Photography and Blog by: Erickson (9 minute read time)
Continued from Part 1: https://writingerickson.org/2025/08/17/via-iter-verba-7-chicago-1-of-2/
Day Three: The Skyscraper Cruise
Having a love for architecture, there was one activity I needed to do before I left the city. The famous architecture tour, where tourists and new locals alike are seated on a boat and cruise down the Chicago River. Visitors are given an up close and personal view of all the magnificent skyscrapers, buildings, vegetation, pathways, and more that Chicago has to offer.
The tour, hosted by the Architecture Center of Chicago (the original and most recommended of these tours), was a fantastic and insightful experience. It is certainly recommended to bring some sunscreen and some water to keep hydrated, because to see all the fantastic sights you are going to be right under the sun.
This building, known as Aqua is an 82-story skyscraper. The top of the building holds an 82,000 square foot terrace with gardens, pools, hot tubs, a running track and a fire pit. When Aqua was completed in 2009 it was known as the tallest building designed by a woman in the world.
The spokes you see that protrude off the building are actually balconies, coming out as much as 12 feet. These concrete floor slabs were inspired by the Great Lake’s limestone outcroppings that are quite common in the region. Aqua was the first downtown building to combine condos, apartments and a hotel.
The blue-green tinted windows and wavy balconies add to its nautical theme, while those wavy protrusions also serve different functions on each of Aqua’s sides. East-facing balconies reach further to capture lake views. The south and west sides block some wind and sun, and the north side has subtler ripples to better align with adjacent towers.
Right after the tour I needed to get some grub. Beside the same docking station sat “The Northman Beer & Cider Garden”, which boasted an authentic Chicago hotdog. I ordered an original, along with an Arnold Palmer, and got to enjoy a Chicagoan classic, while appreciating the amazing view right beside me.
Day Four: A Worldwide Influence
I got a two-mile run exercise in the morning and in the afternoon visited the famous “Navy Pier”. The pier has a rich history; its current Ferris wheel pays homage to when Chicago was home to the World’s Fair in 1893. This fair saw the invention of the first ever Ferris wheel, created by George Washington Gale Ferris Jr. Over 27 million people attended the fair in its six-month run. During this time, Chicago hosted many exhibition halls, promoting art, architecture, and culture, along with showcasing an area for amusements. “Sol Bloom” the developer of the amusements, introduced the term “midway” to American English for the first time to describe the area for the carnival/fair.
Before walking up to the pier, there are fields of grass pairing with a surrounding park on the mainland. As you first start seeing the water of Lake Michigan, there are carnival attractions on the second floor, and food and drink stalls on the first floor in an inside, air-conditioned area. Woven between stalls there is a Shakespeare theatre, a mirror maze, and at the end of the pier a large auditorium room. I could imagine some prestigious events being held there, or perhaps even a wedding.
I ended up grabbing some Mediterranean food, Chicken and Pita bread, pickled onions, hummus and more. While I charged my phone nearby, I also ordered a boba in a fancy glass. It was nice to have a breather in the air-conditioned space, enjoy some good food and drink, and not spend too much money on it either.
After enjoying the pier, I walked to a nearby park where I watched boats glide across the water and appreciated the beautiful skyscraper scenery. Next to the park was a small beach, where I did some reading while people lobbied up volleyballs, suntanned, meditated, and everyone enjoyed the summer sun and the beautiful day.
Day 5: Overloaded with Plants…and Cheese?
On my second to last day, I visited the Garfield Park Conservatory. The entrance fee was only $5 and is even free for Chicago Residents.
The Conservatory held plants from all over the world, and even had a small art installation by Dave Chihuli, a legendary glass artist who has a fantastic museum in Seattle Washington if you ever get the chance to visit. The artist has exhibits all over the United States, including in Vegas on the roof of the Bellagio Hotel. It was a complete surprise to see this here and complimented the area fantastically.
