Visiting Minneapolis & St Paul
St Paul’s twin is the more famous city of Minneapolis. Both of the twin cities have lots to do, but if I was forced to only be able to visit one then Minneapolis would be my pick. Above is a photo of the city skyline during sunset. There are much more impressive views of the city skyline but I didn’t seem to be able to find one on this trip! Below are the ruins of a mill along the Mississippi river. The city itself has its roots tied to Saint Anthony’s falls which is where the mill below was built. These falls are the highest along the entire Mississippi river and the mills helped support settlers in the area. Today the ruins of several flour mills lay abandoned with some trails and scenic hikes passing by them.
Close to the mill ruins is the new I-35W Bridge. The original bridge collapsed on August 1st 2007 during rush hour and sent 13 people to their deaths while injuring another 145. This new bridge was finished in 2008 and though it looks simple it has several high tech sensors built the structure that give engineers feedback on stress levels and other readings.
All big cities in America have their own major league sports teams. Minneapolis is home to the Minnesota Vikings, with their stadium on the left. On the right is a photo of a crowd of people leaving a sporting event on the other side of town.
If you prefer performing arts to sports, then the newly built Guthrie Theater should satisfy your needs. The theater has existed in Minneapolis for decades, but was rebuilt in 2006 at a cost of $125 million. The theater has won several awards and recognitions both for its shows and the architectural design. The other photo on the right is from a bar I visited with a local who I was friends with in the Marines.
I was surprised Minneapolis was named one of America’s most biker friendly cities.. There are plenty of biking lanes along the major streets or biking trails along jogging trails throughout the city. An easy way to visit the city is simply rent a bike and explore it on your own, you’ll definitely not have to worry about traffic or parking!
If you’re into burgers like myself, then you can’t visit Minneapolis without trying a Jucy Lucy. A jucy lucy is simply a regular hamburger but instead of the cheese being put onto of the meat it’s actually cooked within the patty, sometimes making the cheese dangerously hot. It’s a popular burger in the city, and there are two restaurants that actually fight for the honor of being the first to serve the burger. Most seem to agree Matt’s bar created it, but I went to the 5 to 8 club since Matt’s bar was closed. From my understanding, Matt’s bar is more humble about the ordeal, but the 5 to 8 club proudly displays a large banner claiming to be the home of the jucy lucy.
One of Minneapolis’s most famous places is the Mall of America, sometimes called the Mega Mall. By the number of stores, this is the largest mall in the United States and the second largest on the continent. I visited in the summer, but I imagine this is a popular place to hang out on a subzero winter day. The two photos above show some of the different sections of the mall, which each have different themes.
Beyond the normal shopping and food courts that all malls have, the Mall of America has several events and unique attractions inside. Above was some type of medieval festival with some dancers, on the right is a giant lego land that they built.
The most unique place inside the mall is the Nickelodeon Universe theme park. This theme park covers a total of 7 acres and has everything from cotton candy to roller coasters. It had a fair amount of people when I visited on a Sunday so was no ghost town. There are plenty of other cool places to visit within the mall, I actually somehow missed the giant underground aquarium where you can even go scuba diving!
The twin cities were founded in the mid 1850s, but before they existed the first settlers survived by staying in Fort Snelling which was established in 1819. One of the earlier forts built in what is now the state of Minnesota, Fort Snelling’s original purpose was to defend the land from the British, who the US had just fought recently in the war of 1812. Other goals of the fort were to protect American farmers and travelers in the area and even try to keep the two native American tribes the Dakotas and the Ojibwe tribes from fighting. Above are two photos of the fort, the left is one of the fortified corners of Fort Snelling, the upper right is the courtyard with several original buildings.
The fort is an interesting visit since volunteers dress up and perform duties such as military drill, raising and lower the flag, and even some working blacksmiths.
These two above photos are from Fort Snelling as well. The left is an example of some of the items that would have been kept in storage, on the right is the fire from the blacksmith shop, where they showed what was done to make iron nails. These ovens can reach 1,000 degrees!
Minnesota’s famous twin cities are made up of St. Paul and Minneapolis which sit only miles apart. St. Paul takes the honor of being the capital and has a population of about 300,000 people. Above is a photo of St. Paul as you enter it by crossing the Mississippi river. Below is the state capitol building on the left and the large cathedral on the right is the recently named National Shrine of the Apostle Paul. It was given this status by the Vatican in 2009.
These four surrounding pictures were taken randomly from parts of the St. Paul. Above is an upscale hotel with two photos below of the downtown area. The guys on the upper right must have been part of some type of city segway tour, something I will never participate in.
One of St. Paul’s most interesting places to visit are the Wabasha street caves. I’m not sure why but when I went they were closed, so I could only take a picture of the outside. These street caves are rooms carved out of a nearby hill and was once home to various gangs and famous mobsters that lived in the twin cities. The street caves also once where popular night clubs and bars but now are just preserved.