Widespread beauty

Ship creek, Anchorage

ANCHORAGE. In Alaska I had positive and negative experiences. Since the beginning of my journey, I was looking forward to see Alaska, my last stop. When I arrived in Anchorage, I was a bit disappointed.

I did not like the downtown area. So I shared a tandem with a friend and cycled along the water side. There we saw some beautiful areas, e.g. Ship creek. A lot of people - inhabitants and tourists -  go fishing for Salmon there every day. 

Another day I took a train to Seward, a little town south of Anchorage. As soon as I'd been 30 min out of Anchorage, there was untouched nature everywhere. For the rest of the train ride (4 hours) there was no sign of humankind out there. It was wonderful.

Trees died because of salty sea water which came with rising sea level

Seward, AK

Still existing glacier

Most of the places are just reachable by plane. That's why a few people here in Alaska legally own little aircrafts in their backyards. In Alaska, there are more registered aircrafts than automobiles! Another highlight here are the short nights in the summer. 22 hours daylight. I had to think of the white nights that I saw in St. Petersburg, Russia, once. As I am night blind, it was literally heaven for me!

Heartbreaking

VANCOUVER. In Vancity I enjoyed the combination of urban and natural areas a lot. Downtown, on Granville street, there was a “Heart of Europe“ festival going on. Many people were sitting on both sides of the street, enjoying a drink in a restaurant or cafe on this sunny day. On the street itself there were little stands with information about different countries in Europe.

Heart of Europe Festival, Vancouver

As soon as I reached the waterside of the city, I saw beautiful mountains, covered with many trees. Little aircrafts were taking off to Vancouver island at the shore. Some people were sailing on the sea and I had to think of those beautiful days with my friends at the Starnberger See back in Germany, drinking a Cappuccino or Cocktail at the Undosa cafe. Love it.

Waterside of Vancouver

In the evening I walked down the streets and crossed Hasting street. What I saw there was the completely opposite of beauty. Homeless people were sitting around everywhere, most of them drug addicts. While passing them I saw lots of needles laying on the ground. 

I saw lots of hobos (homeless) in the US too. And unfortunately, seeing them destroyes my good  picture which I have of a city when leaving. Those people need help as soon as possible. Help to change their mind. Some of them chose to live on the street, some did not. I think everyone deserves a chance to develop a free mind, to create something progressive in this world. It’s gonna be positive for all of us. Lets think of a solution to this big problem. 

All natural

BOZEMAN. Last week I visited a friend in Montana. Such a wonderful landscape there. We visited the Yellowstone national park (YNP) and saw many animals there. My friend definitely had a better eye for those animals which were far away. It's harder for me to recognize a spot in the scenery with my tunnel vision. I probably wouldn't even recognize some of them without her telling me that they were there.

Hitchhiker in Montana

Also, we saw geysers. They were amazing to watch! It was a bit scary though to consider that there's lava near under me. Even though the geysers had a bad smell (like rotten eggs), we did our planned picnic next to them to have a nice view. Awesome. 

Mammoth Hot Springs, Yellowstone National Park

Hollywood

LOS ANGELES. Hollywood! I walked down the walk of fame. When I finally found Marylin Monroe's star, I thought: How unfortunate. It was in front of a Mc Donalds and the building was under construction so that I could barely see the star. No glamour. Anyway, she's been such a strong woman - I admire her.

To go on in my LA trip, I visited Beverly Hills and its Rodeo Dr. Beautiful! Probably the first time that I didn't see any homeless people on the street since I've been to the US. Also, I visited the Universal studios on Memorial day weekend. It was really crowded but I enjoyed it so much there.

When I was younger, I wanted to be an actress. This idea lost its value because I recognized that I would have problems to act during the film shooting with my tunnel vision. 

E.g. I took part in a school theater for a few years. I did acrobatics and acting. It was so much fun! But sometimes there was just rare light on stage, so that I struggled to act how I would normally do. It's especially because of the night blindness. I get insecure in the dusk and even more in the dark which makes me acting more carefully. I hate that. Easy things like shaking another person's hand while looking him/her in the eyes could fail. I mostly just hold my hand and the other person has to grab it. It works.

News on Usher Research

BOSTON.  Today I met Michael Sandberg at the MA Eye and Ear infirmary in Boston. He is an associate Professor of Ophthalmology and has a research experience for over 40 years. 

What are the news for the Usher research? There are Research projects going on which are promising to lead to a preservation of sight. Potentially they can be tested in humans within a few years. 

Preservation of sight does not mean a total cure, but at least people like me would not go blind and would be able to take care of themselves visually in the future. 

I am glad, that researchers like Dr. Sandberg exist who preserve hope in patients. Thank you!