A recent visit to Chicago revealed that there is a winter out there after all. Real cold, real snow and all. On our second day in town we were caught in a blizzard, and at the end of the day it turned out to be the sixth strongest blizzard in the Chicago area since meteorological recording began. Unlike the unfortunates who had to commute that day, we enjoyed the day with a walk through the streets, and when it got too nasty we simply spent some hours at the Art Institute. All the while it kept on snowing. On our way home it began getting dark and it really felt like childhhood days back in Stockholm or Moscow, when after a nice day of fighting the elements, the warm kitchen and living room back home started smelling of hot chocolate. Real winter, real cold, real comfy zone.

The twin towers of Marina City, a real city planning and architecture highlight when completed in 1964.

Who remembers the famous scene of the Mr. Cool (Steve McQueen) flick when a car bursts out of the top

garage floor and into the Chicago River?

In front of the fabulous Art Institute.

Not only snow but also chunks of ice keep falling from the sky, aka roof tops.

The elevated loop line.

Standing underneath the loop line offered some protection and comfort.

"My kind of town (Chicago is)" comes to mind...