Month: June 2015
Location: Minneapolis
It was the weekend after my
birthday and I was headed to Minneapolis.
Just like St. Louis I would only be there for a night and like my visit
there, I had no major plans…well except one.
I arrived at the airport and took a long walk to the train station. Unlike St. Louis, I did buy a ticket, though
the train didn’t quite make it to the downtown due to some construction and I
had to take the bus for rest of the way.
After getting off at what I thought was the right stop, I walked the
next few blocks to my hotel.
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| The 'Minneapolis Institute of Art' |
One thing common with all these
travels is me looking for a place to have brunch as soon as I arrive, and this
time it was a trendy place called ‘Heyday’. After being truly welcomed to
Minneapolis by a couple of cocktails, I asked the server for recommendations
and was told to check out the ‘Minneapolis
Institute of Art’, which was free for visitors. It was a short walk to get there and I traversed
through a neighborhood before arriving at a building with looked unmistakably
like an art museum. Over the course of
the next couple of hours I walked through the impressive corridors of the
museum, which is a combination of the old and the modern. However, the thing which really got my attention
was an exhibit which showcased photographs, one from every year of the last 100
years.
One of my favorite things to do
is visit Cathedrals to light candles and there was one over here that I wanted
to see. I called for a cab to take me to
‘Basilica of Saint Mary’ and it
looked beautiful from the outside. It
was equally pretty on the inside, though I was asked to leave since a wedding
was in progress. I started walking back towards
the downtown, headed towards the ‘Nicollet
Mall’ area. Not only does this have
shopping and dining options, it also has the famous Minneapolis ‘Skyway’ - A labyrinth of overhead
walkway system that connects the entire downtown area.
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| The incredible sights of the 'Skyway' |
I entered a mall and for next
hour wandered a system of what seems like never-ending corridors that go
through office buildings, hotels, shopping arcades, food courts and everything
but someone’s living quarters. Now, I
have been in Chicago’s “Pedway” system. But what these guys have done is
commercialized this by incorporating all the business’ as a part of the walkway. Being a Saturday, it wasn’t crowded, but I
saw its potential and would love to see one of these in Chicago – and no, the ‘Pedway’ doesn’t count.
After a bit of exploring, I took
the walkway all the way to my hotel and prepared for my next destination – “Escape The Room Minneapolis”, a game I
have played in multiple cities. Over
here it was called “Mr. Dupree’s Office”! I arrived at the location and was given a “confidential” file to review. The rest of my team arrived and unlike the
youngsters from my previous game in NYC, these folks were middle-aged couples
looking for an adventure. We went inside
and for the next one hour navigated a very complicated game and while we made
some significant breakthroughs, fell short with the finish line in sight. It looks like after starting 5-0, I had gone
downhill, losing 3 in a row.
My last stop for the day was at a
restaurant called ‘La Belle Vie’,
which is an immaculate place with the kind of décor and service that I like and
appreciate. After a long but satisfying
meal, I settled in for the night and as is usually the case, the next morning
started with me trying to figure out where to go for brunch. After reading about the neighboring places I
settled on something called ‘Newsroom’,
which was decorated like a 20’s gangster spot meets sports bar. I should have known something was amiss when
I walked into an empty place. I sat at
the bar and ordered something which on examination looked completely
stale. When I pointed it out the barman
and asked to return it, he hardly seemed surprised; which was a sad reflection
on that place. Typically I would have
just bitten my lip and settled for something else there, but I decided to go
try another place which was called ‘Hell’s
Kitchen’, and no, this has nothing to do with Gordon Ramsey. What it did have were people…lots of them;
and an infectious vibe. Amidst the live
music I had a great brunch, including something called “Sausage Bread”. Finally,
someone figured it out!
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| The ruins of the 'Flour Museum' |
Minneapolis has a nice riverfront
and I walked over to it and went down the bridge to the park area where several
people and their dogs were either walking, running or riding a bike – the last
activity done by people, not the dogs.
As I walked along the riverside, I passed a dam on my left and realized
that it was my 3rd visit to the ‘Mississippi
River’ in 4 months, having seen it in Missouri and Louisiana in March and
April respectively. In fact I learned
later on that this was the only dam on the ‘Mississippi’. I started to cross what looked like an old
stone bridge, but noticed on the right some ruins that had a sign called “Flour Mill Museum”. I decided to investigate and walked down to
the ruins which not have been out of place as remnants of Medieval Europe. It was indeed a museum and I as I went
inside, I learned that it was a museum dedicate to flour. Talk about commercialization!
They had an interesting setup
where all of us were put on a seating area inside a giant service elevator and
were taken up and down 8 floors, as they told us the story about this mill,
including the explosion and a fire that had resulted in the ruins that we see
today. Someone then decided to build a
museum here and I am glad that they did, since it is brilliant. I enjoyed some of the tidbits I learnt, such
as the difference between various grains and flours, how the dam was built on
the river, a brief video on history of Minneapolis and a visit to the top of
the museum tower for a fantastic view of the 'Mississippi'.
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| Inside the 'Mall of America' |
I still had some time to spare
before my flight and so went to visit what is undoubtedly the most famous
place, just on the outskirts of the city, ‘The
Mall of America’. Now, this is not
unlike any other mall, just big…very big.
In fact it’s so huge that there are giant sized amusement park rides at
the heart of the mall. I walked about,
taking in the vastness of the place, before taking a train back to the
airport. I had been in Minneapolis for
just a day and a half, but I had enjoyed
my time here thoroughly. I mean, it’s
not everyday that I get to eat something called “Sausage Bread” and visit a museum celebrating that food group!
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