Minneapolis and Saint Paul
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The Twin Cities
In 2017 Donna and I visited the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul Minnesota. We did not know a lot about the area before we traveled there and were pleasantly surprised with how nice the area is and how much there is to do in the area. From a clean and safe downtown area, nice museums, a beautiful capital building, the largest mall in North America and great sports like the Minnesota Twins in Downtown. There are also unique restaurants like Somalian cuisine due to the large population of Somalians in the area. You are also only an hour or so drive from Cheese country in Wisconsin. Its an area of the country you do not hear much about tourism wise but it definitely worth a trip to see. We spent three days in the area on this trip.
Getting to the area and Transportation within the City
The main gateway into the city is the Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. Its a hub for Delta Airlines and has air service for many airlines. Donna and I flew Frontier to Minneapolis-Saint Paul. From there you can rent a car and the city is a short drive away. The Mall of America is a 10 minute or so drive from the airport. If you do not want to rent a car Minneapolis-Saint. Paul has a nice and safe rail system that spans both cities, stops at the airport, Mall of America and other sites. Taxi and ride sharing are the other options in the area.
The Mall of America
One of the worlds largest malls located minutes from the airport in the suburb of Bloomington is a great place to visit for a day. The mall is truly massive and has many surprises in store. We spent an entire day at the mall and did not run out of things to do. We bought day pass to the indoor theme park named Nickelodeon Universe that has three roller coasters, a Paul Bunyan water log ride, a Ferris wheel and many other rides. Its a nice indoor theme park that reasonably priced at $35.99 for an all day ride pass like we purchased. Among the typical mall shops are other interesting attractions like the Sea life Minnesota Aquarium, Flyover America, miniature golf, go karts, an escape room and many other places. We enjoyed the good sized Sea Life Aquarium and Flyover America. Flyover America is a large screen ride that makes you feel like you are flying over American sites. You can even smell the smells of the areas. While we were there we also rode on Flyover Canada which was a great ride as well. We bought a day pass and rode both rides multiple times. We also enjoyed restaurants like Smash Burger there. Our biggest surprise was watching the Wacipi Sioux Pow Wow that took place in the mall throughout the day. Seeing the colorful traditional garments, music, dances and hearing the stories was a unique experience and a new perspective gained into their way of life. You never know what you might find at the Mall of America!
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The Minnesota State Capital
In the city of Saint Paul lies the State Capital of Minnesota. It is truly a beautiful building and worth taking a free tour of. There are many paintings of things such as the American Civil War and our moments in Minnesota History. We visited both the House and Senate Chamber that each had a unique design. Throughout the capital rotunda you can see artifacts from the American Civil War such as the 1st Minnesota’s regimental flag pole. The tour will probably take around an hour or so to visit the Capital.
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The Minnesota History Center
Within walking distance from the Minnesota is a place you can learn about the great history of Minnesota. Western Indian Tribes, frontiersmen, businessmen and many others have called Minnesota home and the Minnesota History Center works to capture it all. Its a great museum featuring interactive exhibits like working a field with a plow. One exhibit was on a home in the area that has had hundreds of people live in it overtime and told the stories of the different families and the changing neighborhood. It was interesting learning about the large Somalian population in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area. You can also learn about the WWII history of Minnesota and even survive a tornado in the weather exhibit. The museum will take a couple hours to tour and is reasonably priced.
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Target Field and the Minnesota Twins
In downtown Minneapolis you can take in a Minnesota Twins game. You can take the train right to the stadium like we did and enjoy a night of baseball. While we were there we got to see the fastest inside the park home run in history and a very nice classic rock firework show looking over the Minneapolis skyline. The prices for tickets are comparable with other MLB teams, but the stadium is nice.
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A side trip to Western Wisconsin
On our final day of this three day trip we drove to the pretty rural countryside of Wisconsin to do some cheese tasting and hiking at a nice state park. We tried cheese at the Eau Galle Cheese factory and stopped at another cheese factory to try cheese curds. The many unique cheese flavors were great to try. From spicy to mild they had all the kinds of cheese you could want. We bought some as a nice snack before our flight. We also went to Willow River State Park before we headed back to the airport. This park was a very nice hike and included a very large water fall that we did not expect to see in Wisconsin. The hike is a little steep to the falls but its worth it as you walk through the forest and hear the rushing water of the large falls. It’s a nice place away from the hustle and bustle of the city to relax and spend time in nature.
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Tips for Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota
There is a lot to do in the area and many great food you can try in the area. Donna and I stayed in downtown Minneapolis. We ate one meal at a British Pub near our hotel and there is also the Nicollet Mall is in downtown Minneapolis. Its the main street in downtown that has many store chains like Target and some restaurants. The people of Minneapolis and Saint Paul I found were very friendly and the driving was very calm compared to some areas in the world. The city area is also relatively compact so the driving times are not long for the most part depending on traffic. Also take some time to leave the city area and get out and enjoy the wilderness in Minnesota and Wisconsin.