This week is part 3
of my travelogue of the trip from Mississauga to Vancouver. On our
third traveling day, we made it from Nipigon to Winnipeg.
When we reached
Winnipeg, I was shocked about the number of fast food and family
restaurants. I had never seen anything like it. Each restaurant chain
did not only have one site but another one every couple of hundred
meters. I already had the impression that Canadians ate out a lot
more often than Germans. The sight of all these restaurants made me
wonder if the people in Winnipeg even had a full kitchen or just a
huge refrigerator to cool their coke bottles.
We went for dinner
in a Chinese restaurant with cheap red plastic chairs and light brown
tables without tablecloths, but bright plastic flowers in a flower
bench to divide the room. The dinner matched the decor: The mediocre
food was carelessly heaped on our plates. Definitely, not what I was
used to from the Chinese restaurants I went to in Germany, where a
lot of effort was put into the atmosphere as well as into the
presentation of the food.
When we finally
reached the hotel room which had a big bed, sofa, desk and TV, I was
exhausted from all the impressions of the day.
The next morning, we
woke up to heavy rain and temperatures, which were hardly above 0
degrees Celsius. We were sure we had made a trip back in time. Winter
in May was a new concept for me. In the Rhine-Main area where I am
from, the weather is rather mild, with temperatures between 9 and 20
degrees Celsius in May. Even in winter, there are hardly any days
where the temperature is below 0 degrees.
We had planned to
spend the day in Winnipeg, but many of the sights were closed until
the beginning of June. Our visit to the Forks, a must-see attraction
according to the tour book was a disappointment. Only the foundation
of the forts was visible, and it was unbearably cold.
Our next stop at the
Assiniboine Park did not lift our mood either. The park was fantastic
but on a day when you wouldn't send out a dog, we certainly did not
want to walk in a park and watch the animals. Unfortunately, we did
not find the conservatory which houses a botanical garden with
thousands of exotic plants.
When we continued our drive, we saw snow covered fields and even had a snow shower. I was frustrated, especially with regard to the fact that the temperatures in Germany had been already in the mid-twenties since the end of April.
A detour brought us
to Minnedosa, a beautiful small town which resembled a town in the
Italian Alps.
Crossing the Riding
Mountain National Park, we were rewarded with a beautiful landscape.
There were so many lakes, most were still completely frozen.
Suddenly, a moose appeared on the side of the road. We stopped and
were even able to take a picture which did not turn out too well but
at least we could prove that we saw a moose.
We continued our way
through the Duck Mountain Provincial Park. From the tower of the
Baldy Mountain, which is with 831m the highest mountain in Manitoba,
we had a fantastic view. I thought the mountain looked more like a
hill. It is surprising that everything seems to be so gigantic here
in Canada but when it comes to mountains, they seem pretty small
compared to vastness of the land.
The park was mainly
undisturbed by humans. We saw another moose and some deer which
appeared only meters away. I found them as fascinating as the many
frozen lakes which were glistening in the sun. The weather had
improved the further we drove north, even though it was still quite
cold.
At the end of our
trip through the park we almost had to turn around because of the
high water which had resulted in some road closures. It seemed we had
reached the end of the world. On both sides of the road there was
nothing but fields. Many of the small towns had longer names than you
could pronounce before you had crossed the town. We spent the night
in Quill Lake, a small village in which we could not even find a
restaurant. Our delicious dinner consisted of chips and sweets.
Do you have any
tales to tell from winter weather after the end of April? I would
like to hear what weather stories you have to tell.
Please return back
to my blog next week, when I continue the travelogue with the next
leg of our trip which brought us to Edmonton.
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