Canada: From Great Mountains to Blue Lakes

We meet in Calgary (Alberta), pick up our motorhome and set off towards our Canadian adventures. Canada is the second-largest country in the world and at the same time one of the wildest. There are only about 4 people per square kilometre here, and beyond the cities lie endless forests and mountains where the real masters are bears, moose and deer. That is exactly where we are heading! The city quickly fades behind us, and the jagged peaks of the Rocky Mountains rise on the horizon. In the evening we set out on a short hike and feel the grandeur of Canada from the very first steps. Our first dinner at the campground, our first campfire and the first stories of our group.

We start the morning with rafting: a ride that suits everyone and will be remembered for a lifetime. Next comes one of the best hikes, which leaves no one indifferent: mountains and turquoise lakes spread out before you like a map. And finally Banff welcomes us — Canada's oldest national park, founded back in 1885. Together with Jasper, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We stroll around the cosy mountain town, eat, shop, and in the evening hot springs, a spa and total relaxation at the campground await us.

Today is the day of Canada's most famous lakes: Lake Louise, framed by a glacier, and Moraine Lake in the Valley of the Ten Peaks, a view that once graced a Canadian banknote. Their colour is unlike anything else: the water glows as if lit from within. Here you just want to stop, breathe in the mountain air and not rush anywhere. And that is exactly what we will do.

We set off along the scenic Icefields Parkway, one of the most beautiful roads in the world. For almost 230 km there will be no phone signal. We stop at Peyto Lake, shaped like a wolf's head, and then walk up to a real glacier and touch ice that is thousands of years old. Keep your eyes on the windows: a bear by the roadside is nothing unusual here. In the evening we stop at a campground in Jasper.

We greet the morning in kayaks on Maligne Lake: mirror-like water, silence and mountains all around. In the evening we stroll through Jasper, a small town with a true remote Canadian spirit: wooden houses, the smell of coffee and maple syrup, and deer calmly walking the streets.

In the morning we head out on a hike along Jasper's forest trails to breathtaking views. After lunch there is free time for another walk around town. In the evening we have a grill picnic on the lakeshore and watch the sunset together. And when it gets dark, we look up: Jasper is one of the largest dark-sky preserves in the world, and the Milky Way is visible here with the naked eye.

We drive to Mount Robson Provincial Park, home to the highest peak of the Canadian Rockies (3,954 m). It hides in the clouds so often that seeing it in full is considered real luck. We hope we'll be lucky. The best hike of the trip awaits us: a turquoise river, roaring waterfalls and a glacial lake among the mountains. The kind of day after which Canada stays in your heart forever.

We hit the road back and collect the best of what remains: mighty waterfalls, narrow canyons carved by water over millennia, and lakes that surprise us with a new colour every time. Last glances at the Rockies from the window of our motorhome, with a Tim Hortons coffee in hand. We spend the night at a campground near Calgary, where we share our last evening together, along with impressions and experiences that will stay with us for a lifetime.