August 2025 – Brock at Cliff Cottage

2025-08-302025-09-07

Cape Breton Island

The bridge on the Canso Causeway takes skinny pedestrians (see those narrow raised concrete structures), road vehicles and trains. Underneath is a short canal for ships.

Cape Breton Island (CBI) = île du Cap-Breton, formerly île Royale (French) = Ceap Breatainn or Eilean Cheap Bhreatainn (Scottish Gaelic). Most of these names refer to Breton, a hilly peninsula in north-western France. Unama’ki (Mi’kmaq) = land of fog. It is a rugged and irregularly shaped island on the Atlantic coast of North America that is part of the province of Nova Scotia.

My McLellan ancestors escaped from Swordland, on Loch Morar, on the Scottish mainland, and South Uist, an island in the Hebrides, and arrived near Inverness, on the east coast of Cape Breton Island about 1790 and settled in the Margaree valley. The brother of my ancestor, was the catholic priest for this group of settlers.

Scottish Gaels settled in Nova Scotia between 1773 and 1850. Scottish Gaelic is a member of the Goidelic branch of the Celtic languages and the Canadian dialects have their origins in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. The parent language developed out of Middle Irish and is closely related to modern Irish. Canadian Gaelic is closely related to Newfoundland Irish. At its peak in the mid-19th century, there were as many as 200 000 speakers of this language, making it the third-most-spoken European language in Canada after English and French. The population dropped from a peak in 1850, to 80 000 in 1900, to 30 000 in 1930 to 500–1,000 in 2025.

For the past year or so, I have been practicing Scottish Gaelic with Duolingo on a daily basis. Since 1980, I have also used Teach Yourself Gaelic (1971) on an intermittent basis. This does not mean that I am fluent. In terms of languages it ranks somewhere between fourth to sixth. Languages ahead of it include: English, Norwegian, then Danish (written) and Swedish (spoken), before one comes to French, then Gaelic. In both Scottish Gaelic and Irish my name would be written Broc = badger.

Wild badgers are absent from the Hebrides, because the sea separated the islands from the mainland after the Ice Age. While badger remains have been found in archaeological records from the Outer Hebrides, this evidence suggests they were imported as fur or trophies, not as living populations. In contrast badgers are found on Loch Morar.

From Caribou to Antigonish

Once our ferry had landed from Prince Edward Island at Caribou, Nova Scotia, we drove towards Cape Breton Island, stopping 79 km further east, at Antigonish, to look at the University and to eat. The university is Catholic, and is world famous (yes, not just in Nova Scotia, or in Canada, but in the entire world) for its work encouraging cooperatives. I have written about it previously.

After our meal, we continued on for 52 km to the Canso causeway, The Canso Causeway is a rock-fill thoroughfare that connects Cape Breton Island to mainland Nova Scotia, crossing the Strait of Canso. The causeway is 1 385 metres long, and fills the Canso Strait to a depth of 65 metres making it the deepest causeway in the world. It includes a bridge and a short canal/ channel to allow for ship passage. It is the only road and railway link between the island and the mainland. The causeway was completed in 1955.

Alistair Fraser (1885 – 1965), one time Lieutenant governor of Nova Scotia, sold 10 Tg of granite from his property on Cape Porcupine Mountain on the Nova Scotia mainland to fill in the Strait with rock. He was offered CAD 5 000 by the Canadian government for it, but after suing, the Supreme Court of Canada ultimately awarded him CAD 560 000.

It should be noted that while Cape Breton’s coal and steel industry and the Canadian National Railways were eager to have a rail line connecting Cape Breton to the mainland, no environmental assessment was made. The fishing industry were the major losers from this development.

On the far side of the causeway, we turned left, to head along the west coast of the island. This is not my first trip to Cape Breton Island. I had spent Christmas 1975, with a family in Sydney, travelling by train from Halifax.

Our cottage. Mostly blue. Despite the name, we were so far from the sea that we could not feel any ocean spray.

We stayed in a cottage on the Cabot Trail, in Saint Joseph du Moine = Saint Joseph the munk.

The next day we took a tour around the Cape Breton Highlands. We had planned to stop at North Cape. Unfortunately, poorly planned road construction, did not allow us to escape from the convoy being escorted, at the appropriate junction. Nova Scotia had the worst maintained highways we encountered on our trip.

For someone brought up in British Columbia, and spending most of my adult life in Norway, the terrain of Cape Breton Island was appealing. No, I am not a flatlander!

We even got to experience a cable ferry at Englishtown. The length of the crossing is measured in meters. There are four such ferries on Cape Breton Island, and we took two of them. The other was near Iona, and the Highland Museum.

CBI is dominated by Pitupaq (in the Mi’kmaq language) = the long salt water, referring to its brackish waters. In English and French it is Bras d’Or = the golden arm. Sometimes it is referred to as a lake, but it is an estuary = a partly enclosed coastal body of water in where river water is mixed with seawater. An estuary is thus defined by salinity. To my Norwegian inspired mind, it is a system of fjords. Bras d’Or has a surface area of 1 099 km². It is connected to the North Atlantic by two natural channels; the Great and Little Bras d’Or Channels which pass on either side of Boularderie Island. To the south there is another connection to the Atlantic Ocean, the artificial Saint Peters Canal, built for shipping traffic in the 1860s. Its maximum depth is 287 m in Saint Andrews Channel. The Bras d-Or draining basin occupies 3 500 km². The western side is generally shallow and is part of an extensive drumlin field = an elongated hill in the shape of a half-buried egg formed by glacial ice acting on underlying unconsolidated till or ground moraine. Steep hills rise abruptly on the northwestern side forming the Cape Breton Highlands.

