Angelika Attentive Rundbrief readers know that we are die-hard Hawaii fans and take every opportunity to visit those beautiful islands. Nevertheless, you have to remain flexible and explore other regions as well. We had long wanted to return to Florida, since it had been decades since we had been there—on our first trip to the United States, in fact. Back then we explored southern Florida separately and visited Key West, among other places.

Michael When you travel within America, you often find the same retail chains even three thousand kilometers from home. Every Starbucks or McDonald's looks much the same inside, whether it is in California or Florida, so the customer does not have to adjust much.

Angelika The so-called midterms, which will take place this November, are already on everyone's lips. These are the important midterm elections in which many seats in the House of Representatives and the Senate are up for election. Traditionally, the party of the incumbent president loses a number of seats in such elections. This time, 35 of the 100 Senate seats are up for election, as are all 435 seats in the House of Representatives.

Michael As everyone knows, our elections are always held on Tuesdays so people can dash from work to the polls. And polling places are by no means limited to schools or public buildings. Private citizens are also paid to clear out their garages, fill them with folding tables and voting booths, and provide staff so voters can come and cast their ballots there.

Michael Most people think of San Francisco as a crazy big city and forget that the entire western side lies directly on the Pacific, whose mighty waves pound our local beach. We often walk along the beach; one of our favorite routes is 10 kilometers long!

Angelika One of the interesting rights in the United States is that, as a general rule, anyone born on American soil (jus soli) automatically acquires U.S. citizenship. It does not matter what citizenship the parents hold or what their immigration status is. The 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution forms the basis for this rule. There are, however, a few exceptions, including children of foreign diplomats and certain hostile foreign forces, whatever exactly that may mean.

Michael For almost 30 years now, we have paid our rent every month with a check. We put it into a stamped envelope addressed to the landlord and drop it into a mailbox. About a week later, we see on the bank's website that the check has been cashed and the money has left the account. You might think this could be handled more easily by direct debit, but far from it: bank transfers and direct debits are still surprisingly complicated in America.

Michael Credit-card companies used to strictly prohibit merchants from charging higher prices for card payments. If a store broke this rule, the card company terminated its merchant agreement.

Angelika As we had feared, a rent increase notice landed in our mailbox at the end of July. As you diligent newsletter readers know, our building was sold last year. Since our building is subject to San Francisco's rent control regulations, the rent may only be increased once a year by a specified percentage. This year, the city set it at 1.6%. The landlord must give at least 30 days' notice of a rent increase. So we will have to pay the adjusted rent starting September 1. We knew from the outset that this would happen, as all our neighbors had already received rent increases. Our previous landlord, Gus, had not raised the rent every year, and his daughter, who later took over management, did not get around to it until she wanted to sell the building.

Michael About 40 years ago, America had nothing but insipid beer, but for around 20 years now, every supermarket has stocked specialty brews that sometimes relegate German brewers to second place. Nothing new there! But every now and then, we travel through previously unexplored territory—such as rural northwestern Florida recently—and the selection thins out noticeably.

Michael Our Noe Valley neighborhood borders the Mexican Mission District, where naturally there is delicious Mexican food in abundance. I remember that years before we moved, we once ate at a Mexican restaurant in Munich. It was good, but expensive. Here, Mexican food is inexpensive fast food. One example is the so-called "burrito," a forearm-length roll made from a wafer-thin flour tortilla (or "wrap," in modern parlance) and filled with all kinds of ingredients such as meat, rice, lettuce, and sauces.