I was flying out on the 9th very early in the morning so I decided to spend the night at one of the airport hotels so I could sleep in and not wake up until 0400. The morning went as planned and I was soon on my way to Frankfurt for my first layover. The distance between the gates was long but having considered this when booking I still had time to grab a handful of snacks at the lounge before boarding and settling into the seat that would be my home for the next 8 hours. My second layover in Toronto went just as smooth as in Frankfurt and I was happy to find out that all the paperwork, most of it due to Covid-19, was put to good use so all the planning wasn’t a completely waste of time. Got a few hours in the lounge with a view of the tarmac before grabbing the last leg of the trip going north to Winnipeg. Another easy flight and arriving at my destination it was a short walk to pick up my checked bag, and fortunately it had made it all the way, too.
Crossing Greenland on the way to Canada.
Here, with a bit of difficulty, I managed to locate my friend who had shown up to pick me up, and we were soon on our way home to her and her husband’s place where I’d be staying the next two days. Unloading my bags we went for a short walk around the neighborhood letting me stretch my legs after spending 20 hours on getting there – regardless of leg space a good post-flight leg stretch is highly appreciated.
The following day – the 10th – we had breakfast at a nearby diner before we drove to the Human Rights Museum. A quite interesting exhibition, but having seen several similar museums previously it’s hard to avoid some repetition. This one did unsurprisingly have a strong focus on Canada’s past, though. To be honest, at times the building itself and the layout of the interior seemed more interesting that the exhibition it contained.
Looking out on Winnipeg from the Human Rights Museum.
Leaving the museum we continued forward to a café in the falling snow where they had some excellent cakes. We followed up on this by going to a neighboring pub where we had dinner – visiting Canada I had to get the poutine. French fries, cheese curds and gravy, topped with shredded smoked meat. A massive portion – even big enough that I didn’t manage to finish it.
My bedside lamp seemed to have a bright idea.
The following day – on the 11th – we had a lazy morning with snow still falling outside. We met up with a friend of theirs for lunch before heading to the Manitoba Museum, a history museum of the local area (hence the name…) and Canada in general. After spending 2½ hours there they let us know they would be closing in 20 minutes which unfortunately meant we had to rush through the last quarter of the museum. Too bad – it was actually quite interesting. When leaving at around 1700 to even more snow they drove me to the airport to deliver me to the hotel where I’d spend the night before leaving for Churchill tomorrow. In the evening I met with the group for introductions by our guide & photographer and dinner, and soon after we went our separate ways for the night.
Getting ready for tomorrow’s early morning I got all the necessary stuff out so it would require minimal effort to get out the door. This included getting my boots out. Now; these were some a friend have given me after having found them practically unused in her dad’s house they were cleaning out a few years ago, and I hadn’t had a chance to use them until now. I wasn’t planning on going trekking, but they would be great at keeping my feet warm and dry in the potentially snowy landscape further north, meaning that breaking them in wouldn’t be much of an issue. But all that worry turned out to be unnecessary, as when I pulled them out of the bag the soles just crumbled away between my fingers. I had a quick talk with our guide and he convinced me that my current shoes would be enough, though walking in Churchill might get a tad chilly. Satisfied with that I tossed them in the bin and went to bed, ready for the following day.
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