Amsterdam Bridge & Torontobrug

Location: Amsterdam, Netherlands
Address: Torontobrug
Date: May 2024

    This is a tale of two bridges. This is the tale of two cities. In 1974 Amsterdam in the Netherlands and Toronto in Canada became twin cities.

 

    A bridge in Amsterdam was renamed Torontobrug. This means Toronto Bridge. 

The Burgemeester (Mayor) of Toronto at the time was David Crombie. David travelled to Amsterdam in October 1974 to rechristen the bridge.

 

    Torontobrug spans the river Amstel. It carries lanes of traffic and has a small lift portion to allow taller boats to travel through.

  Back in Toronto a dutch style pedestrian bridge was built. In June 1978 the Mayor of Amsterdam, Wim Polak, came to Canada to officially open the bridge.

 

   The Amsterdam Bridge also has a section that opens to allow tall boats to pass.

 The bridge was closed to pedestrians for a number of years but has since reopened to allow people to cross again.

 

 The Amsterdam Bridge is far more famous than the Torontobrug. It played a role in the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. After a night out, Nia Vardalos and John Corbett share a kiss on the bridge. My Big Fat Greek Wedding is the highest grossing North American romantic comedy of all time.

 

  You can walk, drive or sail to visit these bridges that celebrate two cities coming together. While not quite identical, they are still twins.

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Map of Our World

Torontobrug

Amsterdam Bridge

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Post # 360

Zoo Street Names

Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Address:  46 Trumpeter Street
Date:  May 2020
Website:  www.torontozoo.com

  There is a neighbourhood of houses located on Sheppard Avenue East and very near to the Toronto Zoo. Some of the streets are named after zoo residents. You could visit this neighbourhood before or after your visit to the zoo and continue your animal adventures. The photo above was taken from inside the zoo and you can see the rooftops across the Rouge Valley.

  We entered the neighbourhood via Rouge River Drive. The Rouge River runs through the valley just behind these houses.

  The first animal street we encountered was Coyote Crescent. The Toronto Zoo does not have any coyotes in its collection. There are many wild coyotes that call the Rouge Valley home. We are sure that at some point a coyote has trotted down Coyote Crescent.

The zoo does have a fake coyote located behind the Australasia Pavilion. This one is there to possibly keep wild coyotes from getting too close to the kangaroo enclosure.

  Another wild resident of the Rouge Valley is the red fox. The Toronto Zoo briefly had one on exhibit. They had printed up signs and hoped everyone would come to see their fox. We came, but by the time we got there the fox had already dug its way under all the fencing. He escaped into the valley to join his wild friends.

  Red Fox Place takes you to Mountain Lion Trail. 

  The zoo does have one of those. A mountain lion is also known as a cougar.

  Snowgoose Terrace cuts between Mountain Lion Trail and Red Fox Place. Snow geese breed up above the timber line and during migration they head south past the Toronto Zoo.

  It is rare that a snow goose lands and spends time in Scarborough. You can always go to the Toronto Zoo and see their lesser snow geese all year long.

  Heading north, the next street was Reindeer Drive. 

  The Toronto Zoo has several caribou. In Europe they are called reindeer.

  We drove onto Jaguar Street. We didn't notice any Jaguars parked on any driveways. Come to think of it, we didn't see any Mercury Cougars or Ford Pumas on Mountain Lion Trail either.

  The Toronto Zoo used to have jaguars out by the Americas waterfall and may get some again in the future.

  We continue our journey. There are fifteen animal streets in total so we have a ways to go. The next street  is Muskox Drive.

 

  The zoo does not have musk ox, but it does have yaks which are kind of similar. Whoever named some of these streets should have done better research.

  The next street is Wolverine Way. Sorry, but no wolverines in Scarborough wild or otherwise.

  On the opposite side of the neighbourhood is Antelope Drive.

  The zoo has had many antelope on display through the years. The antelope above is a sable antelope. The zoo also has impala, eland and wildebeest.

  Savanna Drive is not named for an animal. It is where a large number of African animals spend their lives.

  The African Savanna at the Toronto Zoo is one of the largest sections and includes giraffe, rhinos, zebra and more.

  Bald Eagle Avenue cuts right through the center of the neighbourhood.

  The zoo has several bald eagles. Our favourite is Wombly the bald eagle ambassador.

  Bald Eagle Avenue ends up becoming Panda Square. Panda Square goes around Trumpeter Park.

  The Toronto Zoo had special panda visitors from China in both 1985 and 2013. Everyone who saw them remembers the giant pandas fondly.

  Trumpeter Street runs across the bottom of Trumpeter Park.

  Trumpeter swans are quite common at the Toronto Zoo, especially in the pond at the bottom of the Canadian Domain.

  The two animal streets that branch off from Trumpeter Street are Chipmunk Avenue and Bobcat Terrace.

  You have a good chance of seeing wild chipmunks darting across trails at the Toronto Zoo. This little guy has his cheeks full. Bobcats on the other hand will not be found at the zoo.

  The last street in our tour of the zoo name streets is Cheetah Crescent.

  This cheetah at the Toronto Zoo was enjoying the sunshine and flowers. You can enjoy visiting the actual animals at the zoo and then seeing the streets that the animals inspired.

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Map of Our World
Toronto Zoo
Zoo Street Names

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Post # 360

Swiss Chuchi

 

Location: Zurich, Switzerland
Address: Rosengasse 10, 8001
Date: April 2025
Website: hotel-adler.ch/en/swiss-chuchi-restaurant/

    Dishes of melted cheese have long been a Swiss tradition. Switzerland is famous for both fondue and raclette. When in Zurich, one of the best places to get your melted cheese is at Swiss Chuchi Restaurant.

 

    The restaurant is attached to Hotel Adler. On a balcony overlooking the outdoor restaurant seating, stands Heidi the cow. Heidi was part of a 1998 art project where hundreds of painted cows were placed around the city.

 

    Heidi has become quite famous in her own right. The restaurant has even chosen to feature her on their placemats. 

 

  The restaurant also had some interesting decor. The Swiss are known for their elaborate and accurate clocks. The little man is wearing a traditional cowherder outfit of the Swiss Alpabzug. This is the time when the dairy cows come down from the mountains. Then the cheese making can begin!

 

 

  Our fondue arrived in a hot pot. It was a mix of several cheeses with white wine,

cherry liquor and garlic. There were mushrooms mixed into the cheese by our request. We also had a plate of vegetables and bread to dip into this delicious concoction. 

 

   We dipped and dipped our long thin forks into our seemingly bottomless fondue. A little accordion player watched us from the ledge beside our table.

   After finishing all of our fondue we were very full and very content. We waved goodbye to Heidi and wandered out to explore the streets of Zurich. 

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Map of Our World

Swiss Chuchi Restaurant

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Post # 359