monmontreal

[monmontreal]

Calgary, AB

It was a weekend get-away to experience the anglophone Canada, the Canadian Texas and the Rockies. I had spoken with a couple of friends who had recently been to Calgary and Banff and others who’d lived there for some years, to get the most of the few days in Alberta. I did not read anything about Calgary and relied entirely on what my friends told me and I think that was a good thing. Although, when I think about it now…even if I went there without any idea what is going on, I think I would've gotten it. Due to the forest fires in BC the sky was hazy and the visibility was quite poor. In combination with rainy forecast and zillions of tourists that my friends reported visit Lake Louise, we decided not to visit Banff. I would like to visit Banff one day, for sure. But perhaps under different circumstances, in order to keep to my ‘virtual experience’ theory. 

Anyway, we stayed mostly in the city. I won’t brag about what you can see in Calgary. Google it. But I have a few observations.

It is amazing how much they can do with so little history. I mean my home village is older than Calgary! Yet they can talk about it as if it was one of a kind and believe me hardly anyone can beat Calgarian pride! #HeritagePark

One can see that there is (or was) a lot of money. The city is about the same size as Prague and there is so much space everywhere that there really isn’t any need to build opulent skyscrapers not many highly populated North American urban areas can beat. (Rumour has it that there is in fact much more office space in Calgary than is actually needed (any more).) Let alone 30+ story residential buildings scattered around the ‘down town’. These are surrounded by so much empty space that one cannot find any reason to buy an apartment in such a monstrous building other than: ‘Because I can afford it.’

Calgary became a real town / city when the first train came from the East. And you can easily see how important it was. It literally cuts through the city and cuts it in half. Anyway, from Calgary Tower I saw the longest train ever. I stopped counting the cars at one hundred. (Thinking of my homeland - if such a train was crossing from Slovakia to Hungary I'm sure its tail would still be in Poland.)

Besides the generic nothingness in the city centre I noticed a certain accent to public space. Here and there one can see a nice functional park, walk or leisure area. It gives the city a lovely blush. These things normally come at a later stage, once authorities realise a city is actually for people. There are quite a few cyclo-tracks around the city center. #PrincesIslandPark

Food. All based on tips by the locals, we went to three places only, but they were very lovely. The Guild; The Beltliner (I hear they own Gorilla Whale, too) and Bow Valley Ranche. Really good food, fair prices and nice service. Will go there again.

Our ride to Kananaskis was somewhat amazing. The first fifty miles there is nothing. And by nothing I mean really nothing. Fields, fields, fields. If you want to see a house you’d better look out! Not easy to spot one. And once you enter the mountains…wow. 3,000+ meters tall and super sharp? That is one thing I really want to do again.

Oh, I would’ve almost forgotten. What we enjoyed an awful lot were our two church visits. The Cathedral with its English hymns and this so-American way of singing full of emotions was so different from Québec. And the other one was the only French-speaking parish in Alberta, Sainte-Famille, where there were six people present with six different French accents (I mean five native French accents and me trying to understand): québecois, franco-ontarien, français anglophone, français haïtien and what I guess was Syrian French (or Middle Eastern for sure).

P.S.: The Texas, i.e. Stampede, happened a few weeks before our visit to Calgary. I don’t think we missed that much.

P.S.: Let's not forget Calgary is an Olympic town. Yeah, that's about it.

[monmontreal]

Les grands jardiniers

I think the keyword for this blog is veranda. Les Montréalais love their verandas (although perhaps the correct word is patio or porch). Montréal is a city of verandas. Basically every duplex or triplex has porches, balconies, patios, call them whatever you want. They are in front of their houses as well as at the back. In the front of the house there is always a tiny little garden and it's safe to say that people from Montréal love their little gardens. It's a common view to see people after work or at the weekend watering their little gardens or rearranging the few plants they have there. Levander, geraniums, daisies, sunflowers are very popular. And their owners are very proud of them.

For some reason I associate the word veranda with American South, in particular New Orleans (French?) and I am wondering if there is any historical connection. Anyway, since the winter is quite long and bitter it seems people here like to spend their time outside (plus the houses here are in fact wooden sheds, unlike in Europe, and without air conditioning it is quite difficult to bear the heat). 

