The same day that Queen Elizabeth II’s body was carried through the streets of London to her final resting place in Westminster Abbey, Ottawa had its own commemoration activities mirroring those in the old country. A 96-gun salute for every year of her life, an invitation-only remembrance service at Christ Read more
Being a government building in service of the people of British Columbia, entry is free after a 10 minute lineup to complete a security check. There are guided tours available from Monday to Friday several times a day, but entry is restricted by appointments only on the weekends. Even though Read more
The Devil’s Mountain is a man made hill in former West Berlin to provide the NSA with a vantage point with which to build a spy station on. The spy station was used to intercept messages transmitted from East Germany since West Berlin was an exclave of West Germany. It Read more
On our way to Fort Langley, Marcus and I decided to swing by 0th Avenue in Surrey to literally look at the US. It’s probably not an ‘iconic place’ that belongs in league with the Eiffel Tower, but it is ‘cool’ in the sense that the US-Canada border is the Read more
The official residence of the Queen’s representative in Canada, the Governor General, is Rideau Hall in Ottawa. The grounds of the residence are free to visit most days of the year except when special events or state matters prohibit public access. The residence of the Prime Minister is just across Read more
There are three Air Force bases still in operation in Switzerland that operate fighter jets on a weekly basis. Of the three, Meiringen Air Base near Brienz is the most well-known for offering public access and weekly events. On a normal day, you can drive across its runway in a Read more
Four times a year, or once every 12 weeks, the national parliament in Bern is open to the public on a Saturday. One such Saturday, I roamed into the halls of legislation in both the upper and lower houses of parliament. While the Nationalrat is something of a House of Read more
Headquartered on the shore of Lake Geneva in Geneva, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) is one of the most well-recognised international organisations in the world to the likes of the World Health Organisation and the United Nations, which are both in the neighbouring area. Once a year, the WTO selects Read more
Geneva already has a Doctors Without Borders, so allow me to make this pun: CERN is science without borders. Located underground across both Switzerland and France, the donut-shaped LHC is over 26km in circumference and advances scientific knowledge. It’s too complicated for me to understand so I’d highly recommended you Read more
Originally built for the League of Nations in the first half of the 19th century, the United Nations’ building in Geneva is a major focal point of global politics. With the UNCHR, the ILO, UNHCRH, WTO all in Geneva, it’s no wonder that Geneva hosts delegations from almost every country Read more