The Canadian Rockies and an unexpected interruption Oct 4 2026

This article is part of the series “2026-09: Canada”.

18 September

Only reluctantly do we leave the Summit River Lodge in Valemount. It is a wonderful place. We fill all our bottles with the delicious well water, pet Cookie, the cat, and say goodbye to our hosts. Today we will continue to Jasper where we booked two ridiculously expensive bunk beds in a shared hostel room. But hey, it’s Jasper, one of the places that every single tourist seems to visit and we are lucky we found accommodation for less than a thousand dollars a night.

We take Highway 5 and then Highway 16 east, which leads to Jasper. After a turn we see a huge, striped mountain with a snowy top ahead. It is Mount Robson, with 3954 m, the highest summit of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. On the way there, I find a nice spot by the Robson River to take photos.

We stop at the Mount Robson Welcome Centre where people take pictures of this massive mountain too.

About 60 kilometres further east we cross two borders. The first is the provincial border between British Columbia and Alberta, the other is the time zone border. I will not try to explain the Canadian time zones here. They are independent of the provinces and several changes have been made this year. Pretty confusing. Let’s keep it simple: We set the clocks forward by one hour.

We pass Jasper and take a side road to Medicine Lake and Maligne Lake. Medicine Lake is special because it is not a normal lake, but rather part of the Maligne River that disappears underground. The water level varies greatly over the year. This time of year it has a pretty low water level. At the southern tip the lake is mostly empty and reveals large sandbanks, interrupted by small but fast-flowing streams.

The next lake – Maligne Lake is one of the iconic lakes in the Rockies. I guess the main season is over because we can always find a parking space, even here we have to wait just a few minutes.

We stroll along the shore to find a good bathing place but maybe the best one is near the tourist centre. There we change into our swimming clothes and walk into the lake. And we walk and walk. The lake is so shallow that I finally just lie down in the water to get wet. When we come back to dry ourselves a moose is approaches. We already heard about two local moose in this area and the signs indicate that we should not approach wildlife. But what do you do when the wildlife is approaching you? We grab our things and move back on the way to keep our distance. When the moose turns I take some pictures. The moose makes calling sounds. Is it looking for its mum?

At the restaurant – already closed we meet a couple from France that has been travelling around Canada for almost two years. Like the Canadians we met in Likely they also recommend visiting Drumheller. We are shown some photos of an impressive landscape. Maybe we manage to visit it later.

While we are driving back to Jasper the VW Tiguan displays a warning: “Check the coolant level.” That doesn’t look good. We stop the car for a few minutes but the same warning pops up again. We open the car’s hood and, sure enough, there is hardly any coolant left. The French couple passes and stops to help us. We realise, that there is a leak in the hoses. As usual, we don’t have any mobile coverage at all. All passing people are helpful, but no one has coolant or distilled water. It is the French couple who stop a camper van from Virginia. The camper van has Starlink. In the end , they are the ones that help us. Slowly we continue our drive back to Jasper with the camper van following us as a backup. We are lucky, we make it as far as the crossing near town and gratefully wave goodbye to our helpers. To all of you who helped us or tried to help us: you are great people.

In the hostel it takes some effort to communicate with the Avis customer service, who provided our rental car. They cannot understand the situation that we have a breakdown but do not need any roadside assistance. But finally, we learn one thing: Avis has an office in Jasper.

19 September

Did I sleep well? No. It was very noisy both inside (the metal separations between the bunk beds droned loudly every time someone was touching them) and outside (a lot of drunk people were shouting and quarrelling until night). But that’s not important. What is important is to get a replacement for our rental car. To make a long story short: none of the numbers provided got us any help, but the one employee in Jasper did.

First we have to wait in the queue for quite a while but before lunchtime we have a new car, a Kia Sportage. Will it be a good replacement for our VW Tiguan? We’ll see. Annika has already filled out the extensive paper form. We move all our stuff from one car to the other, return the old car key and here we are – having our mobility back. We were extremely lucky that the car broke down near Jasper, that we made it back and that Avis has an office there. So we don’t have to change any plans and are ready to leave Jasper just a few hours later than planned.

