Travel The World / Chicago

Since our trip to the USA comes nearer and nearer (we only have 33 days left till our vacation ) I wanted to make a post about Chicago. It is my most favorite city in the world!

When we lived in the USA, our home was close to Chicago and we used to go there often on our free time. After many fun filled times in Chicago, it has become "our town". We always recommend it to others and we wouldn't mind living there.

Why to love Chicago? Let me tell you...

Chicago is a huge city. There are 9 443 356 people living in the metropolitan area of Chicago. Still the city has a feeling of small town. People are very friendly and they are easy to approach. Chicago has people from all over the world.

Architecture in Chicago is awesome! There are so many cool looking buildings and sky scrapers in the city. Did you know that Chicago was the first city in the world to build a sky scraper? That is because most of the buildings within the downtown area of Chicago were destroyed by the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. That's why Chicago had to build the city back up quickly, and they came up with a new style of building called steel-skeleton construction. Before the people in Chicago knew it, the first sky scraper was built 1885. Because of the fire and new inventions, the buildings in Chicago are not know for being old but they are known for their originality. I love the tall and unique buildings that Chicago has!

Some of the buildings.

The most famous building that survived the fire is the Water tower. It still stands in the heart of downtown Chicago.

Chicago has a great public transportation called CTA (Chicago Transit Authority). It includes bus lines and an elevated subway system that the locals call the "L". Both buses and the L are a good way to get around the city. The L has a color coded system that is easy to use. The L color coded lines are Red, Blue, Green, Orange, Brown, Purple, Pink, and Yellow. Both the Red and Blue lines offer 24 hour service which makes Chicago one of the few cities in the world to offer subway service every day of the year for 24 hours. The L also goes to both Midway (Orange line) and O'Hare Airports (Blue line).

Since the L stands for elevated, it really means that the subway is elevated from the streets. Here's picture  of the traffic under the L tracks.

Chicago loves sports. My favorites are the hockey team Chicago Blackhawks and the baseball team Chicago Cubs. Other teams you can find in Chicago are the White Sox for baseball, Chicago Bulls for basketball and Chicago Bears for football. Besides just watching sports, people in Chicago do sports themselves. You see people running at the parks and the beach all the time. I love to walk along the Lake Michigan shoreline and see all the huge buildings hovering in the skyline right next to you. 

Go Cubs!

My favorite; Chicago Blackhawks.

Besides all the things that I already mentioned, there are so many other things to see and do. Here's a quick list of things that I like to do in Chicago:

-Shopping on the Magnificent mile

-Going to the hights at the Willis Tower (formerly named the Sears Tower) or the John Hancock building (my favorite sky scraper in Chicago)

-Spending an afternoon at Navy Pier

-Checking out China Town

-Having fun at the Museum of Science and Industry

-Finding your favorite shops, cafes and other venues along the Clark street

-Taking a boat tour on the Chicago river ( I have never done this but I have always wanted to)

-Admiring animals at the Lincoln Park Zoo (free admission! I haven't been there yet but maybe I'll go there on my upcoming trip)
-Taking a trolley ride once your feet get tired from walking.

Everytime when we visit Chicago, we go to the John Hancock building's Signature lounge at 96th for drinks and an awesome view.

Scott in Chicago 2008.

Walking on the busy streets of Chicago.

The famous Chicago Theare on State Street. The building was built 1921, and the theatre is now a performing arts venue for stage plays, magic shows, comedy, speeches, and popular music concerts.

I love Chicago at night! It looks so cool with all the lights, bridges, buildings and the river.

Chicago is also known as the Windy City. One reason for that name is the bitter wind that blows from the Lake Michigan. Even though Chicago is not significantly windier than any other city in the US many Americans still like to call it the Windy City. The other reasons for the nick name are the World's Fair, and the rivalry with the city of Cincinnati. I like to think that the nick name Windy City comes from the weather. It just makes the most sense.
The weather in Chicago is also one of the reasons why I like the city so much. Chicago has all 4 seasons. I love the hotter than hot summers but I also like the snow at Christmas time. It would be terrible to have only one season.

Sometimes the wind and freezing rain from the Lake Michigan is just too much.

Terrible snow storm 2010. The snow blew from the lake and covered the cars driving on the Lake Shore Drive.

Usually ice only covers about 50% of the Lake Michigan during the peak time in February.

Summer in Chicago is awesome.

That's it! Chicago in a nutshell. I love the city and recommend everyone to take a trip there because I bet you will love it too! I will definitely take a lot of new pictures of Chicago on our vacation and I will then share them with you guys. I can't wait...