Estonia - Catacombs under Old Tallinn
Foto: The Cloud Gate in Chicago (bron: Ronald van der Veer)
United States - Today, I have the whole day to explore Chicago. It's Saturday, the Saturday before Labor Day. That means it's extra busy—pleasantly busy. The weather is beautiful as we leave our hotel. Our first mission is to officially complete Route 66. Just like we photographed the Route 66 sign in Santa Monica, we naturally have to take a photo of the official sign here in Chicago as well. The sign is located near the Art Institute. We take a picture with the sign, marking the true end of Route 66. From there, we walk through Millennium Park to the waterfront. Joggers run along the promenade. In Millennium Park stands the giant silver bean—a sculpture officially called Cloud Gate, created by British artist Anish Kapoor. Its reflective surface gives a fun, distorted view of the people around and the Chicago skyline. Among the modern skyscrapers, you still find truly old buildings. In the Financial District, I visit the Rookery Building. Its atrium was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Burnham Hotel, with its ten stories, is considered one of the first skyscrapers. On Van Buren Street, a kind of metro runs on an elevated platform in the middle of the road. The train rattles across this late 19th-century iron structure—not silently. Cars drive underneath it. It's a familiar cityscape from various films. When we look for a place to have lunch, everything is packed. In some places, there are long queues. Eventually, we end up at a pizzeria, where we share a pizza for lunch. At the 'House of Blues', there’s a concert tonight by The Molly Ringwalds—a cover band paying tribute to the '80s. We check online and see that tickets are fifteen euros excluding tax. We walk to the theater to see if any tickets are still available. When they hear at the box office that we’re from the Netherlands, they check to see if they might have any complimentary tickets. A few moments later, someone walks over with four free tickets—we're welcome to have them. It doesn't look like the show will be completely full tonight. We’ll see. That evening, even entering the venue is an experience. First, our tickets have to be exchanged—ours don’t have a barcode. Then we have to go around the building for a security check and receive wristbands. As we climb the stairs to the venue, we find ourselves in a small, old-style theater. Surprisingly, it’s already quite busy. People are standing even on the balconies. At the bar, we order drinks and some snacks, and wait to see what happens. Meanwhile, a DJ is spinning oldies while a film plays silently on a screen. The atmosphere is cozy. When the curtain opens, everyone moves to the front. At first, we're disappointed by the music. Two guys are performing, but their level doesn’t rise above that of street performers. Then we realize this must be the opening act. The Molly Ringwalds haven’t started yet. After the opening act and a short quiz on stage, the main band begins around nine o’clock. The energy explodes from the stage with Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds. The entire crowd chants along: “Hey, hey, hey, hey!” Fun! The Molly Ringwalds consist of five musicians. The band is named after the American actress best known from The Breakfast Club. Each member is dressed as a character—with costumes, wigs, even overalls. They take turns singing, including the drummer. The mood is great, with lots of well-known songs. It’s a bit odd when there are songs we don’t recognize, while the entire crowd shouts the lyrics. Shortly after eleven, the final song begins. After a wonderfully fun and quirky evening, we head back to our hotel.
Empire State Building
United States - Anyone visiting New York for the first time cannot ignore the Empire State Building. This skyscraper on the corner of 34th Street and 5th Avenue towers over the Big Apple. Entering the building at street level, I realize that it also houses regular office ...
Gambling in Las Vegas
United States - We drive to Las Vegas via the highway. On both sides, a dry desert landscape stretches out, with small bushes dotting the sandy rocky ground. By late afternoon, the Las Vegas skyline appears. It is strange that such a large city exists in the middle of ...
Grand Canyon
United States - When we arrive at the viewpoint, we look down into the depths of the Grand Canyon. Wow! One and a half kilometers below, the river flows through the gorge. We take the park’s shuttle bus to the west side, where the sunset views are best. The last rays ...
Key West in Florida
United States - Key West is an island in the Florida Straits. It is the southernmost point of the Florida Keys, about 150 km from Cuba. The island measures roughly 6.4 km long and 3.2 km wide. One of its main attractions is a concrete replica of a buoy at the corner ...
Monument Valley
United States - Monument Valley is perhaps the most striking example of the overwhelming beauty of the desert landscape in the American Southwest. The silhouette of the solitary red rocks, surrounded by a vast, empty plain, has served as a backdrop for dozens of films ...
The Hawaiian Islands
United States - The islands are volcanic in origin, located on a so-called hotspot where magma rises from the Earth’s interior as lava. As the crust moves over the hotspot, a chain of islands formed from west to east, with the oldest, extinct volcanoes in the west ...
The Statue of Liberty in New York
United States - The Statue of Liberty is a monument located in New York Harbor. It stands as a symbol of welcome—not just for tourists but also for Americans themselves. The statue is 93 meters tall and weighs 225 tons. The nose is 1 meter long, the eyes have a circumference ...
The White House in Washington DC
United States - The White House is the official residence and workplace of the President of the United States, with the exception of George Washington, who died before it was completed. Its strategic location near the National Mall was selected in 1790 by President Washington ...
Yellowstone National Park
United States - Yellowstone is one of the world’s most important sites for studying and appreciating the evolutionary history of the Earth. The park has an unparalleled collection of surface geothermal activity worldwide, thousands of hot springs, mud pots, fumaroles, ...