BLOG 2: Two Days in San Francisco

Back in San Francisco – Having been to this special city a few times, we focus on a few unique destinations.

The first day is marked by culture, nature, and a bit of tourism.

First, we visit the “de Young Museum” in Golden Gate Park. Like the “Legion of Honour Museum” in Lincoln Park right by the Pacific, which we visit later, the museum buildings as well as the collections are foundations of private patrons. The collections are a bit eclectic because of this, but we pick out a few highlights.

To “refresh” our minds, we take a walk – almost like a hike – in Lincoln Park between our cultural stops.

The first day concludes with a brief visit to Fisherman’s Wharf – a real tourist hotspot.

The second day is dedicated more to “transportation.” In the morning, we take a little bus tour in a 50-year-old VW bus, very much in the spirit of the ’68 flower children…

It was a lot of fun and brought back memories of our “frog” – the green VW camper van of Gerhard’s parents, which we used to travel in to many countries in Europe during our youth – especially due to the unique sound of the air-cooled engine in the back.

In the afternoon, as a “counterprogram,” we take a ride in a driverless Waymo taxi. Thanks to our dear friend Isabella (a Graz native who has lived in San Francisco for many years) – Waymo apparently doesn’t like European customers, you need to have an American address and credit card; without them, we wouldn’t have been able to experience this. The driving experience is indeed quite unusual, but you actually feel quite safe because the car drives very cautiously, and calming music is played.

To conclude, we take a little stroll through Chinatown, which is always quite entertaining.