dkoyanagi
Oct-13-2006, 10:35 PM
Here are the photos from my recent trip to Ottawa, Ontario, the capital of Canada.
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101240125-L-1.jpg
The Parliament Building (the Centre Block building and the Peace Tower) and the Eternal Flame. The Peace Tower contains the Memorial Chamber, which contains the Books of Remembrance. The books list the names of every Canadian who died in the service of his or her country. There are seven volumes containing over 118,000 names. My grandfather's cousin's name, Pvt. Hikotaro Koyanagi, appears on page 270 of the WW1 book.
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101345456-L-4.jpg
View of Parliament Hill and the Ottawa River from Alexandria Bridge. This scene looks like something from a fairy tale.
Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Commons and the Senate. The Commons was in session so we couldn't go in. This is the Senate chamber
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101905528-L.jpg
Across Wellington St. from Parliament is the National War Memorial
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101931996-L.jpg
and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101932001-L.jpg
If you go to Ottawa there are two museums you can't miss. One is the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Sorry, I don't have any good pictures of the museum. It is located across the Ottawa River in Hull, Quebec. The museum staff and all the exhibits are fully bilingual in English and French. This museum is absolutely fantastic.
The other is the Canadian War Museum, which I thought was even better than the Civilization museum. It's housed in a massive new building shaped like a concrete bunker. All signs at the museum are stenciled in yellow paint. The interior decor is bare concrete, gun metal gray, drab olive, desert khaki, and British Imperial red. The museum shows the history of war in Canada from before the Seven Years War (1754-1763) to the present day war in Afghanistan. Many of the exhibits and galleries are very moving and I was moved to tears more than once. This is the only good photo I have from the war museum, but honestly, this isn't the best part of the museum:
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/102318062-L.jpg
There's also the National Gallery. I really enjoyed the Canadian and European galleries, but for some reason the Photography Gallery was closed. That was really disappointing. The Abstract Expressionist gallery and the Contemporary galleries left me scratching my head.
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101595145-L.jpg
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/102317559-L.jpg
I only got to spend three days in Ottawa so there was a lot I didn't get to see, but I really enjoyed my visit. Ottawa is definitely a museum and gallery town, which is great because I'm a museum and gallery type of guy.
By the way, if you're ever in Ottawa stop by Nate's Deli on Rideau St. and order the smoked meat sandwitch on rye with Swiss, and a side of cole slaw and dill pickle. It's to die for.
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101240125-L-1.jpg
The Parliament Building (the Centre Block building and the Peace Tower) and the Eternal Flame. The Peace Tower contains the Memorial Chamber, which contains the Books of Remembrance. The books list the names of every Canadian who died in the service of his or her country. There are seven volumes containing over 118,000 names. My grandfather's cousin's name, Pvt. Hikotaro Koyanagi, appears on page 270 of the WW1 book.
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101345456-L-4.jpg
View of Parliament Hill and the Ottawa River from Alexandria Bridge. This scene looks like something from a fairy tale.
Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Commons and the Senate. The Commons was in session so we couldn't go in. This is the Senate chamber
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101905528-L.jpg
Across Wellington St. from Parliament is the National War Memorial
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101931996-L.jpg
and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101932001-L.jpg
If you go to Ottawa there are two museums you can't miss. One is the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Sorry, I don't have any good pictures of the museum. It is located across the Ottawa River in Hull, Quebec. The museum staff and all the exhibits are fully bilingual in English and French. This museum is absolutely fantastic.
The other is the Canadian War Museum, which I thought was even better than the Civilization museum. It's housed in a massive new building shaped like a concrete bunker. All signs at the museum are stenciled in yellow paint. The interior decor is bare concrete, gun metal gray, drab olive, desert khaki, and British Imperial red. The museum shows the history of war in Canada from before the Seven Years War (1754-1763) to the present day war in Afghanistan. Many of the exhibits and galleries are very moving and I was moved to tears more than once. This is the only good photo I have from the war museum, but honestly, this isn't the best part of the museum:
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/102318062-L.jpg
There's also the National Gallery. I really enjoyed the Canadian and European galleries, but for some reason the Photography Gallery was closed. That was really disappointing. The Abstract Expressionist gallery and the Contemporary galleries left me scratching my head.
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/101595145-L.jpg
http://dkoyanagi.smugmug.com/photos/102317559-L.jpg
I only got to spend three days in Ottawa so there was a lot I didn't get to see, but I really enjoyed my visit. Ottawa is definitely a museum and gallery town, which is great because I'm a museum and gallery type of guy.
By the way, if you're ever in Ottawa stop by Nate's Deli on Rideau St. and order the smoked meat sandwitch on rye with Swiss, and a side of cole slaw and dill pickle. It's to die for.