It was too cold to walk to the downtown bus station so I got a taxi instead and arrived in plenty of time for the bus back to Edmonton. I needed to get back there because that is where the train to Toronto leaves from. I was expecting lots of people on the bus but there were only about eight so we had the bus to ourselves. Once again it was a new bus with that new fabric smell and plenty of room too. The bus stopped several times on the 4 hour journey and at the airport quite a few other passengers got on but the bus was still not crowded.

Once in Edmonton I had 3 hours to kill before the train to Toronto was due to depart. Fortunately there was a great little bistro next to the Edmonton bus depot so I had a late lunch. I was tracking the progress of the train on the ViaRail website so I already knew the train was going to be 2.5hrs late which wasn’t an issue. It was originally scheduled to depart at 17.19hrs but we still had to check in at the regular time. Once at the remote station, the staff advised that because the train is delayed there could be a possibility we would miss the evening dinner service. So at about 16.30hrs, 12 of us who had sleeper car accommodation with meals included, were whisked away to a really nice local hotel for an excellent 3 course dinner courtesy of ViaRail. Having had a late lunch unfortunately there was no way I could eat it, so I just managed a desert instead. At least it was an opportunity to meet some of the other passengers. There were some retired couples from New Zealand, a few ‘off-gridder’ type people with huge beards and missing teeth to match, some students returning home after vacations and a few other travellers like me.

Once the train arrived, I found my seat which happened to be the same one I had on the previous Vancouver to Edmonton leg. It would be a 3.5 – 4 day journey on board the train to Toronto. No WiFi which was nice but there was still plenty to do on the train and not get bored. As it turned out, we didn’t miss dinner service on the train but by this time I was a little peckish so had the veal escalope which was really nice and succulent. Turning in early it was a smooth-ish journey though you could feel the driver trying to make up time. I don’t think a 2.5hr delay in a 4 day train journey is that bad at all. In the morning, I woke up to spectacular views over snow covered prairies.

This was pretty much the view for a couple of days as the train crossed central Canada. Although pretty, there really doesn’t seem to be much there. I know a few people like that… 😉

Once at Saskatoon the train was held by a further 2 – 3 hours because of having to wait to allow freight trains to pass. But it was a welcome opportunity to brave to cold, stretch the legs and get some fresh air which froze my nose. We also collaborated in doing a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle in a sort of ‘tag team’. It was the perfect size for the tables in one of the common areas on the train.

By the time the trained pulled into Winnipeg it was 03.30hrs in the morning. It was meant to arrive the previous day at about 18.00hrs but the delay was due to signals, freight trains and weather conditions.

Apparently this is not uncommon but unlike back home, nobody was getting agitated or cursing about it which was really nice. In the morning I made full use of the shower facilities on board and they were very impressive and surprisingly roomy. It’s amazing how much more alive you feel after a good shower and a change of clothes. At Winnipeg the crew changed shifts so it was a new team on board. Even with what little sleep they had due to the delay, the service remained outstanding and I cannot commend them enough.

The breakfast was fabulous and I had to try the Canadian breakfast; Blueberry pancakes with bacon & maple syrup, coffee and orange juice. The bacon and maple syrup combination really works well. Am surprised that more Canadians are not fatter if this is what they eat for breakfast.

By early afternoon on the fourth day, the train finally arrived in Toronto Central station 1.5hrs after its scheduled arrival time. The driver and engineer did a great job of making up lost time over the last four days. I collected my bag from the carousel like in an airport and then tried to find my way out of the station which was a little challenging as it is so big and badly signed. Eventually I found my way out and made my way across the road to the hotel I booked, the Fairmont Royal York. It reminded me of the apartment building in Ghostbusters.

It was a shame to be in Calgary for only a couple of nights as there’s so much more to see and do, but it was great fun meeting up with Kat again. I have been to some great places, but Canadian hospitality is second to none.

Next morning, I caught the Brewster Express to Banff. Banff is somewhere I have always wanted to visit since I did my work experience as a travel agent when I was at school and this was their top winter location. I remember seeing the snow covered mountains, crisp clear blue skies in the brochures (no internet back then!) and thinking how wonderful it must be to go there. Well now I was finally doing it. The bus picked me up from the hotel in Calgary and dropped me off at the hotel in Banff which was really handy as it meant no walking with my backpack in freezing temperatures. The journey was only about 2 hours door to door and it wasn’t until we came over a crest of the hill that got a glimpse of the mountains. Although I had seen them previously whilst on the train from Vancouver to Edmonton, they never fail to amaze.

Once at the hotel, the Banff Park Lodge, and checked into my room I changed into thermals and then went straight out. It’s too good a place to stay in a hotel room. The hotel was only a 2 minute walk to the centre of town. It is very picturesque, almost quaint with nice little signs hanging up outside each shop.

