Chicago20.08.2008

Tags: United States       Comments: 1

After 7 days crossing the Midwest, we reach the third biggest city in the U.S., Chicago. Our press conference is scheduled for 11AM in front of the Sears Tower. There should be no big hype but we are expecting a few journalists. We still have no clue that after days of strenuous driving, we will be thoroughly pampered here in this city.

Camille Jumly, the Swiss manager of the building, is our savior. First he allows us a view from the roof of the fourth tallest building in the world. As recent as 1997, the Sears Tower, with its 110 stories reaching 442 meters into the sky, was the tallest building in the world. Numerous elevators catapult us towards the heavens but the last 5 floors can be reached only by stairs. Along the way, we refrain from looking out any of this building's 16,100 windows so that the unrestricted view from the very top will be all the more enjoyable. The view of Lake Michigan and the downtown from atop these windy heights is simply breathtaking. We have literally reached the high point of our American journey. Heaven has never been so close.

After days of only fast food and, at times, foregoing nutrition altogether, an invitation appears from perhaps the most famous cook in the city. A gift from the sky. Having emigrated here from Switzerland a good 30 years ago, "Chef Hans" now knows almost everyone in Chicago. He dishes up a medium steak as well as a crème brûlée, the likes of which we've never tasted. Once we've recharged our own batteries, our stomachs are full and we head out on the town for a stroll. Earlier on, our batteries were, to put it mildly, too spent to explore the city on foot. We parked the Solartaxi on the street in front of the restaurant and simply set out from there. We haven't taken a single bus on our entire trip. Would now be just the time?

Chicagoans will often maintain that this is the most comfortable big city in the U.S. Huge skyscrapers from various eras, tastefully adorned, line the Chicago river and, as far we can tell, everything downtown is accessible by foot. Later, back at the Solartaxi (still no bus) and back at the Sears Tower, Camille learns that the university has failed to book us a hotel. On the spur of the moment, he invites Frank and me to his apartment - on the 53rd floor. We each get a guestroom with sights of the skyline. The view from my bed of the city's blazing lights prevents me from falling asleep for a long time yet, even though I'm actually dead tired. Late-night Chicago has roused all my vital spirits. We are of one mind that Thomas, our chief mechanic, has really missed out on something today. He wanted to stay a bit longer in the Rocky Mountains and so he's simply not in Chicago but, rather, in some escort vehicle in the middle of the prairie. And unfortunately we're staying for two and only two nights.

Also unforgettable our great Swiss Consul Mr. Mondada. He has helped to organize the press and setup the events. He even invited us to have a presentation at his place for a whole group of various and very interesting people from the Chicago area, so we could do great networking and we will be connected with Chicago forever.

Then we were invited by the Water TReatment PLant of CHicago, the biggest of this kind in the whole US. I held a seminar there, because in the future, Chicago is planning to get some of the energy for its water treatement plant from solar power, so I got a very interested and high ranking audience. As usual, I also visit one university in each city, and here I was invited by the well known Illinois Institute of Technology, by Prof Ali Emadi. His institute is also working in the field of electric and solar power for cars, so I held a presentation there for his students, before moving on to Detroit. Next on the list is to find out why the American automobile industry is withering away. And whether there's anything at all that can still save it.

 

 

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