Tripping

And so, the Canadian Rockies. Rocky they are indeed, more so yet than the alps - younger mountains? Fortunately the trip here was smooth rather than rocky, though long. Right now I am manfully trying to fill in the time until I can decently go to bed - I'll be here for a week, I want to adjust to Canadian Mountain Time (CMT =  GMT-7) as quickly as possible.

Breakfast and coffeeservice awaiting

Impressions of the day. Waiting at 5:30 for 5 minutes for the taxi to bring me to York station, then discovering it had been there waiting for me 50 meters downroad. (No bonus points for driver initiative!) Finding a complimentary coffee and breakfast service waiting for me on the train. Hearing the train conductor announce that we were about to arrive in Peanut Butter (more commonly known as Peterborough). Not recognising King's Cross station at all; due to Olympics 2012 overhaul? Recognising the smell of the underground straight away. Waiting for almost 3 hours at Heathrow with a lifeline to an electric power socket to be able to do some work. Having no neigbours on the long, long flight, a power socket and more films to choose from than ever before - luxury!

When I landed it was still daylight (15:00 local time) but dusk and then darkness fell during the minibus ride from Calgary to Banff. I met +Ekkart Kindler at the airport, also come a day early to save money on airfare. He had flown Copenhagen - Amsterdam - Calgary and was naturally assuming he had somehow missed me on the flight. Up at 2:30 (Central European Time, that would correspond to 1:30 for me); who am I to complain? Calgary is just east of the Rockies: wide, sweeping land with a clear view to the mountains on the horizon; ground white with frost but little snow. Positively warm; föhn winds? We were driving westwards, up, up, up. The driver told us that a storm bringing a lot more snow is expected for Sunday evening. That might be exiting.

Banff Centre reception

The Banff Centre is a lot larger than I expected. I yet have to find out what they use this place for: it is more a campus than just a meeting accomodation or Computer Science research centre. Bedrooms are in another building, so are the restaurants. The map shows an "artist colony (no public access)" on the grounds. Worth investigating. (I am not public.)

With Ekkart I looked around for a place to eat, after finding one we looked around some more for an affordable place to eat. Found it (in another building) at the MacLab Bistro - probably a pun of some kind that I am in no state of mind to understand. They promisched Grolsch on tap but when ordered could only produce the bottled variety. Bad lighting, very small letters: I did take reading glasses with me, might actually have to start using them. During dinner +Martin Gogolla showed up and joined us, so then there were three people  in the restaurant. Very busy place, but then we were early, or do I mean late? When I got back to my room, my backpack (with passport!) was stolen, until I found it back behind the curtain where I put it.

I just took an unplanned nap at the keyboard for 10 minutes or so. Think I will allow myself to go to bed now.