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  Edition # 111  
San Francisco, 04-27-2015
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Figure [1]: A pretty normal Sunday afternoon in Dolores Park.

Angelika Around the corner from our home is a popular San Francisco recreational area called Dolores Park. Mainly people from the surrounding neighborhoods, like Noe Valley, Castro and the Mission are hanging out there on the weekends.

Dolores Park fills up quickly on the weekends, and until recently, the crowds were very considerate, kids were playing on the playground, friends met for a picnic, ripped guys from Castro's gay scene sun-bathed in tiny swimming suits, Mexicans from the nearby Mission district played soccer on the lawn, dog lovers walked their dogs, and tennis fans played their matches on the adajacent courts, fantastic views of the skyline of downtown San Francisco included.

Figure [2]: Pretty average people in San Francisco.

As a long-standing tradition, park officials have always looked the other way when they saw park visitors drinking alcohol or letting their dogs run off leash, both of which is clearly against the prominently posted park rules. Since everyone got along just fine, nobody said anything. But lately the park has turned into some kind of Carnival in Rio fest. Loud music is pumping from various speakers hauled in by the party people, who get totally wasted and then unabashedly urinate into the bushes or nearby neighbors' driveways. Marihuana is consumed in all imaginable ways, but that is also a long-standing tradition in Dolores Park. Come Monday morning, the park is littered with trash, because apparently none of the party people is capable of bringing a plastic bag, collect their trash and put it into or at least next to one of the provided garbage bins.

Figure [3]: Nearby neighbors have been complaining about people publically urinating in Dolores park.

The city workers assigned to tend to the greenery in the park are instead occupied all Monday to collect the strewed out trash. Nearby neighbors in their expensive houses are getting upset and have been pressuring the city to maintain law and order. As of recently, park violations are actually being ticketed by the park officials. I'm not sure if that's going to help, though. It'd probably more effective if violators would instead be convicted to join a community service clean-up task force. But who's listening to me! One directly related problem is definitely that due to the recent boom in building ugly multi-story appartment buildings in the nearby neighborhoods, the park gets filled up beyond capacity on the weekends, because those newly moved in residents want to enjoy the greenery.

Figure [4]: Park rules no one cares about.

What makes things worse is that one half of the park is currently closed for a big renovation project. And California is in a drought, so during the winter we've had much sunnier weather than usual, which is when people frequent nearby parks more often. Some old-timers claim that we're in this pickle because of droves of nouveau-riche Silicon Valley workers, cashing in big down south and living in the city, thinking they own the world and don't have to abide by any rules. I'm not sure this is 100% true. If you look at the park's history, it has been through a lot of interesting times. Way back, the Ohlone Indians lived on the land, then came the Spanish missionaries and cattle farmers. Between 1861 and 1894 there was a Jewish cemetery on the premises, and after the big quake in 1906, the city erected baracks there to provide a living space for the people who became homeless in the quake's aftermath. We hope that residents figure out eventually how to get along with each other and the park stays here for a long time to come.

Overpriced Mickey Mouse Beers

Figure [5]: Twelve Dollars for 4 pints of beer? Only in America.

Michael The history of beer brewing in the United States can be divided up into three distinct periods. Until about 1985, we had the watery age, when all across the country all one could find was the thin, tasteless beer made by the major brewing companies. Joe Schmoe washed down Budweiser or Coors, while European tourists and a few local demanding customers ordered Mexican or Dutch imports like Corona or Heineken. Then, towards the end of the 80ies, a major movement started, and a few rebellious young entrepeneurs began disrupting the beer market by producing so-called microbrews. Tiny breweries, run by dedicated hobbyists, put a lot of love and effort into crafting their own beers, and started selling them to their enthusiastic followers.

Figure [6]: To each his own: Pumpkin beer sold at 5.79 Dollars per bottle.

