Down East by Rail -- Again # 1: The Journey from Woodstock to Montreal

Relax and refresh.  That's what rail travel does for me.

I think this week's trip marks the fifth occasion in ten years that I have taken the train from my home in Woodstock, Ontario, to Halifax, the biggest Atlantic port city in Canada.

You'd think that by now I would have it all covered, but this journey still endlessly fascinates me -- and every time I make this rail voyage, I find new sights and make new discoveries.

In the course of the trip, I have to travel on 3 trains using two different kinds of equipment.  The first two legs of the journey are part of VIA's "Windsor-Quebec Corridor" network, and normally use this kind of train -- the Canadian-built LRC's, which date from the 1980s.

VIA Rail Photo

The "Ocean," running from Montreal to Halifax, is normally equipped with the Renaissance cars, built in Europe in the early 2000s and bought by VIA when their original planned use disappeared.  At the end of the train is one of the iconic stainless steel "Park" cars with a scenic dome and rounded-off "bullet lounge," built in the 1950s for the CPR's cross-Canada train, The Canadian.

However, on this trip the Halifax train was a bit different -- as you'll see in Part 2!

If I were doing the whole trip in one go, I would be boarding the train in Woodstock at 08:07 for the first leg to Toronto.   One of the useful things to know is that on many, if not all, days, that early morning train (# 70) from Windsor and London to Toronto uses the same train set that will become the connecting train # 64 to Montreal.  On days when this happens, an announcement is made before arrival in Toronto and you may -- if you wish -- simply remain on board the train during the 80-minute stopover.

On this occasion, though, I was spending two nights in Toronto for my birthday party on Friday and a day-long culture-fest on Saturday, so I went up to the city at lunchtime on Friday, on board train # 72.  This train is booked to make the run from Woodstock to Toronto in 1 hour 40 minutes, including 3 enroute stops.  In theory, I could drive from my home to downtown Toronto in that amount of time.  In practice, I could only drive that quickly at about three o'clock in the morning, when the roads closer to Canada's biggest city are mostly empty.

Anyway, the train is so much more relaxing and civilized -- especially when I am cashing in my VIA Privilege loyalty points and going all the way for free in Business or Sleeper class.  The Woodstock-Toronto run makes up the bulk of my yearly VIA Rail travel, including most of my multiple trips into the big city for theatre, concerts, opera, or dance events.

With that, here's a map illustrating all three stages of this rail journey.

Passing lightly over my two-night stay in Toronto, I arrived at Union Station at 10:15 on Sunday morning for an 11:30 departure to Montreal.  First order of business: check in my big suitcase.  Train # 64 offers baggage car service on the days when it connects to # 14 for Halifax.  Trust me, you need to use that service.  The sleeping compartments on the Halifax train are nothing if not cramped.  You have to bring a small bag containing only what you absolutely need for that one night on the train.  The checked baggage service is free of charge and sends your bag all the way to your destination.

From the baggage room I made my way back up the ramp to the station's iconic Great Hall.  It's been said that the great urban railway stations were the cathedrals of the Railway Age, and the Great Hall of Union Station certainly calls that image to mind.

Just off the west end of the Great Hall is the VIA Business Class Lounge.  It occupies a large space which I think may originally have been a café when the station opened in 1927.  That's my guess because one pillar still has a painted sign on it with an arrow which says "Please Pay Cashier."  The lounge offers newspapers and magazines, free Wifi, work stations, comfy chairs, and non-alcoholic beverages.  The machine produces a more than acceptable cappuccino.

VIA Rail photo

About half an hour before the train was due to leave, an announcement called Business Class passengers for their priority boarding time down in the lower concourse.  It's an easy walk down the ramp to the gate, and then up an escalator to the train platform.  Your ticket gets scanned for the first time at the foot of the escalator.  Once you're on the train and settled into your seat, the ticket gets scanned again, either just before or just after departure.  Hint: I've learned to keep my phone handy until after that second round of scanning.

So here's the seat I occupied in the Business Class car.

