Calgary
By Jaimy de Vries
The first thing I saw flying over Canada is how green it is! I love it and besides green is my favorite color. There are so many tree’s, and tree’s always make me feel happy and calm. I’ts full of fresh air what keeps your mind at ease. Calgary was my destination and my first real visit in Canada. I looked forward to this moment for a long time and it was not easy, but I finally got in! And It was amazing!
Finally here!!
So a short trip back memory lane. Last January I tried to get in Canada , but I was refused entry by the customer agent in Toronto. They send me back, so I decided to start my world trip down south.
Now again, after arriving in Canada, they didn’t make it easy for me and questioned me again about my travel purpose: “tourism” I said. “I got through (I thought) yes!!” And I picked up my backpack and send messages to my family and friends that I got in. But after picking up my bag and wanted to go to my connection flight, they send me to the customer agent again. “NO!” I thought I went through already. The agent checked my file and said “it’s a risk to come after shortly being denied of entry”. They questioned me and let me wait. I was so stressed “Please not again!” I was thinking to myself. I’m just here for 1,5 month to travel and have a ticket to leave the country. The agent believed me and trusted me of being a good citizen. He let me through. Phiew!
If you want to read more about my story how my entry got denied before, click on the link below.
Calgary city
Calgary is one of Canada’s largest cities. It’s the economic hub of Alberta and a city full of rich people who probably work for an oil company. There is lots of oil to win around this area. Calgary is a clean and quiet city. Most of the houses are big and well maintained. I love the contrast of the big houses with lots of green, while on the background you can see big sky scrapers from downtown. See picture. But the city itself is not super fancy, there are no historic buildings. But even though, I like the houses because they’re build in a typical American style with cute wooden porches.
What makes Calgary so nice is that it has so much space and it’s so green. It has so many big parks where you can walk half a day, like the Glennmoire reserve or the Weaselhead flats. And the most amazing part: it’s just a stone throw away from the Rockies! You could see the Rockies from the Calgary tower or when you’re standing up a hill. There’s great hiking, kayaking, skiing, water rafting, and camping all around Calgary. Perfect for
outdoor lovers like me! The city itself is one of the liveliest in Canada, especially during the Stampede in July, when the wild & rough cowboy charm comes alive.
Stampede
Calgary is home to the massive annual Calgary Stampede that brings in over 1 million tourists each year. And I was lucky to be there already and celebrate it! I got to enjoy two days of the Stampede festival and can say I had a full experience!
Stampede is from the 9th to the 16th of July that starts early in the morning with a free breakfast and ends late at night with live music. I would describe Stampede like a big county cowboy meets natives festival!
On my first day I went out in the evening up to Nashville North – one of the best places for a good party! We had a blast! We started good with shot-gunning a beer like a real Canadian and I did it well…..no beer spilled. “Yeehaw!” We partied with Canadian police offers, who of course where off-duty. I learned how to two-line-dance, see the difference between a real and a fake cowboy, did some dancing in a pit and listened to live country music. And I tried two new culinary things: nachos in a (Dorito) sack & corndogs.
The second day we went out for a free pancake breakfast! You can find free breakfasts everywhere in Calgary with Stampede. And they’re good!
First we walked around and visited the argi culture section. We saw lots of cattle and amazing big horses. So big, it’s just scarry, I won’t dare to sit on one of them….so big were they! Then we went for a typical Stampede snack: mini donuts & Lemonade with a full lemon in it! So fun!
We went to the native village where we got to see al kind of artifacts that went past generation over generation. I also saw two big wolf skins, completely intact. I was checking it out when one of the natives told me it his chihuahua pet😅. After that we enjoyed an powpow dance show and participated for one dance too.
After that the main event: going to the rodeo. It was so cool! We had a standing spot that was close to the stage. There are many different races on the rodeo. We saw only a part of it. We saw cattle catch where they catch a little steer, wild pony race where a team of three kids try to catch the pony and ride on it, Sadle bronc where they try to graciously sit on a wild jumping horse and steer wrestling where the cowboy jumps f the horse and catch a steer. Before one race start they explain how it works, great for rodeo newbies like me. I loved it! Though I felt a bit sad for the steer’s that got pushed on the ground and cached by rope.
It was a full stampede experience. The best things to do are: getting a free breakfast, see the rodeo, enjoy live music and culturize with the natives. And I did all that!!
Family time
During my stay in Calgary I could stay for free at my “au-pair” family’s house. I was not an au pair when I visited them, but just came as a family friend and helped out a bit. They were so welcoming and heartwarming. I felt comfortable and part of the family in just a couple of hours. We had lots of fun together and I hope my help was of good use. We will meet again when they visit the Netherlands and I them when I come back to Calgary. I loved it so much, I will certainly do. But first things first: finishing my world trip.
To read more about my experience with the family, click on the link below. – still in progress!
