I was reviewing past blog posts and realized I had not finished the last days of my 2019 trip to Halifax. I gathered together the photos and now updating the trip.

I rented a car for the day in order to drive to Lunenburg. It is the home of Blue Nose II, the famous sailing schooner. That was going to be my primary destination but I had also booked a walking tour with a local guide.

I’m on the deck of the Theresa E. Connor, an authentic, 81 year old, fishing  schooner built in Lunenburg. She is the same style of the original Bluenose. She is berthed just down the pier from the Bluenose. I can’t board the Bluenose so the Theresa gives a good idea of a fishing schooner of the time.

Launched in 1938, she would have gone each fishing season out to the Grand Banks. The dories would be sent out the dories to fish and return after about 2 months.

The ship’s wheelhouse. There was a retired sea captain behind me who was on hand to answer any questions. Also you could only get on here with a wristband from the museum so he kept an admissions watch. I went down the hold, ducking my head low.

The bunks on either side of the hull. Sea chests for each sailor’s personal items.

The transition from the age of sail to engines.

The hold with salt. There would be a layer of fish, then salt, then fish, then salt.

Kitchen area.

Dining area.

The Bluenose II. The Bluenose was sold by the owners to a trading company in the Caribbean. She broke up on a reef and sank. The shipwright company was still going in Lunenburg. This is taken from the second story of the museum.

In the 60’s the Lunenburg shipwrights built a replica of the HMS Bounty for the movie Mutiny on the Bounty with Marlon Brando. The people of Lunenburg figured they could also do a replica of the Bluenose.

The Bluenose won every race which garnared her the title of Queen. She still fished. One night she almost got crushed on Sable Island but ploughed through the sand.

Her captain all this time, Angus Walters, received one last challenge from the Americans. The Bluenose was old by this time but Captain Walters agreed. Not only did she win but recorded the fastest time every.

Walked up a steep hill to where the walking tour was scheduled to start. As it turned out, I was heading to and interesting site.

Our city tour begins at the Lunenburg Academy. When the school in the city burnt down, a decision to build the new one on Gallows Hill was made by a tie vote. Gallows Hill was where they did the public hangings in the past – not after the school was built.

Also on Gallows hill, next to the school, is the graveyard. That small hut in the back was for the hangman and later, the graveyard caretakers.

Across the road from the Academy. The stately house of a fishing magnate. Lunenburg made a great deal of money off the cod industry and bottle fishing.

It was called Bottle Fishing when the fisherman ran rum and whiskey to the States during Prohibition.

A house built in 1753 and still standing. People cannot make an major renovations or changes to the house. A young couple that run a coffee and bake shop bought the place.

If you look at the yellow house in the corner where the roof peak is, you can see a whale tail decoration. This house was built in the 1990’s but maintained the surrounding architecture.

The Selig House, 1825. The family Selig have lived in this same hour for 7 generations.

There are 5 magnificent churches in Lunenburg. It was the cod industry that accounted for the supporting of these many churches. Current population of Lunenburg is 2,200. The colour of the doors on this Lutheran Church is “Diablo Red” – hee, hee.

Our tour guide took us inside.

Hanging in the corner is a bell from the Fortress of Louisbourg. It was part of the original bell tower and the person who rang it all his life, asked that it be silenced when he died. The town of Louisbourg tried to get it back but the Lunenburgers had saved the receipt and said it was bought and paid for so they couldn’t have it back.

Big, open spacious church with lots of light coming in. The architecture similar to a ship’s.

The 3 cod in the blue circle symbolize the Holy Trinity – fisherman’s style.

We left the church and started walking downhill. In the distance, on the steeple is Jim the weather cod. Instead of a rooster, the vane is a cod fish. If it points east (away from us) then that means a storm is coming.

A closer look at Jim pointing north. The spire is St. Andrew’s Presbyterian church.

St. John’s Anglican church. In 2001 it caught fire. Decision was made to restore and was reopened in 2005.

The night sky mural. An astrophysicist from the university investigated the night sky of Bethlehem. Research showed that this would have been the constellations as seen from Lunenburg on the night Christ was born.

The Vinegar Bible. St. John’s has one of only 400 in existence. Instead of the word “vineyard” it was set as “vinegar”.

A house on King street – the wide street in the middle of town. The upper middle section protuding out is known as the “Lunenburg Bump”. It was the Neigbourhood Watch at the time. It allowed a person to see all around but without being seen.

King Street was originally the widest street in Lunenburg to allow troops to march from the docks to the top of the hill. The Lunenburg Inn. Built to commemorate the 1831 coronation of King William IV. Supposedly haunted.

I drove back to the hotel. I started sneezing and could feel a sore throat coming on. Maybe all the contact with people over the last few days. The hotel was having a special event – Fully loaded Baked Potato Food truck was parked in front the the hotel. I got a veggie and a butter chicken along with hot apple cider. Had a fever dream and woke up a few times. Will take it easy in the morning.

Tomorrow is a bus tour to Peggy’s Cove.