The gardening expertise of Montréalers even extends to public space. If there is a tree in the middle of the sidewalk people would take care of the little space around its trunk (yes, the one square meter of soil around the tree). They would get rid of the weed, put some fresh nice soil in place and plant some flowers. What a nice way to make a sidewalk brighter, no?

What I find quite particularly lovely here are alleys. An alley is a road in between main roads where people have their back yards. Some of these alleys are called rouelle verte, green alley. A rouelle verte is a charming almost private common space. There does not seem to be much regulation on what you can built in your back yard here and sometimes it can be quite a spectacle to see how people arrange their porches and back yards. But a rouelle verte is usually green, with flowers, potagers, sun shades and sitting areas of the most unimaginable sorts. 

A rouelle verte is accessible by car but anything speed faster than a walking pace would be seriously frowned upon. It's because that's where kids play football (soccer), basketball, hockey (!!!), even baseball and table tennis and where they ride their bicycles (Attention à nos enfants! signs are everywhere). The other day I even saw a street party with reggae music! Food and drinks were a sure thing. A rouelle verte is an amazing micro-space that allows you to escape the city without actually going anywhere.

[monmontreal]

Parc Jarry

Parc Jarry is in the very heart of the city, in the quartier where I live called Villeray. It's outside the busy downtown area up on the island, it's large (35 ha) and so bright and sunny. It has several parts: the pond, the stadium, park greens and a playground for children.

In one corner of the park area there is a pond with a little island, surrounded by little mounds which are clearly popular for sunbathers and people who just want to chill (now that I think about it there is something to sitting on a slope and looking around - #RiegerovySady). Building the little mounds around the lake was a brilliant idea as it separates this part from the rest of the park, it creates a sort of intimate space and many smaller spaces in between the mounds, under the pine trees etc. One of these little hills is about ten meters above the neighbouring ground and functions as a viewing platform. There are benches and picnic tables and it is hard to find a space to sit if you come on a sunny day.

The greens are awesome for just being out in the open. Dozens of families and groups of friends having barbecues, play frisbee or racquet or bat games, throw football, jog, cycle or run and so on. There are tens of playgrounds for different sports. I counted the following sports: basketball, beach volleyball, tennis, baseball, football (soccer), cricket, table tennis, pétanque, slackline (that's a sport, right?), there is a skate park and even three swimming pools.

There are many tennis courts around the Stad IGA, whose Court central can hold up to 12,000 people. I have never been to a proper tennis match and could never afford Wimbledon and I am thinking I should try to watch a game here some day (somewhere from the back I guess).

Parc Jarry is great for children - at least judging by the hundreds I have seen. They are basically everywhere but one corner is designed specially for families with children, with a shallow yet quite big swimming pool just for kids. Well, and there are swings, sand pits and all these things around.

Oh, once again, it's so wonderful how the city changes - completely. With a couple of friends we wanted to throw a picnic in the Old Port but now I am thinking we can actually have a proper BBQ in Parc Jarry. If we are lucky with the weather. I have to put two things on my to buy list: pétanque balls and a barbecue set.

[monmontreal]

One 4 Town

People say that Trnava is the Vatican of Slovakia. What people?! Well, people who have never been to the Vatican. 

I've been having some doubts about Montréal being very European as I think it isn't. But who am I to judge, especially after ten weeks I've been here anyway. But this past weekend I had some interesting experiences and observations.

Bixi

On Sunday we rented Bixis, bicycles that you can get somewhere and leave in a docking station somewhere else, and we cycled around the Vieux Port where we had a little picnic. The weather was lovely (finally) and it was such an incredible change! There were people outside walking their dogs, kids running about, people on roller-skates or just relaxing on deck chairs enjoying the sunshine along the Canal-de-Lachine. People were everywhere! The city where only a few days before everyone was just hiding inside or in the underground became so lively and crowded! I recall feelings I had in Prague in the summer where I'd be just walking around the city or walking home from work for hours on end just out of guilt! The guilt of being indoors when it's so jolly lovely outside. And even if Montréal is not green yet the city has become one of light, colours and sounds. It is an incredible change and my argument for loving cities. They are not just buildings and roads but parks, promenades, alleys and terraces. I love outdoor urban space which is functional and made for people.

