Slawek and I moved to the States in March 2001 and lived there for 4 years. Although we were both born in Lodz, the second biggest city in Poland, we were still coming from a small, European country and we really did not have any idea what to expect from a mysterious place on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean...
We landed at O’Hare International Airport close to Chicago and that was the first time we came in direct contact with the enormity and magnitude of what we were about to witness. O’Hare is the pride and joy of the America’s aviation network. This major airport is located 27km (17 miles) north-west of the Chicago city. 54 international passenger carriers operate out of 186 aircraft gates throughout 4 terminals (1, 2, 3 and 5). Only last year, O’Hare had almost 882.000 aircraft operations (an average of over 2.400 per day which means that two planes land or depart there every minute!) and served almost 70 million passengers!!! We were really stunned with the enormity and busyness of the airport...
We landed at O’Hare International Airport close to Chicago and that was the first time we came in direct contact with the enormity and magnitude of what we were about to witness. O’Hare is the pride and joy of the America’s aviation network. This major airport is located 27km (17 miles) north-west of the Chicago city. 54 international passenger carriers operate out of 186 aircraft gates throughout 4 terminals (1, 2, 3 and 5). Only last year, O’Hare had almost 882.000 aircraft operations (an average of over 2.400 per day which means that two planes land or depart there every minute!) and served almost 70 million passengers!!! We were really stunned with the enormity and busyness of the airport...
Chicago made a huge impression on us as well. First of all, it is the largest city in the State of Illinois and the third most crowded city in the United States. The whole Chicago metropolitan area with suburbs has a population of more than 9.6 million people...
Slawek and I were really overwhelmed with everything... the enormousness of the Windy City totally devoured us... wide streets... spacious cars... cavernous factories... high sky-scrapers overlooking the Chicago area from far above the ground... back then, we started understanding the American ideas of space and territorialism...
Chicago, a bustling, full of life city never goes to sleep. There are so many things going on there 24 hours per day that you simply cannot be bored: outstanding cultural attractions and world-famous museums, architectural marvels, diverse districts and neighbourhoods, highly praised restaurants, great sport events, remarkable theatres, shopping and exciting nightlife - you can always find something interesting to do or to see...
The most noteworthy places of interest and cultural institutions include the Chicago History Museum, the Adler Planetarium, the Astronomy Museum, the Shed Aquarium/Oceanarium, the Field Museum of Natural History, the Museum of Science and Industry (my favourite one!), the Art Institute of Chicago (one of the world’s leading art museums), the Museum of Contemporary Photography and the Museum of Contemporary Art.
Chicago has got fantastic attractions that offer hours of fun and enjoyment to a lot of people... One of them is Navy Pier.
This historic lakefront pier features the 46m tall Ferries Wheel, the Chicago Children’s Museum, the IMAX theatre, the famous Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, the Smith Museum of Stained Glass Windows, a musical carousel, Wave Swinger ride, a 3-D Time Escape ride, a concert stage, a ballroom, shops, restaurants, gardens and parks...
Another one, Millenium Park, is the centre for music, arts, landscape and architecture design. It has got art pavilions, stylish outdoor concert venue, ice-skating ring, interactive fountains, contemporary garden, landscape walkways and Cloud Gate – the 110-ton sculpture made from highly polished stainless steel plates which reflect Chicago’s great skyline and clouds above.
The Chicago Cultural Centre, the most comprehensive art platform, features two art-glass domes and shimmering mosaic walls and provides great ways of enjoying the world’s contemporary, performing, visual and literary arts.
Chicago’ architecture is very unique and innovative. Many architectural wonders can be found in the city, from historic landmark buildings to contemporary technological masterpieces. Great architects and designers, such as Frank Lloyd Wright, Daniel Burnham, Helmut Jahn Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and many others, have helped to put Chicago’s buildings on a pedestal of American architecture. Downtown’s historic buildings include the Chicago Board of Trade Building,
the Merchandise Mart and the Home Insurance Building, very stylish Heritage at Millenium Park, the Water Tower Place, Smurfit-Stone Building, The Auditorium Building, the MoMo Building and The Legacy.
Chicago’s skyline is amongst the tallest in the world and include the Aon Center, the John Hancock Center and the most famous – the Sears Tower.
The Sears Tower is a magnificent, 442m tall skyscraper overlooking the Chicago area. It is the tallest building in North America and the fourth tallest building in the world. It has one of the best life safety systems ever devised for a very high building to protect against fires, high winds, earthquakes and other incidents.
The Sears Tower observation deck is one of the most famous attractions in Chicago.
You can see not only the great landscape of Chicago metropolitan area and Illinois but also Lake Michigan and the states of Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. The Sears Tower observation deck is located 412m above the ground on the 103rd floor. One of the two elevators take you there in about 60 seconds and you can also experience how the building sways on a windy day :)
Once you get to Chicago, you can never be hungry. Great restaurants offer culinary specialties that suit every taste, every mood and every budget: from Chicago-style hot dogs, burgers and pizza to pirogues, smoked ostrich and fancy, extravagant dishes from around the world.
Although Chicago is one of the world’s greatest and most exciting, sophisticated and stylish cities, you can find many free things to do there throughout the year: entry to the Lincoln Park Zoo, the Millenium Park and Navy Pier is free of charge; there are no admission charges to visit the Oriental Institute, the National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago Botanic Garden, Garfield Park Conservatory and Lincoln Park Conservatory, Archicentre/City and Space Gallery, Historic Water Tower, Hyde Park Art Centre, Museum of Contemporary Photography, Smart Museum, Smith Museum of Stained Glass and many more.
You can really have fun all year around. And just when you think you have seen it all, you better think twice as there is always something new and exciting to see in Chicago and the Windy City offers you a wide variety of things to do.
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