For any visitor to Edmonton, Canada’s northernmost metropolis, Strathcona on the Southside is a lovely neighborhood to start for any exploration of the city. Situated between Edmonton’s “famous” Whyte Avenue, where one goes to have some fun, and Southgate, one of Edmonton’s many, many shopping malls, it is an area that has schools and playgrounds, small cafés and grocery shops along 104th street and is inhabited by many friendly, but ordinary Canadians. Let’s have a look around.
Our tour begins at the home of the six, lovely students in their early 20s that share one side of a duplex on 67th Avenue. Their house is right next to the Roadrunner Motel, which makes for a not so pleasant view, and is across the street from Staples and The Home Depot. The back alley behind the house is dominated by the rusting carcass of an old pick-up truck, which means that it is not a nice alley for children to play in.
Proceeding north from the student’s front door we cross a small parking lot till we reach the Calgary Trail, which is one of Edmonton’s busiest streets, especially between 4 and 6pm, when all Edmontonian’s leave their jobs to return to the suburbs. Continuing north along the Calgary Trail, we soon pass the Southside Athletic Grounds followed by the Rollie Mills Athletic Fields, which make for a nice contrast to the small business and train tracks along the other side of the street.
As we continue towards Whyte Avenue, we pass the University Avenue, which as the name suggest leads us, after a 30-minute walk, to University of Alberta’s North Campus. The university is home to over 36000 students, offers a large variety of different programs and just last year turned 100 years old.
Further north we come across the Old Strathcona Shopping Center, which lies across the street from Strathcona Chinatown Mall, and which next to a post office and the Dollarama, houses a fabulous place called the Dream Tea House, where one can get some delicious bubble tea.
From there it is only a short walk to Whyte Avenue, which is lined at both sides by small shops and bars. Turning east we come across the Elephant & Castle, which is a nice, quiet pub where every two weeks, young Edmontonians meet for beer and knitting.
Once you have enough from exploring Whyte Avenue (don’t forget to check out the K&K, where you can get all kinds of German food and Saturday’s Farmer’s market), you can easily catch a bus to Downtown Edmonton, West Edmonton Mall or pretty much any other part the city.
We could go on, but the exploration of Edmonton could fill an entire book! Why not visit Edmonton on your next holiday? The land is flat, the weather is not that cold most of the time and Edmontonians are always welcoming visitors.
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This is really neat, I like how you've copied the form of Neil's really closely. It inspires me to write one about my neighbourhood! Although, depending on the neighbourhood, it might be different. Mine is more of a suburban setting, whereas Strathcona is connected to almost everything central and important in the city. Maybe it would be more like Neil's in content in that way? I'll have to think about it!
ReplyDeleteI loved your blog this week Fran! I never would have thought to take Neil's composition and apply it to the Strathcona area; a place where I spend most of my time!
ReplyDeleteIt was so interesting to read about the contrasts in the cityscape as you travelled north from your house towards Whyte Ave and the University grounds!
I'm glad you liked it. The thought came to me during Tuesday's class and struck me as a good idea for a blog. I mean if a supposedly 9-year-old can write something like that, than I or anyone in the class should be able, right?
ReplyDeleteA very entertaining read! I enjoyed finding out what makes the city distinctly "Edmonton" for you. My favorite line is "Turning east we come across the Elephant & Castle, which is a nice, quiet pub where every two weeks, young Edmontonians meet for beer and knitting." That's so neat! What is your most recent knitting project?
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful Blog Fran! I always find it interesting to see an alternate view of a place or object that I would more than likely passively view or walk by. I would like to do one about my own neighbourhood as well, but like Lana, I am not sure if it would translate as well. Unfortunately, Westmount Mall is not the centre of urban activity that it may have been when it was the first mall in Edmonton. Reading this blog made me wonder what kind of 'guide' I would write if I wandered around a city or town in Germany. Would I notice minute details that you would normally view as trivial or of having no signifigance?
ReplyDeleteHopefully one day I am allowed the opportunity.
Also, I am curious, does the beer & knitting combination get increasingly dangerous a few pints 'down the track'?
I'm glad you enjoyed the read. I have only recently learned how to knit, but I am enjoying it. Actually I'm doing two projects at the moment: a scarf (I know, predictable)and the cover for a hot water bottle for my roommate. Do you knit?
ReplyDeleteThank you! I'm glad you liked it. Well, I would suggest to try a guide to your neighbourhood, you never know with what stories you come up with. I didn't expect to find so many thinks to write about when I started the entry myself.
ReplyDeleteWell, I guess wheter you're here or in Germany, it depends on how much attention you pay to your surroundings. However, from my own experinces I can say that you would notice the things that are different from what you are used to more.
Mmh define dangerous?? :-)