Chicago – The Windy City?
Not the kind of wind you think.
Apparently, Chicago is so-named not for gale forces but because the natives supposedly talk a lot and, as a result of so much talking, the city is windy. Seriously. I think that might be the lamest thing I have ever heard. I found out that little gem during a free walking tour of downtown Chicago provided by the hostel. The tour was quite good – the fellow that lead the tour had lived in Chicago his whole life (he was old too) and it wasn’t so much a walk as a dawdle downtown. I like dawdling, it is much better than walking. Anyway, he showed the group the sights downtown and was quite knowledgeable with dates, names, events etc.
The following day I ventured out to the Field Museum of Natural History. This is located on the Musueum Campus near Grant Park, and is also home to the Shedd Aquarium and the Adler Planetarium. It seems though that once you have been to a natural history museum, you have been to them all as it was a lot like the American Museum of Natural History in New York. So I experienced a bit of déjà vu for most of the day but to be fair there were some interesting exhibits. My favourites were an impressive bug collection and Sue – the most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex ever found.
After the Field Museum, I visited the Shedd Aquarium. It was a lot like any other aquarium with similar types of exhibits you would see anywhere but they also had a family of Beluga Whales, which were delightful. It is worth going to the Shedd just to see the Belugas. My admission also included an IMAX show which was a little anti-climatic and painful. Anti-climatic because it was one of those Antarctic documentaries narrated by the soothing tones of David Attenborough so naturally one begins to enter a vegetative state until it is all cut short only after 20 minutes. It wasn’t just me either – the entire audience was like Oh!? when the lights came on and the automated PA lady told us to get out. Painful because it came with 4D special effects such as a jab in the back through your chair when the Great White Shark explodes out of the water to devour its unsuspecting prey. I think it is supposed to scare you but really it just fucking hurts.
The following day was my failed attempt at a glimpse of Oprah which you can read about in my last post. I also browsed the outside walls of the Tribune Tower which were kind of cool because imbedded in the walls is a rock collection containing pieces of significant landmarks from around the world. Some good ones were a chunk of Edinburgh Castle, some twisted metal from the World Trade Center and a piece of the Great Wall of China. There was even some tiles from the Sydney Opera House. How about that.
After some Oprah recovery the following morning (ie sleeping until midday), I visited the National Vietnam Veterans’ Art Museum. Of all the museums I will visit over the next few weeks, I think this will be my favourite. There were a lot of photographs, paintings and sculptures. Some were funny, some were depressing, all were amazing. There were also a couple of areas with displays by troops in Afghanistan and Iraq, which was appropriate I think. One of my favourite items was a photo album belonging to Jo Collins – a Playboy Playmate from the 60s. She visited troops in Vietnam after Hugh Hefner received a letter and money order for a lifetime subscription to Playboy from an American soldier. The first issue of a lifetime subscription is supposed to be personally delivered by a Playmate and since the soldier requested Jo Collins (’if it wouldn’t be too much trouble’) she decided to pay them a visit. And hand deliver the first issue of course. For her efforts, she was made an honorary soldier and she donated her photo album cataloging her Vietnam visit to the Museum.
Next on my to-do list was the Adler Planetarium. Talk about disappointment. If it wasn’t for the two IMAX shows included in my admission, it would have been a complete waste of time. Many of the exhibits were closed for renovation and there wasn’t many exhibits to start with. There is a bit of history attached to the place but really the best thing about Adler is the view of Chicago which you can enjoy without even going inside.
The following day I attempted to visit the University of Chicago campus but it would seem I took the wrong train and got off at the wrong station because I ended up in some Godforsaken place where it appeared I was the only white person. Since I was getting some looks that indicated I shouldn’t be there, I walked to the next station and got back on the train to the safety of downtown. All was not lost however, as I paid a visit to the Chicago Cultural Center to check out the impressive Tiffany glass domes – see the pretty pictures below.
After my little train fuck-up, I decided to stick to taking the bus and went to the Museum of Science and Industry. Although aimed mostly at families with noise polluting children and lousy opening hours, there were a lot of interesting things to see. So I watched chickens hatch in the genetics lab and checked out the U-505 Submarine – the only German submarine in the United States captured by the Americans during WWII. It was actually really interesting and alone worth the admission. You can read about it here:
http://www.msichicago.org/whats-here/exhibits/u-505/
The Museum also had a special screening of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince in IMAX so I thought fuck it, I’m going to go. Pity it was supposed to be the after-hours adult screening and I had to sit next to children that like to pee and play with their mobile phones during the movie. Otherwise it was good.
The following day I made a visit to Navy Pier and had a ride on the ferris wheel then went to Sears Tower for a view of Chicago from 103 storeys – see above for the sunset over Chicago. I then got lost trying to find my way back to the hostel. Navigating Chicago is actually pretty easy – after the Great Fire of 1871, the city was rebuilt right on top of the smouldering ruins of the old one (as you do) using a grid formation. Also, Lake Michigan is on the east so if you just head towards the Lake, you know you’re going east. Unfortunately, I left Sears Tower after dark so of course I couldn’t see the fucking Lake. So after wandering in every direction but east for about an hour, I finally made it back to downtown and a bus stop that would get me a bus somewhere helpful.
Last on my to-do list was the Peggy Notebaert Nature Museum and the John Hancock Observatory. The Nature Museum was a bit blah and I was able to do the place over in about an hour. However, admission wasn’t expensive and the butterfly house was very cool (well actually it was kind of hot and humid to keep the butterflies happy). Since Peggy didn’t take up nearly as much time as I had anticipated, I decided to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo which was just across the road. This is a free (!) zoo, which was a good thing because a lot of the animals were a little camera shy. Finally, a visit to John Hancock for some Snickers Bar Cheesecake (yes, there were Snickers Bars baked into the cheesecake) at the Cheesecake Factory and some more Chicago views at the Observatory. Although not as high as Sears Towers – only 94 storeys – the John Hancock Building is much closer to Lake Michigan so I think the view is much nicer. And the lines are shorter, which always gets my vote.
Peace out.
Only a mother would love its baby beluga, they are somewhat ugly. Pretty butterflies and pretty sunset. Will you be sending some of the Snickers Bar Cheesecake home or will you just bring the recipe???