Friday, July 03, 2009

Sweet Home, .... Chikago?

I've been busy wrapping up an article for Smithsonian Magazine--and still dealing with the pinched nerve in my neck--the neck problem or just being snowed under will usually account for my lack of posts.

The village of Kittsee has a little section of it known as "Chikago." A while back I snooped around as to why, and it turns out it's simply this: several Kittsee-ians immigrated to Chicago (the real one) beginning in the late 1800s to work in factories.

Kittsee is in the Austrian state/region of Burgenland, and there is an active club of "Burgenlanders" in the Chicagoland area.

It's called Chikago, but I haven't found any music venues. And no Billy Goat Taverns. And no baseball.

But a couple of miles down the road there is an "Al Caponne" pizzeria... should I tell anyone about the spelling problems?

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