Monday, June 15, 2015

Halifax


What do you get if you take a New Englander and make them considerate and friendly? You get a Nova Scotian.  This country just floors me.  The level of civility is so refreshing.  Strangers on the street here treat people better than some waitresses I've had in the States.  Nova Scotia is no exception.  I think the province motto is 'Why not smile?'

We were in Nova Scotia roughly fifteen years ago, but we spent the majority of our time in Cape Breton which is the northern portion.  This time we concentrated our time in the south, and in Halifax.  Without a doubt the most impressive edifice during sightseeing was The Citadel.
This place was so massive and at the same time open air.  As an attraction it was extremely well done for sightseeing by utilizing just enough historical re-enactors (mostly college students) to
make the place come alive.  The Citadel is a stone fortress sitting on top of the highest point in Halifax overlooking the harbor which the British picked out in 1750 as one of the prime harbors in North America.  Naturally, they wanted to control this prime real estate in the age of sailing ships, so they promptly set about bamboozling it away from the Mi'k maq.  (We are shocked, just shocked.)  The original 'citadels' were constructed out of logs, and there were two of those before before the stone one was built.  It only took 28 years to finish it beginning in 1827  and finishing in 1855.  The supreme irony is that the Citadel was never attacked.  Legend claims after the fortress was built,  spies would infiltrate the place and return to proclaim they couldn't find a weakness that could be exploited.

Most of the re-enactors were costumed as The Highland Regiment from approximately 1850.  There were pipers as well as soldiers in full dress uniform and others in their 'daily' uniform.  And, yes, the various bagpipers give small impromptu concerts at about 15 minute intervals.  There was one group of WWI clad soldiers in anticipation of a re-enactment event over the weekend.  The kid below (in the kilt) confided to us those uniforms were really, really uncomfortable compared to his.
Most interesting was the Corporal's wife.  According to her, she would have been instantly recognized as a corporal's wife because she had a row of buttons as well as a belt on her dress.  A sergeant's wife would have had not only more buttons but a lace trimmed neckline as well.  A poor private's wife would have neither lace nor a belt and only one or two buttons.   There's a three week training course for these summer jobs to learn the history of the place, a specific job, and about the people as well as how to deal with the public.  Another way the Citadel engages tourists is you can sign up to learn to fire the cannons (and really fire them) or learn to load and shoot an antique rifle - the newfangled weapon of the 1850's.

This was our first sight when we entered the Citadel, and it was LOUD.  In addition to the wonderful scenery from atop the walls, there are a couple of museums inside what used to be the soldiers' barracks.  There were 11 soldiers to a room and the rooms were daisy chained together.

The red coated soldiers are displaying the Highland Regiment's dress uniform while the ones wearing the buff colored top are in the daily uniform.  Their sporins are sporting a stag's head and the motto (He Who Saves the King) which emblem and motto were awarded by the King to the founder of this regiment.  This came about when the regiment founder and the King were hunting together.  Suddenly a full grown and antlered stag charged the King, and the founder jumping in front of the King, beheaded the stag with one slice of his clay-more (heavy sword) before the King could be harmed.  As the re-enactor pointed out - several Scottish regiments have this story as THEIR legend!  

Anyway, no expense has been spared on these uniforms, and it's obvious the students portraying these historical figures are very proud of them as representations of their country.  

The other stand-out sight in Halifax is the Public Garden.  It was really wrecked by an Atlantic hurricane in 2003, and the entire city pitched it to restore it.  They did a wonderful job because it was literally the breath of Spring.  We saw rhododendrons in mass in bloom for the first time since the Butchart Gardens on Vancouver Island in British Columbia.   

If you're interested in more photos, click the links!
I'm almost as colorful as the flowers, but the wind was blowing, blowing, and it was chilly - about 16 degrees.  (Yes, I'm going to be annoying and post Celsius.  Double and add 30 for approximate Fahrenheit.)














  


 
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