It's time for my 14th annual summer recap in honor of my favorite season. This summer has had a strange liminal feel, as Mike and I split our time between the downtown Minneapolis condo we've been renting and officially purchased on August 31, and the suburban townhouse we've owned since 2012. Then there was travel—I was extremely fortunate to be able to take two trips to Europe. Summer is always a season with so much packed into a handful of months, especially this year.
Destinations visited:
- Riga, Latvia
- Tallinn, Estonia
- Helsinki, Turku, Naantali, Rauma, and Porvoo, Finland
- Prague, Sedlec, Kutná Hora, and Český Krumlov, Czech Republic
- Northfield and Hutchinson, Minnesota
Mike and I kicked off the summer abroad—we planned a trip around a Tori Amos concert in Tallinn in late May. We spent three nights in Riga, exploring the beautiful architecture of the Old Town and delving into Latvian history and culture with museums and tours. Then we took day-long guided tour to Tallinn in order to see the Latvian and Estonian countryside, with stops at one of the world's only bobsled tracks and a rural brewery. We spent three nights in Tallinn, complete with Tori Amos and an Airbnb apartment built into the medieval city wall, and then took the ferry to Helsinki. During our week in Finland, we spent time in Helsinki, Turku, Naantali, Rauma, and Porvoo, and I fell even more in love with Finnish culture. I was also able to visit the country's two synagogues for my bat mitzvah research project about Finland's Jewish community.
At the end of July, Josh and I headed to the Czech Republic. We spent most of our time in Prague, with a day trip to Sedlec and Kutná Hora, and then spent a couple of nights in Český Krumlov. Although we had to battle crowds and 90-plus degree temperatures, we loved soaking up the beautiful settings and saw so many amazing places, from a chapel decorated with bones to a vineyard in the middle of Prague.
Much closer to home, Mike and I hadn't been to Northfield for several years, so we took a half-day trip to explore. We had a delicious lunch at Bread People and then spent the afternoon perusing the local retailers of Northfield's historic downtown (favorites were Content Bookstore and The Rare Pair). Then we took the short drive to Keepsake Cidery in Dundas, which is such a gem—a laid-back tasting room with resident farm animals and an interesting and wide-ranging selection of ciders, plus live music. For dinner, we headed back to downtown Northfield for great cocktails and pizza at Loon Liquors and dessert at The Blast, a walk-up soft serve spot.
Although the Minnesota Garlic Fest has been on my radar for years, I've never prioritized making the drive out to Hutchinson (about 80 minutes west of Minneapolis). We finally attended this year and it was so much fun! It's a quirky community event that centers local agriculture, with some delicious garlic eats, too. I wrote about my experience in detail for Racket.
Favorite Twin Cities spots I revisited:
The low-key, retro vibe of Coon Rapid's Lilli Putt makes it my go-to mini golf course, and it was nice to see that they've spiffed up the landscaping and fantasy theming this season. I visit Como Zoo & Conservatory year round, but this summer was extra-special—I got to see a baby sloth! Cusi was about a month and half old when we visited in late June.
Of course there were trips to Sebastian Joe's and Grand Ole Creamery for ice cream, the Bread & Pickle for truffle popcorn, and Saint Paul Brewing for kombucha on the patio. Mike and I also spent a fun Friday morning working remotely on the grounds of the University of Minnesota campus, with lunch at Wally's.
Favorite new-to-me Twin Cities spots:
I've dined at FIKA before, but had never experienced the picturesque patio—it's in a courtyard tucked between the castle-like Turnblad Mansion and the modern cultural center.
Although I was aware of them before this summer, now that I live downtown I have a deeper appreciation for Surdyk's, a liquor store/cheese shop/deli just across the river in Northeast Minneapolis, and Milly's Wine Bar & Bistro, which has a welcoming vibe, stellar wine list, and excellent cheese boards.
Entertainment:
Usually I'm not much of a live music person, but this summer I made more of an effort. Mike and I finally took in a show at Champlin's Mississippi Crossings, a lovely amphitheater with the Mississippi River as a backdrop, and locally-based Duelly Noted Dueling Pianos put an entertaining show. We braved the heat to see Bad Bad Hats perform at the free Taste of Minnesota festival downtown—they're great live and their zippy music is perfect for summer. But the most memorable concert of the summer (and maybe my life to date?) was seeing Death Cab for Cutie at the Amory. I've loved their music since high school and hearing "I Will Possess Your Heart" live was transcendent.
