HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA, CANADA

So Much to See and Do

      Halifax, Nova Scotia, the 250-year-old provincial capital with a population of 300,000, is also the province’s largest city. The city has a long sea faring and military history. Its harbor is said to be the second best in the world---after Sydney, Australia. The deep ice-free natural harbor is the core of existence and the city’s most outstanding resource. The ten-mile long harbor is shaped like a spoon with the wide bowl at the end being Bedford Basin. It has been active with explorers, sea traders, navy ships, ocean going liners, freighters, and container ships.

     In the early 1700s a few French settlers arrived when the Micmac Indians were the only inhabitants, but it was not until 1749 that the British saw the potential of the ‘great long harbor’. Colonel Edward Cornwallis established a stockaded settlement with 2500 settlers arriving in 13 ships. He named the settlement Halifax after Lord Halifax.

     By 1750 more settlers arrived establishing Dartmouth across the harbor. With a population of 68,000 Dartmouth is Nova Scotia’s second largest city. With its 23 lakes, it is known as the City of Lakes. By 1752 the settlements of Halifax and Dartmouth were linked by ferry, the oldest ferry system in North America. Today the 1.5 K Macdonald (1955) and MacKay bridges connect the cities on each end of the Narrows at the harbor entrance. However, a scenic ferry ride across the harbor is still available today for a small fee.

     By the 1800s Halifax was a thriving seaport and the harbor shaped and defined the city’s history. During the American Revolution the Royal Navy sailed from here to harass the east coast of the United States, and during the Civil War ships ran the blockade.

In 1838 Cunard Lines established British and North American mail, and by 1840 four ships provided regular transport between the two continents. In 1841 the seaport incorporated, ushering in the mercantile era. Troop transports gathered and sailed from Halifax during WWI and WWII.”

     Today the city wraps itself around its historic heart. Historic old districts are integrated with modern stylish buildings. The streets leading from the harbor are steep. Several covered walkways over streets, called pedways, eliminate a great deal of the climb and they also keep people dry in inclement weather.

    The waterfront is still very active. Dover flour has a huge facility and can load 90,000 barrels of flour an hour into a ship.

     In the 1960-70s sand blasting of old building exteriors began a historic preservation program, and upscale hotels appeared on the landscape. Although a municipal mandate restricting building height, to preserve the view of the waterfront, was passed, somehow a few managed to get around the mandate.

     The old wooden waterfront warehouses and fine stone structures have been renovated and turned into a favorite area for restaurants, sidewalk cafés, and trendy shops.

    The Citadel, a hilltop, star shaped, granite fortress, dominates the city. Over-looking the harbor it offers a strategic view of the bay, and a magnificent view of the city. The present Citadel, completed in 1856, took 27 years to build and is the fourth built on the site. Its construction was at the urging of the Duke of Wellington; the cost was 242,000 pounds. In its day the Citadel represented the best of defensive military technology. However, a shot has never been fired.

From 1749-1906 the Citadel was under British rule. In 1906 it was transferred to the Canadian Department of Defense, and in 1956 designated a National Historic Site. 

     During the summer, college students dressed in period uniforms and kilts of the 78^th Highlanders, who originally manned the fort, demonstrate various military drills. Changing of the guard takes place on the hour. After a two-hour rest they are again on duty where they stand at attention for an hour. During that time they are allowed to take 15 paces a total of seven times to aid leg circulation. These young men look smart and do a remarkably good job.

      On the harbor side of Citadel Hill sits the Old Town Clock. Prince Edward, father of Queen Victoria, commissioned it in 1803. The clock on each side is a different size. The population in each direction, N,E,S,W, determined the clock size.

      Below Citadel Hill is St. Paul’s Anglican Church, a gift of King George III, and the oldest building in the city (1749). City Hall is of Georgian architecture dating to 1916. St. Mary’s Basilica has the tallest granite spire (128’) in Canada. Halifax has many historic buildings.

     Trivia: The first newspaper was established in 1752, and the first post office in 1754.Nova Scotia exports more lobsters than any place else in the world.

      Point Pleasant Park is still leased from England for the sum of one shilling a year. Each year there is a ceremony when an official from Halifax gives the crown the one shilling. Then it is given back to Halifax because the price has never changed, but the shilling is no longer available, so that one is guarded carefully!

