We have only one day to explore Canada’s capital, so we arrive at 9 sharp at the first museum, just at the end of our street, the Canadian Museum of History. It’s an enourmous building next to the Ottowa River. It has 3 mln artifacts and documents next to its temporary, traveling and online exhibitions.
The kids are hyped, because we told them Canada’s largest children museum is located inside. It’s huge indeed, decorated as international village where they can shop, fish, play post office, money exchange and restaurant, explore a pyramide, and fold origami. Even the Netherlands has a corner called « de Heerenstraat » with a flower and a cheese shop.
Olga and Tim take turns to explore the other 3 floors of Canadian history, starting with giant totum poles of the indigenous people of the Pacific North West coast. The expressive wood carves are impressive. We learn about the different meanings and usages of the poles, to welcome people, as entrance to a village or house, as territorial markers, or to honour special people or events.
There are two other large exhibition spaces telling the history of the first Nations, how they came to Canada, and adapted to the changing environments as the ice age ended and the landscape changed.
We also recognise their tale about the start of human life on earth from our visit at the First Nation museum in Quebec. About Sky Woman falling from the sky, birds catch her and gently guide her down onto the back of Great Turtle. Animals bring mud from the bottom of the ocean to create land. Sky Woman’s daughter gives birth to twin sons. Even prior to their birth, the sons are in conflict. The good twin is born in the natural way, while his evil brother, pushes himself out his mother’s side. The birth of the twins marks the beginning of the battle of good and evil on earth. The brothers fill the world with their creations. One creates all that is good and useful to humans, while the other is destructive and creates all that is bad. Eventually the good twin defeats his evil brother and banishes him to a pit under the earth. From this pit the evil twin sends emissaries that continue to bring evil into the world.
The temporary exhibition is about Canadian impressionism. There are some nice works especially they snowscapes are nice. It’s also nice to see the places we’ve already visited represented in paintings. The top floor tells the story of Canada from the moment the first Europeans came to America and how Canada came to be.
At 11.00 a 3D movie about nature in the backyard starts. Tim goes with Zeno and Cleo as Olga races through the museum. The children love the animals but are intrigued by anything on a movie screen.
We’re extremely hungry when we’re finished at 11:30. We spot a tempting bagel restaurant across the street. There is a large line in front, but as we don’t see many alternatives close by, and it’s nice and sunny today, we line-up and order some bagels and soup. There are three seats left in front of the oven, so we can see how they prepare the bagels while we finish our lunch.
We cross the river to visit the National Gallery of Canada, another huge museum with enormous floors filled with art. Maman of Louise Bourgeois waits for us outside.
We find a stroller for Zeno and he soon falls into a deep sleep. The first floor shows Canadian artists, such as the Group of Seven, Tom Thomson, Alex Colville and works from indigenous artist. The second floor houses European art by many famous international artists such as Klimt, Rembrandt, Duchamp, Mondriaan, Matisse, Monet, Van Gogh, Renoir and many more.
Zeno is not the only one tired, so we take a much needed coffee break in the museum cafetaria. When we sit and relax (Zeno is still sleeping) , the chef puts a cheese pancake on our table. He explains he’s trying this new dish and asks us to try it out. Cleo loves it and finishes it all.
Zeno wakes up when we leave the cafetaria, fully recharged we visit the Notre-Dame Cathedral Basilica on the opposite side of the street. We explore the rest of Ottowa city. We pass the bytown market, many embassies and off course the Canadian institutions such as the Parliament.
The kids are really tired now, so Olga takes the bus back home, while Tim continues to the War Museum. It’s Thursday and all the museums have a free evening opening from 17-19. So no rest for the wicked. It’s a bit out of the historic centre so when Tim arrives he only has to wait 15 minutes before the free entry starts.
When Olga exits the bus, the kids see the Canadian Museum of History at the end of the street. They forget that they are tired and explore the childrens museum one final time before calling it a day and heading back home at 18.
The war museum is also huge so Tim has to run around for an hour to see all tanks, guns and the history of Canada at war. Tired, he walks back to the apartment. Sadly we have no breakfast for tomorrow and we seem to be staying in a food desert. So Tim has to get into the car and drive to the supermarket. When he unloads all the shopping for tomorrow, one thing is clearly absent, breakfast…
