Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
It was a cold Canadian winter night and I found myself in Regina, Saskatchewan as I was speaking at a conference at the University of Regina. I’ve been quite fortunate to have travelled across Canada as a speaker at various Universities, which ultimately allowed me to explore the cities in the limited time that I had. This time however, I was coming down with a flu (I think) but luckily, I was able to make the best of my less than 48 hours spent in Regina.
Attractions & Food
Royal Saskatchewan Museum
Of course I decided to visit the museum (it’s part of what I did as I travelled across Canada) and this one was a very small and quaint museum. I browsed through their Life Science, First Nations, and Earth Science Galleries and found them fascinating. Megamunch is this big little robotic dinosaur that is the highlight for the kiddies so of course I also paid him a visit. At first, I thought he was going to be something like the dinosaurs from the movie, Jurassic Park but nope. He was not. You’ll just have to find out for yourself (or look at the pictures below).
Wascana Centre
I ended up hiking around Wascana Lake (which took most if not all of the day) - which in the middle of winter is obviously frozen solid. It was a cool and crisp hike in a sleepy and serene little town.
Shops at 13th Avenue
At the end of my long hike, I perused the local shops at 13th Avenue which were filled with hand crafted products from food to jewellery. I particularly enjoyed looking at the jewellery made by the local artists, which I found to be VERY unique and beautiful. That and window shopping at vintage shops were a good way to end the day. At last, I stopped over at 13th Avenue Food and Coffee House for dinner before heading to the airport. This place was quite warm and cozy - it looked and had the feeling of a home. The food was fantastic and so was the coffee in addition to this gluten free cookie I got (one of the best ones I’ve ever had - other than my own of course ;) Speaking of food, I ended up visiting a chain called Earls and although it’s not the local experience I wanted, I did find their hours accessible and the food, absolutely delicious. I’ve visited Earls in other provinces as well and it has never disappointed!
What I liked about the city
During my short stay, I found the people very kind and hospitable. At one point, I recall it was too cold and I had to wait for my cab. I stood outside this beautiful vintage store and the person working there ended up inviting me in to stay until my cab arrived. They were closed but they let me in and even look around the store (even purchase if I wanted to). At the time they had a sign up that said they’d be back and I later realized this person was visiting the neighbour next door who also invited me in to look around if I wanted to. It was a beautiful moment reminding me of the warm sense of community one gets when living in a small city.
I liked that the Art Gallery and the Museums were free. They accepted donations but that was it. Also, if it wasn’t so cold and I was not limited by time, I would have further explored Wascana Centre but what I did experience was lovely.
What I found odd/disliked
Things closed quite early - according to my city standards but what can you do? I would rather live at a place that valued work life balance than one that valued profits and long hours to the detriment of one’s health. There are pros and cons to each scenario…
One more thing, it’s rather hard to get around if you don’t drive like me, so it’s not necessarily the most pedestrian friendly city (not many in Canada are) although it’s small enough to make you feel like you’ve seen a lot by foot.
