Greetings Family and Friends,

Those dogs would be my feet. They do have a point. They were under the impression that this series of On the Flip Side would be an extended road trip featuring a lot of driving with only reasonable amounts of walking. Well Chicago is like a European city – luring one of out of one’s automobile and onto its streets. And given the number of sites worthy of being seen and attractions needing to be visited (and I certainly didn’t get to all of them), the price to be paid is extremely sore feet (as in a blister under each).

My initial draw to Chicago was the museum ship U-505 which is the only German U-boat from World War II in the United States. It is housed in the Griffin Museum of Science & Industry. The U-Boat, as well as its extensive supporting exhibits, can be viewed as part of the general admission ticket. To board the U-Boat, one must purchase an additional ticket for a guided tour of the submarine. U-505 appears to be in very good condition, though they have done some cutting and removing to facilitate easier walk through of the sub. One thing that struck me as we went through the German sub in comparison to World War II vintage US submarines was the old world style touches – wooden (and not painted over) cabinetry. Just gave off a vibe of being a bit more than just functional. The sub was captured by the US Navy and initially taken back to America where it and its crew were held in secret so as to keep the Germans unaware that the Americans had a German U-boat. After the war, the U-boat was utilized to sell bonds up and down the eastern seaboard. It arrived in Chicago via the efforts of the then captain of the escort carrier involved in the capture, later an admiral of the US Navy. Eventually a big hole was dug and the U-boat slowly dragged into the pit where a structure was then built around it as part of the museum.

The Griffin Museum of Science & Industry has a myriad of other exhibits. I took in a few others but certainly nowhere close to all. Would love to come back for another go around. The Great Train Story is an HO scale model railroad of the deluxe variety – as in jumbo size. Models Chicago and Seattle with the scenery in between. Check out the gallery below for photos of many different parts of the layout. Yesterday’s Main Street is an exhibit that has several life-size depictions of storefronts from the early 1900s – reminded me of Main Street at Disneyland. Photos can also be found below in the gallery. The Pioneer Zephyr was a bold leader of passenger trains back in the day when streamliners began to appear on the railroads. Really nicely preserved and restored passenger train consist. You know where to find the photos. Colleen Moore’s Fairy Castle is a beautiful and fanciful diorama of a castle and its various rooms. Lastly, took the tour (additional ticket required) for the Coal Mine. This tour takes you down into an old coal mine showing off the equipment and methods used in coal mining through the years. A short mine train ride is part of the tour as well as various demonstrations of equipment – some of which can be a bit startling, all of which are noisy. One ascends a few flight of stairs before using a lift to descend into the mine – thus one actually only descends a bit below street level. The Coal Mine was the museum’s first exhibit back in 1933.

The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the top rated visitor destinations for the city. It has quite a collection of Impressionist paintings and especially by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Now to be clear – I make no pretensions as to being an art connoisseur! I have been to the Musee de Louvre (Paris) and Museo del Prado (Madrid) where I enjoyed the experience though my appreciation is decidedly amateurish. With that in mind, the Art Institute of Chicago is well laid out and thus easy to navigate and enjoy. Yes – I did reach a point at the Louvre where it did take me an inordinate amount of time to find the exit. Check out the photos in the gallery below. Understand though that I did not cover the entire museum and thus the sample is of a limited nature.

The Field Museum of Natural History has some great views of the city from its terraces as well as some interesting exhibits. There are several dinosaur displays that I photographed but the most interesting exhibit, in my opinion, was that of the Egyptian artifacts. They have a re-creation of a burial complex with two of the rooms featuring actual murals from ancient Egypt – some of them still showing color. Check out a few samples in the gallery below. I also enjoyed the precious stones (including gold) exhibit with its detailed explanations on the various gemstones. Again check out the pictures below.

Took an architectural tour of the city by boat on the Chicago River. The amount of information provided by tour guide was simply exhaustive. My brain was swimming with the various architectural styles and how they came about over time as well as the stories associated with individual buildings. Took a lot of photos as one can see in the gallery below. Also, there are some photos from a walk along the river. End of summer and start of autumn appears to be a nice time for gathering next to the Chicago River.

Another stroll was along the iconic Navy Pier. Special views of Lake Michigan and the Chicago cityscape. Within the building stretching almost the entire length of the pier are many eateries as well as shops and entertainment venues. Just pass the entrance is a carousel and a Ferris wheel.

That’s it for now. As always, feel free to share this link with anyone who expresses an interest. Lastly, a very heartfelt thank you to a friend of over 40 years. Thanks Steve for your recommendations for Chicago – should have listened more closely over the years and made the trip earlier! Next stop is where one finds three very different types of vessels.

Until later,

Papi