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:: TRAVEL USA::
:: HA - DEN ::
DEN - SF ::
SF - LA ::
GC & LV ::
LA - NOL ::
NOL - CHI ::
CHI - HA ::
23.02.02
When I enter the kitchen in the morning I had to open my eyes twice to be
sure, that I'm not dreaming. At the place were it was an oven before it was
only a peace of wood. The only maschines in the kitchen are two toasters and
a microwave, additionaly a lot of plastic dishes (I suppose they don't trust the
travellers to take care of the dishes and not to put metal in the microwave).
Did you ever try to cook a tea with a microwave? Well, the problem was, the
plastic cup became very hot, but the water inside was still cold...
I was the only person in the kitchen, so I didn't stay too long but make my
way to the center of the town: the french quarter. There you can find a lot
of palm readers, artists, painters, musicans etc. Everybody tries to earn money
with his art or by the way to be photographed. I think their income is very
high, I watch some artists and at the end of the show (maybe 20 min) they get
for sure more than 200 Dollars.
The city is the ideal place to enjoy and do nothing than sitting in the sun, watching
the artists, the architekture and so on. The weather was beautiful, I suppose more
than 20°C.
In my travel guides it was written, that you should not enter the graveyards by
your own, because there are to many thefts and robbers. But I think they forget
to add, that this advice is only during night time. At midday there were more
tourist, mainly in guided tours, than graves.
I try to get some food at lunch time, but it was difficult. I read, that the people in
New Orleans will have an own dialect, but I didn't expect to be so hard. I
didn't understood at all, what the waiter ask me at the counter and when I
ask him to repeat he just said the same nonunderstandable phrase. So somehow
we manage together: he is showing some stuff to put on a cajun dog and I said
yes and no. But the problem was, that he also didn't understood, if I said yes or no...
So I get a probably very strange cajun dog. Nevertheless expect that the bread
is again a little bit to soft, I enjoy my meal.
Back in the hostel I met an eldery man, who like the hostel as much as me: not at all.
He said, that he was all over the world up to now (he was telling stories of iceland,
africa, australia, europe,...), but this hostel was the worst of all. I have to agree
completly: it was really not very clean and the facilities were not so good.
Additionaly there was no hostel atmosphere, so I was always the only person in the
kitchen and the common room. All other try to avoid this area and were already
reading in bed.
24.02.02
I was told the day before at the NPS (National Park Service), that they offer
of free guided tour everyday at 9:30 am. But you have to show up early to get
a card because the walk is limited to 20 persons. So I left the hostel early
and when the information open the doors at 9:00 am I was not the first person
attending the walk. Waiting another half an hour in the warm sun I had the
possibility to write the last postcards home. I was the only non american in
the group, maybe that's the reason why the woman spoke very clear, because
I understood everything, wich was not normal for New Orleans. The main
subject of our walk was the theme water: New Orleans was founded at the
missisippi delta in order to have a good overview to both sides of the river
and to defend it. The ground water level in the city is quiet high, so the city
can only be sustained with a drainage system pumping the water out of
the town. This is also the reason, why the dead bodies were not burried in
the ground but in small stone graves. The buildings are all stabilized by small sticks,
because the ground is "swimming".
The second try to get something to eat was as difficult as the first one, but
somehow I've got my shrimps with french fries.
After lunch I board the train to Chicago. I was seated next to a woman, who
is heading to Memphis, she like to visit Graceland (Elvis). The first hour the
train is passing the swamps. The train is going very slowly because the
area is protected. Next to the tracks (on a small bank in the water) the highway
is passing. It is looking more like a long bridge over a huge lake than real land.
Even the tree didn't seem to have real roots, they are just staying in water.
When it start to dawn Amtrak is showing again some filmes. Today there are
4 films, so the evening passed very fast.
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