2026 Chicago visa pickup

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The consulate called on 1 October and my Digital Nomad Visa is ready, so it is back to Chicago to pick it up. This time Sarkantu is coming with me, and we are driving. Lumi is staying with friends. My first trip was in September, when I handed in the application.

Days

Saturday 3 October

Drive down

Overcast, 11 to 18°C, no rain.1

We dropped Lumi off at 8 AM and then drove down in Bolty, my Chevy Bolt, with charging stops in Tomah, Lake Delton and Janesville, and got to Chicago at 5:30 PM. There is no parking at the Airbnb, so Bolty is at a charger nearby, charging to 100% overnight. First stop was Yaya Mas in River North, where I had avgolemono, a gyro plate and a freddo cappuccino with cinnamon, which was a good call for an evening coffee. The city is packed this weekend, and prices are up.

Sunday 4 October

The museum and 9 Muses

Overcast, 11 to 19°C, no rain.1

Coffee at Intelligentsia on Randolph, where I waited a while for the flat white. A popular comedian was there, and I did not approach them, because who does that anyways?

After that we went to the Crown fountain and the Bean in Millennium Park. The Crown Fountain is a bit creepy.

Then I went back to Dark Matter on Jackson and got a barrel aged cold brew. This was better! It tasted like a beer with coffee, but not a stout like coffee beer tends to be.

We went to the National Hellenic Museum, and it was a free admission day (First Sunday of the Month; Καλή Κυριακή!). I still donated $20 USD for the two of us. I took some photos, wrote down some artist names, got a view of the rooftop, and learned more about the history of Greek immigration to America. Did you know that Dove, the chocolate and ice cream bar company, was started by a Greek American, Leo Stefanos?2 I also had no idea how much the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese interacted with American politics, in a good way. Cyprus was a large topic in the museum as well, and it was about the 1974 Turkish invasion.3

Caption

Caption

Journey Home, by Rich Lo, oil on canvas, 2026, in the Odyssey Reimagined exhibit.

My favourite picture at the museum was one I did not take a picture of. It depicted Odysseus and his men on the island of the Lotus Eaters, and there were lotuses but also phones. The piece is The Modern Temptation, by Yianna Foufas, and the artist made a point to show that Phones can be like the lotus in the Odyssey.

Caption

Caption

The view from the museum rooftop.

After that we went to 9 Muses. I had a masticha mojito, and we had avgolemono, taramasalata and a pekilia for two. It was very good, the drinks were fantastic, and I probably tipped too much but it is fine. This would all have been 75% less at a place like Opos palia in Greece.

We walked by the Art Institute of Chicago, but it would not fit in today.

Caption

Caption

The masticha mojito.

Caption

Caption

The pekilia for two, with 2 pork and 2 chicken skewers, kefte, loukaniko and Greek potatoes. The avgolemono and taramasalata are not pictured.

Monday 5 October

The visa, Mercadito, pizza and ramen

Clear, 7 to 16°C, no rain.1

Coffee first at Kafe Mera in River North, where I had a freddo espresso. It was decent, but they added too much ice.

Then I walked to the consulate, waited a bit, and picked up my visa. The gentleman asked if I wanted to check it, and I got worried when I looked and saw nothing, but then I opened it up and had the biggest smile on my face. I bowed and said thank you and Καλή εβδομάδα. I realised after the fact that he was excited for me to see it, which is why he asked if I wanted to check it. <3

I almost went to the Starbucks Reserve after that, but it was sooo busy, so I walked to Dollop Coffee instead and had a london fog.

After that we went back to the apartment to rest and reset, and then a short while later, at noon we went to Mercadito. It was very, very good. I agree with my friend’s assessment of the place but I think for my visit the Al Pastor was better than the Carne.

I had a nap in the afternoon, and Sarkantu went to the pinball museum. :) I also got my work done, since tomorrow I will be driving back and will not be able to get much done.

