how exhausting that is.
International Orientation Week started and I have already made many friends!

Welcome back at Walmart

Delaware Beach Fishing, August 25

Sunday the 25th of August I decided to go with friends to a Delaware Beach to go fishing instead of already departing to Wisconsin. We had an awesome day.
More pictures to come, right Lele?

Our set up! Awesome to drive the Wrangler here.

Washington DC and Annapolis, August 22

August 22nd I took a small trip to Washington DC. I departed at 5am so I didnt have lots of traffic. I parked my truck and took the Washington metro to the city center. The Metro is very nice, organized and clear. It was first opened in 1976 and it's entrances and waiting halls are huge. I liked that a lot.

Me in front of the Capitol

Crabs all you can eat, August 21

On August 21 Dustin, Angie, Lea and me went to a very good Blue Crab Restaurant. Special for Delaware they served us as many crabs we could eat on our table. You get a small hammer with it and have to open the crab to get to the meat. It was awesome. Since I have never eaten crabs this way before, the experience was even better.

Me, Lea and Dustin

That Philly Cheese Steak, August 19

On August 19 Angie took me to Philadelphia. We have spent the day in the city. It was really nice. Our trip covered most important sights of Philadelphia, which are really nice. For example the independence hall where on July 4th the 13(12) delegates of the states signed the declaration of independence. For many years it served as Second Continental Congress. And of course the liberty bell was part of it.

Me in front of Philly Chinatown

Still alive, August 17

Yes I have arrived in Delaware. It has been some busy weeks.

Dustin and Angie (Angie was my neighbor back in Germany) are so generous and kind to me. Not only they are letting me sleep here. They also try to make my stay as comfortable and enjoyful as possible. And thats what it has been the last days for me.
Two very good friends (LaVon, Heather) were here I think every day I have been here. We had food together, played badminton, go to the beach, go to a bar to meet others, ...
There is more things I finally completed. I bought a truck (dream come true) and a phone card (sim). It took me a lot of time finding the right things. Thanks again to Angie and Dustin for letting me drive their cars and helping me out.

F150, 1999, 5.4L, 190kW, 470Nm, 4wd : MINE

Rockefeller Center, August 6

On recommendation I took a guided tour around Rockefeller Center, NY. Although it was expensive (48$) it was worth it. Definitely many Art Deco elements! Then also many meaningful symbols like goddes of the audio/sounds or of the visual (NBC is located in Rockefeller Plaza).

Central Park

A couchsurfing experience, August 7

In NYC I tried couchsurfing for the first time. Circumstances have been perfect. A cool guy from New York accepted to host me for 4 nights.
When I arrived at the airport I took the subway to his place close to Yankee Stadium, Bronx.

Kevin and Kevin (hosted me in NY)

Biking in NYC, August 5

since a couple of months there is the possibility to rent a bike for 10$ / 24h (but max ride is 30min).  it is called citibike and you have it all over downtown and midtown and parts of Brooklyn.

to ride a bike in NYC is very interesting. in lower Manhattan you often have separated space for bikes. but often they are blocked by cars or cabs. also it can get difficult to find the right route because there are only one way streets. might be helpful to have Internet access on your smartphone.

Could a city be bigger?, 5 august

I am getting to know the flair of NYC. There's is music and art on every corner. Hot dog stands with all kinds of variation, I have already tried plenty of them. Traffic is unbelievable, on rush hours you better take the subway. There is little bars, nice restaurants and parks everywhere. I have already eaten one of the best burgers in one restaurant. The meat was just perfect medium rare! And pizza, New York pizza is great.
Well yesterday the day was loaded with sights. Thanks to chantale ( a school friend who was in the city) I had an awesome tour which covered everything I would probably have missed otherwise. So all in all I have been to China town, SoHo, penn station, times square and 8th ave., central park, Rockefeller center, Central Station, Bryant park, the high line, west avenue, Brooklyn bridge, .....

Brooklyn bridge

Manhatten I know you, 4 August

Yesterday I was planning to see most of the Lower Manhatten part. But because of a long friday night it took a lot of time until I got out of bed. Then me and my host went out for some breakfast. Hmmmm you just gotta love it. There was omelett, sausages, pancakes and many more tasteful things. Afterwards I went sightseeing. Statue of liberty, wall street, ground zero from the outside, the bull from stock market, up to china town where unfortunately my battery died.

Manhattan Skyline

Let the adventure begin, 3 August

Preparation has come to an end and I have enjoyed my last breathes in Germany. Again I want to thank everyone who helped me during the last days moving out of my appartment and make saying goodbye so easy.
Yesterday 1 of August I finally checked in for a flight to Reykjavik, where I had a 10hour stop. Would not be the first time I had to sleep on an airport bench >>no problem at all!

Flat iron in lower Manhattan.