Saying Goodbye to Halifax

My visit to Pier 21 and especially my encounter with Robert Vandekieft, an 89-year old immigrant who first arrived in Canada at Pier 21 more than 52 years ago, were a real highlight of my time in Halifax. Stefani Angelopoulos, Communications Manager for Pier 21, had kindly taken me on a tour of Canada’s Immigration Museum and when we were finished, we both embarked on a walk along Halifax’ Harbourwalk since we were both headed to Dartmouth, a formerly independent city, and now part of the Halifax Regional Municipality, located across the harbour from downtown Halifax.

Stefani and I had a very interesting conversation and I found out that Stefani’s father had come through Pier 21 himself as an immigrant from Greece. Stefani has extensive experience with international student exchanges and volunteer assignments, so naturally I requested her to participate in an interview with me. As a local Dartmouth resident, she also gave me a bit of information about the area. She explained that Dartmouth’ nickname is “City of Lakes” because there are 23 lakes within Dartmouth proper. Stefani also mentioned a number of beaches that are located in the area that I would like to visit next time I travel to Halifax.

Dartmouth’ history dates back more than 250 years: in 1750 the sailing ship Alderney brought 151 immigrants to the Halifax area and it was decided that they would settle the area east of the Halifax harbour. Dartmouth was incorporated as a town in 1873 and the town hall was built four years later. In 1955 a permanent link to Halifax was built in the form of the Angus L. MacDonald Bridge, named after a former premier of Nova Scotia. This fixed link resulted in a huge residential and commercial construction boom. Dartmouth expanded even more after the Murray MacKay Bridge opened in 1970.

Today, Dartmouth is home to several Canadian Armed Forces Installations including CFB (Canadian Forces Base) Shearwater. It is also the backdrop to Canada’s popular “Trailer Park Boys” television show which is set in a fictional Dartmouth trailer park and filmed locally in the surrounding areas.

For a $2 investment, the ferry ride between the two cities is a great investment because it gives you a great view of downtown Halifax’ skyline. The Halifax ferry service is actually the oldest salt water ferry service in North America – the first crossings took place in 1752. Having arrived at the Ferry Terminal Building on the other side of the harbour, Stefani and I said goodbye, and I embarked on my self-guided Dartmouth Walking Tour. The Ferry Terminal Building also holds the Visitor Information Centre, so convenient access to brochures and travel information is ensured.

Right outside the ferry building is Ferry Terminal Park, a public green space with a perfect view of downtown Halifax. I strolled towards the World Peace Pavilion, a structure built for the 1995 G-7 Economic summit that contains stones and bricks that were donated by more than 70 countries, resting on a bed of Nova Scotian sand.

With interest I noticed that the United States had donated rubble from a dismantled nuclear missile silo, while Canada had donated a 150 kg block of Nepean granite, a paving stone used in Canada and throughout the world, also used for paving the Grande Esplanade of Confederation Boulevard. Even more interestingly, Austria, my birth country, had donated a brick from the infamous Mauthausen Concentration Camp. The collection of stones indeed offers a very fascinating selective glimpse at world history.

From there I walked southwards to Canal Street which features the entrance of the Shubenacadie Canal, a waterway whose construction started in 1826 to link the Halifax Harbour area with the agricultural, timber and coal producing areas of the Bay of Fundy and the Annapolis Valley.

The project was fraught with problems and stopped due to the developers’ bankruptcy in 1831. It was picked up again in 1854 and finally completed in 1861. Unfortunately competition with the emerging railway network ruined the canal system; in addition many railway bridges across the canal were built too low for steamers, so shortly after its construction the Shubenacadie Canal system was abandoned for the most part. Efforts have been made recently to restore portions of the original canal route for pleasure boaters, although highway overpasses have resulted in blocking the canal to larger vessel. Kayaks and rowboats are still able to navigate a portion of the Shubenacadie Canal.

I continued my walk through pleasant well-kept neighbourhoods, past the First Baptist Church. An original church was built here in 1843, but it was destroyed during the 1917 Halifax Explosion, and the new church dates from 1922. From there I reached Sullivan’s Pond, a small artificial lake that was part of the Shubenacadie Canal system. This pond was the first water body in the canal system linking Halifax to the Bay of Fundy, and it was constructed as a holding pond for southbound vessels heading towards the Halifax Harbour.

A few minutes further south I reached Lake Banook, a small freshwater lake that holds a 1 km long flat-water paddling course. It is the site of many rowing and paddling competition and has hosted the World Junior Canoe Championships in 1989, the Senior World Championship in 1997 and the World Marathon Championships. Coming up in 2009, Lake Banook will host the World Senior Canoe Championships. It is a very popular recreation area for local residents.

From Lake Banook I turned around and walked northwards again through some of the residential streets in Dartmouth. I passed by two historic cemeteries: St. Peter’s Cemetery and Christ Church Cemetery before I arrived again in the areas surrounding the Ferry Terminal Building. With the sun low on the horizon, I started to make my way back to the other side of the bay and a few minutes later I arrived in downtown Halifax.

To get back to my hotel I walked through Historic Properties, a collection of 19th century warehouses that have been converted into a broad range of shops and restaurants. Historic Properties is also a popular spot for wedding photography, and as I was walking through the complex, I saw a wedding party posing for various shots against this historic backdrop.

Just up on Duke Street I passed by a pedestrian mall: Granville Mall features a large variety of pubs and is located right next to the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. One of the pub’s patios was packed with people, and loud music announced that everyone was having a great time.

I took a brief rest at my hotel and used the convenient in-room Internet connection. There was so much to still see and do here in Halifax, but my time was short and I was rather exhausted from a very long day of discoveries that included a three-hour city tour and a visit to the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, followed by a brief lunch and a walk along Harbourwalk to Pier 21, Canada’s immigration museum. And after my almost two hour long walking tour of Dartmouth I was in dire need of rest, so I decided to simply head downstairs and eat in the Stone Street Café, one of the restaurants located in the Delta Barrington Hotel.

My initial hunger was quenched by an absolutely delicious broccoli cheese soup, accompanied by freshly baked specialty breads such as apricot and multigrain bread with regular butter and red pepper butter, a tasty start to a nice meal. I continued with a very filling and tasty plate of Pescara Pasta which was composed of sautéed wild mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes and grana padano cheese.

After this delicious meal I retreated upstairs to the comfort of my hotel room, packed my bags and watched a bit of TV, resting up for my early morning departure tomorrow. I reflected back on the past five action packed days in Nova Scotia and how much I had seen.

And I realized how much I had not seen, that I had literally just scratched the surface of a beautiful province, Nova Scotia, and a fascinating city, Halifax.

A good reason to return again and hopefully soon…