We just came back from a quick weekend trip to Minneapolis and it was so great to get out of a familiar environment and see something new, I truly believe that it helps to keep balance in life and get some fresh perspective.
We got lucky on the way there as the plane wasn’t full so we got an empty seat for Alaric, it made the trip so much easier! He, of course, still crawled around the plane and met all neighbors but in the end he fell asleep in his car seat and slept through landing all the way till after we got to the hotel. Yass!
The first day we explored mostly around the campus of the University of Minnesota, it is so big and has a nice academic atmosphere! We had breakfast in one of the cafes nearby that Derek used to go to when he lived in Minneapolis, it was a definitely a one mid-western meal;)
We walked by Derek’s fraternity house, one of the things that I am not too familiar with since there no fraternities or sororities in Russia but it is so fascinating to me! I am also very impressed by how marketed the university merchandise is in the US – there was a whole store with all kinds of souvenirs, clothing and even toys! We got a cute wooden train for Alaric with the Minnesota Gophers.
The city is so green! I don’t think I’ve seen so much greenery since I moved from Russia. Another thing that I noticed right away was that there are many brick buildings and really cool old architecture mixed with lots of new development and infrastructure, the streets are very clean which is so nice!
Walking around is probably one of my most favorite ways to explore the city, it’s nice to have an itinerary but I am definitely not the person to run from place to place just to check-in. I like to watch, listen, feel the atmosphere. On this trip it was kind of challenging because it was so much colder than I was prepared for! I know, I know, every person reading this now is probably saying “Come on, you’re from Siberia” but as I mentioned in this video, the Siberian is not the one doesn’t get cold but the one who dresses accordingly which I was not on this trip. The forecast was promising 60s but it was in the low 40s!
Overall it was a really fun day, we had Alaric’s grandma and uncle in town too so it was a good family reunion. The hotel we stayed in was really cute, we got a 2 bedroom suite that also had a kitchen so it was perfect for a family stay. The location was great too, close to everything, Minneapolis is a very walkable/bikeable city which is something I truly miss living in LA. After a day in the cold we all had dinner in a french restaurant which was very nice!
Day 2 of our trip is in my next post.
