Michael At the end of October, we were drawn to Canada, to the city of Toronto. The city, known for its multicultural image, is located far in the east, very close to the border with the USA and the state of New York.
Canadians are supposedly somewhat more peaceful than Americans; however, but according to our observations, some of them drive recklessly and are honking their horns incessantly as if they've lost their minds. This is quite noticeable if you come from California, because there, no one gets upset so quickly just because a car cuts them off. By the way, the U.S. state with the least amount of honking is Hawaii, where only the tourists honk.
But back to Toronto: The city is suffering, similar to Vancouver (Rundbrief 07/2005) in western Canada, from disfiguring mass housing high rises. The 4.2 million people undoubtedly need to find accommodation somewhere, but there are hardly any old buildings or organically developed neighborhoods to show for it. Everything we have seen of Canada so far suggests the suspicion that at some point in the 1960s, masses of people moved to the big cities, and their housing needs were met by the cheapest available architects.
Toronto is located on the northern shore of Lake Ontario, which is 311 by 85 kilometers in size! Facing the city is a small island inhabited by defiant hippies who built small houses there in the 1960s and then stubbornly refused to leave in the 1990s when the city wanted to turn the island into a park. A regularly operating ferry brings the hippies to the city in the morning and streams of tourists to the car-free island, all for the bargain price of CAN$6.50 per person! We visited the charming little houses, and some hippies even rake the leaves that fall from the trees in autumn, outrageous! By the way, there are no autumn-colored deciduous trees in San Francisco; we completely lack the "autumn" season, as summer transitions directly into the rainy winter season, and deciduous trees are also absent.
Canada has the reputation of being more socialist than the USA, with legally regulated health insurance and various social benefits that are unfamiliar to Americans. Nevertheless, more homeless people loiter on the streets of Toronto than in comparable climate regions of the USA.
What stood out positively were the many city districts specialized in certain immigrant groups, which are widely spread out but can be easily reached with the impeccably functioning subway, tram, and bus system. However, the authorities still need to learn that not everyone knows that a bus ride costs $2.75. Even the bus driver only reluctantly and incredulously provided this information upon request. Regardless, there is a "Chinatown" (of course laughable compared to New York or San Francisco, but still), a "Greektown" with Greek restaurants (a rarity in California), and the quite alternative/hip Kensington Market, where you can buy high-quality food at reasonable prices, even decent cheese and real rolls!
However, it seems that the government in the Canadian province of Ontario believes that its residents would all succumb to drinking if the state did not regulate alcohol consumption with an iron fist. Only so-called "Liquor Stores" exist, which sell nothing but alcoholic beverages at completely absurd prices and are practically always closed when the average citizen thinks about purchasing alcoholic drinks (in the evening). I have read that these stores collectively pay a billion dollars in licensing fees to the state annually. Therefore, it is not surprising that every attempt to liberalize alcohol sales has failed so far.
