On my last morning in Vancouver I had a sleep in, packed my backpack (including my 3 cans of undrunken beer) then watched a 1970's movie in the TV room and eventually decided I should actually do something active with my last day. So I went on a long walk including crossing 2 of Vancouver's big bridges and checking out the Granville Island Market. Then it was time to go. I grabbed my pack and caught the SkyTrain to Vancouver's Pacific Central Station. It is an old historic station, with a big hall, very much like you would see in the movies. I checked in and retrieved my CanRail pass (which entitles me to 12 days of unlimited travel on Canada's national rail network within 30 days). For the first leg of my journey, a 23 hour journey through the Canadian Rockies to Edmonton, I decided to treat myself with a sleeper, which also automatically entitled me to “Silver and Blue” treatment – VIARail's first class service. So off I went to the Silver and Blue departure lounge.
If I was to use one word to describe the next 24 hours, it would probably be “wow.” (Either that, or “train.”)
The rail journey (route from Vancouver to Toronto, known as “The Canadian”) commenced with the Silver and Blue class passengers being invited to the “Club car” at the back of the train for complimentary Champagne and fingerfood. The club car was a bar and lounge, with stairs to the roof, to the viewing dome, from which you could see 360 degrees including the front of the train winding ahead. I would spend a lot of the journey in this viewing dome.
The train was nothing like Europe's high speed inter city trains. It is more of an antique. The carriages were from the 1950's, restored and refurbished. The club car lounge had an art deco design. Since stepping foot in the station, I felt like I was catapulted a number of decades into the past. The only thing missing was a steam engine at the front of the train (it was pulled by two diesel locomotives)
The train left Vancouver and made it's way into the Rockies just as it got dark. Dinner was shortly served in the dining car. The dining car was another step back in time. A bronze coloured décor, with lots of tables each seating four and having a big window to look out of. Service was excellent and the three-course-meals were good restaurant quality. Customers in not already in groups of 4 were seated with other guests by the the waiters, so there was always someone to talk to.
During dinner the sleeper rooms, which during the day were sitting rooms, were converted to their sleeper form. I didn't have a private room, but rather what they called an “upper berth”. This was a seat bay in the first class section which at night would convert to an upper and lower bunk. The bed in my upper bunk was actually bigger than the beds in the private or family sleepers, and I had a hammock above as shelving for my bags and personal items. I went to bed at 1am and drifted off to sleep to the rocking motion of the train. I woke up a lot of times during the night due to sharp turns, sudden stops or just people out in the hallway beyond my curtain separating my berth, but overall it was a decent sleep.
I woke up for the umpteenth time at 7am and was about to go back to sleep when I decide to peek outside at the scenery. I could see snow on the ground, and this excited me enough to get out of bed, have a shower, go to the restaurant car for cooked breakfast, and move on into the viewing dome for views of the Rockies winding by.
The train could only go quite slowly through these mountain ranges, and would also often come to stop to let freght trains past. But there was no rush when you had the constant views of frozen lakes, towering mountains, snowy pine forests and crystal clear creeks.
There were plenty of people to talk to as everyone was friendly. The patrons were mostly old couples but there were a few young people and some families as well. Canadians (mostly French-speaking), Americans, English, and of course a few token Aussies (can't go anywhere without Aussies!)
Just before lunch we stopped off in Jasper, a small town in the middle of the huge Jasper National Park. I went out for a stroll but was happy to get back into the train to escape the 2C temperature.
I was warmed up by soup and a delicious roast beef sandwich in the dining car for lunch. I watched the countryside and participated in wildlife spotting. Apparently the engineers at the front of the train had spotted a bear at the side of the track, but by the time the dining car had made it to that point the bear had gone down an embankment. The only animals I got to see apart from ducks were the native American mountain sheep scampering on the rocks above the train.
Up to this point it had been cloudy, which was a shame because some of the highest mountains in the Rockies were not visible past their base due to the clouds. But then the clouds broke and we continued on through the end of Rockies and the start of the prairies in nice warm sunshine. The sunshine through the dome roof and the rocking of the train put me to sleep again in my seat and before I knew it it was time for me to disembark in Edmonton.
Prior to planning this trip, I had never heard of Edmonton. I just picked it as a place to stop off because it was the most sizable city between Winnipeg and Vancouver on the train line. It is a city about 300km North of Calgary in the province of Alberta, and is comparable in size to Adelaide.
The railway station is out of the way in Edmonton. My hostel directions told me to walk 4 blocks and then catch 2 buses. So I started my walk from the train station and a big white van stopped by to offer me a lift. Still being in big city mode, I politely refused the assistance on account of not wanting to be hacked up into a million pieces. But upon reflection, and several strangers making conversation with me just on on my bus rides, I realised that this is probably a genuinely friendly place, and I could have accepted that lift, and saved myself a long wait for the buses.
I have now checked into my hostel – the only one in town – and will tomorrow probably go check out Edmonton's main attraction: the West Edmonton Mall – the world's biggest indoor shopping center (sic). You might legitimately ask why a city the size of Adelaide needs the world's biggest shopping center (sic); I asked that on the train. Apparently the winter here is so unbearable, the people need indoor entertainment. I'll report on what I find there, but supposedly it comes complete with a wave pool, amongst other things. I have 3 days in Edmonton until the next Eastbound Canadian service comes through town to pick me up and take me through the prairies.
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