Lunenburg is a damned cute town. It was established in 1753 as the first British Colonial settlement in Nova Scotia outside of Halifax, and the whole town is actually listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Plus they have horses pulling carts near the waterfront, how freaking awesome is that?
Jo and I visited post-tourism season, late September, so the town was pretty…dead. We wandered around downtown, argued over where to eat, offended a bunch of old ladies with our cursing, and then settled on a fish shop.
We chose a window seat. Some elderly ladies sat a table next to us, hair all pulled back in buns and speaking in British accents. I think they were nuns. I asked the waitress to explain what “clam strips” were. She blinked at me and said, “Strips of clam.”
The town apparently has strong ties with Newfoundland as well; when I flipped over the menu, I saw the dates were listed for a festival titled “Newfie Days” in October. I wanted to hug someone.
Of course, the BIG tourist attraction – the Bluenose – was dry-docked for repairs. You know, the sailboat that appears on the Canadian dime? Yeah, that would’ve been cool.
It was close to 6 p.m. by the time we left the diner, and everything was shutting down. We wandered over to the St. John’s Anglican Church, a pretty piece of gothic architecture. After studying the shit out of cathedrals in England for six weeks, I was glad to realize I haven’t become jaded on the whole thing.
And then I burst into flames.
Then we found Lunenburg Academy, a schoolhouse which happens to be the only intact 19th century building still standing in Nova Scotia. Stick that in your pipe and smoke it.
It’s also conveniently located next to a graveyard, which I’m sure makes a lovely playground for the children.
Perfect for zombies, amiright?
Jo and I, being from extreme outport Newfoundland…well, we’re accustomed to small towns. But we might have been the only people under 60 in that entire place, and I’m not sure anyone really appreciated us running through a graveyard. It was damned eerie quiet, and we decided to flee before the sun went down. Maybe they only come out at night.
