One Million People

What awesome time we had in Nova Scotia, home of my best friend and her wonderful husband and 999998 more equally friendly people.
And it is the mix of absolutely stunning surroundings and the people which makes Nova Scotia so spectacular!
Our friends greeted us at the airport upon our arrival , to help us find our way to their home, afraid that we would loose ourselves in the myrrh of Halifax' streets.
We spend a lovely evening in good camaraderie, reminiscing about our wild mountaineering , bicycling and skiing days out West ,and receiving  good advice about  our Cape Breton adventure which would start the following day.
Our B&B in Baddeck was lovely, everything just right and the rooms clean and romantic ,full of books and more books ,a fact Werner truly enjoyed!
The Cabot Trail , which we drove counterclockwise, to have the best views did not disappoint.
Ocean views and mountain views galore, inter spaced with tiny little fishing villages and gift shops.
We found beaches with perfectly round shaped rocks and beaches with perfectly flattened rocks , all made by the waves crushing onto the shores.Impressive!
I can't believe , I ever cycled this trail, there is hardly ever enough room for cyclists and cars -so I better keep my memories of this trip alive , there will be no repeat cycling of the trail!
We continued to eat our way through the delicacies this Atlantic province has to offer, fresh oysters for lunch at Aspy Bay, lobster dinner in Baddeck,marinated herring where ever we found it, perfect Chowder in little shanty's along the roads-divine!
Our absolute highlight was our side trip around Cape George-untouched by mass tourism, beautiful views, small farms , serenity exuding peacefulness-and the future home of our friends!
The following days were spend with us being whisked away to experience more of our friends live.
We went sailing and Werner  got to be the helmsman under sail, tacking and all and he took to it like a true waterman. My father would have been proud, wait 'til I tell him about his son in laws adventures!
We did a walking tour of Halifax and visited the immigration museum on Pier 21. Although Werner arrived by boat as well, his and my arrival onto Canadian soil  cannot compare to what theses immigrants of yesteryear had to go through. We spoke the language, had careers that already promised work and we had money, the refugees of the war  and post war  era had nothing!
As our last impression , we got to see the Bay of Fundy during low tide. Ships are sitting stranded down in the harbor, waiting for the water to return to carry them out to sea. The tidal wave for the bay is immense and can get dangerously high during times of storm and full moon cycles.
While the water demonstrates it's incredible power, the wine yards a few miles inland produce incredible reds and whites, which we were also fortunate to taste .
For a province so diversified and rich in different cultures , it is hard to believe that only 1 000 0000 people are able to hold it all together!