I’m flying up to the Great White North to visit my girlfriend’s mother for Christmas. On the way up and back we’re going to have a couple of five-hour-plus layovers. Which brings up the question, what the fuck are we going to do?
We have the beginnings of a plan: On the way back we will take an airport shuttle to the Mall of America to catch a showing of The Life Aquatic and do some after-christmas bargan shopping. But we figured it would be best to avoid Mall Land on the way up, as it will be the day before Christmas Eve.
So here’s what I’m looking for:
A cool coffee shop, bar or brew pub where we can camp out and get some writing done. No chains.
Cultural stuff a reasonable cab ride from the airport. Musuem, landmarks, etc. Super bonus points for local color.
One thing that will make your trek easier is the fact that by the time you arrive, the light rail system will have the airport connected to downtown Mpls…and for what it’s worth, the Mall O’ 'Murica. A cab ride from the airport to anywhere interesting in going to cost you at least $20.
You’ll find some good dining/drinking establishments downtown on Nicollet Mall. I’m partial to a place that would meet your needs called The Local . It’s an Irish type joint.
If you’re looking for a really hip place, try the Bryant-Lake Bowl. It’s a bar, restaurant, theatre, bowling alley and all around hip-cat hangout. They have the most interesting (though not the largest) beer selection in town. It’s not along the rail line though.
Not a lot to choose from given your time and transportation constraints. Minnehaha Falls is right off the rail line and is very cool to see in the winter. Dress warm.
As for coffee shops, hmm, there’s the Anodyne which would require a cab to 43rd and Nicollet. Bob’s Java Hut or Muddy Waters both on Lyndale Ave. My suggestion would be to skip those and take the light rail from the airport on up to downtown Minneapolis. A bit of hoofin’ and you’ll get to the Loft / Open Book (which I forgot to mention last time).
The Cabooze is a good live music venue that’s right on the light rail line as it approaches downtown Mpls (Franklin&Cedar) with local color provided by adjacent biker hangout The Joint.
A little classier is The Fine Line downtown near the far terminus of the LRT.
I wish I could recommend First Avenue, but that place has been deadsville lately.
But if you really want some local color to gawk at, try The Gay 90’s on Hennepin Ave. Seriously. The drag queen revue is a hoot.
The Big Ole’ Mall o’ America is probably your best bet. Like Ass For A Hat says, the new light rail should make this a breeze (it opens december 4th from the airport to the Mall. The airport to downtown has been open for 5 months). And there are restaurants and a movie theater in the MOA.
Also on the light rail is Fort Snelling , a historical monument thingy. Unfortunately, it’s closed November-April. Something to keep in mind for summer.
Speaking of historical schtuff, the Minnesota Historical Society has a good site. I’ve also recently done 2 tours of the Minnesota History Center, and enjoyed it.
Something oddball that might be fun to do is the The Saint Paul Gangster Tour, which I’ve not done, but looks really interesting. Again, not really in the 5 hour timeframe. The airport to St. Paul is probably in the $30-40 taxi range. You might be able to catch a hotel van or bus, however.
Info on the light rail extension to the airport and Mall of America can be found here. That will make it easier to get out to the Mall (if desired) or downtown Minneapolis and a lot cheaper than a taxi.
Given that you only have 5 hours, I’d stick with either the MoA or near downtown Mpls. In the downtown area there are a few good pubs. As mentioned above, The Local is great, as is Brit’s Pub (good selection of British Ales), on the opposite corner (+/-). The Rock Bottom Brewery is a brew pub and has a good selection as well.
The Minneapolis Museum of Art is nice, and could fit in to your time frame. A taxi from downtown should not run you too much. Have fun!
2 words. House of Balls. Okay, that is 3, but don’t get technical on me. The guy who owns it makes art (faces mainly) out of old bowling balls. Some very cool things in there. It is in the warehouse district.
If you’re looking for any sort of “local color”, please do not go to Mall of America. It’s just a really big mall. That’s all. Think of any mall you’ve been to and multiply it by a factor of 3 or so. Boom–you have the Mall of America.
Okay, maybe I have a dim view of it because any time someone comes from out of town, that’s where they want to go. Sometimes it’s necessary to go there because they have the only Nordstrom in the Twin Cities area (I think), but it’s not that special.
Definitely take the light rail and head downtown. Here’s a link to the schedule. Also, feel free to drop me an email–I live downtown and would be happy to take you out. I can’t guarantee I’ll be around due to the holidays, but I’ll let you know.
Rent a room with a VCR. Bring your tapes of BOTH times Auburn kicked UT’s ass this year. Should kill about five hours, if you FF throught the commercials.
You may be hitting the height of culture on Christmas Eve, depending on when you arrive. Yep. I’m talking about the big rivalry. Vikings v. Packers. Watch it if you take the train before or after the game, since it stops right in front of the dome the trains get pretty packed. The games at 3pm. It should end around 6:30. With dejected looking Packers fans streaming out at about 3:20.
Thanks for the suggestions, everyone. And keep ‘em comin’!
To easy e and all others who pointed out that Mall O’ 'merca is just a big mall: thank you. I appreciate where you’re coming from on that, and I totally agree with you. But we’ve got to get some Christmas shopping done for the set of relatives we’re not going to be spending Christmas with. We’d end up at a mall anyway, so we figured why not go to one that’s big, famous, and that we’ve never gone to before. The bulk of our time in town will be spent outside of the mall.
John Carter of Mars, by my count Auburn’s only beat UT once this year. The second humiliating drubbing will take place this weekend. Y’all have a hell of a team this year–I hope you get a shot at the title, unless we can pull off some kind of miracle upset. Which I doubt. Very much.