The onboard service began right after the train rolled out with the drink trolley and a small package of snack mix, followed by hot towels.

Lunch was served about an hour after departure, with warm bread rolls and wine included.  The menu normally offers several main course choices, one of which is vegetarian but not vegan.  Today's lunch menu offered cannelloni with tomato sauce and cheese, trout with an Asian soy-ginger sauce, or a cold potato salad with sliced roast beef (my choice).  The meal tray comes with a small appetizer course and a small dessert.

Coffee, tea, and cold drinks were again offered after the meal, and as a finishing touch, small chocolates -- a choice of plain dark or dark with raspberry.

If you're wondering what the cost might be for this kind of deluxe Business Class travel, it's actually competitive with (and sometimes even cheaper than) economy class on the airlines.

And what's the outside world look like on this leg of the trip?  There's actually not a lot to see, or at least not much that might be called "spectacular."  A large part of the way, the line runs through a green alleyway lined with dense vegetation.  You do get a few views of the wind-tossed expanse of Lake Ontario which might as well be an ocean as far as the eye can see.

You cross a trestle above the Ganaraska River in Port Hope....

…and a lower bridge over the much wider Moira River in Belleville.

You get the occasional view of traffic along the parallel freeway Highway 401.

Once into Quebec, the train rolls across the Ste Anne rapids where the Ottawa River squeezes through several narrow channels to empty into the mighty St Lawrence.

On the way into Montreal, the train twice crosses the historic Lachine Canal, here repurposed as a recreational waterway and park area.

Then, on the other side of the train, there's a splendid view of the great skyscrapers in the downtown area of Canada's second-biggest city.

Train # 64 managed to remain on time right up until the suburban station at Dorval.  There, we had to hold for some minutes, waiting for an outward bound train to leave the station.  From then on, it was one delay after another, and the train finally pulled into Central Station 50 minutes late.  Grrr!!!

Among the best features of Central Station are the raised platforms, which make it unnecessary to climb stairs up into or down out of the trains.  This feature is possible because no freight trains with their wider and lower cars are ever routed through this station.

If you wish, you can plan a stopover for one or more nights here in Montreal when you purchase your ticket (VIA allows one enroute stopover at no extra charge on all tickets).  The Fairmont Queen Elizabeth Hotel is directly connected to the Central Station through an underground shopping mall, and several other upscale hotels are within a 1-2 minute walk.  Hotels and Airbnbs in the historic Vieux Montreal district (my favourite area of the city) are only 5 minutes or so away by taxi.

But for me, there was only a stopover of two hours before the next leg of the trip began.

A Love Affair With History

Okay, I admit that, at one level at least, my love affair with history describes my entire life.

But this is a travel blog, and so this post describes my weekend jaunt to the second-largest city in Canada, and the largest French-speaking city in the world outside of France: Montreal.

Montreal is a bustling, diverse, modern metropolis with all the usual appurtenances which that description implies. I've been here so many times I've lost count. The limo driver who brought me in from the airport asked when I first visited. I told him (it was 1967) and he whistled and said, "That's before my parents were born." Now I feel old!

Over the years, I've spent a lot of time in the more modern parts of the city but really, all in all, I would rather be right down in the waterfront area known as Vieux-Montreal, a historic district where old rubs shoulders with new, still in the vibrant mainstream of the city's life. A recreated outdoor museum this old town area is not!

For me, the biggest attraction of Vieux-Montreal is the way that this area lends itself to walking around. The next-biggest attraction is the incredible diversity of restaurants found there. I've been to (among others) old French, nouvelle cuisine, old and modern Quebecois, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Polish (see below), wine bars, brew pubs, cafés, breakfast places, crepe restaurants -- and that only covers the ones I've actually tried! The only reason I don't gain 10 kilos on every visit is the amount of walking I do while I'm here.

The area has many hotels, apartments, guest houses, and Air BnBs at just about any price point other than the absolutely dirt-cheap. Major chain luxury high-rise hotels line the edge of the district, along Rue St-Antoine. Inside the historic area, heights of buildings are strictly controlled and so the hotels are smaller -- although some are still modern.

