San Francisco - The Germans Are Coming!
 

In mid-August, two cousins in their early 40's and their kids 13 year old girl and 15 year old boy, will be visiting us from a small town in Germany (Helmstadt). They speak some English and DH speaks decent German.

They will be in SF for two to three days with us and then visiting other relatives up North.

We have purchased a German tour guide book to SF and also have the booklet from the SF Convention & Visitors Bureau, which we will be mailing to them.

They haven't traveled much, first time to U.S., and we haven't seen them for ten years so we don't know their interests. We're hoping that they will do some 'homework' online and also using the guide that we will be sending.

We have a huge list of to-do's, Bay Cruise, Alcatraz. GG park, GG Bridge, the Fire Engine tour, Exploratorium, Video Arcade, etc...

Main problem is finding things to do that will interest the parents and the teenage boy and girl.

DH had hoped to take the father and son to Burlingame to go karting, but we just found out that the boy has to be 18 years old. Does anyone know a go kart facility where a 15 year old boy can go?

I want to something 'girlie' maybe Stonestown or something like that with the 13 year old and her mother ...any suggestions.

Any unusual or out of the way suggestions?

They will be taken by other family members to Marine World, and Fisherman's Wharf.

I guess we are looking for a creme de la creme to do list, as we don't want to be hopping out of the car every ten minutes to see or do something.

Thanks in advance,

Nina

Most of the go-kart places around here that don't require drivers license tend to have their karts set so slow they are boring, have really junky equipment, or both. I thought kart tracks in Europe were much better (admittedly based on a fairly small sample).

Alcatraz, cable cars, walking across GG bridge, chinatown should interest all ages. I think German visitors would also find the redwoods (Muir Woods or Big Basin) and the coast (maybe Point Reyes, Santa Cruz, or Stinson Beach) quite interesting.

Thanks Curmudgeon. DH fully agrees with you about the go-karts so I guess that is out.

Has anyone taken the Fire Engine Tour?

It sounds like fun, so unless we get negative feedback, we will schedule it.

Also we will probably do Alcataz at night..... burrrrrrrr.

Instead of cooking for 6 after a busy day of touring, or eating out every night, for one of the dinners we will take them to Whole Foods on California St. & let them pick out their own take-away meals, which we will eat at home. I think that would be fun for everyone (especially me - the cook).

Any other suggestions will be welcomed.

Nina

Hi Nina, my experience with guest from Europe and teenage children no matter where they are from is that they almost always really enjoy visiting ChinaTown. So that is something you might think about doing. If you timed it right you could have dinner in ChinaTown..assuming your relatives are agreeable to that. I would imagine that no matter what you plan your relatives will have a wonderful time. Visitors always seem to really enjoy SF. Have fun!

Do a search on San Francisco, and I think there's a post in May on the Fire Engine Tour. I have a teen who is 16 (live in San Jose area), and he likes Chinatown the Haight, Cable Cars, the Metreon and Union Square. We saw a TV program last night that showed the Cable Car museum. He said that looked pretty cool for a museum. It it's free! Oh he also likes Berkeley and Santa Cruz.

We've taken our younger kids (oldest was 10 the last time) on the fire engine tour, and they loved it, and I admit that I even enjoyed it. The route is interesting, and includes some locations that you probably wouldn't otherwise go, and goes across the Golden Gate Bridge.

Thanks, we had thought about Chinatown for touring and eating, but we are waiting to hear from them what kind of foods they like. From several stays with them in Helmstadt, we know that they are pretty much meat and potato eaters, but they love pizza too. The _entire- family loved taking us to their local pizza parlor.

During one of our stays with them, they made us a BBQ - every part of the cow imaginable piled high on our plates. No veggies, salad, or fruit, just beef and potatoes. The whole family, grandparents etc.. just stood and watched us eat and kept bringing more to the table. We finally had to almost demand (very nicely of course) that they sit and enjoy the meal with us. Really nice people and we are looking forward to this visit.

We're not sure if they have ever had Chinese or Mexican, etc.. or if they are adventurous eaters, as they live in a very small town and stay pretty close to home.

My German born father in law in Ukiah, asked DH, "what will you feed them?"

I think they are all old enough so as not to starve themselves!!!!!!

The problem with some organized tours, the cable car museum, walking tours etc.. is that they will miss out on the guide's narative since they speak very little English and it is disrupting to others when people translate for their friends while the guide is speaking ...... ask me how I know!!

We had been looking more at to see and do things as opposed to organized tours that are given in English only. On Alcatraz they can use the German audio tapes.

