Into the interior: Winnipeg and Edmonton

Hello and welcome to another week of the mrlukeniktravels blog.

This week I shall be doing something new covering two destinations in one post. This shall be a challenge! I left the east coast a week ago today, leaving behind Toronto and the St. Lawrence River, flying westwards. Despite previously mentioning the cost of flying within Canada, the land alternatives to Winnipeg would have taken days. So, after biting the bullet and flying, two and a half hours later I had arrived in Winnipeg.

Winnipeg is roughly in the centre of Canada with Toronto in the east and Vancouver in the west. It is the provincial capital of Manitoba and an hour’s time difference behind Toronto. The fact that it is only the next province to Ontario (and Toronto) shows the distances we are talking about! Winnipeg itself is a charming city on the banks of the Red River. It has a long history of settlement and trading amongst and with the First Nations of the area. In fact the city of St. Boniface across the river still has a strong French connection to the earliest settlers in the region.

Whilst in Winnipeg I spent a good amount of time exploring the city, especially along the river banks. There were also a number of good museums there including the Canadian Museum of Human Rights. This building contained so much information from the beginnings of the notion of human rights to the present day. A particular favourite of mine was the exhibition on the life and works of Nelson Mandela. The highlight of this visit was the view from the top of the building across the city. The Manitoba Legislative Building was also pretty fabulous building, constructed to house the provincial government.

Whilst in Winnipeg I was able to get out and about in some of the pubs and bars too, which is always fun. Many places have live music on most nights and it’s a good way to unwind from the cerebral activity earlier in the day. Seeing a city under lights is also a very different experience too. Good to get out and about with the camera as well. Another target of the camera lens were the historic signage painted on the buildings dating back to the early 20^th Century.

Finishing up in Winnipeg I then made my way to Edmonton. This involved a 22 hour (if you include the time zone change) bus ride. Travelling across Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta certainly is a bit of a journey. It is also not the most scenic of routes along Highway 1 (Trans-Canada Highway) as the view is mainly sky, crop fields and agricultural machinery outlets. After a few hours, as can be imagined, this become a little wearing. Travelling overnight helps alleviate this somewhat, although sleep is quite hard to come by as there are stops throughout the night.

When I arrived in Edmonton, from where I am writing this, the weather was appalling. It rained so hard! Once checked into the hostel sleep was the first priority (after not much the previous night). The city of Edmonton is, once again, set upon a river and its valley. Either side is pretty step for pedestrians and cyclists alike. Once again, the city is relatively recent developing in the early 20^th Century. The Alberta Legislative Building stands imposingly over the river and is the seat of the provincial government. It is built in a neo-classical style and many features are recognisable from other Commonwealth countries- including the UK. Also over the river are the street car bridges the historic one is, at 157ft tall, the highest street car river crossing in the world.

One of my favourite features here has been the public wading pools which are really useful to help cool down in the warm weather. Fountains also cool the air to make the bright sunshine feel a little less intense. The water certainly helped cool me down after a tour of the Legislative Building today, both the skin and the brain from taking all the information in! Coming inside to write the blog has been welcome pause from today’s heat.

So tomorrow brings another move to another city this time south, not west, to Calgary. The Rockies are slowly getting closer. I shall be there a few days before moving westwards again, although the distances involved in moving are not so great now. Feeling the first niggles of a cold appearing which I’ve managed to avoid for the last two months- I’ve been away two months as of Saturday already! Planning for adventures further west (or you might say east) is still ongoing. Until next time, there is always my Twitter account @mrlukeniktravel or for pretty pictures there is my Instagram @mrlukeniktravels. I shall be back next week with further news and updates, until then stay safe and keep travelling!