My Trip in Mugs

It was partly inspired by M's comments on the blandness of my coffee mugs; partly because it would be a practical souvenir and partly because it was likely to be found everywhere. I decided, in Seattle, (though I did think of it originally in San Francisco) to buy mugs or similar drinking implements as souvenirs for the trip.

The first mug, was bought in Seattle. Other than Pike's Market, there are not many places selling souvenirs; so a souvenir from the Space Needle, Seattle's most recognizable landmark felt appropriate.

San Francisco's souvenir market seems to be congregated in Chinatown. Close by, the Cable Car museum, also sells souvenirs and since the entrance is fee; I felt it was a better place to buy a souvenir from!

Belgium is known for its variety of beers. In fact, a store near the town hall advertises that it stocks more than 400 varieties. A glass beer mug with the Antwerp crest, was better than the other options in my opinion; as most of the souvenirs seemed to be advertising Brussels!

Helsinki's markets are more interesting in the warmer days I think. Regardless, a traditional wooden mug was really interesting; though the ornate shot glasses were a close second.

After going through many souvenir shops in Tallinn old town (other than souvenir shops and restaurants there seems to be few other commercial ventures), finding something unique was difficult. But there seemed to be only one shop stocking these mugs, and it is the prettiest of the lot.

The shop just before Neuschwanstein ha an interesting deal - 5 Euros for a mug, with a hot drink and a slice of cake. I wasn't planning on buying a mug; but this was a good deal!

Munich and beer, synonymous I think. So a beer mug it was; though I still want one of those really ornate ones!

An immigrant's tale

I was drawn to Ibrahim's stall at the market, because the items looked familiar and very different to everyone else. He was selling sculptures made from iron, commonly seen in southern Africa but not many other places.

Although I didn't buy anything, I ended up chatting to him for a while. When he found out that I was from South Adria, he state without prompting that he got inspiration from similar crafts in Zimbabwe and South Africa, and that he was himself from Egypt.

He decided to leave Egypt about 20 years ago, and applied for visitors visas to a number of countries - Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Switzerland, Sweden, Finland and Netherlands. All except Finland approved.

When he eventually got here, he had three weeks. Since he couldn't get a job, his strategy was the same as many others in his position, find a wife and get residency/citizenship. He married an old woman, an has been in Finland ever since, and working with metal sculptures for a number of years.

He has evidently had quite a lot of success in the past; he showed me numerous newspaper clippings featuring him with his sculptures, awards etc. But times aren't good - he claims that the Finnish economy is effectively in recession, and his artwork is more often bought by the rich and not normal tourists. The weather has also meant that there aren't that many tourists to sell to. Finally, with the coat of metal and coal going up, helped with additional taxes, his costs are also going up; negatively impacting his sales.

His tale was not different to another one in San Francisco. Manuel, from Venezuela, decided to leave for the US just as the politics in Venezuela wee changing. Like Ibrahim, he entered on a tourist visa (except he had an easier time due to his middle class background and friends already in the US); and once he got there got married to get his papers sorted. He subsequently got divorced, once the paperwork was completed. Manuel's comment was, that this process is so easy, he finds it difficult to understand why anyone would come in as an illegal; though did concede his background helped.

Both Manuel and Ibrahim have no intention of leaving. They consider themselves American and Finnish respectively; speak the languages, know the culture and fit in.

Ibrahim commented very positively on South Africa, that it is seen as the beacon of Africa; the combination of Africa and the west. He was surprised to hear that we have high employment; he was under the impression that jobs were plentiful! But one thing that I find interesting as a difference is how well immigrants integrate in certain countries; from the language to the culture. Maybe this is based on the skill type (most immigrants I have encountered are after all employed in IT or service industries). In SA this does not seem to happen well; especially with regards to language. Or perhaps it has something to do with the tightening up of immigration laws; citizenship in SA is not dependent on any language or cultural test (as in the case of Germany for example).

That said it is not necessarily bad; SA position allows for very quick processing and it makes it far more attractive as a means to attract skills. I know off many South Africans who want to leave, but there are so many from various parts of the world (not only from Africa) who want to come and stay. I am all for open immigration policies across the world, but having a combination of unequal policies, in my opinion, helps to exaggerate the problem.

Ibrahim's website: http://seppaibrahim.fi/.

Final thoughts on San Francisco

Now that I am on another continent, on my third flight (and different type of aircraft); it's a good time to put down some final reflections on San Francisco.

San Francisco feels "un-American", at least in terms of media portrayal. It embraces multi-culturalism, proudly supports homosexuality, has relaxed rules on recreational drug use and seems to accept all immigrants with open arms. I don't know of any other US city that has notices in three languages - English, Spanish and Chinese - across the city.

