Ottawa: The Capital

Ottawa the Capital of Canada. I was staying at an unusual hostel called Hi Ottawa Jail Hostel. The building had so much sinister history. A jail house renovated into a hostel in 1973. You could stay in either newer large dorm rooms or private rooms which were originally cells for prisoners. I decided to stay in the 8 bed mix dorm just so I could meet new people. However I do wish I had stayed one night in a cell for the experience.

For my first day I headed out and explored Ottawa, I walked passed the famous Fairmont Chateau Laurier, a luxury hotel. It was a beautiful building that looked like something out of a fairytale. I never went inside however I admired the outside. It connects to the Plaza bridge which links downtown to Parliament Hill. Just beneath was the Ottawa locks which connects the Rideau canal to the Ottawa River. The locks consist of 1 to 8 and is deemed a UNESCO world heritage site. The whole area was beautifully maintained leading down underneath Parliament Hill with amazing views of the river. The locks are fully functioning. The gates allow boats in and out. It takes boats over 1.5 hours to get through all gates. You can witness a small team of attendants manually turning the enormous iron cranks to activate the pumps which fills each section separately this then allows the gates to open so boats can pass through. I spent some time in this area wandering and enjoying the sun.

Fairmont Chateau Laurier overlooking The Ottawa locks

At the hostel they run a daily tour telling you about the jail and all the facts about the building, guards and inmates. The jail house was first built in 1800s for drunks and murderers. When it first opened it was a model prison and many other prisons would be built to emulate. It served as a prison for more than a 100 years. The first few years of the jail operating the building had no glass on the barred windows and prisoners slept without beds. Ottawa’s winter temperatures could reach as cold as minus 40 degrees. I could imagine people didn’t survive long in the cells and this probably could be one of many factors of why there was so many unrecorded deaths. The cells were just big enough to fit in a narrow bed slightly smaller then a single size bed. 9×3 feet with thick heavy barred doors. The building remains intact and it still has the heavy wooden doors, staircases have the original suicide bars which prevented inmates killing themselves or the guards. All bars are still on the windows. The building was a model prison due to the way it was built with something called drum ceilings, or arched ceilings which meant a guard could hear you at the end of the hall even if it was a whisper.

In the basement was solitary confinement, prisoners would be striped naked and chained to the floor. On the 8th floor was death row. At the time Canada did have capital punishment. Three men were hung here, two which are thought to have been innocent. The most famous man killed was Patrick Whelan who was accused of killing Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a friend of the prime minister at the time. The evidence was weak and it was public opinion that got Whelan convicted. Whelan always claimed his innocence until he was hung. It was a public execution. A miscalculation on the hangman’s part meant it took him 7 minutes to die. Whelan’s last wish was to be buried in his family grave in Montreal. This never happened and his grave was within the jail in an unmarked grave, no priest would come to conduct the funeral. It is said that the jail is one of the top 10 most haunted places where Whelan’s soul still haunts it. Spooky stuff. He was the last person to be publicly executed in Canada.

The corridor for death row was wooden flooring that creaked as you walked. It was said that the floor was designed this way so when they walked death row the other inmates could hear the footsteps as they were escorted to there deaths. The tour took you through to the back stairwell where they also pointed out a wooden beam which had indications that others had been hung from the inside. You could see rope marks on the beams. It was said that the jail closed in 1972 due to inhumane conditions. Up to 150 prisoners of men, women and children were forced to share 60 small cells, 30 larger cells and 6 solitary confinement units. Inmates were mixed together including murders, mentally ill and those who committed minor crimes, like drunk and disorderly.

In the hostel I met a German couple, Lisa and Arne, who were on a round the world trip together. I got chatting to them and we hung out. Lisa and I visited the National gallery of Canada. The view from the glass lobby overlooking Parliament Hill were insane. I am not a museum fan but it was good to see the art and sculptures. Outside the front was a sculpture of a giant spider. The artist created it in memory of her mother. Lisa and I thought this was a strange thing to design for this reason but after reading the artist mother passed away, she was a weaver and the artist explained the similarities to spiders how they are clever, weaving and creating their webs. After we met back up with Arne and went out to get Nando’s (not the same as home, it never satisfied my craving!). They told me how much they loved Nando’s and they couldn’t get it back home in there hometown in Germany. Later on we visited the neon light festival that was happening in town where we saw fire shows, art work and many other spectacular things.

I also met a young German girl, Patricia, who was only about 18 years old doing her travelling completely by bicycle. She wanted to cycle from East to West over the Rocky Mountains. Me, Lisa and Arne thought she was crazy. She told us her parents didn’t know this was her plan. After we all went separate ways I contacted her to see how she was getting on. She told me she had a terrible time. She got lost, it had rained, took her over 8 hours to find where she was going, was hit by a car and had to stay in a random persons house who had taken her in for the night. As you can imagine she never cycled across the country. I heard that she took the train.

The next morning I woke early so I could wait in a queue at the box office opposite Parliament Hill to gain free access to the building which was also a tour. It was the last year they were allowing the public into the building before closing it for a 10 year renovation. I manage to get tickets late morning. I went back to the hostel and had some free breakfast which consist of boiled egg and toast. Before heading out again. Parliament Hill was an enormous building with beautiful courts, halls and a very old library. You were also allowed to the top of the clock tower where there was 360 views of Ottawa. It was amazing. Outside the front was the centennial flame. The flame is fuelled by natural gases because the fire burns above the water the fountain never freezes even in winter. The fountain has the shields of Canada’s 13 provinces. After I planned to meet up with Alex who I met in Toronto. He said he would meet by the fountain near the Byward market. After some confusion with no sim data and a dead mobile phone. We finally met up. We explored the markets and went for a drink. We had a great time and the more I explored the more I really like Ottawa, it is was such a quaint city. I as surprised that every corner you turned in the streets of the city you smelt the smell of weed. Alex explained that a lot of Canadians smoked weed and that in October 2018 it was would made legal for recreational use in the country.

The next day I met up with Lisa and Arne after they visited the Canadian war museum, we went to see the Norte-dame cathedral basilica and wandered down along the river to find the Rideau waterfall. It wasn’t natural but a man made waterfall, still cool to see. That evening Alex, Lisa and Arne and myself went to a local game themed bar. One side had console games and the rest of the bar had a wall of board games. We spent a few hours playing before heading back to the hostel. That night before going to bed I met a few of the newest roommates. One being Rob, he was a confident, bubbly guy and we got chatting as well as another guy, blonde haired who was going on a tinder date that night. Rob said he was making his way to Montreal too, also my next stop. Lisa and Arne had recommended a hostel called M Montreal, saying it was like a hotel and also had jacuzzis on the roof. I decided to book here. Turned out Rob had booked here too. We said we would hang out once he got there a few days later. I had an early night ready for my early train ride to Montreal the next day.