The Last Bigger & Weirder Dance: from Rheinland to Rhinelander (Ep. 1)

After I had so far solely shared my introduction post of my The Last Bigger & Weirder Dance trip report, it is time to also have its first episode. Due to vacation optimization, I did this pre-trip to Wisconsin before I actually joined the tour. The first key stop of my trip was Rhinelander, a medium city in the state’s North, which is appealing to me by its name. My home town Cologne in Germany is part of the Rheinland, the “Rhine Region”. Obviously, there are some linguistic links I will explain in a posting about the city later. For now, let’s leave Germany and then head North from Chicago.

 

Saturday, 10th October 2026

Pre-Travel Trouble

Due to the time difference, trips from Germany to the United States typically start with its longest day. For me, a very long day was ahead. From my residence Leverkusen to Plover in Wisconsin (and by that, the first time I set foot on this US state), that’s been about the plan. The days before the trip were not that good to me. Even on the evening before, I still felt very uncertain whether I could and should make it. I more or less took the final decision right on that Saturday, when the alarm clock woke me up at 2:40 a.m. German time.

 

From Germany to Chicago …

I headed to Düsseldorf Airport (DUS) at around 3:30 a.m. Despite quite a lot of people being on vacation, everything went very smoothly, so that I reached the Lufthansa Business Lounge (which is still the contractual lounge for SAS) at around 4:45 a.m., some 15 minutes before it in fact opens. It’s funny to see that despite people are waiting in front of the lounge door, people still go there and feel surprised that it is not open yet. I did not take too many pictures, as I rather wanted to focus on the U.S. part of the trip.

Arriving in Copenhagen (CPH) in time, i went to the SAS Lounge there to relax and work on some Flyctory.com stuff. Right before leaving home, I had decided that I bid on an upgrade from premium economy to business class (due to my previous contitions). I was successful and thus I looked forward to another A330 Business Class experience with SAS. The flight was smooth, food absolutely fine and I had some two hours of sleep. The plane touched down ahead of schedule at Chicago (ORD) Terminal 5 after a really nice approach, but then felt to take ages before it actually reached the gate.

… and then… Heading on Somewhere…

Another time at which the Global Entry lane was actually more packed than the one for the non-U.S. visitors. Apart from quite a bit of time waiting for my two suitcases, the processes went very smooth, so that I reached the Interstate rather quickly. Not that many thrills to Plover in Wisconsin, I solely chose it as a convenient stay enroute North. After some 230 miles (exlduing the some 30 ones in Germany) and a 24 hour trip, it was definitely time for a rest.

 

Sunday, 11th October 2026

Heading up further North in Wisconsin

Convenience food omelettes, bagels, packed cream cheese – US breakfast is not super-culinary in lower class hotels like the Hampton Inn Plover-Stevens Point I stayed in. But as I did not have it for a couple of weeks, I still did look forward to it. Time to say goodbye from this nice place, heading on North to the first highlight of the trip.

After some 90 minutes drive, I reached Rhinelander Airport (RHI). As a person from Germany’s Rhineland region, I just had to do this place one day. Outside summer peak time, there is only one flight, Delta’s service to Minneapolis (MSP), driven by SkyWest. I like these small regional airports – even though Rhinelander (RHI) is much more busy than places like Parkersburg (PKB) I flew from before. They even charge you for parking. Scandal! 😉

 

A special place, a special Flight

For that very special flight, I went for Delta First Class (finally, it was rather an economic choice – the tickets were almost the same price and I had a really nice and relaxed flight with some nice views of Wisconsin and Minneapolis. Both legs were rather well-booked – also something you typically don’t have at Essential Air Service flights.

 

Some time in Minneapolis

Traveling with hand luggage only also meant that I did not have to rush to the luggage belt. I enjoyed the airport, which actually is really nice (it’s been quite a while ago since I had it the last time). The airport has a light rail / tram connection right to the Mall of America. The USA‘s largest mall is really a nice place to hang out at. There are also numerous attractions like the Nickelodeon indoor amusement park. I just could not pass the Rock of Ages blacklight minigolf, before having a bite and hanging out a bit at the ball.

Time to head back to have some more experience of Minneapolis – St. Paul International Airport (MSP). I definitely wanted to have a look into the very special Portal Lounge – and I made it. I loved hanging out there, enjoying the complimentary drink provided by a robotic bartender. A deeper review will definitely follow. It has also been a really nice spot to get some Flyctory.com stuff done before heading back to Wisconsin. After arriving back in Rhinelander (RHI) in the Wisconsin early night, it was time for the second hotel of my trip, the Holiday inn Express Rhinelander.

 

Monday, 12th October 2026

Exploring Rhinelander, Wisconsin

Presumably, that Monday had the second largest drive of the entire week in the United States. However, before I headed to Iowa, I explored Rhinelander. The town is, by the way, just indirectly named after the German region Rheinland where I am from. It is the surname of a person who was – obviously – somehow linked to my home. Rhinelander is a really beautiful city, especially in fall. The Indian summer atmosphere with the colorful leaves on the trees, the lakes around and the nice Downtown district, where I had a walk, definitely made me like Rhinelander. I also fell in love with the friendly, open-minded Wisconsin people.

All over the city, you run into the Hodag, which is some sort of the mascot of the city. At the most famous one, on the Western edge in front of the city, I had a brief discussion with the Chamber of Commerce, which is also the city’s visitor center. I was surprised that I have been the first German in their guestbook and had a brief chat with them. The lady did not even know about the German Rheinland region. With United’s flights in summer, You can reach the town from Germany with one transfer in Chicago (ORD). The marketing would be easy and straight-forward. Bad luck, that’s definitely wasted touristic and economic potential.

 

 

The second part of my trip report will continue with the second part of my Monday 12th October 2026 coverage,

 

The Last Bigger & Weirder Dance – The Episodes

I split my trip report in five sections (and an introduction post). The first section is about my experience in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. then, there is more or less one episode per concert I visited:

• The Last Bigger & Weirder Dance – Introduction
• The Last Bigger & Weirder Dance – from Rheinland to Rhinelander
• The Last Bigger & Weirder Dance – Heading South – the Peoria Show
• The Last Bigger & Weirder Dance – Heading East to Indiana – the Fort Wayne show
• The Last Bigger & Weirder Dance – Going back to Wisconsin – Green Bay
• The Last Bigger & Weirder Dance – Farewell at Milwaukee and Going Home

 

Beautiful Nature Postings

Postings tagged with Beautiful Nature in here are dealing with unmodified lovely places:

 

Chicago Postings

Here is all Flyctory.com contents about Greater Chicago: