Sugary Bliss in Minnesota

Our return flight to Prague dropped us right at the beginning of the school year. Meetings, curriculum planning, staff development, etc., make me want to crawl right back into summer. So sometimes I just look up from lesson objectives and administrative e-mails and shut my eyes and go to my happy place, where we'd been just a week prior...

It's literally brimming, no... stuffed, no... ERUPTING with sweets!

Yessir - this whole yellow... airplane hangar? machine shed? ...is corner-to-corner sugary goodness.

Much of it is hard-to-find nostalgia, so be prepared for a trip down memory lane. Remember Slo Pokes, Necco Wafers and Lemon Heads?

Or candy cigarettes?

(Don't even think about shoplifting; there's a warrior watching.)

The owner also travels to Europe to buy treats - like Milka, Haribo and Kinder. I also noticed European puzzles lining the ceiling; see the Czech Mucha one in the middle?

The fun isn't limited to solids; there are 155 kinds of root beer and countless more sodas, like these...

...and "Leninade." Ha!

But my favorite thing about the place is the pie counter, i.e. "Hippy's Pies." The owner's father, nicknamed Hippy, bakes and sells pies and chats up customers - like BW and his grandpa. BW's grandpa knows everyone in the whole place.

These looked tantalizing, but we went for Hippy's apple strudel.

Other offerings include a caramel corn ferris wheel,

honey with a bear that sings when you walk by,

and pickled eggs. Don't knock 'em 'til you've tried 'em.

Sure, you can try avoiding Minnesota's Largest Candy Store, but...

Get a little glee in your boring, sugar-free adult life and head there! It's along MN Hwy 169 between Jordan and Belle Plaine, MN. It's open seven days a week from July through November, from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m.

This post is part of the Travel Tuesday linkup, presented by Camila, Amy, Jessi and Bonnie.

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Friends are good for jetlag

Jetlag: (n.) A disagreeable physical and mental effect akin to feeling like you've been
     i. swallowed by a timeless wormhole,
     ii. sucked dry of all ability to sleep and
     iii. spit back out in a state of bleary confusion

Or at least that's what BW and I felt like our first week back to Prague.

The first of several nights we were wide awake at 3 a.m., I Googled "How to get over jetlag" in desperation and landed on the National Sleep Foundation's webpage. Apparently jetlag is worse when you travel East, and one of the best things you can do for your body is get into the sun so your biological clock resets.

Thus, it was perfect that our buddies the Nordeasters were waiting for us in Prague when we landed; their excellent presence made us get out into daylight for tromps around the city. Had that not happened, we more than likely would have spent hours crouched in our dark flat like the Gollum.

*     *     *     *     *

The Nordeasters, who are avid record collectors, got engaged on their European trip (yay!) but are so fussy about their individual record collections that they're not certain they'll commingle them in marriage. Thus, it was fitting that we walked to a favorite antique shop to peruse the vinyl. Mr. Nordeaster bought 3 - his only souvenirs of the trip.

And Miss Nordeaster found old journals - half-blank and half-filled with sketches and pressed flowers, from the 1930s. What a glimpse into the past!

Of course I made them pose for a quintessential Charles Bridge pic.

An outdoor cafe had tables made of old sewing machine bases.

The Lennon Wall. That is all.

Kisses in Cafe Louvre.

The Kafka Museum was really well done. A must-see for literary geeks everywhere. Just prepare to feel a bit melancholic and existential.

A trip to good ol' Letna Park is the best way to relieve tired tootsies.

And before we knew it, it was night again. Another night where we chased sheep rather than counted them.

But we were so glad to have these two far-out friends here, and it was sad to see them go. Especially when they do things like eat invisible hamburgers. Or play invisible harmonicas. Whatever; I need sleep.

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Staycation: Minneapolis-St. Paul

We've wrapped up a Magellan-esque trip back to the American Midwest after mashing our favorite people and things into a quick slice of time. Our last 2 weeks were spent in the Twin Cities metro area, otherwise known as greater Minneapolis-St. Paul. This region is a best-kept American secret; its cold winters dissuade people from finding out that it boasts a stunning spread of urban lakes or that it has the nation's third-largest theater market (behind New York and Chicago). And its location way out in the Midwestern middle of nowhere keeps a lot of that celebrity riff-raff away. It's colorful and cultural (and, yes, sometimes cold), and we love it.

So it sort of felt like we were on a staycation in Minneapolis-St. Paul - even though we don't live there right now. If you happen to be in the neighborhood, here is a small handful of places where we had oodles of fun with family and friends - as always.

Lake Harriet is an urban oasis, and paddle boarding on it is a lovely way to pass the day. My friend Lele has a bum leg (think metal rod) and it's one type of exercise she can actually do right now. We paddled and chatted, drifted and chatted, smiled and paddled in the middle of Minneapolis. 
          Do indulge in ice cream at the pavilion afterwards
          Don't touch the hot-dogs; ours were like smoky pencil erasers

Mickey's Diner in St. Paul is unsurpassed in greasy-spoon revelry, charmingly contained in a vintage Art Deco dining car. It's been featured in numerous TV shows, magazines and movies, but the pocket-change prices and retro booths remain the same. Coach and I agree. (*urp*)

          Do try the pancakes; they're pure maple bliss
          Don't wave the servers over; the place is small and they'll get there

                            

Taprooms have popped all over northeastern Minneapolis in the year we were gone. We visited Indeed and Sociable Ciderworks in friend MarkinMaine's '63 Cadillac and stopped at Fulton and Bauhaus on other nights.

          Do sit outside 'round the fire at Sociable Ciderworks and steal the cool coasters from Bauhaus

          Don't drink and drive. Duh

Uptown Minneapolis might have sold out a bit to Apple and The North Face, but it still offers its mainstay goodies of sidewalk dining, secondhand shops, tattoo parlors, and dive bars, too. We saw a Fringe Fest play at Bryant Lake Bowl on our anniversary, attended the Uptown Art Fair with Ma and Pa W and ate noodles at Moto-I, among other things.

          Do park your car and walk around

          Don't park in the Calhoun Square ramp; it's exorbitant

Cathedral Hill is grand and aptly crowned with the Beaux Arts Cathedral of St. Paul. We're also big fans of its cement-stamped sidewalk poetry, Nina's Coffee Cafe, the YWCA for a workout and the summer patio at W.A. Frost. In fact, this is the area where we own a little condo :) 

          Do donate a book to the Little Free Library outside of Moscow on the Hill restaurant

          Don't pass the Great Harvest Bread Compant without stopping in for a sample

Ma and Pa W's place is in South Suburban Twin Cities. No, we don't advise being a tourist there, but it's certainly special to us! 

          Do eat Pa W's grilled salmon and crab legs

          Don't let Cooper the enormous dog nab your plate off the picnic table

And finally, because there's no way I'll get around to writing about every special staycation place and person in Minneapolis-St. Paul, here are some parting shots of us enjoying the environs with family and friends over the past two weeks :) Thanks, all!

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