Calgary, Lethbridge

When I arrived in Calgary, it was very rainy and cool. However, by mid-week, it became friendlier again and the sun came back. I had a cozy week in Calgary. I visited Fort Calgary, a small museum, the zoo, and the Devonian Gardens botanical garden, which was located in a shopping center. On the top floor, there were some small take-away restaurants where you could enjoy the food directly in the green atmosphere. There was a piano in the garden that someone occasionally played, which made the whole atmosphere even cozier.

The Fort Calgary Museum showed the history of Calgary, how the city had changed and mainly grown with the oil industry and the railway.

The zoo had some wild animals, but although the enclosures were rather small, the animals could mostly hide behind a tree or a big rock, so you couldn't see them properly. In addition, there were a lot of parents with children, and the little ones were still in strollers, which were pushed to the front so they could see something without getting out. But what I really liked was the butterfly house. It was full of summer birds in all sizes and colors.

On Saturday, I made my way to Lethbridge. On Sunday morning, I went to the Nikka Yuko Japanese Garden. It was a small garden in the middle of the city, and since I was there early in the morning, right after the garden opened (at 10 a.m. :P), I had the garden all to myself and could enjoy the peace and quiet.

In the afternoon, I went to the Coutts Centre, which was a small park with lots of flowers, although most of them had unfortunately already withered.

On the way back to the hotel, I made a stop at the Lethbridge Viaduct. The 1.6 km long and 95 meter high railway bridge was completely built of iron and was completed 110 years ago. In the Indian Battle Park at the foot of the bridge, there were paths over the hills. I climbed up one path and waited for some time, hoping that a train would pass over the bridge. But after an hour, it started to get chilly and I didn't feel like waiting any longer, so I went back to the hotel.

On a rainy Monday, I made my way to the Rocky Mountains. My accommodation is in Golden, from where I will visit the Banff, Yoho, and Revelstoke National Parks in the coming days.