I feel that for a stereotypical Estonian, San Francisco is a great entry point to the US. It is damp and chilly, not too big and not too strange. There are some palm trees, but they seem more like decoration than a fundamental feature of the place*. And I feel confident that even Estonians can handle a limited number of exotic trees in otherwise broadly familiar surroundings**.

We didn’t have any particular reason for starting our trip in San Francisco, it was simply cheaper to begin in SF than in New York. As we knew we would be jet-lagged and would need to start a relatively demanding road-trip in two days, we made almost no plans for the Fog City – just in case we were completely exhausted and needed to recover from the travelling. In the end, that was not the case, but we still took it relatively easy. Which in turn made it a nice and relaxed two-day stay.

I found the vibe of the city very pleasant – cosmopolitan, but on a manageable scale. The architecture and culture are varied and the hills on which the city is built give it a distinct look. J had been there several times and made sure we stayed away from the saddest areas, where homelessness and drug use are rampant. This surely gave us a skewed picture of the place, but also made the visit more cheerful than it may otherwise have been.

Where we stayed: 1 Hotel San Francisco

It is a hipster-ish hotel close to the waterfront, with wooden furniture, lots of plants and acai bowls for breakfast. It is somewhat overpriced for what it is, but it’s nice and part of a small chain of hotels that I like. As I didn’t want to take any risks with our first hotel – you really don’t want to arrive to a dirty room or misplaced booking after a transatlantic flight – this seemed like a good option. We also wanted to stay away from the Tenderloin and Mission districts and again, this fit the bill. The hotel staff will drive you with an electric car wherever you want to go within a two-mile radius, which is a nice touch.

Where we ate

I am not going to list all the places where we consumed food, as it will be boring. We had breakfast in our hotel, which was good but overpriced (it’s a la carte, not included in the price). The lunches were unremarkable on purpose, but we had one notable dinner at Little Shucker. We wanted to have seafood, so I checked the New York Times The 25 Best Restaurants in San Francisco Right Now*** and found this raw bar. The menu is actually broader, they also serve very popular lobster rolls, baked oysters, mussels in white wine and steak and fries. I really enjoyed my tuna crudo and mussels and the service was lovely. The look of the place is very clean and eco, almost Scandinavian. The only potential issue is that they don’t serve coffee, so in case that’s a deal breaker for you, take note.

What we did

Pier 39

Pier 39 is located at the edge of the Fisherman’s Wharf district and is, with its restaurants, shops and attractions, undoubtedly touristy. But we were there to see the sea lions who hang out in the harbour and it was absolutely worth wading through hundreds of people to see them. I am generally not a big fan of zoos and presenting animals for people’s amusement (more on this in a future post), but I didn’t get the icky feeling in this case. Pier 39 is where the sea lions naturally like to gather, and great efforts are made to organise everything else around this fact. I also appreciate that the information materials on the pier refer to them as ‘boisterous barking pinnipeds’. (You also get a good view of Alcatraz and the pelicans who keep flying back and forth in a foreboding way).

Walking

Not particularly groundbreaking, but simply walking along the seashore is a nice thing to do, especially if – like me – you are one of those people who think that real cities must be located by the sea (or at least by a river or some sort of body of water). If it’s Saturday, stop by the Ferry Building where they have a big farmers’ market. It can be beautiful to walk in other areas, too – the streets going up and down the hills look great. But I recommend setting the trajectory according to your risk tolerance.

Cable cars

If you are tired of walking, hop on a cable car – it will not be much faster, but they are cute and riding them is a fun experience, especially if you dare to stand outside of the car, holding on to the poles. Apparently, this is the world’s last manually operated cable car system. We actually saw the driver change the tracks on one occasion, which was pretty cool to watch.

Lombard street

This winding street is a very popular tourist attraction and it is pretty – at least in August, when everything is in bloom. Would I make massive efforts to seek it out if it wasn’t on my way already? I would not.

