The joint was rockin' and we had to hover for a bit before finding a table to sit at and drink our mochas. We sat in the pump room. The joint is located in the Milwaukee River Flushing Station which was built in 1888. And it's still used today to pump water from Lake Michigan into the Milwaukee River. When fully-caffeinated, we zipped over to the Milwaukee Public Museum.
I'd never been to the MPM so I was looking forward to it. And having grown up in Chicago, I was used to various disciplines getting their own museum. There was the Field Museum, the Shedd Aquarium, the Adler Planetarium, and the Museum of Science & Industry. Being a bit smaller, Milwaukee kind of tied everything into one spot. When we walked up the stairs, we were confronted by our past. Not our personal pasts, but our past as homo sapiens.
The large foyer had an exhibit smack dab in the center which had animals that had been stuffed & mounted plus lots of specimen cases.
In addition, there was a funky hoolie that looked like a mega-incense burner from the Orient.
After looking at this prelude, we headed through the geography exhibit. There were dealies about plate tectonics and rocks & minerals.
There was a room decked out to look like a cavern where aspiring spelunkers can learn about stalagmites and stalactites. Being a big fan of Genesis, the song "In the Cage" came to mind. The relevant lyrics are:
Stalactites, stalagmites
Shut me in, lock me tight.
I was specifically thinking of the performance from the Mama Tour Video which featured Phil Collins singing these lyrics with his arms wrapped around himself. With dorkery aside and a modicum of walking from Pangaea, we learned how life arose on our wonderful blue-green planet. From the first cell to life in water to life on land. Of course there were dinosaurs. Life was solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short back then. For triceratops, at least.
Moving on to the biology/botany area, we found ourselves in a mock rainforest.
It was an interesting exhibit that did a great service in these times with this bit:
No ID here. We also learned of the wonderful bounty that the rain forests give us. E.g. – tasty spices!
Moving on, we found ourselves in the entomology section. Many a butterfly sacrificed itself for the exhibit.
We didn't have a lot of time so we ended our time there by traipsing through the European Village. It featured a whole bunch of small houses such as this one:
Each displayed a room or two of typical turn of the century home of a particular ethnic group. Here's an example though I cannot recall which home this is.
We also toured the Streets of Old Milwaukee which was a mock up of a turn of the century street in Milwaukee. After this, we made a hasty exit as we had a three o'clock appointment at Lakefront Brewery.
Walking up the ramp, it was my turn to feel like I was on a pilgrimage. Upon entering, we found that the joint was rockin'.
Five bucks got us a pint glass and four chips good for an 8 ounce pour each. I started with their Snake Chaser Irish stout as it was the day after St. Patrick's Day. Three rolled around and we were herded up and led downstairs by this guy:
He welcomed us and then gave a brief intro to the brewery. I didn't know their output was so small – only 7,000 barrels a year. Our guide also told us that they follow the Reinheitsgebot (German Purity Law) of 1516 meaning that their beer doesn't contain goofy adjuncts so they can make a quick buck. It's water, yeast, barley, and hops. He talked about the roasting of the barley and pointed out their silo full of the precious grain.
Although I don't have a picture, three of the tanks were adorned with faces painted on them – of Moe, Larry, and Curly. He explained the difference between lagers and ales and which tanks did what and how. Our tour ended amongst a walls lined with barrels…
…as we saw how the barrels were filled. The gentleman was sure to emphasize the terms "bung" and "bung hole". Their slick new bottling line was also showcased.
The Dulcinea and I had a great time and are eager to tour more breweries. In fact, she was at the New Glarus brewery today and was kind enough to phone me at work to inform me of this fact. She also called this evening to make sure I was aware of her purchase of large quantities of their barley wine. Our trip ended with a stop for dinner. Since we were to be touring a brewery and the trip would mean that I couldn't continue my exploration of German cuisine at home, I'd planned ahead of time to hit one of the several German restaurants in the Milwaukee area. As fate would have it, I chose Kegel's Inn which is at National Ave. and 59th Street. The interior was beautiful. Stained glass, tall wainscoting, and painted walls featuring hunters as well as a monkey knocking over a stein of bier.
The service was great but the food was bad. The chicken soup was made with prison base. The salad was pure iceberg lettuce. (Although the combination of sour cream & blue cheese to dress it was new to me and quite tasty.) I had sauerbraten which was drowned in a gravy that tasted like it came from a package mixed with water. The Dulcinea had rouladen. The beef & pickle filling was good but the gravy on it also tasted like it came out of a bag. I intend to never go there again. Luckily there are other German joints to try next time.
As for the next time, I'm thinking a tour of Sprecher is in order…
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