Travelog for: Anna Pineapple

Hi Mom!

Yesterday and today work was canceled for sannah because of an upcoming Blizzard. At first, there was snow and then lots of wind, close to storm (at around 80km/h). And that is the result:



In the afternoon, the wind had calmed down a little and sannah took us for a walk in order to get fresh air after having been locked up for nearly two days (which is the most reasonable thing to do). It was beautiful in this hour shortly before sunset.

But it will certainly take some time before somebody can sit on this bench again:



The geese were gathering on what usually is a parking lot. But now they own it.



With the blue sky and the still fresh snow, the atmosphere was extraordinary calm. I loved it!



Isn't mother nature's work amazing?



From the south end of Silver Lake on 7th St NE you have a nice look over downtown Rochester with its highest building (Broadway Suites and Apartments) in the middle of this picture.



This scenery is pretty romantic, isn't it? The two stone bridges ... It's hard to believe you are in the middle of a city with a population of more than 108,000!



Or just this single one. The path leading to it was blocked by too much snow.



Another view of downtown from the northeast Silver Lake with the RPU Power Plant in front. Those small mountains of snow were caused by the storm - blowing snow is a serious traffic danger! Even for those who were walking, because the mostly cleared path was blocked by snow drifts.



One last look at the romantic sunset ...



... and then we headed back home. Without the sunshine, it was freezing cold!

All the best to you! And don't worry, we are staying warm!

Yours,
Anna

Hi there!

It is slowly, very slowly, getting warmer! And therefore, it is finally warm enough to go out again without freezing instantly. Yay!  But of course, there are still lots of snow around.



Last time downtown I had forgotten to give you an impression of Historic 3rd Street with all its antiques stores and taverns. Here it is:



sannah also wanted me to show you the Government Center for the city of Rochester and Olmsted County.



On this picture you can see a memorial of the brothers Mayo in front of the Mayo Civic Center,  the local center of Performing Arts. Today, the local high school basketball teams are competing in there in order to qualify for the state finals.



Maybe that is why one of these typical yellow school buses was parked not far away from there. I have never seen one of them before. sannah confided that riding one of them is quite uncomfortable if you’re taller than 1,80m (which she is).



Walking along the Zumbro River back home, we had a nice look upon Downtown Rochester.



We had nearly arrived at sannah’s place when a bunch of Canadian Geese was waiting for us on the sidewalk. They waddled a little away when we came closer.



Since I have seen these wild geese several times, but never came that close like today (less than two meters!), I would say that I have fulfilled one of my life missions!



One of them obviously wanted to make friends with me!



In a few months, when their goslings have hatched, they are much more hostile towards humans, sannah told me. They would most likely eat pineapples then.

I hope your day was as wonderful and exciting as mine!

All the best to you,
Anna

Hi Mom!

Snow is thawing, but unlike Germany, spring hasn't really arrived in Minnesota yet.

Nevertheless, we went to see the mighty Mississippi River, still partly frozen.
At first we went to Lake City ...



And then Dille and I continued our trip in the car. The road runs between the river at one side and the bluffs at the other.





We saw more of the Mississippi at our final stop for the day.

All the best,
Anna

Hi there!

After our ride along the mighty Mississippi River, we stopped in Winona, MN, a small college town on Minnesota’s east border with Wisconsin.

If you cross the bridge in the background, you already are in Wisconsin, the river is the border.



Can you see to what extend the Mississippi is still frozen?




Interesting to see what happens when freezing and thawing alternates ...



We really had a great time at the River Promenade. It must be more crowded in summer.




When we finally drove home, it was already sunset.



I hope to show you some spring soon!

All the best,
Anna

Hi there!

I just wanted to check in real quick ... Spring has finally arrived and as you can see, the snow has completely melted now.

So I joined sannah on a bike ride on the cleared trails.

sannah and sannah-man are looking forward to making a big trip next weekend. Stay tuned!

All the best,
Anna

Hi Mom!

Together with sannah and her husband, Dille and I traveled to the Capital of the United States of America for Easter: Hello, Washington DC!

For better orientation, we started at the Old Post Office Tower. The whole building should have been demolished in the 1970s, but was preserved for its architectural value. And doesn’t it look beautiful?



National Park Service is in charge of access to the tower. We had to pass a security check and then took the elevator to the 9th floor. While waiting in line, I studied an information sheet together with sannah-man.



Another elevator would have taken us up to the 12th floor where the observation deck is. But we decided to take 130 stairs instead and passed the bells of the tower on our way up.



Then we finally arrived at the observation deck and had a nice view over the city with all the important buildings.

Unfortunately, the White House is hidden behind another, not so white building in this picture. Consider the large green area being its front yard.



Hard to miss in this picture is the Washington Monument, the obelisk in the center of the National Mall. In the distance on the right, at the end of the National Mall is the Lincoln Memorial.



Not much to see on this picture … The dome should belong to one of the world famous Smithsonian Museums. sannah definitely needs to come back to see them – she walked by, but did not enter although admission is always free!  But the weather was way too good to spend time indoors!



Our last look was east towards the US State Capitol Building – it is even impressive from the distance!



On our way back down, we went through a small exhibit advertising the tower and its history.



Since I have a first impression now, it is time to explore the city!

More to follow soon, Mom!
All the best, Anna

Hi Mom!

Out of the Post Office, we wanted to get closer to the impressive US state capitol building. So we went along National Mall and crossed the Sculpture Garden. There we saw an interesting piece by Miró.

The big building in the back is the National Art Gallery. Something else to explore another time …



Just a few minutes later, we stood at the front of a big pool right in front of the United States Capitol, the legendary home of the U.S. legislature.