Today we will head east for a few days but our next overnight stop, Hinton, is near, so we want to drive a bit of the Icefields Parkway first. This part of the Alberta Highway 93 is most famous for its view of glaciers, mountains, and lakes and a “must-see” for many tourists. Today we want to drive to Athabasca Falls – not on the main road but on the older road 93A on the other side of the Athabasca River. Here we are almost completely alone. We stop at one of the pullouts and have our lunch by the river.

The river is beautiful but the trees clearly show that there have been forest fires in this area as well. Many trees have black, burnt bark and I am not sure whether any of them will survive. Nevertheless new saplings with fresh leaves are growing between the black trunks.

We stop at another pullout and walk to the Athabasca River near the waterfall. Even here we are almost alone. We can see the tourists on the official trail on the other side. We go to the shore – on our side, this is possible – and look at the turquoise water of the river and the steep rocky cliff on the other side.

Less than 200 metres further on is the official car park. Even here we get a parking space almost immediately. Together with other tourists we follow the trail. Sometimes I have to wait a minute until all selfies have been taken, then I get the good spots to take my own pictures.

This was our preview of the Icefields Parkway. Now it is time to turn and leave the Canadian Rocky Mountains for a while. We take Highway 93 and turn east onto Alberta Highway 16. There we pass a slope behind a lake with a lot of quaking aspen trees. The leaves turn bright yellow in autumn, a bit like the birch trees at home.

As we leave the Rockies behind, something strange happens: it gets cloudy. We haven’t seen clouds for days and almost had taken the blue sky, the sun and the fact that our rain gear stayed untouched for granted.

When we arrive in Hinton it reminds me of a western town from the movies. Yes, the streets are paved, the horses were replaced by pickup trucks long ago and the houses are not of wood anymore, but the rows of houses and the spacious roads and the overall layout of the town evoked this image. We check in into our hotel and walk to the Filipino restaurant Pinoy Kusina where we eat Tapsilog, a dish under the label “All day breakfast”. On our walk back we can see the Rockies in the west and even the sun peeps through the clouds.

Williams Lake—Valemount – From desert to mountains Oct 4 2026

This article is part of the series “2026-09: Canada”.

16 September

After two overnight stays in Williams Lake it is time for Annika and me to move on. Flexibility is more important to us than ticking off a list of must-see attractions. Since affordable hotels, motels, hostels and B&Bs are quite limited this flexibility sometimes leads us to places off the tourist trails. Did you, for example, ever hear of Little Fort? We didn’t either, but this is our next stay.

But first we go south to explore Farwell Canyon. On the way there we drive through hilly landscapes and grassy meadows. The cattle stand on the meadows, by the lakes, in the mud beside the road and on the road itself, too.

When you drive through Lapland you may see the sorting corrals for the reindeer. Here I see a fenced area that looks very similar, however this corral is for cattle.

While we are approaching Farwell Canyon the landscape changes. It becomes drier and you can see the eroded hills.

The road to the canyon provides impressive views of the canyon and the Chilcotin River.

We want to cross that river but first we turn back to a parking place to explore the “Farwell Canyon Sand Dune Trail” which leads to sand dunes with desert-like conditions. However, we only walk part of it because it is warm and we have forgotten to take water with us.

Time to turn again, drive down the hairpin bends to the bridge over the river and up the other side. Here the road becomes smaller and smaller and also rougher. We could follow this road to meet the highway 97 in the southeast.

The problem is that we had to cross Fraser River on the Gang Ranch Suspension Bridge and we cannot find any information whether we can cross it by car or not. Since the dirt road is narrow and rough and the drive would be long and bumpy I suggest turning again.

So we see it all again, the hairpin bends downwards, the canyon, the river, the bridge, the hairpin bends upwards, the car park for the trail and even the Toosey Band Gas Station that we passed hours ago. It had been opening by the Tl’esqox First Nation three months ago. We fill up the car and buy bannock for lunch. Normally I do not like hot dogs, but the smoked sausage in that type of bread is delicious.

Soon we are back on British Columbia Highway 20 where we cross Fraser River on a more boring but somehow also more reliable bridge.

After passing Williams Lake again we take the 97 southeast. The names of the villages: 150 Mile House, 151 Mile House, 108 Mile Ranch, 105 Mile House … . The names originate from the distances to the town of Lillooet on the Cariboo Wagon Road during the Cariboo Gold Rush of the 1860s.

