Ottawa - Canada's Capital

Well on Saturday I took on the worlds longest (possibly largest... maybe not) skating rink. At a sizable 7km I can safely say that I (one of only two who did) completed the course to the end and back. A total of 14km of rink. Not a bad effort considering the weather in Ottawa was a not so chilly 4 degrees, and as a result, much of the ice was not ice anymore... While we were there, I think the whole of Ottawa was out, but given that the population is spread across the 7km it was quite manageable. Below is a snazzy shot looking down on the rink from a bridge.

This was were it all begun, our first touch of the ice found it kinda slippery but very wet... In fact by the end of the day, (we were on the ice for 4-5 hrs) skating had turned into more of a walk. (Above-right: Thomas, Bea & Jutta)

Just as a bit of proof that it is the longest rink in the world, here is me in front of a clarifying sign. And Also Jutta showing the world her ice skating skills. (It was so warm that you almost didn't need to wear any jackets, especially after all the physical activity.)

But that didn't stop them setting up a nice fireplace in the cooler parts of the rink. This section was a side canal, where they had set up art on ice. Including a nice array of art decorating the sides of the canal. Below we have a purely Canadian form of art, involving Ice hockey, and a white board. Children are encouraged to hit pucks into the board leaving a nice imprint... Only in Canada.

Here is Bea after being the only other person to FULLY complete the longest ice rink in the world.

All along the rink, there were displays of various fashions. Near the far end, there was an ice carving display.

At the other end, there was a lego version of Ottawa, and just of the ice was a nice lounge to chill out on.

But the biggest thing that I learnt is that Ice can melt... Read the box...

All of the ice they used for there displays came in these boxes. And since the temperatures where so high, everything was melting... Very sad.

In the above picture we have ice carves in action. Did you know that 80% of all ice carvers are Chefs? And they use many common household tools to make their creations. What can you see in the above picture... We have Chainsaws, clothes iron, the guy is using a dremmel, and they also use angle grinders.

On our only night in Ottawa, we all went out to dinner in a charming Irish Pub. Since we were such a large group (22 of us) we were lucky to get a table that would fit us all with no bookings. But we did. After that, we found a little club with a familiar name. The "Zaphod Beeblebrox" one of the main stars in the Hitch hikers guide to the galaxy. And on their cocktail menu they had the Pan galatic Gargle Blasters. Chris and myself seemed to be the only people who knew what HHGTG was and so we decided to try the most potent alcoholic drink in the Galaxy. Ultimately it was quite sweet and rather tasty even given it's green appearance.

Let's just say that after the drink, the world was a little hazy...

On Sunday, we headed round Ottawa doing the touristy thing. Here we saw some of the older styled architecture that's prevalent across Parliament Hill.

Here is me again, with parliament hill in the background. The big tower is the peace tower, in memory of all of the Canadians who died in War.

Me and the tower, and me and some Canadian Flags.

Here we took the Canadian Parliament tour, and what a surprise, it's almost identical to Australia's system. They even have Red and Green houses. (they are called something different though)

More Architecture, and on the right, our hostel. It's known as the jail jostel as back in the days before we were born it was a jail for this region. The beds are all in cells and they still have all the bars on the doors. Very cool.

That concludes my trip to Ottawa, transport to and from Ottawa was in a Canadian/North American People mover/Tank. It had a 100L tank and guzzled gas like it grows on trees. On the upside however, we managed to get 11 people in it. But it's sucks for trying to sleep in it, especially if your tall.