There are bus stops along the road with live ETA information displayed electronically. Just because it’s a remote town doesn’t mean it’s without technology. It was 15 minutes before the next bus was due but being -23 it was too cold to stand at the bus stop, so I visited a couple of the shops instead and bought some maple syrup caramels, which were really nice, and waited until the bus arrived.

It was $5CAD for a 24 hour bus pass so it was worth it. The Banff Gondola is a pretty big tourist attraction in Banff and the bus went straight there. It was about $63CAD for a round trip on the gondola, but it certainly saves a good few hours hiking in the thick snow and freezing cold to the top of Mount Sulphur at 2,451m high.

Despite its name, there is no sulphur smell. At the base of the gondola there is a sign warning people to wrap up warm as it’s usually 10 degrees colder at the top than at the base. It was already -23 at the base… The best views were sitting with your back to Mount Sulphur and as the gondola rises the view of the Rockies and the Banff Fairmont Springs hotel present themselves.

After about 8 minutes I was at the top and really could not believe the views I was seeing.

At the top there is a visitors centre with cafe, restaurant information centre and of course a gift shop. There is also a mountain ridge walkway which is really worth doing. Most of it is on wooden decking. There were no slip issues despite the snow and ice but the air was so clean and fresh. I swear if that could be bottled somehow, it would make someone a millionaire. Despite this, I felt like a millionaire on top of this pretty much deserted mountain, surrounded by stunning views in every direction. In fact stunning does not do the views the justice they deserve.

After a few hours at the top, I went to the cafe and had a black cherry cola to rehydrate which was very nice, if not a bit sweet and a coffee to warm up. I then caught the gondola back down to the base, again brilliant views as I descended. There is a very popular sky bistro at the top which always seems to be fully booked for dinner and am not surprised.

Once off the gondola, there is another attraction within about 5 minutes walking and it is the Banff Upper Hot Springs. These are naturally heated pools on the side of the mountain. It was less than $10CAD to go in and you could stay in for as long as you liked, up until 22.00hrs. The outside temperature was now down to -28 but the water was +41. The water was shallow, say about 2ft deep but enough to sit / lay down in. It didn’t take long to get too hot so I ended up sitting on the side with ice was forming in my hair. That was quickly dispensed with a quick plunge, only for it form again in a few minutes time. The views would be great, seeing the sun set and the shadows form on the mountains, but in reality couldn’t see that much of the views here because of all the steam and vapour.

I stayed in until the sun had set and besides, I was beginning to prune. By sheer coincidence as I arrived at the bus stop it was only a 3 minute wait for the bus. If I had missed this one, it would have been 51 minutes until the next. Back in town, showered and changed I went straight back out again and went to quite a famous restaurant called Saltlick. The steak, beers and an Old Fashioned cocktail were absolutely amazing and was a perfect way to end a perfect day. I highly recommend it.

Next morning I had booked a one day tour to Lake Louise. The lake is famed for its turquoise clear waters but this still being a Canadian winter, you wouldn’t actually be able to see the lake itself as it was under about 1.5m of ice and then snow covered too. I was picked up promptly and transferred to another bus which was about a third full. On the drive out there, the guide provided lots of information, perhaps too much as could not take it all in and also stopped in various locations, allowing us out to take some pictures.

Once at Lake Louise we had about 4 hours of free time to explore and if am honest could have done with at least 8 hours. We were dropped off at the Fairmont Chateaux Lake Louise which is a rather plush hotel and just the sheer volume of snow on top of a small wooden building gives an indication of how cold it gets.

The skies were blue, not a cloud to be seen. There were intricate ice sculptures by the side of the lake from a competition that’s held annually and people were jostling to get photos with them, myself included.

After that, I went for a walk on the lake itself. How often do you get a chance in life to walk on a frozen lake? I should point out it was safe to do so, the ice was well over 1.5m thick, vehicles could drive on this without fear of falling through so I think I was ok… Once in the shadow of one of the mountains, the temperature dropped at least a further 10 degrees so it was a relief to get back into the sun again.

Walking back people snowshoeing and cross country skiing passed me going the opposite direction, at one point even a horse drawn carriage went by.There were options to go dog sledding or snowmobiling but I just opted for a leisurely stroll in the snow.

The following day and back in Banff, I just wondered around the town and walked part of the was down the Bow River.

I wish I could have spent much longer here as it by far one of my favourite destinations I have ever been to, but I think the “less is more” is right here. Besides, I had to get back to Edmonton and catch the train to Toronto. It’s the same train I took from Vancouver to Edmonton, but it would be 4 days before I arrive in Toronto.