In the Rusty Iron Coffee Co. we get a coffee and a bun just before closing. Lucky us! My espresso is outstanding and the café is very cosy. Anyhow we sit outside enjoying the warm and sunny weather. Then we explore the 108 Heritage Site nearby with its old buildings such as a school and a church before we continue on to Little Fort, where we arrive at half past six.

17 September

Where is the North Thompson River? It was there the day before. Now it is hidden by fog that covers the whole valley. Only a slightly brighter spot reveals the position of the sun.

But it is only a matter of time until the sun wins and evaporates the fog.

Today we will head to Valemount, where our next overnight stop is located. We have only to follow Highway 5 for 200 km, then we are there. It will be a short day. Hahaha! Hihi! We already have learnt that every day of travelling in Canada is a full day because there is so much to discover, with or without detours.

Today we take a detour. We leave Highway 5 in Clearwater to visit the Wells Gray Provincial Park which is famous for its many waterfalls. The first motif however is not water falling down but a North American red squirrel. It is very busy, not very shy and I can take some photos.

Then the waterfalls: we do not visit them all, some need a hike to get there and some do not sound so interesting. So I’ll show two of them. First, Dawson falls, not very deep but broad. You can access the shore of the Murtle River and watch it from there while listening to its constant droning.

Then Helmcken Falls, where the same river falls 141 metres into a canyon. Equally impressive, but from the viewing platform you are pretty far away.

We take the dirt road to the Green Mountain Trail. We were not alone at the waterfalls – here we are. It’s only we two and a lot of butterflies – probably from the genus Polygonia – fluttering around the viewing tower.

On our way back we spot an ice cream sign by the road. That’s always a reason to stop. The ice lady is kind and funny, the ice cream is delicious and the scoops enormous. And I like the sign which says: “It’s never too cold for ice cream.” So true.

Just another stop to the picture of the ranch entrance …

… and we are back on the highway. Or we could be, if the weather weren’t so nice and Clearwater didn’t have this bathing lake, Dutch lake. Time for a stop, time for a dip. We bathe and swim in the fresh, clear, but not really cold water. Many recreational sites are community-driven. Bampton is one of them and does not only have a wonderful swimming jetty but also provides life jackets for kids.

Bampton Recreational Area – bathing jetty

Now it is 6 o’clock in the afternoon and we still have 174 km to go. The sun is setting while we drive and the higher mountains that we are seeing for the first time on our trip lie in the shade.

When we arrive at the Summit River Lodge, our accommodation for this night, it is already dark. A pity, since this lodge is so beautiful, both outside and inside! And the drinking water is great, it is taken from a well and doesn’t taste of chlorine as the ordinary Canadian tap water.

Before going to sleep, I go out and take a photo of the mountain as seen from the house. It has a glacier on it and its name is Mount Albreda (3029 m). That’s higher than any mountain in any country I have lived in: Germany, Sweden, Norway.

The next day we will see more mountains, because we head to Jasper which lies in the Canadian Rocky Mountains.

That’s Likely Sep 30 2026

This article is part of the series “2026-09: Canada”.

15 September

Today, my wife Annika and I plan a day trip to Likely. We start in Williams Lake. We do not take the main road, but instead take a side road via Horsefly. According to the British Columbia paper map, there is a way to get there, according to Google Maps, there is no connection between Horsefly and Likely. So we are not sure whether this will work, but we have a full tank and we can turn around anytime.

The road to Horsefly is paved. We make a short stop to buy some provisions in the little shop and to use the toilet, then we continue to Likely.

After a few hundred metres the road turns into an unpaved one. Soon it gets a bit rough and pretty small. Still, it is good to drive on if you take it slowly. The issue is more the navigation. One thing is that Google Maps does not know the way but the main issue is that mobile internet access in British Columbia’s rural areas is more or less non-existent. So, offline maps are your friends, even with some missing routes. We miss a turnoff and land in an active mining area, but we find back and get onto the right road.