      The Public Gardens (1865) cover 17 acres in the heart of the city. Early one afternoon we elected to walk through the lovely Victorian gardens. Part way through the park we heard music and followed the sound to a quaint gazebo where we stopped to listen to a great lively concert---what good timing!

      The harbor is bordered by Upper and Lower Water Streets. Barington Street is the historic center of downtown and is the street many troops marched down to Pier 21 for transit to areas of conflict. For 43 years (1928-71) Pier 21 was also the gateway for a million immigrants, including 50,000 war brides from Europe.

     On D-day it was decided that all pubs and business establishments should close. Servicemen weren’t at all thrilled about not being able to get a drink and a riot ensued causing much damage. Windows in nearly all the establishments were broken. The riot lasted two and a half days before the city regained control.

    Halifax is a city with small town friendliness while maintaining big city sophistication. There is much to see and do.

HAVANA TID BITS

                                         A Great Visit

       There are many modes of transportation besides the yellow cabs; there are bike-taxis, horse drawn taxis, bicycles, and the adorable cococabs. People hitchhike all the time, especially out of the city. Obviously it is safe to do so and most all vehicles stop to pick up someone if they have the room.

    Traffic never slows. Pedestrians obviously do not have the right of way. However, we never saw an accident. Of course speed limits are slow, probably averaging about 40 miles an hour. There are very few traffic lights in Havana.

    Walking can be hazardous because of the conditions of the sidewalks. Havana has little pollution, which was a pleasant surprise.     

    Music was everywhere, all the time. It is nearly impossible to dine without music. Panhandlers are nearly non-existent. 

    The city is full of parks of all sizes and there are many many statues. Plazas abound. The island is lush and green, and extremely clean. Litter does not exist.

     The only part of the old city wall still standing is near the train station. The harbor had some pretty rusty ships at anchor. In the industrial area there were thousands of containers, many full size, but many also about half size. Also there were many oil storage tanks.

     A toilet seat outside of hotels seemed to be missing much of the time. It was smart to carry tissues or T P when away from the hotel.

     The old cars are easy to maintain. Even though parts may not be available they are easy to reproduce. The Russian cars are often cut up to make trucks or vans.

    Riding through decaying parts of town I noticed wires strung like spider webs out of windows, exposed to the outside, running loop after loop to somewhere else. It made me wonder who paid the electric bill, if in fact such a bill exists. Then again in some of these same parts of town were lovely old wrought-iron railings around balconies, which I’m not sure I’d want to step out onto.

    In the countryside I noted horses, goats, and cows grazing with no restraints and many times no fences. If there was a fence it was a flimsy line or two of wire.

     Cuba is a country of contradictions and surprises. Our trip was extensive getting us well out of Havana. People were friendly. Young people were open and spoke without a sense of fear. I would loved to have stayed a few more days and Cuba is definitely on my return-to list.

MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA

                                       One of my Favorite Cities

    Melbourne, capitol of Australia’s smallest state, Victoria, is known as the Garden City. Melbourne, with a population of 3 million, is the third largest city in the Empire, following London and Sydney. The city, established in 1835, became part of Australia as an independent nation in 1901 when all of the states unified. One out of every seven acres in the city is a park, and nearly one quarter of the inner city is set aside for recreational purposes. This added to the multitude of flowers and trees creates an atmosphere of rural tranquility in a large busy city.

     The city has one of the world’s largest tram systems that includes 227 miles of track in the city and suburbs. The inner city tram is free. The system is reliable, fast, and convenient. The streets, originally built to run sheep, are wide enough to accommodate the tram system. The city’s lack of traffic problems is the envy of many a large city.

     Melbourne was built on the banks of the Yarra River. There are several parks along the river, There are 1100 known varieties of eucalyptus trees in the world. Of Australia’s 760 varieties the koala eats only five varieties. The oil content of the tree makes them literally explode in a fire, however fire breaks the hard seed, so in a way the tree depends on fire to regenerate and has the fastest re-growth of any tree.

