Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
This morning we would be leaving Edmonton and flying back to Toronto on the last day of our three day business trip. With the two hour time difference yesterday I had woken at 4am (6am Toronto time). Today I slept in till 7am (9am Toronto time) and was slightly late for our first breakfast meeting downstairs in the hotel.
After that we had another morning meeting in a nearby office tower. This time we walked indoors thru the walkways connecting the buildings. These are not just bridges but part of a sprawling shopping complex connecting all the buildings.
In Toronto and Montreal we have the same style of retail complexes connecting all the buildings but ours are below ground. In Calgary and Edmonton with the walkways it seems to be above ground and more interesting as you can see the outdoors.
We then checked out and took a cab outside from the hotel to get to the airport. It was a 40 min ride taking across the city from the downtown on the north, back across the central river valley, thru Old Strathcona on the south side, leading out of the city.
I had picked a right had side window but realizing the airport is in the south had hoped to change to the left side to see some of the city in the north. Unfortunately it was a full flight so no seat change available.
The airport is quite a way south of the city on the highway going back to Calgary that we had drove up from. The weather was -8 with a sprinkling of snow from the storm the previous night. Still normal weather for us in Toronto though we would get such weather in Jan-Feb.
It was a full 4 hour flight back. I didnt have headphones again so made sure to pack them for future flights. I had an enjoyable introduction to Alberta. I had hoped to come in the summer but it was nice to scout everything at company expense so I can plan a future trip.
Despite all the negative comments about Edmonton I found it much more interesting than Calgary which I found rather bland. Edmonton is more diverse as the provincial capital so a public sector to keep the economy going, along with a manufacturing base being closer ot the oil patch.
The city had more character being historical, different styles of architecture, and a valley down the middle to provide some natural landscape. The city is also surrounded by forest visible from some of our office meetings unlike Calgary which was a flat desert style city lacking in character in comparison.
2025-05-22