Saturday 28th September - Departure Day
We got up at around 7.30 a.m. Showered, dressed and completed packing the small bag we had with us in the AirBnB. We decided to leave a bit early so that we could have something to eat and drink before we met our guide for our walking tour of downtown Calgary. As our host was not up yet we left a message for her on the kitchen counter. We said goodbye to her lovely male cat 'Cadeau' and crept out of the building. We cleared the car of overnight snow and got it warmed up. Then we drove the short distance to the nearest Tim Hortons for coffee and breakfast. We had two 'omelet bites' and coffee before driving further to a parking lot close to the Civic Center where were were to meet our guide by the lion 'Leo' who sits by the front door. By now it was snowing quite hard although the snow was not settling even though the temperature was -2 degC. This was early for snow in Calgary which, in any case, is not a high snow city.
Our very friendly guide, Judy, met us straight away at the appointed place and we were somewhat relieved to learn that most of the walk would be inside although there would have to be some outside walking. Calgary has done a great job by building what are called 'Plus 15' bridges across many of the streets and linking buildings an areas so that, in winter, it is not necessary to go outside. Many of the bridges have cafes and stores so they can be used for socializing. In all in Calgary there are 64 such bridges. Some of the bridges have art from local artists. Judy was full of information about the city and its history and culture.
She told us about Leo the lion who dominates the entrance to the Metro Center. He was previously guarding a bridge across the river and fell into disrepair and has been restored but placed in a more sheltered position.
The name Calgary comes from a Gaelic word and also a place on the Isle of Mull in Scotland with a similar name. The area was originally grassland and inhabited by various sects of the Blackfeet Indian tribes. Much of the development surrounded the railroad and it was interesting to note that British Columbia was reticent to join the new country of Canada and made a condition of joining the completion of the trans-Canada railroad to Vancouver. The site of the last spike of which we saw at Craigellacchie previously.
We walked through the Arts Commons area which holds theaters, concert halls and art galleries and also the Burns Building home of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. The building was named after a meat trader who made much money from his business. It was saved from demolition by a slump in oil prices not, surprisingly because it was a beautiful building built in the Chicago style.
We also saw the new Public Library a really spectacular building, here are some facts about it from their website
"The City of Calgary has been planning for a new Central Library since 2004, when it first devoted funds to study future library needs.
Throughout 2012, more than 16,000 Calgarians participated in an extensive public engagement program to provide input into the function of Central Library and the role of the Library within the community.
The building’s architects are Snøhetta, an international firm, and Calgary’s DIALOG, while CMLC leads the construction.
The 240,000 square foot building has five levels that will contain about 600,000 items.
Construction began in 2014 with a real feat of engineering: encapsulating the LRT. It was the first time in Calgary’s history an active LRT line was encapsulated and used as a foundation for a building above.
The final steel beam of Central Library’s skeletal structure serves a dual-purpose; it’s a time capsule of steel. In March 2017, nearly 700 library lovers of all ages inscribed the massive beam with messages of congratulations and inspiration for future generations.
Central Library is a fully-funded $245 million project, paid for by the City ($175 million) and CMLC ($70 million)".
We returned to the car park which was rapidly filling up due to a performance at the Arts Commons. We drove the airport stopping to fill the car with gas on the way. WE checked in quickly and were through the US immigration and Customs speedily and went to the gate. There, trouble started with the staff being unable to unlock the gate door so boarding was delayed until departure time and we took off about 40 minutes late.
Our very friendly guide, Judy, met us straight away at the appointed place and we were somewhat relieved to learn that most of the walk would be inside although there would have to be some outside walking. Calgary has done a great job by building what are called 'Plus 15' bridges across many of the streets and linking buildings an areas so that, in winter, it is not necessary to go outside. Many of the bridges have cafes and stores so they can be used for socializing. In all in Calgary there are 64 such bridges. Some of the bridges have art from local artists. Judy was full of information about the city and its history and culture.
She told us about Leo the lion who dominates the entrance to the Metro Center. He was previously guarding a bridge across the river and fell into disrepair and has been restored but placed in a more sheltered position.
The name Calgary comes from a Gaelic word and also a place on the Isle of Mull in Scotland with a similar name. The area was originally grassland and inhabited by various sects of the Blackfeet Indian tribes. Much of the development surrounded the railroad and it was interesting to note that British Columbia was reticent to join the new country of Canada and made a condition of joining the completion of the trans-Canada railroad to Vancouver. The site of the last spike of which we saw at Craigellacchie previously.
We walked through the Arts Commons area which holds theaters, concert halls and art galleries and also the Burns Building home of the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra. The building was named after a meat trader who made much money from his business. It was saved from demolition by a slump in oil prices not, surprisingly because it was a beautiful building built in the Chicago style.
We also saw the new Public Library a really spectacular building, here are some facts about it from their website
"The City of Calgary has been planning for a new Central Library since 2004, when it first devoted funds to study future library needs.
Throughout 2012, more than 16,000 Calgarians participated in an extensive public engagement program to provide input into the function of Central Library and the role of the Library within the community.
The building’s architects are Snøhetta, an international firm, and Calgary’s DIALOG, while CMLC leads the construction.
The 240,000 square foot building has five levels that will contain about 600,000 items.
Construction began in 2014 with a real feat of engineering: encapsulating the LRT. It was the first time in Calgary’s history an active LRT line was encapsulated and used as a foundation for a building above.
The final steel beam of Central Library’s skeletal structure serves a dual-purpose; it’s a time capsule of steel. In March 2017, nearly 700 library lovers of all ages inscribed the massive beam with messages of congratulations and inspiration for future generations.
Central Library is a fully-funded $245 million project, paid for by the City ($175 million) and CMLC ($70 million)".
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| The new Calgary Public Library
The new Public Library is situated in the rejuvenated East Village area of the city.
Judy told us that the oil and gas reserves (many of the oil reserves are in tar sands) have been estimated as greater than even Saudi Arabia. There is much controversy about the development of these resources and the building of a pipeline to the west coast to allow the export of the products to other markets than the US. Albert, of course, want further exploitation and this drives many jobs and the whole Canadian economy. The Eastern States and the present P.M. Justin Trudeau are more concerned with climate issues and oppose the expansion of the oil and gas reserves. Judy also told us about the relations with the 'First Peoples' upon whose land the city and surroundings are built. The treaty which was drawn up with the original tribes was misinterpreted by the tribes and they gave up much to the European settlers. This imbalance is trying now to be redressed by the Federal Government. The First Peoples still have many problems and the process of rapprochement with them will take time and effort.
At the end of our tour we sat and had coffee and talked about general issues in Canada and Judy was able to share her perspective from Calgary. The general election on 21st October 2019 has both the Conservative and Liberal parties tied. So it will be interesting to see which way the country swings.
We said farewell to Judy and walked the short distance to a shopping mall which as a large garden on the 4th floor called Devonian Gardens.
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| Devonian Gardens |
Although the plane was old and much did not seem to work, the food selection was disappointing and the number of toilets very inadequate for a flight of that length and with that number of passengers. The flight was reasonably uneventful with only a small area of turbulence.
We soon got our bags and cab to home where we arrived around 12.30 a.m.
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