Iwan Ries & Co! Holy butt balls! *virtual tour*

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Hater

Hater

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So I'll be going to Chicago and Wisconsin at the end of June and of course I started running a search for the closest tobacco store so I can buy a pipe when I'm on vacation. Of course, right? well I did a little search and ran across this website ( https://www.iwanries.com/ ) I thought all the venacular was cool ( THis IS your grandfathers pipe shop! etc) and so gave them a call. They told me that if I'm a pipe smoker I will be in heaven as they have over 10,000 pipes in stock! I was floored. Then they asked if I took the virtual tour. So , while on the ophone with them I did and I suggest you do too! Needless to say I cannot freaking wait to get out there! I've started the saving process already and am planning on havinga good chunk of change to spend there! Now if I could only stop buying pipes in the meantime.

All you Chicagoans are some lucky dirty limericks, that is all I know.

P.S. I'll be everywhere from Milwaukee to Madison to East Troy to Spring Green in Wisconsin on that trip. Any Wisonsinites have any suggestions for pipe shops in that area?

 
Don't buy tobacco from them locally or you can expect to pay an exorbitant tax. Darn that Cook County.
 
Ocelot55":tquuyrw2 said:
Don't buy tobacco from them locally or you can expect to pay an exorbitant tax. Darn that Cook County.
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Can the tax there be any worse than Southern California?
 
Ol'Dawg":o0dnmmys said:
A couple of suggestions--

While in Milwaukee, a visit to Uhle's should be on your agenda..

If you have a vehicle, a trip down to Jon's Pipe Shop in Champaign, IL might be worth the time.

Jim
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I love that Jons has estate pipes but it might be a little out of the way. I may have to make the trip though as it sounds amazing. I'm going for some concerts in back to back weekends at Alpine Valley and flying into Chicago and flying o0ut of Milwaukee. Im plannig on spending 3 days in Chicago so one of those days I may have to make the 3 hour drive.
 
You know another thing I am wondering... Are there a lot pipes in antique stores in the midwest? There are virtually none out here on the west coast but that is because anything tobacco is a facking sin out here. Id love to do some pipe shopping in antiaue shops while I am out there,.
 
It's far out of your way, but I recommend Galena, IL. That is a beautiful experience. That part of Illinois is scenic and a surprise for most people who don't realize there is more than farm land in the state. The entire town is an antique. Lots of antique stores, though you will pay a premium because it is both a tourist trap and a place for wealthy Chicagoans to have weekend and summer homes.
http://www.cityofgalena.org/
 
As far as Jon's Pipe Shop, I haven't been there in about 7 years but they did have a huge selection of pipes. It's not a big shop by square footage, but they have a lot of what I would guess to be old map filing cabinets filled with pipes of all kinds. Very friendly, knowledgeable and helpful staff too.

Are you going to (or aware of) the Summer Fest in Milwaukee? My wife and I went to the Irish Fest there a few years ago and had a great time. Great venue on the lake front and good transportation by city bus from various points away from the city center.

Jim
 
Zeno Marx":z829j140 said:
It's far out of your way, but I recommend Galena, IL. That is a beautiful experience. That part of Illinois is scenic and a surprise for most people who don't realize there is more than farm land in the state. The entire town is an antique. Lots of antique stores, though you will pay a premium because it is both a tourist trap and a place for wealthy Chicagoans to have weekend and summer homes.
http://www.cityofgalena.org/
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Sweet mother of God. I just google searched it and it looks absolutly beautiful. Would love to find some estate shops in that place for sure!

Well with the help so far the trip is starting to take shape. Check this out, folks.

4kxqi1.jpg

Milwaukee, Wi. -> Fly in hit up some German food and hit up the pipe shop
East troy, Wi. -> Phish at Alpine Valley
Decaorah, Io -> Seed Savers
Galena, Il. -> Antiquing for pipes and soaking up the scenery
Champaigne, Il. -> Jons pipe shop
Chicago, Il. -> Lopp and Iwan and ries pipe shop.
Spring Green, Wi. -> The House On The Rock (Is you dont know what this is.. FIND OUT!)
East Troy, Wi. -> Dave Matthews Band at Alpine Valley
Milwaukee, Wi. Fly home to California
 
If you like German food (really good German food) after you stop in Uhle's on Wisconsin Ave, just head down to Old World 3rd St. (about two or three blocks as I recall from Uhle's) and have some good food and beer at Maders. Then run across the street and pick up some really fine sausages at Usingers.

