May 2: In November of 2017 we bought this 1990 white westfalia hightop camper in the Netherlands. We put it in the name of our daughter in law, Michelle, who lives near Amsterdam, because only residents can register vehicles. We had three great multi-week excursions around Europe and England: in 2018, 2019, and then again post-Covid in 2022.
With Jeremy and the grandkids moving back to Canada we have decided it is time to sell her. And, because she is a diesel which is increasingly restricted in Europe, a sought after hard top and because she needs some cosmetic upgrading that I can do at home, we have decided to import her to Canada for a much better price. As it happens, Michelle is coming to BC this summer as well, and would like to use it for a month.
So, here we are in Halifax, Nova Scotia, awaiting her arrival by ship on May 4. Now that the time is approaching, the various agencies organizing the importation keep coming up with new little twists and turns, with payment delays and suddenly remembered papers required. It is currently looking pretty unlikely that we can free her up before the end of this week.
We left Vancouver on the evening of May 1 by Westjet. We were amazed that we could get a "red-eye" flight all the way to Halifax, with a short layover in Edmonton, for less than $300 each.
As I write it is the end of the first day in Halifax, and unfortunately winter has not left the east coast! It is cloudy and drizzly, with a bitter cold wind whipping around the corners. We have had to Dig out the toques which were intended only for night times in the camper.
Our hotel, the Garden South Park Inn, is a very "quaint" old gingerbread structure in a row of similar late 19th C once posh homes. Halifax is, indeed, made up of blocks and blocks of small wooden "salt box" houses on narrow little 19th C streets. The lower downtown, nearer the waterfront, is also very much of that era, with stone and brick buildings spilling down the hill to the harbour itself, which retains many similar old workshops and warehouses. Restaurants, galleries and tourist shops now take the place of the once bustling fisheries and boat fitting enterprises.
May 3: First full day in Halifax
This is our quaint little hotel on South Park Rd, right across from Halifax hospital, the Garden South Park Inn. We are only about a 15 minute walk to the Citadel, via the public gardens, a lovely walk this morning!
As most of you probably know, the Citadel is a major fortress right in the centre of Halifax, overlooking the famous harbour. The original fortress was built in 1776 to defend against the American revolutionaries, and it has evolved over 2 or 3 iterations until the mid 19th C.
It was still chilly and windy, but we had a great time wandering about. there were a couple of small troop gatherings, summer students practicing their military maneuvers for the summer tourists.
I will try attaching a video of the daily noon firing of the cannon.
We had noted that the East Coast Music Awards festival is on in the city this week, so we are trying to find some of the free events. The only one we caught today was a small stage in the Marriott hotel, opportunely right across from the hotel bar!
Later in the afternoon we caught the transit ferry across the harbour to Dartmouth, and a walk to the Salvation Army thrift store in search of rain gear and camping equipment.
Meanwhile, we are still making final arrangements with the various offices to get White Westy cleared through customs. She arrives in Halifax at 5:30am tomorrow, but I suspect it will be a couple of days until she sees freedom.
May the 4th be with you.
A bit of a mixed day today. This morning we walked eastward for 30 minutes or so into the "West End" region (I don't know why it is called the West End!) in search of a Salvation Army thrift shop to suss out some equipment for the camper. This part of town is a pretty boring area of rather rundown strip malls and 1950s/60s era storefronts. We did find a bike shop that has a couple of classic old frame bikes that we might buy for the trip.
Then moved on farther to the Fairview area.... rather misnamed for its view of endless car dealerships and dockyards. But we did find the Salvation Army store, and a serendipitous very cute little coffee shop in this otherwise sterile little area.
We realized that included in the "fair view" from here was a view of the very container ship that had just brought in our van. A closer look, and there she was... in the centre of this photo!
Sadly there was nothing to be done about arranging her escape, but it did motivate me (Bill) spending the rest of the day on paperwork and emails to facilitate her release. There is a possibility of breaking her out tomorrow.
While I was working on the business, Pat was able to attend an afternoon session of the East Coast Music Awards.
A relaxing beer on the waterfront, and then home to our hotel for a money saving picnic supper.
Will send this off today. Hopefully the next blog post will be from our camper!
Comments
Post a Comment