City Lights Booksellers & Publishers

If you visit one bookshop in San Francisco, I highly recommend picking this one. It is a legendary independent bookstore that is also a small publisher. They are particularly focused on social issues and poetry – the Poetry Room upstairs has an excellent selection. And if you are in the area, take a stroll in the Chinatown, the oldest in North America and largest outside Asia.

The Golden Gate Bridge

This is, of course, the most well-known landmark of San Francisco. We crossed it by car on our way to Sausalito, but you can also walk or bike across it. The bridge truly is beautiful and impressive, although often obscured by the fog. Golden Gate is not the only impressive bridge in the area, however, and one of my main takeaways of the entire trip is the importance of infrastructure in a country as big and difficult to handle as the US. Railroads, highways, bridges – they are all central to the American experience.

Sausalito

Sausalito is a wealthy and vaguely artsy little town just on the other side of the Golden Gate Bridge. You can get there by car or by ferry – I recommend the ferry at least one way. Although it’s not a particularly glamorous type of transport, the views of the bridge, SF skyline and Alcatraz are top notch. I understand that Sausalito is where all those who can afford NOT to live in San Francisco make their homes, as it’s nice, safe and small. It’s not a particularly exciting place, but I have an anthropological interest in these rich US neighbourhoods. They remind me of those weird expensive clothing brands that produce items that don’t look particularly attractive or even necessarily good quality, but still give off a certain sense of privilege and exclusion. Don’t get me wrong, it is a pleasant day trip (or half a day), and particularly recommended together with the next item on my list.

Muir Woods

My favourite thing in San Francisco was in fact not in San Francisco, but it’s not far; it’s even closer if you happen to be in Sausalito. Muir Woods is one of the best places to see the coastal redwood trees (Sequoia sempervirens), the tallest trees in the world. The highest one in Muir Woods is 79 meters and the oldest 1200 years. If there is one way in which I am, in fact, a proper Estonian, it’s that I like trees. And redwoods are impressive (we will return to the impressiveness of American trees in future instalments). If you have time, I strongly recommend visiting. For history/international affairs nerds, an added bonus is the commemorative plaque for Franklin Delano Roosevelt in one of the groves, put in place by the representatives of the United Nations right after the UN Charter was signed in San Francisco in 1945. If you go by car, make sure you have a reservation before you show up, otherwise you will not be allowed to park.

Things we didn’t do

Alcatraz – we simply weren’t particularly interested, but for many people it would definitely be a draw.

Presidio – we didn’t have time, but it is on most ‘must do in SF’ lists.

Museums – there are a number of interesting museums in SF, in particular the Asian Art Museum and The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. But as we knew we would be visiting a number of art museums in New York, this wasn’t a priority.

Point Reyes – I really wanted to visit this scenic seashore area north of SF, but we simply couldn’t fit it into our agenda.

Things to note

I knew that San Francisco would not be particularly warm, but I was still taken aback by how cool it turned out to be. In the middle of August, we had 13-14 degrees Celsius in the mornings. If you are travelling on towards other parts of California, there may be a rather shocking difference in temperatures. I was extremely glad that I had my knitwear with me. San Francisco is also not cheap – I am not implying it should be, but the nicer cafes and restaurants were at least as expensive as in Luxembourg, which is saying something.

*That said, I have to acknowledge that the palm trees of SF are fine, lush specimens – much more abundant and green than their relatives in more southern environs. I have a very sophisticated theory that this is because San Francisco is very humid and less hot than many other places where palm trees grow. This is an entirely unchecked and unnecessary digression, but you know, it’s my blog, I digress when I want to.

** I am being flippant, I’m aware that most Estonians do not travel to chase the chill, quite the opposite. And the stereotypical Estonian is a mythical creature, I haven’t really met any in my life (and I definitely don’t fit the description myself).

***I used NYT’s guides throughout the trip and I find them reliable, although biased towards the pricy stuff. If you have similar taste to mine, you’ll likely not be disappointed with their choices.