Minneapolis

Minneapolis is the larger of the so-called Twin Cities, its neighbor Saint Paul is the capital of Minnesota. The city is situated on both banks of the Mississippi River (pic below) and was once the world's flour milling capital and a hub for timber. There are still many historic storehouses left, transformed into nice office, business and apartment buildings.

In the morning we first had a tour at Paisley Park – unfortunately, it's not allowed to take pictures inside! –, Prince’s private estate and production site. This extraordinary musician, actor and songwriter passed away in April 2016 at age 58 and his urn is exhibited in the house and to be seen on tours. For Prince fans it's anopportunity to experience first-hand what multitalent Prince was, what a control-freak, and how he created, produced and performed. His studios are to be seen as well as his private theater and his more intimate club. Unfortunately, you only get to know little about his private life. Also, this complex is a symbol for Minneapolis' role as as a music city and epicenter of folk, funk, and alternative rock. It not only was home of Prince but, also, Bob Dylan came from Minnesota. The pic shows a mural in downtown Minneapolis:

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, our next stop, is a huge area of gardens and tree collections, prairie and woods and miles of trails used for biking and hiking in summer and skiing and snowshoeing in winter. The Arboretum was established by the University of Minnesota Horticultural Research Center – famous for it's apple breeding program - and established in 1958. We were blown away by the different gardens and how green they still were, and, at the end of our visit, we drove to the "apple house" where the apples, grown on the grounds, and other products are sold. They also produce their own honey and maple sirup and are famous for "inventing" the Honey Crisp apple, which was introduced by the University of MN in 1991.

In the late afternoon we drove into downtown Minneapolis and checked in the fancy, modern AC Hotel. Unfortunately, the weather has changed to cloudy and then it started to rain. Nevertheless, we still went for a walk to the Mississippi River and explored the North Loop before we ended up for a tour at Clockwerks Brewing, a tiny taproom & small-scale brewery, where we got a tour and tasting. Great beers!

This morning we explored downtown Minneapolis a little more before heading out to the north-west, to North Dakota. It's been a long, boring 5-hour drive (325 mi/520 km), mostly in light rain, through Minneapolis to Fargo (at the border between MN and ND) and from there north to Grand Forks/North Dakota. Fortunately, our rented SUV, a Hyundai Tucson, is pretty comfortable. We only stopped twice, briefly, and did some Walmart-shopping in the outskirts of Grand Forks before we checked into our apartment in the Staybridge Suites Hotel. Unpacked and out we were again for dinner in downtown with two tourism representatives, Deb and Shelly, in the "Toasted Frog". Best pork belly (smoked) I ever had, with blueberry compote and arugula, and most extensive Martini list I have ever seen. Elk burger and prime rib melt were great, too. In the meantime, rain has turned into snow, just hope it won't get worse. Tired, it's been a long day,,,