Sydney Mines

Klmuejuapskwe’katik (Mi’kmaq) = place of the coal = Sydney Mines (English) is known for its coal mines. It is also the birthplace of my grandfather, Alexander McLellan (1869 – 1935), a coal miner and later secretary of miners’ union in Nanaimo, British Columbia. However, we visited Sydney Mines, spending time at the local omni-religious graveyard, looking for assorted McLellan ancestors.

Louisbourg

After ceding Newfoundland and Acadia, a New France colony in northeastern North America which included parts of what are now the Maritime provinces, the Gaspé Peninsula and Maine to the Kennebec River, by the terms of the Treaty of Utrecht, the French established Louisbourg in 1713. In addition to Saint Pierre et Miquelon, France retained possession of Cape Breton = Isle Royale and Prince Edward = Isle Saint-Jean, islands. These islands were important bases for a cod fishery off the Grand Banks. In 1719 Louisbourg was constructed as a fortified town, completed in 1745.

The cod fishery accounted for most of Isle Royale’s prosperity. Dried before export, the fish was salted and laid on stages which lined the beaches of Louisbourg and its outports. Louisbourg became a hub of commerce, trading in manufactured goods and various materials imported from France, Quebec, the West Indies and New England.

One might think that the fortress would be prepared for any onslaught. Yet, while the harbour was well defended, the main landward defences were commanded by a series of low hills, some dangerously close to the fortifications. All provided excellent locations for siege batteries.

In 1745, following a declaration of war between Britain and France, New Englanders attacked Louisbourg. After 46 days the fortress was captured. However, three years later the town was restored to the French by the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. In 1758 Louisbourg was besieged a second time. Within seven weeks Louisbourg was captured. This time, the British demolished the fortress walls.

It was interesting to visit the fortress site, and to learn more about the French history of the area. Between 1961 and 1980, the Canadian Government Invested CAD 25 M to reconstructing approximately one-quarter of the original town and fortifications. Abandoned after 1763, Louisbourg became the only major colonial town without a modern city built on top of it.

Louisbourg Railway Museum

Of course we could not leave Louisbourg without visiting the local, Sydney & Louisbourg Railway Museum. They offer a business card titled Pocket Poem, with the railway logo on one side, complete with a Facebook address = slrailway. The poem, titled My Job, reads:

It is not my place / To run the train. / The whistle I can’t blow. / It’s not my place / To say how far / The train’s allowed to go. / To shoot off steam / Nor even clang the bell. / But let the damn thing / Jump the track … / And see who catches hell!

Miners Museum at Glace Bay

I appreciated the name, Miners Museum, not Mining Museum. It was an interesting place to visit, and to find out more about the life of miners in Cape Breton, one of which was my grandfather.

One of the volunteer guides commented that the first thing a miner should do is to inspect the roof of that part of the mine where the miner is working. He explained that he had lost two colleagues who didn’t do that.

The Margaree Valley

The rainbow, including the use of a rainbow flag, has been the symbol of the co-operative movement since 1928. Various modifications have taken place over the past 97 years. I find it irritating that latecomers think they have an exclusive right to that symbol. Its use by various groups of homosexuals came 50 years later. Of course, I also take exception to the use of the word pride. It originally referred to an excessive love of one’s own excellence. Pride = hubris = ὕβρις (Ancient Greek ) = futility. It is considered the original and worst of the seven deadly sins, the most demonic, and the source of the other deadly sins. Pride is viewed as the opposite of humility.

The Margaree area is multicultural, largely populated by descendants of the original Acadian (French), Irish and Scottish populations. We took one final drive though the valley. The Margaree River = Abhainn Mhargaraidh (Gaelic) has three branches. The northeast branch of the river derives from the watershed of the Cape Breton Highlands, while the Southwest Margaree flows northeast from Lake Ainslie, the largest natural freshwater lake on Cape Breton, approximately 20 kilometres long and 5 kilometres in width, on average. It was formed during the Pleistocene, about two million years ago, when glacial outwash blocked the drainage of the valley of Loch Ban. The two branches join at Margaree Forks. The river then flows north to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence at Margaree Harbour. The river system is 120 km in length and drains an area of 1 375 km².

Baile nan Gàidheal (Gaelic) = Highlanders’ town (literal English translation), although signs tell me it is called The Highland Village.

We had an enjoyable visit to the village, learning about the way of life that in many ways contrasted with the mining and industrial life portrayed at the Miners Museum.

This building is a reconstruction of a stone house found in the Hebrides.

Note: of the places we visited on this trip to Canada, CBI is the one place I would like to visit again, with a possible excursion to Prince Edward Island. It is probably the most affordable place in Canada where I would want to live, since the Lower Fraser Valley and Vancouver Island are undoubtedly beyond my economic capacity.

Return to Norway

After visiting the Highland Village Museum, our CBI adventure was over. We drove to the Canso Causeway, crossed it, then continued on to the Halifax Airport. We took a flight to Reykjavik, then transferred onto a flight bound for Oslo.

2025-08-162025-08-10

Vladimir Shukhov

The Adziogol lighthouse Photo: Vlsnyk, 2020-07-25.

