Our SF staycation took us to the Embacadero, where we stayed at the plant-filled One Hotel, near the ferry terminal and across from the Bay Bridge. Here we discovered that just like Seattle, SF has multiple ferry services to nearby islands. In SF's case that includes a ferry to Treasure Island, the former military post, now a chic new residential community. This little island holds up the Bay Bridge on it's way to Oakland. We could see Treasure Island clearly from Pier 14, which we walked down at sunset. Pier 14 and the surrounding area used to be a booming shipping port, with trains running through nearby warehouses, and ships sidling up to the pier. Now it's a spot for Rudyard Kipling poetry, tourists, and fishing without a license (but beware, the fish here can be unhealthy to eat). As we neared the end of the pier we spotted something in the water - sea lion, dolphin, very large fish? It was a dolphin, perhaps chasing the ferry.
On our way back down the pier, our son Samuel, who now lives in the foggy city not far from this very pier, lamented how the Embarcadero Freeway is gone, even though he is too young to have even enjoyed it, and how parking is getting scarcer and scarcer. You can't park close to sidewalks now (the term is "daylighting"), and honestly, with Waymo's and Uber and Lyft, and public transit, does driving a personal vehicle in the city even make sense? Samuel says it does, because so many retail stores have been closing in the city, including the Starbucks under his apartment building. He showed us a clip of senior citizens gathering at that very Starbucks, protesting its closure. That clip also provided tenant vacancy rates around the city, as high as 47%. Maybe you do need a car to do your grocery shopping. But the news also reported that vacancy rates are going down, and a sign by Samuel's apartment complex touted, "Welcome Back, San Francisco!." We shall see.
Our staycation dovetailed (or was perhaps prompted by) Samuel's discovery of a Swiss restaurant in SF. There aren't so many Swiss restaurants in America, maybe three dozen. But one is on Van Ness Blvd. in SF. You enter next to a life size cow (a sign advises you not to ride the cow), down a corridor of Swiss figurines and paintings of the Alps. One table is wedged into a retired gondola. The rest of the restaurant is all pine benches with wool cushions emblazoned with the Swiss flag.
Windows look out on a dioarama of the Rhaetian Railway, which has been described as the most scenic train journey in the world, winding through the Swiss Alps. The restaurant is called the Matterhorn, after the tallest mountain in Europe. I've seen the minature version at Disneyland, but Samuel had the opportunity to see the real one in a recent trip to the country. Hence, his interest in all things Swiss. Steven and Samuel started our meal with Swiss wine and the Swiss version of French onion soup. Swiss wine is hard to find in America. Samuel tells us that's because there is little of it, and the Swiss drink 90% of it, so little left for the rest of us. Steven said the wine was very agreeable, went down easily. This was followed with an appetizer heavy on the cheese, with picked vegetables and potatoes.
This was then followed by an entree of fondue. At the Matterhorn you can choose from nine (9!) types. We selected the Heimet, which is "fragrant and herbaceous." Imagine a boiling pot of cheese, a long fondue skewer, and more pickled vegetables, bread and small potatoes. I pause here for an aside. In the late 1970's, fondue was all the craze in Southern California. The young Chesslers were not immune. Steven recalls one of his siblings stuck (impaled?) himself with the fondue fork. Steven doesn't recall it warranted a trip to the ER, but it was in the context of this uncomfortable memory that Steven returned to fondue. Samuel explained to us that in the frigid Alps the Swiss had to keep up their energy with stale bread and melted cheese. It certainly is filling and tasty, and dare I say fun to coat your bread, pickles and potatoes with creamy cheese. We finished with ice cream topped with warm espresso (affaggatto). It is too rich for daily fare and the mild temperatures of SF, but definitely a memorable experience. Like all SF restaurants, it is not inexpensive, but definitively put it in your bucket list.
