at the Hanslteich

Another new sunday lunch location. We've read about this hip restaurant several times and so we finally decided to give it a burst. Conclusion: Delicious food, nice atmosphere, recommendation!

garden party at Donaustadt

A hot day in the city. Instead of Danube Island Festival we headed to Donaustadt to celebrate a 30th anniversary. The theme party featured Hawaii and delicious home-made burgers have been served. Good times!

in the vineyards next to Langenlois

Having dinner in the Krems area is always a beautiful road trip. This time I've chosen Langenlois. Romantic!

football all over

Every two years a big football event takes place. This year it's been time for the World Cup. The event takes place in Brasil. For watching the match between The Netherlands and Chile I met with friends at Altes AKH. There might've been a couple of beers 'in the pie'.

'Häuserl am Stoan'

A sunny weekend is worth a special activity. We drove up the Hoehenstrasse to charming 'Häuserl am Stoan' where we had an excellent view to the city as well as delicious dishes for lunch.

a 90th birthday is worth a celebration

For granny's 90th birthday we spent a relaxing weekend in a spa resort in Styria.

corporate communications event

Back from Canada. Back in working life. My firm had a corporate communications event in one of Vienna's tallest buildings - Vienna Twin Towers (138 m) – with a great view of the city.

On the Kananaskis Trail

Driving the straight way to YYC is boring. There is some time left to do a loop. So we decided to drive the Smith Dorian Trail through Spray Valley Provincial Park and Peter Lougheed Provincial Park to the Kananaskis Lakes. Wow! Very scenic! The Kananaskis Trail (Highway 40) brought us back to the Trans-Canada Highway. Byebye Canada's West! It's been a pleasure!

Lake Minnewanka – Banff National Park

To let the scenery sink in we drove to Johnson Lake, Two Jack Lake and Lake Minnewanka. Maybe we'll do a boat tour on Lake Minnewanka? Not today! Let's head forward to Canmore for an Alberta Game Meatloaf, a medley of bison, elk and lamb for the last night in Canada

Banff

Banff is a resort town and one of Canada's most popular tourist destinations, known for its mountainous surroundings and hot springs. There is also one of Canada's grand railway hotels – the Banff Springs Hotel which was built during the 19th century. It's been constructed in Scottish Baronial style. From Tunnel Mountain we had a great view of the luxury hotel as well as of the Bow River and the nearby Hoodoos. We walked through Cascade Garden in the town centre and then left Banff direction Lake Minnewanka.

Bow Valley Parkway

The Bow Valley Parkway between Lake Louise and Banff allows views of the mountain scenery, waterfalls, and various view points of the nerby rivers and creeks. One can also see a lot of wildlife (bear of the day was a brown one). After scenic views of Castle Mountain we hiked through Johnston Canyon to the Lower Falls.

Yoho National Park

On our way back to our accomodation at Golden we crossed Yoho National Park. Our first stop was the Spiral Tunnels Viewpoint and we had luck as a train was coming. The challenge for the Canadian Pacific Railway was the steep grade in Kicking Horse Pass. They found a solution after a system used in Switzerland, so they build the Spiral Tunnels for a more gradual grade. If the train is long enough one can see it three times at once – in front of you, in the background entering the tunnel and in-between leaving the tunnel that has the shape of a corkscrew. We moved on to the Natural Bridge and the Emerald Lake. As we've been there to early in June the Yoho Valley Road to Takakkaw Falls was still closed.

Lake Louise

Lake Louise – in Austria mainly known for the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup races every year in December – is a hamlet named for the nearby lake, which in turn was named after the Princess Louise Caroline Alberta, the fourth daughter of Queen Victoria. The point of interest is the lake and the Chateau Lake Louise, adjacent to Lake Louise. Some Germain teenagers tried to bath in the lake that was still partly covered by ice. We did not. We enjoyed the beauty of the combination of sunshine, water, snow and ice. Having some time left, we went into the Chateau and had drinks as well as lunch at the Lakeview Lodge. Very nice! ;-)

Moraine Lake – Banff National Park

Moraine Lake is situated in the Valley of the Ten Peaks 14 kilometres outside the Village of Lake Louise. The valley is crowded by ten notable peaks and even in June it is also crowded with sightseers.

Kootenay National Park

From our lodge at Golden (back in British Columbia) we headed south to Radium Hot Springs and entered the Kootenay National Park via Sinclair Canyon. After this defile the park offers breathtaking views of the Mitchell and Vermilion mountain ranges and the Kootenay River far below. We also did a short stop at Numa Falls and hiked through beautiful Marble Canyon shortly after. Entering Banff National Park (and therefore Alberta again) offered a great view of Castle Mountain.

Icefields Parkway

The Icefields Parkway is a scenic road that links Jasper with Lake Louise in Banff National Park. It's 230 km long and has been completed in 1940. Snow can be expected at any time of year and therefore it snowed! Snow switched to sunshine switched to snow ... The Icefields Parkway is of great natural beauty and offeres a lot of attractions like the Athabasca Falls, the Columbia Icefield (where we climbed up to the Athabasca Glacier from the parking lot) and the Peyto Lake (where we hiked through fully snow covered trails). It's been a great day on a great mountain road.