Urban space

And they have some here in Montréal. Indeed. On Saturday night I walked around some neighbourhoods on the Plateau, namely Rue Rachel and Rue Prince Arthur (with a wonderful Venezuelan restaurant called Arepera which is a lovely place with awesome food, great service, groovy latino music AND good coffee). These are to the north and south of Rue Duluth (which I mentioned in my earlier post). In particular Rue Prince Arthur between Avenue du Parc and Rue St-Denis is a European-style pedestrian street remodelled only recently, which opens into Parc Saint-Louis. Now, squirrels have it that once the lawn and the trees are green again it is a fine place to be in the summer.

Yes, ok, I admit, humbly, there is something European about the city. Indeed. Hold it against me next time I complain.

Photo by Dillan Choiniere on Unsplash.

[monmontreal]

Jeszcze Polska nie zginęła

You always go to different restaurants, try new food, look up new recipes and so on. Yet there is staple food that you would regularly get without even realising it, it’s easily accessible, they'd have it in any place and you love it. It’s simply there. Until it isn’t.

That’s what this experience was about. I have been in Montréal for only a short time, too short to really miss anything, but today it struck me that yes, some things that I was used to eating in Prague are not so easy to find here. Fortunately the Poles are everywhere in the world and if there are not Czech or Slovak shops here, there sure are Polish ones.

If you’ve ever been to a real outdoor Polish market you can imagine the atmosphere at the Polish market. Lively, and a lot of goodies. There was a 45 min queue (line) for food and people were standing along the meat and sausages stands (kabanosy, kiełbasy, kaszanky) and as I was hungry I was literally drooling. Once it was our turn, we got everything: barszczyk czerwony ze śmietaną a koperkiem, pierogi z mięsem, pierogi ruskie, kiełbasa pieczona z kiszoną kapustą, ciasteczka, naleśniki z serem.

There were carnations in vases on the table and a lottery to support kids in Poland (you know, a Canadian parish helping out a parish in a Polish village, as the parish priest know best who needs the money (my friend A.S. is banging her fists on the table)). You could hear Polish, English and French all around. Communities are always formed when you live in a different country and Poles are a great example of how lovely it can be. I have always envied their pride of being Polish. They are a big and proud nation!

That reminds me: I need to get my haluškovač somehow here to Montréal. To cook my staple food! 

[monmontreal]

Canadian friendly

And how did she sound? What was she like.’

‘No, don't get me wrong. She was friendly. ... But, you know, Canadian friendly.’

With my Spanish and Italian friends in Prague we talked a lot about what people are like in the public. My friends from the south would find people in Prague unfriendly, weird or even rude. Just because they wouldn’t unnecessarily talk to strangers. The Spaniards would strike a conversation with a bus driver, a shop assistant, waiter or just the person sitting next to them on a plane. While we from Central Europe or up north consider it a bit rude to talk private matters on the metro and we keep a conversation with a waiter down to a minimum. And not because we don’t like them. It’s just a matter of standards and expectations.

I think there might be several reasons behind this:

 we keep a distance from people we don’t know;

in Central European countries (post-communist countries) there is a different concept of hierarchy, people are not equalitarian, in the relationship between a customer and a waiter/bus driver/shop assistant the lesser is considered inferior and are not expected to be so friendly; and

perhaps also that in post-communist countries people were more sensitive to strangers (secret services etc.); friendly talk was reserved to friends, colleagues and family.

This is of course changing, especially in bigger and more culturally diverse cities and also with the younger generation that was born into democracy, but it is still present. And I believe there are differences also between the southern countries and the northern ones, such as Germany (former West Germany) and the Scandinavian countries, which do not have a communist history.

I have worked for several years for international companies and it was a great experience also in terms of these differences. It is my impression that in B2B relations with the Germans, for instance, they are very polite but also very professional and keep it down to the business at all times, while if you saw a business meeting with Italians or the Spanish you may think it's a birthday party (I am of course exaggerating).