On 2024-04-25, Trish and I visited Orkanger (population 8 200). It required us to drive 137 km south-west of Cliff Cottage, taking 2h40m to travel there, including one ferry across Trondheim fjord. There are ways to get there that involve longer distances and shorter durations, but this was also an adventure. On route, in Leksvik, about 45 km away, we visited the school where I taught for 8 years, one last time. It was closing down at the end of the school year, combining with another school and moving 40 km further west. The new school was to be named after a local author, Johan Bojer (1872 – 1959), who wrote Den siste Viking = The Last of the Vikings, although I would have translated it to a more literal: The Last Viking. Set further north in the Lofoten Islands, the book depicts human perseverance, the end of an era, and a fishing season when Norwegian fishers make their annual voyage to the islands to fish for cod.

Interestingly, Bojer was born In Orkanger, our ultimate destination. Our task was to close out a regional co-operative account that I used working in Molde, but had not used since 2008, when I started teaching at the school in Leksvik.

I appreciate Orkanger for its heritage railway. Others in the family prefer its reference to orks = orcs = dim-witted, mythical humanoids. Others use adjectives such as brutish, aggressive, ugly, even malevolent to describe them, in contrast to benevolent elves. These are found in the books of J R R Tolkien (1892 – 1973) and in games such as Warhammer (1983).

I have no to little interest in Tolkien, Warhammer or orcs, but found a Norwegian book on sale with a translated title, Atlas of the Lighthouses at the end of the World (2022), by Gonzalez Macias. It was originally written in Spanish. The title refers to a novel by Jules Verne (1828 – 1905), Le Phare du bout du monde, written in 1901, but published posthumously in 1905. Verne was inspired by a lighthouse at the Isla de los Estados, Argentina, near Tierra del Fuego and Cape Horn. I have difficulty resisting temptation, so I bought the book.

I was aware of some of the lighthouses described in the book, but not the first one, that was outstanding. It was the Adziogol lighthouse in Kherson Oblast, Ukraine. It had been designed by Vladimir Shukhov (1853 – 1939) in 1910, and built by him (with the help of others) in 1911. It is located in the Dnieper-Bug Estuary, which extends eastward into the Dnieper Estuary, a part of the Dnieper River delta, south of the Cape of Adzhyhol, for which it is named.

Some people describe Shukhov as an engineering polymath = a person of extensive yet deep learning. He used innovative. amalytical methods that led to design breakthroughs in: 1) hyperboloid structures = a family of doubly curved structural forms; 2) diagrid shell structures = made up of triangles usually formed from beams of steel ; 3) tensile structures = structures carrying only tension (pulling forces) and no compression or bending (pushing forces), 4) gridshell structures = a structure which derives its strength from its double curvature, but is constructed in a grid or lattice. In addtion he worked with oil reservoirs; pipelines; boilers; ships and barges. In chemical engineering, Shukhov invented the first petroleum cracking method = the process whereby complex organic molecules such as long-chain hydrocarbons are broken down into simpler molecules by breaking carbon-carbon bonds in their precursors.

Besides the innovations he brought to the oil industry and the construction of numerous bridges and buildings, Shukhov was the inventor of a new family of doubly curved structural forms. These forms, based on non-Euclidean hyperbolic geometry, are known today as hyperboloids of revolution. Shukhov developed not only many varieties of light-weight hyperboloid towers and roof systems, but also the mathematics for their analysis. Shukhov is particularly reputed for his original designs of hyperboloid towers such as the Shukhov radio Tower on Shabolovka street, in Moscow. It is a 160-metre-highfree-standing steel diagrid structure with a mass of 240 tons, built between 1920 and 1922. Originally, plans called for it to be 350 m tall, 15 m taller than the Eiffel Tower.

Biography

Vladimir Shukhov was born in Graivoron,now in Belgorod Oblast on 1853-08-16 (172 years before the publication of this post), into a petty noble family. His father was a minor government official and onetime Mayor of Graivoron.

Between 1864 and 1871, Vladimir studied at the Saint Petersburg gymnasium. He then entered the Imperial Moscow Technical School, from which he graduated in 1876. In 1876-05 Shukhov went to Philadelphia, to work on the Russian pavilion at the Centennial Exposition = World’s Fair, and to investigate American construction and engineering. Here he came to know Alexander Veniaminovich Bari (1847 – 1913), a Russian-American entrepreneur.

In 1877 Shukhov returned to Russia and joined the drafting office of the Warsaw–Vienna railroad. He left within months, and joined a military-medical academy. When Bari came to Russia in 1877, he persuaded Shukhov to give up his medical education and become the Chief Engineer of a company specializing in innovative engineering. He worked with Bari at this company until the October Revolution. He also brought in Leonid Leibenson (1879 – 1951). Here they developed the Shukhov cracking process, which was patented by Vladimir Shukhov in 1891.

After the October Revolution Shukhov stayed in the Soviet Union, In 1919 he framed his slogan: We should work independently from politics. He worked on many signal Soviet engineering projects of the 1920s. In the later 1930s he retired from engineering work. He died on 1939-02-02 in Moscow and was buried at the Novodevichy Cemetery

Vladimir Shukhov was one of the first to develop practical calculations of stresses and deformations of beams, shells and membranes on elastic foundation. He calculated the optimal diameter, wall thickness and fluid speed for fluid pipelines. These theoretical results allowed him to design the first seaworthy Russian oil tanker and new types of oil tanker barges, that used less than half of the metal previously required. 84 barges 150-meters long were built, mostly for use on the Volga river. His approach to the ship strength analysis, using the model of a shell on an elastic foundation, was novel for that time.

