Last Sunday, after having successfully moved to a new house in East Davis, I decided to have a look at the great city of San Francisco. Amtrak takes about 1.5 hours to get to Oakland, where you can hop on a dedicated Amtrak bus accross the bay. It's pricy and lenghty but they get you there fairly relaxed and I still enjoyed the scenery of the rural Central Valley and the North Bay. It was a beautiful day and I was wearing my running shoes. Two years ago, I walked through Manhatten all the way from Harlem, why would that be harder on the west coast?
Well, San Francisco stretches over rolling hills.
And since the city planners had apparently wanted to stick to the grid no matter what, the streets just go straight up the hill. Interestingly enough this is different to the hilly Stuttgarter Westen, where streets run at a 45° angle with the hill. That means that the streets are not as steep, but if you need to go along the hill, you are always criss-crossing down and up. The San Francisco System is definitely better, simply less annoying!
So I walked through China town (just like an old hutong in Beijing) and all the way to Coits tower where I had beautiful view of the city, including the Golden Gate bridge and Alcatraz. On the way there I came through an area with many small shops and bars, it looked super hipster and relaxed. Had a coffee with live music.
Then it was straight to the piers on the hunt for sea lions. There were a ton of people out and about, especially on Pier 39, apparently a tourist hotspot with eateries, bars and entertainment places. I fled and walked towards Fisherman's Wharf and up to Sterling park (I learned later that the sea lions are at the end of Pier 39 - apparently they enjoy the ruccus ...). A local let me in on his favorite place for sunset watching, where I sat down and read from the book I had bought in the famous City Lights bookstore. It was a great atmosphere. People were hanging out, meditating, reading. Very peaceful in such a large city.
Afterwards I caught the famous cable car back to the city center. And I really had to catch it. They stop in the middle of intersections and you are directed to a free spot. Since it was packed I had to hold onto the side. It's like a super cheap rollercoaster, the conducter with you in the cart and screaming and shoving at passengers getting in his way. He also has a bell to startle crossing pedestrians and is not afraid to use it. Great fun.
After that it was off to the bus. And then the train. And then the bike. Maybe I should get a car for the next trip.... After all, this is America.
