Little Outdoor Adventures in Chicago

Little Outdoor Adventures in Chicago, USA

Chicago, located by the Lake Michigan is called the „Windy City” and is the second biggest city in the US with many tourist options to choose from. The outdoor escapes and urban adventure, with the iconic city skyline  is the best to explore in summertime. Board the number one architecture cruise in Chicago, cycle the 18-mile Lakefront Trail with harbours, beaches, restaurants and bars. Then, visit the Bean, spend one day at Navy Pier, one of the city’s top attractions and board a cruise ship to sail the waves of Lake Michigan.

Architecture Cruise

Take a boat tour at night, sail  and see all the skyscrapers from the river side. It can be really chilly at night, so do not forget your hoodie or sweater. With an amazing guide on tour you will learn all about the buildings on the way, and also the Chicago’s best things to experience and city’s secrets.

Cycle the Lakefront Trail

Of course, it is impossible to do the whole trail in one day but surely you can see the most important things along the way. Interesting is that the Lakefront Trail attracts up to 30 thousand visitors daily. It is the perfect spot to get away from the hustle and bustle of city and do some excercise, bike, walk or run. It is worth to take camera with you as the views to capture are breathtaking. You will pass through 13 lakefront neighbourhoods and 4 major parks: Lincoln Park, Grant Park, Burnham Park and Jackson Park.

See the Iconic Bean in Milenium Park

There are plenty of things to do for modern art lovers. Among other things, an absolute must is to see the Cloud Gate called the Bean that is an impressive sculpture made by Indian-born British artist Sir Anish Kapoor. It was constructed between 2004 and 2006. The Cloud Gate officially measures in at 66 feet long, 42 feet wide, and 33 feet high. It weighs approximately 110 tons, which corresponds to the weight of a Boeing 757 airliner.

The artist took liquid mercury as his inspiration for Cloud Gate. He created a form capturing the movement in the surrounding park and the city beyond. Similar to liquid mercury, the Bean’s highly reflective surface appears ready to slosh about.

Spend a Day at Navy Pier

One of the best things to see Chicago is the iconic Ferris wheel located by the Lake Michigan and the Chicago’s Navy Pier. There are many little boutique shops and delicious restaurants you can enjoy along the whole pier. Worth trying is to take the boat in a nice sunny day and take some photos of the panorama of the city.

Chicago is always a great  option, even for the most demanding tourists. Summer time offers plenty of outdoor concerts, fireworks and great nightlife.

Having some time next summer? Consider coming to Chicago!

Vocabulary

city skyline – an ouline of land and buildings defined against the sky  (linia horyzontu miasta)

harbour – a place on the coast where vessels may find shelter especially protected fromrough waters by piers, jetties, and other artificial structures (port)

pier – a platform supported on pillars or girders leading out from the shore into a body of water, used as a landing stage for boats (molo)

cruise – sailing on a boat taken for pleasure (rejs)

sail – travel in a boat (płynąć, żeglować)

hustle and bustle – a large amount of activity, work, usually in a noisy surroundings (zgiełk, np. miasta)

sculpture – the art of making two- or three-dimensional representative or abstract forms, especially by carving stone or  by casting metal or plaster (rzeźba)

mercury – the chemical element of atomic number 80, a heavy silvery white metal which is liquid at ordinary temperatures (rtęć)

hoodie – a hooded sweatshirt, jacket or other top (bluza z kapturem)

slosh – to move irregularly with a splashing motion (rozlewać się naokoło)