Maybe after riding the cable car, they would enjoy the cable car museum even if they don't understand the guide. DH can tell them afterwards. Good idea.

Nina

We just visited the cable car museum, and there were no guides, so I don't think a verbal translation will be a problem.

Lee Ann

Here's the Fire Engine Tour site:
http://www.fireenginetours.com/

We did the fire engine tour two summers ago. It was a lot of fun. The husband & wife are very accomodating. We also did a duck tour. I wouldn't suggest both but it's nice to have a choice. We took in a baseball game also. Tickets were pretty easy to get and reasonable proces.

Nina, will they enjoy a 3-D movie? They show now "deep sea" at that new movie place in Yerba Buena, Mission @ 4th.

My husband understands very little English, I took him there, and he loved it!

You just watch different sea creatures swimming in front of you, and those 3-D effects. If they are from a small town, it may be something new, and for every age.

They may still have it in August, as the 3-Ds are usually long-run.

Thanks so much, you have given me so many new ideas or confirmed what we had already thought about.

Faina - maybe I'll make them some latkes and tell them that we celebrate Chanukah in America in August ;-) The 3D movies sounds great (and restful). I'll look into the dates.

We've added another day to their stay in SF. They will be with us from Sunday mid-day to Wed. morning when we have to return them to Ukiah. We want to do as much as possible, but we don't want their visit to end up 'If this is Tuesday, this must be San Francisco".

Hopefully they will read the tour book in German that we are sending them and will give us some feed back by email as to food preference, interests etc..

We're expecting that they will be very polite and let/make us lead the way. We are most worried about the food, Mexican, Chinese, Russian, etc.. Although we will only have 3 or 4 dinners with them.

I feel like a tourist myself. I'm remembering all of the good things about visiting SF before we moved here when I was 7 years old. I'm planning this like I would one of my own trips. Lots of ideas and research.

I've been in email contact with Marilyn, The Fire Engine Tour, and once I know our exact date I will book the tour. The Alcatraz night tickets won't go on sale until 30 days in advance - mid July for us.

I hope that they are excited about this as I am...

Thanks again, all of your ideas are appreciated.

Nina

FYI, the new Movie place FainaAgain mentioned, is in the Metreo complex at 4th & Mission. My 16 yr. old loves it there. We've seen a few movies there, it's great.

Sorry, I meant the Metreon.

Hi Nina:

I am German and father of two teenage boys. Although I haven't been to San Francisco for a couple of years (forgive us that we traveled to L.A. over Christmas), here are my tips:

- First, show them your beautiful city. They will enjoy everything. Chinatown is always a good bet.

- Let them experience San Franciso nightlife. German teenagers are usually more mature than American teenagers. Go to places with live music. They will love Mexican Food (we have rather mediocre Mexican restaurants in Germany) as well as Chinese Food (we have lots of Chinese restaurants, however, no places with whole suckling pigs and ducks hanging in the front window).
In Germany, the books of Armistead Maupin are quite popular. They are translated and titled "Stadtgeschichten". They shall read them before going to SF.

- Drive to Sausalito and Muir Woods.

- Show them the beaches. They will love spending some hours at the beaches.

- Drive south to Monterey and Carmel. They will enjoy the scenery. Again, spend some time at the beaches.

- If the adults like wine make a winery tour.

- Make the Alcatraz tour.

- Visit the Exploratorium.

- Visit the Wells-Fargo museum.

- Skip karting. We have high-speed kart facilities in Germany.

- Go to Fishermen's Wharf. Introduce them into seafood.

- Of course, they want to go shopping (hip shops for teenagers): clothing, music etc.

I was going to add that I hope you are going to insist they ride the cable cars..as "mundane" as that might seem I suspect they'll enjoy experiencing your own public transport system.

And I agree about the beaches.

Finally, I would be prepared to ask them when they arrive what, if any, things (they probably already know about) they would like to see...and be prepared to accommodate the answers (some of which may suprise you).

P.S.---the reason i added my last is because you have done a lot of anticipating and planning based on your OWN assumption of what they might like to see...and I think that is important...very much so...but I still think they'd appreciate being ASKED what they would like to do..when, and if, they hesitate you've got the good list ready and off you go.

I cannot imagine anything more exciting than seeing visitors' delight at what you've prepared...it is truly memorable.

Thanks again. INTREPID, we are hoping that they will read the German SF guide book that we are sending them, plus some other info in German from the Visitors Center.

