| Yesterday I woke up at 5:00 am Chicago time and I | | | | buttresses, is derived from the design of the French |
| figured I might as well get ahead of the crowd at the | | | | cathedral of Rouen and gives the building its striking |
| Arlington House Youth Hostel and take an early | | | | silhouette.The area around the Michigan Avenue Bridge |
| shower. At 6 am I was already on the Internet, | | | | and Esplanade looking westwards along the Chicago |
| recording my first impressions of this exciting city and | | | | River is an absolute mecca for an architecture buff like |
| by 6:30 am I had left the hostel. It was still pretty dark | | | | me. You'll find a mixture of classic skyscrapers, many |
| outside and the sun was just slowly starting to come | | | | of them built in Art Deco Style, as well as more |
| up.I walked through the quiet Lincoln Park | | | | modern skyscrapers built over the last 30 years. This |
| neighbourhood all the way to the Lake Michigan | | | | has to be one of the most impressive urban vistas in |
| Shoreline where the cool wind was just howling off | | | | existence anywhere.I continued to walk west on |
| the lake. Joggers, bicyclists and power walkers were | | | | Wacker Drive and walked past a number of the |
| already out in full force. I strolled around for about 15 | | | | north-south streets that connect the Loop with the |
| minutes, but when the wind got too strong I decided to | | | | areas north of downtown. I wanted to capture another |
| take a bus and head south to a neighbourhood called | | | | fascinating building: Merchandise Mart, an impressive |
| "Old Town", near North Street and N. Wells Street. It's | | | | building at the north bank of the Chicago river between |
| a tidy, well-kept neighbourhood of historic homes and | | | | Wells and Orleans street, was built in 1931. At that time, |
| the location of the Second City Comedy Club, a place | | | | when it was constructed by Marshall Field and |
| that has spawned so many comedic talents.After a | | | | Company to replace H.H. Ricardson's Marshall Field |
| brisk morning walk around Old Town I hopped back on | | | | Wholesale store, it was the building with the largest |
| the el-train and went to check out downtown. I got off | | | | floor area in the world and today it is the second |
| in the Loop and headed out towards the openness of | | | | largest building in the United States after the |
| Michigan Avenue and Grant Park. Interestingly the wind | | | | Pentagon.A short hop on the el-train later I got off at |
| in between the buildings | | | | Randolph Street to pick up my friend Linda who was |
| in the Loop was much stronger than in the open | | | | scheduled to arrive at 10:25 am on the South Shore |
| areas just off the Lake Michigan Shoreline.Michigan | | | | Railway Line. We have known each other since we |
| Avenue and Grant Park are one of the areas where | | | | are 10 years old (almost 30 years!) and grew up in |
| Chicago's beauty is most striking. Daniel Burnham's city | | | | Austria, and Linda herself moved to the United States |
| plan of 1909 that preserved a huge amount of green | | | | a few years ago. We hadn't seen each other for 2 |
| space right on the shoreline of Lake Michigan was a | | | | years and this was the time to reconnect.Linda arrived |
| brilliant decision, and visitors and local residents alike | | | | a few minutes late and after a heart-felt greeting we |
| benefit from the huge green zone between the Loop | | | | headed off to the Chicago Cultural Center to try to |
| and the lake. Grant Park's beginnings actually date all | | | | pick up a 3-day transit pass. Much to our surprise we |
| the way back to 1835, when foresighted citizens, | | | | were told that the closest location for multi-day transit |
| fearing commercial lakefront development, lobbied to | | | | passes was the Marriot Hotel at 549 North Michigan |
| protect the open space. Burnham's vision of the park | | | | Avenue, about 20 minutes walking north of where we |
| as a formal landscape with museums and civic | | | | were. We were a bit surprised that it would be so |
| buildings became reality: today Grant Park holds 3 of | | | | inconvenient for visitors arriving in the Loop to |
| the city's most distinguished museums: The Field | | | | purchase transit passes, but off we went with Linda's |
| Museum of Natural History, the Shedd Aquarium and | | | | suitcase in tow and we were finally able to pick up our |
