Edmonton, we are here

After a somewhat short night, the alarm clock jolted us from our sleep. The suitcases were packed again, and off we went to breakfast.
At 10 AM, our bus was ready to take us to Edmonton. The ride lasted a little over 3 hours with a short break at Wendy's.
Arriving in Downtown was something else. A huge puddle, a pedestrian, and a car. I don't think I need to say more. The driver did brake, but there were still wild gestures and 🖕🏼🖕🏼🖕🏼
In Edmonton, we checked into the JW Marriott Edmonton ICE District. It was tolerable. We had direct access to Rogers Place from the hotel.
After the obligatory room inspection, we were off to eat. Andi had his sights set on Boston Pizza for the journey here; it looked good, and there was a branch directly across from the hotel, so we went.
The food was good, and finally, no misstep with my ordered cocktail. The glass was full, and the White Sangria Smash was really tasty.
Next stop: Oilers fan shop. It was game day, and it was packed. Quite exhausting.
But we still managed to get pins for Raph and Udo, as well as pucks for Jürgen and a hoodie for me. Stefan, our tour guide, usually negotiates a German discount for us, but in Edmonton, there was nothing. They wouldn’t budge. It was tried anyway. A couple of people succeeded, but most left empty-handed or had to pay the regular price. When it was my turn, well, everyone talks about the German discount. Ah, okay, and the lady immediately gives me 15% 😊 I returned to the hotel satisfied with the others. Just set up a bit of a cozy space and put my feet up.
At 6 PM, we went through the direct connecting bridge to the arena. Rogers Place wow, what a mega stadium 🤩 Although when I was there earlier on the tour completely alone and took the long, steep escalator, with the abyss on both sides, I didn’t feel very safe 😅
The game was soooo boring. The Oilers had endless chances, but without Leon, the puck just wouldn’t go in the net. Thus, the game ended with a 4:0 victory for the Florida Panthers.
By the way, the Panthers players are staying at our hotel. We bumped into a few of them in the lobby. Their distinguishing features: 1. Panthers clothing, 2. no teeth.
The three gentlemen were somehow all tired after the game and wanted to head straight back to the hotel. I briefly went for a group photo and then continued to the Neon Sign Museum. It was cool, but absolutely nothing compared to Vegas. Here there are just two buildings with old advertising signs hanging on them and information boards about where the signs come from. It was nice to see nonetheless. Since it had started to rain in the meantime, I decided to head back to the hotel as well.

Ah, what was also funny was a statue of Wayne in front of the arena. There were two guys in front of it. I said: excuse me, I want to take a photo there. And they replied: yes of course, and started posing. I think my expression spoke volumes. Suddenly one of them looked over his shoulder, spotted Wayne, and started laughing. They really thought I wanted a photo of them. What goofballs 😂