Jasper National Park

Back in Alberta. We entered Jasper National Park via Yellowhead Highway and headed forward to Maligne Lake because we had a reservation for a Spirit Island Cruise at 4 pm. Sadly they haven't yet started the cruising season on the lake and they didn't so on the 5th of June (due to ice floes). So no Spirit Island this time – maybe one day we're back. On our way back from Maligne Lake we hiked around at Maligne Canyon and then drove to Pyramid Lake with scenic Pyramid Mountain. In the evening we discoverey the picturesque town of Jasper. The next day we hiked the Valley of the Five Lakes that offered clear lakes with unique shades of jade and blue. After two hours we've been back on the Icefields Parkway.

Mount Robson Provincial Park – Kinney Lake

This park is named for Mount Robson, which has the highest point in the Canadian Rockies (3,954 metres). From Kinney Lake, the south side of the mountain rises 3,000 m to the summit. Due to the rainy weather the view to the summit was blocked. Nevertheless we braved the weather and stopped at the information centre where we startet a 3.5 hours nature hike (part of Berg Lake Trail) up to Kinney Lake. The lake had a great colour and offered great reflections. After this great nature experience we continued our way to Jasper National Park.

River Safari – Blue River

We got a brochure featuring River Safari at Clearwater and so we said to ourselves on our way north: Let's try it out! On custom build, eco-friedly powerboats we voyaged on Mud Lake in the picturesque Monashee Mountains in search of bear, moose, eagle and osprey. We had the luck to observe a bald eagle as well as black bears. The River Safari has been a great and speedy adventure that made a lot of fun.

Wells Gray Provincial Park

The Wells Gray Provincial Park is British Columbia's forth largest Park and protects most of the southern, and highest, regions of the Cariboo Mountains. Easy access to the park is only provided in the south via the Clearwater Valley Road. We were impressed by the waterfalls we saw alongside the road (Spahats Falls, Dawson Falls, Helmcken Falls). From the Green Mountain viewing tower we were provided with a panorama of the southern part of the park. We did also a short hike to the Foot Lake that wasn't much fun because of billions of mosquitos buzzing around. At the end of the road at Clearwater Lake we enjoyed the silence and beauty of the lake as well as beautiful hummingbirds whirring around a feeder when having a coffee at the day use area. Wells Gray Provincial Park is definitely worth a trip.

Coquihalla Highway

Driving to fast? At Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park we stopped and did a walk through the Othello Tunnels – a straight line of tunnels built for the railway in the early 1900s. Following the Coquihalla Highway and the South Yellowhead Highway we went northeast and reached our today's destination – Clearwater – in the later evening.

Vancouver, BC

We were still on the sunny side in downtown Vancouver. To prevent us from walking both directions we took a taxi to Gastown in the morning. Gastown was Vancouver's first downtown core and is named after a Yorkshire seaman. Gastown's most famous landmark is a steam-powered clock that is promoted as a heritage feature although it is of modern invention. Gastown is a mix of hip boutiques, restaurants, nightclubs, poverty and newly upscale housing. When leaving Gastown we took the SeaBus to North Vancouver where we strolled through Lonsdale Quay Market.

Our next 'big thing' was the Vancouver Lookout Tower that showed us the city from a bird's eye perspective. Now it was time for the girl's highlight: Victoria's Secret. Two and a half hour later we've been ready for a beautiful trip through the Stanley Park. The park has a long history and was originally used by indigenous peoples for thousands of years before British Columbia was colonized by the British. To bring this beautiful day to a glorious end we had dinner at 'Earl's' close to our hotel.

 

So much sun in Vancouver? The next day we crossed the Lions Gate Bridge to North Vancouver where we hiked around at Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. The bridge is 140 metres long and 70 metres above the river. One has to pay admission fee and it's kind of a leisure park. Before to much 'Japanese sightseer' arrived we left the park – and therefore the coast – around noon because we had more 500 kilometres to go!

Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen

Oh sunny day! When waiting for our ferry we tried some ice cream at a small stall and then ended up with our first ice creams of the season! Hmmmmm, delicious! The passage took about one and a half hour and we enjoyed the sun deck, the scenic beauty as well as the wildlife (whales)!

Victoria – Capital City of British Columbia

In the morning Pacific Rim National Park in the evening the capital of British Columbia. When entering Victoria we first drove a loop with the car to watch the illuminated British Columbia Parliament Buildings as well as The Fairmont Empress one of the oldest and most famous hotels in that area (National Historic Site of Canada). The next day we promenaded through the city that offered a charming Victorian vision of British noblesse. An 'H2Otaxi' brought us across the Inner Harbour to Fisherman's Wharf well known for its float homes. At The Breakwater we had a view of the Olympic Mountains (Washington State) we visited and learned to love in 2011. After returning to the city centre we had lunch at The Veranda – a seasonal restaurant located under the famous The Empress sign of the Edwardian, château-style hotel mentioned before. Late in the afternoon we left the capital city of British Columbia' to reach in time our ferry at Swartz Bay.

Pacific Rim National Park

How beautiful! A great national park! We had excellent weather conditions and did a lot of hiking! We started with the Willowbrae Trail that brought us to Florencia Bay and then the smaller and therefore more quaint Halfmoon Bay. Sitting there you can feel the silence of the ocean. Our next stop was the Kwisits Visitor Centre where we had great view onto Wickaninnish Beach and we also did the South Beach Trail. Our next hike – Radar Hill – allowed us a great scenic view of Vancouver Islands Mountain Range. At least we visited the settlement of Tofino, a beautiful and popular tourist destination for surfers, campers, whale watchers, fishermen, nature lovers, ...