Hello Fodor’s

After a lovely visit to Denver, Colorado and vicinity, I was heading back east to the DC suburbs where my Mom lives. Via Amtrak because I do love it (warts and all) and because I really want to get Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Status which I had once and then lost.

To get from coast to coast by train in the US, it is necessary to switch trains (most commonly in Chicago). Heading from the east coast to points west of Chicago, I have tended to risk changing to the west of Chicago train the day the train from NY or DC arrives in Chicago. Typically, I’ve had a 4 hour buffer between the two trains and I’ve always made my connection with always time to have a bit of fun in Chicago.

Going from west coast to east coast, I would *strongly* recommend overnighting in Chicago upon arrival. As it turns out, the California Zephyr out of Denver I was on arrived only 1.5 hours late into Chicago, so I would have made the connection to the Floridian train from Chicago to DC the day of arrival into Chicago. But I did notice that the Southwest Chief from LA and the Empire Builder from Seattle were significantly late enough into Chicago that passengers on those trains would have missed a same day connection to the Floridian train!

Rather than overnighting in Chicago, I instead decided to take for the first time the Amtrak Hiawatha train from Chicago to Milwaukee and spend 2 nights there before returning to Chicago. For the simple reason that I’ve been to Chicago numerous times (although I feel I still have much to explore) and have never been to Milwaukee. In fact, I haven’t really explored anywhere in Wisconsin ever and only even passed through the state on the Empire Builder train from Chicago to Seattle. Well, there was also one family trip when I was about 13 to visit some friends of my parents in the suburbs of St. Paul, Minnesota, where we took a boat across Lake Michigan. My main memory of the Wisconsin portion of that trip is that to pass the time my Mom had us count the number of barns we saw…she really tried to come up with ways to keep us kids from being bored on road trips!

The Hiawatha Amtrak train seems almost more of a commuter train and visitors should be aware there is no cafe car; some people were luggage-less, so appeared to have used the train for a day trip. A day trip is quite feasible given the 1.5 hour ride from Milwaukee to Chicago, although my train was delayed and took a little over two hours. The layout of the train reminds me of no other Amtrak train I’ve taken, with a push button to open sliding colourless (glass?) doors separating the seating area from the vestibule where the restrooms are found. Even the restroom layout is different, with again buttons to push to open, close, lock and unlock the door.

*Coming Up: what did I think of Milwaukee?*

Looking forward to learning about a city made famous by a beer.

"Schlitz, The beer that made Milwaukee famous"

So, arriving at the Milwaukee Intermodal Station, I wheeled my luggage the roughly 4 blocks to my hotel, Doubletree by Hilton. The route had me going under an overpass and on the route I walked, I only saw bland, unmemorable buildings. Once checked into my hotel, I decided to walk toward Lake Michigan on Wisconsin Avenue; here I saw some more interesting architecture and crossed an overpass by the art museum to get to the lakefront. The lakefront even surprised me though as it was not particularly alive with activity and seemed kind of forgettably sprawly with plenty of space between attractions. After going to a restaurant which was clearly understaffed where my waitress seemed to be having a nervous breakdown and where after pointless patience, I decided to forget eating there and left after paying for a Diet Coke, the thought crossed my mind that first evening: “I see why people recommend Chicago over Milwaukee”. However, there were two sights that first evening that had me considering the city in a more positive light: 1. I thought the river view I saw was nice and decided I would go there first the next day. 2. Failing to get food at the understaffed restaurant, I walked over to the 3rd Street Market Hall, which is probably one of the most interesting food courts I’ve ever seen. Yes, they had food from all over the world including pho, arepas, tortas and sushi (I got a gyro) to name a few, but also a serve-yourself beer wall, a scotch & bourbon bar, a general bar to get wine, beer and cocktails, but most interestingly also a place where people were throwing bean bags, a kids’ play area, a shuffleboard court and also an area where people were practicing their golf drives by hitting the ball at a screen that gauged I suppose a mock distance and direction the ball would have travelled on a mock golf course! What a neat space, that had something for all sorts of people.

The next morning, I decided to check out the Riverwalk. Taking a picture by the Fonz Statue, City Hall and admiring the architecture, drawbridges and riverside views, I went from being dubious to thinking Milwaukee was a pretty awesome city. Taking the 90-minute narrated Edelweiss River Cruise with a focus on the history of Milwaukee sealed my appreciation of Milwaukee. Not only did I get to see some cool-looking riverside restaurants, statuary, bridges and buildings with explanation as we passed, the cruise goes into Lake Michigan itself, where you get great views of the skyline from the water. Even though the weather was sweltering that day, the wind out on the water was delightfully cooling. After the cruise, I went to the Milwaukee Brat House, in a charming area of buildings on 3rd, where I enjoyed German sausage on a bun that was utterly magnificent! A stop at the Wisconsin Cheese Mart had me enjoying some of the samplers of state cheeses. At this point, I was thinking I’d allotted far too little time for my stay in Milwaukee, I was utterly seduced.

