MONTREAL TRIVIA

                                             City Odds and Ends

Montreal comes from Mont Royal.

People were very friendly and helpful. Several times people would stop to ask if they could help when they saw us studying a map. English was not a problem as it seems everyone is bi-lingual doing very well with both languages.

In the city’s heyday of the 1920s, Saint Jacques Street was known as Canada’s Wall Street. The Royal Bank’s former head office, with its 23 stories, was the tallest building in the British Empire when it was built in 1928.

Lots of stairs to climb getting in and out of Metro stations. Escalators are available only after getting down into the station.

Except for the streets, Montreal does not appear very handicap friendly.

The city is very easy to get around, as it’s pretty much laid out on a grid. It is also a very easy city to walk. The city and Metro maps are excellent, complete and easy to follow.

Canada is the world’s largest producer of mustard.

The French Pavilion from the 1967 Expo is now a casino and one of only two buildings from the Expo that survived.

       McGill U was all white male until the late 1800s when a benefactor gave money to educate women.

      Sainte Catherine Street, stretching 15 kilometers across the city, is Montreal’s renowned commercial thoroughfare. Lined with major department stores, shops, and restaurants, it has been the pride of Montreal for over a century. There are eight metro stations on the street.

Poutine, French fries with cheese curds and gravy, is a typical dish unique to Montreal.

Canada also produces 70% of the world’s maple syrup and Quebec accounts for 90% of that.

With the flavors of many cultures on every street corner, eating in Montreal is a culinary adventure. The city has 5000 restaurants that represent 80 different countries.

We noted very few cell phone users and actually saw many regular phone booths around the cities.

People seem to follow a relaxed routine. In the Metro the on and off process is very orderly with no elbowing one’s way. Let the people off, then board.

Exactly seems to be a frequent and proper response to a statement or question. It is often delivered with a tilt of the head and an emphatic expression.

PRAGUE

                         Czech Republic's Prized City

     Our hotel in Prague, in a quiet residential area, was in the process of restoration. Built in 1910, it was owned by the owner’s grandmother. When the Communists took over the house they allowed the lady to live in a small two room apartment. She died in 1985. When the country was free from the communists the grandson put in for repatriation and regained the home. He was restoring the home as time and money permitted. In the beginning he had as many employees as guests and quickly learning that was not profitable, he made changes and was progressing. It was a lovely home and by now I suspect he has finished the restoration.

      Our lectures, all by college professors, were excellent and so interesting that we didn’t mind sitting generally for three hours!  The Czech Republic consists of Bohemia, Monrovia and Silesia. The rest of what once was Czechoslovakia in now Slovakia.  The Czech Republic is landlocked by Germany, Austria, Slovakia and Poland. In spite of heavy deforestation, one-third of the country remains forest. However, in northern Bohemia the forest is damaged from acid rain from burning low grade brown coal and presents a problem for the country.

      Prague is a huge city and so our local guide split our sightseeing into four full half days. The city is built on seven hills and on both sides of the Vltava River. It is often referred to as the City of a Hundred Spires. The city of stone and limestone dates back to 965, and is now a UNESCO site.

     The city is a living museum and an architectural treasure. Although occupied by Germans during WW II, fortunately it received no major damage. The Gothic architecture dates to the Romans and the Baroque to the Hapsburg era. Prague, the country’s largest city is the center of cultural and intellectual life as well as the main commercial and industrial center. Prague University,1348, dates to Charles IV and is the oldest in central Europe. It is also a city of castles, manors, and museums.

     The Vltava River runs through the city in the shape of a question mark separating Mala Strana—Lesser Town on the west bank—from Stare Mesto—Old Town on the east bank..  Eighteen bridges span the river, the Charles Bridge being the most famous.

     Prague is a wonderful city, loaded with history and with much to see and do.

Much more to come.

HELSINKI, FINLAND

                                            The Capitol City

       Often referred to as the Daughter of the Baltic, Helsinki, established in 1550, is a natural seaport on the Baltic Sea at the southern tip of Finland. A fountain at the waterfront square portrays this image. The city spreads out onto islands, peninsulas, and along coves where boats of all descriptions navigate. The sea is an integral part of the city. The city grew up around the natural harbor.

     The city has wide streets and many squares and parks. One of the worlds’ first planned municipalities, it is noted for its 19^th century neoclassical architecture. Finland’s busiest port city has the largest urban concentration in the country, with a combined population of about a million. With no medieval past, the city was built to supply the fortress. Today, the city is the center of Finnish politics, economics and culture.

     Helsinki is a low rise-city, but the buildings although only 4--5 stories high are enormous. The last major fire was in 1808. Brick buildings were constructed after 1920. We found the city very clean; there was no litter anywhere. Sidewalks were often granite slab, but many of the streets and squares are cobbled.

