As predicted, I woke up to a bright and sunny Ottawa today. To visit the parliament building you need to get in line to pick up a ticket for a tour later in the day.  I got to the ticket office about 20 minutes before it opened but there was already a significant line and I knew, from yesterday’s experience, that it would take about an hour just to get my ticket. It shouldn’t, because all that really needs to happen is that you tell the official what time, language and how many tickets you need, they give you those tickets and you leave. However, most tourists seem to treat the station as their guide for everything in Ottawa and the officials obliging try to answer their questions. Yesterday, several people spent at least five minutes “picking up” their tickets. Knowing that I would probably have to wait another hour for my tour time and that it takes an hour and 20 minutes for the tour itself I decided it was too much of an investment simply for photos of what I had already experienced some 20 hours before. Instead I explored more of the area and took photos in the crisp morning air.

The other thing I definitely wanted to do was to visit the Diefenbunker. This is the cold-war era bunker, 40 minutes outside of Ottawa, built to allow the government of Canada to continue operating in the event of nuclear war. I have never seen such a facility open to the public anywhere else even though most governments must have built something similar. If necessary, it would have housed up to 400 people and was designed to operate independently of the outside world for at least 30 days. As you can imagine, it was huge, compared to how I imagine a bunker anyway, and it is now open as a museum. You have relatively free range of the place and are allowed to handle lots of the artifacts. Inside the four-level complex is a mini set of government ministries but some of the more interesting areas include the cabinet room, a radio station, a hospital with an operating suite, dentist, mainframe computers and teleprinters, a huge cafeteria and the prime minister’s suite. It was a thought provoking experience.

I had intended to drive to Syracuse, NY for the night but there must be a big event on as the hotel rooms were all priced around $300 to $500. I therefore went as far as Watertown, NY and will visit Syracuse tomorrow.

Today’s map/video is here.

Ottawa’s parliament building seen over the Centennial Flame lit, in 1967, to commemorate the 100th year of the Confederation.

The ByWard Market area just east of parliament hill.

The Rideau canal

One of many pieces of street art around the city center.The walkway from the main entrance of the Diefenbunker to the complex itself.