Let’s skip the introduction of how where and when – this will follow in my next post – and get right to it: Chicago is such an amazing city and there couldn’t have been a better way to start our 3 weeks in the States.

After being up for more than 24 hours, we finally arrived at our hotel in the River North neighbourhood around 8pm on 21 September 2018. A friendly chatter with the reception staff and a quick look outside the window at night time Chicago later, we fell into our beds, exhausted but excited for the upcoming weeks. And the adventure should begin right the next morning – after a good night’s sleep in our big comfy hotel beds.

And how else could we start our first day in the States than with pancakes and PBJ bagels for breakfast. Fuelled with plenty of sugar we made our way to Cloud Gate and blended right in with all the tourists taking the obligatory mirror pictures with The Bean. Walking through Millenium Park and enjoying the sunny weather, we made our way back up to Navy Pier where our Architecture Boat Tour would start. Our tour, as all others, was pretty pricy but worth every cent of those $46. Although we couldn’t understand our guide 100% of the time, it was really impressive to see all the buildings along the river and hear their stories. But learning and walking so much and being so photogenic all day really makes you hungry and so we decided to give that deep dish pizza that everyone was talking about a try. Lou Malnati’s was supposedly the right address for our cravings and I got to say, the cookie pizza we got for free as a dessert for them messing up our order was probably the greatest thing I’ve ever tasted! The pizza was pretty good as well. To round up our perfect first day in Chicago we went to Gino’s East – River North Comedy Club. For $20 per person we enjoyed some first class stand up comedy and went to bed with big smiles on our faces.

Our 2nd day was filled with bike rides through parks and along the water (bikes can be rented via app for a couple of bucks everywhere around the city), more picture taking, football at Mother Hubbard’s Sports Pub, drinks and amazing views from the 95th floor of the John Hancock Center and a huge piece of cake from the Cheese Cake Factory which made us get up extra early the next morning to burn off all those wonderful calories. Chicago really offers some great bike paths to explore the city and it is so much nicer to be outside than to be sitting on a touristy bus tour. For our nightly plans we had several options for rooftop bars and observation decks to enjoy the view over Chicago by night but decided for the Signature Room Bar at the John Hancock Center. Instead of paying a tremendous entry fee, we invested a little bit of time to wait in line and $30 bugs into our drinks which we enjoyed right by the window overlooking the lights of all the skyscrapers and shops of the Magnificent Mile.

After two packed days in the city, Chicago left us amazed by its architectural beauty, surprised by its amount of parks and outdoor areas, satisfied from its greasy deep dish pizza and simply wanting more, since the city is definitely a place where one could spend more than just two days. But, after this first stop, there were many more to come and who could say no to even more adventures that lie ahead?