Michael Even after more than four years in San Francisco, we keep finding hidden attractions in the city. So, from time to time, Angelika and I disguise ourselves as German tourists: backpack on our backs, camera bag around our necks, Levi's 501 jeans, trekking shoes, and fleece jackets on! Then we blend into the hustle and bustle of the tourist area around Powell, stand in line for two hours at the cable car, and laugh at the same old jokes from the black musicians there! No, that was an exaggeration, but Angelika recently discovered that there is a tour through Chinatown that takes you to the most exotic restaurants in the area, the kind you would never enter alone for fear of food poisoning or the Chinese mafia.

Michael And once again, we have a top product in our newsletter! Today: the juices from the company SoBe. No, that's not a sharp "ß" you're seeing, but a capital "B"--so don't let anyone say "Soße," it's pronounced "Sohbie"! By the way, "SoBe" stands for "South Beach," which is the name of the beverage company based in the US state of Connecticut. They make extraordinary juices from fruits and vegetables, enriched with various herbs and exotic teas. I'm not a health fanatic, but in America, you probably become one sooner or later. All of their beverages are super delicious and currently a huge hit with kids and teenagers--Angelika discovered them during her photography classes at Berkeley Extension. By the way, I'm not recommending the sugar-free "SoBe Lean" variant here, but only the full version. I particularly like "SoBe Energy (Guarana, Yohimbe, Arginine)" and "SoBe Elixir (Cranberry, Grapefruit)." But actually, they're all good, each one better than the last! You can find more information on the web at https://www.sobebev.com . Only genuine with the two lizards on it! Additionally, the bottles have a pleasantly wide neck--I usually can't pour drinks from conventional bottles into my throat fast enough; you always have to let air bubble in, and that's annoying when time is money! The rim of the SoBe bottle is about three centimeters in diameter, which is exemplary.

Michael In San Francisco, there's often movie sets, as you might expect. It is, after all, one of the most beautiful cities in the world, and besides, there are these insanely steep streets here. Recently, I found out that two of them have a record-breaking incline of 31.5%: Filbert Street, which runs parallel to the famous winding Lombard Street, and 22nd Street, which steeply descends right around the corner from us. With the beautiful old Victorian houses and the quaint neighborhoods, it's no wonder that many movie makers choose San Francisco as the location. The following productions immediately come to mind: Mrs. Doubtfire and Dirty Harry. In the latter (shot sometime in the '70s), to my surprise, Dirty Harry chased a villain up a side street called "Osgood Place" in the North Beach district. Osgood Place--where the branch of the company "Blaxxun Interactive" was, with which I came to San Francisco back then! Man, those were the days! Anyway--what I actually wanted to point out is that films are constantly being shot here in San Francisco, and if this happens on a block, the streets are always being closed off so that film crews can shoot their kissing scenes, shootouts, and car chases. The movie stars reside in trailers. As Figure 1 shows, there are even companies that specialize in outfitting such trailers. If I'm ever famous enough to travel from TV show to TV show, I'll buy one of those as well.

Michael And here is our popular section again: The best wines from California! Today: The "DeLoach Zinfandel 1998". I unknowingly bought it from our favorite supermarket "Costco" while Angelika was out of the country. I also unknowingly opened it when Thomas and Helmut came to visit. Only after we had surprisingly emptied the bottle did I look it up on the internet and found out that it had received scores of up to 90 out of 100 in official reviews! For red wine, that's absolute top class, as there are hardly any wines under 20 dollars that achieve that.

Michael And here is the photo of the month, chosen by the newsletter team: A motorcycle cop is writing a ticket for a "New Beetle" parked at an expired parking meter. I'm still waiting for offers from the Volkswagen company! Unfortunately, Angelika couldn't participate in this photo competition, which will now be held monthly among the newsletter writers, due to her stay in Germany. What a pity! She'll get a chance next time!

Michael And here is the sensation! The two intrepid newsletter reporters have boarded a plane, got off the same eleven hours later, and suddenly found themselves in a parallel universe called "Munich"! While Angelika makes this trip almost every year, I actually hadn't been to Germany for a full four years. I tell you, it was a culture shock of the highest order.

Angelika Hooray! It's finally my turn. First, let me quickly remind you that during our stay in Germany, I was not only in Southern Germany but also in Northern Germany (specifically in Oldenburg). Just so that doesn't get overlooked. Michael has already shared one or two German adventures with you, and this time, I generously had let him take the lead, as he hadn't breathed German air for four years. Nevertheless, I will delight you with a few remarks. You'll just have to bear with me.