       Although smaller than other Scandinavian capitals, Helsinki is Finland’s largest city but still maintains a distinctive small-town ambiance. Instead of the ornate and grandiose buildings of many Baltic and Scandinavian cities it is city of understated functional architectural design with the tallest building reaching only 12 stories. The stone pastel yellow and blue buildings frequently have white trim and columns. The architecture traces the domination of neighboring Sweden and Russia, but reflects a reverence for nature. It is the world’s second most northern capital, after Reykjavik. Finns have perfected living with nature and exult in their unspoiled land. 

            Summer in Helsinki begins in May and lasts until mid-September. The average summer temperature for day and night is around 60 degrees. On hot days the temperature can rise to the high 80s. Warmest in July, it is slightly cooler off the coast. The Helsinki summer is bright white. During the summer equinox in late-June there are no less than 19 hours of daylight between sunrise and sunset. Temperatures cool significantly towards the end of September, and the days grow noticeably shorter with the impending arrival of winter.     

     Throughout its 450-year history, Helsinki has existed in the crosscurrents of the East and West. The colorful layers of history can be seen everywhere.

      Walking or biking is the best way to appreciate the city’s cafés, parks, market and islands. The city is very pedestrian friendly, but the drivers are not! Each morning wooden stands with colorful awnings spring to life at the bustling Market Square. Many Finns have country cottages and go there in summer. In winter the city buzzes with theater, political institutes and 20,000 university students.

      One of the main attractions in Helsinki is Suomenlinna, the mammoth fortress, built in 1748, by the Swedes. 

See post 6-10-12 Suomenlinna and more history

MONTREAL, CANADA

                                  A Delightful City

      Often referred to as the Paris of the North America, more French is spoken here than in any city outside of Paris. Montreal is the capitol of Quebec Province, all of which is predominately French-speaking. 

      A cosmopolitan atmosphere exists with a European flavor where old world charm is gracefully combined with modern sensibility. It is a bustling study in contrasts where Victorian brownstones nuzzle skyscrapers, and architectural marvels soar beside stately neo-gothic churches. The city blends the old and new with ease that presents a very comfortable feel. Crime is low and the city is safe to walk most anywhere at any time.

      In 1535 French explorer, Jacques Cartier, was looking for passage to India, and was the first white man to set foot on the island that became Montreal. At that time it was the site of a Hochelega and Iroquois village. In 1611 de Champlain fortified a settlement and trading center at the confluence of the St. Lawrence, Ottawa and Richelieu Rivers.

      The British conquered New France in 1759, but they confirmed the right of the French people to maintain their faith, language and legal code. For many decades the minority British ran the city’s economy. In 1867 the Articles of Confederation joined the provinces of Ottawa, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia into Canada, effectively ending British rule in Ottawa.

      OLD MONTREAL (Vieux Montreal) is southeast of down town, near the waterfront. The picturesque cobbled city is full of art and architecture. Electric Victorian street lamps softly illuminate the 18^th and 19^th century town houses that line the narrow lanes of Old Montreal. Near Rue St. Helene the 1870 gas lights burn twenty-four hours a day and are the only real functioning gas lights in the city.

      The city's port operations were crucial to the fascinating saga of Montréal's development. Because the Lachine Rapids blocked further upstream navigation on the St. Lawrence River, the city was born and flourished at this natural shipping breakpoint. The Lachine Canal opened in 1825 allowed ships to bypass the rapids. Rail transportation in 1893 made Montréal a bustling hub of commerce and trade between the North American continent and the rest of the world, and the pivotal point in an integrated transportation network.  A mile and a half esplanade runs along the waterfront, where the harbor is the pulse of the city.

      Sherbrooke St, running east to west, is the main artery through down town. Numbers run north from the river. Boulevard St-Laurent running north to south splits city east and west.

     F/E means both French and English is spoken, although we never saw such a sign. I don’t speak French, but we had no speech problem as nearly everyone speaks English also.  Montreal has a large gay community and is gay-friendly. From all appearances the city is race tolerant as ethnicities blend as well as the architecture.

      Place d’ Armes faces Notre Dame. In the center of the square is a monument to Montréal's founder, Paul de Chomedey de Maisonneuve. On this site he and a few Frenchmen had a brief skirmish with some Iroquois Indians resulting in a French win. It is the heart of the city's historic centre and sums up its diverse heritage. The red brick New York Life building sits to the right of the square. Built in 1888, it is the city’s first skyscraper. Offices occupy the building now with an apartment in the clock tower. The domed Bank of Montréal, 1817, building sits behind the Place d’ Armes. It is the oldest banking institution in the country. The façade of the head office is inspiring evoking the power of Rome. Redesigned in 1905, the lavish interior echoes the success of the institution. After the English won the battle of the Plains of Abraham, 1759, Scots emigrated to Quebec and set up the banking industry.

      Montreal gets 9-feet of snow a year so all the big buildings have underground parking to keep cars off the street and plows able to function.

You might like to also check post: Olympic park 1-16-13

                                       Montreal & Quebec City Surprises 3-3-13

                                       Chateau Ramezay  3-31-13