Ottawa + Senators vs San Jose Sharks

Today, we were abruptly awakened by the alarm clock. Time to pack our bags, quickly sprint to Café Olympico for a hot chocolate to wake up, grab some croissants for the ride, and then we had to check out. Departure to Ottawa was at 8:30 AM. The drive was quite uneventful. Our hotel in Ottawa is the DoubleTree by Hilton Ottawa Downtown. Since we arrived much too early and the hotel was fully booked the night before, we couldn't check into our rooms yet. But no problem. We left our bags under the watchful eye of the tour guide in the foyer and headed to the ByWard Market, one of the largest and oldest markets in Canada. The market halls are open year-round. In nice weather, vendors offer fresh fruits and vegetables, flowers, crafts, and souvenirs at the outdoor markets. Many pubs and restaurants have also settled here, so there's always something happening around the clock. Driven by hunger, we ended up in one of the Irish pubs. An absolutely nice gentleman took us to an absolutely beautiful table and served us absolutely kindly. Absolutely perfect. No idea how many times our server used that word 😅 After the meal, the guys wanted to stay, but after sitting for so long on the bus, I needed some movement. So off we went to the Ottawa Sign. From there, I first headed to the huge spider known as Maman. I have no clue why someone would think of placing a 9-meter tall spider in the city, but okay. From Maman, I walked through Major's Hill Park over the Plaza Bridge to Parliament Hill. Everything was really cool/beautiful and definitely worth seeing. Just the buildings 🤩 Unfortunately, the Peace Tower is currently scaffolded and there’s quite a large construction site. The tourist photo with the Centennial Flame didn’t work out either. There was a huge crowd. Some kind of demo, the place was full of flag-waving people 🙄 Well, then on to the ‘Stanley Cup’. Next, I made my way to the National War Memorial before heading back toward the hotel. Upon arrival, our rooms were just ready for check-in. So I grabbed the bags one by one and carried them to our rooms. Shortly after, the guys arrived too. Room inspection, a little breather, and at 2:30 PM our bus was ready to take us to the Canadian Tire Center for the game between the Ottawa Senators vs San Jose Sharks.
Once there, we went right in because today the first 7,000 visitors received a Ullmark bobblehead as a gift. Not that anyone needs it, but Andi and I are now proud owners of a Ullmark bobblehead 🤷🏼‍♀️
Next, we went to the fan shop, got a pin for Udo, a T-shirt for me, and Andi found some stylish Senators helmets, which we took with us immediately. If it’s going to be bad, then let it be done right. As I just noticed while reviewing the pictures, I had the thing on the wrong way for quite a while and nobody said anything 🙄😂
Our seats this time were really great. But, as is often the case, really tiny. Movement space = zero. And then there was an annoying guy behind us who asked us to take off our helmets so he could see, which we, being nice, did, and what was the thanks for that? - He babbled away the whole game with the guy next to him 🙄
As for the game: yeah home victory and lots of goals💪🏼 The Senators flattened the Sharks 7:4. Unfortunately, no goal or assist from Tim Stützle. 

After the game, there was a meet & greet with Mr. Stützle himself. Man, he made us wait. Over an hour until he finally arrived. At least he was freshly showered. I skillfully pushed my way past everyone with my lovely helmet, got a photo, an autograph on my T-shirt, and then out of the arena. Jörg and Mücke had already left early, and Andi and I were really worried that we would find only two icicles in the icy wind. But all good. The two got on the bus just before us.
Back at the hotel, Andi and Mücke went to their room, while Jörg and I took a little walk through Ottawa. First, back to the Ottawa Sign, which looks so much better lit up than in the daytime. The Parliament Hill also looks completely different in the dark. Oh, and no people at the Centennial Flame anymore. Well, almost. There were two girls who kindly stepped aside while I took my pictures. In the meantime, it had gotten really unpleasantly cold. That’s why we went straight from Parliament to the Irish Pub. Here we had a little something to eat again, then straight back to the hotel and into bed. That’s enough for today.