Tag Archives: Wisconsin

December 2, 2012 · 12:08 am

where to stay along the Mississippi in Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota

One of the worst nights we’ve had was staying aboard a boat that doubles as a hotel of sorts along the Mississippi River in Dubuque Iowa. It seemed like a good idea but the quarters were cramped and strange; the boat was docked beside not only a busy road but a railroad track so it was noisy; and we were the only people aboard. Given that this boat was among the recommendations listed for where to stay along the Mississippi in a 2009 issue of a Minneapolis based mag, I’m not sure how the other recommendations will be. But here they are just in case:

– Golden Lantern Inn, Red Wing, MN

– Tritsch House B&B, Alma, WI (this is a really nice little river town!)

– Alexander Mansion, Winona, Mn.- Wilson Schoolhouse Inn, LaCrosse, WI

– The Hancock House, Dubuque

– Mont Rest, Bellevue, Ia. (long been curious about this place)

– Tatanka Bluffs, Redwood Falls, MN

– Belle Rive, Lanesboro, MN

– Oakenwald Terrace. Chatfield, MN

– Woodland Trails. Hinckley, MN

– Inn at Sacred Clay Farm, Lanesboro, MN

– Solglimit, Duluth, MN

– Blue Heron, Ely, MN

– Loon Song Bed and Breakfast, Park Rapids, MN

– A.G. Tomson House. Duluth, MN

– Covington Inn, St. Paul, MN

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June 15, 2012 · 11:02 pm

Note to self: when next in Milwaukee – try the Iron Horse hotel

Established 1882

A friend came home from a weekend jaunt to Milwaukee raving about the city in general and the Iron Horse Hotel in particular. (Nope that’s not it above – that’s the fantastic Milwaukee Art Museum) The Iron Horse a boutique hotel in a former 100-year-old warehouse at the crossroads of the city’s Fifth Ward and Latin Quarter.   With its urban chic decor and high marks from the travel industry, it looks like well worth a visit.  Last time I stayed in Milwaukee, about six years ago, I stayed at the old dowager of a hotel, the Pfister, which was a little bit frumpy but interesting and near the lively historic Third Ward district. I see online that there’s a $259 package at the Iron Horse  that includes tickets to the fantastic Milwaukee Art Museum, inside a whimsical building  designed by Santiago Calatrava, and the new Harley-Davidson Museum. One thing I didn’t realize about the museum, which resembles a bird, is that its “wings” open at 10 a.m. daily (when the museum is open), close and reopen at noon and close at 5 p.m. (8 pm on Thursdays). Now that I’d like to see! (Below is the new building he’s designed for NYC’s World Trade Center site – didn’t realize he’s doing that.)

Path Terminal

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September 18, 2011 · 3:29 pm

milwaukee – serbian food, sausages, santiago calatrava

Friends are going to Milwaukee for a college visit to Marquette U. so here are a few suggestions of things to do/see/eat:

– Three Brothers – a Old World Serbian restaurant in a neighborhood just north of the airport. Yes Serbian food. Good. Try the burek, sort of akin to Greek spinach and cheese pie

– The Milwaukee Art Museum, designed by Santiago Calatrava. The building alone – looking like bird landing on the lake – is worth a wander. There’s an exhibit on the building of the museum, marking its 10th anniversary. (more below)

– Usinger’s Sausages – okay, you don’t have to go to the original store downtown but it’s kind of a kick. there’s a stand selling them at the Milwaukee Airport.

 

 

Building a Masterpiece: Santiago Calatrava and the Milwaukee Art Museum

September 8, 2011–January 1, 2012

Feature image for the Calatrava exhibition It has been named the sexiest building in the world, featured in TV ads and shows and Hollywood movies, and it has transformed the city of Milwaukee. In September, the Milwaukee Art Museum celebrates the 10th anniversary of its iconic building, the Quadracci Pavilion, with the exhibition Building a Masterpiece: Santiago Calatrava and the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Designed by internationally renowned architect Santiago Calatrava, the Quadracci Pavilion was the Spaniard’s first completed commission in the United States. In 2001, it was named Time Magazine’s “Best Design of 2001.”

 

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July 12, 2011 · 11:43 pm

Sparta-Elroy/Elroy-Sparta Trail in Wisconsin

Turned out to be my dream trail! We rode the trail on a sunny Saturday in July from Kendall to Sparta, about 31 miles when you add various excursions to explore little towns and shops along the trail.  The trail itself was hard-packed dirt, a fine surface for riding, and we were under a canopy of trees almost all the time which provided perfect shade and the feel of a sun-dappled lane. I was a little nervous about the three famous railroad tunnels en route – and they were, as promised, very dark and one was almost a mile long with literally no light at the end of the tunnel for some time. I was very glad that we brought flashlights. I noticed that some of the parents with young kids kept up a steady patter as they walked through the tunnel and I found that chatting with D. helped keep my mind off of the fact that we were practically entombed in this dark chamber in the earth. Some kids wore lights strapped around their foreheads like junior coal miners. This is as close to mining as I’d ever want to get.

The scenery otherwise was bucolic Wisconsin dairy land, tidy farms with red barns, blue silos, white wood frame farmhouses, grazing cattle and perfect green cornfields. Really lovely.  There were some fun places along the trail to stop – near Wilton, the Dorset Valley School Restaurant & Bakery, a former school house which now has a restaurant, an Amish furniture shop (where I bought a great little bent hickory and tile table – and picked up later in the car), a coffee/fresh smoothie shop and my personal favorite, a barber. One rider got his hair cut mid ride!  A b&b is next door.

There was also a popular trailside ice cream shop that was doing a banner biz with families with little kids. The famous pie shop is no more in Wilton replaced by another cafe that looked fun. We opted instead to picnic in the pretty town park, near the busy public pool.  The trail was busy but not too – and there were fewer hard core speedsters than we’re used to on Iowa’s trails – and no riders with boom boxes either. Amen!

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