Far North

Out we are again ,,, for the fourth time this year to the U.S., our sixth flight in total! We were flying to Minneapolis via Chicago (pic) with a B777-200. We were close to get an upgrade to Business Class, but it shouldn’t happen at the end. The plane was packed and seat configuration (3-3-3) was not highly comfy, though we had Economy Plus.

We arrived almost on time in Chicago - where it was still hot, around 25 deg. C - but one hour time to change terminals and planes in Chicago is definitely a high risk, esp. on a day when the train inbetween terminals wasn't running (busses were loaded up instead), when luggage took longer than expected and when we had to undergo random search at security. Had to run fast, though being stiff from the long flight, and were the last ones to get on our scheduled plane to MSP. But, from a group of about 10 people on our plane, we were the only ones who made it at all!

Not so our luggage. Because of thunderstorms the plane had to circle in the air,we were delayed, and on the ground luggage carousels weren't running first and we had to wait for about 45 min. for the luggage - to get to know, that ours was not on this plane,,, To make a long, time-consuming story short: It was delivered to our hotel around midnight and we picked it up this morning in the hotel lobby. At least, we got a choice of four SUVs at Alamo car rentals and - not very loyally - chose the only non-American, a Hyundai Tucson, which has, from previous experiences, better gas-mileage than American cars as Ford, Chevy and Jeep (our other choices).

The Radisson Blu Hotel (pics above), where we were staying for the first night, is a great modern hotel adjacent to the Great Mall of America - the largest mall in the U.S.A. with about 390.000 square meters and over 500 shops, an amusement park, theaters, restaurants, hotels etc. (pics below). We still wandered around in the evening, but haven't been in the right mood for shopping. Therefore, we just had a beer and chicken wings at the hotel bar (pic), took a bath and had a fitful sleep, all screwed up from a long, eventful day.