Finally, we arrive in Likely and it is a great place. The village is located on the Quesnel River and has an extremely cosy pub. We decide to eat there and sit outside to enjoy the warm late summer weather. We are not the only ones. Three Canadians join our table. We immediately start chatting about this and that and in the end, we get a lot of tips about which places we “must” visit. The man even offers to show us around in Edmonton, where he currently lives, although in his opinion it’s not worth a detour :-D. At the same time I eat a delicious burger with poutine, a very Canadian dish consisting of French fries topped with gravy. Unfortunately, the wasps enjoy the warmth, too and especially anything with sugar in it.

The Canadians tell us about salmon jumping up the Quesnel River and while we cannot see them jumping up the small rapid, we see them idling in the water from the bridge. On the other side of the bridge – there is a pair of common loons.

Near Likely at the confluence of the Cariboo River and the Quesnel River is Quesnel Forks, a preserved ghost town from the Cariboo Gold Rush founded in 1860. In the 1870s most of the residents had left, but the town was still inhabited until the 1950s. Here we spend some time looking at the old buildings as well as the place where the rivers meet. A place with an interesting history and a beautiful landscape. We even met an old lady looking for gold. She tells us that you can still find a bit of gold, but you won’t get rich.

On our way back we took the main road to Williams Lake. It is easy to drive on, easy to navigate, but also a bit more boring than the way via Horsefly.

From the island into the desert Sep 24 2026

This article is part of the series “2026-09: Canada”.

13 September

My wife Annika and I stand on board of the ferry Queen of Cowichan. After several days on Vancouver Island we are heading back to the Canadian mainland, this time to Tsawwassen, which is south of Vancouver. To get there we have to cross international borders twice, first into the USA and then back into Canada. These borders are invisible because they are on sea. Back on the mainland, we see signs to the USA border at several places as well.

We make a stop in the village of tucckʷiowhum which is part of the Nlaka’pamux Nation. British Columbia is home to many distinct First Nations, each with its own culture, history, territory, and language. Often the languages are visible on the bilingual signs. The following stop signs show two different languages. According to the AI I used for research, “ƛ̓éyi” is Nłeʔkepmxcín which is spoken in the Fraser Canyon and Nicola regions. “T̄ÁLLEC” is St̓át̓imcets which is spoken in and around Lillooet, the town we are heading for today.

But we are not in Lillooet yet, we are in tucckʷiowhum. This is the first place where we can see the devastation caused by this year’s forest fires. Some hills are covered with black trunks. Even some of the buildings have burnt down. We know that forest fires are part of nature (or can be) but it makes me sad to see the black trees, some standing, some fallen.

We continue our trip north. The landscape changes slowly. The forests are less dense, the soil looks drier and is often vegetated with brown grass.

At half past seven we cross the Fraser river and arrive in Lillooet, a small town with a population of about 2300. The sun starts to set, but the mountains in the east still have sunlight.

View at the Fraser river and the Fountain Ridge

We check in at our first motel ever. We get a giant room with two double beds, a fridge, a coffee machine and a microwave. Since there is no proper kitchen available we walk into the centre where we eat salad and pizza at Manny’s Corner. The delicious Tandoori Chicken Pizza is massive and although I ordered only “medium size” I only manage to eat half of it. The leftovers will serve as tomorrow’s breakfast. On the other side of the street: The Roman Catholic church and a fast food chain.

In the streets: some pedestrians, especially younger ones and cars – mostly pickup trucks. The latter are very common in the area, the bigger the better. No wonder that our rented VW Tiguan, not a small car either, was rated as an “undersized vehicle” by the ferry company :-D .

14 September

Yesterday it had cleared up and when I wake up, the sky is blue. I go outside, just to the road where I see a flock of mule deer grazing on the dry meadows.

Our first action this morning is to visit Seton Lake. Sam, the manager of the motel said, it was a good place to take a swim and it is. There are some other people around but it is only us actually swimming in the lake.

Back in town we are looking around. I already knew that the landscape around Lillooet is desert-like, but I never expected cacti to grow here. This species seems to be the Brittle pricklypear.

You meet the Brittle pricklypear in person when you are stupid enough to wear sandals. But it is the yellow-blooming Rubber rabbitbrush that shapes this landscape. You can see them everywhere.

Nearby lies the Lillooet Suspension Bridge, built in 1913 and in active use to cross the Fraser river until the modern “Bridge of the Twenty-Three Camels” was built in 1981.

