DESTINACIJA / DESTINATION
How a road became a legend Route 66 didn’t become iconic over- night, nor was it the fastest road travers- ing America. Its magic lies in the fact that it was the route of the common man. Created in 1926 through the merging of existing local roads, it connected the in- dustrial powerhouse of Chicago with the sunny California for the first time in his- tory, crossing eight states and three time zones before finally ending at the Santa Monica Pier. When the Great Depression hit America in the 1930s, thousands of im- poverished families used this road to head west in search of a better life, as written about by John Steinbeck in his masterpiece The Grapes of Wrath, in which he coined the nickname “The Mother Road”. With the subsequent ad- vent of mass tourism in the 1950s, Route 66 became a pop-cultural phenome-
non. This was the age of neon signs, the first motels with swimming pools, din- ers shaped like giant hot dogs and petrol stations made to resemble spaceships. Bobby Troup’s song (Get Your Kicks on) Route 66, made famous by Nat King Cole and the Rolling Stones, turned this road into an anthem of freedom and youth rebellion. The first stops on the road to infinity Although the road stretches through the prairies of Kansas, Oklahoma’s red earth and the deserts of Arizona, its first and perhaps most impressive stops are located close to Chicago, at the exit from Illinois. Anyone making this pilgrim- age from the Windy City must first stop at Lou Mitchell’s, an iconic diner that opened in 1923 and today still serves cof- fee and homemade donuts as it has for over a century, and which was the offi- cial first stop for Route 66 travellers be- fore leaving behind the bustling city. Just an hour’s drive south of Chi- cago, in the small town of Wilmington, travellers are still greeted by the Gemi- ni Giant, an almost nine-metre-tall retro roadside statue of an astronaut holding a rocket. It represents the perfect example of the so-called Muffler Men architecture from the space race era, when owners of roadside diners enticed drivers with un- usual sculptures. Not far away, in Ponti- ac, is the Route 66 Museum, which me- morialises all the people who spent their lives beside this road. Travelling this part of the route in July of this year, when lo- cal communities celebrate the route’s centennial, will mean experiencing the warmth of an authentic America, where every old petrol station hides a story wor- thy of Hollywood.
Ukus i zvuk Srednjeg zapada Ne možete posetiti Čikago leti, a da ne osetite miris auten- tičnog američkog roštilja. Jul je tradicionalno rezervisan za „Windy City Smokeout“, festival koji spaja dve najveće stra- sti ovog dela Amerike: vrhunski, satima dimljeni „barbecue“ i kantri muziku. Na prostoru oko stadiona, najbolji majstori ro- štilja iz Teksasa, Karoline i Ilinoisa ukrštaju svoje tajne recep- te i začine, dok sa glavne bine odjekuju hitovi dobitnika „Gre- mi“ nagrada. To je savršena prilika da iskusite festival na kom se spajaju tradicija sporog kuvanja mesa i južnjački šarm u sr- cu severne metropole.
FLAVOURS AND SOUNDS OF THE MIDWEST You can’t visit Chicago during the summer without experiencing the in- toxicating aroma of American barbecue. July is traditionally reserved for the Windy City Smokeout, a festival that combines the two greatest passions of this part of America: fantastic barbecue that’s smoked for hours and country music. In the area around the United Center arena, the best barbecue masters from Texas, the Carolinas and Illinois delight with their secret recipes and spices, while the hits of Grammy Award winners resound from the main stage. This is the perfect opportuni- ty to experience a festival combining the tradition of slow cooking and southern charm at the heart of this northern metropolis.
110 | Čikago » Chicago
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