Seattle

Oh, this is exactly the place to start understanding, why people may enjoy living in some parts of the US so much. Alive, modern and very multi-culti, with sweetest residential areas you can imagine, trams, bikes, trolleybuses (!), small markets with local stuff, coffeeshops, incredible seafood, beautiful surroundings (lakes, bays, mountains - whatever you wish!). Seattle has it easy to make you love it. With my sceptic european approach to US, I must admit, that there's plenty of great things in Seattle to enjoy.
They are even green! Recycling works here! :)


Pike place market. This is supposed to be one of the best seafood markets in US. And not just seafood - lot's of locally produced fresh fruits and vegetables, lots of nice souvenirs (none of them "made in China"! a good contrast to triste european cities overwhelmed with this "brand"). If you happen to be there - don't miss the tea shop. :) One of the best ones I've ever been to. And believe me, I've been looking for them in every place I went to.



This is at Pike Square market too. A restaurant that got famous for the film "Sleepless in Seattle". The great thing about it is, that even though every person in US knows the movie, the place remained the way it was - really simple and oldish - and kept its charm. And the seafood.. is amazing. Mmm..


A fun fountain in the middle of the town. It's around there that Northwest Folklife festival takes place in May. A fun thing to experience - lots of music, lot's of people of all kinds, lot's of handmade things.




A street musician. With a peculiar set of drums. :)



Hmm.. Seems, that I've met him before. Sometime in my childhood. Now you have no chance to meet him in my country.
Homeless in many post-soviet countries, stone Lenins seem to find shelter in the US. Note the size of the girl staring at the great leader of the russian revolution.
Just a fun building. :)
One of the beaches around Seattle. The tide was unusually low today so we could discover plenty of stranded inhabitants of the sea and those hunting them.
This is a sea anemone. I've never seen those things before - the beach was full of them, emitting small fountains of water here and there.



This heron got a nice fish for lunch. Incredible how close it would let me approach it.

Some music from Michigan :)

http://www.steppininit.com/

Lake Michigan

That's a funny one. A turtle in the information centre for kids in the state park, where we got to see lake Michigan.

It could be the Baltic. Incredible how much more similar my sea is to a lake. It's a beautiful peace though.

Kayaking in Michigan

It's like sliding on a mirror being surrounded by trees. A surreal feeling.

This is how you can kayak in a wetland. A beautiful experience. Never forget your childhood dreams. On this trip I realized, how much I've been missing. Such an easy and beautiful thing I never found time for.

Some unexpected artistic patterns.

This is Grand Rapids, Michigan. Just to give you an idea. Small and not so special. That's where NABS, my conference took place this May.

The start

Well. I guess the day has come to start a blog. Plenty of things are going on. Plenty of things I'd like not to forget, plenty of things I'd like to share. So here we are.
I guess, you'll wonder about the strange name of the blog. Those who haven't read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" will wonder, others not. It's a book on a trip, a long motorcycle trip, which is also a trip of thoughts and discovering oneself. And that's exactly what this blog will be about - a never ending trip of mine.