It is a melting pot of cultures; and there does not seem to be a dominant cultural group; but most of all it is highly integrated. You will find Mexican food in Chinatown, and vice-versa.

It is a beautiful city; but also expensive. It has a lot of tourist activities; but also a lot i leisure activities for the locals. It has amazing food places with a focus on organic and local produce. Overall, it seems like a great place to live, and it is easy to see why someone can easily leave their heart in San Francisco.

The Street Art of San Francisco

There has always been a blurred line in graffiti, between vandalism and art. Street art in San Francisco is well recognized - some are commissioned, some are used as an advertising medium, and some are actively protected and curated. They have had books published about them, some of the artists are very well known; while others are in decay due to the elements. Street art can be found across the city, but is especially prominent in the Mission District. The photos below are a selection across the city; across my stay, and some only reflect a part of the murals as they were simply too large to photograph.

Click on photos for a slightly larger version.

Bunny Chow in another form

Like the Bunny Chow, Soup in a Bread Bowl is a very similar concept, except the bread bowl is a bit more suitable then the hollowed out loaf used in Bunnies. I have not seen these outside San Francisco, and is traditionally (according to the restaurant) had with clam chowder. Since I am not a big fan of clam Chowder, decided to have it with chilli instead (making it closer to a bunny chow). Very tasty also!

The Steep Hills of San Francisco

San Francisco is built on some really steep hills, which led to the development of the cable car system. The streets are also steep (especially with the imposition of a grid system) with the most famous being Lombard Street, built in a zig zag fashion to enable cars to travel down safely. But there are a few others, which are almost as steep, where cars have to park perpendicularly and the pavements have steps.

Click on photos for a slightly bigger version.

Mission Chinese

In a city famous for its food, being one of the hottest food places in town is an achievement. It is a bigger achievement, when it is fairly new and cheap (ie not going for the fancy food market). They take no reservations, it's tiny, and people wait in the freezing cold for a table. I frequently questioned myself why I was still waiting, especially when my waiting time went beyond 30 minutes.

The menu is varied, with strange combination of ingredients. My host, who has been here a few times said that the menu changes frequently but it is largely a fusion of different styles, with Chinese being the dominant style. The decor is pretty kitsch, with a paper dragon dominating the roof; and loud hip-hop drowning out surrounding conversation.

The food was amazing, and was well worth the cold and the waiting in line. It was an explosion of flavours, with combinations that I have never had before (and probably won't again). And even when I left at 21:30, there were still people waiting to get in.

It was a fitting last dinner in San Francisco; I doubt I will have something close to this good, anytime soon.

Grace Cathedral

I am not a fan of non catholic cathedrals, they are mostly boring. Grace Cathedral is obviously the exception (being an Episcopal church) that proves the rule. Sitting on top of the hill at California road, it has some amazing artwork - from the door moulds to the stained glass windows to the murals. Being San Francisco, it is also very progressive, not only performing same sex unions but also featuring a multi-religious chapel dedicated to AIDS victims.

Click on photos for a slightly bigger version.

American Train Ride

I have ridden in light rail/metro rails in all the American cities I have visited, but for the first time I took a proper train, to visit a friend in San Jose. The Caltrain goes through the many well known towns of Silicon Valley, though I didn't spot any of their offices by the track.

It is almost a step back in time in some respects; the trains run on Diesel and not electric, the stations have a certain colonial charm and it just doesn't seem to be as efficient as the European rail network (running 10 minutes late, even after leaving San Francisco on time, further enhanced this perception).

California Academy of Sciences

Located within the Golden Gate Park, the Academy of Sciences is a super museum encompassing natural history, botanical gardens, aquarium and a planetarium. Individually, they are not particularly big, but it is how they are integrated that makes it really cool and interesting.

For example, the botanical garden only focuses on one thing - the rain forest, and showcases an indoor rainforest (fully recreated and live with butterflies and a few birds) focusing on different aspects of the rainforest ecosystem. The rainforest leads to an aquarium, which makes up for a lack of really large sharks and dolphins with stunningly presented ecosystems including coral reefs.

The highlight for me, is the planetarium. Instead of focusing on the traditional night sky, this is a virtual exploration of the universe and it's evolution on a massively curved screen. IMAX and 3D are quite poor in the relative experience in comparison. I did miss some parts of the traditional planetarium, but the immersive experience is impressive.

The natural history section is famous for its Africa hall; full of stuffed big game species, and some live Cape Penguins. It made me realist how lucky we are in SA that I regularly hike amongst impala, giraffes and zebra and penguins are a minor attraction amongst other things to do in Simonstown (let alone Cape Town).

