The sun was shining warm, it was the perfect day for a visit to Alcatraz, probably the most famous prison in the world. It's only 2 kilometers from San Francisco, a very short boat trip. After landing on "The Rock" we saw a good Discovery Channel documentation about the rich history of this small island, which was a good starter for the visit. Alcatraz was fortified (but never attacked) just before the American Civil War. Then it became a military prison 1909 and a federal prison in 1934. On top of the hill is a huge cell building and a lightpost and there are many other buildings around it where the officers and their families etc lived..
A typical cell...
It was very crowded since it was Saturday and the perfect weather.
From the island there is a beautiful view over downtown San Francisco. Poor prisoners, they saw the city so near but out of reach. It's very understandable that so many tried to escape.
And this is the recreation yard, where Al Capone and the others spent their hours in the sun and counted their remaining days.
After such a hard day we decided to indulge ourselves with a nice evening at Hooters. Cold beer, a huge platter with chicken wings and a football game on tv is almost everything a man needs to be happy ;-)
A typical cell...
It was very crowded since it was Saturday and the perfect weather.
From the island there is a beautiful view over downtown San Francisco. Poor prisoners, they saw the city so near but out of reach. It's very understandable that so many tried to escape.
And this is the recreation yard, where Al Capone and the others spent their hours in the sun and counted their remaining days.
After such a hard day we decided to indulge ourselves with a nice evening at Hooters. Cold beer, a huge platter with chicken wings and a football game on tv is almost everything a man needs to be happy ;-)
