We finally got into our gate which was filled with roughly 200 people in a glass and metal greenhouse environment with no ventilation or air conditioning, restricted access to bathrooms and food and water, in the summer at about 3pm. It was stuffy and hot. We were glad we were only there for about 30 minutes.
The flight over was surprisingly easy. I was personally entertained by the overly American screen-savers pre-flight...Colorado coutryside with moutains, fields, forests, mountain goats, moose, wolves, rivers, and country guitar playing in the background.
We arrived in Charlotte, which actually had a very nice and efficient customs setup. We got onto our connecting flight to Minneapolis relatively easily. Upon arriving at Minneapolis Airport, having experienced several airports in recent years, J and I decided that Minneapolis airport is actually a pretty nice airport. My parents picked us up and brought us to their house. We had dinner with my family and crashed pretty hard after that.
The next day was a Thursday. My parents graciously let us use one of their cars for all of the driving around we would be doing when we were in town. On our bucket list for our trip was to have a good old American brunch, a tradition J and I had on Sundays when we lived in the Twin Cities. We went to Louisiana Cafe and made sure to purchase some mementos, coffee much this time. They are really sturdy mugs too! We were sad to find that the cafe where we first met, Cafe Amore, was no longer around. I can still remember the first time I saw J in person. We roamed around the Twin Cities a little in search of a few items such as a disposable phone (good call!) and some running supplies for me (that will be in the next post). I also nabbed a Snuffy's malt, something I had on my bucket list. That evening, we ticked off another item on the bucket list and had dinner at Stella's Fish Restaurant. This is where I proposed to J (that's a whole other story). We indulged ourselves on lobster, salmon, some nice (but strong) cocktails, and my parents and sister were able to swing by to join us for dessert, which was also really good. The waitress was also extremely nice and friendly.
Friday, my sister biked with me while I went running in the morning, then J and I packed for our trip to J's family reunion. The trip was pretty easygoing and made for a great Minnesota welcome. At the rest area we stopped at, there was no running water, so we were cheerfully greeted by a fellow Minnesotan who confirmed that the bushes was where it was at. While bushing it, we were greeted by a loon in the lake immediately next to the rest stop! On our way out, a woman and her teenage son read the "No running water" sign aloud and she promptly said, "Really? This is the fourth rest stop in a row without water!" I certainly hope she was exaggerating as the rest stops are typically 40-50 miles apart. Had they really been holding it in for over 3 hours and planned to hold it in more? The drive was through miles of fields, which both J and I actually enjoy driving through. We stayed and J's Aunt L and Uncle C's newly purchased house in Glenwood. I personally LOVED the house. The only problem was that we learned that most of the state of Minnesota had lost power a day or two before and might not get power back for another three days. This meant that there was no running water as they were on well water, and air conditioning could not run. How my parents and their neighborhood never lost power was surprising to me. As J and I have not children as yet, this was more of an annoyance than a problem. For many others who came into town, this was certainly an issue since many of the hotels in town were also without power. We soon went to the Friday reunion dinner. At that house, they did have power which was very nice, and they generously offered showers to those who desired them. We met up with only some of the family as not all had come into town yet. Before dinner was ready, a very severe storm ripped through and had all of the looks of a tornado! A tree fell down, but power was not lost at the house, several family members managed to make it through the storm, and dinner got ready with only an hour delay. I promptly stuffed myself with hamburgers, hot dogs, potato salad, and lots of other goodies. Needless to say, I ate an awful lot at this reunion.
Saturday morning, I ran 16 miles while trying to recite the entire movie of Top Gun in my head. I largely succeeded. I got to see flooded parts of town getting bilged into the neighboring lake, while running in the rain I was asked by a nice neighbor if I needed a ride, saw power line repair being done (a good sign), and when done felt completely justified eating a ton more food. I ate a late pancake breakfast; had sandwiches for lunch (power came back on at this point throughout Glenwood); participated in pictures; visited family members I met over a year ago; got to meet family members from Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota with every intention of visiting them in the future; learned a card game that didn't have a name but was quite fun to play; had a raffle; ate the best BBQ ribs and chicken breasts in the surrounding 5 town area; and then J cracked out the JaegerTee. JaegerTee is something that we stumbled upon in our part of Germany, but had never tried it. It seemed liked some sort of liquor. We shared shots and actually almost everyone like it. Someone else brought out McGillicuddy's Apple Streudel made in Canada. That was pretty good too. Later on, J shared some German beers with her immediate family later on that night. It was appropriate as it knocked everyone out in short order and almost everyone needed to leave early in the morning.
