Chilling in Minneapolis-St.Paul...

On New Year's Day, we sadly headed out of Duluth for the drive south to Minneapolis MN and our first sighting of the Mississippi River. Again, we preferred a scenic route (WI-35) to the Interstate. The road was in much better shape than the road we took into Duluth, although the country is still 100% snow covered. It was an interesting route, populated by many small towns, some of which were quite pretty. In particular, there was Osceoia, quite hilly amongst a lot of flat country, and featuring two cascade waterfalls in its downtown. A resident told us that they were lit up at night, and was disappointed we weren't staying the night. He also said the walk down the stairs into the valley for a better view is extremely slippery and hazardous and "you would die going down there", but it would be worth it at night! Also on this drive we passed numerous lakes and they all seem to have waterfront houses scattered around them, with the odd ice-fisherman in action. We discovered that the New Year's Day holiday is taken seriously in this part of the country - almost every shop and establishment was closed in these towns. At St. Croix Falls, on the St Croix River, the visitors centre was closed and we couldn't find the falls.

It remains bitterly cold. The news is full of the arctic storm sweeping across north-eastern states. The TV says its a three dog night! The front page of the Minneapolis StarTribune for 03Jan says "if you think you've been cold before, get ready ... the Twin Cities will experience the sort of bone-shuddering cold that your grandparents used to talk about". Schools are closed. But, here at least we are not getting heavy snowfalls. It is just plain, unbelieveably cold! On Monday, the expected temperature will be the lowest for 25 years, with -40C (incl. wind chill) predicted.

We first spotted the Mississippi River at Coon Rapids, a northern Minneapolis suburb. These rapids apparently define the upper navigable limit on the river, but all we really got was a glimpse here, limited by heavy uncleared snow and "area closed" signs and fencing for some undefined maintenance project.

This spillway was all we could see of the much wider Mississippi River at Coon Rapids.

In Minneapolis we elected to stay just out of downtown to save money on our roadtrip budget. We stayed at the Days Inn at the University of Minnesota campus - while our room was basic, the location proved to be good and the staff were very helpful. We used the free hotel shuttle to commute into town and back.

One of very many huge building atriums in the Minneapolis Skyway.

Minneapolis itself is a real eye-opener. It must be the biggest city on the Mississippi and it has adapted to its bitter weather perfectly. Downtown has developed the Skyway concept (that we first saw in Duluth) to perfection. The network is extensive and comprehensive, and many city buildings have effectively dedicated their second floor to providing public walkways. In the department stores (like Macys and Saks Fifth Avenue), the walkway passes right through the shopping space. Other buildings surround the Skyway with busy food courts and retail outlets. Some turn their Skyway into huge and beautiful atriums. Away from the shopping district, the Skyway network passes beside law courts and offices and municipal departments. The Skyway traverses the theatre district and sports stadiums, and most importantly, links directly to huge carparks and transport terminals. By contrast, the street level of Minneapolis (in this frigid weather at least), is almost devoid of pedestrians and shop fronts. Most shops open inwards, to the buildings containig them.

As the Skyway passes through a Wells Fargo Bank, we encountered the Bank's museum.

Good coffee and healthy food can be obtained at Caribou Coffee. We first discovered this franchise in Duluth, but outlets are abundant in Minneapolis (and elsewhere, we imagine). Six years ago, when we visited New York, good espresso was very hard to find, but we now believe that Americans are at last discovering the European (and Australian) concept of a cafe, and they are proving to be popular enough to ensure their success and growth. We note that most people are ordering very large concoctions with flavours and syrups added - the barista confirmed with us that what we really wanted was "small size skim cappucino extra dry", not larger, no flavouring etc. Dry means less milk, maybe more froth.

The best coffee we can find in Minnesota is at Caribou Coffee, and stores are everywhere!

Admittedly, it is the holiday season, but businesses are open, yet the streets of Minneapolis are as devoid of traffic as they are of pedestrians. The wide boulevards are mostly empty! The car parks are full, but the city has managed to keep th traffic off the streets. Compare that to Sydney! There are many buses, and there is also a light rail system which is currently under expansion.

The Minneapolis light rail passes one of the dozens of pedestrian bridges in the Skyway system. We had a picnic lunch looking out from a Skyway window here.

We got a much better view of the mighty river here. From the 3rd Avenue Bridge, we could see more cascades, but also locks to enable shipping to traverse. The water in the locks looked to be frozen, and we figure there is not much traffic at this time of the year. Unfrozen and running water was evident over the cascades. Even this far north, the Mississippi is a beautiful and very wide waterway.

Posing and freezing on the Mississippi bridge at the 3rd Ave crossing.

Old stone bridge and shipping lock on the Mississippi River at Minneapolis.

This eagle proved his fishing skills by finding something delectable.

A pleasant surprise was the Radisson Hotel, called The Depot which is in the old central station for the Milwaukee and Rock Island Railway. The public areas of the hotel are decorated in old railway style, and the walls are covered with railway posters and memorabilia. It's really well done, and looks great. The "shed" where we imagine the trains actually terminated is now a popular ice rink.

The Radisson Hotel is in the Rock Island Line's old railway station.

The hotel is decorated with statues depicting old railway staff and customers.

An ice skating rink occupies the shed where steam trains used to arrive.

A reflected railway station in 3rd Ave, Minneapolis.

That company, Target, recently beleagured by a security scandal involving customers' credit card details, is headquartered in Minneapolis. Target has a big presence here, and have naming rights to at least two major downtown sporting arenas.

Target Field, a major downtown sports arena connected to the Skyway. We think this is for baseball.

Next to our hotel is a sports bar called "The Hole" (this is a university campus, after all). We decided to eat there one evening, and in doing so learned something of American culture. We stumbled in on a bar packed to the gunnels with basketball fans on the way to a match, the Minnesota Golden Gophers vs. Michigan. This was only a college game, but everyone in the bar was dressed in team colours, maroon and yellow, with a big M. Suddenly (as predicted by the maitre d') everyone left and the bar became virtually deserted within minutes. Almost immediately, we could see on the multiple TV screens that the game had commenced. A waitress told us the stadium was only a few blocks away, but they couldn't possibly have gotten there in time, so it's obviously not that important to see the kick-off. (P.S. The Gophers lost a very tight game.) The following night, we had a drink at the same bar. We finally twigged that it is a "gopher hole". But the barman not only recognised us, but he remembered what we drank! That's pretty impressive when you consider how crowded the bar was last night.

You can't go to Minneapolis without visiting the Mall of America, reportedly the largest shopping mall under one roof in the USA, based on number of stores. Completely enclosed within the mall is a large fun park with a Dora the Explorer theme. With this huge fully enclosed air-conditioned space (surrounded by freezing multi-storey car parks), Minneapolis has again provided its citizens with an antidote to the diabolical cold.

A minotaur is one of many giant Lego statues at the Mall of America.

The Mall of America features a huge "Luna Park", fully inside and protected from the weather.