Only in Milwaukee with its strong German heritage could they do a sausage commercial completely in German (the subtitles weren't in the original commercials whey I was a kid up there).

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BC1akWCc8DY" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" frameborder="0" loading="lazy" allowfullscreen></iframe>

My wife and I belong to their Frequent Fryers Club and have to get their Braunschweiger at least twice a year. On a hearty rye, thick slices of raw onions, Swiss cheese, strong Bavarian mustard and a bit of horse radish. Ahhhh, I'm in heaven, (and if any body interrupts my bliss, I have only to breath on them and they run away screaming).

Good pipe shop, good food, great micro brews. How do you say "heaven" in German? :lol:

Natch
 
Ol'Dawg":dpgz2xq3 said:
Are you going to (or aware of) the Summer Fest in Milwaukee?
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Definately aware of it but sadly no, that is not the reason we are going. We are going to See Phish on June 30, July 1 and then facking off for a week and catching Dave Matthews Band at the same venue the following weekend. :)
 
Natch":3ndh2l8g said:
If you like German food .....
Good pipe shop, good food, great micro brews. How do you say "heaven" in German? :lol:

Natch
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Dually noted! Thanks Natch. Added to the itenerary!

 
What takes you to Spring Green? They have a wonderful Shakespeare Theater there, completely open on the top of a sandstone bluff overlooking the Wisconsin River below. I used to do three to five day canoe trips paddling down the Wisconsin (the lower reaches are clean, sandy, and great for party floats) and on the second or third day, I'd tell my girlfriend that we needed to clean up, put on our best duds (which on a river/camping trip wasn't that formal), I'd purposely camp on the far side of a forested sandbar so she couldn't see the lights from the theater on the hilltop, and at dusk we'd paddle over, hike the mile or so up the hill, and have wine, strawberries and Devenshire cream, and watch Midsummer Nights Dream under a full moon. It never failed (nudge-nudge, wink-wink, as Monty Python would say).

We also used to go there as drunken college students to cavort on Frank Lloyd Wright's grave (long story, my best friend's dad was his accountant and thought he'd love the gesture). And Galena has some wonderful bluffs and hiking as well.

Natch
 
That C>D area is relaxing and easy on the eyes. Looks like a great time.
 
The House on the Rock... A holy sight indeed. If you ride the Merry Go Round you can go backstage. Might even see Wednesday and Shadow.
 
Natch":55niort0 said:
What takes you to Spring Green?
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The House On The Rock. We went to see that last year and were absolutly FLOORED by it. If you have never been there then next time you are in the area you must see it. http://www.thehouseontherock.com/

Actually its funny you should metion Mr. Wright there is a great tie in with the house on the rock.m You see the guy that built this place had come from seeing frank lloyd and asking hi to look at some of his designs and Wright scoffed him and treated him like crap. Very upset the guy left and saw this rock and decided he would build something like no one had ever seen before and boy let me tell you, he did.
 
puros_bran":xp0rhkbv said:
The House on the Rock... A holy sight indeed. If you ride the Merry Go Round you can go backstage. Might even see Wednesday and Shadow.
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well played, sir. Well played indeed.
 
Ex-pat Cheesehead here. 30 some years. Many suggestions, but some have been covered here.

You owe it to yourself to check out Baumgartners just outside of Monroe. It's a local legend and a must.

Ask for the aged Limburger sammich, with onions, fresh grated horseradish, braunschweiger, on dark rye bread. Wash it down with a local brew, like from New Glarus.

You just can't go wrong, and you're welcome!



https://baumgartnercheese.com/home


:albino:


Cheers,

RR
 
Hater: you are a serious Clark Griswold type if you are going to hit up all these spots. Chicago by itself could easily occupy you for a good chunk of time. Galena is a great spot indeed, but to keep things in perspective, stopping in galena while visiting chicago would be like me visiting LA and someone saying that I should "pop in" on Tahoe. Clear across the state. Between museums, Cubs and Sox, theater, comedy, music.... you can definitely do three FULL days and nights and not feel like you have even scratched the surface. Anywho, let me know if you want some restaurant recommendations for chicago (i'm in the F&B industry), and where you are staying btw so I can point you in the right direction if you want. Uber is a chicago boy too, so he can help you out as well.

Have fun!
 
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