Is There Really No Beer In Hawaii ? A Trip Report From The Perspective Of A Thirsty German Guy About This Page:

[BamaFreeBird]

Es gibt kein Bier auf Hawaii, es gibt kein Bier,
drum fahr ich nicht nach Hawaii, drum bleib ich hier,
es ist so heiß auf Hawaii, kein kühler Fleck,
und nur vom Hula-Hula geht der Durst nicht weg


Those are the lyrics of an old German song from 1963.

Translated to English it says that there is no beer at Hawaii, and that's the reason, I can't go there - it's also very hot at Hawaii, and only by Hula my thirst won't be quenched.

Maybe things have changed since 1963 - and it is time to verify those lyrics.

So it was a perfect coincidence that DCL announced its very first cruise to Hawaii for April 2012 - and it was a miracle named Marion, who managed, that we are 2 of the lucky 2700 to get a ticket on a journey, which was sold out within 6 hours.

Going to Hawaii from Bavaria, which is located in the center of Europe, means a journey around half the planet. 12 hours by plane to L.A. - 9 hours’ time lag between the west coast and our place - and 5 days by ship with another 3 hours’ time shift at Hawaii - this is almost to infinity and beyond. So we decided to do it real big - and scheduled a 2 week vacation in Southern California in addition to the 2 weeks cruise - plus 2 days in the air means a 30 days trip - thank god the contracts in Germany allow that amount of vacation.

For our "California Dreaming" we tried to stay within a radius of 100 miles around the L.A. metropolitan area - to avoid heavy driving distances.

We really scheduled a very nice itinerary for the 2 weeks with the following highlights:


· Hollywood Boulevard (Including A Visit Of Cirque Du Soleil At The Kodak Theatre)



· Santa Monica



· Malibu

· Warner Brothers Studios



· Pasadena



· Rim-Of-The-World Scenic Byway



· Palm Springs Aerial Tramway




· The Fender Museum at Corona




To be continued with our weekend in San Diego

[WDWfan]

I'm so glad you started this trip report Peter! I have such fond memories of the Panama Canal Cruise we were on together. I remember your keeping our assistant waiter busy finding a different beer for you to try every night on our cruise. I hope this trip was as enjoyable!

[lauriep]

That TR title grabbed me right away! You're off to a great start.

[chezp]

Great start! Pasadena and the Pam Springs aerial tramway are both things I'm hoping to do in December and they both look amazing - thanks for the photos.

[Colexis Mom]

Great start!

[disney_duke]

Wow, this was quite the journey. Looking forward to more details!

[GATechGal]

MMMMMM Beer. My favorite. Love the photos and look forward to hearing more. (And I do know that there is good beer from Hawaii and I hope you found some.)

[BamaFreeBird]

Hallo,

I want to thank you for your nice feedback - it is my first thread in this network - and it is also a little bit strange to post in a foreign language - but your positive and warm feedback encourages me, to go further.

I also want to mention, that my DW aka cruising_Minnie was the one, who used this forum in the past. She also is the one to shot almost all the photos (my responsibility is the videotaping). But this year we decided, that I will have the privilege, to write the TR.

....

San Diego was the next stopover in our itinerary - we read a lot about and decided to stay for 3 full days (which was a good decision).

We started with the San Diego Trolley Tour - a hop on/hop off tour with numerous stops - it gives the perfect overview for things to do later on.

Here are some impressions:



Hotel Del Coronado (any similarities with Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa are purely coincidental)



Old Town San Diego



Balboa Park



An impression from the harbour



An impressive skyline


The second day we used to drive to the Cabrillo National Monument, where you must have a magnificent view to the San Diego Bay on clear days - what you have at every day is a view to this nice gentleman



The rest of the day we drove along the shoreline and down south to the Mexican border.

Day 3 was almost filled by a visit to the San Diego Zoo, one of the most amazing zoos, we've ever been. You hardly find a place with such a variety of animals within such an extraordinary landscape.

Out of all "inhabitants" of the zoo, we've found this guy the most majestic one



We ended the day with a short visit to the oldest mission in the state of California (Mission Basilica San Diego De Alcala)



To be continued

[lauriep]

You covered a lot of ground in San Diego. The zoo alone is an all-day affair! You do a lot better in English than I'd do in German and your sense of humor translates very well!

I was on the Panama Cruise with you and your DW in 2008. I don't remember if we actually met, but I'm a friend of Lesley and Terri's saw you both around the ship several times. Wasn't that an amazing cruise?!

[GATechGal]

Wow. I didn't realize that English was a second language for you. And I'm with Laurie, your English is MUCH better than my German (I took 4 years in High School and haven't used it since). Love the photos from San Diego. My son and sister-in-law did a trip there when he finished elementary school and I think they went to some of the same places. I can't wait for him to get home from camp and see you photos.

[Lumieregirl]

Love it! Especially the image of Balboa. I grew up in San Diego and as a child called it "Bal Bowl Park". your pic brings back memories ...

looking foward to more

[disney_duke]

Beautiful photos! We're headed back there next summer and I now remember all the things to see. I love the statue of "this nice gentleman."

[Colexis Mom]

Great pictures!

[chezp]

What a great time in San Diego! I was guessing from what you'd already said that English wasn't your first language, but from your writing, you really can't tell that.

[BamaFreeBird]

Driving from San Diego to the L.A. Metropolitan Area comes with 2 options – on the Interstate 5 it takes about 2-3 hours – if you choose the Highway 101 via La Jolla, Encinitas, Oceanside, Dana Point & Newport Beach it probably takes a whole day – but there is a lot to see and it’s worth the time.












Back to L.A. after 10 days - it is amazing, how many complete different attractions are located in such a small radius - it is really one of the most attractive regions in the world - AND there are so much other things to do, if we will come back.

But after 10 real beautiful days in Southern California, my DW determined, that the time has come to start with the MAGIC

So we spent our last 3 days before the cruise at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim.

Have already been for some visits at the WDW in Florida and the Disneyland Paris you could think, that there are no surprises left.


But DLR is a unique place, cause the attractions are perfectly included in the landscape and architecture, and they differ from the correspondent attractions in the other parks.


Here are just some personal highlights:


Is there a better aphorism for the world, you are immersing in ?




LA is also the acronym for Louisiana




Haunted




We appear sooooooo small in front of those great guys




A Princess and her castle

BTW - could it be, that the role model is in our country ?




Schloss Neuschwanstein in Bavaria (Germany)




The Little Big Drummer Boy




We would fly everywhere with this airline




Welcome to the World of Colours




Unfortunately my disc herniation from last christmas prohibits a ride with this rollercoaster




We still wonder, how they did Fantasmic at this location




Walt's eternal flame - very emotional




OK - that's it for Southern California - to be continued onboard