Banff

Published: 13.10.2024

Banff

Day 1 – Departure from Calgary to Banff

The morning naturally started with a nice breakfast – we really enjoy booking hotels in the city center – without breakfast, because there are so many cool locations to grab breakfast. After eating, we packed our seven things and headed out with our luggage. We had a mission: the viewpoint of Calgary. We knew we had to leave the hotel by 12:45 at the latest with Uber so we could be at the camper by 1:30, as we needed to book that timeframe in advance. From a leisurely walk, we gradually picked up the pace as we were running out of time. Despite the rush, we were able to enjoy the incredibly beautiful scenery.

From the beautiful park, it took us about 150 steps to reach the viewpoint – I know someone who hasn't enjoyed those steps too much... :-D We were rewarded with a unique view over Calgary – the greenery or golden landscape of the park with the skyline in the background, breathtakingly beautiful.

The Uber relatively quickly dropped us off at the hotel – we grabbed the luggage and hopped into the next Uber → At 1:29 we arrived at the place, as one should as a proud Swiss *proud*... After a quick check-in and the unsuccessful attempt by the landlord to throw us any additional nonsense, we finally approached the camper.

After they explained everything to us again (which wasn’t little), we had to figure out which buttons to press and in which order to empty the wastewater. We then started organizing ourselves in the camper and stowing everything away. Eventually, it said, “Please start the engine,” and we were on our way. I must say, the vehicle runs really well – but you can also watch the fuel gauge drop... The good gas guzzler consumes about 40 liters per 100 km – but it's great and the 5.7-liter engine hums like a big one. We then drove towards Banff (about 1 hour 30 minutes) and the landscape kept getting more beautiful – Canada straight out of a picture book.

In Banff, we first went shopping – prices are somewhat comparable to Switzerland. Also here: Don’t go shopping on an empty stomach...

After shopping, we parked our camper and really explored the town.. It really is a special town and you always have a view of huge mountains and idyllic landscapes. However, it is significantly colder than in Calgary, so we didn’t stay too long exploring, but rather went straight to a brewery for dinner.

After eating, we checked in at the campsite and soon went to rest after we activated our brains again to set the heating etc. :-D

Day 2

In the morning, I was like a noodle sitting there because I wanted to see the beautiful surroundings. I quickly made myself a coffee and, like an old family man with a coffee in hand, sweatpants, and a vest, strolled around the camper enjoying the view.

After breakfast, we put on our hiking shoes – yes, back then it didn’t work out when Muriel said, “Oh, I forgot my hiking shoes” so we wouldn’t go hiking – no, naturally we went shopping in Calgary.... :-D On that day, we wanted to hike the famous Tunnel Mountain Trail. We were able to leave the camper parked and walked about 25 minutes on foot until the trail began. Again, the landscape was incredibly picturesque.

To be honest, I only took a quick look at the trail on maps and it turned out to be steeper and longer than I thought.. About 1/3 of the way, a squirrel dashed by us madly and went tumbling down the slope – surprised, while watching the squirrel, we accidentally discovered a herd of deer – Muriel managed to take great photos – I was surprised at how little fear the animals had of us – cautious but not as shy as here. I just hope the bear is a little more timid...

We were about an hour on our way and were able to enjoy this view:

Or this:

The mortgage wouldn’t want to know either

After an hour of walking, greeting countless people with our “Hi there” as they responded with “Grüezi” in the hope that maybe a Swiss has wandered here, we finally took a break in those red chairs, drank, and enjoyed the view.

It shouldn't be called that, I don’t take a break

The hike back was much faster since it was downhill, we were hungry, and the weather had worsened, and the bright blue sky was hidden – we still had a destination today: Lake Minnewanka. After lunch and a short digestion nap, we drove to Lake Minnewanka, about a 20-minute drive. It was the first of many lakes and also the one with the least spectacular color... but one should start easy. :) However, the backdrop was all the more impressive – it was simply gigantic.

Day 3

Muriel was awake every 1-2 hours that night, reason: the evening before there were a lot of Northern Lights (which we foolishly slept through). Unfortunately, we didn’t manage to wake up that night like we had the previous day... At 6 am Muriel saw on the webcam from Banff that it was indeed coming. We quickly wrapped everything up and drove to the lake. However, it was sadly already over again – oh well, another time. :) On the way back to the campsite, we stopped at a small lake and had breakfast there, as we had everything with us. :) Thanks to the generator, we always had power to make coffee and toast, really practical.

But afterwards, Muriel did manage to steal a little nap before we headed to Johnston Canyon in the afternoon. It was a long walk through the forest and we were practically the only car. However, it was a significant mass tourism scene – but we went while most were heading back – such counter-cyclical behavior :-D The highlights of that hike included two waterfalls – a smaller one and a larger one. Theoretically, you could continue further, but then we turned around after seeing the second waterfall. The lighting was stunning and we walked along such paths:

And then we were quite near the first waterfall:

Along the way, we kept seeing squirrels – Muriel just can't resist them... :)

After a while, we reached the waterfall and were able to enjoy the view:

After that, we made our way back to the camper, after 200 times stopping because a squirrel crossed our path or a cute mushroom was growing, we finally succeeded :-D