My own favourite is the Springhill Suites by Marriott, which is right smack in the centre of Vieux-Montreal -- a couple of minutes walk one way to the Metro and downtown, or the other way to the river. The suites are modern and comfortable, with big windows which give plenty of natural light, and which can actually be opened (bonus)! A generous breakfast buffet is included in all room rates. More than anything, it's the location that makes this hotel such a winner.

So, off I went this morning, just a few steps down the hill, and around the corner onto Rue St. Paul.  This long narrow street is the beating heart of Vieux-Montreal, lined with block after block of boutiques and restaurants to suit every taste.

Like this one. If anyone's brave enough to sample this place's products, I want to know if the after-effects are as drastic as the sign suggests.

A few more blocks down the street brings you to the Place Jacques-Cartier.  In summer, this open plaza is alive with activity, with outdoor café terraces packed, all under the dignified supervision of Montreal's City Hall at the crest of the hill.

Right by the top end of this square is the Chateau Ramezay, formerly the home of colonial governors, and now a museum.

Not far beyond Place Jacques Cartier, you come to the old Bonsecours Market, a long-time hub of commercial activity.

Just beyond the market is the historic chapel of Notre-Dame de Bonsecours. It's known as the "sailor's chapel" because of its proximity to the old port of Montreal, and the number of carved ship models (given as thank-offerings by sailors) which hang in the ornate interior of the church.

It's no accident that the statue of the Virgin Mary on top of the dome above the altar is turned away from the city and facing towards the harbour, with arms upraised in blessing.

 

Just one more block down the hill brings you to the old port area. Although active docks and significant port facilities are still found both up and down the riverbank from here, this portion adjacent to Vieux-Montreal has been developed as an amusement-entertainment complex, with restaurants, visitor attractions, walking areas, and summer-shopping kiosks.

The newest attraction is the Grand Roue de Montreal (the Great Wheel).

I've always been attracted to heights and views so I paid my $28.50, and enjoyed a 30-minute ride (3 complete circuits) with wonderful views of the port, the city and the river islands, even if it was cloudy.

In this picture, the red-brick building indicated by the arrow is the Springhill Suites where I'm staying -- which lets you see how it is completely in scale with its surroundings.

This picture of the islands shows several of the surviving buildings constructed just over half a century ago for the celebrated world's fair, Expo '67.  In fact, about 3/4 of the land mass of these islands was also constructed for the fair, using the excavation material from the construction of the Montreal Metro subway system and other projects.

After leaving the wheel, I headed down along the waterfront, and then cut back into the historic area to the long, narrow open space called Place d'Youville.

One of the features here is this famous upscale steak and seafood restaurant, Gibby's, located in the historic old Youville Stables. That's why I thought it appropriate that a horse-drawn calèche should roll along just as I was ready to take this picture.

From the Place d'Youville, I headed back onto Rue St Paul and up a few blocks to the corner where the Stash Café is located. This is one of my must-go places whenever I'm in Montreal. Polish beer, and a platter of ground pork schnitzels (actually more like burgers) with mushroom sauce, red cabbage salad, and potatoes made for a good rib-sticking feast. Warning: Stash Café is not only authentic in its recipes, but also authentic in the quantities of food -- in a word, generous. And very delicious too. Equally authentic are the old rough-stone walls, the hewn ceiling beams, and the bench seats which are actually pews taken from an old church!

A couple of blocks from Stash, and up on the crest of the ridge of Vieux-Montreal, is the old city's jewel in the crown -- the magnificent Notre-Dame Basilica. Even with the whole width of Place d'Armes directly in front of the church to help you, it's something of a challenge to fit the entire height of the building into a single photograph.

This imposing church was constructed in the period from 1824 to 1830, with the towers being completed by 1843. Although architect James O'Donnell gave an obvious nod to the famous cathedral of Paris in his design of the front with its two tall square towers, there are more differences than similarities -- the most notable being that the Montreal towers and the three great arches of the entrance are slimmer than their Parisian counterparts.  This makes them appear far taller even though the proportions (but not the height) of the façade as a whole remain virtually the same.

