Midwest Travels (Part II): Milwaukee

I never expected Milwaukee to be listed as one of my "must see" places to visit, until I met my mom's fiancé, Bart, who was born and raised there his whole life. They both went in August, and I saw some of the photos she posted with envy. It is such a cute, charming town! I was getting more and more excited for my visit.

How can I describe Milwaukee? I would say it's [almost] like Seattle of the Midwest with a European flair, and Chicago's forgotten cousin. There is a vibrant arts and shopping culture, and though the city is underrated, I fell in love. It seriously puts Sacramento to shame. It's also prevalent with German-inspired architecture, which is not something you see in the West Coast.

Why am I comparing it to Seattle? Because of the gorgeous waterfront (Lake Michigan) makes for fresh fish catches. Though Milwaukee Public Market is much smaller than Pike Place Market, it still has thriving eateries (restaurants, and seafood/meats/cheese abound), bars and gifts.

Unfortunately, we only dedicated 1 whole day in the city (on Black Friday) because we stayed in Bart's sister's house in Mequon, which is 20 minutes away. And much of our time was spent going to Barts' family and friends' houses. But take a gander at some of the photos of this beautiful city!

Lake Michigan

Here is a view of the skyscrapers from Milwaukee Art Museum. My mom and I spent a couple of hours there. The Reiman bridge is adjacent to the museum building and both were designed by Santiago Calatrava, a neo-futuristic architect/engineer/painter known for his clean lines and shapes in the form of harp-like strings, waves and wings.

Reiman Bridge

Interior of Milwaukee Art Museum

Milwaukee Art Museum is home to 25,000 pieces of art ranging from Ancient Greece to Renaissance to Modern, and in various mediums such as sculpture, painting, and installation art.

Tom Wesselman, Still Life #51, 1964

May I mention that Wayne Thiebaud is a Sacramento-based artist? He is known for his whimsical still life paintings of cake, pies, gumball machines, ice cream, toys, lipsticks, and other random items (mostly food). I love his style because it's so lighthearted and fun to look at! I love looking at introspective styles of art and digging deeper into the context, but his work is a breath of fresh air.

Wayne Thiebaud, Refrigerator Pies, 1962

Verner Panton, Panton Classic Chair, 1960

My mom and I did not spend too much time in the museum because there was a miscommunication between her and Bart. We thought Bart wanted us to spend an hour there while he was taking my sister Sarah to the Discovery World next door.

We then drove around Old Third World St. I was in awe of the boutiques, art galleries, restaurants, sausage shops, a few high-end stores (such as West Elm), and Germanic buildings. This is the place to be for German food and pubs. 

Old Third World St.

We spent a few hours in Milwaukee Public Market, another must-see if you ever visit.

Cheeses galore at Milwaukee Public Market

Delicious Garlic & Dill Cheese Curds from Henning's. There are other flavors too such as cajun, white cheddar, and jalapeño.

Now this is my idea of greatness.

I cherish every moment spent there, and I definitely want to go back (this time, with Cecilio in tow as my husband). I want to do the following:

• Eat at Mader's Restaurant
• Hit up a brewery or beer garden 
• Shop for some herbs and seasoning at The Spice House
• Watch a Milwaukee Brewers game (mostly because baseball season=warm weather and no rabid football fans)
• Tour Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist and The Basilica of St. Josaphat

I know I have mentioned in my previous post about my Wisconsin Dells trip about the culture shock visiting. What are some of my observations about Wisconsin or the Midwest in general?

• The people are so nice. As in, they will say hi to you and will strike up a conversation. And it's not in a fake way too, unlike what you see in Californians.
• The parties almost reminds me of a Filipino party: there are a lot of food served (during Thanksgiving, Bart's mom said that if there are 20 people at a party, we serve for 50), and the people are extremely extroverted like Filipinos. I, as a more quiet person, was a bit intimidated at first. Especially because there was no one my age. There were either teenagers or people my mom's age. But I tried to converse with Bart's siblings and in-laws.
•  Good luck being a vegetarian because a lot of the dishes are meat based. Expect to see slabs of meat and sausages everywhere, especially in the parties.
• Wisconsinites are passionate about college football. 2 words: UW Badgers. We even went to Bart's cousin's house to watch the UW game against University of Minnesota (in which UW won), and it was a huge cookout. The women in the party were actually louder than the men during the game. Everyone was decked out in red UW shirts, and there was a woman wearing a UW charm necklace. I was a tad bit annoyed with the obsession with college football, though in California we have Berkeley, Stanford, UCLA and USC. There are rabid fans, but it's not the same. Big 10 football is a culture of its own. I have been telling Cecilio all about it and he says it's like the world there stops just for those games. 
• The majority of the houses have basements, even in the Air B&B house we stayed at near Chicago. That's just not something you see in California because of the floods and earthquakes. I love basements because they're like a little retreat to get away from everyone, and a nice hangout spot with your friends.
• Most of the houses (in Wisconsin) have HUGE backyards, sometimes acres. And they have a big deck overlooking the big open fields.

I had a wonderful time meeting Bart's family and my little tour of Milwaukee. Last but not least, I will be documenting my visit to Chicago!