I am definitely a theater person, and Mike and I appreciate living within walking distance of the Guthrie Theater. We loved the lively, heartwarming producing of Come From Away, which was the first time we'd seen the show. Although we've previously seen Private Lives, the Guthrie's top-notch sets and acting talent made it a memorable performance.
As far as movies, Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey was so good I saw it twice, in XDX with Mike and Imax with Josh. I'm trying to see more movies in theaters and also enjoyed The Sheep Detectives, The Invite, and Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma.
How I spent my birthday:
Because it was a hectic summer, I wanted a low-key birthday. Mike and I had breakfast at the Marc Heu Patisserie Paris in Linden Hills (the Ispahan croissant was amazing) and then walked around Lake Harriet. The afternoon was spent at our condo, complete with lunch from the Whole Foods salad bar, baking a birthday cake, assembling a puzzle, and drinking wine by the pool. Then we did a mini-tour of my favorite patios, starting with affogatos at Sonny's Cafe and then a bunch of appetizers for dinner at Moscow on the Hill. Finally, we walked along the Mississippi River in downtown St. Paul and spotted a beaver, which honestly seems like a pretty good omen for an upcoming year that will include a move, a bat mitzvah, and hopefully, actual progress on my novel. (Starting a major writing project while bouncing between two places, moving, and preparing for a bat mitzvah was not the best timing.)
How I spent my wedding anniversary:
After wrapping up the work day, Mike and I treated ourselves to cocktails and fries at Riva Terrace, the upscale rooftop restaurant at the Minneapolis Four Seasons. Then we took in a Twins game—although they lost to the White Sox we did see them hit a couple home runs and there was a nice fireworks show after the game. 2026 marked our 16th wedding anniversary and 18th togetherversary, so our marriage is now old enough to drive and our relationship is old enough to vote.
How many hours I spent at the Minnesota State Fair:
I went to the State Fair three times this year, for whopping 30.25 total hours—it was magnificent. On opening day, I sampled new foods with the Heavy Table crew (including Josh) and researched the best Blue Ribbon Bargain Book deals for this year's coverage. We started at 8:30am and wrapped up in the early afternoon, so I was able to hang out at the fairgrounds until 3pm to do some shopping and enjoy a soft serve beer.
For our "official" fair day, Mike and I arrived at the fairgrounds at 7:30am and stayed until 10pm. We waited in a very long line to admire the crop art, ate a lot of deep-fried food, rode the SkyGlider, and caught a great set by the Wild Colonial Bhoys, a local Celtic rock band. The highlight was watching the nightly fireworks show from the top of the Great Big Wheel—it was the luckiest of timing and it felt like we were immersed in the display.
And then we had a bonus fair day! Since it's so convenient to take the 61 bus from our condo we made an impromptu Labor Day visit, arriving at 7:45am and staying until 5pm. It was nice to enjoy the fair at a more relaxed pace and eat some foods that we don't usually have the stomach space to enjoy. Mike attended his first professional rodeo (I hadn't been to one since childhood), and I hand milked a very patient cow. It was very special to spend the last day of summer at one of my all-time favorite places.
Song of the summer:
Continuing my trend of discovering music long after its initial release, the song I couldn't stop listing to was "Suffer" by Boy Golden, an indie rock song inspired by the Buddhist philosophy that humans are united by the shared experience of suffering. Although it was released in September 2025, the lyrics feel even more timely now, with references to inflation, visible homelessness, and corrupt politicians. But despite the heaviness of the lyrics, I can't stop singing along to the chorus and dancing to the upbeat tempo. That, more than anything, encapsulates the weird discordance of this summer: wildfire smoke and ice cream cones, horrifying headlines and incredible vacations, feeling like everything is falling apart and coming together simultaneously.
What's next:
We closed on our condo on August 31 and are in the process of repainting and moving. I'm giving a Torah commentary at my congregation's Rosh Hashanah service in a few days and celebrating my adult bat mitzvah at the end of October. Usually, this time of year feels like an ending; this year, it's a season of beginnings.
More summer highlights posts: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, and 2025.