It is
already February and so far we have not had a really cold winter in Canada. The
temperatures hover around 0 C. (32F) and even snow has not fallen as much as in
other years. It is a good year to spend the winter months in Toronto; it feels
almost like Global Warming has arrived here. Is there any
need to become a snowbird and travel south to warmer areas? Where does
one need to go to experience true Canadian Winter? I read somewhere that in
previous years there were Ice Hotels where one could sleep for a night or more,
like an Eskimo, in an igloo. This year would not be a good year to try that in
Toronto, it is just too warm, and a cold winter seems to have been forgotten.
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| Lots of Snow in Ottawa |
I asked
Carol how far north we would have to travel to see some serious snow, to see
some cracking cold, to find true winter. So she went on line and found the
Ottawa Festival that happens every year to celebrate winter. It is called
Winterlude and the focal points are winter activities and the true Canadian
outdoors. It is held annually, so one would think there must be snow, ice or
cracking cold, right? The highlight, why most people go to Ottawa in winter, is
for fun skating on the Rideau Canal. I don’t skate, so even if it is a bit
warmer than usual, I thought it would be a great idea to go and visit Canada’s
Capital and spend a few days in Ottawa. There is, for sure, enough to see and
the promised winter activities are just an added bonus. So we planned a date,
even with an alternative date, to visit Ottawa.
We did not think the weekend
before last, the end of January, was cold enough. Temperatures in
Toronto climbed to 45 F. I almost took my motorcycle out for a run around the
block instead of going sleigh riding. But then, last weekend the weather news
was better. A cold spell hit Canada’s Capital and we thought, maybe the RideauCanal would be frozen and people would be allowed to skate on the ice.
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| 24 Sussex Drive, Home of Canada's Prime Minister |
So off we
went, it is only about a 5 hour drive to Ottawa and the weather driving north
was dry and sunny; too sunny, as it turned out. We had packed heavy clothing,
packed skates for Carol, and packed the car like we were going on an
expedition. We packed so much clothing we could have survived a blizzard with
the stuff we had on the back seat of the Prius. I have never been to Ottawa
before, but Carol knew her way around the city, somewhat. She has been to the Winterlude
before. So she served as my guide, my weather prophet and was my companion
while traipsing through downtown Ottawa.
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| Rideau Canal, Closed to Skating |
It is
always strange to me how my mind works. I had in my head a picture of Ottawa
that was not at all like the reality we visited. We talked about the park the
Rideau Canal runs through, we talked about eating beaver tails, snacking on maple
toffee and roasting marshmallows on an open fire. Well we did all of that but
skating? No! No skating allowed; the ice was not thick enough.
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| Beaver Tails, Garlic Butter and Cheese (L) and Cinnamon Sugar |
We sure enjoyed
the Beavertails, though. For you folks out there, it is not an animal treat. It
is a flat, deep fried kind of pancake that looks like the tail of a beaver. I
had mine with Cinnamon Sugar and Carol loved her garlic butter and cheese.
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| Pouring Concentrated Maple Syrup onto Snow to Make Maple Taffy |
Maple Taffy? Delicious! A blob of pure maple syrup is dripped into snow; it is so
cold it congeals. A wooden stick serves as a handle and the flavor is just
awesome. A pure sugar rush!
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| All the Kids Roasting Marshmallows |
And all of
you know about roasting marshmallows over an open fire, right? The kids here, as small as toddlers and folks
as large as me, enjoyed cooking the free marshmallows. The smoke got into my eyes, I never learned to stand on the non-smokey side of the fire. Why is that?
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| Bed Race - This is a Medical Team |
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| Bed Decked Out Like a Pirate Ship for the Bed Race |
We did enjoy entertainment
at Winterlude that was truly Canadian. Where else can you see a bed race? It is
a dash with a ‘patient’ on a homemade bed frame, a run against the clock.
Fastest group wins! The problem is the bed swivels sideways at high speeds and
luckily there was no snow on the road, but just imagine how difficult that
would be pushing, pulling through a meter of snow? It is usually held on the
frozen Canal so directional control is even more difficult.
