Brew Town, Wisconsin

The bus from Chicago to Milwaukee was a two hour ride through verdant flat farmland of America’s mid west, passing countless crops of maize and soya beans. 

The bus driver’s languid speech pattern made the ‘rules of the bus’ sound like a rant from Hank Hill. Not sure whether his puling was for comedic effect, but I was the only person laughing. His bleating goat chat went on for a good 15 minutes. Remember kids: it’s against State AND Federal law to use illegal drugs - even when on the bus!!  

 Milwaukee, Wisconsin (Brew Town) is a German influenced city. A panoply of local brews, Wisconsin cheeses, freshly baked pretzel breads. I discovered dipping pretzel bread into beer-cheese, oh lordy it tastes guuurrrrd!!

I should have taken more pics of the food I ate - below are Cajun-spiced cheese curds. I decided to eat them in a Kale wrap with Avocado and Chilli. Bang Tidy! 

People in Chicago were laughing that I was going to Milwaukee, but the place is awesome. I’ve never met friendlier people anywhere in the world. Their kind manners, and queue etiquette, make most Brits seem like household bellend Katie Hopkins.  
 

This city does some serious drinking, and it would be rude not to participate in the local customs. On July 4th I drank so much Tequila that I couldn’t see my phone, thus impossible to call an Uber. Some kind strangers helped me out, when saying my goodbyes, they insisted that I “be very careful” on the way back to my digs.      

“Why?” I asked. “Are there people with guns around?”     

“No, you’re drunk, keep away from the river! People fall in and drown in the cold water.” 

Summerfest - “The world’s largest music festival” Not sure how they calculate this claim. Nevertheless it was an awesome party, squeaky clean for a festival. Security was tight to stop guns getting in, but there was still plenty of marijuana smoke permeating the air. Scantily clad American chicks with perfect teeth, laughter and good times - gotta love a festival :) Favourite act? The Sisterhood Band - two cowgirl American Goddesses kicking out mean acoustic guitar with tight harmonies.

 
I had a push bike so did loads of cycling, passing a car workshop I popped in to see if I could use some tools. I’m trying to play guitar using a thumb pick and needed to re-size a few picks. I do love a good workshop - this one was really cool..

As well as being famous for beer and cheese, it’s also home to Harley Davidson, so if you’re into bikes then check the museum out. Despite bikes not being my thing, it was interesting to learn about the history of this iconic company, and see some significant milestones in Harley’s 115 years. 

As with Chicago, Milwaukee is on Lake Michigan, so you get the feeling of being by the sea. Still not sure why volleyball is so nice to watch..

Bradford beach - Lake Michigan 

 
Again, the art museums drew me in. Villa Terrace Decorative Art Museum is a bargain at $7 - an Italian inspired villa built by a rich merchant in the 1920’s. The family donated the house to Milwaukee County in the 1960’s. They have some outstanding blacksmith work on show, painstakingly intricate. To the late Cyril Colnik: I bow my head at such skill. 

Taking a photo like this requires patience and technique. Here the artist sneaked up quietly behind the subject, papped the photo and then ran away with a Quasimodo gait, laughing uncontrollably..

Milwaukee Art Museum is more expensive at $20 entry, but seriously cool - in both temperature and vibe.  A great remedy to a Tequila hangover! 

Next stop: Sin City..