Here it goes.
While people were probably getting off work or having dinner back here in Austria (we're talking about a 9 hours time difference), the seven of us found ourselves waking up in one of the most tremendous cities of the West Coast. San Francisco, you had us wrapped around your little finger.
The sky gave away the slightest hint of rain, soon-to-be falling down on us in sheets, on that Wednesday morning. Sleep-deprived from the previous night out, with this meteorological tragedy in the back of our minds, we were still the happiest kids in town.
First things first: Breakfast at Starbucks. As always, this was the time to cross everything off our morning checklist. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Did I mention coffee already? Oh, don't tell me you forgot about that by now. Precious elixir of life.
Uber and our own two feet were our chosen means of transportation on that day (something else as well, but we'll get to that later). We all adored our two partners in crime, but they had to sit out this one. Obviously I'm talking about the beloved, oversized Chevrolet Suburban and (drumroll please, I haven't told you about our second ride yet) the Dodge Challenger. See, what this car lacked in size in comparison to the Chevrolet, it made up for with the unmistakeable roar of its engine. Regular reality checks included. (You never know. There's always a slight chance of "Dude, did I accidentally get sucked into a movie scene of The Fast and the Furious?".)
We went from the heart of the city (No, silly. I'm not talking about Starbucks. I'm not that crazy. Or am I?) down to Pier 33. As the tourists that we were, the first point on our To Do list for that particular Wednesday was a ferry ride to infamous Alcatraz Island. Initially we wanted to do the night tour there. Sadly, that plan didn't work out for us, so we settled for the 10 am tour.
Alcatraz, what can I say, it's definitely worth a visit. I know, I'm showering everything this city has to offer with compliments, but to be honest, San Francisco earned them. Fair and square. Once you've arrived on the former prison island and Ranger John has let you in on all its dirty secrets, aka the information you need for orientation etc., you're good to go. How can you not love those little scouting expeditions?
Alcatraz itself is quite big. You can either move around freely by yourself, as long as you like, or take guided tours, some of them even for free. If you want to do a little outside exploring and the audio tour inside the prison building later on, make sure to arrange enough time. These walls have an infinite amount of stories to tell, so try not to be in a rush.
And if I can give you one more tip, make use of the included audio tour. Take this advice from someone who usually never does these kind of things and was pleasantly surprised this time. You walk from cell block to cell block, while listening to countless stories former Alcatraz inmates and correctional officers have to tell about this place and their time there.
And if I can give you one more tip, make use of the included audio tour. Take this advice from someone who usually never does these kind of things and was pleasantly surprised this time. You walk from cell block to cell block, while listening to countless stories former Alcatraz inmates and correctional officers have to tell about this place and their time there.
The view of sun kissed San Francisco from the island terrace is unbelievably gorgeous. Lucky for us, the sky opened up eventually (quick reminder: rain was falling in sheets earlier). I believe we stayed around two hours on Alcatraz before we took the ferry back. To be honest with you, I could've stayed there at least an hour longer, but if there's one thing you never have enough of on these trips, it's time. Sad but true.
Nonetheless, leaving Alcatraz early wasn't for nothing. Since we only had a day in the city, we wanted to use our time as efficiently as possible. From the first little adventure straight on to the next one.
What's the first thing that comes to mind when you think of San Francisco? Those of you, who answered this question with "Full House", congratulations. You had a perfectly good 90s childhood.
But no, that wasn't quite the term I was looking for.
I'm actually talking about the Golden Gate Bridge.
Ways to see the bridge in all its greatness include:
1. Longingly gazing at it from afar. Far, far away. 'Like ferry boat ride to and from Alcatraz' far. Nice for a quick first impression, but nothing satisfying.
2. Driving to and over it by car. Intriguing, but flawed plan. No time to take pictures. You can't stop halfway over the bridge to take a quick snap, can you? Moreover, it's over much too fast. And if you're honest with yourself, it's the easy way out, the lazy one.
3. Walking. It's a valid option. The bridge is 1.7 miles (about 2.7 km) long. So we're talking about a 3.4 miles round trip, if you want to get back to your starting point. Still, how do you get to the bridge in the first place? Obviously walking takes too long and we've gone over the driving option already. The bottom line is, that it's a fairly time consuming choice.
4. Remember when I told you about our three means of transportation on that day? At this point you're probably tingling in excitement. It's okay if you're not, I'm gonna tell you anyway: BICYCLE. Bicycle. I admit, it was unnecessary to shout it in your face like that. And I'm sorry. Still, much more fun though. So yes, we rented bicycles. It feels like this is the most touristy thing you can do on your one day in San Francisco. Let's rent bicycles and ride over the Golden Gate Bridge, 'cause we're those kinda people. (They see us rollin', they hatin'.)
By the way, I'm deeply sorry, I've no idea what's with me this time. The bad jokes just keep on coming. I've got no control over it whatsoever, but I promise, the next post will be more civilized again. Pinky swear.
So, my fancy squad and I were on a mission to reach the top of the hill on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. Challenge accepted.
If you expected an effortless and short bike ride, I'm sorry to burst your bubble. The struggle is (very) real. But so is the rewarding feeling you get, once you've reached your destination. Hence, for those of you, who don't shy away from a little physical exercise, in order to get an epic view in return, I can highly recommend it. Like Nike would say, just do it.
If you expected an effortless and short bike ride, I'm sorry to burst your bubble. The struggle is (very) real. But so is the rewarding feeling you get, once you've reached your destination. Hence, for those of you, who don't shy away from a little physical exercise, in order to get an epic view in return, I can highly recommend it. Like Nike would say, just do it.
Standing on this hill and looking down on the Golden Gate Bridge, in front of the magnificent backdrop of the city, I had one of those moments. You know, these split seconds were everything feels unbelievably surreal. Me being on the other side of the world, casually enjoying this view. And this was just the first of many more surreal moments to come in those two weeks abroad.
Last but not least our imaginary To Do list said: Go for a cable car ride. No sooner said than done, we found ourselves on the side of the street, ready to live the tourist dream. Here comes the crowded cable car. Hahaha. Don't worry, we all fit in. Three of us (me included) even spent the last minutes of the short ride uphill casually hanging on one of the sides. One could've thought we were real locals, just quickly hopping on to get to the next meeting a few blocks up. I guess taking selfies gave us away after all. Well. One can always dream.
And that's that. Dinner and we were off to our next destination: Bakersfield. It was home to our hotel for the night and pick-up point for the two missing adventurers in the morning. This Thursday was about to be a good one.
So stay with me.
The next post is coming in 3, 2, 1.
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