A friend and I are checking off a bucket list item and winging it to Wisconsin to watch the Oct. 20 Packers game. They play the Raiders. We will spend some time in both Milwaukee and Green Bay.
If any of you fellow surveyors have recommendations about places to go and sights to see in either city, please let me know. I know there's lot of Green Bay Packer centric stuff to while away the hours in Green Bay, but the only thing I know about Milwaukee comes from John Prine's song "Please don't bury me":
Down in that cold, cold ground
No, I'd rather have 'em cut me up
And pass me all around"
And the blind can have my eyes
And the deaf can take both of my ears
If they don't mind the size"
If they run out of beer
Put my socks in a cedar box
Just to get 'em out of here"
I like to spend a day downtown just taking in the shops and eats around Old World Third Street.?ÿ There use to be a great cheese shop there and I think it also turned into a restaurant.?ÿ I bought 13 year old cheddar there...it'll knock your socks off.?ÿ And there's a sausage maker there called Usinger's that has made sausages since old man Usinger got off the boat in the 1880s.?ÿ I won't eat anybody else's brats but Usinger's.?ÿ And if you're hungry for some prepared food there's a place called Mader's I like to swill good German beer and munch on some Reuben rolls or some Sauerbraten.?ÿ Drink enough and you can speak fluent German to the Uber driver.?ÿ Those are just a few of the spots to hit down there.?ÿ Also, if you're into good food, try a local church fish fry on Friday evening. Just ask around and someone will point you in the right direction.
The Harley Museum is a good stop even if?ÿ you're not into motorcycles.?ÿ The history of the company is fascinating.?ÿ And if the weather isn't too bad hit a couple of the parks that dot the shores all along Lake Michigan.?ÿ If it gets cold you can always warm up at any neighborhood bar.?ÿ There's one on every corner with a stool with your name on it.?ÿ I'm stuck on a place called The Landmark.?ÿ It's been there since 1850 on the west side of the AP.?ÿ?ÿ
Gee.?ÿ I just realized all I ever do up there is eat, walk around and drink, nap & repeat....John Prine said it best I guess. 😉
Thanks for the tips Paden. Turns out we will be lodging two blocks from the aforementioned Usinger's and Mader's. As for the Landmark 1850 , it's right next to the airport and we're going to need someplace to waste time prior to our 7 PM flight on Monday. You've given us direction. Granted, it is direction contrary to what our wives have dreamed up for us, but they haven't been to Milwaukee and you have. Thanks.
Oh I'm sure there's lots of stuff to do for the ladies also...I just can't think of any.?ÿ But you might try the "Holler House".?ÿ It's a time worn bar and bowling alley (the oldest sanctioned lanes of ten-pin in the nation) where they still set the pins by hand.?ÿ The ceiling is decorated with bras from the lady customers.?ÿ It really has that "old world" ambiance.?ÿ It's at S 20th. & Lincoln Av. About a mile east of there is the Basilica of Saint Josaphat.?ÿ It's a beautiful building that needs to be seen.?ÿ A lot of the building was a Post Office in Chicago that was purchased, dismantled and railed to Milwaukee about 1900 and rebuilt into a beautiful specimen of architecture, inside and out.?ÿ
It's OK to go there with beer on your breath because it's still a working Catholic Church. 😉
It's a time worn bar and bowling alley (the oldest sanctioned lanes of ten-pin in the nation)
Funny you should mention that. I'd heard about the bowling alley and suggested to my buddy that we should go to the bar and get a photo. He's a droop mustachioed cowboy and I'm not. Sort of get a photo similar to the one of these guys.
He put the kibosh on that idea.
If you know anyone local you might ask about this place.?ÿ It has been around since 1966 and I was there in 1976 so have no up-to-date knowledge.
This was set up like a 1930's speakeasy when I was there.?ÿ There is no big sign telling you that you are at the correct location.?ÿ The entrance is off of an alley and the door says International Exports.?ÿ Using the link below go to FAQ to discover the location and what to expect.?ÿ The experience I had there was great and fun.?ÿ As I recall, one of the stools at the bar was connected hydraulically to allow the stool to slowly rise or lower to confuse the occupant.?ÿ All sorts of fun things could be seen or experienced throughout the evening.?ÿ Being in the "facilities" and have the lights go off, sirens ring out and flashing red cop lights go off definitely gets your attention.?ÿ They have probably changed all sorts of things, so check with a local to make sure its worth your time.
Haven't been there in a while but the Safe House used to be a gas. You need to know the password to enter (Is this a safe house). Mean while everyone inside is watching you try to figure it out on cctv. Then you can have cocktails with names like the Spy's Demise. To get out you had to go into a phone booth and do something I can't remember and the whole thing would turn and you found yourself standing in the alley.
Too late in the season, but there is the Tikki Bar in Dundee that's an old campground on a small lake turned into a southern beach area. They brought in fake palm trees and a whole bunch of sand and all the other stuff that makes you think you're on Key West. Live music on weekends and outdoor pool tables. All sorts of pirate and shark stuff. Being a parrothead, I always enjoyed it and the views.
My wife has a set of high ball and low ball glasses with the "Safe House" name proudly printed on them with a motif that looks like the intro to a 007 movie, circa 1978.?ÿ I wonder if they're worth anything more than the dust that's on them?
Maybe if they're full?
The National Railroad Museum is in Green Bay.?ÿ
Door County, side trip for a fish boil might agree with you.?ÿ If nothing, go out to dinner and order whitefish (whitefish bay) broiled.?ÿ
Wade into Lake Michigan if you dare.?ÿ
There is probably a "fest" going on somewhere nearby. Go to it.?ÿ
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Thanks for all the recommendations guys. It's helped fill in my dance card of things to do. And I had no idea Green Bay has a Railroad Museum. That looks like a must see.
Go Pack Go!