He also designed a new type of inexpensive oil reservoir, with the bottom consisting of a membrane on elastic foundation. They became very popular among oil-producers of the Imperial Russia. By 1881, 130 such tanks were built in Baku alone. In the chemical industry he designed and built an oil cracking plant, an original oil pump, a furnace using residual oil. He also designed metallic structures, hyperboloid structures, thin-shell structures, tensile structures.

An oil pipeline, the first in the Russian Empire, between Balkhany and Cherny Gorod near Baku (12 km, 1878 complete, used by the Branobel). By 1883 the total length of Shukhov-designed, Bari-built oil pipelines in Baku exceeded 94 km, transporting 30 000 barrels of oil per day. In 1894, a similar pipeline network was built in Grozny. Shukhov designed the first Trans-Caucasian kerosene pipeline between Baku and Batumi (835 km long) and Grozny-Tuapse pipeline (618 km long).

A superior design for water-mains. Shukhov designed (and Bari built) complete water-supply systems for the cities of Cherkassy, Tambov, Kharkov, Voronezh and many others. In that age of infectious diseases his water-supply systems likely saved thousands of lives.

Eight thin-shell structures exhibition pavilions for the All-Russia Exhibition in Nizhny Novgorod of 1896, covering the area of 27,000 m², and featuring an unorthodox water-tower that served as a model for more than 30 similar structures built in Imperial Russia, and thousands around the world now.

About 200 hyperboloid steel gridshell towers were built all over the world, the most famous being the 160-meter-high Shukhov Tower in Moscow (1922) and 70-meter-high Adziogol Lighthouse near Kherson (1910). On Shukhov’s 110th birthday in 1963 Soviet Union issued a postal stamp showing Shukhov and his tower.

Other works include: spacious elongated shop galleries, bridged with innovative metal-and-glass vaults, notably the Upper Trade Rows on Red Square (1889–94), Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts (1898–1912) and Petrovka Passage (1903–06); metal arch vaulting for the Municipal Railway Park (1908) and the Kievskiy Railway Station in Moscow (1912–17); the hall of the Central Post Office, Moscow (1911–13); truss-supported metal framework for the Central Universal Store in Moscow (1906–08); a rotating stage for the Moscow Art Theatre;
several Constructivist projects, designed in collaboration with Konstantin Melnikov (1890 – 1974), notably the Bakhmetevsky Bus Garage (1926–28) and Novo-Ryazanskaya Street Garage (1926–29); more than 180 bridges across the Volga, Yenisey, Dnieper, and other rivers. Shukhov’s last engineering work involved stabilizating the Minaret of the Madrasah Ulugh Beg in Samarkand.

Shukhov’s most passionate hobby was photography in various genres: reporting, city landscape, portrait, constructivism. About two thousand his photos and negatives have survived.

There is a statue of Vladimir Shukhov at the end of Sretensky Boulevard in Moscow, facing Turgenevskaya Square. It was unveiled 2008-12-02. Photo: Alexander Spiridonov, 2017-06-24.

2025-08-102025-08-10

Prince Edward Island

First, a repeat of 7th grade social studies. Canada is a federation = a union of partially self-governing provinces, states or other regions under a federal government, rather than a confederation = an association of sovereign states. Prince Edward Island (PEI) joined this federation on 1873-07-01, becoming Canada’s seventh province. Initially, PEI had rejected the idea of confederation (the political process of forming a federation) in 1867-07-01 when Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick joined. Yet, the first meeting to consider confederating was held in Charlottetown in 1864-09-01 to 09.

For inclusivity’s sake: on 1870-07-15 Manitoba and Northwest joined Canada as a province and territory, respectively, followed by British Columbia as a province on 1871-07-20. Facing increasing debt and swayed by the Canadian government’s offer to take over this debt, provide subsidies, and finance railway construction, PEI joined Canada. Yukon separated from Northwest to became a separate territory on 1898-06-13, Alberta and Saskatchewan took land from Northwest Territory and Rupert’s Land, to join as provinces 1905-09-01, Newfoundland and Labrador joined as a province 1949-03-31. Nunavut, became the largest and northernmost territory of Canada, when it was separated from the Northwest Territories on 1999-04-01. The three territories cover 40% of Canada’s land, but represent only 0.3% of the population. The difference between a territory and a province, is that a territory lacks sovereignty. A more detailed look at Rupert’s Land, will be the subject of another weblog post.

The challenge for PEI is that it often refers to itself as the birthplace of confederation because of the 1864 conference, but initially decided not to be part of Canada. This allowed two other places to join as provinces, before it. Yet, I understand. Everyone makes mistakes, and some even try to hide inconvenient facts.

Back to the travelogue

The fixed link or Confederation Bridge = Pont de la Confédération, is a multi-span balanced cantilever bridge with a post-tensioned concrete box girder structure. It carries the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, It links New Brunswick with Prince Edward Island. Construction took place from 1993-11-01 until May 1997-05-31. It cost CAD 1.3 billion. The 12.9-kilometre bridge is Canada’s longest, and the world’s longest over ice-covered water. Yes, everyone has to find something to distinguish themselves. Travelling from New Brunswick on the Bridge, or from Nova Scotia on the ferry to PEI, tolls are not paid, only in the reverse direction! On the map below, one should be aware that the ferry from Souris goes to the Madelaine Islands, Quebec.

We stayed for three days at a cabin at Grand Tracadie, north of Charlottetown. It was a suitable place.

Our cabin and rental vehicle on Prince Edward Island.

