If you're going to San Francisco...

Going to San Francisco with a camper? Sure, no problem! But it's definitely better to 'park' a bit outside since the city is anything but 'camper-friendly' - more on that later 😉

Our 'base camp' for almost 3 days is in Marin / Lakespur. From there, you can elegantly reach the city in 30 minutes by ferry or about 50 minutes (depending on traffic..) by bus. The campsite is not much more than a gravel/asphalt lot, but it does have a small pool and it actually has a bit of greenery around (and for once, it's very suitable for jogging 😉)

On the first day, we take the ferry to Fisherman's Wharf and discover all sorts of great things (on the way, we even see whales!). Once we arrive, we do a bit of shopping and eating and also watch the harbor seals basking in the sun and swimming. Later, we make a detour to the Exploratorium (essentially the Technorama of San Francisco 😉). There are so many exhibits - almost too many - we are a bit overwhelmed and don't even know where to start 😂 (One of the highlights is the restroom drinking fountain (It said: 'Can you trick your mind? Which fountain do you choose?' 😂🙈))

The highlight of the first day was definitely the rides on the old trams. We treated ourselves to a day pass so we could ride as many lines as possible. And so we went (really, really) steep uphill, and down the other side just as steeply. The trams are still all 'manually operated' and the gentlemen and ladies really do heavy physical work (especially when braking 😂) What an experience! We already knew it was 'hilly', but that is an understatement of the century 😉 So, anyone wanting to train hill sprints: go to San Francisco, the Gemmi Wall is probably the only thing steeper 😂😂

On the second day, of course, Alcatraz was on the agenda. All in all, quite a mass tourism event (with a ferry transporting hundreds of tourists simultaneously), but the prison itself is very impressive. The cells are tiny, the 'hole' (solitary confinement in the dark) very oppressive. The audio guide tour is really fascinating, with former guards and prisoners telling their stories. Finn and Robin listen intently because luckily the tour is available in German too 😊 The boys are most impressed by the three men who were the only ones to ever successfully escape from Alcatraz. With only spoons as tools, they enlarged the ventilation ducts in their cells and climbed out one night. But: luck was not on their side, they disappeared into the sea and were never seen again!

In the afternoon, we also visited the Golden Gate Bridge. We traveled there by Waymo (the self-driving cars), and there are countless of them in San Francisco. Really incredibly practical - this will be 'the' mode of transport in a few (few) years, we're convinced of that!

Originally, we wanted to bike across the bridge, but when we got there, we were quite glad we decided against it, as the wind nearly blew us off the bridge 😉 Regardless, it's an incredibly impressive structure, and we even saw seals below in the sea.

Back to the campsite we went (despite having Las Vegas experience) by bus - this time relatively problem-free and comfortable (aside from the traffic jam 😉)

Conclusion: So many wonderful experiences again! San Francisco is a totally diverse city with definitely much more 'charm' than, for example, Los Angeles, we really liked it here. Next stop: Boulder Creek (in the beautiful Redwood forests) and then Santa Cruz 😎