What most Europeans, the Southerners included, notice in North America, is that people are very nice and friendly. The thing is that for us from Europe I believe it might be difficult to discern the difference between friendly and really or genuinely friendly. Really friendly meaning not just because you are a customer but because you are a friend. In a client-clerk/service person/staff interaction I have also noticed that with some regular customers people here in Montréal would even use a rather familiar and slang expressions yet it would still not count as a signal of a real friendship. A German friend of mine described his experience when he flew to the US a while ago. While the flight personnel of a major German airline on the way to the US were very professional, nice and polite, they’d still keep - what he sees as a professional - distance and not be too much. Yet when he flew with a major American carrier within the US the flight attendants with their blindingly shiny teeth would get excited over everything, even when he’d ask for a glass of water.

I find it great that people are generally very nice to each other here in North America (although at the same time much more assertive than Europeans are in my view) but I am also wondering how people really know who is nice and who is really nice. Well, I have quite some time to find out, right?

Now, speaking of being friendly and appropriate: When I moved to Liverpool fifteen years ago - and I was a kid then - I was really flattered when in a shop or on a bus they would call me love all the time. You know, these Are you alright, love?, Thanks, love. or Bye bye, love. lines etc. (although in Scouse it would be more of a Y'aw rice, luff?, Tah, luff. or Trah, luff.) all the time. I thought they must have noticed I was a foreigner with poor English. Only later I realised that they actually used love for anyone.

Photo by Nathan Dumlao on Unsplash

[monmontreal]

Avenue Duluth between Mont Royal and Rue St-Denis has so far been the coolest neighbourhood I’ve been to in Montréal. It’s in the very heart of Montréal's Plateau and it's more pedestrian than other areas, there are trees and even flower beds along the road, the pathways are more ‘our’ style and the buildings nearly have a feeling of single family houses (sort of terraced houses as they have them in Britain).

There are many hipster cafés and restaurants, boutiques and interesting corner store and I think I even caught a glimpse of a bearded guy on a bicycle. It is very green and I believe that in the summer it must be very nice.

We - quite by chance - discovered a Tibetan restaurant where I had the best food in Montréal so far - a delicious beef broth with minced meat, green onions, cilantro, carrot and hand made noodles. Fabulous, really. And I have been struggling with the food here so far. This one was in the money well spent category for sure. As you are reading this text I am probably watching cooking videos for khapse, phingsha, tingmo or shapta. I get emotional when it comes to food and a new recipe is something I live for.

This whole Ave Duluth area has already become my favourite as it reminds me of some neighbourhoods in Berlin or Dresden or Vienna. I think I may have felt homesick for a moment.

Street view here.

Incidentally, do you know which TV series (great, by the way) is “Duluth” related to?

[monmontreal]

Komžcedzi

When I was going to Montréal I told myself that what I would want from this trip was to learn French. I’ve been here for two months already and I can tell you...it’s not happening.

There are two reasons for this. (Three if I count that I am perhaps not trying hard enough.) They are all bilingual. Well, not all of them. Lower classes and perhaps older people speak little English. But younger generation and business people and people in restaurants and cafés, they all speak perfect English. To the point that when I carefully structure in my head - well in advance - what I want to say it takes exactly three sentences for me to switch to English. 

Français québecois

Secondly, what they speak is not really French but français québecois. Don’t get me wrong, I love it, it’s just not what I learnt. With my level of French this seems like Russian to a native Slovak or Czech. You get the topic of the conversation and catch a few words here and there but no way you understand what they are talking about. I just nod, believe me. 

This reminds me of a saying my Danish colleague once said about his language: ‘It’s true what they say about Danish - It’s not a language, it’s a sound.’ Works for Québecois as well.

My typical conversation usually looks like this: —Avez-vous choisi? —Oui, je prendrai XYZ. —[Aurgh, vprefaeirgh lpecis ou žvplfaeirgh angran lraoul dzayn?] ... At which point I tell myself ‘Why even bother’ and I ask in English.

English only?

One could therefore assume that one can get by with English only, leaving Québecois to the locals as their secret little language. Unfortunately most companies require you to be bilingual anyway. Alors, with respect to the locals I will have to find a way to learn their language. Not to survive but perhaps to avoid being left out of conversations. 

This blog will require a follow up, not only to report on methods how to learn the local language, but also to elaborate on its nature. As yesterday I heard this guy speak of Québecois French and Canadian French, which needs some extra research. In the meantime, I have been looking for some representative videos to prove my point. Here are three:

An interview with Xavier Dolan - this is still quite ok.

