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Minnesota Vacation Page 4

June 2014

Continued from

Mankato was where we were staying for this part of our visit.  Vanda was kind enough to play B&B host, giving us a place to sleep & some breakfast before we headed to Madelia on Sunday and Monday.  On Tuesday, we (Paul and Anne) played tourist, and Vanda was our tour guide. 

This photo is slightly fuzzy, but check out her Scrabble earrings.

Vanda smiling in a blue chair, showing off her Scrabble-tile earrings

Evidence is clear (based on the sign) that Sibley Park existed when I lived in Mankato, but I suspect it wasn't as fancy as it is now.

Stone entrance sign for Sibley Park surrounded by flowers

Although she only had the point & shoot camera, Anne had fun taking pictures of the park.

Close view of fresh green pine needles in bright sunlight

Shadow of a person standing on a ground covered with wood chips

It has a playground and petting zoo area with animals loaned in from local owners.  One of the owners is also an employee of the park, and she was telling me about some of the goats.  3 of the 4 goats are 'fainters', a breed that literally faints if they get frightened.  Luckily, they weren't frightened while we were there.  Anne of course bought some feed for them.

Goat leaning close toward the camera inside the petting-zoo barn at Sibley Park

Anne and Paul standing together in front of a red building at Sibley Park

In addition to the petting zoo area, and large expanses of lawn, and some walking paths, the park also has a nice flower garden area. 

Small ornamental pond and flower garden area in Sibley Park

Anne dubbed this the 'frog rock':

Stone garden ornament shaped like a frog lying among chive blossoms

Diane's bench is very close to here.

Stone bench dedicated to Diane in Sibley Park

From there we went to New Ulm.  There are some cute buildings in their historic downtown area.  We planned on visiting the local brewery, so we called them and got there tour times and asked for a recommendation for lunch.  The women mentioned a couple places, including Pepperboy and Larkspur.  The 1st was closed, so we poked our head into a different place and they told us that Larkspur was about 2.5 blocks down the road.  Well, we didn't see it.  So Anne ran into a bakery and asked a person where Larkspur was; the answer was to go back a block and a half.  Two blocks later we didn't see it.  So Anne asked someone else; the answer was just a half a block back towards the bakery, immediately before the alley.  This last piece of information was key, since immediately before the alley was a little place called Lola's.  Larkspur had changed their name about a year or so ago, but EVERYONE in town must still called it Larkspur. 

Vanda and Paul seated together at a table inside Lola's in New Ulm

By this point, we decided to get lunch to go so we could make the tour.  The brewery is Schell Brewery, which is the 2nd oldest family owned brewery in the US.  Here is Anne with our tour guide, at the start of the tour.

Anne standing beside the tour guide at the start of the Schell's Brewery tour

The star attraction of the tour turns out to have nothing to do with brewing; a resident peacock was wandering around.

Resident peacock wandering through the Schell's Brewery grounds

The tour itself was very enjoyable.  The brewery was founded in the 1800s.  It got through prohibition primarily by making 'near beer', which is beer that has been heated to burn off the alcohol.  They showed us a copper brewing kettle, which dates from around 1890.  It is now longer used for brewing but is still in use during the process.  This is obviously the 'south kettle', based on the sign on the wall.

Large old copper brewing kettle labeled South Kessel inside Schell's Brewery

At the end of the tour, we sampled some beers and selected one to have with our lunch, which we ate on the little deck behind the building.  Anne's selection was "Schell Shocked", which is a take off the German Radler style: grapefruit juice combined with beer.  She was, as the name implies, shocked by how good it was.

Decorative Schell's beer tap display with labels for Gosetown, Firebrick, Zommerfest, Schellshocker, and Pils

Plastic cup of pale beer on the wooden deck railing behind the brewery

August Schell, the founder of the brewery, and his family lived right on the site (which is lovely).  He, his wife Theresa (who ran the brewery for a few years after August died), and their 5 children were fairly cozy in this house.

Small brick house where August Schell first lived with his family at the brewery site

He later built a 'mansion', which was a good sized house, finished in 1885.  The house cost about $5000.  Contrast this to what they paid for the brewing kettle pictured above, just a few years later, which was a handsome $25000!  (He was clearly willing to invest in his business.)  The grounds of the house is a pretty garden area open to the public.  We saw one family bring a picnic lunch. 

Path leading through the garden toward the larger Schell family mansion

Bronze deer statue standing among red flowers in the brewery garden

Bright red celosia flowers in bloom in the brewery garden

Garden beds and trellis structure on the grounds of the Schell mansion

Pale pink-and-white clematis flowers blooming in the garden

This was the last day of our vacation.  The next day, we headed back home.  Luckily we had uneventful flights both ways!

Updated April 2026