Angelika Attentive tourists in San Francisco will certainly notice that there are hardly any cemeteries here. In contrast, cities like Munich boast venerable burial sites in almost every district. This is because San Francisco has banned cemeteries from the city. As early as 1900, the city fathers prohibited the establishment of new cemeteries within city limits, the digging of new graves in the then still numerous city cemeteries, or the conducting of further burials. Due to the Gold Rush of 1849, San Francisco's population had grown dramatically, and over the years, buildable land had become too valuable to reserve for the dead.

Michael In our series "Views of San Francisco," today we focus on the old hippie stronghold "Bernal Heights." It is pronounced "Bernel Hites". The name comes from Don Jose Cornelio Bernal, a rancher who was granted the area of today's Bernal Heights in 1839 to let his cattle graze there. Later, as the city of San Francisco began to grow, Bernal Heights was initially sparsely populated but experienced significant growth when the area, founded on stable rock, was largely spared from the 1906 earthquake.

Angelika Once a year, usually in January, the sitting American President delivers a report on the state of the nation before the members of Congress, including representatives, senators, and some invited guests. This report is called the "State of the Union." I have experienced this once before during Clinton's time in office ( Rundbrief 03/2000 ). The same applies, by the way, to the respective "Governors" (Heads of State) of the federal states and mayors of the cities, except that the speeches are then called "State of the State" or "State of the City".

Angelika Our visitors from Germany are always surprised that recycling is also done in San Francisco. America simply has a reputation for packaging mania and a throwaway mindset. And for the most part, that's true; Americans are still far from recycling as progressively as the Germans do. For example, at larger private parties, most people still find it quite normal to eat from paper plates and use plastic cutlery. Or just think about how many paper coffee cups the coffeehouse chain Starbucks hands out daily.

Michael In the series "Words Nobody Knows," we present English words that even the most seasoned English speakers don't know, but every child in America does. We guarantee that you can drive English teachers at German high schools crazy with them! So, use our words diligently in your school essays! Today: What is the name of the ice resurfacing machine for ice rinks? You know, those giant carts on four wheels with an ice scraper at the back that makes the ice surface in stadiums nice and smooth again between hockey games or ice skating events.

Michael No one in our household likes to pick up the vacuum cleaner. Pushing that heavy thing around the apartment and then having to go back and forth over every piece of lint five times until it finally gets sucked up -- it's incredibly annoying.

Michael You know how it is: You're downtown and need to use the restroom. Restaurants and cafes don't like it when you just use their toilets and sometimes make it quite difficult if you're not a customer. But if you know your way around, it's relatively easy to find establishments that allow you to use the restroom without having to make any pseudo-purchases.

Michael The USA is indeed a global leader in sales. Over here, they're selling like there's no tomorrow, using the best methods, some of which might even be considered somewhat questionable by European standards.

Michael Fast food chains like McDonald's, Burger King, and Wendy's all have their roots in the USA. This naturally raises the question of where to find the best burgers. I should add that I might eat a burger once every three months. Unfortunately, there isn't a single burger chain in our neighborhood. A few months ago, there was a major construction site across from us, and I was hoping that we would finally get one. Instead, a bank and a fitness center moved in. My goodness! And since I rarely drive anymore, I hardly ever pass by any burger chains.

Michael In the USA, it is indeed allowed for companies to call you at home to sell you all sorts of nonsense. While this might sound amusing at first, it becomes nerve-wracking over time. Of course, we have what is called "Caller ID" at home (which outrageously costs 6 dollars a month) so that the phone company can pass through the caller's number. When the phone rings, I can read the caller's number on a display. And our answering machine even announces the number while it's ringing, so we don't even have to get up from the sofa when another telemarketer calls.

Michael One would be amazed to hear that public transportation has been improved here in Silicon Valley, can you believe it, in the land of car enthusiasts! I've already written about the ancient Caltrain trains in a previous issue. For years, I used to ride them daily for about an hour from San Francisco to Mountain View, which is located 35 miles to the south, and back. For some time now, there have been trains that no longer stop at every small station but only at three major ones. This shortens the travel time to 45 minutes. The service is so good and gas prices are so high that now crowds of people are taking the train to Silicon Valley. The train sometimes runs with new, quieter cars and is called the "Baby Bullet," likely in reference to the Japanese bullet high-speed trains. The comparison is, of course, laughable, because the Silicon Valley Rumble Train only reaches about 80mph, but we are in a developing country, so one can't complain.