A chef talking about a recipe.

And what else than maple syrup.

Well, see for yourself.

[monmontreal]

Espresso in a plastic cup

Drop me anywhere in Prague and within five minutes I will find a café where you can find a nice cake or a pudding or you know, something sweet to go with your coffee. I realise now that we are café-lovers. And by we I mean all Europe I guess.

A friend of mine and myself met in the afternoon the other day, we ate something and later we wanted to get a cup of coffee and something sweet. What the heck! You can't find a nice petit café in downtown Montréal. You have all those coffee chains round every corner, sometimes next door to each other, but no proper café anywhere. 

Today I needed some adrenaline (meaning sugar), so I ordered a tarte au chocolat et un petit espresso and look what I get. An espresso in a paper cup. What an abomination! Where are all your manners, people?!

I haven't felt homesick yet. Now I do! I think the whole coffee culture is very different in Europe, at least where I come from. Now, this will have to have a follow-up. I am guessing I might find some cafés in the Little Italy. Or at least I hope. It says Italy, there must be good coffee there? How would all the Italians survive here, right?

[monmontreal]

Angry Onion

I have travelled somewhat a bit I guess. I used to travel the way to maximise the time spent somewhere, i.e. literally running from place to place to cover all the sightseeings. As I get older I go for - what I call - a vertical experience: to rather better experience one place in stead of many places without a real touch. This way I can really enjoy a long coffee in a cool café or read a book on a promenade without feeling guilty about “wasting time”.

I have learned not to use maps. Or at least not to use them all the time. I think that when people follow a certain path and keep focused on their guidebooks and maps they miss a lot of things. When your head is not facing down but facing up you can actually see thousand times more and experience infinite things.

Must be somewhere here...I think.

You still have to get around somehow. Now, what I do is to get familiar with a city’s landscape and plan beforehand. But just roughly. One needs a mental map of the key places in a city and the rest of it is just “somewhere in between” or “I think it should be somewhere close...”. It helps when a city is at a lake or on the coast - this is a clear limit, one cannot go much further.

The internet was not working on my telephone one day somewhere in Belgium. And I lost track of where I was walking. And nearly panicked about how I was going to get back. Then a surprise thought crossed my mind: “Oh, blooming heck, I can ask, right?”

In London you can just go along the Thames and you’ll see everything important (and you can choose either bank, I myself’d go for the South one), in Lisbon when you are anywhere close to the Tejo you know that you have to climb back up to the old town and in Vienna you just look for the Ring and one way or another you will find what you need (or end up running in a circle which - some would disagree - is STILL OK.). So, basically, just leave your books and maps behind (or in your backpack if you are of them careful folks) and just look around. Unless you are in rural China or Hungary (Bocsánat!), you will find your way. And the worst case scenario? Do what people did fifteen years ago. Ask. Yes, the old-fashioned “Ask for help!” still works.

Can I please get lost? Pretty please?!

Montréal is a grid plan city - like most North American cities. And it’s quite easy to get around the downtown or other quartiers, you just have to look for the hill. Mont Royal is easily seen from most places and helps you find the right direction. It will most likely pop up somewhere up or down the street. Just remember which side of the hill you are. And know what? When you have the luxury of not being in a hurry or late for an appointment just get lost for a moment. Just wander around. Aaaah, what the heck! No one cares if you can't find your way.

Oh, and why Angry Onion? You know how difficult it is to remember street names, directions etc. once you have moved somewhere new? And how easy it is to take the metro the wrong direction? Right. I take the Ligne Verte to and from the downtown. And the direction “there” is to Angrignon. So “Angry Onion to the Downtown”.

À plus!

Photo by Mark Jefferson Paraan on Unsplash

[monmontreal]

Finding north in Montréal

Have you been to Manhattan? Well, I have. And do you know where Park Ave. / Upper East Side is? (It’s where Holden Caulfield lived, by the way. East 71st unless I am mistaken.) Anyway, Upper East Side on Manhattan is where these huge mansions are and where all the rich people live. For some reason, however, I’ve been having trouble knowing where is east and where west outside of Europe. I guess it’s because from my Slovak perspective the West was where the rich countries were. And I find it weird realising that west in the US is Oregon, not Connecticut. I think in my head West is somewhere close to the centre of the Earth which would be somewhere in mid-Atlantic. But, anyway, orientation on Manhattan is pretty easy, north is north and south is south.