| the Adler Planterium.The Buckingham Fountain is the | | | | coveted 3-day transit pass at the 2nd floor gift shop |
| centerpiece of Grant Park, the city's grand "front yard," | | | | of the Marriot Hotel.We decided to get rid of Linda's |
| and it is set within a handsomely landscaped garden, | | | | luggage and headed north towards the youth hostel on |
| one of the city's finest examples of a | | | | the bus. By that time it was about noon and we were |
| Beaux-Arts-style landscape design. It is an exact | | | | both voraciously hungry. So we plunked ourselves |
| replica of the fountain in Versailles, just twice as large, | | | | down at a cozy spot called the "Pasta Bowl" on Clark |
| and with those measurements it is one of the largest | | | | Street and I had a really delicious gorgonzola pasta |
| free-standing fountains in the world.At the north end of | | | | that I absolutely devoured.From there we went back |
| Grant Park is Millenium Park, at an investment of $495 | | | | to the Arlington House, dropped off Linda's luggage |
| million Chicago's most ambitious public undertaking. | | | | and rested for a bit since we were both pretty tired |
| Unsightly railroad tracks and parking lots were turned | | | | after this hefty lunch. At 4 pm we got going again and |
| into a multi-media outdoor entertainment area during | | | | headed down to the Golden Mile, Chicago's main |
| the last few years. Among Millennium Park's prominent | | | | shopping area along Michigan Avenue, north of the |
| features are the Frank Gehry-designed Jay Pritzker | | | | Chicago River. The place was absolutely hopping with |
| Pavilion, the most sophisticated outdoor concert venue | | | | people. We picked up a little gift for Linda's daughter at |
| of its kind in the United States; a winding mirror clad | | | | H&M and then headed up into the John Hancock |
| bridge over Stetson Street, designed by | | | | Centre, Chicago's third highest building.The view from |
| world-renowned architect Frank Gehry; and "Cloud | | | | the John Hancock Centre was amazing and the sun |
| Gate" ("The Bean"), a hugely popular sculpture inspired | | | | was just getting ready to set. Chicago's skyline is |
| by liquid mercury, designed by British artist Anish | | | | impressive, crowned as it is by the Sears Tower. |
| Kapoor. On this beautiful sunny morning, the reflections | | | | After our high altitude excursion we strolled along |
| of the city's skyscrapers had an almost surreal feel to | | | | Michigan Avenue and for dinner we headed back into |
| them.I still had about an hour and a half before my | | | | the Lincoln Park area where we had a very filling |
| friend Linda would arrive at the Randolph Street | | | | Mexican vegetarian burrito dinner on Lincoln |
| Station, so I decided to head north on Michigan Avenue | | | | Avenue.Exhausted from all this exploring and eating, |
| towards two of my favourite buildings: the Wrigley | | | | we went back to the Arlington House to crash in our |
| Building and the Chicago Tribune Tower. The Wrigley | | | | bunk bed...Susanne Pacher is the publisher of a |
| building serves as the headquarters of the Wrigley | | | | website called Travel and Transitions( Travel and |
| (chewing gum) company and was built in 1920 by the | | | | Transitions deals with unconventional travel and is |
| company's founder, William Wrigley Jr. It was the first | | | | chock full of advice, tips, real life travel experiences, |
| of a series of landmarks at the southern end of the | | | | interviews with travellers and travel experts, insights |
| Magnificent Mile.The design of the Tribune Tower was | | | | and reflections, cross-cultural issues, contests and |
| the result of an international competition for "the most | | | | many other features. You will also find stories about |
| beautiful office building in the world," held in 1922 by the | | | | life and the transitions that we face as we go through |
| Chicago Tribune newspaper. The various competition | | | | our own personal life-long journeys.Submit your own |
| entries proved extremely influential for the | | | | travel stories in our first travel story contest( and have |
| development of skyscraper architecture in the 1920s. | | | | a chance to win an amazing adventure cruise on the |
| The winning entry, with a crowning tower with flying | | | | Amazon River. |