Canada: Winnipeg in the Summer

I’m so swarmed with work of late, my wander lust soul is aching terribly. It has been a long time since I did a travel post!

One of my favourite place on earth is Canada. This was where I spent a good 4 months studying and touring the Northern Hemisphere.

So let’s start with the place that I bunked, studied, camped and froze…

Winnipeg, Manitoba.

I’m pretty sure you drew a blank at the name.

Facts about Winnipeg…

1) Unknown to many, Winnipeg was the place where Winnie the Pooh was born… or would you rather say, created.

2) It is also one of the coldest city in Canada- thus the nickname Winterpeg. You get so used to the cold, 5 degrees is summer.

3) It is in the same state (Manitoba) as the polar bear capital, Churchill.

On the day of arrival at the University, I was dead tired. Almost 48 hours of flight and transit was driving me nuts. I remembered that my roomie and I knocked out cold for the next 12 hours or so, sleeping through our very first and only hail storm during our stay.

If you were wondering about the cold. It’s really a serious business.

This was were we stayed.

Days before I was acquainted with Chanel. It’s band tees and jeans.

A really cosy on-campus apartment to lodge in. Loved that it was insulated well to beat the cold! The best part was that we stayed on the second floor, right next to the emergency exit. It’s just a 400 metres dash across the street to the cafeteria. 400 metres is all it takes for you to get your butt frozen (beyond the van).

Taken from my room.

Besides the occasional pool night-out with friends, toony tuesdays, clothes and grocery shopping, there is really little things to do in Winnipeg during Winter.

To make full use of the ending summer, my roomie and I made it to the forks.

At the forks museum. I did say that Winnipeg is closely related to the polar bears.

My roomie and I at the Esplanade Riel. Doesn’t the bridge structure look vaguely familiar?

I also made it to 2 major malls in Winnipeg - St Vital and Polo Park to stash up on winter wear. If there are a few lessons that I’ve truly learnt from my stay in Winnipeg, that is 1) buy all your winter wear in a winter prone country. The clothes are much more affordable and better to combat the harsh winter. 2) It is not necessary to buy thermals. Layer, layer, layer is the way to go. I was a true camisole convert. But, you need to 3) invest in a good outerwear / coat. Shielding yourself against the windchill factor is important.

Unlike the stark winter, the malls are inviting.

This little shop was selling chocolate coated apples!

Care to adopt one?