Day 22-Favorite city

So you may all think that I am silly for this but Cincinnati is my favorite city.  I simply love Cincinnati.  It isn't because I haven't been any where else, I have traveled quite a bit, but it has such an incredible culture and history that I just love it.  There are only a couple other cities that I have been to that I believe I could live in and those are Chicago and San Fransisco.  I love both those cities as well, but Ohio is home.

I never knew how much I loved Cincinnati until I took a class in college about the German influence and history in Cincinnati and Southwest Ohio.  I don't even remember very much from that class in terms of historical facts but it changed the way that I looked at the city and my heritage.  This city is my heritage...my family came through here and moved north closer to Dayton.  (my other family heritage is in Chicago which is probably why I am fond of the Windy City).

Like I said, that one class changed my perspective but then when I had to move away from here my absence made me long for it even more.  I never cared for Dayton once I was old enough to discover it on my own so when I was living there again mostly out of circumstance (although I am very happy that I had to), I wanted to move back to Cincinnati.  This is the city were I discovered who I am, I grew into my personality, I made life long friends and now, where I want to create a future.

Fountain Square

I love love love this fountain...I have way too many pictures of it

Thought that was cool...one side was frozen

Being here again, as a parent, has changed my perspective on the city.  I still love everything German about the culture, architecture and history, but as a parent there are so many things that Parker and I can do together for small expense or free.  Last year we started going to the different parks and just walking around them for hours.  We have only visited a few which you can read about here.....or here  This is obviously a warm weather thing so we haven't had the chance to recently but there are so many parks in and around the city that we can always keep busy.  (In Northside there is Parker Woods....that was the first on the list but long before blogging)

Another thing is the museums, there are a lot of those too.  He is too young to fully appriciate all of them but his favorite is Union Terminal.  Last year when we were walking around Eden Park, he showed a lot of interest in going to the Art museum....so that is something that we have to look forward to.  There is also the Freedom Center that I am anticipating visiting with him.  I haven't been there but there is no other city that had such a huge influence and participation in the Underground Railroad....another really unique bit of history for this city.

To gush on a little more...there are so many festivals here in the spring, summer and fall and most of them have something to do with something that serves a lot of sausage.  Being Porkopolis and all it is quite fitting that there are metts and kraut at every festival created.  I swear to you I eat more sausage now that I ever have in my entire life.  Plus there is beer served pretty much everywhere (hello Germans!).  Nippert Stadium serves beer....and the indoor soccer place Parker plays at serves beer too....

And if I was into sports, we have more than one sporting option.  The Bengals, the Reds and the Cyclones....not to forget the UC and Xavier teams too.

After reading all this don't you kinda like Cincinnati a little more too?  I mean where else can you go that has the biggest German influence in the US and was one of the biggest stops on the Underground Railroad?  German culture, Black culture, crazy conservatives, huge range of socio-economical status....talk about diversity.

I want to end this one with some of my favorite pictures of Cincinnati taken from the top of Carew Tower.

Paul Brown

Great American Ballpark is behind that new building

Looking down on 5th St

Fountain Square

Towards Mt. Adams

Towards Mt Auburn

Towards Clifton

(Parker lost his 5th tooth today.....I think he pulled it at school because his adult tooth was growing over it....but yea, 5 baby teeth down.  I don't think he has any room for any more adult teeth though)