Tracadie (French) from Telagadik (Mi’kmaw) = gathering place (English), but frequently translated as camping place. It is located close to Prince Edward Island National Park. We drove through the park on our way to Summerside. Here we visited the Eptek Art and Culture Centre. While Alasdair talked to the tourism hostess, I moved 10 meters to talk to theatre hostess, mostly about Cape Breton Island, where she came from. There were no theatrical events until September.

The Prince Edward Island Railway exists no more. It ran from Tignish in the west to Elmira in the east, with major spurs serving Borden-Carleton’s train ferry dock, Charlottetown, Montague and Georgetown and the original eastern terminus at Souris. A spur from Charlottetown served Murray Harbour on the south coast. The line officially closed on 1989-12-31. Rails were removed between 1990 and 1992. The PEI government received a one-time payment of $200 million to upgrade the road network in exchange for not opposing the closure.

The provincial government purchased the properties in 1994, and 75 per cent of the route now forms the basis of the Confederation Trail rail trail system. The station in Elmira at the eastern end of the line is now used as the Elmira Railway Museum. Readers will be surprised to learn that we did not visit this museum on our trip. We did visit Kensington, and its train station.

Scott O’Neill, *Heart of PEI* (2021) at the Kensington Train Station.

We discovered that reddish brown dirt shirts are a popular product for young boys. They are designed to avoid showing the red mud colour found almost everywhere on the island.

The next day, travels took us to Charlottetown. Alasdair navigated us to the Baha’i Centre, shown in the following photograph.

Alasdair in front of the Charlottetown Baha’i Centre.

We also visited Charlottetown. Among the creatures we encountered was a life sized sculpture of a bluefin tuna made of stainless steel. The scales are made from spoons. Bluefin Bullet was sculpted by Gerald Beaulieu (1964 – ) in 2011. The sculpture is adjacent to the Library and learning center. Despite appearances, the sculpture does not eat people.

Gerald Beaulieu, *Bluefin Bullet* (2011), Charlottetown.

Below are two landscape photos of locations close to the cottage we rented.

Of course, these weblog posts always have more information than readers want about transportation. For those not interested in the details, the remaining paragraphs can be skipped. They can be summarized in one sentence: We left Prince Edward Island by ferry.

From 1979 to 2021, the MV Holiday Island, built in 1971 at Saint Catharine’s, Ontario, was a Canadian roll-on roll-off (RORO) ferry, that operated across the Northumberland Strait. A serious fire in 2022 resulted in it being so severely damaged that it was broken up in 2023 by R.J. MacIsaac Construction in Sheet Harbour, Nova Scotia.

The MV Saaremaa 1 was then hired to act as a temporary replacement ferry. This was originally built at Fiskerstand, Norway, to serve Saaremaa and Hiiumaa islands, in western Estonia, until 2019. In 2019, the ferry was sold to Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) in Canada to operate on the Matane – Baie-Comeau – Godbout route in Quebec. It should be noted that not any old ferry will do on this route, as in Estonia, ferries have to have icebreaking capabilities.

We left Prince Edward Island on the ferry Northumberland. This ferry was built by Aker in Aukra, near Molde, Norway in 2007 as the car ferry Fanafjord. Until 2018, it sailed on a route that connects Bergen with Stavanger. It uses LNG as fuel. On 1 April 2019, it was planned to be sold to work on a German route. This was postponed. In 2020, it was chartered by the German company Elbferry, and changed its name to Greenferry I. The goal was for it to operate on a newly started route in Germany. In 2021-11, it was announced that Elbferry had gone bankrupt due to a fivefold increase in LNG prices and less truck traffic than expected.

In 2024 the ferry was sold to Northumberland Ferries Limited, for its route between Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia. Before delivery, the ferry was modified at Fiskerstand. I am uncertain, but this might have been to improve its icebreaking capabilities.

A replacement ferry for the Northumberland Strait is not expected to be ready until at least 2028. This new ferry is being built by Chantier Davie Canada, located in Lauzon, Quebec, Canada. It is the oldest continually operating shipbuilder in North America.

2025-08-092025-08-11

New Brunswick

We left Maine after driving on Interstate 95, past Houlton, and entering Canada at Woodstock, in New Brunswick. The border guard (or are they now called agents?) took our Canadian passports, looked at them and then us to make sure there was a vague resemblance between photos and people. She then asked, “Do you have any firearms?” to which we could honesty reply, “No.” She then asked about recreational drugs. Again we could honestly reply in the negative. One final question involved what is technically referred to as a slew of products, to which we also replied that we did not have any of them. Our passports were handed back, and we were allowed into Canada on highway 95.

Our first stop was at …

Fredricton

Of course I realize that nobody is interested in the city hall, only the fountain in front of it. A nude cherub = Putto with Fish (official name) = Freddy the Nude Dude (popular name) was donated by George Edward Fentey (1812 – 1899), sometime mayor and architect, in 1885. Since 2013, the original Freddy is kept safely inside the city hall, while a replica entertains tourists.

Located in downtown Fredericton we encountered the New Brunswick College of Crafts and Design, with its goal to prepare students for success with design and entrepreneurial skills. Programs include: 1-year Certificate Programs in Foundation Visual Arts (FVA) and Advanced Studio Practice. 2-year Diplomas in 3D Digital Design, Ceramics, Fashion Design, Graphic Design, Jewellery/Metal Arts, Photography, Textile Design, and Wabanaki Visual Arts = history and traditional crafts of the Wolastoqey, Mi’Kmaq, and Passamaquoddy First Nations cultures in Atlantic Canada. This can be transformed into a 2+2 = 4-year Bachelor of Applied Arts Degree with the University of New Brunswick, also located in Fredericton.

