There’s More to Columbus than the Statehouse

Where in Columbus are you?                                                                                                                     
1.    I was the first custom-made soccer stadium in the US. Where are you?
2.    For great pasta, come to my restaurant. Where are you?
3.    If you want to shop, come visit me. Where are you?
4.    If you want to see where laws are made, come visit me. Where are you?
5.    Where would you go if you could visit Columbus? It can be a place not mentioned in this post. Give proof for your answer.
Answers are at the end of this post.

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Can you guess where we went after the Statehouse? If you guessed  Spaghetti Warehouse, you’re right! Most years we take our German kids there. Why? It’s fast and easy to seat a lot of people, especially with reservations. This time we had 15 hungry people who started munching on breadsticks right away. When you have hungry guests, you don’t want to keep them waiting.
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Plus, the menu is great! There’s something for everyone. Most of the German kids love pasta, but a few are vegetarians. They won’t eat meat or anything produced by an animal. Not even an egg. Spaghetti Warehouse gives them choices, which is wonderful! You don’t want a guest stuck with one choice. What if they don’t like it? If you’re in Columbus or Toledo, Spaghetti Warehouse is a great place to go!

Thanks to a Wapakoneta graduate, we took a tour of Mapfre Stadium after lunch. He works for the Columbus Crew and invited us to a game between the Crew and Eintracht Frankfurt (Ine-trokt). We couldn’t, so we settled for a tour.
 
A few soccer facts: in Germany soccer is called Fußball (foos-ball). Over there our football is called American football, literally. The Crew play in the MLS, Major League Soccer. Frankfurt plays in the Bundesliga (boon-des-le-ga). The positions and rules are the same in both countries.

Drive from Lengerich to Frankfurt. About 3 hours/180 minutes.

Drive from Wapakoneta to Columbus. About 90 minutes.

The first map shows you how to travel from Lengerich to Frankfurt. Do you see Dortmund? It’s south of Lengerich, and has its own professional soccer team. The second map shows you how to get from Wapakoneta to Columbus. The Crew is the only MLS team in Ohio, but there are 2 professional football teams, in Cincinnati and Cleveland.  ­

​This is Lamar Hunt. His statue stands next to the stadium. He and his son founded the Crew in 1996. It was one of the first 10 teams in the MLS. Now there are 19.

The Crew played first in Ohio Stadium, AKA the Shoe. It wasn’t a good fit so Lamar raised money and built Columbus Crew Stadium. It opened in 1999. Would you believe it was the first custom-built soccer stadium in the US? In Ohio we love football and soccer!
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Do you know know how Mapfre Stadium got its name? The Crew tried to sell the naming rights for a corporate sponsorship. The field remained Crew Stadium for 15 years until 2014. That’s when Mapfre Insurance bought the rights, and the name changed to Mapfre Stadium. Mapfre is a company from Madrid, Spain. It has a Columbus office. Who knew Columbus was so international!

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​We ended Columbus day at Tanger Outlets. I couldn’t believe it…the boys wanted to go shopping. Did you know prices in the US are a lot cheaper than in Germany? Also, did you know there’s a limit to how much money they can spend over here? If you go over the limit, you’re fined. If you try to cheat, the fine gets bigger! BIG TIME!

Looking back on the trip to Columbus, I think the German kids liked the restaurant and mall best. It seems funny, but if you’re visiting a new place, you want to explore and have fun. The statehouse was interesting, but fun, not so much. Eating and shopping are! You relax and make your own choices, When you have guests from down the block or from across the ocean, don’t forget…have fun!

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Where in Columbus are you?   
1.    I was the first custom-made soccer stadium in the US. Where are you?
Mapfre Stadium
2.    For great pasta, come to my restaurant. Where are you? Spaghetti Warehouse
3.    If you want to shop, come visit me. Where are you? Tanger Outlets
4.    If you want to see where laws are made, come visit me. Where are you? Ohio Statehouse
5.    Where would you go if you could visit Columbus? It can be a place not mentioned in this post. Give proof for your answer.
Example: Good answer: I’d go to the Shoe to see the Buckeyes play.
Great: I’d go to the Shoe. I want to see the band march in. I want to see the football Buckeyes win.

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