My first fourteener- Mt. Sill, we beat you!

Together with 4 friends we started last Friday after work for another adventure. The goal was to hike up a fourteener - my first attempt to hike up a mountain which is higher than 4000 metres. The first night we spent at Tuolomne Meadows, already at 3000 metres to get acclimatized. The next day we drove to Bishop and hiked up to the base camp, which was at a height of approx. 3500 metres. This was very strenuous, but the trail and views were rewarding. We camped up there, had some good food and the next day, after a slightly cold night, we started our climb. We were crossing two snowfields (we had crampons and ice axes) and needed to climb a little bit, and I could tell that the air is getting thin in this altitude. But all effort was forgotten, when we reached the top and were really impressed by the views we got offered from the top. We spent another night at the base camp, hiked back out and drove back to Sunnyvale the next day. See more pics

Hiking Mission Peak in Fremont

It takes around one hour to get up to the Mission Peak. It is located 30 min south of Sunnyvale and a nice hike after a day of work. The view is wonderful, one can overlook the Silicon Valley and the South Bay area.

Skydiving

Skydiving , or jumping out of a plane at 14,000 feet

Yes, I did it!! Usually you might say it is a once in a lifetime experience to jump out of a plane. That's what I thought when I did it last year. But as you can see, I was wrong. The second time it is even more fun, because you are less afraid and have more time to enjoy the free fall.
We were 7 people in total, Amit (a co-worker) is getting a certified Skydiver and he did it on his own. Mustafa, Vinayak (2 co-workers), Mari (a friend) and myself did tandem jumps. I am so glad that I got a video and pictures this time. You can find more pics here

"The City" is amazing...

I spent yesterday and today in San Francisco, around here everybody only refers to it as the city. In the afternoon I took advantage of the great shops as GAP and got some nice clothes. Afterwards we went to Twin Peaks, from where you have got an awesome view of the whole city. The dinner of choice was Sushi and then we got a drink in Marina/Union, which was the first time I have been there. And it is great, so much going on, lots of nice restaurants and bars. Enjoy the pictures...

Getting a driver license

My austrian driver license is valid in the US, but it makes life so much easier if you have a californian license. You don't have to argue everytime when you want to go a bar and the bouncer does not accept your foreign ID, because it could be a faked one. Another reason is car insurance - you get a much better rate having a license from here.
Anyways, so I decided to take this test and was amazed, how easy it is to get a license. Back home in Austria, where I got my first license, I was studying a 500 page book for 3 weeks, had 20 mandatory driving lessons and paid around $1500. Questions were really tricky, unlike here. I had this 50 pages to study, whereas most of it was common sense and so I did not spend much time studying, maybe 2 days. Take a sample test and see how you score. Being prepared, I went to the DMV (Deparment of Motor Vehicles) and paid 26 dollars. For the eyesight exam I stood behind the counter and was asked to read to lines from a whiteboard which was hanging somewhere in the room, was kind of cool.

Then the actual test - 36 questions, unlimited time...After an hour I walked out with my temporary driver license. Now I have to take the "behind the wheel" test in two weeks. I am really curious how this is gonna be.

Starting my blog...

Considering the fact that I am not spending much time in my home country I decided to start writing a small travel diary. I will keep updates of my stints and journeys abroad and will regularly post some pictures.
The next entries are soon to come, I am already since 4 weeks in the Golden State of California and there is lots to tell. So please come back and find interesting and funny stories about my internship in Silicon Valley.