Winnipeg is known for its winters, cold and sometimes even brutal. Of course we experience some good weather too, in summer *and* in winter. A temperature of –25C or colder might look terrible to some, for others these temperatures are a relief from colds and sore throats. These ailments get no chance in winter here. One thing for which Winnipeg is certainly not famous is its parks and gardens. That is a big mistake. Many parks and gardens are beautiful in all seasons.
The garden that really comes to my mind is obviously one that is not too far from my house: The English Garden in the Assiniboine Park.
English garden in Winnipeg
Of course, in order not to disappoint you I will start with a wintery picture… But come inside and see what else we can find…
Fishing on Lake Manitoba is for the professionals. I’m no professional fisherman, not even an amateur, not even a fisherman. As said in the previous post about Ice Fishing on Lake Manitoba at The Narrows, you need some serious tools in order to get yourself a chance to get some fish for supper.
The need for professional fishing material on Lake Manitoba
And yes, the material we used to go fishing one morning on Lake Manitoba was almost as old and aged as in this picture. Want to see some more?
“ I’m going fishin’… I got me a line… I know nothin’ about fishing… “ Chris Rhea couldn’t have put it better: I know nothing about fishing. Beyond casting a line with some kind of fish food in the water and wait and wait and wait until some fish shows that it has more intelligence than me by eating that bait and leaving the hook untouched, well I know nothing.
Here in Manitoba, fishing is a whole different affair, it’s an art and a real sport. Even more if you start talking ice fishing. Fishing on ice is a whole different way of fishing and for some a way of living. At any rate fishing in Manitoba is a good opportunity to catch great photographs.
On Lake Manitoba waiting for fish
And no, the fish is not biting through the ice to come up to present itself for my supper…
Most of the time, quietness and town or city do not go together. Either it is quiet and the town looks like a ghost town, or the town is lively but far from quiet. I like my relaxation in the weekend and just go far from the house and from the city. Ok, in Winnipeg there are enough quiet places to find, but a bit farther out is always good.
Every now and then we take a car to get out, and try to find some nature and calm down from the week’s hassles. Now if you find places like these in this picture, you can imagine that this is not a very hectic place.
The Winnipeg River
And once you find the place, you’ll want to stay for some time, well…
Holiday on Ice, Fish on ice, walking on ice, we can do it all in Winnipeg. In Holland, where I come from, we are happy if once in ten years we get 15cm of ice to hold the “elfstedentocht” a difficult but wonderful competition of skating on ice. Over 220km of natural ice must have these coveted 15cm, everywhere. Useless to say that that does not happen every year.
In Winnipeg, however, if there were only 15cm of ice in winter on any of the frozen water surfaces, we would call it a catastrophe. In Winnipeg, on the Red River we should be able to solve the (minor) parking problem of the city…
Parking on ice
Here we parked our rental car on the ice, in order to do some ice fishing. Didn’t catch anything, but it was a fun day. And the ice? Well if there is less than two feet (60cm) of it, you don’t try to park your car on it!
So, what else do we do on ice here?