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  Edition # 106  
San Francisco, 02-05-2014

Quebec, Canada

Michael Four days later, we hauled our rolling luggage on partially de-iced sidewalks to the train station "Gare Central", located about half a mile from our hotel. We were headed to Quebec, about 160 miles north-east of Montreal. The city of Quebec is referred to by "Quebec City" by Canadians to avoid confusion as both Montreal and Quebec City are located in the Canadian state of Quebec. Bulky luggage wasn't permitted in the train vestibules, so we dropped ours off at the baggage check, just like at the airport. There wasn't any annoying rigamarole like having to show ID or being chased through a body scanner. Since we had our passports in hand, the baggage handler even jokingly snatched them and hid them behind his back! Most travelers boarded the train 30 minutes before departure. The train wasn't going very fast, only about 60 miles per hour, but offered a stable and pretty speedy Wifi connection.
Figure [1]: In Quebec we received our bags at the luggage car located at the head of the train.

As soon as we got off the train in Quebec, we noticed that the outside temperature had gone down from "frosty" to "brutally cold". During our stay, we experienced cold snaps with temperatures as low as -14F (-26C), and if you're outside on such a day and the cold wind is blowing in your face, this gets old pretty quickly.

Figure [2]: The city wall and the old castle hotel in Quebec.

Quebec is an astonishingly old city, at least it seems so when you're visiting from the United States. Its history dates back to the 17th century, and its old town at the top of the hill is called "Haute-Ville", connected to the lower part "Basse-Ville" by both an ancient elevator and a regular road.

Figure [3]: Angelika is freezing next to old cannons in Quebec.

There's many ancient cannons standing around everywhere throughout the city and all kinds of old masonry for the curious visitor to inspect. From what we've heard, during the summer months, Quebec turns into a possibly hard to bear tourist location, with all kinds of buzzling festivals and packed stores and restaurants. During the winter months, however, it is charminging bleary, and the few restaurants still open bid a warm welcome to visitors, and will happily walk them through the entire menu in English if that is what it takes.

Figure [4]: The sunlight comes in horizontally, and in combination with the cold clear air provides excellent conditions for photographers.

It's a photographer's paradise. The sun usually hangs low on the horizon, casting an almost horizontal light, which creates a grandiose ambience. The air is crystal clear, due to the extreme cold, and the only hard part is hitting the release without taking off the mittens! Hitting the button on a pedestrian crossing light while wearing mittens poses the same problem, but Quebec solved this one by placing sensors next to the buttons and all you need to do to trigger the signal is to hold your mitten next to it (Figure 5).

Figure [5]: Pedestrian crossings feature these proximity sensors that trigger the light when an object like a mitten-protected hand gets near it.

We found Canada's French-speaking part way more interesting than its western parts, which are mainly a pretty lame version of similar American cities. Vancouver or Toronto are not more than a poor man's San Francisco, and can be safely skipped, but travelers exploring Canada's east side will find a truly unique culture. We got a refresher in speaking French and ate a lot of excellent food. In Montreal, for example, I had a Filet Mignon so undescribably tender that I can't name a place which serves anything even remotely comparable. Beware, though, that French Canadians use a lot of butter in their cuisine, which can make you feel a bit bloated after a while. People are very friendly there, just don't forget to always start a conversation in French, even if it's just asking for a table for two in a restaurant. After the initial ice breaker, you can safely switch to English.

If you want to see more of our photos taken in Montreal and Quebec, check out our Flickr Album dedicated to this memorable vacation.

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