The Canadian! (May 2015)

[jebr]

So in light of my next long train trip coming up in a couple days, I think it's high time to "finish up" the old one by typing up a trip report! This trip report will cover my trip on the Canadian from Winnipeg to Vancouver on May 21-23 and related activities.

I left work at noon on May 20, already pre-packed and ready to make my way up to Winnipeg to catch the train the next day. Since I live about six hours away from Winnipeg, I need to make the trip the day before in order to ensure I make it to the train in time. I must've been excited, as I drove nonstop until 4 hours in when I made it to the last exit before the border at Emerson. At that point, I filled up with gas, grabbed a beverage, and went to the border crossing. They had me go inside to interview at the border, but it only took about 10 minutes and I was back on the road again.

After stopping at the ATM for cash and swinging by the 7-11 for a SIM card with data and phone service for the trip, I made my way to the Hampton Inn to check into my room. After checking in, I drove around Winnipeg for a bit and picked up some food. I also stopped at the Dollar Tree to pick up some batteries.

After sleeping at the Hampton Inn for the night, I sat down for the hotel breakfast (a bit unique with baked beans as one of the sides) and got my fill. I then walked over to the bus stop for the bus to the train station. (My car would stay at the Hampton Inn, as I had their park-stay-fly rate.) I had already called into the 800 number for VIA Rail and found that the train was running a couple hours late, so I was not in a huge rush.

I made my way to Union Station and got my ticket printed and dropped off my bags there for the day. Since the train was not expected to be in until 1:00 PM, I made my way over to the Manitoba Legislative Building. I was able to see the legislature in session and walk around the very beautiful building.

Interior entry to the Manitoba Legislative Building

Exterior (south end)

I then went back to Union Station. The train was still late, so I went across the street and ate at Val's Drive Inn. It was okay, though I think I will get a less messy burger next time! (I got the all-in burger, I think, and I wasn't a huge fan. The fries were good, though!)

My burger.

Fries and a Mountain Dew.

After eating, I came back to double-check. The train had arrived! Here is what I was welcomed with.

The train took a bit longer than normal to be serviced. I went up to the railway museum upstairs for a bit and looked around. A decent museum, and a good way to spend an hour or so waiting at the train station. Finally, at about 2:30 PM, we boarded!

(To be continued. Soon. I promise.)

 

[jebr]

I boarded, and this is what I found my accomodation to be (lower berth) for the 48 or so hour journey to Vancouver.

I sat there for a bit, and my sleeper car attendant introduced himself. I asked him about the delays, and he said that we often make up a bit of time into Vancouver, so I should not worry about the delay. (My flight was a same-day connection back to Winnipeg, with the flight leaving at 6:45 PM.) This didn't stop me from worrying! I did give up trying to keep track of the time we made it to each stop after the first few hours...just wasn't worth it to me.

After settling in for a bit, I went to the lounge car. There were numerous activities that I could partake in.

The views, while we were still in Manitoba, weren't bad either.

I participated in quite a few of the activities. It was night to have a snack before supper, and the talk of Winnipeg was pretty cool and gave me some ideas for the next time I visit Winnipeg. I hopped between the dome car and my sleeper a bit, relaxing, reading some magazines, and listening to podcasts. We passed by a few stations, and before I knew it, it was time for dinner!

 

[jebr]

Dinner was extremely tasty...just as good as any nice restaurant I've been to. We started out with soup or salad. I got the soup...I think it was some sort of chicken vegetable?

While waiting for the main entree, I took some photos outside. (I also had a wonderful group of tablemates for my meal...a group of middle-aged women throughout Canada celebrating birthdays and having fun.) Here's one of them as we pass through either western Manitoba or eastern Saskatchewan. Reminds me of the Badlands in North and South Dakota.

My choice for the main entree for the night was glazed duck breast with vegetables. I also had milk to drink. It was extremely tasty, served very nicely, and was a great start to my meal experiences on the train.

Dessert was a very nice piece of cheesecake. Again, dessert was first-rate.

After dessert, I headed back to my seat for a bit, and then went back up for spooky story time. I did share a bit about how there is a haunted hotel near where I live. While I've never had a personal experience there with a ghost, there are people who have. Added a bit to the story, though I didn't have all the details I wanted.

Then it was off to bed for the night. No pictures of the bed, but the lower berth was perfect for me. It was about CAD$500 or so, which included all of my meals, a respectable bed for the night, and access to all of the sleeper amenities on the train. The only downfall was that there is only a curtain to the inside at night, no full door. For me that wasn't a huge issue, though.

