Why should we, on every sunny summer weekend escape to the beach? Do you really want to move in slow motion on the motorways to the south? Probably not! That is why we jumped to the north this time and served you with this great idea for a wonderful one-day trip, just 380 km from Ljubljana.
Vienna, 2 million Austrian capital, really impressed with summer vibes, really an opposite as a dark and rainy version around Christmas festivals.
Zakaj bi poletne mesece in sončne vikende vedno izkoristili le za pobeg na obalo? Si res želite po polžje premikati po naših avtocestah proti jugu? Verjetno ne! Zato sva midva tokrat raje skočila na sever, hkrati pa tudi tebi v tem prispevku servirala idejo za čudovit enodnevni izlet, ki je od Ljubljane oddaljen cca. 380 kilometrov vožnje v eno stran.
Dunaj, 2 milijonska avstrijska prestolnica, naju je tokrat v poletni preobleki bistveno bolj navdušila, kot par let nazaj v temačni in dokaj deževni različici okrog božičnih praznikov.
From national parks and beautiful nature back to »civilization«, into the vast cities of the West. First things first, after the Grand Canyon tour, we drove to Williams, a small town known for the legendary Route 66 – a road that connects the whole America, from Chicago to Los Angeles, with a length of almost 4000 km! However, the new motorway sections are wiping out history, leaving only a few more parts of the original road, which, however, is becoming more and more popular this days. Williams is just one of the cities that has been able to use all of its history very well. Rock’n’roll, old American classic cars, beer and greasy grilled dishes… all these are the things that attract more and more tourists. Just a dozen miles away, in Seligman, we were lucky that »Fun Run« was on the same day of our visit – an event where, hundreds of legendary American cars drive down the Route 66 each year. Just the wet dreams for everyone who love sounds of the engines and smell of the petrol!
Iz nacionalnih parkov in prečudovite narave nazaj v »civilizacijo«, v ogromna mesta Zahoda. Ampak gremo po vrsti, po ogledu Grand Canyona sva se zapeljala v Williams, manjši kraj, znan po legendarni Route 66 – cesti, ki povezuje celotno Ameriko, od Chicaga do Los Angelesa in je dolga skoraj 4.000 km! Vendar novi avtocestni odseki brišejo pestro zgodovino, tako je ostalo le še nekaj delov prvotne ceste, ki pa zopet postaja vse bolj priljubljena. Williams je le eno izmed mest, ki je vso zgodovino znalo zelo uspešno izkoristiti. Rock’n’roll, stari ameriški avtomobili, pivo in bogate, mastne jedi z žara.. vse to so stvari, ki privabljajo vse več turistov. Le nekaj deset kilometrov stran, v mestu Seligman pa sva imela srečo, da je ravno na dan najinega obiska potekal »Fun Run« – dogodek, kjer se po Route 66, vsako leto zapelje na stotine legendarnih ameriških avtomobilov. Neprecenljivo za vsakega navdušenca nad jeklenimi konjički in bencinskimi hlapi!
After we spent two nights in Las Vegas, we continued our roadtrip across the United States. First we made, one quick turn. We drove to Hoover Dam, a 200-meter high dam that stands on the border between the two states, Nevada and Arizona. For over 100 years, this huge technological creation has attracted thousands, and recently more than a million visitors per year! There are relatively many parking spaces near the dam, but you will have to deduct $ 10 per day for one of those spots. You can save yourself some money and drive up the hill about 100 meters further, where you can park your car for free.
Po dveh preživetih nočeh v Las Vegas-u je spet napočil čas za nadaljevanje roadtripa po zahodu ZDA. Ampak najprej en hiter ovinek. Zapeljala sva se do Hoover Dam-a, dobrih 200 metrov visokega jezu, ki stoji na meji med zveznima državama – Nevado in Arizono. Ta ogromna tehnološka stvaritev že skoraj 100 let privablja na tisoče, v zadnjem času pa tudi več kot milijon obiskovalcev na leto! V neposredni bližini jezu je relativno veliko parkirnih mest, za katere moraš na dan odšteti $10. Denar raje privarčujte in se čez jez zapeljite kakšnih 100 metrov v hrib, kjer boste lahko parkirali brezplačno.
We rented a car for the first time in our travel career. We booked it in advance through the website billiger-mietwagen.de. Special thanks goes to Google translate for the translation from German language, because in other word we very likely would not have a clue what kind of car would we get and even less what insurance is included and many other things. However, let us leave the details for some other time.
We made the first kilometers on the Highway 1, a winding road from San Francisco to Los Angeles right by the sea and offers wonderful views of the cliffs and beaches. We made a detour to Santa Cruz and continue our trip to Bakersfield, where we made our first stop – the city is great spot for driving to Las Vegas through Death Valley.
Za potovanje po zahodni Ameriki sva tokrat prvič v najini karieri rentala avto, ki sva ga seveda že vnaprej rezervirala preko spletne strani billiger-mietwagen.de. Hvala Google translate za prevod nemškega jezika, ker drugače zelo verjetno ne bi imela pojma kakšen avto bi dobila, še manj pa kakšno zavarovanje in ostale stvari, ki pašejo zraven. Ampak pustimo podrobnosti za kdaj drugič.
Prve kilometre sva naredila po Highway 1, vijugasti cesti, ki poteka od San Francisca do Los Angelesa tik ob morju in ponuja celo kopico čudovitih razgledov na klife in plaže. Cesto sva zapustila v Santa Cruzu ter se po krajši poti odpravila v Bakersfield, kjer sva naredila najin prvi postanek – mesto je namreč super iztočnica za vožnjo v Las Vegas preko Death Valley oz. po naše Dolino smrti.
It is better to sit 15 hours on a plane than 8 hours at work, behind your worktable… do you agree? Well, let us first provide you one quick and useful information for everyone who will soon be heading to the city of North California. From airport in San Francisco, you can take a BART train. For a ticket, you will deduct around $ 10 and after 30 minutes, you will find yourself in the city center. Simple!
Regardless of the first impression, public transport is quite bad, so prepare yourself for a few kilometers climbing in the hills. Almost all streets in San Francisco are hellish, long and almost vertical slopes. Of course, you can overcome those hills with few minutes driving with an attractive cable car, but you will pay $ 7 for a one-way ticket, which is not that cheap.
Bolje sedeti 15 ur sedeti na avionu kot 8 ur za pisalno mizo v službi.. se strinjate? No, naj vam že takoj na začetku ponudiva eno hitro uporabno informacijo za vse, ki se boste v kratkem odpravili v mesto na severu Kalifornije. Iz letališča v San Franciscu, se lahko zapeljete z BART vlakom. Za vozovnico boste odšteli okrog $10 in se po 30 minutah znašli v centru. Enostavno!
Ne glede na prvi vtis je javni prevoz precej slab in sila neuporaben, zato se kar pripravite na nekaj kilometrske vzpone v hribe. Nekatere, no skoraj vse ulice v San Franciscu so hudičevo dolgi in skoraj navpični klanci. Te pa seveda namesto z nogami, lahko premagate tudi z nekaj minutno vožnjo z atraktivnim cable car-om, vendar boste za enosmerno vozovnico odšteli $7, kar je ogromno.
