Day 6 - Getting on top of the city

The next day I got up a bit earlier than the day before. The sun was shining into my room and everything looked so much more beautiful this morning. After a shower and a quick breakfast I also met one of the two other flat mates who had just arrived the night before. I was at the metro station by 10.15 heading into town. I spontaneously decided to do the Willis Tower platform visit first before going to the Navy Pier which originally would have been the first destination of my day. I wanted to use the good conditions in order to get some brilliant shots from the observation platform. From Quincy and Wells station it was a short walk to the second tallest building in the United States, the tallest one being the One World Center in New York which I am planning to visit next month. As expected the cue for the observation platform also called Sky Deck was long and it took about an hour to get through the entire process of security, buying a ticket and finally getting on an elevator up to the 103^rd floor. The view however was magnificent and worth the wait. Conditions were quite good even though the 50 mile view, possible on clear days, was not present. In fact I barely could see O’Hara airport but downtown and the surrounding buildings were very well visible which mattered the most to me. After my visit to the Willis Tower I had lunch and then caught the bus 124 to the Navy Pier as originally planned. I spent quite some time strolling down the pier taking pictures of the skyline and boats coming in and leaving the harbor. It was really a beautiful and sunny day but not too warm. I decided to take a short boat tour on the Chicago River starting from the pier all the way down to Union Station. I got some pretty nice shots from the surrounding buildings while cruising down the river. Once back on shore I took the bus 151 towards North Michigan Avenue, also known as the Miracle Mile. I got off the bus right in front of the Hancock building, the tallest building of the U.S. in the 1960s and an icon in style, groundbreaking for its time. I visited the Best Buy shop on the first floor of the building in order to buy a new polarize filter for my camera which I tested right away by taking pictures of this magnificent building. With bus 147 I went back towards downtown. I got off the bus at the DuSable Bridge where I took some pictures of the Chicago River and the Trump Tower. Finally I hoped on the bus 146 bound for the Museum’s Campus and rode it all the way to the final stop at the Adler Planetarium. I wanted one more time take some pictures at this wonderful spot. While it was rainy the day before the weather was much nicer that day and I certainly got much better shots from the Chicago skyline. I also discovered a nearby beach. Bus 146 also took me back downtown. I shortly stopped at Trader’s Joe, I got some food for dinner and after that finally back on the pink line and to 18^th Street as well back to my accommodation.

Chicago subway

Chicago from 103rd floor

At the Navy Pier

Doing a river cruise