Our storks’ team hotel was once the Minneapolis train station
This year’s summer training camp will take place in Minnesota, USA. The state has the motto “Star of the North” and is actually the northernmost of all US states on the mainland. It is therefore fitting that our Storks, as the northernmost second division team, are guests here and reside in the city’s former train station – but more on that later. With an area of just under 225,000 km², it is one of the larger states in the USA and is home to around 5.7 million people. The two largest cities in the so-called “North Star State” are Minneapolis with just under 430,000 inhabitants and St. Paul, the capital of Minnesota, with around 312,000 inhabitants. These two major cities are popularly known as the “Twin Cities” as they are only around 15 kilometers apart.
Minneapolis, the city of sports
Our Storks are staying in Minneapolis during their summer training camp. The city is a true sports metropolis, with teams from all major US sports represented here. With the Minnesota Vikings (American football), the Minnesota Timberwolves (basketball), the Minnesota Wild (ice hockey) and the Minnesota Twins (baseball), Minneapolis has a lot to offer. The city is also home to Minnesota United FC, a soccer club known in the USA as “Soccer”, which our Storks will face in a test match on Monday. All teams play in the highest professional leagues of their respective sports – in addition to Minneapolis, there are only eleven other US cities that are home to professional teams in the four major US sports.
Some German athletes also played for the teams from Minnesota: With Julian Gressel and Morris Duggan, two Germans are currently part of the Minnesota United FC squad. On Tuesday evening (local time), some of our storks met the two soccer expats in person. In the past, Nico Sturm (ice hockey), Max Kepler (baseball) and Moritz Böhringer (football) were also active in other sports in Minnesota.
Large German community in Minnesota
In addition to its more than 10,000 lakes, rivers and ponds (“Land of 10,000 lakes”), the state is characterized by an extremely large German community. For example, Minnesota is home to the city of New Ulm, which was founded by German immigrants and is commonly known as the “most German” city in America, as around two thirds of its inhabitants have German ancestors. In addition, the German Immersion School, which our Storks visited on Monday, is the largest public German immersion school in North America and is located in St. Paul.
At home at the old train station
Our boys reside in the center of Minneapolis in a historic location. The Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot was once the city’s train station. It was completed in 1899 and was in operation until 1971. The abandoned buildings then fell into disrepair before the station, known as “The Depot”, was added to the list of historic sites in 1978 and subsequently extensively renovated. In 2001, the Renaissance Minneapolis Hotel, The Depot was established in this special location, whereby the owner attached great importance to preserving the original charm of the former train station. The former train entry area, the entrance hall and the waiting rooms were extensively restored with great attention to detail, so that today they shine in new and nostalgic splendor. This area of the hotel is mainly used for events such as weddings or meetings, and our storks have also held a training session here.
Translated with DeepL.com (free version)
The hotel has also retained the charm of bygone days and at the same time managed the balancing act into the present thanks to elegant furnishings and modern technology. “We have 335 rooms, are one of the four largest hotels in Minneapolis and are located in the heart of the city,” reports Jan Autenrieb, who as the hotel’s Food & Beverage Manager is the first point of contact for the culinary needs of our boys. Born in Berlin, he first got to know the USA in 1995 as part of a student exchange program before emigrating to the United States in 2000 for love. The hotel is not only a regular venue for conferences by local politicians, but also a popular meeting place for fans of the Minnesota Vikings American football team, whose stadium is within walking distance. It is also the perfect starting point for our Storks to travel to training sessions at the Minnesota United FC stadium – these days, however, by team bus instead of train.
