You always have the chance to write a new chapter. You are the author of your own story.”
Elise Museles
What to expect
Calgary, Canada
My second winter in Canada and I still did not freeze to death (wait for my third winter in Canada in minus 30° though).
Little did I know that I wasn’t going to see Blake’s friends and family for 1.5 years after this trip thanks to covid, but let’s stick to happy thoughts for now.
Christmas with Blake’s family
Blake’s family was kind enough to yet delay their Christmas dinner another time for my arrival. Unluckily, my flight got changed on me. This is why I had an extra stopover in Portland now. The Americans take their border control very seriously. So not only do you need an ESTA for your transit in the US, but you also have to take and then check in your luggage again yourself! This is especially great when your stopover is very short.
Let’s just wrap this up and say I was pretty sad about missing my next flight in Portland in time. When the airport service saw me “looking pretty sad”, she felt sorry for me and gave me a $15 lunch voucher for any shop at the airport. Eating my sorrows away – here we go!
At least there was another flight leaving on the same day – but with an extra stopover in Houston. Oh Houston, did we have a problem as I’m not the biggest fan of short flights in small airplanes. (Which is weird because I love everything else in and around airplanes: travelling, being at airports, airplane food and on-board entertainment. However, the start and landing as well as turbulences, which I happen to have a lot of recently, I’m definitely NOT a fan of).
The reunion with Blake and his family was great. But even though I arrived to the delayed Christmas dinner on time, my luggage did not. And if you’ve read my post about our first reunion in Mexico in 2018, you also remember that I love to travel comfortably – so Christmas in a hoodie and jogging pants it is! At least it wasn’t their first impression of me…
Banff, Kananaskis and Canmore
Different snow hikes
During my time in Canada in winter, we did several hikes in the snow. One of them was with Blake’s sister, her husband, their kids and some other friends.
Troll Falls Trail
Another one was to Troll Falls with two friends of Blake’s. It’s the same frozen waterfall Blake and I had visited the winter before, but it was just as stunning again.
Grotto Canyon Trail
We also hiked the Grotto Canyon Trail with Cam and Callista the same day. What can I say? Looks like we are real hikers now 😉.
Skiing in Banff
It is our tradition to visit Banff together at least for one night when I’m in Canada. This time, however, we were here for a special and very unique experience – at least for one of us. We went skiing at Mount Norquay. And guess who it was the first time on skis for? Was it my first time coming from the Ruhr Region with the German Alps about seven hours away? Or was it Blake’s first time on skis who’s got some of the best ski hills right at his doorstep?
Sadly, it seems like I’m dating the only Canadian who has never skied before! I know – shocking! 😉
But I have to admit: being quite sporty and having played ice-hockey for many years, Blake was a fast learner and quickly went on the big slope on a chair lift with me. (I’ll leave out the part where he panicked at the end of the ride on the chair lift and rammed his poles right into my face.)
His friends have tried to get Blake on skis for many years, but Blake always rather stayed in the hot tub (or at the bar). So all attempts happened to be unsuccessful in the past. I was definitely grateful he tried it for me – must be true love 😉.
Day trip to Lake Louise
Moreover, we did a day trip to Lake Louise again. This was the first time that I saw the lake completely frozen. In winter they even build an ice sculpture on the frozen lake which is a miniature of the Hotel Fairmont Chateau right by the lake.
Snowshoeing in Canmore
Blake and I love trying new experiences together. This is why we went snowshoeing together and did the Grassi Lakes Trail, one of Canmore’s most popular hikes. It actually got quite warm snowshoeing up the hill, so next time I would probably not wear my four layers underneath my winter jacket. (In the end you always want to be prepared in Canada, right?!)
After this trip Blake and I only stayed apart for about 10 days, until Blake packed his backpack and moved to Germany in January 2020 – first on a tourist visa. We thought getting the working visa in Germany would be quite easy, but we forgot three tiny aspects in our “optimistic” way of thinking:
- Blake didn’t have a job.
- Blake couldn’t speak German.
- Germany loves its bureaucracy (and getting an appointment at the immigration office, especially in covid times, turned out to be almost impossible).
As the world came to a halt in March 2020 (so grateful Blake was already in Germany to that time), our first bigger trip only took place in summer 2020.
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