Layover: Minneapolis – Saint Paul

by Annie Scott on


Ah, MSP. A layover in this sprawling north coast airport can be a great time, or abject Hell. Here are some ways to have fun if you find yourself flying into this flyover state.

(I can say that; I’m from there. And I love it. And it knows.)

Shorter (2 hour) layovers

I’ll be assuming you’re flying into the Lindbergh Terminal. If you’ve got under two hours and you’ve landed at the smaller, aggressively clean Humphrey Terminal (the HHH, after Hubert H. Humphrey), taking the light rail to Lindbergh is not worth it. You’ve got a coffee shop. Sit down and enjoy the quiet; that terminal is usually a ghost town. (That’s the reason there’s not much to do there — everything closes because there isn’t enough traffic.)
The Lindbergh Terminal is the opposite of a ghost town, which I guess would be a … town. With concourses A through G and “The Mall” in the middle, as well as a snappy little tram, it’s a bustling airport with lots of choices for restaurants and shopping. I highly recommend French Meadow Bakery and Cafe located in concourse F, which is a mini version of a favorite in Uptown Minneapolis in the Lyn-Lake area. I wish it were a sit-down restaurant and not counter service, but I can’t argue with the delicious breakfast, lunch, and dinner offerings made with organic and local ingredients. It’s an actual taste of Minnesota.

If you want to do some Minnesota-esque shopping, you can stop at Minnesota! for wooden birds and the like. Every home in Minnesota has a wooden bird. I don’t know why this is. Or, if you prefer to do as the locals would do (or you are a local, or you already have a wooden bird, or both), you can hit up Harley Davidson, Hugo Boss, or pick up some sporty stuff at the creatively named Sports Minnesota.

If you’re into drinking, nature’s cure for flight nerves, TGI Fridays has cheap drink upgrades (an extra shot for a buck or two), and Tequileria in concourse G will give you a plastic shaker if you drink enough margaritas. They serve 1800 Reposado there, which happens to be a really great tequila. Added perk of Tequileria: fun to say.

The best burger and the best beer in the joint are conveniently located together at Rock Bottom Brewery & Restaurant — and click that link if you’re going there. Free coupons.

You can also hit up Tumi in the Mall if you forgot a suitcase and feel like carrying an empty one (I’ve never understood suitcase shops in airports), or get your shoes shined a lot of places. Got kids with you? You can kill an hour or so playing with all the toys at Creative Kidstuff. Heck, I can kill an hour or so playing with all the toys at Creative Kidstuff.

Longer layovers (4+ hours)

Whether you’re at Lindbergh or Humphrey, if you’ve got more than four hours, you’re gonna want to leave the airport. Why? Because it’s easy and there’s lots to do! The fancy light rail, also known as The Hiawatha Line (after the street it’s built along), is your friend.

If you don’t care much about Minneapolis but want to occupy yourself, take the light rail over to the Mall of America. It’s like, right there. The Mall of America has four giant department stores, three floors of shops (mostly chains), a huge movie theater, an aquarium, and a freaking amusement park in the middle. With like, roller coasters and a log flume and stuff. It’s totally out of control. The Mall of America is perfect for some, but strikes horror into the hearts of others.

If you’re on the “others” team, then take the light rail the other way and head to Downtown Minneapolis. It’s great that you don’t need a car to get downtown and play.

What to do in Downtown Minneapolis? Well, there’s lots of shopping and eating, especially on Nicollet Mall, and St. Anthony Main has a number of bars and restaurants with a view of the Mississippi River. If you’re there, you should also check out Nye’s Polonaise, which was called “The Best Bar in America” by GQ, and rightly so: Polka music in one room, a piano bar, and an old-timey feel make it cozy and fun — and the food’s not bad either. If you’re looking for a great meal, though, my very favorite restaurant in Minneapolis is a hop, skip, and a jump from the light rail: Cafe Brenda. Cafe Brenda is a mostly-vegetarian restaurant with some poultry and fish options, and the food is to die for. Get the mushroom pate appetizer. Yum.

If it’s a cold month? No worries: Minneapolis is all indoorily connected with an elaborate, 8 mile skyway system — click here to download a map. If it’s warm enough to walk around outside, I recommend heading down to the outrageously large and blue new Guthrie Theater, which sits right on the Mississippi River. There are bars and restaurants inside, as well as a really cool “endless bridge” from which you can watch the water.