Culture
Canadians are one of the nicest people I’ve ever met. They’re not just normal nice, but extra extra nice. The first example is that every Canadian greets you with “Hey, how are you doing?” and they are interested in your answer too, it’s not just a polite thing to do. And they’re so helpful too, for example if you’re at a clothing shop and you ask for tips what to do around…they will take the time to give you a whole itinerary. In the Netherlands they will say “google it”. We can learn a thing or two from the Canadians.
But who are Canadians? Well actually the real Canadians are the North-America natives. But there are not so many anymore unfortunate. I was always fascinated and eager to learn more about their culture . On my journey to North-America I wrote a whole post about them.
Nowadays most of the Canadians are emigrants from Europe & Asia. Lots of Dutch people too, who emigrated between the 60’s -80s are settled here. It was funny to accidentally bump on to Dutch people, because I was talking Dutch to the girls some people catch up on it and told me they’re Dutch or have a Dutch heritage.
Alberta
One of the things that makes travelling in Alberta such a special experience is that the landscapes are so varied. Home to the Canadian Rockies, the Boreal Forest, the Foothills, the Prairies, and the Alberta Badlands, there is so much beauty in this province and so many things to do in Alberta.
Exploring the rockies
First I started with my bucket list item: the Rockies! The Canadian Rockies, a place to wander… and (on my opinion) one of the most beautiful views in the world! After seeing a lot already, like Antarctica & Patagonia, it still took away my breath! Because of my long stay of 6 weeks I had the possibility to see all the best places of the Rockies. First I took a road trip from Banff to Jasper, then three weekends to Kananaskis and after that another stay in waterton. And I couldn’t get enough of it. I even visited the Rockies in Montana (U.S.).
To read more about my “Rockies” stories, click on the link below.
Canadian Badlands
The Badlands, another part in the Alberta province with her varied landscapes. It’s an otherworldly landscape in the middle of the prairie with hundreds of sandstone hoodoos, ancient rocks and prairie dogs. There’s a lot of history here that goes way back in time. More than 75 million years ago it was a subtropical region with towering redwoods and giant ferns, where dinosaurs loved to live. Still there is lots to discover about its history. I’ll tell your more in my blog post.
Click on the link below to read more.
Squirls and prairie dogs
When Lara (“au pair mother”) asked what I’d like most about my visit to Toronto in January. I said the squirls. She laughed and found it funny, because there are so many here in Canada, it’s more like a plague. But they’re just so damn cute…and it sets the right charm of North America. “What is North America without its squirls, right?”
And don’t forget about the cute prairie dogs & chipmunks up here too. They’re everywhere!!! In town, on the road, in the forest, in caves, and they’re not scared of people.
Backcountry trip
The backcountry areas unsurprisingly contains some of the most popular trails in the park., and with limits on hiker numbers and mandatory reservations on backcountry campground, you might find your chosen route is booked out if you leave things till the last minute. So plan ahead: reservations at back country campgrounds are accepted up to three months in advance, and by booking ahead you’ll be able to steal a march on rival hikers.
Best backcountry hikes in the rocky mountains:
- Tonquin valley
- Skyline trail
- Egypt lake skoki valley
- Lake O’Hara
- Mt Assiniboine
My guide for your Calgary trip
After a stay of 6 weeks it was not that difficult to make a good guide for a trip in Calgary. Here are my recommendations
- Stampede: the main event of the year in Calgary, a big country cowboy festival. And it's not only one or two days - it's one week! There are lots of fun things to do: make sure you catch a free breakfast, party at night, visit the native village and go to the rodeo!
- Calgary tower: Once the largest building in town, now just a regular high building downtown. But still it offers an amazing view over the city and the rocky mountain range on the background.
- Visit the Rockies: a real must if you visit Calgary. There are different spots to go to, but make sure you book an overnight or camping trip because one-day isn't enough. The most popular place is Banff & Louise, but Jasper, Kananaskis, Canmore and waterton are even better and less touristy.
- Best parks in Calgary: Glennmore nature reserve, Weaselhead flats and Prince Island Park
- Best cycling spots: Glennmore nature reserve
- Cocktails: go out for a cocktail at Cleaver. They make the best and creative cocktails I've ever had. And the owner is amazing, he will tell you all the stories behind the cocktails and will give you recommendations.
- Catch a meal at 1) Galaxie dinner for a nice breakfast. The Eggs benedict is one to recommend. 2) The coup: best veggie restaurant downtown. 3) Alforna bakery & café: nicest veggie sandwich and just on the corner of prince island park. 4) Calgary tower: a meal with an amazing 360 view (the tower rotates!). Oh btw I'm not a vegetarian, but these veggie dishes were just so good!!
- Shopping: the best shopping places close to the city center are the shoppingmalls downtown, at Chinook and make sure to stop bye at a thrift shop. 1) Downtown: the shops are hidden by a bridge system from one skyscraper to another. They build this, because it can get really cold in the winter (-40 degrees) and you don't want to walk outside. 2) Chinook: a big shoppingmall, connected to the tram. 3) Goodwill: a lovely thrifstshop next to Chinook.