We settled on Columbus, OH as our next month-long stay. The place we found was decently sized and relatively inexpensive while also being right in between a number of destinations we eventually traveled to such as New River Gorge NP, Cincinnati, and Cleveland. The four weeks we spent in Columbus was short, we only had three weekends to explore and we used two of them to travel to a different city. While there was nothing incredibly spectacular about Columbus, there was also nothing extremely unpleasant about it. Differing from Eleanor Shellstrop’s opinion, Cynthia and I determined that Columbus is the perfect medium-place city.
Downtown Columbus
Despite the Columbus area having a population of around 2 million, downtown Columbus was relaxed and removed from the hustle-and-bustle of larger cities. While downtown, we visited a couple of parks and then wandered the halls of the Ohio Statehouse. The Ohio Statehouse is unique in that a good portion of it felt like we were walking around in a well-fortified dungeon.
A couple of weeks later, we visited the Columbus Union Station Arch, the last remnants of a train station that ran through the city. In that immediate area were brick-paved roads and luxury apartments.
German Village
German Village is a fun and hip historic neighborhood in Columbus home to some of the best restaurants and coffee shops in town. Homes, old and restored, are built in a mid-19th century European-style, usually with red bricks on brick-paved streets. Neighborhood restaurants and bars are sprinkled in amongst the homes making it very convenient for residents to grab a bite or a brew. Schiller Park located in the middle of the neighborhood hosts outdoor plays in the summer and has a number of unique, artistic statues spread throughout the park. One of the most popular and well-known spots in German Village is The Book Loft, a book store with 32 rooms layered and intertwined in a maze that spans three floors.
Shrum Mound
The Adena people lived in the Ohio area from around 1,000 BC – 100 AD and were one of the Native American civilizations known as Mound Builders. These mounds, including Shrum Mound, served as burial mounds that contained the remains of the deceased and their possessions. Shrum Mound was estimated to have been erected about 2,000 years ago.
Some other places we enjoyed in Columbus and recommend visiting or trying are as follows:
- Bexley neighborhood
- Bibibop, a healthy build-your-own-bowl Korean restaurant
- Short North Arts District, a mile-long stretch of restaurants, bars, and shops
- Johnson’s Real Ice Cream
July 19, 2022
So green……..love it!