Contrary to popular belief, the eight American states that comprise the Midwest are not all about corn and Rust Belt 'burbs... Nope, their wide-open spaces are home to the friendliest people you'll ever meet, great state parks and cool, hugely underrated cities. Take Cincinnati in Ohio! Dubbed the 'City of the Seven Hills', Cincy has a hilly terrain that easily rivals San Francisco's. Five other reasons why it's OK for Cincinnati to toot its own horn – and why you should visit it.
1. Its Riverfront Is Quite Simply Amazing
Once marked by post-industrial decay, Cincinnati has totally transformed its waterfront by constructing a new boulevard, in this way connecting the Ohio river to its urban core. And by transformation, I mean: kick-ass porch swings for the whole family overlooking the Southbank, two new stadiums for the Cincinnati Reds (baseball) and Bengals (American football), water curtains, a Lager House, heaps of flowers and trees, a carousel and a bike lane. If you thought Americans were not designed for strolling and sauntering along boulevards, think again!
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| Huge family-sized swings along the waterfront ©Maaike |
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| Seen at Cincy's waterfront: a piece of the Berlin Wall and a Tower Bridge look-a-like. ©Maaike |
Although Cincy has held the name 'Porkopolis' for many years, Cincinnatians love their food in all sorts of shapes and forms: smothered in cheese, topped with crispy onions, wispy thin, fluffy, steamy, peppery or zesty. Unfortunately, Sky Line Chili was closed on the day I visited the city, but I urge you to try their famous 3-Way Chili. If a heart attack on a plate isn't your thing, head over to Findlay Market, Ohio's oldest surviving municipal market house where locals come for locally grown products. Branch out and try Graeter's delicious ice cream too, proclaimed as the best ice cream in the nation by Oprah herself.
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| Ann all-American burger at Johnny Rocket. ©Maaike |
Greater Cincinnati is a so-called tri-state area, meaning that lies across three states: Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky. If you want to get a sense of how the different states look like from high up above, head over to the Carew Tower — the world's tallest standing pre-WWII tower. For as little as two bucks, visitors can head outside and get a bird's eye view over Cincy's skyscrapers, stadiums and parks, as well as the Ohio river and the surrounding states.
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| A view over Ohio and Northern Kentucky ©Maaike |
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| People resembling ants ©Maaike |
Nowhere have I seen so many murals as in Cincy: some parts of the city look like they fell into pot of rainbow paint. We're not talking about some random graffiti here and there: on the contrary, Cincinatti's murals are painted by professional artists and their young apprentices through the ArtWorks project. I love how they have added so much colour to neighbourhoods and transformed the city into a huge open-air gallery... And I'm sincerely hoping they will extend this project to other places around the world.
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| The Passenger Pigeon Mural by John A. Ruthven ©Maaike |
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| Colours ©Maaike |
Artsy folks, lo and behold! Over-the-Rhine, the most intact urban historic district in the US, is where it's at. Like any other up-and-coming neighbourhood in the western world, Over-the-Rhine was once marked by poverty and crime, but is now seen as one of the most promising urban areas for revitalisation in the country. Hundreds of ornate buildings have been saved from demolition and now host galleries, boutiques, small businesses and coffee places – it's so hip, it hurts!
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| Over-the-Rhine ©Maaike |
Haha so hip it hurts! Leuk! Ik wil ook mooie muurkunst en megaschommels in Nederland.
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