Our way leads north along the Fraser River canyon. We stop several times, mostly to enjoy the views and once at the Fountain Flats Trading Post, a convenience store where we buy snacks and something to drink.

Another stop we make is at the second-hand shop in Clinton where Annika buys a Thermos flask with an interesting feature: it does not insulate for a minute. In a corner of one of the rooms: Two pairs of large snowshoes.

Near Chasm we leave Highway 97 and drive north on unpaved roads. Beside the road are several alkaline lakes, most of them dried out. On the surface there is a thin layer of soda crust, underneath it is black mud. I never saw anything like this before. My rubber boots get muddy and it takes ages to wash the soft-soap-like mud away.

Alkali lakes between Chasm and Williams Lake I

Alkali lakes between Chasm and Williams Lake II

Alkali lakes between Chasm and Williams Lake III

At half past eight we arrive at our motel, the Stampeder Inn in Williams Lake where we’ll stay for two nights.

Again I remember my wondering before our journey: Will Canada be different from Scandinavia apart from its size. And again I get the answer: Some parts are very, very different!

Vancouver Island Sep 21 2026

This article is part of the series “2026-09: Canada”.

Oh my, it is already 20 September. My wife Annika and I are still travelling around in western Canada, have seen many things and today I finally find the time to write another blog article, this time about Vancouver Island, that we visited from 9 to 13 September. It feels like ages ago.

9 September

The alarm clock rings at 5:45. We want to catch the early ferry from Horseshoe Bay on the mainland to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. The ferry crossing takes about two hours.

With 2200 km², Hinnøya is the largest Norwegian island near the mainland. Vancouver Island is more than 14 times as large and is ranked 11 on the list of Canadian islands. Sometimes Canada may resemble Scandinavia but everything seems to be much bigger.

We take the road north and make a stop at the public beach in Parksville on the east side of the island.

Then we make a stop at Cathedral Grove. It was a recommendation of a local from Vancouver that we met a couple of days ago. And this place is amazing. This is not just some forest, it is an ancient rain forest with gigantic trees, both tall and thick so that you may need a whole group of people to embrace it. I never ever saw a forest and trees like that and my concerns that Canada could be too similar to Scandinavia are immediately washed away.

From there it is not far away to our accommodation near Port Alberni, a beautiful blockhouse that we have booked for a night but immediately extend to three nights. It has a large living room including a piano and everything you need. Later Ryan, the friendly and helpful owner will tell us about the house’s story, but now we just fall into the king-size bed and are soon fast asleep.

10 September

Today we have planned a day trip to Tofino including visits in the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve. Our first stop is an unplanned one – many more will follow, a pull-off by Kennedy River¹, that has created a gorge in the rough rocks. A good way to start the day.

We buy a pass for the Canadian national parks and start with a short hike on the Shorepine Bog Trail. Well, I have visited countless bogs in Sweden, where the landscape is mostly sparse. Here a boardwalk leads over the bog, which is wet as well but overgrown with large pines with intense green needles.

And then there it is – a Pacific beach, the open ocean. Both the waves and the many warning signs prevent us from taking a bath, but the impression of standing at the shore of the largest ocean of the world is thrilling. Next land to the west? More than 6000 km away!

Before we arrive in Tofino, we walk both parts of the Rainforest Trail, which is as amazing as Cathedral Grove. Especially “Loop B” is outstanding, because it not only features giant trees but also leads into a deep-cut valley so overgrown that you cannot see any ground or soil. Even if you head to Tofino for the beaches – as I did – do make this hike. It does not take long but it’s absolutely worth it!

We spend the time in Tofino mostly replenishing our supplies, refuelling the car and having a meal by the harbour, where as many seaplanes than boats were arriving or leaving. I also found an animal on a rock under a layer of sand. It is the sea anemone Anthopleura elegantissima (thank you, Ulrich, for the specification).

The view from our oudoor dinner place in Tofino

On the way back we stop at the northern tip of Long Beach, the largest beach, where we watch the surfers, take a stroll by the beach and collect some shells.

And here I finally manage to take a photo of a Steller’s jay. I’ve seen many, but they flew away as soon as I appeared with my telephoto lens.

11 September

Our first day off. Taking it easy, feeding the sheep, playing the piano, taking a bath in Sproat Lake, taking a nap and another bath in Sproat Lake. It’s important to let the many impressions sink in.

