Nothing beats that rumble...
When I first booked Lake Louise for my AGM, I thought it would be a nice, relaxing weekend of eating and the spa, similar to Banff last fall. But then I started reading about what to do there and realized there was an abundance of train history right outside the doors of the Chateau. In fact, the Chateau itself has a rich history involving CPR and Sir John A MacDonald is pictured arriving via the train (his only journey out West) with his wife to visit the beautiful hotel.
So, I did a bit of research and came up with an easy, yet busy, itinerary for checking out train paraphernalia.
Saturday was filled with excitement, as I woke Bryan up way too early for his liking on a weekend, but he knew we were going to be doing something more than sitting around, so he did get up only slightly behind schedule. We ate a lovely breakfast at the Poppy Brasserie, which serves an expensive, decadent brunch ($30 per person - yikes!), and followed this with a hike up to Lake Agnes and the quaint log tea house perched on the mountainside. With no electricity, the workers are busy preparing soups, sandwiches and, of course, tea for the many, many visitors. I questioned the fitness of the workers, thinking they must be in amazing shape to hike that trail each day to work, but found out they actually live up there through the season in little cabins, without any electricity! It sounds crazy but intriguing at the same time.
Our hike was followed by lunch plans at the Station Restaurant in Lake Louise. We followed a tourist bus into the parking lot and were dismayed to see the endless number of people exiting from the bus, milling around in front of the building, interrupting Bryan's plans for pictures. We, instead, went straight in for lunch and engaged our waiter in talk of trains. He's from Winnipeg and has been living in the area serving tables and bar tending for around 18 years. He told me the story of how he hitched a ride from Field to Lake Louise one night on the train! How cool would that be?
I'm not sure if it was my obvious interest in the trains and the history of the building (he let us loose to take pictures throughout the entire restaurant), but he gave us two black and white prints evoking the history of the railway upon our departure. And, must to my absolute surprise and excitement, the first thing I heard when leaving the building was that unmistakable hissing and spitting of an idling train engine! I ran around the building looking for my photographer (Bryan), who had the same idea and was eagerly snapping photo after photo of the train as it sat regally alongside the old passenger train station. Behind the Station are three old dining cars from 1906 and 1925 that can be used for private functions. They weren't open on Saturday but we could peer in through the door. I would love to have some special occasion take place there now!
Next up was Morant's Curve, 4 km east of Lake Louise on the Bow Valley Parkway. Unfortunately no trains rolled by, but I can completely imagine how beautiful it would be see one skim alongside the gorgeous blue waters of the Bow. We took an overpriced ($30 per person) ride up the Gondola at the ski hill. For less than 10 minutes up, 10 minutes of photo opportunity, and less than 10 minutes down, it wasn't worth the price of admission, but the views are pretty spectacular. You can also stay up and hike quite a few trails, if interested. We weren't. There was a grizzly bear eating in one clearing! Kind of exciting!
Leaving the ski hill, I said to Bryan "ready to camp out?" - we were off to the Lower Spiral Tunnel lookout and I was determined to see a train go through there. Of the two Spiral Tunnels, this one lets you see the same train from 3 different perspectives. He was all ready so we parked and walked up to where people were standing. Not even 5 minutes passed before I heard the distinct sound of a train horn echoing through the mountains. As the highlight of my weekend, we were able to experience a very long train run through the lower tunnel. Once it had passed, we headed out to the Upper Spiral Tunnel and were lucky enough to see the same train running through it. We weren't quick enough to catch it for pictures, but it was still exciting to see that train roll by and come out in the opposite direction. We waited another hour there hoping to catch one for a picture, but no luck.
Next up, another short hike. We found the Walk in the Past Trail and hiked up to where an old locomotive lays dormant in the woods. It was used to help burrow through the mountains to create the tunnels, which were designed after the original tracks running along The Big Hill were too steep and dangerous. It's story is short, but the sight of this small, lonely, decrepit steel machine was inspiring to find out more about the tunnels.
The day had been long and we decided to head back to our hotel. After cleaning up and quick nap, we visited the old-tyme pub, the Glacier Saloon. It's quite like an old Western saloon but modernized. A couple of overpriced (a theme this weekend) drinks later, we headed for our dinner reservations.
We decided to try Walliser Stube, the German restaurant featuring fondue. Having never eaten fondue in a restaurant, we chose the Fondue Experience. It's $85 per person and states it is for at least 2 people. Judging by the amount of food we received, I'd suggest at least 4 people go in on this. You can order a cheese and a meat fondue separately, and I think for at least half the price, this is what we would do next time. The food was amazing, and we even got a chocolate fondue for dessert. I found a new wine love (which I can't recall the name of at the moment but we did take a picture), which I now have to locate in Calgary - it's Italian, of course!
