Montréal (02.01. - 06.01.2019)

Montréal, the last stop on our journey, greets us with ice and snow. The second largest city in Canada has a population of 1.65 million and was founded in 1642 by colonists from France.

The top-of-the-line, app-controlled lock system of the Airbnb on Rue St. Pierre in the city center presents us with a challenge. In the end, we still need the good old key. After lugging the luggage up 3 floors, we proceed to return our RAV4. It has served us well over a distance of about 3,500km. On our way back from the car rental station to our Airbnb, we only find stores that sell beer, chips, and similar items. That's hardly enough for a dinner. In a moment of spontaneity, we decide to go to Gibbys, just around the corner, for a helpless piece of tuna and a Gibbys' cut of Angus beef. Succulent!

We find Montreal to be less "accessible" than other cities we have visited. There is a lot to see, but we often have to walk long distances and pass through less inviting residential areas to reach our chosen destinations.

The Notre-Dame Basilica, the first neo-Gothic church in Canada, is an impressive building. Of course, we also need a photo of the clock tower in the Old Port of Montreal. On the other side of the Saint Lawrence River, we see the shore of Île Notre-Dame where the Formula 1 cars race. We don't like ice skating, as it is already slippery enough. Walking past the City Hall, we stroll through the neighborhoods of artists, hippies, and eco-freaks until we cross Boulevard St. Laurent. From there, it's not far to Schwartz's Deli. Since 1920, this shop on Main Street has been offering the best smoked meat in the city. Even on a weekday, the line in front of the door is impressive. The cramped, crowded, little restaurant looks shitty, and the service is rather rough, but it meets all the requirements for a truly iconic place. The smoked meat tastes really great, by the way. For the vegetarians among us, there is poutine with soggy fries. Yes, sometimes being a vegetarian is not a piece of cake.

We really like the many bars and restaurants with their often original offerings of local specialties. From our base on Rue St. Pierre, we can reach Olive et Gourmando in two minutes. The place is always packed, the seating space is minimal, and it's loud. But what is served there is so good that the atmosphere is forgivable.

We explore the "underground city" starting from the World Trade Center. Not easy to navigate, and the construction sites make it even more complicated. The underground paths are more complex and less busy than the PATH in Toronto.

One of the very rare shopping trips - now that we don't have to transport our purchases across the country - takes us to Rue Sainte Catherine. We skip the Eaton Centre (too big to please), but we get ourselves a pair of pants from Lululemon, the trendy Canadian label.

At Crew Collective Cafe, we treat ourselves to one last coffee in the city before a taxi takes us to the airport. The final hours before the flight are just as tedious as on any other trip when you have to kill time until the plane leaves, despite the beautiful atmosphere in the huge hall.

The journey goes smoothly. The additional bag goes onto the conveyor belt without any problems, no repacking or extra fees, thanks to the status card. Shortly before the security check, a security officer acts all important, picking us out of the line and barking "boarding card". With a penetrating gaze of a sheriff who has just identified a notorious gangster, he stares at us and ignores the passports that hold the boarding passes. "Boarding card," he coughs again. Voilà, I say, holding the passport under his nose once more. "Not the passport," he coughs. Slightly irritated, I take out the boarding pass from the passport. "Vous êtes nerveux, Monsieur?" he says with a smug grin. "Non, pourquoi?" After all, it takes more than him to make me nervous. After a check with an electronic sniffer, we are allowed to proceed to the security check.

After the short, sleepless flight, we are welcomed in Zurich by an impressive reception committee with a large banner. How lovely! The boys from the U-whatever National Team who played so well at the Junior World Cup in Canada don't get such a warm welcome. A few moms have lost their way to the airport in the early morning hours, but it can't be compared to our "grand station".

Back in Switzerland, an empty apartment and some work await us until everything is up and running again. The return is somewhat brutal and abrupt - moving, shopping, the first night in an empty apartment. What a contrast between the mundane everyday life and the great adventure we were able to experience in the past few months. We will continue to rave about these experiences and the lessons we have learned for a long time. We would have loved to continue the journey, but you can't always have it all in life. However, the desire for another adventure, sometime and somewhere, has definitely been awakened...

We would like to thank our loyal readers for their time and hope that you had some fun following us.

Cheers, Nina & Marcel

Schwartz's Deli: https://www.schwartzsdeli.com/