Nowadays, every truck stop sells microbrew beer, and in San Francisco, you'd be hard pressed to order Budweiser without being pointed and laughed at, except maybe in sports bars. The fight's been fought now, and the microbrews won, but it has been dragging on for several decades to get to this point. One of the major obstacles is the alcohol distribution system in the United States, which has been strictly regulated by the government since prohibition times. Until today, it's pretty tough for small breweries to get their brews on supermarket shelves. Why? Distributing alcohol at a wholesale level in the U.S. requires a state license only granted to big distributors, who of course scoff at small mom and pop brewers producing a few thousand gallons a year, when they can much more efficiently move hundreds of millions of gallons sold by one of the large-scale industrial brewing companies. The documentary Beer Wars sheds some light behind the scenes of big beer business and illustrates some of the disastrous implications this has for innovators in the brewing business.

Figure [7]: Always been a bit on the expensive side: Beer from Belgium.

But it's no secret that Americans never stop improving, and sometimes they even go over the top, up to the point where you ask yourself if that was really such a smart idea. The German beer purity law is naturally unknown here and left to their own devices, some breweries cook up the craziest combinations that no one in their right mind can enjoy anymore.

For example, whenever we're on vacation in Hawaii, I enjoy the beer made by the local "Kona" brewery, which, similiarily to the well-known Gordon Biersch Brewing Company, composes simple classic but very well-crafted beers. But I almost fell out of my chair last time we were there, when in a super saver package from Costco, I opened a sixpack of a variety called "Koko Brown" which tasted so absurdly of coconut that I couldn't get down more than one sip, poured the rest of the bottle into the sink and left the remaining five bottles for the next tenant at the vacation home.

Figure [8]: Craft beer on sale for 6.89 Dollars per bottle.

As you might know, German vintners love to belittle the products of American wineries, calling them "Coca Cola Wines", because they're produced under less strict food and drink regulations than in Germany, giving American vintners the advantage of being able to explore all kinds of artificial taste enhancement methods. For example, every vineyard in Napa Valley uses wooden pallets of different flavors, strewn into the barrels to build out heavy red wines. That would be illegal in Germany! Along the same lines, some of the new hipster beers are enriched with elderberries, grapefruit, pumpkin flavor, and all kinds of artificial secret ingredients thought up by trendy American breweries. Those beers create such a complex taste sensation that I guess their primary purpose is not to wash down food, but maybe are meant to be sampled like at a wine tasting, with cheese and crackers on the side? What's worse is that a liter bottle of these Mickey Mouse Beers often costs 10 Dollars or more. Predictably, lots of fancy restaurants in the Bay Area got that greedy look in their eyes, because they could now all of a sudden put a pint of beer for 15 Dollars on the menu! But count me out, please. I have no intention of participating in disrupting the well-established beer culture, only to fall into the same hyperinflation grooves as the wine culture did 20 years ago. Pass!

Figure [9]: The typical American pint glass measures about 0.47 liters and has to be filled all the way up to the rim.

About 20 years ago, pubs were selling an American pint (about 0.47 liters) of beer for about $3, today it's more like $6. Traditional American pint classes (Figure 9) don't feature a calibration mark, but are supposed to be filled all the way to the rim, so that it's often hard to lift a full glass of beer off the counter without making a mess. But since in many places foamless ales have given way to foamy brews, a glass might contain less fluid than you think it does. What's worse is that restaurants have been jacking up the beer prices lately. After finding out that no one complained when they increased the price for a glass of wine from $6, to $10, and even $20 for top-shelve wines, in recent years they have been performing the same trick in beer sales. The other day I was rubbing my eyes in disbelief when the waiter in my favorite restaurant "Chow" set down a glass of beer for $4.50 in front of me that was only a half pint in size. That didn't fly well with me, my friends! But it turned out that they still serve full pints if you ask.

San Francisco Neighborhoods: Dogpatch and Pier 70

Figure [10]: Old abandoned factory buildings are dominating the landscape in the Dogpatch neighborhood in San Francisco.

Angelika As at every tourist destination, visitors to San Francisco love to check off the usual sightseeing highlights: Golden Gate Bridge, the cable car, Alcatraz, Alamo Square with its neat Victorian houses and of course Fisherman's Wharf, which locals avoid like the plague. There's many places listed in the popular tourist guides which are actually worth visiting, of course, but the city also offers many hidden gems, unexplicably neglected by both tourists and locals alike, although I'd consider them part of the heart and soul of San Francisco. One of these places is the Dogpatch neighborhood, located in the eastern part of town, adjacent to the Bay and between Mariposa and Cesar Chavez Street.

