To Chicago and Back

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To Chicago and Back is a travel book by Bulgarian writer Aleko Konstantinov, published in 1894. It tells about his trip to the United States to see the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition. It was his first major work and, along with Bay Ganyo, is one of his best-known books. The style blends humor and satire with occasional serious reflections.

Konstantinov had traveled before, visiting the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889 and the General Land Centennial Exhibition in Prague in 1891. At that time Bulgaria had become independent from the Ottoman Empire less than 20 years earlier, was less developed than Western Europe, and few Bulgarians had traveled abroad.

The journey begins in Paris, where Konstantinov and his companions take a train to Le Havre and board the SS La Touraine to cross the Atlantic. In New York, he is somewhat underwhelmed when he spots the Statue of Liberty from the steamship. A customs clerk misreads their nationality and writes Bulgaria as Turkey, which amuses the travelers. They stay at the Broadway Central Hotel.

The book mostly describes his stay in the United States, especially Chicago, but it also mentions other places such as Niagara Falls. The first edition’s title page is shown on the obverse of Bulgaria’s 100 leva banknote issued in 2003.