My train left Eugene on a sunny Saturday afternoon. Trains, although a little bit more expensive than buses, are definitely the right means of transport if you want to see some of the countryside and travel comfortably. Surely a plane would have been faster, but more expensive. The 12 hours ride down to San Francisco provided me with some very picturesque landsides, a plugin adapter for my laptop to watch a movie or two, enough legroom to actually stretch my legs as well as nobody seated next to me so I could turn my aisle into something that felt like a bed. Not bad for 68$, and as the train speeded through the night I saved a night at the hostel, what would have cost me around 33$.
I arrived in SF fully reenergized early in the morning, just about right to have some breakfast at my home for the week, the Green Tortoise, and get to explore the city afterwards. I didn’t do any previous research about what to see, the only thing I knew about was the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz and that it was the steepest city in North America, a fact that would be proven soon enough.
While browsing through the city I accidently bumped into Lombard Street.
The Hostel is quite lively, nice and clean. It’s packed with backpackers, travelling around the world. Pretty exciting listening to all their stories and hear where they’re coming from and going to. There’s always some action going on, but if you don’t feel like partying or socializing, there’s always a place to relax and read a book.
I met up with some guys I knew from the SameSun Hostel in Vancouver on Monday, in order to bike over to the Golden Gate Bridge. Fascinating views you get on this world famous bridge. After that we followed the coastline all along to the Golden Gate Park. The Coastline as well, was simply breathtaking. Feeling the wind, hearing the waves, smelling the sea, it all just blows your mind away from the now and then, into a world of equality, peace and unrestricted freedom. A very powerful feeling indeed.
Golden Gate Park wasn’t too special, it’s just a recreational area for the people of San Francisco, and nothing very special, unless you’re considering moving to the area. As I always consider moving to where I currently am and imagine what life would be like, this park would definitely be a huge advantage for SF. We eventually tried to make our way back to Fishermans Wharf in order to bring back our bikes, and that’s exactly the point where you really get to feel the steepness of the city. It killed me. Back at the hostel I went to bed immediately after taking a short shower.
The trip to Alcatraz was a little more comfortable, but nevertheless exciting. Only a short Boattrip from Pier 33, the Island itself is a National Park. I took the Audio Tour and got to hear stories about life on the “Rock” and see the actual cells and premises the inmates lived in. Quite inspiring and definitely a warning to stay on the legal side of life.
The rest of the time I basically just strolled around in the city, went for coffee and lunch wherever it looked lovely. I did a walking trip all across the city, what took me a little more than one hour one way, but was definitely worth it, as I discovered places such as Alamo Place and Ashbury & Haight, which is the center of “Hippy San Francisco”.
I went into Amoeba Records, a huge recordstore that probably had every single record you could imagine. Simply huge and unseen in Switzerland.
San Francisco’s vibe is not met by any other city I went to, the entire setting with cable cars, steep hills, the seaside, downtown and all the attractions, little bars, clubs, corner stores really makes it something special.