Figure [11]: Trendy new restaurants like "Piccino" offer tasty food and exquisit wines.

As an well-established part of San Francisco history, the Dogpatch neighborhood has gone through stunning developments over the years. You can find some of San Francisco's oldest buildings there, thanks to the fact that neither the 1906 earthquake nor the following fire blaze caused any harm there.

For many years, the Dogpatch neighborhood used to be a working class neighborhood with a high percentage of European immigrants, making a living by working at the surrounding factories and the shipyard at Pier 70. The municipal company PG&E, sole provider of gas and electricy in San Francisco, opened a factory building there as far back as 1852. Around 1990 hower, the landscape started to change with the dot com boom. Working class families were driven out due to increasing rents, and the upper middleclass started to move into the beautiful old tiny houses, thanks to which San Francisco is such a charming city.

The newly opened streetcar T Line which runs through the neighborhood also brought noticable changes. And only a few blocks away, the Mission Bay neighborhood has also been going through drastic changes, as the renowned UCSF hospital erected an entirely new research complex there with numerous buildings. Not all changes are bad, however, as many great new restaurants can attest to, as well as signature stores that are unique to San Francisco, like the bag shop "Rigshaw Bagworks" or "Poco Dolce" which offers an exquisit selection of fine confectionery and chocolate.

Figure [12]: Young entrepeneurs like this specialty butcher shop try out new concepts in the neighborhood..

Around the corner is a hip butcher shop, "Olivier’s Butchery", which is a rarity in the U.S, because most people buy their meat shrinkwrapped at the supermarket. Another interesting venture is "The Workshop Residence", where artists get the opportunity to collaborate with local companies to create and sell unique products.

Figure [13]: The Dogpatch Saloon is a popular waterhole for thirsty locals.

Figure [14]: Some of the abandoned buildings look like they're from the movie "Plant of the Apes".

If you're interested in getting a whiff of how the Dogpatch was like in the olden days, go to the Dogpatch Saloon which has been serving as the local watering hole all the way back since 1912. And don't miss out on the adjacent truly unique Pier 70 area, where abandoned factory buildings hint on how this area looked like 100 years ago. It's a treasure trove for every photographer and history buff, and I love to stroll through the streets and imagine what life was like back then.

Figure [15]: Professional photographers like to place their models in front of scruffy abandoned factory buildings.

Pier 70 hasn't been entirely abandoned, by the way, as the old shipyard is still in the business of repairing vessels and the Noonan Building is home to various local artists. But the bulldozers are already lined up waiting to turn the area into a bustling business and appartment district in 2017, allegedly by integrating some of the historic buildings into the newly shaped landscape. I recommend you take a last look at the area right now, as newly constructed buildings in San Francisco tend to be boring and architecturally uninspired these days.

Expensive Eggs

Figure [16]: Half a dozen eggs from happy hens cost a whopping five Dollars.

Michael Americans only know about fried eggs for breakfast, it's not widely known to simply scoop egg yolk out a soft-boiled egg directly from the shell. One of the reasons for that is that the major U.S. chicken farms have been struggling for decades with salmonella bacteria contamination, to the point where they've actually given up on battling it. That's why Americans get nervous immediately when they eye chicken products not cooked to the point where no live organism could potentially have survived.

If they find even a tiny bit of chicken meat that's slightly undercooked, American consumers switch immediately to Defcon 5 and throw it all out. Supermarkets in the U.S. sell eggs off refrigerated displays, whereas in Germany they're they're sitting on regular shelves. Fried eggs are often ordered "over easy", with the yoke already semi solid. Real sunny side up eggs are often eyed with suspicion and only the very brave consume dishes requiring raw eggs, like the Italian dessert "Tiramisu".

Figure [17]: This allegedly organic dozen of eggs is only three Dollars, but occasionally tastes of chicken coop.

