Toronto #2

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(Sorry that some fotos aren't oriented appropiately - could not change it!)

My second day in Toronto I started by writing my first two Blog entries outside Germany and making reserach about how to get from Toronto to Guelph. The least expensive and therfore for me best opportunities are Greyhound Bus and GO Transit (C$ 14,30 + Uber Taxi to the station (about C$ 12)). You can also take the Red Car Service, but that's much more expensive (about C$ 120).

In the afternoon I took the subway line 1 from Dupont to Union Station and walked past a fanshop for all the popular Toronto sports teams. There are: Toronto Raptors playing basketball (which also had the choice to be named as Toronto Tarantulas, but fortunately chose Raptors instead, try to say Toronto Tarantulas three times in a row haha :D), Toronto Maple Leafs playing ice hockey, and Toronto Blue Jays playing baseball. Friday until Sunday all locals were wearing Blue Jays Shirts and Caps, guess there must have been a game ;)

Afterwards I went through the entertainment district to China Town and Kensington Market with a stop at the 'black market' store, a very hip second- and first-hand store where everything costs C$ 10. I bought a sun hat as it was still so hot that I was afraid to get a sunstroke without headcovering. In China Town there are many fruit stalls on the streets that smell so good and where you can buy exotic fruits for very low prices. In the old streets of Kensington Market you won't find a franchise store as it isn't allowed for them to be there. It's a nice district, shabby-chic and hipster-like I'd say :D

On my way back to the subway station I went past the University of Toronto which attraced my eye immediately when I walked by. It has this old, wise and beautiful look you only know from the US Ivy League Universities from movies like 'A Beautiful Mind' or 'The Theory of Everything'. Different from the University of Bremen! :D

On my third day in Toronto I went to The Beaches. The original plan was to go to Scarborough Bluffs, a beach a bit further away from the city centre, more savage and therefore less popular than 'The Beaches' (where I finally landed). Even though I finally found a map where all public transports are shown on, the bus stops aren't marked on it, so that I apparently missed the right station to get out for Scraborough Bluffs. Maybe it was meant to be like that as it started raining when I had noticed that I must have missed it. (And there would have been a 2 km walk down to the beach at Scarborugh Bluffs). So I decided to go to 'The Beaches' instead which were on my way back to the city anyway. It's a very wide beach with sand not stones where you can actually have a swim and feel like on holidays in Spain when the weather is better. When I arrived there a tunderstorm was approaching and the lifeguards tried to convince the people that it would be better to leave the water.

So I decided to watch a movie in the movie theatre to escape from the rain and incidentally practise my listening skills. I watched 'Mike and Dave need Wedding Dates' - nothing special, but funny and watching Zac Efron taking off his clothes is always worth it haha :D By the way, what really was impressive about going to the cinema was the offer of food and drink they have there: Starbucks, a pizza place, a popcorn counter where you can choose with what to cover your popcorn (chocolate, caramel, different spices,...), normal cinema food (normal popcorn and soft drinks), a variety of sweets to choose from,... I actually felt lost and asked myself where I could buy a normal small-sized popcorn at first - really overwhelming haha :D

After the movie I went to the Harbourfront Centre where I already had been on my first day in Toronto when I joined the boattrip. I think the Harbour is my favourite spot in Toronto, especially in the evening when there is this special atmosphere when the sun goes down by the Lake, friends relax in the Amsterdam Brew House and dressed up couples go on board of one of the Mariposa dinner ships.

On my fourth day I took a ferry to the Toronto Islands located in the lake Ontario. Originally they were a peninsula, but then they were separated from the mainland by nature. Now there are 14 islands which are connected to each other via small bridges. On Centre island there is an amusement park and on Sunday when I was there it was very crowdy with many families. But on Ward's Island on the east side with two lovely cafès, playgrounds and beaches you can find nice and lonely spots. Also on the other side called Hanlan's Point where you can play tennis and where is much open space for barbecue and a clothing optional beach it's less crowdy than on Centre Island and you actually forget that you are close to such a big city. I walked all the way from Ward's Island to Hanlan's Point on the other side and back, each direction about 5 km. You can also borrow bikes, tandems and roofed bikes for two or four persons, I don't know how to call them, not even in German haha :D

It's really nice to go on holiday for a day on the Islands! You can escape from the big city's hustle and bustle there. By the way: I'd definitely recommend the chocolate peanut butter blondie at the Island Café on Ward's Island - it's delicious!! I also met a really nice man from the US while I was waiting for the ferry to arrive who told me some interesting historical facts about Ontario. For example that Kitchener, a city right next to Guelph, was named Berlin in 1833 and was the secret capital of Germans in Canda. During World War I it was renamed to Kitchener in 1916 after the famous field marshal Herbert Kitchener. All around Kitchener there still are some cities with German cities' names like Baden and New Hamburg. Norman also complained his suffering about the US American stupidity and carelessness to bring a person like Donald Trump in a position in which - in the case he wins these elections - he may be in control of nuclear weapons. I share these concerns with him.

In the evening I took the ferry back to the city and went to the Distillery District which is a great place to spend more time there as there are many arts and crafts boutiques, reastaurants and of course breweries in a charming old distillery spot. Definitily worth to visit! I enjoyed a lemon tea ale and an angus burger on the patio outside. (But unfortunately I have to admit that the burger wasn't as good as I had expected.)

I had great days in Toronto! The city is beautiful once you know a bit where you are and where to go. Its location on the Lake Ontario makes it something very special. Which other city of this size has islands and several beaches to relax on?

A problem I still have is to always add tax (13 %) on the prices. I still often forget it and am then annoyed when my neatly counted money isn't the appropriate amount - argh! Another thing I had to figure out was that the smallest cash is C$ 0,05. There aren't C$ 0,01 or C$ 0,02, they've changed it about 5 years ago - strange situation when you expect to get some change back but the cashier shows no intention to do so :D

#Toronto