But Montréal...is different

Where does Montréal come in this story? Well, interestingly, north is not north in Montréal. Montréal is an L-shaped island (mirrored L) and that perhaps makes it more difficult to name locations north-south and east-west. Just like in Africa (when you are in Zambia, Angola is not West Africa although it is to the west of Zambia). Streets in Montréal that are divided in the city centre by Boulevard St-Laurent into east and west are actually running north-south (-ish, to be exact). So for instance when you are standing on St-Laurent and want to take Sherbrooke East you are actually travelling north and Sherbrooke West takes you south, south-west.

So where is north then?

Well, the east-west division of streets applies only to the streets in the downtown and north-east of the island. The last street named in this way is Rue Jean-Talon running through the very centre of the island. Roads to the west of Jean-Talon have just simple names and for instance if you take Rue Villeray north you are actually travelling north, north-east. And then somewhere there to your west you will find what is called Montréal-Nord.

So when you tell someone in the middle of the night in the Village ‘Let’s go north, honey.’ you may well end up at the very end of Notre-Dame East and enjoy a lovely sunrise over the Saint Lawrence River.

Photo credit: Google & Mark Jefferson Paraan on Unsplash

[monmontreal]

Snow = no surprise

There is this old joke that people say in Slovakia or the Czech Republic (usually applies to the capital cities). It says:

'The Snow Removal Services were really WELL prepared for winter this year. They bought new machinery, vehicles, tested everything well in advance, hired new stuff and installed special new weather forecast stations. But then the first snowfall came in mid-January and f*ucked up everything.'

When we landed at YUL the first difference I could see were the technical people maneuvering our plane to the gate. Well...people... More like snow monsters or snowpeople (apparently the gender-neutral and politically correct way of saying snowmen now (or snowwomen???)). They were all wearing very heavy winter clothes, hats and gloves and their faces were all covered, one could only see a little gap for their eyes.

It was minus 20 °C the morning after I arrived in Montréal. Everything in the town ran well, there was no panic, no blocked roads or irregular traffic. And everything was covered in snow, one to two feet of snow in fact. I got to go to the downtown and around the first weekend as I had little to do. It all seemed so relaxed and cool.

Winter in Prague

I do not really like winter. Well, I do not like winter in Prague. The temperatures there shift roughly between -5 °C and +5 °C. Very rarely they drop below -15 degrees and there is very little snow. When it snows it's usually quite a nightmare. Everything sort of slows down and gets dirty. I don't think people are happy. 

Well, it's not really about the snow or the cold. It's more about expectations. We do not need to wear particularly warm clothes, hats and gloves in Prague. Usually you take the metro or the tram, so you are outside hardly ever for more than a few minutes when you commute to work or school. A temperature drop or a light snowfall make a difference then.

Galoshes in Montréal

Here in Montréal people know what they get and what to expect. Proper winter coats with hoods, hats, gloves and especially heavy-duty boots are a must. Shoes in particular are quite a spectacle. They are so ugly. Yes, really. But that's because of the salt that is everywhere on the sidewalks and roads. And since it dirts the lower parts of your legs and has a hard impact on your shoes (see my poor leather boots below) people wear what is practical. In my country these shoes would be quite embarrassing to wear in front of people and most people would wear them around the farm in the country. But here they are everywhere. And do you remember galoshes? They are a hit! Anyway, people from Montréal are fashionable from knees up.

Over the two weeks I have been here I have not felt cold. You know what to expect and you wear warm clothes, you take extra time to get somewhere, you do not rush along the streets and do not panic if your shoes or clothes are a bit dirty. This is a real winter. And I like it. Winter as it should be! 

There was a big denéigement (snow removal - it actually has a special section on the city's website) that took place last week. A real spectacle. I have never seen vehicles and machinery so big in my life. And it apparently costs millions of dollars. I mean...wow. I think our snow removal services should come here for a lil training.

Anyway, the winter here in Montréal is just nice. Cold, with lots of snow, but that's what it's supposed to be like. (Well, hello, I come from the mountains but I have completely forgotten what winter feels like.)

À plus!