Series 2026-09: Canada

2026-09-11 An Arctic regular flight
2026-09-14 Vancouver

An Arctic regular flight

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.

Flying over Greenland IFlying over Greenland IIFlying over Greenland IIIFlying over Greenland IVFlying over Greenland VFlying over Greenland VIFlying over Greenland VIIFlying over Greenland VIIIFlying over Greenland IX

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.

Arctic canada IIArctic canada IArctic canada IVArctic canada III

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.

Arctic canada V

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.

The first fieldsVancouver from above

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.

Vancouver

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.

Taking the SkyTrain

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.

Trunks on the Fraser River

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.

Deer lake IDeer lake IIDeer lake III

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.

Singapore Hawker ISingapore Hawker II

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.

Central Vancouver

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.

The totem poles at Stanley Park

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.

Brockton Point LighthouseSeagull with starfish ISeagull with starfish IIAt the sea side

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.

Great Blue HeronBarred Owl

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

After taking a swim

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.

Burrard Street BridgeSkyscraper reflections

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.

In the Shannon Falls Provincial ParkShannon falls

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).

Brandywine fallsA short hike to a lake

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.

Mountain view