Ottawa and Parc de la Gatineau (1.-12.12.18)

Shortly before dusk we reach our home for the next few days in Gatineau. The apartment is located right across from the Canadian Museum of History.

The evening is cold and clear. Since the fridge is empty, we go shopping in the city immediately after unpacking. The next morning, the weather is really, really bad. The overnight freezing rain turns into snow and later into heavy rain showers. Since no one rushed to leave the house, we stayed nice and dry. In the afternoon, it starts to dry up, so we can walk across the Alexandra Bridge to Ottawa early in the evening. The Parliament Buildings on the other side of the Ottawa River are prominently situated on a hill, reflecting majestically in the river at night. We stroll past the Art Museum and Notre Dame Cathedral to the Byward Market, a beautiful neighborhood with many small shops, restaurants, bars, and cafes. By the way, at 'Le Moulin de Provence,' Obama bought three maple leaf-shaped shortbread cookies with a Canada inscription on the icing on February 19, 2009. It's understandable that the locals were thrilled with the saying 'I love this country.' The cookies have since been sold as Obama Cookies. Yes, yes, this place is happening.

Until 1855, today's Ottawa was called Bytown. It was named after Lieutenant Colonel John By, the engineer responsible for planning and building the Rideau Canal. In 1855, Queen Victoria renamed the city Ottawa before declaring it the capital of Canada in 1857. At that time, the city was simple, small, and located in the middle of vast forest areas. Politicians from Montreal, Quebec, and Toronto were not pleased with Victoria's choice. Jokers said that the choice could be practically justified in case the Americans wanted to conquer the capital of Canada, they would get hopelessly lost in the surrounding forests. The name Ottawa also comes from an indigenous word, namely from the Athabaskan word 'adawe,' which means 'to trade.' After Ulaanbaatar, Astana, Moscow, Helsinki, Reykjavik, and Tallinn, Ottawa is the seventh oldest capital city in the world. On average, 2.4 meters of snow falls here each year. This city also has its ghost story: Charles Melville Hays, the president of the company that built the Château Laurier Hotel, died 12 days before the hotel's opening in the sinking of the Titanic. Since then, his spirit has been haunting this hotel.

We don't miss the tour of the Parliament Buildings. We never thought of doing that in Bern. It's the arrogance of the locals, you know. Now we know why the seats in the Senate Chamber are red (a sign of nobility). The guide doesn't know why they are green in the House of Commons. The parliamentary system with the House of Commons and the Senate (House of Lords), as well as the architecture of both chambers, was modeled after the British Parliament when the Dominion of Canada was established in 1867. That is probably the answer to why the House of Commons is decorated in green. The neo-gothic architecture seems a bit clerical. The most convincing part is the Parliamentary Library, the round building seen from the front of the Alexandra Bridge. From the Tower of Freedom, you have a nice panoramic view of the city. In winter, the Rideau Canal turns into a 7.8 km long public skating rink in downtown Ottawa. At the moment, the water is still flowing, so there are no popular photos or 'schlipfisele' or 'schlööfle' (for the visitors).

After the tour, we embark on a different kind of expedition. The goal is to buy good bread. From insider circles, we know that the 'Art-Is-In Bakery' in Ottawa is the right place for that. The fact that the bakery is located in Little Italy speaks for the plan to buy our bread there. The fact that Little Italy is right behind Chinatown makes it even better—maybe we'll find some dumplings along the way. At first, it was just cold and windy. Then, the shops and restaurants became more and more peculiar. A few meters further, there were no more shops or restaurants, but it's still freezing cold. It feels like we've been walking through rather bleak residential areas and tiny parks (doggy toilet areas) for hours until the typical Chinese arch of Chinatown finally appears. Dumplings? Forget it, where's the damn bakery? Let's take a taxi back! Fortunately, the bakery has a great offer. In the warmth, with something delicious on the plate, things look much better. It's ok that we get two loaves of bread for the price of one, but the effort was also maaaajor. We take the bus back to the Byward Market afterwards. For dessert, we try the local specialty, Beaver Tails. Deep-fried dough topped with sweet ingredients that make your teeth roll together.

In the morning, the Notre Dame Cathedral and Basilica of Ottawa were still closed. On the way back, we stumble into a church service. We quietly sneak into one of the back pews in the very sparsely attended church. Aside from the already difficult to understand Quebec French, the servant of God has a pronunciation that corresponds to a doctor's handwriting, unreadable.

Before departure to Parc de la Gatineau, we visit the Canadian Museum of History. An incredibly extensive, interesting, and varied combination of exhibitions completes the historical overview of Canada's history.

We maneuver through the evening rush hour traffic and drive to Chelsea. Our accommodation is small, very charming, and unlike the last one, it has a soul. We spend the next few days hiking through the snow in Parc de la Gatineau. At times, it's quite chilly with -15°C and wind. Those are the days when we look for trails in the trees and ignore any viewpoints. There's almost not enough snowshoeing for snowshoes and almost too much snow for Nina's hiking shoes. After the second day, even the unofficially recommended trails are tracked enough that they can be easily navigated. We do the Wolf Trail, apparently one of the more beautiful ones, for the second time in good weather on Monday. One of the trails leads us to Refuge Healey, a former farm. In the beautiful cottage, there's a cheerful fire in the large stove. The cold is much more bearable when there's a warm stove in the middle and a bench for the sandwich. Through the large windows, you can watch a multitude of birds and squirrels at and around the bird feeder in front of the refuge, making the break extremely entertaining.

On Saturday, it's very cold, and the wind blows the snow over the freezing Gatineau. We venture out of the reasonably warm room only in the evening and visit the Christmas market in Wakefield. It's quite a large market for such a small village. It's snowing at about -9°, and at the same time, a nasty wind blows the snow into our eyes. We stay there only as long as it takes for the world-class hamburger made from pork (!) from a local organic farm to be devoured. We slide back to the 'Schemein dee la Riviääre' (as read by Google Maps), where Tuktu, the owner's dog, enthusiastically welcomes us. He sleeps in a hut in front of the house.

In Old Chelsea, we have dinner at the excellent Les Fougères on Sunday. Apparently, Justin Trudeau dines there occasionally, but not this Sunday. So, we enjoy the meal without discussing his socks.

The weather forecast for Tuesday predicts snow. A perfect day for a visit to the Nordic Spa. Practically everyone has recommended a visit to this spa in recent weeks. Dänn haut! It's a huge outdoor facility with many different, beautifully landscaped saunas, water pools, outdoor showers, waterfalls, and rest areas with wood-fired stoves. Guests hang in insulated hammocks like caterpillars in cocoons, covered up to their hair and wrapped in their bathrobes and towels, dozing a little between sauna sessions. So much fun. Even lunch was delicious. It's a bit strange to see the Ouataouais standing in the pool with red wine or some other drink in hand, wearing a hat, and chatting. However, the urgently needed relaxation isn't affected by that.

So, that's it for now. Tomorrow we're going to Mont Tremblant. There is more to come, I am sure. So, lueged wider ine gälled...

Obama Cookies: http://lemoulindeprovence.com/pages/obamas-visit

The Bakery: http://www.artisinbakery.com/

The Museum: https://www.historymuseum.ca/

The Nordik Spa: https://chelsea.lenordik.com/en/discover-nordik/