a_deern_in_canada
a_deern_in_canada
vakantio.de/a_deern_in_canada

Tour of Halifax

La daabacay: 03.09.2018

After three months, it's time for a tour of Halifax. I've already posted photos of the waterfront, the park, and the Citadel, now here are some photos from all over the city.
I've labeled many of the photos with information, and here are some interesting facts:

Halifax and the Titanic: The city is inseparably linked to the tragedy of the Titanic. As Halifax was the nearest major port, many of the lifeboats came from here. About 150 people were buried in Halifax, most of them in the Fairview Lawn Cemetery. The graves are arranged in the shape of a ship's hull (I must admit I didn't notice that when I was there). The Maritime Museum also has an exhibition about the Titanic, and many souvenir shops sell Titanic memorabilia (I like the movie, but I find these souvenirs somewhat macabre).
Fun fact: There really was a Joseph 'Jack' Dawson on the Titanic, but he was actually a coal worker in the engine room. He is buried in the cemetery. Since Leonardo DiCaprio portrayed him in the movie, thousands of people have pilgrimage to his grave and leave roses for him, even though he has nothing to do with the film character.

There are three buildings on the waterfront that are hard to miss. One of them is the casino. I find it very reminiscent of a mosque in its architecture. The construction cost the operators one hundred million dollars at the time, extravagantly expensive, especially for such a brown ugly building, so they went bankrupt in a very short time and the city had to take over.
The other two buildings are simple office buildings. With these, I immediately had an association. They somehow remind me of milk cartons. The special thing about these two buildings is that they don't have air conditioning, but water pipes are integrated into the exterior beams, which pump the (always) cold water from the harbor basin and thus cool the rooms inside. This saves a lot of money every year.

The Alexander Keith Brewery is a beautiful old stone building with a glass roof covering its courtyard. You can sit in it in the dry, and there are various shops, a restaurant, and on Saturdays there is a historical farmers market here.

Halifax is a very popular cruise port. Many ships come from New York and continue to Montreal from here. Late summer is high season, as cruise ships dock almost daily and often several at the same time. A few days ago, the "Anthem of the Seas" was here, one of the largest cruise ships ever built in Germany. Very impressive!

The most famous vehicles in the city are the "Harbour Hoppers". These amphibious vehicles were originally built for military purposes and cost a whopping one million dollars each. Halifax bought many of the old vehicles, converted them, and now they carry hundreds of tourists through the city and the harbor every day. It's admittedly interesting when you're driving on the road one moment and suddenly on the water the next.

Downtown Halifax is not a pleasant sight. Many of the high-rise buildings are typical 70s concrete buildings and construction is happening on every corner. In addition, traffic is congested at almost any time of the day because heavy traffic from the container port has to cross the city center (stupid planning!). But in between, you can still find beautiful houses, old and new, and as soon as you reach the water, the ugly downtown is forgotten.

Jawaab