Angelika Recently, we were sitting with our German friends Conny and Roland, who have only been in San Francisco since last year, and we started talking about cleaning American windows. Now, this might seem a bit absurd to you, but we debated for quite a while. American windows are designed differently from German ones. They don't simply open inward with a lever; instead, they slide sideways or, as known from American TV shows, from bottom to top. This makes cleaning the outer panes almost impossible. Unless, of course, the window is adjacent to a fire escape or a balcony, where you can stand armed with cleaning supplies.

Michael With the sales tax levied in many states, Americans are accustomed to goods costing more than the amount printed on the price tag. This also applies to restaurants, where meals in San Francisco actually cost about 25% more than what's on the menu. That's right, in addition to 8.5% tax, there's also a 15-20% tip. So if you only have $40 on you, you should only order dishes worth a maximum of $30, otherwise you won't have enough left for the tip, and the server will be upset.

Angelika All of Germany seems to be in San Francisco in August, at least if we rely on our private statistics. And since we keep getting inquiries about what is worth seeing in San Francisco that isn't in every run-of-the-mill travel guide, today I would like to introduce you to Valencia Street, which is just around the corner from us.

Angelika Recently, the annual statement from the federal German pension insurance arrived at our house. More precisely, it was sent to our German contact address, because supposedly the aforementioned authority does not send such documents abroad. However, since a clever official at the German pension insurance wanted to know why Michael hasn't paid into the German pension fund for ten years now, Michael's mother sent us the forms to be filled out to San Francisco.

Angelika Every year at the end of June, the so-called "Gay Pride" festivities take place in San Francisco. With pride (hence the name "Pride") and in a colorful manner, the gay and lesbian movement of this city celebrates itself, and everyone joins in the festivities. The city is awash with a sea of rainbow flags (the symbol of the movement), and hotel rooms are hard to come by because everyone travels to San Francisco for the big party. One of the highlights of the festivities is the parade on Sunday, where decorated floats, people in costumes, activists, and politicians, including the mayor of San Francisco, are marching down Market Street. A classic feature is the "Dykes on Bikes," who traditionally open the parade with their heavy motorcycles, often topless. The "Dyke March," organized by lesbian women for (lesbian) women, is also very popular and begins with bands and speeches in Dolores Park. From the park, the march proceeds to the Castro District, where everyone (regardless of their sexual orientation) dances late into the night on Castro Street at the unofficial party "Pink Saturday."

Michael On our weekly tours through the culinary establishments of San Francisco's Japantown, we had discovered "Ichiban Kan" years ago. It's a kind of "Rudi's Reste Rampe," where almost everything costs just one dollar, but with a Japanese twist.

Michael Although there is surprisingly good consumer protection in America, there are occasionally some bad apples that spoil the bunch. One day, I received an offer in the mail to subscribe to the magazine "Fortune" for a year at the unbeatable price of $10. I'm always up for such bargains, so I quickly sent back the form with a check for $10 to Fortune magazine. For a year, I threw the issues away every month. Who has time to read such economic drivel! When letters eventually arrived begging for a renewal of the subscription, I ignored them just like the countless other offers that fill our mailbox day after day.

Michael I have already reported that our group often goes to a so-called taco truck at lunchtime to devour Mexican tacos ( Rundbrief 10/2006 ). The truck is a van with a built-in kitchen, a kind of Mexican currywurst stand. In American slang, such vans are also jokingly called "roach coaches" and they're typically found near construction sites, so that hungry workers can have an inexpensive but hearty meal at lunchtime.

Michael Under the category "Inventions that deserved the Nobel Prize but never received one," today we present the so-called "Garbage Chute." Who hasn't cursed when they had to take out the stinking trash in the middle of the night? In America, you don't have to go down the stairs to the garage or the yard for this; you simply open a hatch that reveals a chute where the waste swiftly travels downward.