The interior is an eye-popping confection of brilliantly-painted and gilded woodwork and carving. (This picture was taken some years ago, with the choir preparing to rehearse for an annual Good Friday performance of Mozart's Requiem.)

And from there, I made my way the two short blocks back to my hotel.

**********

To close, a few helpful hints about Montreal.

Directions: In a word, confusing. The city's "baseline" is the riverfront, and streets which run parallel to the river are described as going east and west. Streets that run straight away from the river are described as north-south. Now look at a map.  Yup. That's right, folks. When you're heading "East" in Montreal you're actually going close to due north, and when you're heading "South" you're actually going east. And so on. Sorry, you just have to deal with it.

Language: Everywhere you go, you will be greeted in French. If you don't speak or understand French, no need to panic -- and there's certainly no need to avoid Montreal on that account. In tourist-heavy areas like downtown, Vieux-Montreal, Sherbrooke St., or the Gay Village, pretty much anyone who serves the public is fluent in both languages. Simply respond in English, with a smile, and conversation will continue in English.  Having said that, a smile and a simple "Merci" at the end of a transaction goes a long way, too.

Transit: The Montreal Metro and associated bus network is a great way to get around in a city where traffic can be a real penance. Study the website before you go (Societe de transport de Montreal), and you'll see a whole range of unlimited-ride or multi-ride pass tickets, any of which can be bought from vending machines at any Metro station. You'll receive a sturdy cardboard ticket, which you simply place onto the sensor on top of the turnstile to enter the Metro. Signs and directions are clear and easy to follow in all stations.

Driving: In a word -- don't. The streets of Vieux-Montreal are narrow, often paved with rugged bricks or cobblestones, and parking is at a premium in both space and dollars. So almost everyone walks here, and you should too. To put it bluntly, if you drive down into Vieux-Montreal to visit, you're either crazy or a total masochist IMHO. If you're staying elsewhere, there are two stations of the Montreal Metro convenient to the historic area -- Place d'Armes and Champ de Mars.

Coastal Adventure # 3: A Tale of Two Houses

Although often called a river, the Saguenay's easterly portion is actually a wide, deep, and long saltwater fjord.   At the head end of the fjord stands a cluster of several small cities now joined together into a single unit, the urban Région de Saguenay.  This was our second stop of the cruise.

On the whole, the Région de Saguenay is not a tourism superstar like Vieux-Québec, but my day here left me with me with two indelible images – a pair of houses.  The houses themselves are not remarkable – just typical, everyday little homes of typical, everyday citizens of the Saguenay region.  More on them presently – because our day was dominated by an even more remarkable factor which almost none of us – Canadians included – had properly considered in our planning.

In the low areas next to the river and fjord, it came down mixed with rain.  As soon as we began climbing, even a short distance, there was slush on the ground.  By the time we got up on top of the ridge overlooking the fjord, it was winter and no mistake.  Our guide explained that this was appropriate because ours was the final ship of the 2016 cruise season.

Our ship docked in one branch of the fjord, the dead-end of the Baie des Ha! Ha!  (yes, that really is its name and I have never heard any two people give the same explanation of what this very odd name means).  The single-ship cruise berth is in the small community of La Baie, the easternmost anchor of the Région de Saguenay.

We had four stops on today’s tour, each one different and each one interesting.  First stop, shortly after leaving the ship, was a museum of the fjord.  There was a kitschy but well-produced show like an imaginary spacecraft voyage which took us through the evolution of the fjord over hundreds of millennia, and the peculiar natural environments found in it today.  The museum also included a small aquarium of fish species from the Saguenay fjord.  Outside, there was a view over the Baie des Ha! Ha! at low tide, with a flock of snow geese grazing on the tidal flats to build up strength for their migration south.

Just around the corner from the museum, we next visited a glass blowing studio.  We watched the master craftsman and his assistant create a beautiful multi-coloured glass hummingbird from start to finish (or at least until it went into the kiln to be cured).  It was a fascinating display of an art too seldom seen any more, and the inevitable tour of the store was lovely too, even for those who bought nothing.