And that ends my first day on the Canadian! (I'm doing these in snippets in case there's issues with too many images in a single post, and it makes it easier for me to continue typing through.)

 

[jebr]

Digging through a couple photos before I make lunch today. Here's sunset on the first day on the Canadian. No complaints from me!

 

[OBS]

Thanks for review and Pictures!

 

[jebr]

Thanks, OBS!

I wake up the next morning and I see rural Saskatchewan out of my window. Not a bad way to wake up.

Since this was the day that we were entering Edmonton, breakfast was continental in the lounge car. On our way into Edmonton, I did venture back to the refurbished Park Car, which was very nice. We pulled into Edmonton, and I walked around for a bit. It's unfortunate that the station is in an industrial park, so there's not really a lot immediate "wow" to the city.

However, I did spot a layout of our train for the first time!

After about a half-hour off the train, using Edmonton's slow wi-fi to try and update my podcasts, and just sitting and browsing around, it was time to board again.

I can't remember in what exact order I did things, but I settled back into my seat for a bit. I think not too long afterwards I went to brunch in the diner. It was also very tasty, but I didn't take a picture of it, so I don't remember what it was! After that, I ventured back to the Panorama car for a bit. The views were not bad there either.

 

[jebr]

However, for a guy like me, the Panorama Car just wasn't all it was cracked up to be. Yes, it had a lot of seating. Yes, the windows were panoramic.

But the seat pitch was just too small for a 6' 1" guy like me!

Honestly, it's also not the best layout for actually seeing the scenery. It's good for taking a few pictures, but after a while having to crane to your left or right to see just didn't hold much appeal when there was dome seating to also choose from. (The Superliner Lounge configuration is much better for the "panorama car" style of train car.)

So that's what I did! I went back to the dome car and sat with my other dome-car-loving people.

Yes, even my fellow picture-loving dome-car-loving people.

It took us a bit, but finally, about 4 PM, we got to the classic Canadian scenery that everyone raves about! (More in my next post.)

 

[jebr]

The scenery coming into Jasper was amazing. It needs no words.

As was Jasper itself. It also needs no words. I need to take a vacation to Jasper sometime.

I did have a few minutes to explore the town. I'm glad I did. It's a very nice "tourist" town along the line, and it had lots of neat little shops with knick knacks and other such things in them. There's also a good fudge shop in the town that's worth getting some fudge from.

Leaving Jasper, we were able to see the top of the tallest mountain along the route (and I think the tallest in this stretch of the Canadian Rockies.) Apparently it's very rare to see the top of this mountain, so I was glad that I was able to. It helped to make up for the fact that we were now running a good four hours late still.

After the mountains, it was time for a beer tasting and then supper! The beer tasting was good, and I found that I really liked one of the beers (the Fort Garry Dark, which I purchased a case of on my way back through Winnipeg.)

Supper and more in my next post.

 

[Bob Dylan]

Great pics jeb, were you using your phone or a pro camera?

I've never seen the Jasper area with such clear weather in all the times I've been through there!( on the Train and driving)

 

[SarahZ]

I think a berth would be great. I usually sleep with just the curtain pulled in my roomette anyway, as leaving the door open helps with air circulation.

I like the magnets (and sticky note) that show the train's consist.

 

[jebr]

Supper this day was leg of lamb with potatoes and vegetables. Another wonderful on-board meal. (And yes, I made sure to have milk with it! There was definitely some teasing by the end from my tablemates that I met early on about getting milk at every meal. All in good fun. )

After supper, I sat for a bit in the dome car, had a nice beer, and enjoyed my evening relaxing on the train and seeing Alberta and British Columbia at night.

It was time to sleep. I woke up for a few minutes in Kamloops, and then fell back asleep until daybreak the next morning. (I always kept my windows open as I wanted to watch the scenery as it went by.)

I woke up the next morning, had some breakfast, and took a trip down to the park car for a bit. Still plenty of room in the back, and I could sit there and charge my phone (which was really helpful, as there's no outlets in the berths.) The scenery wasn't bad either.

Pulling into Vancouver, I went back to the dome car. I was able to get some nice pictures as we pulled into Vancouver of our train consist.

Unfortunately, I couldn't do much about the bugs.

And before I knew it, we pulled into Vancouver, just under two hours late. Not bad, considering we were five hours behind at one point!

 

[jebr]

Great pics jeb, were you using your phone or a pro camera?

