We took our annual trip to Chicago on Wednesday. The weather was quite possibly the most pleasant we have ever experienced, temperatures in the 40s and very little wind. We took a new strategy for lunch at Chistkindlmarket. Instead of eating one thing each, we shared a brat (no sauerkraut, which Terry feels masks the excellence of the brat), currywurst, and potato pancakes. I was in charge of procuring the food while Terry got the beers. We ended up having two courses. As shown in the photo, the window for sausage was separate from the window for potato pancakes, which was fine as I only had two hands. While some of the food vendors had long lines, these two did not.
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| Side by side potato pancake and bratwurst vendors |
I had the food before Terry got back from his mission. By some kind of miracle, I was able to colonize an empty table just as he appeared in the distance with two cups. It was a good day to be wearing a red coat as he spotted me in the crowd right away.
After lunch, we walked up to Michigan Avenue. We didn’t even
bother with the windows at the store formerly known as Marshall Field’s (now
Macy). So lame. We entered the store at the perfume department by mistake. It
always makes me sneeze. The upside was that we admired the Tiffany ceiling
before escaping to less contaminated air.
Mostly we stop by Macy to use the restrooms. One of Marshall Field’s brilliant marketing innovations was to make restrooms available to patrons, reasoning that ladies would stay longer in the store if they could pee. I was grateful to Mr. Field as I carried on this century-old tradition, although to be honest, we only stayed long enough to go to the 7th floor to see the tree in the Walnut Room. The 8th floor viewing area closed during Covid, more’s the pity. The 7th floor had its usual assortment of ornaments and other decorations. I liked this star and nutcracker. This year’s theme was “Give Love,” which on one hand, is a lovely sentiment, and on the other is a cynical marketing theme. Stuff does not equal love.
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| "Give love" and nutcracker at Macy's |
On to Centennial Park, where we were welcomed by the City of Chicago Christmas Tree, a 55’ tall Colorado blue spruce. Each year, an individual in the Chicago area donates the tree. This year’s tree came from Morton Grove. Harvesting the tree is a big deal. All the news stations send out crews.
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| 55-foot blue spruce in Centennial Park |
The ice rink was going to open at 1:00, about 15 minutes after we got there. We watched the Zamboni drive around in circles. I’m not sure why it took two men to do this task. I waited to take the picture until I could get Cloud Gate (a.k.a., “the Bean”) in the background.
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| Preparing to open the ice rink |
Here is Terry walking toward me as I took a picture of the city reflected in the Bean.
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| Terry and the Bean |
And here he is posing for a photo. I’m in the background in the red coat.
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| Terry and I on the Bean |
When we passed the Tribune Tower, I was intrigued by a sign for the Ice Cream Museum. We walked down the south side of the building, reading the captions to all the pieces of mostly ancient structures from around the world (e.g., the Parthenon). This one was relatively recent.
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| A recent addition to the Tribune Tower. So sad. |
The Ice Cream Museum was secretive. Nothing but the gift
shop was visible through the windows. Terry engaged the woman at the entrance
in a brief conversation in which he learned that admission included all the ice
cream you could eat and some of said ice cream was booze-infused. Price tag:
$36. I could not imagine ever eating enough ice cream to make that worthwhile,
but Terry thought it might be a fun place to visit in the summer. We’ll have to
save up.
We walked all the way to the Hancock, where we had a beer in the Signature Lounge on the 96th floor. I had a Top View Brew, a wheat ale specially formulated for the Signature Lounge by the Crystal Lake Brewing Company. I’ve gotten familiar with the brewery as a Covid destination because they have outdoor tables. I recommended the Beach Blonde for Terry, and was proud of myself for remembering the name. I usually have to ask the bar tender for their lightest, least bitter beer. Like most micro-breweries, they make an inordinate number of very hoppy IPAs. Bleah.
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| Top View Brew and top view |
No visit to the Signature Lounge is complete without a trip to the Ladies’ room. Best restroom view in the city. So sad for Terry--the men’s does not have windows.
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| View from the ladies' room on the 96th floor |
We walked down the other side of Michigan Avenue to get back
to Christkindlmarket, where Terry had another brat, I had potato pierogies with
bacon, onion, and sour cream on the top, and we had two more beers. I bought a
chocolate croissant for the ride home. I shall eat no more forever.
There were no tables available, so we had to walk around with our food and beverages. One cannot leave the market with beer. We passed a stall selling German beer steins as well as these hoodies. If it were up to me, I would divide Germany between the R and the M.
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| GERM_ANY hoody |
We barely made the 3:45 train back home. It was a fun day.
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