After four consecutive European tours between 2017 and 2021, I'm back for another Stateside road trip, my first since 2016. I got a proper grilling from the TSA on arrival at Chicago. For a while, I almost thought they were going to send me back home to Blighty. It wasn't a question of suspected drugs or terrorism, it was just them openly doubting that I had the finances to support myself during the coming months. Admittedly these tracksuit bottoms have seen better days. No wonder BA never upgrade me.
Anyway, Milwaukee. The three main things that bring fame to Milwaukee from a UK perspective are Harley-Davidson, the 2011 film 'Bridesmaids', and the 1970s TV show 'Happy Days'. I went along to the Harley HQ, but they wanted $22 for a museum tour, and they didn't get it. The main Milwaukee location in 'Bridesmaids' is the lead character's shared apartment (with Matt Lucas & Rebel Wilson playing her weirdo flatmates), which is just up the road from my AirBnB. As for 'Happy Days', well, that was actually all filmed in California. But nonetheless there is a commemorative statue here, inevitably christened 'The Bronze Fonz'. See picture.
There's a prominent German heritage in this part of the USA. Bratwurst is a frequent pub grub theme. Many of the churches are Lutheran, and indeed in some cases the signs do actually say 'Kirche'. My AirBnB host's first name is Randy: I was hoping he'd have an amusing German surname, like Fokker or Büger, but sadly it wasn't to be.
Incidentally I saw an estate agent (or 'realtor' as they call them here) whose slogan was "Real Estate Without Boundaries". Which is, as they say on Twitter, Big If True.
Overall I think Milwaukee has gone straight into my personal top 10 US cities. It's big enough to have everything you need, but not so big as to be overwhelming. Only 90 minutes on the train from Chicago. Good public transport and parks. Very little apparent homelessness or disorder compared to the larger cities. Above all, there are breweries everywhere, with Wisconsin's beer excise taxes being among the lowest of any state in the US. And England's women are through to the Euro final! Happy Days, indeed.
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| Downtown, seen from nearby Lakeshore State Park |
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| Downtown, seen from South Shore Park, about 4 miles to the south. |
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| The Bronze Fonz. 'Eyyyyyyy......... |
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| My rickety AirBnB in leafy Bay View. Balls to hotels. |
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| Interior of Milwaukee Public Library. All libraries should look like this. |
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| Harley HQ Note that the Bike Night advert says 'all bikes unite'. Celebrating diversity by reaching out to Japanese imports. But only very begrudgingly. |
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| Edd vs Food #102 La Casa de Alberto, 624 W National Avenue, Milwaukee Three chicken enchiladas topped with mole sauce, sour cream & cheese. Rice & refried beans on the side. Strange how Mexican food can look so unappetising but still taste utterly divine. |
