Louisbourg

The next stop on our tour of this part of the trip was the little town Louisbourg - which we chose to go to because there is a big historical fortress with people in period costume.

The town itself turned out to be really sweet - tiny and on the coast. And we stayed at the Cranberry Cove inn which I can absolutely recommend. It was beautifully decorated - each room with a theme. I stayed in the "Secret garden" room.

And then to the fortress itself. We were very glad to be there in the off season. Turns out they get so many visitors that you have to drive to a visitors centre with a GIGANTIC parking lot from which you catch a bus to the fortress itself.

They really do a recreated historical site well here. Turns out that there was actually no fortress left at all. It was French, after all, and when they lost, they were all kicked out and transported back to French. Then, when the coal mines in the area shut down in the 60's, someone in the Canadian government came up with the idea of rebuilding the fortress as a tourist attraction. All the miners were retrained in traditional crafts, like stonemasonary, and they rebuilt the whole fortified town. It is all based on the original plans, which were still stored in the archives in France. Really a magnificent achievement.

Because it was the off season, there were not as many staff in the fortress in period costume as there are in the summer months. But all of the people we met there were wearing extremely authentic looking costumes and could give you all sorts of interesting facts about life at the time that the fortress was really occupied. Like, for example, that the uniform LOOKS really warm - but is actually too hot in summer and freezing in Winter. Or about what life was like for soldiers in the barracks - who only had a life expectancy of 35. Or how to cook in a kitchen with an open fire and hearth.

Well worth a visit if you ever happen to be in Nova Scotia.