Day 10 - Dude, where's my train?

15:00
I sleep well. I’m awake by 07:00, but feel well rested. The river outside my window is now entirely iced over. It’s amazing how quickly this transformation has happened. I’ve apparently arrived into Winnipeg during the first properly cold snap of the Winter, and it’ll only get colder from here. The weekend is promising wind chill temperatures as low as -25C.

I’m trying to manage my day effectively. My train doesn’t leave until 23:30, and isn’t due to arrive into Winnipeg until 22:00, where it’ll get cleaned, refill with fuel etc etc. I check-out at 11:00, but leave my bags at the hotel. I head back to the Clementine Café, as my breakfast there yesterday was stellar. I order the bacon Benedict, which sounds standard, but is anything but. The bacon is a braised bacon chop. Astonishing. Luscious, smoky, tender. The Hollandaise - mighty fucksticks, the Hollandaise. It’s been made with brown butter, so has a deep, nutty flavour. It’s then been passed through a siphon so that it’s light and foamy, but still retains it’s punchy flavour and rich opulence. It’s the best Benedict I’ve ever had.

From here, I head down to the train station. I’ve discovered I can track my train on its way to Winnipeg. It left Vancouver like, a week ago (well, 2 days), so has been en route for some time. It’s currently running about 3 hours behind schedule. Shitters. At the station, a helpful chap assures me that there’s a comfortable lounge in which I can wait, as long as I need to wait. Helpful, this certainly is, but if the train’s not going to leave until 03:00, the remnants of my jet-lag are going to make staying awake incredibly challenging. I’ll see how my tiredness goes through the rest of the day, and make a plan B if necessary.

The station is next door to the Forks park, and the Museum of Human Rights. I walk through the park a while, and visit the Esplanade Riel footbridge, a striking edifice to Louis Riel, the founder of the province of Manitoba, in which Winnipeg is located.

The Museum of Human Rights is amazing, in several different ways. The building itself is straight into my top few pieces of architecture. It’s just beautiful, from any and every angle. The museum content is challenging, documenting the birth of various human rights movements around the world, and detailing some of the most egregious incidents of human rights violations throughout history. There’s a whole floor (of 7) dedicated to the holocaust. Another covers women’s rights and suffragette movements. A further floor describes the horrifying human rights violations meted out to the First Nations people of Canada during imperial colonisation. It’s a sobering experience, and a deeply moving one. There’s a small theatre showing a film about the holocaust, and I find myself welling up at the insane evil of which humanity is capable.

Fuck, I need a beer.

17:30
I write this from my new hotel room. The train is not making up any time, and it’s apparently highly unlikely it’ll arrive before 02:00. I’ve booked the room for the night, even if I end up leaving around 01:00. Word of advice - don’t necessarily Google “LOCATION - hotel rooms by the hour” and expect anything more than knocking shops. My hotel’s reasonably priced, and given I’ve underspent the past few days, can accommodate it into my budget easily enough.

After the emotional experience of the Human Rights Museum, I head to the Forks food market, and grab a beer. Ooh, and a hotdog. It’s not a patch on what I *should* have had at the Wienery, but it’ll have to do.

Having picked up my bags at Mere, I use my first and hopefully only Uber of the trip. It’s a 20 minute walk in the snow that is starting to fall, and there are no quick and easy bus options.

Time for a nap, I reckon…

23:45
Well, there’s been something of a cock-up. I don’t think it’s me, for what it’s worth. I lay down for a nap, but actually struggle to doze off - I suspect because I'm at least subconsciously a little anxious about my train departure time. I keep pushing my wake up alarm back and back until it’s set for around 21:30. I figure that’ll still give me plenty of time to get to the station, even if the train makes up a little time on its way to Winnipeg. With a fair wind, I may be able to go back to sleep, and wake nearer departure time. Waking up at 21:00, I’m a little stunned to see that the train is now due to arrive at 22:45, only 45 minutes late. I’m apparently supposed to be at the train station an hour before departure, but don’t know how long the train will hold at Winnipeg. Cursing the slightly shitty information Via Rail have given me, I quickly pack up, and head to the train station. In the 5 minutes it takes me to walk to the station, the train has apparently accelerated, and is now only going to be 15 minutes late getting into Winnipeg. FFS etc.

Check in is easy enough, and my bag dropped quickly. I stop to chat to the check-in dude. He asks where I’m from, and I explain in the typical way that I do when I’m travelling. It’s kind of a pyramid of detail - first, I’m from the UK. Second, I’m from a town South of London. Thirdly, I’m from Brighton. Only once has anyone even asked for a fourth level of specificity - and that’s today. As soon as I mention Brighton, check-in dude says he loves Brighton! He asks which neighbourhood I live in, and I tell him. It transpires he lived there for 4 years when he was working as a flight attendant in the early 2000s. We chat for a while about the city, how much he loved living there etc etc.

A board has appeared (hand-written whiteboard) which details that the train will arrive at 22:15, but depart at 23:45. Clearly, the 90 minute stop at Winnipeg is set in stone. As I suspected earlier, this is for some cleaning, and some refuelling, as well as some restocking of essentials like beer, wine, and perhaps some food. Boarding is at 23:15.

When boarding, I’m met (by name) by my carriage attendant, Tony. He explains my room to me - not that it needed much by way of explaining. To be fair, I have a murphy bed, and the locking mechanism perhaps justifies some guidance. I settle in quickly. I’ve brought a couple of bottles of red wine for the journey - unclear whether I’ll need them or not. I pour myself a glass to celebrate my train departure, and sit back to wait...En savoir plus