CANADA - COUNTRY OF POSTCARDS

I visited Canada forn the first time in 1993 - and it would not be the last time. A huge country divided up in a number of provinces. The most familiair are Ontario, Alberta en British Colombia. For the more adventurous you should add Yukon and North West Territories - and a few smaller provinces along the east coast.  Manitoba and Saskatchewan are the farmer states - especially grain - grain fields as far as the eye can see.

In 1993 I visited parts of Ontario, Alberta and BC. In Ontario I saw the Toronto skyline from the CN Tower, I saw my first big falls (Niagara Falls; what did I know about the fact that I would one day live in the back garden of its even more impressive cousin - the Victoria Falls) and did I hike the Algonquin National Park (with the howling of wolves as background music).

But the real natural beauty was revealed in the Rocky Mountains, on the border between Alberta and BC. From Calgary we drove with a campervan into the mountains and cruised for several weeks the Banff NP, Jasper NP, Kootenay NP and Yoho NP. Also Revelstoke NP we did visit.

Driving around the Rockies we gasped in awe around every corner. It was driving around a postcard landscape. It was almost unreal. A lot of people do not face this reality, because they stay in their vehicles and drive the Colombia Icefield Parkway between the cities of Banff and. They only get out of their car when there is a viewpoint.

That‘s obviously NOT the way to do it. If you really want to enjoy nature one goes hiking. And the Rockies have lot to offer in terms of hiking. Beautiful hikes - awesome views - and maybe a bear or coyote (despite what they try to let you believe, there are not that many bears left in the Rockies) - yes, that‘s the way.

After the very impressive Lake Louise, Lake Morraine and Lake Peyto (I found the second the most beautiful), giant waterfalls like Athabasca and Takkakaw and glaciers like Colombia Icefield and Mt Edith Cavell, we explored the east to Calgary - the Badlands. However, after the Rockies this was a little bit of a disappointment - we should have done it the other way around. The Royal Tyrell Museum with the beautiful skeletons of dinosaurs however was something not to be missed!