Month: May 2016
Location: Baltimore
When I told people that I was going to Baltimore,
the 2 things that they mentioned were, “Crabs”
and the TV show “The Wire”. While I enjoy the former, I never got into
the latter. So I wasn’t going to get too
excited or do a “Wire tour”, if such
thing were available. I arrived in
Baltimore in the afternoon and after some searching found the train
station. The next problem was finding
the ticket vending machine and after asking around, I managed to get a ticket
just as the train was approaching. I
rode it into the downtown, and got off a few blocks from my hotel, using the
map on my phone the rest of the way. I
checked in and then got down to the most important activity for the evening –
where to eat!
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| Perfect evening on the waterfront |
I asked for directions to the waterfront and it was a
pleasant late afternoon as I set off. My
first destination was ‘Ripley’s Believe
It Or Not Museum’ on the "Inner Harbor". I
had visited Orlando’s version of this during my trip there, but has some time
to kill. The very first thing that
greeted me for a statue of the “tallest
man in the world” and he looked eerily like my Graduate school advisor. It was a good museum and kept me engrossed
for over an hour. I came out to find
that it was not an absolutely gorgeous evening and the waterfront area was
coming alive. I had made dinner
reservations, but before that went to a nearby place for a cocktail. It was a charming place, with wooden interior
and was very much a bar that one would expect near a harbor. I came out and walked through a nearby
shopping arcade, before setting off for my dinner.
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| The fantastic skyline |
The restaurant was across the harbor, and I could see it
from where I was. But since there wasn’t
a bridge, connecting the 2 sides, I had to go around the harbor and that
took a good 30 minutes. However, I wasn't complaining since the night had set in and the skyline of Baltimore was looking spectacular. I arrived at the restaurant
– ‘Rusty Scupper’ – which had a
distinct nautical theme, and which stayed consistent through my order. I had a nice view of the harbor from my table and it was a perfect
location for my first night in the city.
I walked back to my hotel and although the hotel bar sounded lively, I was
tired and went straight to my room to retire.
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| 'Lexington Market' |
I had a busy day and so decided to have an early lunch. I had done some research on the best “Maryland Crab Cakes” and most had
picked a place called ‘Faidley’s Seafood’. I checked and saw that it was within walking
distance of my hotel. So I set off and
as I moved away from the downtown, there was distinct change in the
neighborhood and it became more rundown.
The place was inside a building called ‘Lexington Market’, which had other eating places besides this one
– most of them ethnic. It was quite
early and there was just one other family besides me in the line. There were standing tables only and so armed
with a “Crab Cake” I took my spot
there and discovered that it was as good as advertised. After I had polished off my plate, I
requested an ‘Uber’ and it was an
interesting wait outside the market with some colorful language and
propositions. A beat up van pulled up as
my ride and on the way the driver mentioned how driving for ‘Uber’ is an alternative to beating up
his wife, since now he can just leave home to drive when he gets annoyed. Nice city!
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| The outside and inside of one of the artworks |
My destination was ‘Baltimore
Museum Of Art’ and I arrived a few minutes before the next guided
tour. I walked about a bit before
joining my group which had 5 other folks besides me, including a couple who
were visiting after 40 years and had come specifically to see ‘Matisse’, which they remembered from
back then. The theme for the tour was “Various forms of art” and for the next
hour our guide took us around the museum and regaled us with stories. It was a very informative tour and I had great
time learning about some of the artifacts.
After we had finished, I looked around for a while before calling my
ride for the next destination, ‘B&O
Railroad Museum’.
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| The central hall of 'B&O Railroad Museum' |
As I arrived at the museum, the skies had started to darken
and rain was imminent. The museum itself
had two parts - rooms with history of the railroad and scaled models; and
then actual sized locomotives and carriages in a grand hall and some that were
outside in the yard. The hall itself was
spectacular and the collection of historical trains was incredible. The best was the mechanism by which they keep
rotating what’s on display, via a center section that can be moved manually
like a “turntable”, to align the tracks.
The trains can then either be brought in or taken out and apparently
they do this as a show. I walked through
the carriages in there and then went outside where some of the other artifacts
were located, including a train which had a carriage long “model train” display. There
was plenty to see and I could have spent more time there, but I was concerned
about the weather. I had in fact turned
down a chance to ride in one of the trains since I wanted to get to my next
destination before the inevitable downpour.
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| The fantastic 'Geppi's Museum' |
I walked back towards the downtown and almost made it to the
end, just getting caught in the rain a few meters from the ‘Geppi’s Entertainment Museum’.