This place was gigantic. You start with a down-to-earth garden of flowers, colors of all kinds blossoming towards you. Then, there is a room with a small lake, waterfalls, and large greeneries. There is a desert room, multiple flower gardens, areas for children and more. It was incredible to see plants from China versus Brazil versus California. Plants from the harshest deserts in one room, and beautiful blossoming flowers from Iceland or Russia in another.
Any botanists would geek out at the Conservatory, but also anyone who can appreciate nature or enjoy seeing intriguing plants from all over the world should certainly come here. The price tag is super inexpensive, so I would recommend everyone to at least take a stroll through!
On my way back home, I wanted to try the iconic “Deep Dish Chicago” pizza. Now, I have heard recently a lot of Chicagoans prefer “Tavern Style Pizza” which is a lot thinner, and I believe cut into squares. But we have to try the classics.
I made my way back to the beginning of the Navy pier and picked up from Giordano’s, one of the most esteemed deep-dish places. If you love cheese? You’ll enjoy deep dish. I ordered it with mushrooms and pepperoni, and it was definitely good pizza although it was very rich. I’m glad to have tried it.
Day 6: Rush hour
It was my final day in Chicago. With a flight at around 4pm, I didn’t have any time to spare.
Caffeinated by 8:30, I left my Airbnb an hour later for good. Red suitcase on rushing wheels beside me, and a bulky colored backpack strapped up, there were two important things I needed to see.
The first was the Fredrick Robbie House. This was an architectural masterpiece that I learned about in an architecture class back at UC – Irvine. Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, built in 1910, the house has a lot of artistic subtitles as well as many innovations that became popularized after the house was built.
The house maintains a congruent theme of displaying “horizontals”. Even with the brick work on the outsides, the builders dyed the concrete filling to be red between the bricks to elongate those horizontals. Mr. Wright wanted this stylization to fit with the theme of the flat prairie that was laid out before him, a very flat, elongated terrain, and he wanted the building to match.
The house had an entire room dedicated to children (an innovation for the time), multiple fireplaces, and an interesting concept for the windows. On the insides of the buildings, the windows boast warm, caramel-stained colored sections. However, on the outside, these orange-brown hues morph into purples, greens and blues. Wright wanted the insides to feel homely and the outsides to mimic some of the colors of nature.
It was a great experience being able to tour the entire house and appreciate a staple from American Architecture history.
Finally, a place I could not leave Chicago without, I arrived at the American Writer’s Museum.
The place has a myriad of exhibits. From a long historic strip of writers and important facts bulking out of the walls, to a place where you can create your own bookmark, type on real typewriters, explore Chicago’s influence on the literary world, and more.
I have been in love with books and with writing since I was a child, so being able to appreciate the history and the atmosphere here was amazing for me. I enjoyed it so thoroughly that I purchased a membership and two T-shirts to take home. One depicting Fahrenheit 451 upon a red t-shirt, a nod to my favorite author Ray Bradbury.
With my backpack even more packed, I made my way to the airport – which was a simple and single fast train straight to my terminal. My week in Chicago had come to an end.
Overall
This was my first ever visit to Chicago, and yet I felt very much at home. The city was very clean, the public transit was efficient, the people were nice, and I enjoyed all aspects the city had to offer. The architecture and the river walk really leave an imprint on the mind. There are all these different types of building styles yet they still complement one another, and all of them sit with the beautiful Lake Michigan smiling at you. I had some great small experiences with locals: an Uber driver that looked out for my safety, friendly and easy conversations while walking around, and more. It was a fantastic journey. Chicago has a lot of its own history, art, and culture that was fantastic to learn and experience. A Transformers movie was filmed in Chicago, Prison Break season 1 was filmed in Chicago, and I’m sure a lot more! Chicago is an icon and an ideal for when American cities put together their absolute best, and it shows in so many ways. Farewell Chicago, I’ll be back soon.
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Welcome to Via Iter Verba – a collection of journal entries revolving around adventures in traveling and “Van Life”. From the day-to-day, to the grand adventures, to the emotions, Via Iter Verba seeks to speak on the unconventionalities of such a lifestyle, and unleash them to you, the audience. Where have you traveled? Have you ever considered “Van Life” yourself? Add to the discussion below!
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