Books I Like
While Canada Slept
While Canada Slept: How we lost our place in the world By Andrew Cohen I took a course titled Canada and the World taught by Prof. Cohen when I was a master’s student in Ottawa. While Canada Slept was one Read more
Iconic Places
Cheltenham Badlands
Geologically similar to the Badlands of South Dakota, the Cheltenham Badlands are a lot smaller in scale. They are a swath of Queenston Shale with layers of siltstone and sandstone. When it was formed, the land was under water. Circulating Read more
Articles
Touching the Moon
There are only five places in the world where a member of public can touch a piece of the moon recovered from one of the Apollo missions, not just from lunar meteorites. There’s one in the Johnson Space Center in Read more
Canada
Welland Canals
The Welland Canal only refers to the one that is currently in service, there were three built before it. The First Welland Canal was completed in 1833 with 40 wooden locks at 110 feet long each. The Old Welland Canal Read more
Canada
Sherbrooke, QC
In the heart of the eastern townships of Quebec, Sherbrooke reminds me of Lausanne in Switzerland. It’s not quite as beautiful, but the St. Micheal’s Cathedral on the top of a hill can be seen from Rue Dufferin like how Read more
Cities
Slubice, Poland
With fortifications stretching back to the 17th century Slubice has a complicated history of sovereignty going back to the Holy Roman Empire. However, all is good nowadays with Slubice and neighbouring Frankfurt (Oder) sharing waste management systems, open borderless bridges, Read more
Cities
Kostrzyn nad Odra, Poland
Like how the German border town of Frankfurt an der Oder is frequently mistaken for Frankfurt am Main, the Polish border town Kostrzyn nad Odra is sometimes confused with the smaller Kostrzyn near Poznan. The name is a mouthful for Read more
Canada
St. Lawrence River
The St. Lawrence river runs from Kingston past Brockville and Montreal to Quebec City then out to the Atlantic. It’s an important waterway that helped build Canada with trade and transportation. What is less well-known are the churches along the Read more
Canada
Arthabaska, QC
Arthabaska has been amalgamated with Victoriaville, but it was inhabited as early as 1830 while Victoriaville was only named after Queen Victoria in 1861. More famously, Arthabaska is known to be the summer home of Sir Wilfred Laurier, the first Read more