We will stay another day on Vancouver Island, then we will head back to British Columbia’s mainland.

_____
¹Kennedy River may be the wrong name.

Vancouver Sep 14 2026

This article is part of the series “2026-09: Canada”.

6 September

I am standing on the SkyTrain Expo Line that brings me to Waterfront station in central Vancouver. SkyTrain is fully automated and so I can stand at the front looking at the mountains to the right and the skyscrapers in the front.

At Waterfront I change to the Canada Line in the direction of the airport. It crosses the Fraser River on which tree trunks are floating, waiting to be transported.

Then I am at Vancouver Airport again. Yesterday I arrived here myself, today I am fetching my wife Annika. It takes some time before she is through the passport control and collects her luggage, then she is finally here, nineteen hours late. Our four-week Canadian holiday can begin.

As I was the day before, Annika is pretty tired from the flight but we don’t have any jet lag, although we travelled across nine time zones. We take the same trains back to Burnaby, enter bus 119 and arrive at our private host’s home.

After having a chat and leaving Annika’s luggage behind we go for a walk to Deer Lake, which is nearby. It is a beautiful lake in a park in the south of Burnaby which you can walk around. There are many signs that we are no longer in Scandinavia anymore: the many skyscrapers in the background, the bear and coyote warning signs but most of all: the huge trees.

After an afternoon nap we are looking for a restaurant. We were told that the local asian ones are all excellent. We choose the “Singapore Hawker” because it is crowded. We have to wait a while until we are seated. The interior is simple but the food is excellent. I ordered “G6. Nyonya Eggplant – Tender wok-fried eggplant and minced pork, enhanced with dried shrimp.” Have I ever eaten eggplant so tasty as it was here? I cannot remember.

7 September

Today Annika and I want to explore central Vancouver with Stanley Park. Again we take the SkyTrain into town, walk a bit and find a bicycle rental shop, where we hire two excellent bicycles for exploring.

There is a cycle path by the seaside that we follow to Stanley Park which lies on a peninsula north of the centre. Our first stop is at a group of totem poles.

We continue around, pass the Brockton Point Lighthouse and watch the seagulls carrying starfish in their beaks. They look like the birds’ versions of H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu.

We also spot some birds. A woodpecker, probably a pileated woodpecker. Then, also in the forest, a barred owl and finally at the beach a great blue heron. All beautiful birds of their kind.

At the end of Stanley Park there are several sandy beaches. Time for a swim – our first swim ever in the Pacific Ocean.

Now I am getting pretty hungry. We took Granville Bridge over False Creek and get some food at the Granville Park Public Market which was quite crowded. We cycled a bit more but I got tired and so we turned back, this time using the Burrard Street Bridge. After about thirty kilometres of cycling we were back at the rental shop to bring back the bikes.

In my option the bicycle is the perfect vehicle to explore Vancouver.

8 September

It is time to pick up our rental car at the airport. We’ll have it for three weeks to travel around in western Canada but today we’ll just make a day trip. We get a VW Tiguan with all-wheel drive and I am glad that Annika is driving this day, she handles big cities better than me. Our first stop is Richmond, a city near the airport where we buy some essentials and eat lunch, then we head off north to visit Whistler. In my view, Whistler is just a town and a ski resort, the journey there is very beautiful. We stop twice at designated tourist attractions. The first one is the Shannon Falls Provincial Park. The waterfall is beautiful, but what impresses us much more is the giant trees in the park. I’ve never been in a forest like this before.

We make another stop at the Brandywine Falls Provincial Park. First we take the short walk to the platform from which you can see the water falling down about 70 metres, then we take a small hike to a lake nearby. I’m a bit nervous, there are black bears and grizzly bears living in these forests as well as coyotes and cougars (though sightings of the latter are uncommon).

When we drive back the same way to our accommodation in Burnaby, it starts to get dark and when Annika parks the car in front of the house, it is dark.

An Arctic regular flight Sep 11 2026

This article is part of the series “2026-09: Canada”.

Saturday, 5 September. I am about to take my longest and furthest flight ever: from Amsterdam to Vancouver, West Canada. Annika had tickets for the same flight, but she was not allowed to travel because of issues with her eTA (Electronic travel authorization) and also because of the complete absence of a functioning customer service at KLM which we both have tried to contact for days, but in vain. So she will fly the next day.