I don't know if we have extraordinarily resilient stomachs or were lucky enough to never be exposed to a virus, but we've never had any issues with undercooked eggs although we enjoy all kinds of food containing them. And we love Tiramisu of course! But what is definitely noticable is the egg quality if breakfast eggs are boiled in the shell as opposed to frying them in the pan. Organic eggs from the Aldi-owned chain store Trader Joes, for example, occasionally taste like someone has left open the door to the pig sty. If you, like me, have spent time as a kid on rural farms, you know what I'm talking about. The taste varies by season, too, every once in a while I've gotten a batch of pretty good tasting eggs from Trader Joes as well.

I've recently discovered that "Whole Foods", the organic hipster market around the corner, carries a selection of eggs from free range hens at an exorbitant price, but they consistently meet my expectations. At about 5 Dollars per half-dozen, they cost about three times as much as other alleged organic products, but since we only eat eggs for breakfast maybe twice a week, so price isn't the driving factor here. The half-dozen "Rainbow" egg pack (as far as I know they're not related to the great "Rainbow Groceries" market) also represents typical San Francisco diversity: All eggs are slightly different in color, some of them even have a greenish hue, but as far as I know, the Easter Bunny had nothing to do with it.

Figure [18]: The Rainbow Groceries market sells even better eggs from even happier hens at 10 Dollars a dozen.

Speaking of "Rainbow Groceries": Recently, I've found equally expensive eggs there. The dozen went for $9.75 and I thought, life is short, let's do it! They tasted really good. Also, it's a good idea to support Rainbow Groceries. Apparently, the rampant commercial success of the Whole Foods chain is eating into their revenue, and I'd rather see them survive here in the city until and beyond the day I retire. They're the real deal, on their parking lot you see authentic hippies still driving up in their 30-year-old Volvos, while at Whole Foods there's always the same lame Google nerds and their Yoga girls.

Top Product: Luggage Scale

Figure [19]: Clever luggage scale with suitcase-hoisting belt.

Michael You might have noticed that airlines nowadays seem to keep inventing new sketchy schemes to get their hands on your hard-earned dollars. Most are charging an extra $20 for each piece of checked in luggage one-way now, with the notable exception of Southwest Airlines. If you have to pay, make sure your bags never clock in at more than 50 pounds (23 kg), because it gets really expensive otherwise! Some airlines, like Lufhansa, even weigh your carry-on luggage to make sure it's not over 17 pounds (8kg). At home, there's an easy trick to make sure your luggage doesn't exceed the limits by stepping onto the bathroom scale with your luggage first, then without, and then calculate the difference.

But when traveling back home, while still at the hotel room at the travel destination, there's usually no bathroom scale you can use to weigh your bags, and that's why we always bring along the handy digital luggage scale in Figure 19. With its ergonomically shaped handle, I have no trouble lifting even the heaviest luggage pieces. And the kicker is the little grey belt at the bottom, which comes with a metal buckle at then end that lets you securely fasten it around any common suitcase handle. For quite some time, we had put up with a different, inferior luggage scale by another manufacturer, featuring a beltness metal hook which failed to hold onto anything securely, which meant that I had to always bring along a set of climbing carabiners, which clocked in at half a pound by themselves!

The luggage scale comes under a few different labels, ours is branded "Tarriss", but on amazon.de, I've even seen it under the "Söhnle" name. I suspect it comes from the same Chinese factory anyway, and retailers simply print their names on it. It is built with impeccable quality and precision, and according to our experience matches the airline's scales to the pound. It is lightweight and costs about 15 Dollars.

Oh, and in case you just wanted to give me the snotty "I fly business class and I don't care about luggage weight" response, here's my take on it: Regardless whether you're just using up airline miles, it's a colossal waste of money to fly Business class! And if you're using business travel miles your company paid for on your private travels, it's a shame that this doesn't count as taxable income! Where's Obama for useful initiatives when you need him?

Netflix Binge Watching

Figure [20]: Many people use their Netflix subscription to watch endlessly.