There then followed a lengthy drive, some 45 minutes, west along a local road into Chicoutimi (the central city of the Région de Saguenay complex), where we crossed the river to the north side.  We then backtracked some 10 kilometres, and turned uphill to a goat farm where goats were raised to produce mohair.  That’s where all that beautiful snow in the first picture was lying all over everything.  One of the billy goats in particular was very friendly and wanted to lick everyone (apologies for the blurry picture), as well as trying to get a taste or a mouthful of my phone after I photographed him.

Back in Chicoutimi, we drove briefly past the little white house.  It’s totally unremarkable, apart from the way it perches on top of a ridge on a tall concrete foundation all by itself.  But this house was the lone survivor of a hillside of houses and other buildings that washed away during the great Saguenay flood of 1996, and it was the solid foundation that saved it.  

The natural catastrophe had a monumental impact: dozens of people died and over 3,000 had to be evacuated from homes in danger’s path.  The little white house is now a museum of the flood perched amid a decorative waterfall evoking the flood.  I’ve had to resort to an internet picture, as the bus windows were so badly messed with slush and dirt.

We then went on to the Regional Museum, housed in the machine shop of an old pulp mill, and here was the other remarkable house – inside the museum.  To get it there in 1994, they drove it on an immense float from its original location several blocks away, and then tore out the entire end wall of the building to get it inside.  The stones of the end wall were carefully numbered and marked so that the wall could be restored after.  Obviously this house had to be pretty special.

It was the home of Arthur Villeneuve, a barber of modest means who actually ran his barber shop in the front room of the house.  One day at church, he heard a sermon which fired him with the desire to paint, and it was the house on which he set to work.  Without any formal instruction, and using unfinished cans of paint, he decorated every wall of the house inside with his extraordinarily vivid, imaginative, primitive, colourful paintings of the history and life of Chicoutimi and the region.  He then decorated the front wall of the exterior -- as shown in this photo taken in 1968. 

In time, Villeneuve gave up the barbering business and devoted himself full time to painting, gaining skill and finesse all the way, and completed some 5000 independent works before he died. 

The house is now the centrepiece of an exhibition about Villeneuve’s life and work, and reproductions of some of his significant pictures are hung in bright light where they can be thoroughly studied -- like this vivid scene of life in Chicoutimi back in the "good old days" of the artist's youth.

This original -- and imaginative -- painting of the Vatican is displayed on the front porch of the house.

The house itself is kept in dim light to protect the precious pictures all over every inch of the interior.  Signs admonish visitors not to touch or take pictures inside, but I saw people doing both and wanted to scream -- every time a flash went off.

Twenty minutes just was not enough time for the Villeneuve House (the curse of the guided tour).  I want to go back, and spend more time there – and in the rest of the museum, and in the surrounding areas outside of Chicoutimi and La Baie which I didn’t see at all.  A future trip to spend several days in the Saguenay is now on my bucket list – but in the summer!

Coastal Adventure # 2: Where the River Narrows

I’ve rewritten the opening of this post several times, trying to hit the right tone. At first, I was going whole-hog on the nostalgia angle, and then I went overboard trying to explain the geography and history of Québec – until I realized that I could easily write 10 pages on either of those subjects and not even scratch the surface. So, here’s just a bit for a warm-up. 

Although I’ve whipped through town a couple of times enroute to points farther east, this is the first time I’ve actually done any serious visiting inside Québec City since coming here for a week in August of 1970. I was 16 years old, and on my very first independent trip away from home. I’d been planning this return visit for a long time, and refused to let the cold and little spits of rain get in my way.

Although Québec City (properly, Ville de Québec) is a modern metropolitan area with all the amenities of life that its population of over 800,000 people could want, most visitors see little of it – and indeed, most of the city looks much like any other city. 

The part that is of interest to visitors, the old city or Vieux-Québec occupies just the eastern tip of a long ridge parallel to the river, which is called Cap-Diamant, and the shoreline of the river below the steep cliffs. That shoreline land is now the site of several cruise ship docks, so it’s from that point – where Caribbean Princess is docked – that I would begin my exploratory walk. 

