As we made our way to Halifax, we drove through the town of Bedford and avoided the big city traffic. As you might have read, communities near Halifax suffered from the fires that have been raging in Canada. Bedford was the site of one of those fires. It was sad to see the blacken trees, destroyed homes, and the remains of charred vehicles. Fortunately, the large amounts of rain in this region have greatly helped with the forest fires.
The city of Halifax is the capital of Nova Scotia. With a population of about 500,000, it is by far the largest municipality in the province and the Maritimes. This important port is home to one of the largest ice-free harbors in the world. The greater Halifax area includes the city of Dartmouth and Bedford. We stayed in Dartmouth which is right across the river from Halifax. To get to downtown Halifax, we could either drive or take the ferry across and we did both.
On one of our trips downtown, we decided to take the Macdonald Bridge, one of two, back to Dartmouth. As we reached the entrance to the bridge there was a sign saying that the weight limit was 3200 kgs. Whoa! Our dually truck weighs more than that! We made a sharp left in heavy traffic and headed to the one bridge that our truck can cross.
Dartmouth has two ferries to Halifax, the Woodside Ferry and the Alderney Ferry, and both of them will deliver you to the capital’s waterfront. The Alderney Ferry which we took several times, docks directly at the Halifax boardwalk. Once we arrived in Halifax, we found many interesting sites to visit.
Waterfront Boardwalk
The two mile long Waterfront Boardwalk along the harbor was one of the nice things that we discovered in Halifax. There are many shops, restaurants, playgrounds for the children, boat docks, sculptures, and several museums. Several times when we were there, there was live music and lots of activities. Open to the public 24 hours a day, it is a great place to spend some time. It is very popular with the locals and tourists alike.
Pier 21
At the southern end of the boardwalk is Pier 21, Canada’s National Immigration Museum. As the name indicates, the museum is located on one of the piers along the harbor. Pier 21 was built in 1928 as an ocean liner pier and point of entry and departure for many people. This port of entry is like the one on Ellis Island in NY. During WWII, many Europeans fled the war and traveled to Canada to find safe haven. Halifax was the nearest Canadian port city and it also has a deep harbor that was open year around so many immigrants were processed here before moving to other parts of the country.
At the same time that they were welcoming new immigrants at Pier 21, Canadian soldiers were departing for the war in Europe via Pier 21. The Wall of Service is a display in the museum commemorating those soldiers who fought in WWII.
Nearly a million immigrants passed through Pier 21 from 1945-1971. As John Hood states, “By the thousands they came flooding through the doors of Pier 21, eyes bright with hope but apprehension in their hearts.” The museum allows you to step back in time and imagine what the immigrant’s journey was like as they made their way to their new home. There are interactive displays, oral histories, and artifacts that they bought with them to Canada. As you walk through the museum, you follow in the immigrants’ footsteps. Our docent-led tour gave us some great insights about their challenging journeys to Canada and the immigration process once they arrived. Pier 21 included the Assembly Hall, Medical offices, Accommodation and Detention Quarters, Dining Facilities, Social Services, Red Cross Nursery, and Baggage Inspection. Once processed, many of them boarded trains to take them to their awaiting families and/or jobs.
There are other exhibits in the museum that we found interesting. One thing is certain, after our visit to Pier 21, we now have a greater appreciation for the plight of these immigrants as well as those all over the world.
As you can see we stayed busy while in Halifax because it has much to offer. We will tell you more about the city in our next post. And yes, in 2015, the city council declared the donair sandwich the official food of Halifax.
Piddlin' Around 