Sunday, J and I got up early to say our farewell's to those departing to include her parents and her older brother's family. After that, we went with her sister S, brother-in-law K, and their children C and M. We decided to hit up the most highly regarded local diner for brunch. While we had to wait around 20 min, we did get a great brunch! We then headed to the family gathering for a baby shower, lunch, and farewells. It was interesting in the all of the women participated in the shower men wandered to whatever they chose to do. I chatted with a small group of guys about life around town and the family. After farewells, and checking off that bucket list item (at least for me), we went to our next bucket list item: a juicy lucy. We set up a time at the Blue Door in Longfellow, a very recent location addition to the Blue Door Bar and Grill, and notified old friends and family who were interested in joining us. I got to meet up with K-Borg, D-Rock, C-Dogg, the Fantastic Four, and all of their significant others who were able to attend including all of my immediate family. I particularly enjoyed my first juicy lucy in over a year. I didn't realize how much I missed them. It was great to be able to chat with people I used to visit with regularly after having not seen them for a year. J and I made sure to get more mementos: shirts this time.
Monday, J and I went to the Mall of America to visit her sister J, her husband M, and their three little girls. We had lunch there, checked out the Lego Store (always makes me want to buy more Legos), and then on our own did some much needed clothes shopping. Clothing is generally more expensive and a different style in Germany. That evening, J and I had dinner with K-Borg and his gal G. We chose Stout's Pub, a recent local bar that serves really awesome food. We chatted for a good long while, and then went back to their place for a creme brulee dessert, which was also good!
At this point, my memory is starting to get a few details confused. I think I've got the basics right, but I may have a few events happening on the wrong days. For example, I know that we met up with J's parents at her sister's house, but I honestly can't remember which day that was (either the day before or after the family reunion). Sorry for my poor memory, guys! :(
Tuesday, J and I met up with J's sister and her two little ones, C and M. We decided to try out Lake Elmo Recreation Area for the pool. Their pool there is pretty cool. It's a manmade pond with a completely sandy shoreline but the water is chlorinated. The result is that it is actually a very clean outdoor pool but feels like a natural pond. J's sister S enjoyed laying on the beach with her youngest asleep while J and I played with C in the water for an hour or so. Afterward, S's husband K came back from work and we all went out for dinner in old town Stillwater at Nacho Mama's. I couldn't help myself and ordered a juicy lucy. Afterward, we went out for ice cream at a local legend place where, for dirt cheap, you can literally order over a quart of ice cream in a cone. The challenge, should you choose to accept it, was to eat roughly 1.5 gallons on ice cream in 30 minutes, or something like that. Had I known in advance, I would have skipped dinner and gone straight to the challenge. Sadly, I was not challenge-ready and saddened myself by not finishing a half-gallon of ice cream. The flavors were awesome and it was a happening place. I'll definitely have to revisit that ice cream shop for the challenge.
Wednesday, we took a day to visit B and L and their new baby up in Pine River. Before visiting them, we had lunch at a local bar and grill who's name escapes me sadly. "Sadly," for it was good northern Minnesotan eats. We also stopped by in Brainerd and saw Paul Bunyan Land. We only saw it, though. We felt that $15/person was a little steep to see a large statue talk to you. We managed to get into the gift shop though, and got a few pieces of Minnesota memorabilia. We finally met up with B and L and got to see their new baby boy. What a cutie! We chatted a bit and had dinner with them before heading back to the Twin Cities.
Thursday, We went with my Mom to Punch Pizza for lunch, had Grand Ole Creamery ice cream, roamed around Grand Ave (J's old stomping grounds), and visited the new Gorilla exhibit and Japanese Garden at the Como Zoo. If you ever go, please donate to them! It's still free to go, which is awesome, but if people don't donate at least a little when they visit, there is a high chance they will start charging entry, which would be sad. That evening, we had a farewell dinner with family and friends. I finished off the night with a game of cribbage with D-Rock, K-Borg, and G. G, having only played a few times before, completely killed us. It was a good last full day.
Friday, we did not have the farewell breakfast we originally planned, but that was ok considering all of the other things we did. My parents dropped us off at the airport, we shortly after arrived in Charlotte, and then, technically the next day, arrived in Frankfurt. We took the same shuttle back, picked up our dog, and crashed.
It honestly took us several days to re-acclimate to the time shift coming back. However, on the way there, it wasn't that bad. It must have something to do with either following the sun or going against it on the plane for several hours. It was a very worthwhile trip. It's amazing what changes in a year. There were lots of renovations and new buildings that were completely not there when we left the states. However, for the most part very little has changed. Driving through it all the day we arrived felt like a dream; I knew where everything was as it drifted past me before my eyes without physically being there before, at least not in a long time.
Once home, J and I had little time to settle as we had another trip coming up in less than a week: a marathon in Zermatt, Switzerland.
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