We had to head back to our hotel after enjoying the view for a while. On our way along Pennsylvania Avenue, we passed a tiny little park with the Grand Army of the Republic Memorial in the center.



But I must admit I liked the tulips more … Haven’t seen flowers for a while in snowy Minnesota!

All the best,
Anna

Hi Mom,

this is only part 1! 

On Easter Sunday, sannah took us on a walk along Massachusetts Avenue from Dupont Circle to the United States Naval Observatory. This part of the street is nicknamed Embassy Row because of the high density of – well – embassies of countries all over the world. Some of them are situated in nice city houses which were built around 1900, but sannah didn’t want to take a picture of all of them … Click here if you want to see more.

Not an embassy, but another both international and impressive building (and most likely serving a lot of the diplomats living nearby, for example for Turkey or Oman) is The Islamic Center. I have never seen a minaret in the United States before!



Massachusetts Avenue then passes Rock Creek.



The British Embassy’s ground was huge! They had their Union Jack on public display …



… and Winston Churchill was greeting everybody walking by with the Victory sign.



At the St. Alban’s School for boys, we had almost reached our destination for today ...



stay tuned!

part 2 ...

Located on a hill at the corner of Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenue, the Washington National Cathedral was a perfect destination for Easter Day.

At first sight, it was hiding behind the trees …



… but then we stepped out of the umbrage and had a second look. Still, it looks a smaller version of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, don’t you think? Or maybe it is just the Neo-Gothic design, I don’t know.



Its official name is Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, but let’s use Washington National Cathedral for the sixth-largest cathedral in the world, the second-largest in the United States, instead.

The foundation stone was set in 1907 with President Roosevelt present, the last one in the presence of President George H. Bush in 1990. But in 2011 an earthquake hit Washington DC and parts of the tower fell off. Therefore, reconstruction work was ongoing and access partly restricted.



Nevertheless, we walked around the church and found this nice building nearby, the church’s library is in there.



An Easter afternoon service was just about to start and sannah and sannah-man decided to attend it (making it their first Episcopal service ever). I had to stay in sannah’s purse for that time, but when we left, I had one last look back.



That was my Easter Sunday! How was yours?

All the best,
Anna

Hi there!

One of the most touristy spots of DC where a lot of people take pictures or selfies is definitely the Lincoln Memorial.

But well, the view over the Reflection Pool to the Washington Monument really is spectacular, especially on sunny days. Don’t you agree?



Not less people took a picture of the huge sitting Lincoln. I am no exemption.



And this shows the whole memorial from its side.



It is time to leave DC, but one last stop ...

All the best, Anna

Hi there!

This place is a very special one for those US-Americans who support their troops.



A lot of soldiers, whether they lost their life while fighting for their country or as veterans later in life, are buried here at Arlington National Cemetery. We only crossed the Potamac River, but are in the state of Virginia now.

The atmosphere is hard to describe, it is very calm, a hallow ground - but on the other hand there are a lot of visitors.

The gravesites are arranged neatly.





Most visitors pay tribute at the burial place of John F. Kennedy. An eternal flame is burning there. You can see the place in the front of this photo (where the people gathered).



The background shows our look back over Washington DC across the Potomac River (can you see the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, or the State Capitol Building?) - we headed to the airport by Metro after our visit at the cemetery.

All the best,
Anna

Hi there!

Another road trip, this time leading up north to the shores of Lake Superior. Yes, it looks like the beach of an ocean (the ones I saw on cyprus), but it is only a lake, the largest freshwater lake of the world (by surface).



This is the lighthouse marking the harbor entry of Two Harbors where we stopped for a picknick lunch.



More to follow soon!
Anna

Hi there!

Our first stop after having checked into our hotel rooms was at Tettegouche State Park, the largest of all Minnesota State Parks at the North Shore.

To literally get an overview, we first stopped at Palisade Head, a cliff rising up about 40 meters high at the coast. I did not dare to get very close to the edge, it was too high to still feel comfortable!




Afterwards, we followed one of the trails. First we went down to the mouth of Baptism River.



The trail leading towards Shovel Point was mostly made of wooden stairs. Lots of stairs! I could hear sannah groan towards the end … must have been too many!

But the view was definitely worth it! Don’t you agree?
Palisade Head is in the background here.



And I love the rugged coastline. Can you spot the underground caves?



It was a wonderful day, but all the fresh air really made me tired!

Best wishes to you,
Anna

Hi there!

Sunday was Mother’s Day, so I did – of course – think of you! We drove up further north to Grand Marais, MN, the last larger town before the US-Canadian border – that would have been just another hour to drive (50km or so)!

We first stopped on our way there because the bay looked so nice and calm. Another beach for my life missions, although it was mostly a rocky and not a very sandy beach.



After having a late, but very yummy breakfast Grand Marais we went to explore the harbor area. Grand Marais itself even has a small "city beach", see for yourself!



But the coastline itself is very rugged. Volcanic rocks, leftovers of earth’s history. We had to climb up and down in order to reach thelighthouse of Grand Marais – can you spot it in the distance?



But it really was fun to climb over all those rocks! I enjoyed it a lot, so did sannah.



And finally we made it to the lighthouse. Yay us!



We had to take the same way back to our car. And then we had a last look over Grand Marais Harbor. There surely are a lot of more boats in the summer, but now the season has yet to start.



I liked this teeny tiny town a lot! What about you?

More to follow soon!
Anna

Hi there!

On our way back from Grand Marais, we stopped at another State Park, named after the stream running through it: Temperance River. Here it is:



The most advertised part of this park is very close to the parking lot: The Hidden Falls. Can you spot them despite their name? 



We then followed the river upstream. It really was amazing to see how it has carved its way through the rock over thousands and thousands of years.







I was rendered speechless. What about you?

All the best from Minnesota!
Anna