Angelika Netflix (Rundbrief 12/2010) has expanded into the German market recently, and we're curious how well they'll fare over there. Michael has his doubts whether catering to German consumers will be profitable, but we'll see about that. Here in the U.S., watching Netflix is as common as sending email or make a call on a cell phone. If you ask your colleagues about what they did last weekend, there's a good chance they'll say "Watching Netflix".

It might seem like Netflix has been around forever, and the California company has existed since 1997, but its streaming service only came online in 2007. They've radically changed the TV habits in the U.S., and since they often put entire seasons of popular shows online, many people watch them all in one long marathon session (aka "binge watching"), because they're all included in the monthly $7.99 flat fee.

Figure [21]: The Netflix subscription service includes complete seasons of popular TV shows.

I've even experienced this myself a couple of times. After watching the first episode of a season, sometimes you just want to know what's coming next, and keep watching, simply because it's already available and there's no need to wait till next week for the next episode to air. Rumor has it that Netflix is working on aquiring old and new episodes of the famous German TV show "Tatort", but has not been successful yet at doing so. Should they complete this transaction one day, however, I'd have to take several years off of work, as I'm a big fan of the show and wouldn't stop until I had watched all of them.

American Lifestyle: Give Me a Break

Figure [22]: California law prohibits dogs in restaurants und grocery stores.

Michael Every time when I return to the U.S. from a short trip to Germany, I realize there's a lot of subtle cultural differences between the two countries. In this new series, I'm going to take a closer look at them.

"Give me a break" is what Americans say when they're double parked with their emergency lights blinking in a narrow road and traffic starts to jam behind them. And the drivers stuck in traffic all agree that the poor chap blocking the road must be doing so because he wasn't able to find parking and it'd be unreasonable to park around the corner and walk for 30 seconds. Let's give that guy a break! Or when someone is looking for a parking spot, it's okay to do so at 5mph in a 25mph zone, with caravans of drivers following them without getting upset!

Figure [23]: Isn't that a cutie in the shopping cart?

As another example, it's illegal in California to bring dogs onto business premises where food items are sold. The only exception are guide dogs for the blind. But if you go to Costco on 10th and Bryant St. in San Francisco, for example, you'll often see people with dogs in the store. In Germany, the dog owners would face outraged customers, calling them out on their disgressions like "Excuse me, that's not allowed!", but in the U.S., I've never seen anyone say anything, except some fellow dog lover maybe exclaiming "Oh, that's such a cutie! Is this a St. Bernard or a swiss mountain dog?". Restaurants in San Francisco, on the other hand, always seem to enforce the law, and many times I've seen waiters relegate people with dogs in no uncertain words to outside seating where it's legal to bring a dog. I presume that's because the restaurant's owner would lose their license if the health department found out that they are breaking the law by tolerating dogs inside.

Or take the dogs-on-leash-only laws on many beaches and in many parks across California. They're widely ignored by many dog owners, who consider it ridiculous government overreach that can safely be ignored. Who in their right mind would deprive little Fido of chasing after some endangered birds? In the rare case that a park ranger shows up and points out the various signs requiring dogs to be on leash, it always seems to help them to sheepishly claim to somehow not having caught a glimpse of any of them.

Or if you're driving your car through the streets of San Francisco at night and suddenly are forced to slam on the brakes because some completely spaced-out homeless guy is taking his sweet time crossing the road on a red light, you might be inclined to sound your horn in an advisory manner. Not so in California, where drivers simply slow down and avoid any possible altercation. They value their personal safety more than upholding law and order. If you know me, however, you've correctly guessed that I think entirely differently about this matter!

This couldnt-care-less attitude varies widely between regions in the U.S., and some of the most extreme proponents are the Hawaiians, who often have no idea what their car's horn even sounds like. If you make the mistake of sounding the horn for any reason whatsoever anywhere on Hawaii, the natives will look at you in complete disdain. I've also found that in most parts of the States, people tend to react in surprisingly irate ways to advisory honking. It's not uncommon that an innocent honk signal leads to a heated verbal exchange with obscene hand gestures, sometimes even followed by a lethal shootout. But someone has to take a stand, and I keep honking as I deem appropriate. Except when I'm on vacation on Hawaii, of course.