Our huge, lengthy meal knocked us both out so it was off to bed almost immediately after dinner!
So, I did a bit of research and came up with an easy, yet busy, itinerary for checking out train paraphernalia.
Saturday was filled with excitement, as I woke Bryan up way too early for his liking on a weekend, but he knew we were going to be doing something more than sitting around, so he did get up only slightly behind schedule. We ate a lovely breakfast at the Poppy Brasserie, which serves an expensive, decadent brunch ($30 per person - yikes!), and followed this with a hike up to Lake Agnes and the quaint log tea house perched on the mountainside. With no electricity, the workers are busy preparing soups, sandwiches and, of course, tea for the many, many visitors. I questioned the fitness of the workers, thinking they must be in amazing shape to hike that trail each day to work, but found out they actually live up there through the season in little cabins, without any electricity! It sounds crazy but intriguing at the same time.
Our hike was followed by lunch plans at the Station Restaurant in Lake Louise. We followed a tourist bus into the parking lot and were dismayed to see the endless number of people exiting from the bus, milling around in front of the building, interrupting Bryan's plans for pictures. We, instead, went straight in for lunch and engaged our waiter in talk of trains. He's from Winnipeg and has been living in the area serving tables and bar tending for around 18 years. He told me the story of how he hitched a ride from Field to Lake Louise one night on the train! How cool would that be?
I'm not sure if it was my obvious interest in the trains and the history of the building (he let us loose to take pictures throughout the entire restaurant), but he gave us two black and white prints evoking the history of the railway upon our departure. And, must to my absolute surprise and excitement, the first thing I heard when leaving the building was that unmistakable hissing and spitting of an idling train engine! I ran around the building looking for my photographer (Bryan), who had the same idea and was eagerly snapping photo after photo of the train as it sat regally alongside the old passenger train station. Behind the Station are three old dining cars from 1906 and 1925 that can be used for private functions. They weren't open on Saturday but we could peer in through the door. I would love to have some special occasion take place there now!
Next up was Morant's Curve, 4 km east of Lake Louise on the Bow Valley Parkway. Unfortunately no trains rolled by, but I can completely imagine how beautiful it would be see one skim alongside the gorgeous blue waters of the Bow. We took an overpriced ($30 per person) ride up the Gondola at the ski hill. For less than 10 minutes up, 10 minutes of photo opportunity, and less than 10 minutes down, it wasn't worth the price of admission, but the views are pretty spectacular. You can also stay up and hike quite a few trails, if interested. We weren't. There was a grizzly bear eating in one clearing! Kind of exciting!
Leaving the ski hill, I said to Bryan "ready to camp out?" - we were off to the Lower Spiral Tunnel lookout and I was determined to see a train go through there. Of the two Spiral Tunnels, this one lets you see the same train from 3 different perspectives. He was all ready so we parked and walked up to where people were standing. Not even 5 minutes passed before I heard the distinct sound of a train horn echoing through the mountains. As the highlight of my weekend, we were able to experience a very long train run through the lower tunnel. Once it had passed, we headed out to the Upper Spiral Tunnel and were lucky enough to see the same train running through it. We weren't quick enough to catch it for pictures, but it was still exciting to see that train roll by and come out in the opposite direction. We waited another hour there hoping to catch one for a picture, but no luck.
Next up, another short hike. We found the Walk in the Past Trail and hiked up to where an old locomotive lays dormant in the woods. It was used to help burrow through the mountains to create the tunnels, which were designed after the original tracks running along The Big Hill were too steep and dangerous. It's story is short, but the sight of this small, lonely, decrepit steel machine was inspiring to find out more about the tunnels.
The day had been long and we decided to head back to our hotel. After cleaning up and quick nap, we visited the old-tyme pub, the Glacier Saloon. It's quite like an old Western saloon but modernized. A couple of overpriced (a theme this weekend) drinks later, we headed for our dinner reservations.
We decided to try Walliser Stube, the German restaurant featuring fondue. Having never eaten fondue in a restaurant, we chose the Fondue Experience. It's $85 per person and states it is for at least 2 people. Judging by the amount of food we received, I'd suggest at least 4 people go in on this. You can order a cheese and a meat fondue separately, and I think for at least half the price, this is what we would do next time. The food was amazing, and we even got a chocolate fondue for dessert. I found a new wine love (which I can't recall the name of at the moment but we did take a picture), which I now have to locate in Calgary - it's Italian, of course!
Our huge, lengthy meal knocked us both out so it was off to bed almost immediately after dinner!
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