A Place is Truly about People

The only way to see Toronto is from the water. Preferably with the Rüggeberg family, if you are lucky.

Manuel seems to have a penchant for picking wonderful women as his girlfriends. Every one of them (and I’ve met 3 over the years) has been like a soul sister. Manuel’s first girlfriend, Karin Rüggeberg, was no exception. Smart, warm, funny and politically and philosophically on the same page. Amazing!

Karin and Manny

And, she has a far out family! We spent our first day cruising on Lake Ontario with her son André, his lovely wife Irena and 9 year old daughter Ivana in their motor boat, with spectacular views of Toronto’s cityscape and the best seats in the house for the Canadian National Exhibition’s renown air show. Andre’s generosity knew no bounds, as he treated all 7 of us to drinks and dinner at a posh dockside restaurant.

André and Irena

Alec

If it were possible for us to adopt an entire family, this would be the one. I could have spent the entire weekend intellectually sparring with her son Alec, whose sharp wit and probing mind could tackle any subject and solve most of the world’s problems.

Unfortunately, Alec also has an unwavering moral compass, so life as a politician is, for him, out of the question. Too bad! The world would be much better off if people like Alec ran for public office.

According to Manny, a trip to Toronto would be incomplete without the vertiginous trip up the CN Tower. A two hour wait for a 58 second trip to soar 1815 feet and look trough wire mesh at one of the worlds’s most influential financial centers came with a $25.00 price tag, or $33.00 for the “complete tower experience”. It was truly dizzying.