Winnipeg

Isabella Rosallini's legs from the movie The Saddest Music In The World (too difficult to explain)

something good is happening up there

Winnipeg Goldeyes, so nice!

Play ball, and...dance!

your admission includes rumbling trains

Crack! Thud! Pop! "You're Oat!"The sounds of baseball comfort, although I sit with chilled night time legs cheering on the Goldeyes as they play the Fargo-Morehead Redhawks. kO-wal-chuk. kO-wal-chuk. A train rumbles as I huddle in my jacket in Shaw Stadium. This gallant beast rides close that I can feel its movements churning through my body.  The engine does not cry out Woo Woo except in my mind -or if I was in Disneyland.  Nevertheless, this is a welcome feeling as the temperature- though not really cold by Winnipeg standards is certainly frosty by mine.  Respectful of the 300 good citizens present at this preseason game, it was designated to be a shortened event to 7 innings. I sit and cheer as the  Goldeyes have rocketed out to a 6-0 lead. I am happy to be watching baseball, behind home plate and not needing to be present for any more than 7 innings.  Take Me Out To The Ballgame, then- go home! As it turned out, I was in the park for less than 2 hours for the entire game. It's also great to be in a ballpark where birds are NOT trying to poop on you.

Professional league and minor league baseball are enjoyable, affordable events with room to view and always friendly participatory affairs.  I won a bag of chips!  I ate some Lithuanian ( I think) potatoes. Unfortunately Hu's On First closed sometime to my arrival but it was likely just going to be a photo op. From the silly in between inning hi-jinks (contests i/e:  dressed as sandwich buns, collecting giant plastic condiments with both contestants ending up piled up collecting the condiments between them etc.) or clapping to stay warm, there is an intimacy at these types of sporting venues which make it fun to be there. Even if I was kind of cold.  I was in my comfort zone, Not sure what I would find when I decided to come here, I sat in the ballpark able to reflect that I was somewhere I liked, that I felt welcome in Winnipeg and happy to be there.

don't believe the postcards; the water is brown but it's still pretty

Fort Garry Hotel

my kick back room.(and this is just one of the rooms) Frankly too large for one person

the Forks, a central spot where different cultures met to trade where the Red and Assiniboine come together

Back track to the air flights over. First stop Vancouver. I was thrown -scared by the grilling of  the customs official as he wanted specific answers to his questions "Why Winnipeg?  What are you going to do here?  Where are you going?" I probably didn't help with my first silly response. I survived the exchange.  I also realized then that I had over packed. The second plane was so tiny that my carry on bag did not fit anywhere close to the luggage department (smaller than a breadbox).  We were packed into that plane like this (actual photo):

This had its benefits as I knew that I had made some lasting friendships-once i was able to remove my foot from i don't know where.  Plus I should announce that my right arm is now engaged to someone's else left leg.

The bus is a short ride into town ($2.60 change only) and the first visuals of Winnipeg were mixed, drab.  A bus driver hesitant to my questions, warmed up and was very helpful, above and beyond, and then asked (this would repeat two other occasions during my trip)  where I was visiting from and reacted with surprise that I would choose to go to this very fair city.  There are plenty of reasons why Winnipeg would win my affection but mostly I found the city without pretension, charming, of kind and helpful citizens.  I asked for directions plenty, and people always tried to be helpful.

lovely Osborn district, home of fine shops. good coffee, and pleasant memories

bears in Manitoba? heck, yeah!

who doesn't like a mural?

neighborhoods

Furby and Cornish

River Street? (I forgot already!)

okay this had nothing to do with Winnipeg but i stumbled on this older photo of Oliver one Halloween dressed as a hot dog.

