The first five days in San Francisco - Oddities in the City by the Bay

The Hills are a lot steeper than expected

On July 20th, 2023, I boarded a flight at Zurich Airport headed for Frankfurt. It was the first leg of my journey that would bring me to San Francisco, my home for the next year.

Stepping on the plane not only meant 14 hours of travel but also starting a new chapter. A chapter that includes moving out, starting my first job, leaving friends and family for at least a year, and also switching to a long-distance relationship. Hence, next to my massive excitement, a tiny bit of anxiousness accompanied me while I stepped onto the first plane, taking me to Frankfurt.

I arrived in San Francisco at around 6.30 pm local time and was in my AirBnB by around 8 pm. Unlike the American stereotype, I didn’t order a Burger, but I proceeded to go to the nearest grocery store and grabbed a somewhat healthy-looking wrap, and ate it before falling victim to Jetlag and falling asleep.

The next morning, I once again fell victim to Jetlag and woke up at 4.30 am, but it at least gave me enough time to install an American phone plan before heading out to explore the city.

After walking through San Francisco for the first one and a half days, I realized that I’d need another form of transport, as walking was not only slow, but I also severely underestimated the hills. Coming from Switzerland, I’m well accustomed to steep hills, and yet I still found myself amazed at the inclines throughout the city. So after somewhat careful consideration, I bought an Evolve Stoke Electric Skateboard. The board has made all the difference, and it is my new favorite mode of transportation.

The board’s motors are strong enough to conquer almost all of San Francisco’s hills, and the breaks do a great job of easing down the same hills. Also, I was pleasantly surprised by the range of the Board, allowing me to explore parts of the city that I would not have gotten to by foot, and most important of all, it’s a ton of fun zipping around the streets of San Francisco on a longboard. If you’d offer the deal of living and working in San Francisco with an electric skateboard at 22 to my high school self, I’m pretty sure I’d sign it in a heartbeat.

Whilst exploring the city, a few particular things really amazed me. The first and very pleasant one is San Francisco’s coffee. I am an avid coffee drinker and thoroughly enjoy a cup of good coffee, and finding one in San Francisco is not even a challenge. I’m continuously amazed at how good the coffee is everywhere you go. Over the past few days, I’ve been trying out quite a few coffee shops in different parts of the city, and all of them had very good coffee and some even great ones. It turns out had I done a bit of research, this would’ve been an obvious revelation, but it is still a very nice aspect of moving to the city by the bay.

Another thing I observed in San Francisco is the straws, more precisely, the plastic straws handed out almost everywhere. One of my pet peeves is paper straws that have become omnipresent in Switzerland. Even though they are environmentally friendly, the fact that they disintegrate when used for too long does not make for the best drinking experience. Furthermore, in Switzerland, plastic straws cannot harm any turtles or other marine animals, as it is a landlocked country. However, in San Francisco, which is literally next to the Ocean, almost all straws are plastic. Considering how progressive San Francisco is, I find that detail quite ironic.

Overall though, the experience in San Francisco has been amazing so far. The city not only has breathtaking views but also an extremely relaxed attitude, making exploring it a true joy. So I’m looking forward to all the spots I’ll discover and the people I’ll meet.