My final evening last night, I walked along the Riverwalk toward Third Ward, a historic area mentioned on the narrated river cruise as being popular. While I was too late to go to the recommended Milwaukee Public Market, I was still able to enjoy the charming ambience of Broadway, where I ended up going to the Wicked Hop for cheese curds and a salad. This morning, I took a nice walk through Marquette University campus to the Pabst Mansion before my train to Chicago. The mansion interior is beautiful, aiming to recreate the late 19th century appearance when Frederick & Maria Pabst, of Best/Pabst brewing fortune fame, called the mansion home. Although the front of the building is currently is scaffolding, I would nevertheless still recommend a visit, as the Pabst home brings out gilded age elegance and the tour guide was well-informed.

I’ve come to realize that Milwaukee is more of a gem in the Midwest than I knew and I wish I had made a detour from Chicago to visit the city sooner! I’ve been missing out on a fun city!

*Pictures to come, which illustrate the charm
better than my words*

View of Riverwalk my first night that was my first moment in Milwaukee where I thought: “OK, this is pretty cool!”

The Fonz Statue. Ayyyyy!

Milwaukee Brat House was fun (green building)

Coming into Lake Michigan on Edelweiss River Cruise.

Some Pabst Mansion interior

*Final Thoughts on Milwaukee*

Sitting along the Riverwalk yesterday in Chicago after my visit to Milwaukee, I could not help but reflect on the difference between these two cities, as in some ways personified by their relative Riverwalks. Chicago’s seems big, bold, majestic, with an air of big business; almost imperial surrounded by tall glassy skyscrapers and 20th century architectural masterpiece buildings and the powerful heaviness of the elevated train rumbling overhead; even the bridges and river itself seem to depict the might and importance of the US’s third largest city. Preppy looking well-groomed businessmen exude a confidence that lend to the sense of being among the corridors of power. There is at the same time an undeniable beauty.

Milwaukee’s Riverwalk was an interesting contrast, There are certainly architectural gems like City Hall to admire, some of which illustrate the strength of certain of Milwaukee’s industries. However, the smaller city Riverwalk feels somehow more down to earth and on a human scale, not as imposing with less tall buildings, with the word “charm” coming to mind. The sound of seagulls squawking was omnipresent in Milwaukee, which did not seem as present in Chicago even though the Windy City is just as much a seaside town being on Lake Michigan.

This is not to diminish either—I find the two Great Lake cities complement each other nicely. I think that those visiting this area of the Midwest who enjoy urban environments would find that Chicago and Milwaukee offer different enough experiences to make visiting both in a one-two punch rewarding.

Happy travels to all this summer!

Fra_Diavolo— Nice to see your name and thank you for having looked forward. It was unintentional that I ended up seeing two big US early beer brewing conglomerate cities for the first time literally a day apart: Golden CO of Coors fame and then Milwaukee WI the next day (admittedly both have plenty these days that have nothing to do with beer). Not much of a beer drinker, although felt I should and did try a Milwaukee beer—from Lakefront Breweries, possibly a lesser known name? Judging by their Milwaukee mansion, Friedrich & Maria Pabst and their forbears did rather well by beer brewing, even if the German speaking couple reportedly preferred their wines. *gasp*

I enjoyed your comparison of the two cities. I've never been to Milwaukee, but you captured Chicago beautifully. Thanks for the report!

That was a great report—thanks for sharing all the info! We’re planning a trip to the town for the NBA match in November. I’ve looked online for the Edelweiss river cruise, but it seems like it’s either not running in November or there aren’t any tickets available—can’t quite tell. Did you buy your tickets in person somewhere, or is there a specific place you’d recommend checking?

Hi mariavenieri7880–

Alas, it appears the Edelweiss River Cruises only run through October, no doubt due to weather constraints. For possible future reference, they have a ticket window on Highland Avenue between the Wisconsin Cheese Mart and the river—I actually didn’t book online, just happened to pass by and thought it sounded like fun. They also have a website: https://edelweissboats.com/apps/bookthatapp/calendar

Although the cruise appears to be not an option in November, walking along the charming Riverwalk if the weather is nice enough from the Milwaukee Brat House/Cheese Mart area to the Third Ward could be an alternative as it captures a significant portion of the sights seen on the cruise. I saw people on walking tours too, maybe one is still taking place in November?

Wishing you a terrific time in the great city of Milwaukee whatever you decide to do!

Sincerely,

Daniel

It is great fun to travel along with you on your train trips, Daniel. Thanks for tha report and did this trip get you the status you were looking for?

Hi oldemalloy—

Thank you and yes, getting a roomette from Denver to Chicago to DC in June is what gave the necessary points for Amtrak Guest Rewards Select Status. (I’m glad I did the slight detour to Milwaukee but points obtained from that weren’t many.) The status has already provided a complimentary lounge pass in PHL and an upgrade to business class in early August.

Nice report, Daniel. Growing up, we'd visit Milwaukee every other year as my grandmother lived there. As a young adult, I took a motorcycle trip there and toured the big 3 breweries back in the day-Schlitz, Pabst & Miller. Schlitz limited you to 1 beer, Miller you had to ask for another, at Pabst they kept filling your mug as often as you wanted when they saw it was getting low. The barmaids; think St Paul Girl. In the 90's wife and I made it back on a trip to The Thumb and did the Riverwalk thing. Love Milwaukee.

Thanks bald0ne— Enjoyed reading your memories. And you might find this strange, but I had to look up The Thumb as I had no idea what that was!