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Skyline Chicago 2008
Chicago Skyline

 

At mid of May 2008 Jayne was flown in to speak at a conference in Chicago. So, we decided to make it a short vacation. We are married for 1.5 years, and  now I was finally going to meet the family.

After the conference and some sightseeing in Chicago we drove to Henderson/Kentucky by car (her brother and his wife picked us up). After a few days with the family and too much food, we flew from St. Louis/Illinois to Austin/Texas, where Jayne lived before she moved to Germany. There we met some of Jayne's friends an ha to much food again. The flight back was then again via Chicago to Frankfurt.
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Summer is certainly not the best time of year to visit Kentucky, and absolutely not for Texas! Yes, May is not yet summer, but we had already 38-40ºC in Austin/TX. Once again on my visit to the USA, the states experienced the hottest May in history. That always happens when I am over there!

The BBQ (Barbecue) in Kentucky is highly recommandable! It is just really good!

If you are in Texas, you ofcourse can't miss to have some Mexican food!

(Did I already mention that we had way too much food?)  ;-)

At the moment the exchange rate of Dollar to Euro is very good for Europeans. Therefore an extended shopping trip is recommended, especially for electronics, since they are cheaper there anyway. In theory one has to pay customs and tax back home at the airport, but often there is nobody at customs at the airport. ;-)

Soldatenfriedhof Downtown Chicago consists of high rise buildings. Partly modern, partly from the 1930s.
WWI Tunnel This also is Chicago and not a third world country. Well, I have to admit, that they are redoing this train station, but still...
Longues-sur-Mer The natural history museum "Field Museum" is worth a visit from the outside and inside, and not only for kids.
Pointe du Hock The Field Museum has, among other things, the largest and most complete skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Utah Beach The historic paddle boat The Delta Queen on the Ohio River in Henderson, Kentucky.

This may be its last trip, because the US released a law that prohibits overnight trips on wooden boats.