Blog 29
On July 11, 1995, Ingo and I set out for our first visit to Canada's
capital, where Ingo had a job interview.
On the way, we stopped in Kingston. Interestingly, the landscape
around Kingston was extremely dry. The grass was totally yellow and
there were hardly any flowers. Nothing was left of the abundant
vegetation we had seen on our way east.
When we arrived in Ottawa in the early evening hours, we had to find
out that the historical bed and breakfast establishment I had picked
out. It was totally booked except for the luxury room which we could
not afford. However, the receptionist was very helpful in finding us
another room. In the end, we stayed in the last available room at the
“Parkway Motel”. The room was not great, especially because it
was a smoking room right on the main street, but the hotels we could
afford were pretty much all fully booked due to the holiday season.
We went sightseeing immediately. Luckily, we were just in time for a
tour through the Parliament Building. I was in awe of the beauty of
the architecture even though we could not see the main tower, the
Peace Tower, which was under construction. The art inside of the
building was as impressive, especially the Library. The Library of
the Parliament is the only part of the original building that was
saved during the fire of 1916. The wood panelling was just
breathtaking. I was also fascinated by the paintings, glass pieces
and sculptures.
After seeing Parliament Hill during the day, we also wanted to see
the Sound and Light Show. Unfortunately, it got cancelled that
evening, so we just strolled through the festively lit streets and
drove by car along the Rideau Canal.
The next morning, Ingo had his interview and I went to the National
Gallery of Canada. As Ingo lost his way during the busy traffic and
ended up behind the guards marching to the Parliament Hill for the
daily Changing the Guard Ceremony, I walked from the office building
past the Houses of Parliament to the museum. I just caught the finish
of the ceremony. I found it all very exciting. Next, I watched with
great interest how two small boats maneuvered through the locks of
the Rideau Canal. When I finally reached the National Gallery, I
wanted to visit the special exhibition of the “The Queen's
Pictures”, paintings by old masters from the collection of Queen
Elizabeth II. The exhibition was very interesting and I took my time
taking it all in. As I still had time, I also visited the modern
galleries, especially works of the pop art and the Canadian art.
I was very impressed that the entry to the general collections was
free of charge. Unfortunately, that has changed in the meantime, but
I can understand that the upkeep of the museum and the works of art
costs a lot of money.
When Ingo returned from his interview, he was in a very good mood.
After he had almost forgotten his suit and shoes in Mississauga, and
had to use my hair shampoo and razor to shave that morning because he
had left his shaver behind, but he was very happy with the job the
company had to offer. Luckily, we had another “2 for 1” coupon
for McDonald's to celebrate the positive interview.
We left Ottawa in the direction for the Algonquin Park, where we
wanted to hike before heading back to the cottage in Muskoka. On the
way, we saw a roadside booth with fresh strawberries and seedless
grapes. I felt such a craving for fresh food after all the fast food
we had during the previous weeks.
Once at the Algonquin Park, we started out to visit the logging
exhibit. However, the flies and mosquitoes were so aggressive, that
we headed back to the car as fast as we could, dealing out blows
right and left. We decided that a hike was out of the question.
Instead, we visited the visitor centre, where we could learn
interesting facts about the history of the park, the flora and fauna.
I was truly impressed with the presentation of the reconstructed
habitats with taxidermied animals and artificial, but very
natural-looking, plants. An audio guide and a documentary offered the
explanations. We were so fascinated that we did not manage to see
everything in the two hours until closing time. We even managed to
see a huge moose from the observation deck – even though it was
very far away. What an adventure for a city girl!
I was very impressed and hoped we would return for a hike, even
though I was usually not very fond of hiking. It was already dark
when we left the park. Only due to Ingo's fast reaction did we miss
the raccoon that crossed the road – quite a severe danger due to
the many wild animals. We decided to take the highway to reduce the
risk.
Thank you for following my journey. To find out my first real cottage
experience, please visit this page again next week.
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