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| Hot Chocolate - Yum! |
Where else
can you get free hot chocolate served by pretty girls? Only in Canada! You
could drink as much as you would like. They even served me with a smile!
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| Everyone Enjoyed Their Antics |
I saw
‘walking’ trees! With a few ‘gnomes’ hidden inside the trunk. Some were
dazzlingly funny. I think they practices their silliness in front of a mirror
before coming into the public, their facial expressions were hilarious.
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| She Was Having As Much Fun As We Were Watching Her |
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| Who Is Having More Fun? |
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| Stilted Plants |
Stilted
plants? Yes, they had them……great costumes,
too.
I saw a tall
‘Uncle Sam’ like performer on stilts, with stripped pants and wearing a
cylinder hat.
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| Performers on the Rink of Dreams |
Dance
lessons! Ice Dancing! And my all times favourite……an ice slide. Like a
little kid I sat on my rear end and slid down the hill, what a slick way to go.
The little kids next to me where in awe that I would do this ‘dangerous’ stuff.
It was fun, I loved it.
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| Ice Slide |
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| Owl Ice Sculpture |
Ice
sculptures were rated according to originality and quality and difficulty of
execution and received prizes. Some artists came from non-snow countries but
knew how to sculpt. Unfortunately, the warm weather in the weeks before our
visit melted some of their efforts.
Housing,
shops, booths, display walls, rope guides all were made of ice.
Small tykes
learned how to downhill ski on very small hills. That would have been perfect
for me, but they did not have my size of ski.
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| Kids on Push Sleds Riding on the Runners |
Push sled
races, where you use your legs like on a skateboard and then jump on for a bit of
a ride were given out so kids could practice.
And
throughout all of that the music played, dancers were on stage, a competition
of ‘sculptors’ were competing on their block of ice. Free samples were given
out by the Metro Food Store, by Vaseline, the cosmetic manufacturer, wooden
burned engravings were given to kids, etc.
The place
was humming with activity. But …………No
skating on the Canal!
No matter
the not so frozen Canal, Winterlude was still going on. There were lots of
visitors from all over the world. In our B&B we even met a Dr. from Mexico
City who wanted to learn what ‘cold’ really meant. Well she got some kind of
idea but I told her she has to come back when it is minus 30. The coldest
actual temp we experienced was minus 9 C. The wind that blew off the Ottawa River
however was strong and it might have been colder considering the wind chill
factor. We were dressed for the occasion; triple layers under warm jackets
helped a lot; the free hot drinks, helped, too, of course. We covered the town
as best we could.
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| Centre Block of the Parliament Buildings |
One day we visited the famous Parliament Buildings.
We even took the free, guided, tour. An explanation of the political system in
Canada helps when you come and visit. Luckily, I ‘kind of’ knew how the
Canadian System works and is organized; totally different from the U.S. system,
for example. While the U.S. is a Republic (the law rules), Canada is a Constitutional
Monarchy (the Queen is the head of State). Those are fine points but add up to
a totally different way of living and add up to having the parliamentary system
organized differently. Just to be able to visit Ottawa and take the tour of the
Parliament complex is worth a visit. Come and visit Canada.
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| Looking at the Main Rotunda From Above |
The Parliament
building itself is an amazing feat of craftsmanship. It was rebuilt in 1916
after a ravaging fire destroyed all of the old installation except the library,
(someone closed the metal doors when they left and that saved the library). The room of the library has exceptional
details and a very surprising sense of beauty. No matter where I went, no
matter where I looked, each wooden joint was perfect. Each mason miters true,
each metal solder a work of art. The pride, the long range view showed throughout
each room of Parliament. The library itself is simply stunning; containing
books that would add up, stacked, from earth to
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| Inside the Library |
the moon. I did not see any
wires hanging lose, yet the building is up to the latest technology. The decor
might be a bit too old British and somehow too ‘castle’ looking but then, don’t
forget, this was the style of 1916. It is a very impressive building, even
today, 100 years later. No wonder Canadians are very proud of their Parliament
Buildings. They should be! It is a marvelous statement of their unity.
