For me being Russian a trip to Chicago, US was a big experience. Not only because it was mainly business- a big annual congress of ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology), and sponsored by Bayer HealthCare we've got a five star treatment everywhere (except for United airlines, but it's not Bayer's fault...), but also because born in the USSR and later moving to Denmark, visiting the States was always more like a dream to me not necessarily coming true.
I must say i truly loved it! I think people are so friendly and service minded, they smile and apologise to you if something is wrong- even the buss driver apologised for the nasty weather!
It hasn't actually started all that well. My bag got lost by United somewhere between Brussels and Chicago. Me and my colleague with the same unlucky fate were forced to go shopping for some clothes, etc, because we were going out for dinner the same night. I must say being tired and jet laged does not go with shopping! I wasn't impressed by United Airlines at all, also because they could have been a bit more friendly and organised at the airport (on the way back we checked our luggage in 15 min prior to departure, all because we had no clue what queue to go to... but made the flight :)
The ASCO congress was something to experience. About 30.000 people there from all over the world! There were sessions of different types all through the day with the latest news and research within oncology.
My days were very busy, and the evenings, too, where Bayer was taking the whole group out to some really nice places to eat. If you happen to be in Chicago, Shaw's crab house, Cite (on the 71st floor of Lake Point Tower) and the Architects' cafe are definitely worth going to!!!
Another highlight of my trip to Chicago was meeting up with some very special people- my school friends from Minsk, whom I haven't seen for more than 10 years! Veronika is now married to Maxim and they have adorable Christopher 3 months old, and Galya came all the way from Canada taking her family with her and being off just for the weekend from her Police training! I really appreciate all the efford you guys made to come over- it was all worth it. As Maxim said, I hope we won't wait for another 10 years to meet up again :)
I really hope we all get a chance to go to Chicago another time as a family- there's so much fun stuff to do!
Here are some pictures.
Chicago by night...
At the ASCO congress
Fine dining with the collegues. In the center the view from Cite restaurant
Meeting up with Veronika and Galya and their families- we took a boat trip, had dinner together and visited Willis tower with some amazing views of the city from about 1400 feet!
Just look at these cute ducklings!