Sports enthusiasts may want to find somewhere else to live, as Fredericton has no professional sports teams.

In New Brunswick we stayed at the BayBreeze restaurant and motel in Pocologan, run by Greek immigrants John and Maria. They had lived in Canada for about as long as we had lived in Norway. John is a couple of years younger than I am, but continues to work. This enterprise is seasonal. They also spend time in Ontario, visiting their daughter and grand daughter. They also spend time in the village in Greece, where they have their origins.

Saint John

Canada Day, 2025-07-01 and we are heading off again to Saint John (yes, without an ‘s as in Saint John’s, the capital of Newfoundland). We had been there for a quick visit the day before, but this time we were going to explore the city for real. It is located 43 km north-east of Pocologan, where we stayed.

While there were lots of people, and almost as many Canadian flags, in downtown St John. One of the more interesting natural phenomena was the Reversing Falls. The primary industrial operation near the falls is the Irving Pulp & Paper mill. The mill is located on the west side of the gorge. The Irving family has been described as having an economic monopoly in New Brunswick. Yet, their origins are modest. James Dergavel Irving (1860 – 1933) started the family business empire by opening a gas station in Bouctouche, approximately 40 kilometres northeast of Moncton. Since then the range of businesses owned has grown to over 250 located throughout Canada and the United States. In 2017, the various petrochemical, logistics, retail, and media companies were estimated by MacLeans to be worth $14.5 billion at the end of 2024.

The cormorants at the Reversing Falls provided the most entertainment. At the far end they would fly forward, then allow themselves to drift down with the current. Presumably, when the current flowed in the opposite direction, their flight path would be reversed. I did not wait to see.

The 8.9 km² Rockwood Park claims to have six or ten lakes (sources vary) and 55 trails (sources are consistent). We circumnavigated Lily Lake and enjoyed the sculptures found there.

One of the first sculptures we encountered with Sunshine and Moonlight over Saint John (2012) by Japanese sculptor Hiroyuki Asano (1963 – )

The Day of Mourning was first observed in 1984 by the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) and later adopted by the Canadian Labour Congress. The date was chosen to coincide with the anniversary of the first Workers’ Compensation Act in Ontario, Canada, in 1914. In 2023, the latest year for which I have been able to obtain statistics, there were 1 057 workplace fatalities recorded in Canada. Among these deaths were 29 young workers aged 15-24.

The Day of Mourning Monument (2011) by Fred Harrison and Darren Byers.

The Day of Mourning monument in Rockwood Park, Saint John, New Brunswick, was unveiled on a National Day of Mourning (2011-04-28) to honor workers who have died, been injured, or become ill due to workplace hazards. The monument depicts workers lifting a beam, with two ghostly figures representing lives lost with a woman on a crate symbolizing unsafe conditions. A canary on the beam also serves as a reminder of the use of canaries in mine shafts to detect toxic air. The Day of Mourning is observed annually on 04-28. It was made by Fred Harrison and Darren Byers.

Jhon Gogaberishvili, *Time and Universe* (2014)

Georgian (as in the European country) sculptor Jhon Gogaberishvili (1953 – ) is responsible for this artwork found in Saint Stephens, New Brunswick, titled, Time and Universe (2014). Saint Stephens is situated on the east bank of the St. Croix River, which forms a large section of the border between Maine and New Brunswick.

Pocologan to Moncton

Our route from Pocologan to Moncton took us along the highway 1 freeway, before we turned off onto highway 114. allowing us to drive through Mechanic Settlement. Yes, it has to be one of the most appealing location names in all of Canada, for people with an interest in technology. Soon we reached Fundy National Park (FNP). In 2025, free admission to Canadian national parks was available to us, and everyone else, from 06-20 to 09-02, inclusive, as part of the Canada Strong Pass initiative. The Canada Strong Pass is not a physical or virtual pass that you need to get. One just shows up at the included attractions.

After leaving FNP, we encountered the fishing village of Alma, where one could appreciate the tidal height differences, and its inventory of modern fishing boats.

After stopping and admiring the village, we continued on to Hillsborough, where the New Brunswick Railway Museum is located. It has the largest collection of railway artifacts in New Brunswick, about half being from passenger operations, while the other half is of freight, maintenance-of-way and service equipment.

The museum is also home to one aircraft, a preserved CF-101 Voodoo fighter jet, an all-weather interceptor aircraft operated by the Royal Canadian Air Force between 1961 and 1984. They were manufactured by the McDonnell Aircraft Corporation of St. Louis, Missouri.

Also near Hillsborough is the Weldon Private Park, where we stopped for a few minutes.

We did not spend much time in Moncton itself. About 46% of the Moncton’s population is bilingual and understands both English and French. The only other Canadian cities that approach this level of linguistic duality are Ottawa, Sudbury, and Montreal. Moncton became the first officially bilingual city in the country in 2002. This means that all municipal services, as well as public notices and information, are available in both French and English. It is also the fastest growing metropolitan area in Canada.

I remember Jane Cooper telling everyone in our class at John Robson Elementary School, about visiting Magnetic Hill, an optical illusion, on the outskirts of Moncton. About seventy years later, we paid our CAD 10 entrance fee, and experienced it. My advice to readers is to save their money.

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Maine

Yes, Maine is the 6th American state I have visited. In Chronological order the others are: Washington, Ohio, Oregon, California and Michigan. If I visited American places associated with my ancestry, I should visit Schenectady and Staten Island in New York, North Bergen in New Jersey and Baltimore, Maryland. Other places of interest include Hawaii, Nevada, New Hampshire and Vermont.

