Cincinnati

Cincinnati turned out to be a surprisingly delightful city. There were bike paths around the two big universities, Cincinnati and Xavier, as well as a good park for running, and a great multi-use trail called the Little Miami Rail Trail which follows on old railroad path that had been paved over (a good place for access is next to the Kings Island Amusement Park and head north). And right across the river in Kentucky is another delightful city known as Newport, which has the first Hofbrauhaus in the US! For those that don't know, Hofbrauhaus is one of the original famous breweries from Munich, Germany, and is well known for its food, beer and cheery atmosphere supported by fun, live German drinking music. The time to visit, however, has to be mid September when the Cincinnati Oktoberfest is going on. From all I hear, it is second only to the original due to the large amount of German settlers and influence in the city. Unfortunately for Newport, its Oktoberfest which falls right after the Cincy one does not measure up. At all. In fact, it is quite dead. However it does offer an excellent across the river view of Cincinatti as seen below.

Cincinnati as seen from across the river in Newport.

View of Cincinnati from Echo Park, one of the many parks in the area offering great hilltop views.

View from the top of Carew Tower dowtown, Cincinnati's tallest building and built in 1931.

One of the picturesque statues downtown. This square had a jumbotron displaying ESPN complete with audio and a nice microbrew pub called Rock Bottom, which has a great happy hour.

Special thanks to my cousin Cathy for showing me around town and buying me dinners! The meals and the company was much enjoyed and highly appreciated!