Following our visit to Chicago in 2012, we took a 10-day tour around Lake Erie and the southern part of Lake Michigan. As in Chicago, Rainer's nephew Christian accompanied us.
The nearly day-long drive to Cleveland began on the six- to eight-lane roads of Chicago and then transitioned into an endless highway through the states of Indiana and Michigan. Cleveland is characterized by a run-down city centre on the one hand, and the extremely impressive, day-long Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame on the other. We were also impressed by the excellent American breakfasts in Cleveland and by our visit to the Great Lakes Brewery in Flat Rock, a suburb.
After travelling about 300 km, we reached Niagara Falls, where we had booked pleasant accommodation at the Crestnut Inn on the Canadian side. This Victorian wooden house with a wraparound balcony and stylish interior comes highly recommended. The large, horseshoe-shaped Canadian Falls and the smaller, straighter American Falls are magnificent natural spectacles that we thoroughly enjoyed. We will always remember our dinner with a view of the waterfalls, as well as the 'Journey Behind the Falls', which involved walking through a tunnel to the bottom of the waterfall. A day trip to Toronto offered us a glimpse into a bustling metropolis, though it's not necessarily a must-see destination. Of course, we also visited the CN Tower, which stands at a height of 450 metres.
Another day trip north along Lake Erie took us to Dearborn, a suburb of Detroit and home to the headquarters of the Ford Motor Company. Although our Marriott Dearborn Hotel was getting on in years, having been built by Henry Ford 80 years ago, it was pleasant and spacious. Detroit itself has been severely affected by the economic decline of the car manufacturers based there. The Henry Ford Automobile Museum in Dearborn is unimaginably extensive by European standards. From vintage cars to presidential limousines and airplanes to modern cars, everything here revolves around motorization.
At the end of our tour, we visited the Indiana Dunes National Park, where 40-meter-high sand dunes tower over the southern shore of Lake Michigan. They are remnants of the last ice age. During our stay in Michigan City, we experienced the American way of life in the Midwest. It's not necessarily suitable for Central Europeans!