My flight departs at around 16 o’clock and after a short time we leave the coast with the sandy beaches behind and are above the North Sea. Although Vancouver lies further south than Amsterdam the long flight goes north. It is shorter. We fly north of Iceland and over the Norwegian island Jan Mayen, which I cannot see because it is cloudy. Then the clouds begin to disperse and I get a view, first of a field of ice floes and then of the next mainland: Greenland. I am glued to the window to see these extraordinary views starting with the elongated island Store Koldewey. More and more mountain chains, bays filled with small ice floes come into view until the Greenland Ice Cap takes over and everything becomes white, first of ice, then because of a layer of clouds.

Some hours later holes start to appear in the layer of clouds and I can see other polar landscapes, those of Arctic Canada. We fly over Ellesmere Island, Axel Heiberg Island, Cornwall Island, Bathurst Island and Victoria Island. Then the mainland: a bit of mainland Nunavut and then the Northwest Territories, where I get a view of its largest lake Great Bear Lake, the eight-largest lake of the world.

Only slowly the landscape changes. There is less and less ice and part of the Northwest Territories is characterised by a large number of lakes, some of them dried-out and a red hue that makes it look like the surface of another planet.

After a while the landscape seems to have changed again. It takes me a couple of seconds until I realise, there are trees growing there. Now there are also more and more streets – probably dirt roads and then houses and fields, small towns and finally a big city: Metro Vancouver.

You see the beaches on the last photo? Two days later Annika and I will have a swim there, our first time in the Pacific Ocean.

Early September in Tromsø Sep 4 2026

The first signs of autumn have arrived in Tromsø in recent days. I took some snapshots with my mobile while following the paths through the forest and the wet trods over the bogs. Still many birches are green but some are yellow and have starting shedding their leaves while parts of the undergrowth are bright red.

Today I left Tromsø behind for four weeks. I flew to Oslo and will spend the night in a hotel near the airport. Tomorrow I’ll fly to Amsterdam where I’ll meet my wife Annika and then we head for our furthest journey yet. Canada for four weeks! British Columbia and Alberta. I’m very excited, a bit nervous and pretty curious how it looks like.

Mountain tour on the Ullstinden Aug 30 2026

The weather forecast looked good for Saturday which was yesterday, so my friend Christine and I decided to do a mountain tour on Mount Ullstinden on Tromsø‘s mainland. We met at her place, had breakfast and drove to the car park, the very same where our tours to Trollvassbu start.

This time we head north-east. The unmarked path leads over several bogs and some parts are pretty wet and muddy.

We cross some stretches of birch forests and the ground gets drier. Even at this early stage, we have wide views of the mountains and valleys to the south and west.

Some parts are covered with Arctous alpina whose leaves turn bright red in early autumn. The colour can be pretty intense and although the birches have hardly turned yellow they give the mountain landscapes an autumnal atmosphere.

In the north we can see Grøtsundet, which connects Tromsøya to Ullfjorden and so to the open sea in the north. Here the Hurtigruten ships can continue to Skjervøy, the next Hurtigruten port in the north. The Hurtigruten ship we see however is probably an expedition cruise ship because the ships from the north arrive in the night.

I am a bit confused. I thought Ullstinden was the mountain we already headed to on the bogs but I was wrong, our destination is more to the west. Here we see the first reindeer, first just a couple, then more groups – they are at least fifty. Since they stand more or less on our trail we slow down and give them a head start.

While we wait and watch, the wind picks up a little. It is carrying a lot of willow seed with it and against the sun it looks like a late-summer snow shower.

We turn left now following the red-painted rocks that mark the trail up. The Hurtigruten ship is out of sight but the view of Grøtsundet is still there, including the island Nipøya and the mountain Istinden with its glacier in the background.

The terrain gets rocky. We cross a broad but shallow mountain stream with green patches of moss and the “high alpine” part of our mountain tour starts.

The slope is covered with rough, angular rocks. Sometimes there is a tuft of grass or a small ground-cover plant but moss and crustose lichens dominate the sparse vegetation.