Now I have seen some museums in my time, but nothing like this. This is a museum dedicated to Comics. But that’s not the only thing. It is just so well done. Everything from the wooden paneling to the
lighting, to the décor was fantastic and it is one of the most inviting
museums that I have been to. Each room
had its own theme and even the corridors had interesting artifacts, including
two life-sized statues of “Superman”
on either side. Plus this wasn’t just a
museum about comics – although it was dominate by those. There were also references to movies and TV
shows and a fan could spend hours in this place. It truly was one of the more enjoyable places
that I have visited during my travels.
The museum was right across the famous ‘Camden Yards’, home of the ‘Baltimore
Orioles’, though with the weather the way it was, chances of a game were
bleak. It was interesting walk back to
my hotel with the rain and dodging the shower bursts via stops in hotel
lobbies. I made it back relatively dry
and then hung out in my room for some time before heading out for the
evening. I had asked for some
recommendations for cocktail places and had been directed to a bar just around
the corner called ‘American Brassiere’. I went there just as the happy hour crowd was
dissipating and after a cocktail, walked towards the harbor. The unpleasant weather of the day had now
turned into a beautiful evening and there is always something special about a
waterfront during twilight. People had
come out to enjoy the evening and I savored the ambiance as I walked over
towards my dinner destination.
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| Another perfect evening |
I still had some time to spare and had found a couple of
other cocktail places around the restaurant.
One of them was a place called ‘Apropoe’s’,
which described itself as an “Edgar Allan
Poe themed eatery”. I sat at the bar, ordered a cocktail, and started a conversation with a gentleman next to
me. For the next 30 minutes or so we had
a spirited discussion on several topics such as travel, cocktails, pizza,
medicine and golf – he was a doctor from Augusta, Georgia, here for a
convention and had ordered a pizza. After
we had said our goodbyes, I realized that we had never quite introduced ourselves
by name. This wasn’t the first time
during my travels that I have had great conversation with someone without
learning their name, and it wouldn’t be the last. When I had called my dinner restaurant, ‘Charleston’, for reservations a month
ago, they had said that they would be busy this night owing to “graduation week”. I could see several young folks out and about
in formal wear, ready to celebrate. I
waited at my restaurant bar and was then directed to a table next to a couple,
who I learned were from Jamaica and gave me some valuable tips on what to
order. It was one of the better meals
that I have had and for part of the dinner, I enjoyed conversing with them as
well. After dinner I took an ‘Uber’ back to my hotel, a day well
spent.
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| The drinks selection at 'Miss Shirley's' |
The first place that I wanted to visit on Sunday was reputed
to be the best brunch place in town – ‘Miss
Shirley’s Café’. I arrived to see a
huge crowd and was told that the wait would be in the vicinity of an hour. Well, I really didn’t need to be anywhere in a hurry and so decided to wait. There were
several drink choices on offer for those waiting and all around me people were
availing of that opportunity. But I just
waited and it really was an hour before I was seated. I had studied the menu and
had seen a sandwich which according to them was “The Best Breakfast Sandwich in the Nation”. Now, that is a lofty claim and so I just had
to try it. While it was very good, I
doubt if it lived up to its reputation.
I called for a ride to my next destination, not sure if the wait had
been worth my time.
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| The 'Museum of Industry' |
I was headed to ‘The
Baltimore Museum of Industry’, which proved to be further away than I had
thought. But once I was there, I was
glad to have come, since I had a very good time. The museum – as they say in their description
– is a “celebration of Maryland’s
industrial legacy” and takes a visitor through various types of industry
that once thrived in this area, such as “oyster
cannery”, “printing press”, “tool makers” etc. As I walked through the various rooms, which
had been reproduced in their original setting from 75-100 years ago, I was
reminded of the ‘Flour Museum’ in
Minneapolis. Although there was a guided
tour which I would have loved to attend, I had limited time and wanted to visit
one more place before I left for the airport; something that I try and visit
in every state - a “Science Museum”.
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| Yeah, I can live here |
The ‘Maryland Science
Center’ was near the waterfront, as was this museum and so I decided to
walk over there. The walk took me along
the "Inner Harbor" and past some of the more expensive gated communities, all
overlooking the downtown skyline. The
science center was full of kids as usual and I spent my remaining time over
there, even attending a few shows.
Finally, in the late afternoon, I walked back to my hotel to pick up my
bag and head to the airport. I had no
idea what to expect over here, but had enjoyed my time in the city – having
eaten some good food, visited some interesting places and met some cool
people. It is a trend which has been
consistent throughout my travels.