The Cat Ferry leaving Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. Photo: Regan Murphy, 2016-07-31.

The Alakai = Sea Path, in Hawaiian, was designed and built by Austal USA, a subsidiary of Austal, an Australian company that is the world’s largest builder of fast ferries. Construction began in 2004-06 in Mobile, Alabama. It was launched 2007-01. It originally cost US$ 88M. Originally Hawaii Superferry’s first high-speed ferry, was intended to operate between various Hawaiian islands. Unfortunatelly, the owners forgot to undertake an environmental assessment, and use of the ferry and its sister ship the Huakai = Journey, in Hawaiian, were banned. Both vessels are now owned by the United States Navy Military Sealift Command, bought for US$ 25 M, each. Officially, it is now named the HST-2, although Alakai still is painted on its bow. It is referred to as The Cat. The vessel is chartered by Bay Ferries to operate a ferry service between Yarmouth, Nova Scotia and Bar Harbor, Maine. It travels at a speed of 35 knots = 65 km/h, taking 3.5 hours for a one-way trip. Bay Ferries operates in eastern Canada with headquarters in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is a subsidiary of Northumberland Ferries.

Long before a new American president had taken over, we had paid for our Maine accommodation. We had considered abandoning this part of our trip, but decided not to. We began to ensure a safe passage through the American border by eating the two bananas we had with us on board the ferry. No fruit is allowed to be taken into USA. The interrogation at the border was much more thorough than before. We were asked how long we were staying = three days. In addition to our Canadian passports, the guard wanted to see documentation for our rental car and its insurance. After learning that we lived in Norway, he wanted documentation for our exit from Canada. With those formalities in order, we were allowed into USA.

My son, Alasdair, could tell me that he wanted to visit Bar Harbor, because of Fallout 4: Far Harbor, an expansion pack for the action role-playing game. It is set 210 years after The Great War, which began 2077-10-23, and resulted in nuclear devastation across the United States. So the game is set sometime in 2287-8. The main difference between game and reality, was that while Far Harbor was depopulated, Bar Harbor was experiencing a summer tourism surge in population. It is located on Mount Desert Island. Samuel de Champlain (1574 – 1635) observed on 1604-08-06, that the summits of the island’s mountains were free of vegetation, as seen from the sea. This led him to call the island L’Isle des Monts-déserts = island of barren mountains.

Bar Harbor. We parked behind the purple car.

After a couple of hours experiencing an overcrowded Bar Harbor on foot, I was happy to drive on. However, I appreciated the scenery of Acadia National Park. The park began as Sieur de Monts National Monument in 1916, but was reestablishing as Lafayette National Park in 1919, the first national park east of the Mississippi. The name Lafayette was changed to Acadia in 1929.

Belfast

The first place we visited in Belfast was the Public Library. Because we didn’t know we would be stopping here, we thought it would be a good location to find out something about the geography and history of the place. It was settled in 1770, and from about 1850 developed into a shipbuilding center, producing hundreds of schooners. Materials for wooden boat construction were shipped down the Penobscot River from Bangor, the lumber capital of North America during the later 19th century. Wooden ship construction faded by 1900, so the local economy shifted to distributing seafood for the Boston and New York markets. After World War II, the emphasis was on poultry production, but that died out in the 1970s. Fortunately, boomers started to invade the area wanting to live in more rural areas.

We learned that people in Maine choose Moxie over root beer. We had to try some, so we bought a dozen tins. One empty tin even made it back to Norway as a souvenir. It looked like rusty water, and the taste was similar, but it was an acquired taste, that grows exponentially. Yes, that means the second tin tasted four times better than the first one.

Bangor

Our accommodation was about one kilometer from the Maine Air Museum, in Bangor. Alasdair had originally visited it without me, but I caught up to him to appreciate it. Yes, rail and air transport related facilities are always high priority places to visit on our trips.

Yes, this is what a nuclear bomb looks like, without the active ingredients!

We also visited downtown Bangor, where its artwork was appreciated:

As in most places, we continued to eat. We had dinner at the Happy Chinese Buffet in Bangor. It makes a change from Pizza.

Biologically, I am the youngest of five brothers, four of which involve my paternal family. The next youngest is Brad, who was born in Windsor, Ontario, but who moved with his family across the Detroit River to Michigan. He discovered me, one month before I turned seventy. Soon after, he and Janice visited us in Norway, then we visited them in Macomb, Michigan just as the pandemic struck. On his way to Maine, he and his wife Janice had visited Dick, the adopted son of our father, who lives in Keene, New Hampshire. This was the last piece of the puzzle explaining my name at birth, Richard Edwin Salter.

We met for a third time in Bangor. This photo was taken at the Hilton Garden Hotel where Brad and Janice were staying. Alasdair and I were some kilometers away at a Quality hotel.

Brad & Janice Laesser, Alasdair and Brock.

Note: Content about the Maine Air Museum along with other photos was added on Tuesday, 2025-08-05.

2025-08-022025-08-04

Nova Scotia

It was almost 50 years between visits to Halifax. My first visit was to study there for a year during the 1975-6 academic year. Notably, it was my first prolonged exposure to cold. Clothing suitable for a winter in Vancouver, were not suitable for a winter in Nova Scotia.

Every urban visit seems to promote the same reaction. I am a ruralist, and this is not really my scene.