I took the selfie at an altitude of 800 metres. In Bavaria you have towns like Oberstdorf or Bayrischzell at those altitudes, here in Tromsø you are in desert-like Arctic alpine terrain.

Finally we reach reach the summit of the south-western summit of Ullstinden (in some sources called Stortinden) at an altitude of 1078 metres. We drop our backpacks, drink some water and share some chocolate. We have been completely alone for the whole tour, but now a young woman is approaching. It is her taking the photo of us. Thank you, unknown hiker!

Ullstinden Panorama, taken from Ullstinden (a.k.a Stortinden) – 1078 m

The view from the peak is absurdly spectacular, almost unreal. To the southwest we can see the slope we ascended. To the west, behind Ullsfjorden we can see the northern half of the Lyngen Alps. Also to the west, more than 600 metres below us – the lake Riehppejávri or Storelvvatnan with its intense turquoise water. To the north, the other summit of Ullstinden – 15 metres higher and there are other fjords and snow fields and mountain ranges and two eagles and … . I am speechless.

I take some photos. For the one with the lake I have to lie down, because there the terrain is much steeper than the comfort-zone part of me likes.

I even try to take a series of shots for a panoramic photo (thanks, Martin for your inspiration!) but I’m not content. I should have taken more time to find a better angle.

Panorama, taken from Ullstinden (a.k.a Stortinden)

I was glad that I took my trekking poles with me. I hardly use them, but my knees appreciated it when I was descending about 950 metres in altitude. I have eaten the chocolate, I have drunk most of the water but now I had another weight to bear: A quartz rock of about one kilo that I found on the way up. Until it has found its final place in my apartment it stands on the coffee table and reminds me of this exhausting but pretty spectacular mountain tour.

Thanks for the great hike, Christine. Takk for turen!

A late summer overnight stay at Bjuröklubb Aug 22 2026

Thursday afternoon. It is just before the bus stop that I discover the first fly agarics of the year. I have walked about 3.3 km from our home in Obbola to the nearest bus stop. From here it’s half an hour’s bus journey to Norrlands universitetssjukhus, the hospital where I meet Annika.

We take her car, heading north to a well-known place: Bjuröklubb. The first time I went there was 25 April 2010, just three days after I moved to Sweden. The last time I was there was with Annika on 28 June 2024, when we rented the cabin Spanarstugan for an overnight stay.

Since we both have Friday off and the weather forecast looked promising, we have hired the cabin again at very short notice. Luckily it was free. After a 120-km drive, we arrive there, carry our things up the last 250 metres on foot and there we are again: at one of my favourite places, having the large cabin for ourselves and everything we need for a tasty outdoor dinner.

After dinner we go up the hill to the lighthouse Bjuröklubbs fyr which, despite its age, is still active. From here you have a unique view of the sea and, weather permitting, beautiful sunsets.

As the sun sinks lower and lower, the light gets warmer and warmer and it takes a while for the sun to set behind the distant, flat hills in the north.

An hour later it has become darker and the stars are out. The pine trees appear as black silhouettes and the lighthouse has started its work.

The next morning the weather is still clear. A small sailing boat is already out at 6 o’clock. Where does it come from, and where is it heading?

Today is Annika’s and my sixth wedding anniversary and I’m not only blessed to have Annika as my wife, but also glad that we are here together and the weather is nice and the hares are running and the birds are chirping and the butterflies are fluttering around and that we can even have breakfast outside in the sun. But before that: New day – new photos!

Stone field and pines – typical for Bjuröklubb

After lunch, Annika is picking berries while I am walking and climbing to the old lighthouse Bjuröklubb Nord Östra, an abandoned leading light situated by the sea.

I unscrew a hook that locks the metal door, open it and peek in. While the windows still retain their colours, the light source is long gone.

On my way back I meet Annika in the sun. She is still collecting blueberries. Although the warmth of the sun makes it feel like a summer day the bright red leaves on the blueberry bushes show that autumn is near.

Meanwhile, the café has opened. Time to buy some ice cream. After I have finished mine, I try to take photos of the many, many butterflies. Anyway, that’s not easy because I left my big Nikon camera at home and my small Sony camera is a bit picky when it comes to focussing on such subjects. These are the best shots: European peacock (Aglais io) – painted lady (Vanessa cardui) – small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) – red admiral (Vanessa atalanta).

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