Back to the Mile High City and indulging in luxury and beer

Denver - here we are again, more than two weeks after we arrived here from Germany. We returned our car at the airport - 2,040 miles (3,264 km) driven in a little over two weeks! - and took the train into town, which takes about 40 min. Our hotel was very conveniently located: we walked over from the train track to the check-in counter of The Crawford Hotel in Union Station. We were fortunate and got our room immediately, a large, airy corner room, with a view towards downtown, and, from the gallery outside the room, into the waiting room.

The original Denver Union Depot opened its doors in 1881, as the largest building in the West, with a tall clock tower at the center. In 1914 it was replaced by a state-of-the-art Beaux-Arts/Renaissance Revival building, and reopened in 1914. In the course of time, the popularity of train travel declined, and, Union Station began to deteriorate. In the early 2000s a group came together and became the motor for renovation. In 2014, exactly 100 years after the opening, it reopened, and since then, it is a success story!

We don't know any other railroad station in the U.S. like this one, and, we've seen plenty! Denver Union Station became a hub, a place to meet, to wait, to enjoy the pubs, restaurants and cafés and to use the quirky seating areas. The Crawford Hotel's guest rooms are situated upstairs, mostly in former railroad offices. High ceilings, comfy and with amenities like free icecream/coffee/beer every day.

Well, couldn't stay long to enjoy, out we were again, for the 2022 Great American Beer Festival (GABF) in the Convention Center (with its famous Blue Bear in front). The event was on our "bucket list" for a long time. It's not only a festival (that's what we experienced on Sat. afternoon), but a competition where 300 medals are awarded to the best  breweries in the U.S. in different beer categories.  

 

GABF features 2,000 beers from nearly 500 breweries nationwide, and goes from Thursday to Saturday, with about 40,000 beer lovers in attendance. There is a costume contest, karaoke, a beer spa, beer equipment and food vendors. First time I've seen longer lines at the men's restrooms than at the women's!

In the late afternoon we put in our miles, down 16th Street Mall - lots of construction going on! - and checking out Larimer Square (two photos above), Brown Palace, Rockmount Western Wear and other places in downtown. Then we crossed the bridge through Commons Park into the Highlands neighborhood (below) with a short stop at REI (short for Recreational Equipment, Inc.), a huge sporting goods/outdoors superstore.  Lots of new condo/apartment buildings came and are still coming up here! 

 It's been a wonderful day - blue skies, warm during the day (though cold in the morning), interesting and fun at the same time!