Samstag, 9. Juli 2016

Day 4 and 5 in wonderful vibrant Chicago

On Thursday the boys and I planned to discover some more Parks. We made it up to Millennium Park, it was again super hot and after putting our feet into the water at Lurie Graden, we decided we would walk no more outside and went straight to the Art Institute of Chicago. Old and new masters and a large collection of american art from the 1930 entertained us for some hours.

Seen at the Art Institute.

In the afternoon it started raining heavily and we thought we might need to chancel our planned walking tour. In the end it cleared up in time and we made it to the guided walking tour - reviving the ghosts of Chicago. We were introduced to Dr. H. H. Holmes, the devil in the white city, the clown serial killer, a fire in a fireproof theater and the boat tragedy during the work outing of the western electric company.

Federal prison in downtown Chicago - with roof top garden.
Friday was our last full day in Chicago and the boys and I decided that we had earned a day off from museums and walking the streets to sightsee. We packed our bathing suits and towels and off we went to the beach at Lake Michigan. The boys built great sand castles and we took a couple short dips in the lake. Very refreshing and the water quality did not seem that bad, nevertheless we took a shower after returning to the hotel.

We picked up F and went for some delicious food at Quartino. Slightly intoxicated we shot a wedding greetings video for friends in China and slowly walked down to the River and enjoyed the city at night.

Riverwalk at night.
Chicago is a wonderful city to visit in the summer. Great food, great music, great art and the full romantic city package. The best husband and I will be back some day without the boys to enjoy the many roof top bars, most of them are only 21 and up.

Family!

Good bye Chicago - be aware the Schuberts will be back!

Day 3 in wonderful vibrant Chicago

Day 3 started off late, it was already hot outside and the boys and I did not feel like spending a lot of time in the streets. So we headed to the Museum of Contemporary Art. We had great discussions about art and journalism. We enjoyed work by the Propeller Group,  learned about the Pulitzer Prize awardee Kevin Carter and discussed the work of Kerry James Marshell. Very stimulating.

Staircase in the MCA.
K learning about sound.
Discussing Marshalls work.
In the garden of the MCA.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the Watertower, where a small informative exhibition about the card game Cards Against Humanity was displayed. Besides creating a hilarious card game, the group also founded a non-profit to provide scholarships to women who want to proceed a scientific career, fully funded by the profits they make from their scientific extension pack. I just love it!

In the evening the best husband joined us again and we finally made it to the Hancock tower, on its 94th story, you have a nice 360 degree view onto Chicago with a visibility of up to 50 mile on a good day.  After that we moved quickly down Michigan Ave to Millennium Park. First of all F hadn't seen it yet and second in the summer they have free concerts there. We enjoyed a Charlie Chaplin movie accompanied by the Grant Park Orchestra. Listening to the music family had a wonderful picknick right there in the park.

Picknick in the park.
Nightly Skyline in the Bean.
Family portrait.

Day 1 and 2 in wonderful vibrant Chicago

We spent a few days in Chicago around the fourth of July. I cannot say that I felt in love with the city right away. The first day was really hot and misty, no wind around to move the smell, so my spoilt Californian outdoor nose was wrinkling and I could't really appreciate the city. Luckily that quickly changed once we reached the lake, that huge, great lake. A light breeze and happy people enjoying water-sports, biking, running, some drinks at the water front - just what we needed and were looking for.

We walked along the lake and the boys convinced us to rent one of these quad bikes to bike a bit along the water front. To be honest the bike tour wasn't really worth it's money, hidden fees almost doubled the listed price in the end, not really nice but I guess falling into one tourist trap always happens. We didn't mind, since the sun was out and we headed for some Mimosa and root beer float afterwards. Refilled family walked around the Navy Pier, which already started to fill up because of the 4th of July celebrations.
The day ended with our very first deep dish pizza, which was excellent and fire works at the waterfront after. A great welcome to Illinois.

The best husband went to work the next day and the boys and I went off to discover the city. We went down, Michigan Ave to get tickets for the architecture boat tour and then walked, following the river and lake front trail, to Maggie Daley Park. There is a wonderful playground in the Maggie Daley Park, and the boys enjoyed climbing the structures until it was too hot and we moved on to the Lurie Garden. This place is a small paradise in the city, we put our feet in the water and had a snack. Great for recharging. On the way back, we stopped at the Bean in Millennium Park. In the evening the best husband joined us for the boat tour.  We went with Wendella, the guide was funny and informative - all in all we had a great 75 min on the water and were really hungry afterwards. We opted for some seafood from the great lake. Walking the streets at night was wonderful and we were reminded on our days back in Berlin.
Off we go for our city tour. (Driehaus)
Water tower.
Finally at the lake.
Bike tour - K up front.
On the bike, view into town.
After bike tour Mimosa.
Self made root beer float.
At Navy Pier.
K on the USS Chicago Anchor.
Riverwalk views 1.
Riverwalk views 2 - Jeanne Gangs Aqua residential tower.
Lake trail view.
Feet in the water at Lurie Garden.
Recharging in the city.
The Bean. 
Skyline in the Bean.
Boat tour 1.
Skyline-boat tour.
Boat tour 2.
Marina City by Bertrand Goldberg, who was a student of Mies van der Rohe.
Along the river.
I could image spending some time there.
Boat tour 3.
Along the river 1.
Along the river 2.