Other tips:

So, hopefully that helps you through the pain that is the layover — Minneapolis is a great town, and thanks to the light rail, it’s really easy to get right downtown in a jiffy. Just make sure to get back to the airport in time to catch your flight!

Pilot dies midflight, plane lands safely

by Catherine Bodry on

The unfortunate death of a Continental Airlines pilot today is nevertheless calming fears of many a flying-phobe: even with one pilot down, a plane can safely land.

During the flight from Brussels to Newark, the 60-year-old pilot allegedly died of “natural causes” (the first doctor to respond in the air reports that it was likely a heart attack). Passengers weren’t told of the death, and fight attendants continued serving snacks. A relief pilot on board took over, and with another co-pilot safely finished the flight.

Emergency crews met the plane as a precaution, but the Boeing 777 touched down without incident, and on time.

[Via MSNBC]

Don Q – Puerto Rican Rum

by Annie Scott on

Don Q (short for Don Quixote) is a Puerto Rican rum with a rich history. What’s more, not only is Don Q Puerto Rico’s most popular rum, but it’s conveniently located just across the water from the Bacardi factory — a perfect alternative to what we understand is a boring four-hour excursion — and best of all, it’s free.

Located at Pier (Muelle) 2 in Old San Juan, Casa Don Q is a great place to visit on a trip to Puerto Rico. The walls showcase the history of Distileria Serralles, Inc., and the shop offers Don Q-emblazoned items from swim trunks to watches in display cases which change colors from green to blue.

The best part, as we said, is the free samples (please tip your bartender). You try the widely available Don Q Cristal and Gold (which may well be on the shelf at your local liquor store), or you can opt for the awesome flavored rums made with Puerto Rican coconuts, limes, and passion fruit — they’ll make you a mixed drink if you like. The true connoisseur, though, goes for The Grand Anejo Don Q (shown), which is aged twelve years and has notes of rich wood, caramel, and cinnamon. You’ll totally want to pick up a $45 bottle while you’re there — make sure you’re flying JetBlue, because you’re gonna have to check your bag (they still don’t charge for one bag).

For more information on visiting the small and simple Casa Don Q, click here — and click through the gallery for a virtual visit.
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U.S. Senate logic: Let’s attract foreign travelers by… charging them a $10 fee?

by Aaron Hotfelder on

You can’t blame the U.S. government for wanting to encourage foreign travelers to visit the United States. Our economy’s in the crapper, and we need the money. But the Travel Promotion Act of 2009, introduced Tuesday in the Senate by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-ND), is not the right way to do it.

The proposed legislation, a response to the decrease in foreign travel to the United States since 9-11, would “establish a non-profit corporation to better communicate U.S. entry policies to international travelers and promote leisure, business, and scholarly travel to the United States.” In addition, the Act would “create an Office of Travel Promotion within the Department of Commerce to coordinate with the Corporation.”

Sounds okay so far, right? Until you hear how the proposed non-profit corporation would be financed:

The Act “would require the Department of Homeland Security to collect a $10 ESTA [Electronic System for Travel Authorization] fee from foreign travelers for the Corporation.”

So let me get this straight: we want you to visit so much that we’re going to hit you with a $10 charge every time you do?

Not only that, the money will be directed at “focusing efforts towards countries and travelers who are most likely to travel to America.” So visitors from poorer countries will be subsidizing advertising directed at (mostly) wealthier countries?

Here’s what the US government can really do to encourage foreign visitors: Add more countries to the Visa Waiver Program. Stop requiring every visitor to the US (except those from the 35 “low-risk” countries already in the program) to go through the hassle, expense, and impossibly long wait that obtaining a visa inevitably entails.

And oh yeah, if a person is lucky enough to actually obtain a traveler’s visa, let’s stop treating them like criminals before they even get in the door.

Layover: Detroit

by Grant Martin on

Detroit’s long association with the automotive industry led to poor public transportation development during the 1900s. As a result, the airport, which is thirty minutes from either downtown Detroit to the east or Ann Arbor to the west, is poorly connected to the cities. While there are a couple of public buses that visit the airport, neither lines go to any worthwhile destinations at any reasonable speed, so unless you want to rent a vehicle or get a pricey cab, it’s usually best to stay in the airport. Fortunately, both the McNamara and North terminals are modern, airy structures with plenty of restaurants and activities to keep you busy, so even longer layovers won’t be spent poorly.