Pay phones could be found throughout town, and I had no problem locating delicious coffee. One morning I went out to a museum and did not have coffee for four hours!! Quick- locate a chair but it's true.
I liked Parlour on Main Street most of all and Thom Bargen on Sherbrook, Second Cup were good too. Plenty more to discover!  Trees were plentiful and as within any great city, several attractive neighborhoods (Winnipeg is a large place, about 3 times larger than San Francisco) certainly with some quirky stores.  I only was able to experience a part of the town so my knowledge is limited to 5 days of walks, from downtown to Osborn, to St.Boniface, Wolseley, the Exchange District,, Sherbrook...

Public transportation will get you to most places but this town (at least when it's not snowing) is in some parts made for walking. The outer parts you just need to work out a deal with a willing bison.   You can walk to the ballpark from downtown. I stayed at two fine hotels- the Fort Garry which reminds of the Monteleone in New Orleans (old, regal, rustic, glamour) and Place Louis Riel on Smith Street. I was upgraded in both places to very large rooms/suites- crazy that I get this when it's just me.  Fort Garry had a much more comfortable feel with a large bathroom and a window that i could open to allow the brisk air in.  Place Louis Riel had a full kitchen (stove, dishwasher, large refrigerator, microwave but I didn't use this much as there are a lot of food choices in town).  I like that there are choices like Boon Burger which offers vegetarians many different vegi-burger options, not just the one choice!

Last year a very large palatial building opened containing the Human Rights Museum with floors dedicated to the Holocaust, the past, present and future.  I was especially fascinated with the second floor which specifically focused on the human rights history in Canada.  On the fourth floor the images from the Holocaust  were devastating.  While this museum is architecturally impressive- such bells and whistles!, what it may lack in detail, it should serve as a good welcoming place for citizens to be introduced to various cultures that call Canada home, and to events in the world that never should be forgotten.  There is also a research room that likely can provide much more information that I didn't get around too.

Human Rights Museum and Esplanade Riel Walking Bridge

Not actually a set from a Shogun film, nor is it a view of Iron Man laying on his back but the large exterior (see the tiny peeps down below) of the Human Rights Museum, which opened in 2014

my favorite part of this museum; the second floor where the focus is on the human rights history of. Canada the red dresses are meant to draw attention to the missing and murdered aboriginal women.

stories of migrant workers. it's kind of cool as one person is telling their story- the other three are standing with you while the camera stays on them while each individual waits silently

meditative 3rd floor pools of water. i got anxious trying to find other stuff 'tho

Not with malice so much but carrying out a national policy, at the time

Cousin on the railroad. He was working on it.

Just as the USA, Japanese during WW2 had their property seized before being placed in internment camps. This is a couple of gentlemen just after their fishing boat was seized.  The smugness of the official contrasted with the pain of trying to maintain dignity and comprehend this WTF moment in time is noticeable.

subsequently, did this cause the state of nation to crumble?

view from inside the museum

Hitler, really not a fun guy

I made my way to where Bloody Saturday occurred in 1919, an early manifestation of Canadian/American Labor Movements. Its history has existed mostly under the radar but I feel is crucial to understanding a point in time when the working class began to stand up for their rights. We can bookend this event between the Pullman Train strike of 1894 which led to establishing Labor Day as a National US holiday and the Longshoreman's strike of 1934 (San Francisco) as major turning points in working class history.  This corner is near the Manitoba Museum, an established place in Winnipeg.  There is a lot of information here and the museum is very large with many curated artifacts, and impressive rooms presenting a historic street, life on a pier, and a quaint art deco theater playing Charlie Chaplin shorts.

How to break up a union; appoint any drunken thugs to authority and hand them the legs from chairs and tables, and look away.

Little Chaplin theater, Manitoba Museum

One Big Union, pin 1919. Very Cool!

view from my submarine

Everyone in Winnipeg knows This Image. Ho hum for residents. Cool for visitors! And please everyone,  look left and right before crossing the street

Project Genesis. Please keep it away from Khan. Speaking of Khan's Shawarma, tasty!