     Melbourne is the center for arts and a mecca for sports including soccer, tennis, rugby, cricket, baseball, bowling, and football. At noon the parks are crowded with people, many of them doing something athletic

     All directions radiate from the post office, built in 1836. Parking signs in the city are a bit different. It was explained, “A P 5 means one can park for 5 minutes, P 1 is one hour parking.” Parking maids in the city are diligent.”

      On one visit to the city we spent an evening with a Wathaurong aborigine who told us about his culture. He gave us a close up encounter with the didgeridoo. He could really make it sing, but none of the rest of us had much success.  

Capt. Cook Cottage in Fitzroy Park

     Fitzroy Park is large and on a couple of visits I saw a good part of it. Beside the adorable fairy tree I was fascinated with Capt. Cook’s cottage. It was disassembled in England and shipped to Australia where it was reassembled in 1934. We walked through the small cottage and then saw the statue of the famous seaman in the backyard of the cottage.

     Ned Kelly, a notorious bush ranger (escaped convict), became famous for his suit of armor. Australia’s Jesse James, he defied all law and order. He was hanged, after being shot in first one knee and then the other, vulnerable spots in his armor. A museum downtown Melbourne describe his exploits.

  Queen Victoria Market covers 17 acres and contains 1000 stalls selling everything imaginable. Originally, in 1837, the area was a cemetery. In 1877 part of the cemetery was converted to the market, requiring the relocation of only three graves. In 1917 Parliament authorized the relocation of 10,000 remains, razed the cemetery and completed the market. It takes a long time to work your way all through the market---of course if one just walked and didn’t stop to look it wouldn’t take as long!

  Australia has a large catholic population and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Melbourne is the country’s largest Catholic Church.  This gothic church, made of sandstone, was started in 1850 and has under-gone two expansions. The sanctuary’s blue-stone alter is an island at the end of the nave and pews.  Surrounding the sanctuary are seven small chapels whose walls are painted to resemble tile. One has to look closely to realize it is paint and not tile. The capacity of the church is 1800-2000. The magnificent stain glass windows were made in Birmingham, England in the late 1800s. The wood work and wooden pillars are truly beautiful. I found it unusual to have the hammer-beam ceiling decorated with angels--there were 32 of them.

     There is much to do and lots to see  in Melbourne and many sites have been described in previous posts. The Shrine of Remembrance is absolutely one of my favorite places (post 6/12). I also loved being up close with kangaroos (post1/10), koalas (post1/11), and the tiny fairy penguins (post 9/12).

HELSINKI, FINLAND

                                           A Lovely Park

            Being an outdoors person I manage to find parks everywhere I go. I would much rather walk through a park than along the street. In Helsinki, Finland we found delightful Esplanade Park, which stretches west to the main thoroughfare Mannerheimintie. The park was established by the city administration in the beginning of the 19th century. It was meant to mark the border between downtown and new uptown. Soon, the park became the place for the bourgeoisie to stroll on Sundays in fancy clothes – it was the park to be seen in.

 Running from Market Square to the Swedish Theater the boulevard has a broad expanse of trees with gardens in the middle. Small shops, department stores, and cafés abound. At the east, the park ends at a fountain, behind which opens up the view to Helsinki's Market Square  and the sea. At the western end the Esplanade green space is bordered by the Swedish Theater, behind which runs the busiest street in the center of Helsinki. The theater building acts as a wall blocking traffic noise, so Esplanade Park is close to the busy city while providing a calm respite.

Esplanade Park is both clean and safe. Many pieces of old Helsinki architecture border the Esplanade while statues of Finnish poets decorate the park.  During my visit there was a series of bronze sculptures, called Las Meninas, in the middle of the wide center path of the esplanade. The sculptures looked like stout Spanish women dressed for a ball. They held out their skirts like they were ready to enter a room , curtsy or climb a flight of stairs.  They were graduated in size. I wondered who did them and how many there were?  We never did count them, but did find out they were a summer art exhibit done by a Spanish sculpture.

            Free concerts take place almost daily during the summer. A stunning combination of architecture and illumination,  Esplanade Park won the 1999 Edison award for lighting design. We leisurely strolled through the park until we hit Stockmann’s department store which is the Finn equivalent of London’s Harrods. We spent a fair amount of time in the store as my friend looked for crystal.