Finally another trip I can blog about. If there are no real fun in the sun-holidays booked, it needed a business trip for me to get some tan. And what would be a better combination than a) being able to see San Francisco and get a nice tan in the Californian sun and b) an opportunity to go to the Silicon Valley and visit an area that drives innovation in internet and technology?
So I was very happy to get this opportunity and a week with only three days at the office and enough time to discover San Francisco sounded even better. So after checking in to the Clift hotel, a hip, but slightly pricy, design hotel directly adjacent to Union Square, I first took a stroll through the centre and into Chinatown. As we had both Sunday and Monday off – it was Memorial Day in the US – we went on a city tour including a ride over the Golden Gate Bridge to Sausalito. We also managed to see Alcatraz, which was really interesting. I learned that after it was closed down as a prison, it was occupied by Native American activists, who lived on the island without electricity to fight for their cause. It is interesting to see how an island so close to a city became the world’s most famous prison and to learn about it’s history.
Tuesday to Thursday were my workdays and I finally had a chance to see the headquarters in Mountain View. After a bus ride of about an hour – which was entertaining beacuse of the wireless internet my employer offers on these employee-only rides and some interesting places along the way – we were treated to a great breakfast in one of the eleven canteens on the campus. My favourite is of course Charley’s Café – named after the first cook to work for the big G – he became a millionaire during the IPO and now runs several restaurants. The choice of food is amazing and those three days offered enough chances to explore the campus with the nice bikes that are used to commute between the buildings. I have also seen some Segways, but I liked the old-school alternative better. It never got boring – during the summit I was attending, as well as while exploring the campus. I think it would be great to work here for a while and the colleagues are extremely nice. Let’s see what Zurich is like – more about that in my next blog post.
We spent Friday with clothes shopping and fine dining. My favourites were the seafood restaurants Scorma’s and Aliotto’s. A random colleague we had met on the bus also took us to a bar that we would never have found – mostly because it does not have any sign and you need a password to get in. All this entitles you to a nice little bar in a library and some great 11 dollar-cocktails. After most of my fellow traveller’s had left on Saturday, the last remaining colleague and I spent the weekend visiting the Union Street festival and chilling in the sun in Sausalito, where a nice house will set you back at least 2 million dollars. All in all, I had a great week in the states. Luckily, except for some problems with the electronic visa, I was not treated like a terrorist this time. Maybe that was also because I got a new passport that does not contain stamps and visa from nine mostly Islamic states, including Iran. My biggest learning is: San Francisco is ten times more beautiful than LA and definitely worth another visit. See you again, California…