My milkshake fix was found in the little V.J's drive-in before I walked over to St.Boniface, an area with a French Quarter and also home of the beautiful Cathedral, founded in 1818 by a Bishop Provencher. To get there you can walk over the Esplanade Riel bridge to get to the Cathedral. This is also the final resting place of Louis Riel.  After some time wandering and nearly deciding that I wouldn't be able to find his burial site,  I turned around some trees and there it was, on a beautiful Friday morning.  The St.Boniface museum, the oldest building in Winnipeg is small but with detailed information about Louis Riel and the First Nations, the Metis people and their place in Canadian history.

St.Boniface Cathedral

a warm place

Riel at rest

Friends with Louis Riel. In 2007 Chief One Arrow's remains were exhumed and taken to sacred grounds in the Saskatchewan Valley. Chief One Arrow was not a warrior chief but a moral leader,  who was still perceived as a threat and imprisoned, kept in poor conditions. Upon his release his health was poor and he died shortly after.

Riel's resting place

I had the pleasure of experiencing two levels of 5 pin bowling; in an old theater. 5 pin bowling? I got to do this!  Regular sized alleyways, three tries to knock down the 5 pins, and lighter balls that go without finger holes and the oppressive weight that kills your wrists.  That by itself was fun but a style pioneered by some wacky neighbors involved taking a running start from behind the seating area, hollering (think action movie) and sliding on your knees (some practiced an incredible full on fall on their backs) while rolling the ball.  Nice crowd, grace and goofs all. I now refer to US bowling as 5 too many pins bowling. Free refills of coffee which hasn't been sitting on a burner.  Go too for the coffee. Hence.

Academy Bowling Lanes, former theater but now masterful 5 Pin Place

who would have thought I'd bump into Maria Dexter and Oliver, of all places??

Chinatown, Grand building but I saw only some residents in the towers, and a few empty stores

Train Museum in the Train Depot. It's a lot larger on the inside

You could spend a lot of time in here

                                       coffee choices at the grocery store. much mystery

Doors either open automatically (allowing myself plenty of scenarios of Scarlett Witch powers) or are stiff to open, likely for the winters where you want to keep heat inside. Sheltered enclosed bus stations- that must be fun when it's crowded and cold!  During the winter when the river freezes it allows another mode of transport; as the river covers a lot of area in town, you put on the skates and possibly ski's and off you go. Additionally, Winnipeggers will embracing that which they cannot change, now during the winters they will place artwork and pop up restaurants on the ice.  Also in cafes people still speak among to each other (a little of the silent tech work going on too), where it was pointed out how Canadian health care is not all that it seems to be. Yes, it's free but without the motivation that the American system creates (to be the best in your field, to be an individual in your practice, and money as motivator), it is difficult to receive health care that is not faceless, that is caring in Canada- especially if your needs are unusual. You need to luck into an individual who gives a damn about you. This from a conversation with a nice couple at Thom Bargens' Coffee on Sherbrook.

Would I like to live in Winnipeg where you have six-seven months of winter, and where that season daylight ends at 4pm? Nope.  Would I like to see what snow life is like? Maybe.  Would I like to have another delicious cup at Parlour, activate my senses again with the crisp air and waterways and revisit the places I found welcoming, and explore more? Yes, I would! Winnipeg, I'm an advocate in the SF Bay Area. (although now I live on an island).

I had a nice finish but didn't save it!..  Hey, people are nicer, it's true. The feeling was laid back and not intrusive.  Food choices plentiful, some panhandling (felt like home) and citizens dressed in layers (felt like home, only more layers. I saw what I thought was a large man peel off 27 sweaters- he ended up weighing less than me). A big city of pretty homes, square ugly buildings, modern towering structures and places of comfort just around most corners.

Weather day to day varied, and while lugging my over- packed bags was never fun, following the paths of these tree filled parks and streets made the journey intriguing and warm.  Where you took me Winnipeg is a beautiful place, pimples and all.