December 11th we flew out to Chicago where Bruce's sister, Yun, her two daughters, Ellie and Emma, and his mother picked us up and drove us back to her place in Wisconsin where we would call home-base for the next two weeks. Stepping out of the airport, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't need my coat, hat, gloves, and heat warming long-underwear, for in-fact it was a super warm winter there with a balmy 50 degrees. The house is in a new neighborhood and fit us cosily! I knew I was going to enjoy the trip even more with Bruce's mum cooking up delicious Korean dishes.
After a few days of getting over the time-difference and catching up with family, Bruce and I headed off on our side trip to Minnesota where we began with a stop at the Mall of America. Now..for my fellow East-Coasters who thought King of Prussia was big, the Mall of America is #1 on the Largest Malls in the US list (KOP is #2). The main, and most obvious difference between these two shopping behemoths is the entire theme park located in the center of the MOA, complete with a rollercoaster and other rides the one usually expects to encounter outdoors. Yes, of course we rode one. Bruce got me to go in the Log Flume ride, which was just as far of a drop as I remember when I didn't enjoy the ride when I was younger. But hey, now I can say I did it.
Moving on! From the mall we drove to Faribault, MN where his aunt, uncle, and cousins live. They welcomed us into their home for the night before we headed up into the twin cities for the weekend.
On the way we dropped by Mankato to get a personal tour of Bruce's Alma Mater, Minnesota State University. A tad bigger than Hood, MSU enrolls about 15,000 students. My favorite part was the fact that nearly the whole campus is connected by underground tunnels so that students don't have to walk outside to get to most places. (I don't ever really want to live in a place that gets SO cold that people build tunnels underground...)
After talking with some of his old mentors there and getting a feel of campus, we got back in the car and made our way into downtown Minneapolis to find the hotel and meet up with some of his friends out on the town. One great thing about big cities (not in Germany...) is UBER! Honestly, for those of you who are used to having it, you should consider yourself very lucky. It is so easy, and makes getting around the city stress free and cheaper! (ok, Uber plug is over).
That night we had a ton of sushi with Brandon (BJ, who appears in the New Years post from last year!) and John, then met up with Jason later on for some drinks. The cold weather definitely came in that night and maybe we were trying to warm up internally with drinks because we had a bit too much...leading to a bit of a rough morning the next day. Luckily, the downtown area of Minneapolis is connected by the "Skyway" which is above ground walkway that bridges between buildings and is like a mini-city within the city. Shops, restaurants, and businesses line the pathway as you stay warm and enjoy the city at the same time. Again...not sure I could handle a city that gets that intensely cold that they build a whole indoor walkway...
That day I received some beautiful surprise flowers from mum and dad! THANK YOUUU! xo
That night Bruce took me out to St. Paul for my birthday dinner. Not just any time you turn 26 right? He booked at a place called W. A. Frost and Company. Arriving a bit early, we sat down in the lounge area for a few cocktails. If anyone travels out to the Twin Cities, this place is a really cozy place to go, especially around the holidays when it is all decorated! The food was great and the service was super! The plan after dinner was to check out Rice Park and see the lights, but that was soon changed as we stepped outside and found that 6 degrees might be a bit cold for someone wearing tights (not Bruce...). We opted for a night in, enjoying the peace and quiet.
Saturday morning after a workout and breakfast, we hopped in an uber to explore Northeast Minneapolis across the river. Doing some research that morning I found a local farmers market above the Indeed Brewery (perfect activities for both Bruce and I to take part in!). The market turned out to be a great little exhibition of booths set up around a huge room where people from the area were selling their wares, whether that be drinks, food, clothing, and/or other trinkets! We went around sampling delicious chilies, baked goods, and even kimchi (not as good as mama Voelker's). It was here that I tried my first Switchel which is a natural energy drink made of water, vinegar, ginger, and honey. The taste is surprisingly not too vinegar-y, and is quite refreshing! I sipped on that while Bruce tried some beer down at the brewery. Something I noticed very quickly about Minneapolis is the high number of local breweries. Seems like a fun place if you're a beer connoisseur.
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From there we walked (a very long and cold walk) to the next area where we stopped in a small bookshop, of course, and another brewery, of course, called Dangerous Man.
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| To be said with a Minnesotan accent |
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For dinner we met with BJ again and Bruce's friend from highschool Damien, at the Korean-fusion restaurant The Rabbit Hole.