Shorter (2 hour) layovers

With only a couple of hours to kill at the airport, it’s best to not go outside of security unless you have a specific reason. There isn’t much out there anyway except for the Westin restaurant in the Mac and a bar in the baggage claim of the North terminal.

If you’re flying on any airline except for Northwest, Delta and Continental, you’ll find yourself in the newly opened North terminal, that despite it’s simple design is perfectly functional and clean. To keep yourself busy for a couple of hours, you can start by ducking into one of the many shops throughout the terminal, including a Brookstone, two Borders and an ASAP for electronics. Your best bet, however, is to sit down for a good relaxing meal, which you can do at Hockeytown Cafe, Ruby Tuesdays or Fridays.
In the McNamara terminal you have many more options. First, if you haven’t seen the tunnel between the A and BC terminals, it’s worth taking a visit to the seizure-inducing display. A combination of loud music, pounding lights and changing colors liken the 5 minute voyage to watching Requiem for a Dream inside of a kaleidoscope, and if you aren’t awed when you ride through the first time you will be when you get back. On the A terminal side of the tunnel you can also hang out and watch the fountain deposit laminar streams of water precisely across the giant, stone expanse, well worth a few minutes of gawking.

If you’d like a bite to eat, McNamara has three expansive food courts in the center and termini of hall A where you can grab both American and Japanese fast food (several flights from Tokyo connect here.) If you’ve got a little bit of extra time, try the Japanese restaurant or the National Coney Island for a plate of remarkably delicious airport food.

Northwest and Delta’s Sky Clubs are a great escape from the rigor of the everyday airport melee. If you haven’t got an annual pass, you can stop in any of the four lounges in the airport, buy a pass for about $50 and enjoy free wireless, snacks, comfy chairs and drinks. So if you think that you can consume more than $50 at the airport bar, use the Sky Club instead – the drinks are self serve. This is also a great place to deposit your luggage if you want to leave the premises for a while.

If you’re willing to risk sneaking out of security for a bit, the Westin at McNamara terminal has a wonderful ground floor that is a million miles away from the bustling airport terminal. Grab a drink at Dema, the hotel restaurant while you gawk at the monstrostic, relaxing surroundings.

Longer layovers (4+ hours)
Should you decide to leave the airport during your layover, there are a few local options that you can enjoy within a (long) stones throw. You’ll need to either rent a car or have someone pick you up though, or you can arrange some sort of deal with a local taxi. Just make sure that if you’re going somewhere with little cab access that you have a ride back.

Greenfield Village (pictured): The largest outdoor museum in the world is an 18 minute cab ride away from the airport, in Dearborn, MI. The village hosts a sprawling 240 acres of reconstructed and original buildings across US history, focusing on the way that Americans lived in colonial times. Character actors play the role of ancient colonists and there are enough activities to keep you busy all day — just make sure that the weather is good. Tickets are $22 for adults and $16 for children over 5.

Casinos: Three casinos in downtown Detroit are a fun way to kill a few hours. It’s 25 minutes by car to either Greektown, Motor City or the MGM Grand.

Downtown Detroit: Outside of the several casinos, downtown Detroit has experienced a bit of a revitalization in the last few years. The area around Comerica Park and Ford Field including Greektown is interesting and safe to mosey around, though you’ll see more interesting architecture than boutique shops. Our recommendation? The MGM Grand.

Ann Arbor: Recently covered in our “Budget Destinations” series, Ann Arbor is home to the University of Michigan and is a quiet, quaint town about a half hour west of DTW. You can read more details about tree city in that post, but our specific suggestions for a long layover are a stop at Dominick’s for a sangria and a homemade pizza and a stroll through the law quad and campus. You can easily make it to Ann Arbor and back in about 3.5 hours.

Other tips

— If you’ve got some range on your wireless card, the skyclubs upstairs at either end of terminal A have free wifi. On a good day you can sit below the clubs on the chairs and pick up a signal.

— Keep an eye out for the planters with giant trees in them. Several of them are host to autograph rocks where people stop by, sign their name and leave a mark.

Plan your next layover with Gadling’s Layover Guides.