From Nestor Falls to Chicago

After a wonderful week in our lakeside house, we continued south. In the ugly industrial city of International Falls, we wanted to cross the border into the USA. So far, this had always been completely problem-free. They asked a few questions, thought it was great that we could travel for so long, wished us a good trip, bye bye. But this time we were waved over, led into the US immigration building, and asked many questions. Then the lady disappeared with our passports for about 15 minutes. In the end, she found that our visas were in order and that we had not been in the USA for too long. We definitely don't want to work there! So we were allowed to continue driving.

And then on the long drive we passed by two national parks that we had never heard of. We got off the road, went to the visitor center, and had very nice conversations explaining the park. They also openly reported that these are among the least visited parks in the USA. Conversations with the rangers are always very nice and you can bet that everyone has either been to Germany or has a parent from Germany. You get the feeling that 100% of Americans were stationed in 🇩🇪. From Lahr to Mannheim, Schweinfurt, Wiesbaden, and so on. It was only today in the supermarket that the conversation came up again that I'm from Germany, whereupon the lady at the cash register immediately wished me a good day and explained in German that her mom is from Düsseldorf.

https://www.nps.gov/voya/index.htm

https://www.nps.gov/sacn/index.htm

We took few photos because the parks can only be experienced from the water and we were unfortunately there for too short a time. Since we had to go to Chicago, we couldn't stay there spontaneously either.

And why did we have to go to Chicago: because of two soccer games ⚽️⚽️ On the first evening, a women's game, Chicago Red Stars against North Carolina Courage, and on the second evening, Bastian Schweinsteiger against Red Bull New York. Schweini 🐷 is extremely popular here, people celebrate him and every 2nd person is wearing his jersey. Without him, the team probably wouldn't have lost 1-0, but 3 or 4-0. He organizes everything on the field, has the game in view, and occasionally despairs of his teammates. The atmosphere was good on both evenings, but it can't be compared to Europe. That may also be due to the terrible - but expensive - beer that is served 🍻🤦🏻‍♀️ The Americans are pain-free in that regard. $20 is spent on parking, $10 for a beer, $12 for nachos, and $5 for a water. A t-shirt costs between $30 and $45, a jersey between $90 and $150. But everyone eats and drinks all the time and wears the clothes from the fan shop. That's why we Germans are somehow too stingy.

We threw our money away on Sunday. At least for parking in the city center. 6 hours, $37 😡 in comparison, the museum was a bargain 💵💰 $25. For that price, you get to see one of the best-stocked museums we have visited so far. They really have everything. From Byzantium to Rome to Asia to Islamic art to the Middle Ages, the Impressionists, the Expressionists, Europe, the USA, South America, very modern, everything is there. On a whim, I can think of Cranach, Miro, Hopper, Warhol, Jasper Jones, Chagall, Picasso, Monet, and many more. If any of you should ever be in Chicago, the museum is worth every cent. Including a coffee break, we spent 4 1/2 hours there and didn't see everything.

http://www.artic.edu

Afterwards, we walked around Chicago a bit. The city definitely has its beautiful sides. We simply prefer nature, so we didn't stay long in total. And then we drank a good American beer on the terrace in the suburb with our Italian-American landlord.