Disneyland

Despite all the negative things said about LA, we actually liked the city. Even Americans say it's dirty and overcrowded, filled with people desperately chasing their dreams. But we got a different impression. Everyone we met was incredibly chatty and helpful. We didn’t see any more homeless people than in other places. The smog has decreased, but you can still spot it, especially when you drive up to the hill where you can see the Hollywood sign. We had a really lovely stay, and we were also at a really nice hotel perfectly located right in the heart of Hollywood. So we can definitely recommend spending a few days in this city that has its finger on the pulse. Disneyland is a must when you visit LA, which is known all over the world. Once you park your car, there are trolleys running constantly up to the amusement park. But now, there are two parks to choose from. There’s the classic Disneyland, and then there’s Disneyland California, which is a much smaller park with a correspondingly lower entrance fee. We chose the original Disneyland. We had finally arrived and wanted a chance to experience what everyone was talking about. We were given a map of the area and headed straight for the nearest rides. The first one we tried was flying with Peter Pan. We quickly figured out how to distinguish between rides for younger kids and those for a slightly older crowd. But even though we arrived early in the morning, there were already long lines. However, it is possible to get a FastPass for an attraction, so you don’t have to stand in such a long queue. Disneyland’s rides can’t accommodate nearly as many people at once as Universal Studios shows, which is why the lines form. It’s a shame because the fun kind of fades when you have to wait in line for two hours under the blazing sun every time. We thought there would be Disney characters roaming around everywhere, but they were limited to Mickey Mouse Town, where you again had to wait in line just to see them. So we were a bit disappointed that we didn’t get to meet our childhood idols. We tried all the more adult activities like Space Mountain, white-water rafting, and the train ride through the Wild West. All the rides are incredibly well made, but they might cater a bit more to a younger audience. We were definitely a little disappointed with Disneyland, but we were glad to have seen it. In the afternoon, we continued south and spent the night in a small town called Oceanside. In the evening, we popped into a local bar where we met two really funny and entertaining guys. They told us a lot of things, including recommending a baseball game happening in San Diego the next day. Later that night, we went into the neighboring bar to our motel. Mette was immediately excited. She hadn’t noticed all the pictures of naked ladies hanging on the walls. She completely overlooked that it was a strip club, but who points that out to their partner when they themselves want to go in? We invented a game where we guess and make faces based on a menu. I came up with a whole new way to express the word hotdog. I tried to demonstrate as a very sweaty dog, which should have been quite telling. Mette guessed it too, all while trying not to choke from laughing.