After some bibimbap we uber-d home to get ready for a live music show at The Fine Line. We didn't know any of the musicians playing but we listened to a few of the songs on the website before booking and decided it would a fun night! The venue is a little bit like The Queen in Wilmington (for my Delaware friends and Family). The opening act was Sammy Brown, a young artist, who had a good voice, but it sounded EXACTLY like another artist and Bruce and I spend the rest of the evening trying to figure out who it was...if anyone checks out her music, and knows who we are thinking of, pleassseee let us know!
The next act was Dan Rodriguez who we both really enjoyed (more than the main act actually...). Not only was he incredibly talented but he had great stage presence too! Check his stuff out too! One of my favorites was "All I Want for Christmas is Whiskey" .
The next artists were Chris Koza and Matt Hires, who were both good, but Bruce and I definitely liked Dan's performance the best. After listening to a few of the main act's songs, we snuck out and walked back home to get ready to head back to Wisconsin the next morning (my birthday!). To celebrate once we got back we went and watched little Ellie in her ballet recital, which at 5 years old, consisted of 2 minute songs of kids either following the teacher's movements, or disregarding them completely out of intense stage-fright or simply being distracted by shiny things. Ellie did a fabulous job and was one of the few in the foremost of those categories!
That night Bruce's mum cooked an incredible birthday dinner of past with shrimp and spinach, and a mouthwatering chocolate cake. At 26, I think I need to stop putting in a candle for each year! It gets a bit dangerous. It was a fabulous way to spend my birthday and wouldn't ask for anything more!
Tuesday, Bruce, Bob (his brother in law), and I drove down to Chicago to pick up Bruce's Grandma who flew in to visit from Pheonix. Before scooping her up from the airport we stopped by a shopping area to find some coffee but instead we found a game center, not unlike Dave and Busters. Bruce and Bob's eyes couldn't be any wider, so we spend an hour and change playing around and enjoying being kids again. From there we stopped by "The best place to get Chicago pizza" according to Bob, "Lou Malnati's", which Bruce so fondly named "Illiminati's" and proceeded to find triangles everywhere. The pizza was delicious, but was definitely a ton of food! We picked up Grandma G and drove back to the house.
Wednesday was cookie day! Yun and I dipped pretzels and ritz cracker peanut butter sandwiches in melted chocolate then decorated them (quickly, so the boys didn't have time to eat them all, though they tried). Yun also made some delicious shortbread cookies to decorate! These had trouble staying on the counter and out of people's mouths too...
The next day, Christmas Eve, we decided to have our Christmas day because Bruce and I were leaving and Bob had to work early. We told the girls that Santa knew about our plan and would come early too. Yun set up the living room for the girls to find the next day. Sleeping in the basement, I woke to some running feet and squeals, notifying me that they had found and liked what was there for them! Everyone groggily sitting around the tree clutching coffee, we watched Ellie and Emma open their gifts, and opened our own as well! It was the year of bathrobes and socks in the Danforth house that year, everyone would be cozy and warm that's for sure!
Bruce's mum was at it again the the kitchen making a delicious christmas dinner for us all! We started with a cream cheese, spinach, and water chestnut dip, some crab rangoon (which she taught me how to make!), roasted veggies, and some ribs (for the meat eaters...aka everyone else). To finish we had mini cheesecake and the assortment of cookies from the week.
We ended the night watching Martian, which despite being over 3 hours long, was completely worth it! The fact that I stayed up for it should tell you just how great it was. I bought the book before the trip, so now I definitely want to read it!
Yun was kind enough to drive us back to Chicago airport the next day to catch our afternoon flight back to Germany. The trip flew by, even writing this makes it seem even shorter! I had such an incredible time getting to know his family more, as he has had plenty (maybe too much) of time with mine this past year for better or for worse! I can't wait to see them all again soon <3
For now, it is getting late here, the jet lag is still definitely in full effect here. But it also could be me being SUPER DUPER CRAZY EXCITED to see Kaitie in like...9 hours!! She's currently en route and I cant waiiittttttttttt to start our reunion week. Keep your eyes peeled for a post about New Years 2016 in PRAGUE!
Until then xoxo
German of the post:
"Minnesota nett zu Ihrem Gesicht , aber , sobald Sie sich umdrehen wir sagen, etwas wirklich bedeuten."
Minnesota nice to your face, but as soon as you turn around we say something really mean.