For dinner Sarkantu got pizza to take home from Robert’s Pizza & Dough Company. Honestly it was underwhelming for the hype, but it might have been an off night for them. I did not want pizza, so I got Ramen-San in River North instead. It was busy, but the food was really good and it hit the spot.

The rest of the evening was catching up on this writing.

Tuesday 6 October

Home

Overcast, 12 to 23°C, no rain.1

We drove back to Minneapolis. Nothing eventful happened. We charged in Hixton, Wisconsin, and 3 Asian lady beetles joined us there and stayed on the outside of the windshield until we pulled into the garage.4 They have strong legs!

Lumi was picked up in the evening.

Where I stayed

A private room in River North

A private room in River North

The room is near the Chicago Riverwalk. It has a king bed, a TV, and framed art covering most of one wall. The ceiling is painted as a sky full of clouds, with a wooden ceiling fan in the middle of it.

The bar below was not an issue. The noise was cars going by with very loud boom box speakers. The bathroom is bigger than the reviews say, but it is a bit odd being separated from the room, and watch your step. I almost tripped stepping into it.

What I packed

The CabinZero

I meant to take the Kanken, and I ended up bringing the CabinZero. The forecast is mild and dry, with highs of 16 to 23°C and lows of 7 to 12°C, and Monday is the coldest morning.1 There are no documents to carry this time, and the Airbnb came with earplugs, so I did not bring any.

Gear

  • Laptop
  • Tech pouch, with the Anker charger, cables, Whoosh screen shine spray and a microfiber towel, and the charger converter, which I did not need but it stays
  • Altras
  • Dopp kit with all my toiletries
  • Pen case of Frixion erasable pens
  • Over the ear headphones
  • Greek kids exercise book

Clothes

  • 2 merino wool shirts
  • 1 merino wool long shirt
  • 2 shorts
  • 1 blue sleeveless shirt
  • 1 green skirt with flowers
  • 3 Branwyn wool underwear
  • 1 extra Branwyn wool bra
  • 2 pairs of socks

Worn

  • Merino wool travel hoodie
  • Sandals from Olgianna, Artemis style
  • Merino wool bra and underwear
  • Kirkland travel pants, black
  • Pull and Bear navy tank top
  • Blue crystal bracelet with an evil eye ward charm
  • Blue beaded necklace
  • Sunglasses

The hip pack

My Fjällräven hip pack held the wallet and the journal kit.

  • Wallet
  • Journal kit, with 3 fountain pens and 1 Frixion erasable pen

Lessons

Lessons

  1. Sarkantu really does like their creature comforts Sarkantu just is not built for travel, same as in Naperville.
  2. Check if places use scented plugs They ended up aggravating me this time around.

Planning notes

Footnotes

  1. Open-Meteo, Weather Forecast API, the forecast for Chicago on 3 October. ↩ ↩2 ↩3 ↩4 ↩5

  2. Wikipedia, Dove Bar. ↩

  3. Wikipedia, Turkish invasion of Cyprus. ↩

  4. Penn State Extension, Multicolored Asian lady beetle. The species is Harmonia axyridis, and its common names include the Asian lady beetle and the Halloween lady beetle. ↩

  5. National Hellenic Museum, Visit. Time Out says it is open daily during the exhibit’s opening week, so I will check before going. ↩

  6. Time Out Chicago, The Odyssey Reimagined. ↩

  7. Matchbox, Matchbox Chicago. The 30 minutes is my estimate from the two addresses. ↩ ↩2

  8. Yelp, Mercadito, 108 W Kinzie St. Its hours are listed as 11:30 AM to 9:30 PM Monday to Wednesday. ↩

  9. Yelp, Heart of Middle East Market, 3526 N Halsted St. Its hours are listed as 9:30 AM to 9:30 PM Monday to Thursday. ↩

  10. Jewel-Osco, 550 N State St, and Trader Joe’s, 44 E Ontario St on Yelp. ↩