It’s the cliff that really determined the city’s location. Coming inland from the ocean, the St. Lawrence River is really more of an inlet of the sea – tidal, salt water, and many kilometres wide. Just before Québec the river squeezes around the sizable Île d’Orléans and then the channel abruptly narrows down to barely 1 kilometre across, with steep cliffs on both sides – a natural fortification point, if ever there was one. Ships also have to sail upstream in a straight line towards the tip of Cap-Diamant, the most dangerous angle of approach for a sailing warship. 

The site was settled and fortified by France beginning in 1608, and became the centre and capital of the colony of New France. In time, a wall was built completely around the city on top of the cliff. Today, it remains the only complete walled city in North America. After repeated unsuccessful efforts, a British force finally captured Québec in 1759, and with it the entire centre of the North American continent, right down to the lively French settlement of Nouvelle-Orléans near the mouth of the Mississippi River. 

Enough history, let’s get to the city as we see it today. First, a view of upper and lower cities from the top deck of Caribbean Princess. At the west end of the city, on the highest point of Cap-Diamant, is the Citadelle du Québec, built by Britain starting in the 1820s to protect against the periodic threat of American invasion. The flight of stairs leads to a boardwalk which takes you past the Citadelle to the park on the battlefield known as the Plains of Abraham. The curious old ramp to nowhere next to the staircase is actually the site of the famous winter Toboggan Slide, a thrill ride which long predates the invention of waterslides and steel roller coasters.

Right across the street from the dock is an area filled with dignified 19th-century office buildings. Turn left 3 blocks, though, and you are into the centre of the 17th century workingman’s district. The narrow houses today hold shops and restaurants, but the cobblestoned streets and all of the architecture are plainly much older than our time. In the middle is the small square known as Place Royale, with the church of Notre-Dame-des-Victoires dominating the open space.

At the back of this narrow urban community is the frowning cliff of Cap-Diamant. You can, if you wish, climb up the steep, twisting street of Cote de la Montagne. If you really want a workout, you can go up the “Escalier casse-cou” (literally, the Break-Neck Stairs). Or, you can take it easy like me and ascend in the funicular which dates from 1874, no less. 

At the top of the funicular, you climb one flight of steps and emerge onto the Terrasse Dufferin, a Victorian promenade atop the old city walls.

From the Terrasse, you have a marvellous view of the St. Lawrence, the town of Lévis on the opposite shore, and the cruise ship port as well.

Dominating the Terrasse Dufferin is the monumental, almost baronial Fairmont Chateau Frontenac hotel – due to its prominent location, said to be the most photographed hotel in the world.

On the north side of the hotel is the beautiful square of Place d’Armes. On the west side of Place d'Armes (left in the picture) is the Anglican cathedral, where the bellringers were practising the ancient art of "ringing the changes".

On the north is the Auberge du Tresor restaurant, whose classic French-Canadian cuisine is among the most expensive in the city,…

And on the east stands the Musée du Fort whose diorama of the decisive Battle of the Plains of Abraham in 1759 has been a visitor attraction ever since before I came here in 1970 (I remember visiting it). 

I was going to walk back down the Cote de la Montagne, passing the Roman Catholic Cathedral and Basilica on the way, but by this time my knees were squawking from the combined effects of the cold, wet weather and 2 hours of continuous standing up (since there was no place dry to sit down!). So I retraced my steps to the funicular, rode down the cliff, and walked by the most direct route back to the ship for a well-earned and thermally necessary cappuccino!

At 5:00 we sailed from Québec. It sounds splendidly energetic, but for a ship this size it takes a good half hour to slowly move sideways away from the dock, then pivot around in the middle of the river to head downstream, all with the help of two tugboats. I watched the whole process from my balcony. But when the ship did come all the way around, we got a splendid panorama of sunset in the clouds behind the city to bring the day to a beautiful conclusion. And now we are on our way to Saguenay.