Loads to do . Compact downtown area . Fly direct from UK
Disadvantages:
VERY cold in winter/spring .
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
…This one’s for Stevethesleeve who prompted me to continue writing my series of Canadian travel ops. So here goes…
Well it seems appropriate to begin with a little history of Calgary, which sits in the prairies, on the banks of the Bow River, and is only a stone throw from the beauty of the Rocky Mountains.
In 1875 a group of North West mounted policemen came across the area in which Calgary now lies, and decided that it was the ideal site for a fort, and so the city was born. It was know back then as ‘The Elbow’, or ‘Bow River Fort”, and then like in so many other Canadian places, a certain officer named Colonel James Macleod called it ‘Calgary’ after his Scottish Highland birthplace.
In 1883 the first railway arrived, and by 1884 Calgary had a population of around 4000. In the 1950’s Calgary became the fastest growing Canadian city, growing from a population of 100,000 in 1947, 200,000 in 1955, 325,000 in 1965. In the latter part of the 1990’s Calgary saw some of its most rapid growth, and since 1990 the population has increase by 22%, to around 860,749 (as of March 2002).
Calgary is probably best remembered for the Winter Olympics, which it hosted in 1988. When the infamous Michael (Eddie the Eagle) Edwards, a plasterer from the UK finished 58th (last) in the 70 meter ski jump, and 55th (last) in the 90 meter jump. The Olympic village is worth a visit, and if you can stand to climb the ski jump tower then it will give you some idea of how totally of his trolley Mr. Eagle was!
As you can imagine the city is host to other sports too, such as football (The Stampeders), Baseball (The Canons), soccer (Storm), and last but not least Ice Hockey (The Flames). During my stay in Canada I did manage to watch a couple of Hockey matches, and I can honestly say that I still do not fully understand it, even though I have watched the Nottingham Panthers several times too! But anyway if you get the chance go to a match, even if you do not know what is happening with the game the atmosphere is great.
The city is well laid out on the grid system, and divided into quadrants (SW, SE, NW, NE). The Downtown area is in or around the SW quadrant of the city, and houses almost everything worth a visit, including the Glenbow museum.
The museum houses a large collection of aboriginal art, and items relating to Western Canadian history and heritage. I did not have time to visit here, but it will certainly be on my list when I return at a later date.
I visited during March, but was bombarded with leaflets about the Calgary Stampede, the famous rodeo held here every summer. Apparently you can’t shift in Calgary during the Stampede for fear of tripping over someone’s spurs! I obviously could not visit this, but I did notice that many of the people in Calgary, and indeed later I Banff thought themselves to be Cowboys (or girls)! This of course was a Podiatrists nightmare…well have you seen how pointed their shoes are?
This years event will take place on July 5-14, and tickets for the A-section seats (the best in the rodeo arena will cost you $37.45 (GST included) for July 5-12, and $42.80 on July 13 & 14, the final weekend. More info can be found at www.calgarystampede.com.
My Calgary experience began when my ex-colleague and great friend who now lives in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and her friend collected me at around Midnight from the airport. The airport is a 20-minute drive from the city, easy on roads so wide and empty!
My first impression of Canada was how flipping cold it was…No! How bloody freezing it was! In fact it was around –20 and snowing lightly. Apparently (see MRSCANADA’s ops) in spring Calgary is blown by the Chinook, a warm moist wind from the Pacific, which can raise the temperature by as much as 10 degrees in a couple of hours, and evaporate a foot of snow in a day.
We stayed in a cheap motel that night. You know the kind that you see in the movies, where you park your truck right outside your door, and spend the night listening to people in the rooms either side of you. However it was very clean, quiet, had a great shower, and a heating system that made up for the freeze outside. I think it cost around $50 for the room for the night (20 pounds), which given the quality was a veritable bargain. The best part about the motel was that it had a small bar, which was still open when we arrived, and so I was treated to my first Canadian culture!!! There was a group of would be cowboys and girls singing (badly) karaoke songs, and flashing their torsos at each other. This didn’t put me off though and I soon felt better after 2 pints of the local microbrewers nectar.
Another landmark in Calgary, probably only known to locals, and those visitors with a love of the outdoors, is the MEC outdoor shop. Here you can buy everything that you may need for your outdoor activities. It was here that I was taken to purchase some Skivvies (long John to us Brits), to save my legs from becoming permafrost. It appears that to make a purchase you have to be a member of the shop, but as I was with two seasoned MEC addicts that was no problem. Prices here are reasonable (my skivvies cost $35), and it is well worth a visit if like me you forgot to pack something.
We then set off on our travels out of Calgary towards Banff, stopping to wander around IKEA, which is exactly the same in Canada as it is in England.
My impression as we drove, was of Calgary being the same as any big town or city in Canada or the States, very spacious, and busy. I was struck by its uniform road system, and the way the drivers here seem to be able to control their cars in snow, unlike at home where the traffic clogs up when the weatherman even suggests the S word!
As I have already mentioned, the city itself is rapidly expanding, and you will see new housing areas all over. I suppose it is inevitable that as the city begins to grow this will happen. No longer though, are the wooden buildings that made up the first settlement here apparent. Now you will see plush condos, and huge designer homes rising up form the (currently) frozen ground.
Rest assured I intend to return to Calgary to do some exploring, perhaps in the summer when things will be a little less cold, and I can leave my skivvies at home!
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