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| House of Commons - Speaker of the House Sits At Far End |
We drove
around the town, too. It was the best
way to see the extended area. I wanted to see the outskirts, wanted to see the
expensive homes, wanted to see the green spaces and get a general feeling for
Ottawa. While not a huge city it is a substantial place. I understand that
Ottawa was chosen as the Capital of Canada in 1857 and in 1867 was retained as the
National Capital after Confederation. The reasons for having made this town the
Capital are interesting.
Firstly the city has distinct geographical advantages.
It sits on the border between East and West Canada (think of the year 1857).
Towards the East most people speak French, even today. Going west it is almost
exclusively English Speaking. Ottawa sits between Quebec and Ontario. In fact,
once you cross the Ottawa River the language changes. We met folks at our Inn
who had a difficult time speaking English and I could only tell them that I
don’t speak French (in French). It was a bit strange to be in a country with a
dual language set up, yet most English speakers really don’t speak French that
well, if at all.
But it gets
worse! I wondered what the name Ottawa means so I looked it up. The word comes
from the Algonquins who named the river “Ottawa”. The meaning and pronunciation
and sound were written down by Jesuits Priests long ago: Outaouak, Outauas or Outaouais!
At least that is how the Jesuits heard the names when they arrived. So the
meaning of the word Ottawa means ‘the great River’? Well that did not satisfy me, since it only
named the River. So I dug a little
further and came up with the name of the hill that Parliament sits on, at least
now I have a spot and not a river. So here it goes: Kichi Sipi! Huh? In the language of the Kichesipirini (an
Algonquin nation) who inhabited the area, the spot was named, and still is named
‘Kichi Sipi’, which means the ‘Great River’. So I gave up, Ottawa means a spot
on the Great River of the North. (The name Ottawa comes from the Algonquin tribe Odawa meaning, "traders", is another explanation I heard). Good enough for me.
Secondly,
Ottawa in 1857 was sufficiently far away from the U.S. border. Canada had some bad
taste in their mouths from the War of 1812 and wanted to not be near the U.S.
border or the sea. I will leave you with the history study of the useless war
of 1812, look it up.
While
driving I saw lots and lots of government buildings. Ministries, Consulates and
Administration buildings were all in admirably good condition and showed
wealth. Yes, Canada, according to what is shown in their capital is a wealthy
county. There are no shortcuts taken on anything. Each person
we met who worked for the government had some kind of uniform, some kind of marking
on them that made them look ‘official’. I could not help but notice that. Even
cleaning personal wore outfits that made them stand out and I just knew they were
the maintenance crews. The country is run by rules, by organized citizens, by
laws that were instituted and are being followed. A stop sign means STOP, even
when you can see for miles that there is no traffic coming. Everybody in Canada
will stop, and then proceed. A red light for pedestrians is being observed as
if they were partakers in the traffic rules. You wait until the light turns
green before you cross the street, no matter the traffic or lack thereof. This
is Canada; this is how Canada is set up and Canadians pride themselves being
that way.
Come and
visit Ottawa and see it yourself.
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| One Section of the Museum of Canadian History |
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| Indian Mask |
I did take
almost one day to just visit the Canadian Museum of History. The special
exhibition featured the Vikings and it was quoted that they, not Christopher
Columbus, visited the Americas first. I don’t really care what European was in
Canada first. Aboriginals have lived in Canada for at least 12,000 years, what
really does it mean that some Europeans came and visited. The Vikings did not stay;
they just left after some time and left their ruins behind in
Newfoundland. I found it much more
interesting to visit the exhibition of the West Coast People (Tsimshian) and
how their culture influenced our lives. Especially after reading the great book
‘The Golden Spruce’
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| Tsimshian Painting |
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| Chief's Head Dress With Computer Screen in Centre? |
An art
exhibition near the Winterlude showed a mix of old and new native art in
strange ways. A chief’s regalia head dress with a computer screen at its
center? I do not know that it was
supposed to mean. But then I don’t always know art, especially modern art.
Judge for yourself looking at the pictures!
