Milwaukee, WI, USA

Going to Chicago (of which more later) gave me the opportunity to get out and about a little.  This included a 90 minute train ride up the lake to a new city and a new state in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 

The first thing I noticed about being there was that there were hills!  Chicago is very flat (possibly causing it to be windy) and looking back Detroit and Toronto were fairly flat too (Niagara Falls excluded!).  Not as hilly as (say) a Bristol, but some slopes never-the-less!

There are two main museums in Milwaukee that I visited.  The first was the Milwaukee Art Museum, situated on the lake.  It is currently in the middle of some serious remodelling (apparently - you couldn't see where the work was going on) which meant that there was only a special exhibition open.  This was fine - in a "here's one bit of art from a number of artists" kinda way, but I got the impression that it would have been far better had it been fully open (and much better value).  They were also setting up for an art fair at the weekend, so more of the museum and grounds were closed off than normal.  The second was the Milwaukee Public Museum, which is a natural history/science/history museum.  It had a lot of content, but wasn't particularly engaging.  The fact that they were advertising their first new permanent exhibit for over a decade shows it is relatively old fashioned.  The best bit was a butterfly room, where you were in the room with the butterflies (and had to check they were all off you before leaving!)

However, there were also a number of other things to see in Milwaukee.  There was a public market which was interesting, a war memorial (which was a building rather than just a statue as might be elsewhere) and a Cathedral which had a dramatic modern statue of Christ on the cross hanging over the alter.  Around town you could also see the German influence on buildings and industries - there is a lot of local brewing and even a German Sausage firm!  I also had the local delicacy for lunch - deep fried curd cheese which was delicious.

Given my previous comments on the use (or otherwise) of trains in America, it is worth noting that Milwaukee is spending a lot of money on redoing it train station at the moment - it meant that we had to get on and off by walking over tracks, but it should be impressive when it is done.

All in all a nice place for a day trip - quieter and more open than the other places I have visited, but with very friendly people and a good atmosphere.