Similarities and differences between Canada and Slovakia

Visiting Canada was always one of my dreams. I didn’t really have certain places on my mind because there are so many that just the whole country made it to my bucket list and I had to check it off as soon as possible. I knew about many benefits of traveling to Canada already before I arrived in Toronto on the 31st May 2013 for TBEX.

But honestly, it didn’t even cross my mind that I would find so many things in Canada similar to those in my home country.

Similarities between Canada and Slovakia:

• nature – rivers and lakes are just everywhere you go in both countries. Canada is just a few times bigger so there are hundreds, if not thousands more rivers than in Slovakia but the nature itself looks very alike.

a typical scenery of both Canada and Slovakia

 

• ice hockey – there are very few countries in the world who breathe ice hockey and these are 2 of them. Ice hockey is kind of the most national sport in both, I dare to say.

ice hockey player in Ottawa

 

• weather and 4 seasons – the weather in Canada might be a few degrees less but in general very alike to the one we have in Slovakia.

• similar plants – because of similar weather, also the same flowers and plants can be found in both countries, such as clover, dandelion, and some kinds of trees.

dandelions

 

• fried potatoes – I was really surprised to find potatoes (I don’t mean french fries but potatoes cut in different pieces) fried in the same way with similar spices like in Slovakia with the only difference – we just don’t eat it for breakfast, but lunch or dinner.

fried potatoes in Canada

 

• bread – I swear never in my life I’ve seen bread similar to the one we have in Slovakia in any other country in the world. And then I come to Charlevoix, Canada and Mikhael serves me bread at Les Labours restaurant at Hotel La Ferme saying with such a proud smile ”This is a unique bread made by a local bakery that prepares their own flour” and I looked at the bread and couldn’t believe my eyes. It’s the same like what we call ”black bread” in Slovakia!

bread in Les Labours restaurant in Canada

 

• soups – I guess it’s the cold weather being one of the reasons of popular soups in both countries. I was a happy bunch with all the soups I could get in Canada!

vegetable soup in Canada

 

• fireplace in many hotels/houses – logically, because of cold winters we need them. And they make houses feel a lot cozier.

fireplace in a hotel in Charlevoix in Canada

 

• tap water is safe to drink – yay, so important for me that I can just refill my bottle anywhere without worry.

• big motorbikes can be seen on the roads pretty often in summer time or any other sunny day. My kinda thing!

• the way people look – most Canadians are far away from being fat, and there’s something interesting in every single person I think as they all look different. I think the same of the Slovaks :)

Differences between Canada and Slovakia:

• maple syrup – in Canada, you will find almost everything with maple syrup. Each time I walked into a grocery store, I was in shock. Maple syrup sweets, maple syrup pepper and other spices, granulated maple syrup (even many different options from very small to bigger pieces) etc. And maple syrup is also served with many salty meals around Canada. I got it with salty crepes. I thought first it was a joke spilling sweet maple syrup over a crepe with mushrooms, eggs, green peppers, tomatoes and cheese. But I gave it a try and to be honest it tasted better! And then I didn’t even have to order a dessert as I’ve left with sweet taste in my mouth.

granulated maple syrup at Jeal-Talon market in Montreal

• canoe in Canada – thousands of kilometres of rivers in Canada make the best terrain for canoe transportation. It started as fur trade transportation and nowadays it’s more of a leisure/adventurous activity. Not many canoes found in Slovakia though.

• restaurant menus – most of the restaurants in Slovakia do not offer sandwiches with french fries as main meals, and definitely no wraps that seem to be popular in Canadian restaurants but on the other hand also more restaurants with gluten-free, vegan and healthier organic options in Canada than in Slovakia.

a burger with french fries in Canada

• houses – some kind of plastic covers many houses in the Canadian towns and villages which cannot be found in Slovakia at all.

• snowmobiles and snow machines to get rid of snow in Canada – I mean people own them and have one in almost every house in the smaller towns/villages but nothing of that sort in Slovakia. I guess we have or a bit less of snow, or far less money to buy these expensive toys.

snow mobile and snow machine in a Canadian house

• churches – brick or stone structure is visible when looking at the Canadian churches while in Slovakia all the churches are painted from the outside. Most of the Canadian churches have silver coloured roofs, some have green as the copper oxidizes to green colour – in Slovakia the roof colours vary a lot.

Notre Dame in Ottawa

• inhabitants – Canada has less inhabitants per square km than in Slovakia.

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Posted in Canada, Europe, North America, photo, Slovakia, tips, travel Tags: Canada, Slovakia