TRAVELER1959, thanks for the insight. I guess the difficult part is that we were trying to plan for the parents' interests as well as the kinder's. Now I realize that they will probably all enjoy the same things, as the parents will be happy if the kids are happy.

We are hoping that they will read the books and give us their honest informed opinions as to what they want to see and do and eat.

Alcatraz, cable car and perhaps the cable car museum, Chinatown, Muir Woods/Stinson Beach, Twin Peaks, the Fire Engine Tour, shopping etc.. are are only a few of our choices, but we really really want them to be a part of those making those choices.

When the parents and aunts and uncles of this couple, have visited over the years, they _make_ us make all of the decisions. They enjoy, or seem to, everything that we do, but they never never ask to do anything, including helping to choose what kind of food we eat.

There is so much for them to see and do in SF during their 3 days with us, that we won't be taking them to Santa Cruz or Monterey.

Other relatives will spend time in Fisherman's Wharf with them, and then will be taking them to Marine World later in the week.

Most of their two week stay will be in Ukiah, and we had to beg big time for our 3 days in SF. My FIL insists that they just want to sit at his house, eat German food, and converse in German - just like home! I know that when I was 13 years old, that would have been my dream vacation ;-)

As it is, we have so many good choices, now we just have to wait to see how much they will participate in their own trip.

This will be the first trip for anyone of the family's younger generation and we are hoping that they will do some homework, either on line or with the info we are sending.

The last time we saw them was 10 years ago in Germany. The kids were only 3 and 5, so we don't know anything about their interests or personalities. DH's family tends to be shy and reticient (sp) - everyone that is except his father.

Hopefully with DH's German and their small amount of English, between the phone and email hopefully we will learn much more about them. DH doesn't write German and we don't know how much English they can write, so we will probably reply on telephone conversations.

Shopping for the mother and 13 year old are mandatory, and DH wants to find an activity for the father and the 15 year old son during our shopping time.

I know that whatever we do, they will return home loving San Francisco, and will be anxious to return. Afterall .... this is SAN FRANCISCO!

Nina

We have hosted teenaged German girls 2x. Each girl stayed with us for 3 weeks. I think Intrepid's suggestions are very good. Both girls liked seeing American culture and the landscape as it compares to Germany. We did go to a local mexican cafe and it was a hit with both girls. Both girls bought clothing/make up/shoes; apparently cheaper here and fun to buy far from home. If they have not been here before just seeing a grocery store, a Target store, a high school...some of those simple things are neat. I think your city is wonderful and you will find more that excites them than you can possibly fit in. Think about what charms you in another country; what you want to see and experience. HAve a great visit. The fact that you are thinking about it and asking advice proves you will be a gracious hostess!!!

I'm planning their stay much as I plan and research my own trips. We have traveled extensively for years, for five or six weeks at a time .. Gawd how I love saying that ;-) and I have always loved the planing and research, almost as much as the trip itself.

I am a very curious person and want to know as much as I possibly can about my destination(s).

I travel with detailed lists of things to do and see because I hate it when people stand around saying, 'I don't care, what do you want to do'. BUT... I can turn a corner and be off in an entirely different direction, just because I saw something that appealed to me. This used to drive DH nuts, but good sport that he is, he follows my whims and usually enjoys himself.

I return home with a lot of things still not seen or done and a lots of new things added for the next trip.

I make schedules, but rarely follow them, unless we have reservations, or a train to catch. As DH says when we start to plan a trip "well I guess I've lost you for the next seven months".

That's why I am spending so much of your time and mine, planning for their stay. We will accompish a fraction of what is on 'my list', and hopefully they will make suggestions. We will have 'down time' when we feel we need it, and will have many choices of things to do, and most of all, we will be open to new people or places that we hear about or happen upon.

I am a spontaneous person, and love to wander, but I like to know all of my options, and then do exactly what suits my fancy at the moment.

Our guests won't be bored, whether we are galavanting around the City, or just plopping down on Marina Greens.

It is important that we ALL enjoy ourselves and come away seeing and doing new things. If I just wanted them to see the City, we'd put them on a tour bus.

I am probably looking forward to their stay in SF, as much as they are, if not more. I've lived here since I was 7 years old, and it never ceases to amaze and entertain me.

Right now I am semi-housebound for a while, with back/neck problems. If I have time for doctor's appointments and physical therapy, I certainly have time to think about their stay with us. What better way to fill the the extra time I have on my hands right now?

So, that's me in a long nutshell -overplan and then do exactly what you want.

Nina