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As promised, here is a short travelog from my trip to beautiful Southeast Alaska. For all of you who have not been there – go! I am not sure how long the nature will be “untouched” but it is absolutely amazing. Many have told me it looks a lot like Norway or even northern Sweden, and yes, if you are short of money and live in these regions, discover your own country. Otherwise: get out there.

I will not bore you by telling you all the fantastic things I saw and did and experienced but instead give you a short recap of the best:

When travelling through Alaska take the ferry! Just cruising through the archipelago and fjords was amazing, snowy mountains to the right and the left, eagles cruising above and the highlight always was when the captain made whale-announcements! I have now seen both humpbacks and orcas and lots of porpoises, just amazing. And of course, sleeping outside on the solarium deck of the ferry, cold but what a feeling to awake to a blue sky!

Climb every mountain you see, explore all forests and go kayaking. Alaska is for nature people and the ways for adventures are unlimited. Every trip offers something new; just remember to bring your bear spray and bear bells. I did not see any bears, but they where close.

Look out for porcupines (mostly called North American porcupines to distinguish them from the other, more common known ones)! Most amazing animals. They look like fluffy beavers and climb small trees and sleep up there. And once they are asleep they are not bothered by people walking just below them. Mountain goats are fun too, but not that much.

Meeting different people in the hostels, trade books and ideas and places. I did not realise how much I had missed backpacking until I did it again. Avoid the cruise ships, they do not make life fun.

Alaskans are further quite obsessed with Sarah Palin. Sure, they have elected her, but they do seem to talk about her a lot. Maybe not for other reasons than the fact that this has put Alaska back on the tourist map. It also seems like Alaska has not been hit that hard by the recession either, but still has the same structural problems as I discovered in Vancouver, regarding homelessness and other social and ethnic problems.

Anyhow, I am not sure I have been able to convince you all to go to Alaska, but you should. There is so much more to discover, and I will go back, at one point.

This is my last letter to you all, my trip has ended. But you will be right there again, on my next, right?!

Cheers,
Ulrike

Today I cast my vote for the pirate party. I did it because I believe the internet should be as free as possible. Of course it is used for bad things, but I am convinced the good that has come from the internet is far greater then the bad. Of course there are risks with the internet, and some kind of regulation are and will be needed, but the aim should be to make internet the most free it can be. And that does not happen if nobody tells those in charge that it matters.

So I voted pirate, because I believe the pirate party is the modern version of the green parties. When those came to power in the 70’s, it was because people got an intererst in the enviroment, and that the future matters. This is the same struggle, but in a different way. The internet has given rise to much good, but above all it gives hope. Hope that all the great problem humanity faces can be solved by colaboration. Hope that the world will be a better place for our children.

And the internet also proves that the best way to get innovation, is to let people be free. Both the radio, the TV and the mobilephone industry had more or less the same ground works as the internet, an international network. But somehow, I still only use the TV for watching shows, the radio to listen to programs, and the telephon for making calls. Oh wait, now I’m lying: I listen to the radio on the internet, I watch shows over the internet, and I call people over the internet. Using my telephon for all that.
So I guess the internet won. And that is what I want to preserve. I do not want to go back, and use the internet for only emailing people.