The last thing to note about the museum, is that the architecture itself is an attraction. It is at the forefront of Green building techniques, with a living roof and solar panels etc. What is especially impressive is how the building management is automated, by taking account of outside weather conditions.

(Clicking on an image will enlarge it slightly)

The San Francisco Cable Car

One of the enduring images of San Francisco is that of a cable car traversing the hills (with the bay in the background). The cable cars remain one of the largest tourist attractions, and are continued to be used by the locals (though certainly not for its speed). It is also a brilliant piece of engineering, something I only began to comprehend once I went to the Cable Car Museum, which also doubles up as the storage, maintenance and central operations of the entire cable car.

Wikipedia would be better to understand the whole system, but here is the gist. Traditional cable cars, have a rope slung between two points with a carriage dangling below. The rope moves, dragging the car along. String the cable between a high point and a low point, and you get the cable car as seen on Table mountain and elsewhere.

Instead of overhanging cables, the cables in the SF system run under the streets, with centralised controls. The cables run constantly (you can hear them run) and the cable cars have a mechanism to "grip" and release the cable. When it grips the cable, it moves forward, when it is released it stops. There are two key advantages of the system, which are only now overcome with modern cars - they can climb very steep hills and even stop on hills & they effective travel at a constant speed regardless of the incline.

They are no longer the most practical means of transportation, but they do their job well. They are expensive ($6 each way) but the passes are also valid on the system, and this makes it a lot cheaper.

(Clicking on a photo will enlarge it slightly)

San Francisco to Muir Woods (and Stinson Beach)

The two things I learnt about San Francisco long ago was the Golden Gate bridge and the giant redwoods on the other side of the bay (Muir Woods).

Public transport in San Francisco is great, but it doesn't extend far outside the city limits. Getting to Muir Woods with public transport during the "off" season is not easy; the tourist officer at Sausalito claimed that it didn't exist, and my host in SF was also of the opinion that I would need to hire a car. Mountain bike routes exist, but I am no where near the fitness levels required for such a feat.

There is a route, though not very convenient. The Golden Gate Transit busses between San Francisco and Sausalito is the first leg; although one could also take the ferry if desired. Thereafter, Bus 61 takes one from either Marlin City or Sausalito ferry stop on the weekends; up the aptly named Panoramic Highway to a number of hiking points along the park.

The very helpful driver dropped me at the crossing of the Dipsea trail, which was about a mile from the entrance to Muir Woods.

The busses are about every 2 hours, and I was not too confident on making it back in time. So I decided to carry on hiking, all the way down to the pacific ocean at Stinson beach. It was a total distance of about 16 km (as per my hiking app), the trails are well marked and the views are well worth the effort.

Muir Woods is amazing, the large trees dominate, but as you leave the park, there is other vegetation also. Compared to other forests, there is a distinct quietness (discounting the human chatter) - I expected a lot more bird life.

Bus 61 can be caught from Stinson beach, and waiting by the beach is so much better than the side of the road.

The San Francisco Symphony

Celebrating its 100^th birthday this year, the San Francisco Symphony is one of the world's top classical orchestras. I have always wanted to go see a top class symphony playing in a dedicated symphony hall, so this was an ideal moment (incidentally I still haven't managed to go see the Berlin Philharmonic). To sweeten the deal, unsold tickets are discounted on the day of the concert to $20, which made the experience even better ;)

The Miles Davis Symphony Hall is a fantastic venue with brilliant acoustics. It looks stunning from inside and outside, and has a small exhibition on the 100 years of the symphony on the first level.

Last nights program included Hayden's 104th Symphony, Mozart's 39th Symphony and Piano Concerto no 25. The conductor was Rinaldo Alessandrini and the soloist was Olivier Cavé.

Cycling around the bay

The bike (cycles) rental companies proudly claim, that biking around the bay is the best way to see the bay. They are not overselling ...

After spending the last two days walking everywhere, I decided to take a cycle instead. Starting at the end of Fisherman's wharf, going up to the Golden Gate bridge, over the bridge to the town of Sausalito and then taking the ferry back. It is clearly a popular route, not only on the evidence of the number of bikes on the ferry, but the infrastructure in Sausalito to support the cyclists.

There are two climbs, though not very difficult - the first comes too soon when you are starting out and the second is up to the bridge. Thereafter, it's a nice ride down to the ferry. I had thought of going a lot further, but the ferry times, at least in winter, are not conducive.

San Francisco is a great city for cycling. The bike rentals are not cheap (mine came to about $30), but it beats walking.