Michigan

Likes & Dislikes

Likes

1. Ann Arbor with its university city character, atmospheric campus, pretty Main street

2. The Henry Ford Museum and the factory visit

3. The lakeside town of South Haven has cute bed and breakfast houses

4. There is a surprisingly large selection of eateries and lovely cafes in Traverse City

5. The picturesque Porcupine Mountains near the Lake Superior

6. The Bavarian-feel small town of Frankenmuth - unique fun for Central European travelers

7. The stunning Grand Hotel on Maskinac Island

8. The big selection of beers in Grand Rapids

9. Two charming small towns: Marquette and Charlevoix

10. The fresh air on the Isle Royal on Lake Superior

11. The Art Deco Fisher Building in Detroit

Dislikes

1. 25 USD entrance fee for The Henry Ford Museum and 18 USD for the factory visit - so for three of us, that was a massive spending

2. Our local host unsuccessfully tried to convince us that Detroit is not an ugly city

Practicals

Transport

Michigan - Ann Arbor - self-driving shuttle bus - m.p. photo

Food

Michigan - Battle Creek - a Fudge Shop - b.e. photo

Michigan - sleeping figure (yes, a sculpture) - s.v. photo

Fun

Public safety

Detroit - mounted police with very long wooden baton - m.p. photo

Michigan - Lansing - security - g.e. photo

Background

Michigan - Great Lakes Great Times - k.m. photo

Lansing - Michigan State Capitol - g.e. photo

Destination in brief

Neighbors: Canada (east), Ohio, Indiana (south), water boundary with Illinois (west), and Minnesota (northwest).

Size: 250,493 km² (96,716 sq mi)

Population (in 2020): 10 million - 74,7% White, 14% Black or African American, 5,4% Hispanic (Latino), 3,5% Asian, 0,7% Native American

Capital city: Lansing

Geography

Michigan has no point where there is no lake within 10 km (6,2 mi).

Of the U.S. states, Michigan has the longest freshwater coastline: 4,800 kilometers (2982 miles)! After Alaska, Michigan has the longest coastline (though Alaska has a sea coast).

Although one of Michigan’s nicknames is Wolverine State, in reality, wolverines no longer live there.

History

Detroit - Ford Piquette Plant - f.d. photo

Attractions

Detroit

“Detroit has been more or less razed to the ground. It was already in a pretty bad way in the late ‘70s, and it’s been all downhill from there. The downtown area is almost completely empty. During the week, even among the skyscrapers in the city center, there is hardly anyone on the street, you almost never see a traffic jam, and overall it’s a pretty depressing city. All in all, it’s a perfect example of the discredited concept whereby industry generates prosperity, and people use that prosperity to move out to the suburbs, then commute daily into the city. This concept has been on the wane for 40 years now, but it has half hollowed out this city, and as a result, downtown property prices are shockingly inexpensive.
Since this was the place the US auto industry rose to global domination from, almost everything of interest in the city relates to that industry. The Henry Ford Museum must be one of the best industrial history museums in the world, and it’s genuinely packed with relics that every automobile afficionado has seen a photo of somewhere and thought ‘I’ve got to see this!’” (2018)