Unfortunately the train from Vancouver does not go to Calgary. The nearest station would be Edmonton and then I would have to catch a bus. There seem to be two bus companies operating in western Canada, Red Arrow and eBus, both out of the same office. The Red Arrow is the more luxurious coach, an express with more room etc. but it’s twice the price of eBus at $76CAD one way from Edmonton to Calgary, a journey of around 4 hours. I opted for the eBus and got a return from Edmonton to Calgary for $68CAD and it was a good and prompt service. One of the big differences is that the eBus stopped a handful of times along the way rather than going direct but I was in no hurry. They were new coaches, you could smell the fabrics inside just like it was a new car and there were USB charging ports at the seats, plenty of room and it was a smooth, comfortable journey.

In my mind I had imagined Calgary to be a picturesque town with a stunning mountain backdrop. Turns out it’s a town built on the oil and gas industry, banking too, so there are a lot of high rise buildings build in blocks with quite industrial outskirts. Also as it gets super cold here (-30 with added windchill), there are heated walkways on the 2nd or 3rd floors, linking buildings. It’s possible to walk from one side of the city to the other without going outside.

The reason I stopped in Calgary was 10 years ago when I travelled and was in Australia, I met Kat who was from Calgary and on the same tour as me around Uluru.

Over the years we have stayed in touch through social media and as I was passing by I messaged Kat and she arranged a couple of excellent activities for us. First she picked me up from the apart-hotel I was staying in and we went to a pub for dinner where we met up with her husband Phil and friend Christina. The food and beer was excellent and although it’s been a while since we last met, it seemed like it was only last week.

Dinner was followed a Canadian institution, a hockey game. Kat managed to get some tickets through work and the seats were excellent and close to the ice. We got a really good, close up view of the action. It was a lower league game rather than NHL but I think this was better for my first hockey experience.

The atmosphere was really nice, warm and friendly, plenty of beer flowing and the game was fun to watch. The guys were explaining the rules of the game to me as it went on so I could at least try and understand what was happening. I was very happy as had bought myself a giant foam finger and we were cheering for the local team, Calgary Hitmen but the game went to extra time / golden goal. Fortunately after about 8mins of extra time the Calgary Hitmen hit one into the back of the goal and won 3:2.

After the hockey game we headed off to a pub called Bottlescrew Bills. The volume and variety of beers (local and international) on choice here is mind blowing. The micro brewing industry is in full swing all over Canada. Here, they have these passports called Around the world in 80 beers.

You start off with a red passport which tends to be lagers and IPA’s. You need to have 80 of them, all different, collected and drunk before moving on to the black passport which is 80 more ales and stouts. I should point out that there is no time limit to completing the passports, you are not expected to complete it in one or two sittings. Nor would that be possible. I started my red passport but Kat and Phil were on their black passports and were making good progress completing their second lot of 80. However, Christina was on her green passport and had her name on the wall of fame having completed this back in 2015 and who judges in beer tasting events similar to CAMRA back home.

I slept pretty well that night but had a stinking headache the next morning. That was soon sorted out with a hearty breakfast, some decent coffee and a brisk walk outside in -24. Later that afternoon and back at Bottlescrew Bills, there was a beer festival on from 14.00 – 17.00hrs. This was part of the reason we went there the previous night, to get tickets to the beer festival. It wasn’t like any other beer festival I had been to. It was nice that it was on only for a few hours and good job too as I had another bus to catch the following morning.

Dotted around the pub and outside on the heated patio, were about 50 local brewery tables, each with bottles and cans of their products ranging from sours, to heavy porters and stouts, as well as red and amber ales. The pub was packed and the beer festival tickets were sold out, I think we caught the last few. Instead of pints or half pints, we had tiny little glasses that probably hold 150ml. Obviously still a little delicate from the previous evening, it was much nicer drinking a smaller quantity of beer but being able to sample a huge variety without any ill effects. I am very impressed with the Canadian beer scene. I thought we had some good beers in England, but Canada is in a different league.

After the beer festival and within 5mins walking distance (outside of the heated walkways!) was a restaurant call Briggs. Canadians do like their food and they do like their steaks too. One of the things on the menu that caught our eye was something called the Tomahawk steak. It’s a 48oz steak on the bone with about 6 side dishes too which serve 3 – 4 people. Just our luck that there were 3 of us now so that’s what we ordered. It reminded me of the film The Great Outdoors where John Candy ate a 98oz steak.

It was huge, perfectly cooked and tasted absolutely wonderful. How steak should taste. The staff cut it up for us but as I was the guest, I had the privilege of gnawing the bone which was almost the size of my mountain bike handlebars.

It was an absolutely fabulous weekend. Catching up with friends, hockey, beer, a foam finger, more beer and of course steak. Canada is definitely my favourite country I have visited so far by miles and I still have so much more of it to see. The next morning, I had another bus booked to Banff where I would be for a few days.