Day 21: Ottawa

Ottawa has been my most interesting stop so far.  First of all, the hostel I stayed in used to be a jail house dating back to before the formation of Canada as a country.  It was converted into a hostel only a year after it closed in 1972.  All of the dormitories are either former jail cells or former guard barracks;  I slept in one of the jail cells, complete with a sturdy metal bar door.  One night I went on a tour of the hostel that highlighted it’s past as a jail and learned that many people had died in that building and probably also in the cell I was sleeping in!  There are even some tales about ghosts that dwell on the property and haunt people.  Many of the inmates of the jail died due to extremely unclean living conditions and rampant diseases rather than executions.  Although there were also 3 executions that took place there via a gallows that is still functional… Definitely the most interesting Hostel so far!

What made Ottawa allot of fun for me was probably a pair of Frenchmen that shared a cell with me and quickly befriended me.  We went to museums together, shared meals together and talked about our cultures and languages together; Julien, myself and Thomas.

Ottawa itself is a beautiful city that is full of museums, statues, memorials, old significant buildings and of course parliament itself.  I chose to go first to the National Gallery of Canada first; it houses many .  paintings and sculptures from Canada, USA, Europe and around the world.  Their feature exhibition ‘POP LIFE’  features the art of Andy Warhol and the art of those that followed in his style and philosophy in their artwork.   This exhibit was ok, but I am just glad that I got to see it before it ended on September 19th. 

I also visited the Museum of Civilization.  Here I saw a large collection of First Peoples artifacts as well as a great deal of Canadian history in terms of the French and the British.  At this museum I also met up with my King’s friends, Geoff and Melinda; I was very happy to see someone I knew from before my travels.  Sometimes I begin to get homesick and lonely and was craving to see someone I know.  Geoff and Melinda are both studying in Ottawa through the Laurentian Leadership Centre (Trinity Western University).  Usually there are 1 or 2 students from King’s each year that get to go to Ottawa for this one semester (or two) program. 

And finally, I took a tour of the parliament building and also strolled around Parliament Hill looking at all the statues and monuments.  The tour includes a peek into the House of Commons, House of the Senate, the reading room, the library, the Peace Tower, and a War Memorial. 

As I write this blog I am on my way to Montreal and I must say that the countryside reminds me of the Fraser Valley in BC; Green with lots of farmland and scattered with various trees.  Talk to you after Montreal!