San Franciscos New Area Code

Figure [24]: At 415clothing.com, lovers of the old 415 area code can order items from their favorite clothing line.

Angelika I've always had the impression that the American telephone system has evolved in a piecemeal fashion over the decades, or why is it again that you have to dial 1 before the actual area code? As in Germany, citizens identify themselves with the area code of the city they live in. And in San Francisco, you can even see people wearing t-shirts imprinted with the 415 logo!

You guessed it, 415 has always been San Francisco's area code. But as the city population has kept increasing over the years, eventually the network ran out of 7 digit local phone numbers, and that's why we received a second area code in February 2015. Every newly assigned phone number will now come with a 628 prefix. Old numbers are here to stay, and this is why our telephone number still starts with 415. But as an inconvenience, we now have to dial 1 and 415 if we want to call another 415 number on a landline! Until recently, dialing 1 and the area code was only required if we wanted to call a different city, while we could simply dial the local 7 digit number while staying within city limits. What a mess!

Figure [25]: Even bikers proudly display San Francisco's "415" area code. Foto: Todd Lappin

There's a funny Seinfeld episode where Elaine needs to switch phone numbers in New York City and gets a new area code assigned. It's a devastating blow to the New York City native, when her acquaintances start snubbing her because they don't recognize she's actually living in Manhattan!

Roaring Motocycles

Figure [26]: Police motocycles are pretty noisy as well.

Michael Aside from getting your car's smog test done, in the U.S. it's not required to have your motor vehicle inspected by a certified testing center every two years, like in Germany. You can imagine that for this reason it's not uncommon to see clunker cars swooshing down the freeways that make you wonder how long they're still going to last before falling apart. It's quite common to see cars with only one headlight at night, or with two headlights that point in opposite directions, one straight up in the sky, or bouncing off the rearview mirror of the car in front of them, blinding the driver. And while there is regulation on how many decibels of noise a motor vehicle can produce, no official authority ever enforces or even measures that value. Unsurprisingly, many roaring cars and sputtering motocycles are roaming the streets.

Traffic cops don't even carry devices to measure the noise level. They blissfully ignore the hooligans who think it's a great idea to start their Harley bozo bikes at 2 a.m. in the morning when the bars are closing and can then be heard for miles sputtering through the residential neighborhoods to the sound of a battery of car alarms going off. After all, it could be one of their off duty colleagues having the time of their life!

Similarly, drivers of so-called muscle cars seem to enjoy to hear their engines blare, and I often feel sorry for them and the metallic clang their American-made high-octane engines emit. It almost sounds like their pistons aren't correctly adjusted and will soon get tangled up and quickly whipped into the shape of some form of modern metal sculpture.

On the other hand, if a traffic cop hears someone revving their engine at the traffic light and sees them letting their wheels squeal on takeoff, I've heard reports of drivers being pulled over and being ticketed or even arrested on the charge of an "exhibition of speed" violation, which is expensive!

Figure [27]: Youtube video showing hooligans doing donuts on Golden Gate bridge.

California traffic law lays out in section 23103 of the Vehicle Code that drivers who endanger others, regardless if on the freeway or within the confines of a parking structure, will face a "reckless driving" charge. On top of that, it explicitly prohibits street racing on the freeways in section 23109. If law enforcement finds out about an illegal speed contest and the district attorney pushes for prosecution, then the drivers and even mere participating bystanders face charges that could have them end up in county jail for several days!

But if you look around, it's pretty evident that the law isn't strictly enforced, as this Youtube video of a Camero doing donuts on Golden Gate Bridge in broad daylight clearly illustrates. Illegal street racing is rapant all over California. And coincidentally, both of our cars are on the top ten list of targets most often stolen and used in street races. You might have read earlier that our 24 year old Perly Perlman was once abducted by hooligans (Rundbrief 03/2012), and since then, we've given up on parking it on the street overnight and are leaving it in the garage instead.

Greetings from the lawless country:

Angelika & Michael

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