Ottawa (Canada)

This is by no means a definitive guide to Ottawa, but some jottings based on a couple of visits. I always feel with places that you are likely to go to again, that there’s no point in rushing to see it all, and to date, I haven’t!

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“Ladies and Gentlemen, we are now 500 miles east of our capital, Ottawa” said our Air Canada captain, as if having to remind himself that a city this size is the capital of one of the world’s largest countries.

Touching down in Ottawa does indeed give the impression of having landed somewhere more akin to Norwich if the airport is anything to go by. Of course, Montreal and “Tronna” are far bigger, and ironically, far more important on a global scale.

This wasn’t my first footfall in Canada, having holidayed in British Columbia, but B.C is to Canada what California is to the USA, i.e. “in it” but not necessarily “of it”, so this was to be my first experience of mainstream Canada. My wife and I have a Canadian friend whose job with IBM (I’ve Been Moved) keeps on resettling her, the first time in Vancouver, this time in Ottawa – where next? Who knows? Anyway, thanks to IBM, it’s a different floor to sleep on. We went there first in June 2000, and over this last New Year as well.

Getting to Ottawa is relatively easy but limited in choice to national carriers, i.e. BA and Air Canada/Canadian (these two are in the throes of merging, much to their mutual disgust, it would seem). If you’re looking for a bargain basement fare, you want the bread-and-butter routes like Toronto or Montreal. Ottawa is only a few hours drive from the latter.

As you would expect from any self-respecting capital, the city has many worthy sights, including the obvious ones like the Parliament Building, set impressively on a rocky promontory overlooking the Ottawa River, with panoramic views of neighbouring Hull. The park at the rear of the Parliament House is also home to a stray cat sanctuary – try to imagine one of those in Westminster and see how far you get!

Near the centre of government is the point where the Rideau Canal flows through a staircase of locks down to the Ottawa River. Built by those sons-of-fun, the Royal Engineers, it bypasses the Rideau Falls. This canal is more famous for its winter usage, and I’ll come onto that later.

Getting around Ottawa is easy, despite the lack of a Metro or any sizeable railway activity, because the buses have their own motorway system called Transitways until they get to downtown where they mingle with the rest of the traffic, none of which by UK standards seems particularly dense. A "transfer" ticket valid for two hours costs the same as a single fare, so there's no excuse not to ask for one. (costs approx. £1).

THINGS TO DO IN OTTAWA

The Museum of Civilisation, which is in fact in neighbouring Hull has an amazing collection of native American artefacts (totem poles et al) and tells the story of the colonisation of Canada from marauding Vikings to the present day through a series of full scale mock-ups of fishing villages, ships interiors, old railway stations etc. In the same building is the Post Office Museum. I’m not great lover of art galleries and the like, and this museum fulfilled my need to rubber-neck. The walk back over the bridge into Ottawa, Ontario from Hull, Quebec gives a stunning view of good old Parliament again! Where else in Canada could you walk between two cities that are in different provinces?

The street market in the old town is excellent, especially if you’re partial to maple syrup. I am. Tip: Don’t be over-heard saying “I thought maple syrup was just maple syrup” – this is like telling a CAMRA hearty that all beer’s the same! The market area is also crawling with cafes and eateries and “Pete’s Power Juice Bar”.

The downtown malls, like the (yes, you guessed) Rideau Centre are nothing special, but you do get to visit the world’s oldest department store firm, the famous Hudson’s Bay Trading Company (The Bay).

The out-of-town malls are a good place to catch movies a month in advance of the UK, and house shops the size of which we only dream of.

Gi-stonking-normous supermarkets like Lablaw’s*, with it’s excellent own brand goods called The President’s Choice, Costco and Home Depot (B&Q on steroids).

One that did interest me, since I’m into picture framing was the North American chain of hobbycraft stores called Micheal’s, which puts our Hobbicraft to shame.

* thanks to our Canadian friend’s accent, I could have sworn this was called Blah-Blahs until we got there!

We also journeyed to Wakefield, Quebec for a taste of countryside and Quebequois cuisine, making the return trip on an antique steam train, curiously hauling Swedish rolling stock!

If you are looking for night-life, remember to turn the lights out as you leave Ottawa on your way over to Hull! Being in a different province gives Hull a much more generous view on drinking hours, and it has a casino too. That bridge gets kinda busy in the wee small hours!

If you are going there in winter, take some fuzzy knickers. Well, not just fuzzy knickers but thermals, thick socks, a decent anorak, and good gloves, but most of all, take LAYERS of clothing. DON’T take any shoes you are proud of – with the amount of salt needed to keep roads clear in these temperatures, they’ll be ruined.

Unprotected from north winds, with no lakes to raise the local temperature, Ottawa is one of Canada’s coldest main cities, if not the coldest. On one of our most recent trips (this last New Year) to a mall to see a movie (Miss Congeniality) we bought a bottle of wine to take back to the flat. Having never stood around in –25C, heightened to –40C with the wind-chill, I volunteered to see what half an hour of it was like, by standing outside the bus shelter – well let’s put it this way, the white wine was just right when I got back! Cold dogs and Englishmen…..

Ironically, the day we took off from Heathrow was the day that Gatwick's traffic got diverted there because of snow - that caused a few wry grins from the aircrew, I can tell you!

Now that you’ve arrived ready for anything that winter can throw at you, how about skating down the world’s largest rink, the Rideau Canal? This is drained to a safe depth in advance of the big freeze and turned over to enjoyment. I’m told you can skate 12 miles before you have to turn round. If all this sounds just too cold for you, bear in mind that if you have a local with you, then you’ll never be more than 10 minutes from a cup of hot chocolate – in this case at “2nd Cup”, a sort of Canadian Starbuck’s. Unfortunately, the previously-frozen dewdrop on the end of your nose falls in before you can stop it!

BEING IN CANADA

I know the comic image of plaid-shirted bear-wrestling outdoor types still prevails, but many Canadians prefer to stay indoors with a nice cup of tea and complain about the weather, so many of us should feel immediately at home! Others are completely open and engaging, like the friend of a friend we went to see who threw me the keys of his Snow-mobile, because he reckoned "I look like the sort of person who’d enjoy driving one"! I really like the Canadian brand of North American hospitality – they love to hear about your experiences of Canada, and can even laugh off some of the down-sides with you, but they are far too polite to interrupt a conversation to ask. Mention anything negative whilst on the other side of the border, (e.g the coffee) and expect an escort to the nearest airport.

Canadians? I luv ‘em – they’re just like we OUGHT to be!

Ottawa? Mmmm… well, we’ve got a friend there, so that’s different, but I’m sure you’d be better off visiting it whilst in Montreal as a break from somewhere large.