Positive experiences

My relationship with the Staples office supply chain is directly related to my use of Logitech computing accessories. Previously, when in Canada, I would visit a Staples store, and look at the latest Logitech keyboards. English language keyboards were often available before Nordic keyboards, so I could make a decision earlier based on what I found. This is why I own seven Logitech keyboards, including two of model K380, my favourite, kept in reserve, just in case . In Halifax, there were no new accessories, so I spent more time looking at curved monitors. It was a positive experience. Prices seemed to vary extensively from over CAD 1 000 to under CAD 120. My companion explained that much of this price difference could be attributed to the monitor’s refresh speed. He felt that an ultrafast refresh was only something for gamers and video producers to worry about, not his father.

50 years ago, I worked part-time as a security guard at the Killam Memorial Library, part of Dalhousie University, in Halifax. Here I am with Alasdair. My daughter Shelagh commented that it looked as if we were dressed for two different climates.

Not everything is as it was 50 years ago. I appreciate

Of course we had to visit the Halifax train station. It is undergoing a CAD 6M rehabilitation that started in 2018. The challenge with trains in Canada is that they most often do not meet the needs of travellers. Earlier this year in France, we used trains as our primary means of transport, although there were a few bus substitutes on Corsica. This was not possible in maritime Canada or Maine. Only one train a day arrives and leaves the Halifax train station.

Peggy’s Cove

Peggy’s Cove is less than 50 km/ one hour by car from Halifax. It is a tourist trap. Instead of visiting it, spend your time in Lunenburg, 100 km/ 1h10m down the road, or even a bit less if one just drives there from Halifax.

Lunenburg

Lunenburg is a port town on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, Canada, founded in 1753. Historically, its economy relied on the offshore fishery. It experienced prosperity in the late 1800s, and much of its architecture dates from then. In 1995, UNESCO designated it a World Heritage Site. UNESCO considers the site the best example of planned British colonial settlement in North America. The core of the town is also a National Historic Site of Canada. The Schooner Bluenose (1921) and its 1963 replica were both built at Lunenberg.

Bay of Fundy

When we left Halifax we headed towards the Bay of Fundy. We headed out of Halifax on Highway 101. The first stop was at Windsor, and its railway station. It is the antithesis of the one found in Halifax. No trains stop there any more. The station is owned by the Windsor and Hantsport Railway, which no longer operates trains. This prefabricated metal structure replaced an earlier station building when the railway line’s route through Windsor was changed in the 1970s.

We then visited the Greenwood Military Aviation Museum, which had a Canadian made Lancaster bomber on display, along with other aircraft. While not really open to the public we got to see more than most tourists, because one visitor was receiving a special viewing of the Lancaster, because her father piloted such an aircraft during World War II. The inside of the museum was also interesting.

Continuing on, we then stopped at Digby.

… with murals and old boats. The tidal difference can be up to 8 meters. This contrasts with about 2.5 meters near Cliff Cottage.

Yarmouth

At the end of the day we reached Yarmouth, where we stayed. Standard procedure says that we stay three nights in one location. This was the one exception on the trip, one night. In the morning we boarded The Cat that departed for Bar Harbor, Maine.

Culture shock

Whenever I visit Canada I experience culture shock. One would almost believe I was born in Norway, not in Vancouver. Here are some of the less than positive experiences I encountered on this trip.

Walking the streets of Halifax, I came across the Board Room. Sometimes, this is a cafe. At other times it is just a place where one can play 600+ board games. At Cliff Cottage, the choice is probably only about 50 games. However, you will not be charged anything for playing any of them. At the Board Room the fee for 3 hours is CAD 10 + sales tax. My first challenge was understanding North American urbanese. What time is 12PM? All my devices (indluding my brain) present time using 24 hour clocks. However, in a matter of ms, I had translated this to 12:00 = noon. If it had been 12AM, my brain would translate it as 00:00 = midnight.

Travel involves the use of money. For me that means a bank card, sometimes an app called Vipps – that works in Norway and Sweden. I have come across restaurants that do not accept cards. These places know where the closest automatic telling machine (ATM) is located. I decline to use it. I suspect the reason for their non-acceptance of bank cards involves tax evasion. I pay my taxes, and expect everyone else to pay them too. I have always found a restaurant close by that accepts a card. I do not want to end up with currency that I cannot use.

Sales tax vs Value-added tax (VAT). In Norway, the VAT rate is 25%. So when a shopkeeper buys or sells something, the price includes the VAT. The VAT earned on sales minus the VAT paid on purchases is paid to the government. This system means that the price marked on an item, or shown in a menu, is the price to be paid. There is no sales tax added on afterwards.

Tips. Tipping just isn’t done in Norway. People are expected to do their work, and employers are expected to pay living wages (or more) for it. Thus there is no need for tips. I especially dislike the north American card readers used in restaurants, and the range of tips expected. Yes, I should have taken a photo of one of them: It had five choices: 15, 20 and 25%, other % and fixed amount. I had to use the fixed amount and insert 0. It worked. Of course, the amount paid included the sales tax.

For the Halifax transit authority (HTA), money also means cash. Cash is a very messy medium of exchange, even if tax avoidance is not an issue. Coins and bills are typically dirty, Cash has to be counted, up to several times. So, I can’t understand that the HTA reduces their costs by demanding cash. In this particular case, the situation meant that I could not take the Dartmouth Ferry.

Then there are the parking garages. They don’t accept cash. We came across multiple apps. They typically have a wallet where one is expected to deposit funds to pay for the parking, but they want an excessive balance put into that wallet. We have always found parking and apps that allow for direct payment of the specified amount.