I've never seen the Jasper area with such clear weather in all the times I've been through there!( on the Train and driving)

Some were with my phone, some were with my point-and-shoot camera that I have. The phone photos were pushed through Google's "Auto-Awesome" tool to help make minor corrections. I'm pleased with how they've turned out.

And yes, it was actually pretty clear the day we were there! Our activities person/lounge car attendant noted that as well, which made me glad I went when I did. We even got to see a bear! (No pictures of that, though.)

I think a berth would be great. I usually sleep with just the curtain pulled in my roomette anyway, as leaving the door open helps with air circulation.

I like the magnets (and sticky note) that show the train's consist.

The magnets were nice! They didn't have that in Winnipeg, which I wish they did. I'm glad I could see it in Edmonton.

And yes, especially for a "single" traveler, the berth is really the best way to go. All the sleeper amenities are available (meals included, park car access, dome car, snacks in the domes and park car, etc.) but for cheaper (often quite a bit cheaper) than a cabin for 1 or cabin for 2.

In a bit I'll finish up with my trip back (via Air Canada) and a few other notes, but it'll be a bit as I'm probably going to go outside for a bit.

 

[Bob Dylan]

I think a berth would be great. I usually sleep with just the curtain pulled in my roomette anyway, as leaving the door open helps with air circulation.

I like the magnets (and sticky note) that show the train's consist.

Last time I rode the Canadian ( Winter) the passenger count was low after Winnipeg so the SCA let me try out a Lower Berth for a Night ( I was in a Cabin for 1, a Roomette here). I've never had a Better nights sleep on a train, excellent bedding, plenty of room, and Much Cheaper! Recommended!

 

[SarahZ]

Side note: I always have milk with dinner. I get a strange look from the servers sometimes, but I don't care. I grew up drinking milk with dinner and will do so until I die. I love milk.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Side note: I always have milk with dinner. I get a strange look from the servers sometimes, but I don't care. I grew up drinking milk with dinner and will do so until I die. I love milk.

Me too!! And with lunch & breakfast.

 

[jebr]

After getting off in Vancouver, I met up with CHamilton and we went for a day to explore the city a bit.

We started off by walking over to the local rail station.

After swinging by his hotel room quick to drop off bags, we went and had lunch at a nearby...I believe it was Japanese?...restaurant. We then made our way over to the ferry to cross the bay. The views were very nice.

After taking the ferry both ways, we grabbed a few snacks and made our way back. Since I had to leave for my flight fairly soon, we went back, grabbed my bags, and I made my way back to the airport. On the way to the airport, I was afforded some nice views of the skyline.

Security was very fast, and I was impressed by how well Canadian airport security worked. It was quick and reasonable. It also gave me some time to grab supper and watch planes land and take off. There were plenty of "puddle jumper" flights, some of which boarded through stairs from the ground. I remember even seeing one going back to Kamloops! I also had some tasty Tim Hortons.

I then boarded my plane. The flight was pretty uneventful, and I made it back to Winnipeg just before midnight. The hotel shuttle picked me up in about 10 minutes, and quickly I was back and off to bed.

The next morning I got up, had breakfast at the hotel again, and made my way to St. John's Anglican Cathedral for worship. It was a very nice place to worship, and I enjoyed the area around it as well as the worship inside. After worship it was off to downtown. I went to see the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. If you're ever in Winnipeg and have a few hours, I highly, highly encourage visiting this museum. It is a wonderful museum and worth going through (even multiple times!)

I then made my way down to Grand Forks for the night. After a night in a nice upgraded suite at the Hilton Garden Inn in Winnipeg, I made my way to my grandmother's house for a visit and then made my way home.

Overall this was an amazing trip. If I were to change anything, it would be to put the night in Vancouver instead of Winnipeg after the trip. Having the flight the same day as I arrived caused a lot of unnecessary stress. While I enjoyed my Sunday in Winnipeg a lot, I can always go there on a weekend anyways, so it would have been better to have had the time in Vancover.

Thanks for all for reading and the nice comments so far!

 

[jebr]

Side note: I always have milk with dinner. I get a strange look from the servers sometimes, but I don't care. I grew up drinking milk with dinner and will do so until I die. I love milk.

Me too!! And with lunch & breakfast.

I'm often the same way. My tablemates were teasing me because they had asked what I do for a living and found out that I work in IT, so part of it was that it was a stereotypically "nerdy" thing to do to have milk with every meal. They were very friendly and fun Canadians to get to meet, so I knew it was in good fun and not in a mean way.

 

[Royal Blue]

Great trip report! After seeing the lamb chops, I am so ready to ride the Canadian.