What is Canada's New Glacier Skywalk All About

High up in the Canadian Rockies an uber cool sight awaits, a curved stretch of glass suspended from the glacial facade; almost like a stage set up for a cosmic show. That is the Glacier Skywalk about to open tomorrow - May 1st, 2014.

Canada's Glacier Skywalk in Jasper National Park (Image: Brewster Travel Canada)

Standing, no no - floating at the edge of that Skywalk with a sheer glass facade separating you from the Athabasca glacier around enveloped in the gorgeous Sunwapta Valley below; for thrill seekers it qualifies for a must do on your next visit to Canada.  
Fact File: 

- It is a fully-accessible, cliff-edge walkway that leads to a glass-floored observation platform 280 metres (918 feet) above the Sunwapta Valley.
- The walk is accessed via Brewster’s nearby icefield centre. Public parking at the Skywalk is closed, but the company will provide no-charge return-trip shuttles every 15 minutes from the centre to a free viewpoint or an interpretive walk and Skywalk platform which costs $24.95 for an adult $12.50 for a child. Children five and under are free.

- Open from: 1st May - 19th October, 2014.
- From ice-capped mountain peaks to vast glacier-formed valleys, the Glacier Skywalk is your front row seat to nature’s most grand performance.” Now that’s something!

Not Just a Skywalk
Years ago a drive around the road side pullout at Jasper National Park on the highway at Tangle Ridge would pretty much give you a view of the valley. But the construction of this Glacier Skywalk promises to enhance that experience by giving you the impression of being suspended right in the middle of the valley and glaciers via walking across that sheer glass surface.

If that was not enough, there are facilities for visitors to enhance their knowledge about the regions history, ecological culture and locals; making it a wholesome day trip for the independent traveller and families alike.

Of course there is the intrepid traveller adventurous enough in search of that fleeting moment of magic and would rather head out for a one to one with the valley. But there are others who come too; students, environmentalists, fresh minds both young and old to whom it is importance to convey the message of ecological travel. For example - there is a specific species of mountain goat that live high up in those glaciers; the only few species that can access that fragile landscape without negative impact. Humans can spot them and study them from a distance at this glacier skywalk, without endangering their environment.

There are concerns that question a privately owned tourist attraction in a national park and its existence itself having an impact of the sensitive ecology of the glacial landscape. It will attract more visitors who limit their visits to the Banff Lake. Yet it is difficult to deny its architectural and design genius.

I sure am intrigued.

Reference Links:
www.explorerockies.com
glacierskywalk.ca/

Tripping Around Munich: Music, Trinkets and Beer

No no, not the hot Texans to the left, look here at Tom, our guide at
Sandemans Walking tour, a dose of British humour in Germany!

This was a quick two touristy days around Munich, Germany before a work assignment. A few hours of research and help from our host Stephie and the locals led me to explore the known and not so known parts of the city. Read on for my takeaways for a short but fun trip around the city.

First off get an uber cool map of the well connected underground train routes. With Hauptbahnhof - the central station you can begin by heading to Marienplatz for a free walking tour by Sandemans for an orientation about the city and its history. The guides are young, fun and witty and add a quirky perspective to the history of Bavarian culture and the region.

You are in the mecca of music, with operas and musical performances every day of the calendar so try to get yourself a ticket to one, you might not understand a word (I din’t)  but it is an amazing experience none the less. I was lucky to get tickets for a Mozart musical, right on his birthday - 27th January at Kulturzentrum Gasteig, one of the greatest performance halls in Germany. 

All set to explore the city in my new set of boots

The Marienplatz streets are lined with high fashion stores and if you have shopping on your mind, this is Disney land. I for one had a single point focus – a good pair of walking boots! So I trudged around from one store to the other in search of the perfect pair that would complete my winter look but not leave me penniless on my first day in Munich. Not wedges, not high heels just a pair of simple comfortable, no heel boots that I could explore the city in. I finally found the perfect pair on sale at Diechmann for a cool 29 euros, a steal it was! 

Travel Tips:

- Carry half the clothes and double the money, when you leave from home your bag should be half empty so that you have all that space for souvenirs and gifts. What is travel without heading home with a bag full of gifts for friends and family when you get back? 

- Don't wait till the last day of your trip to buy all those things you wanted to, of course exercise restrain, but you don't want to come back with all that cash and no gifts for all your loved ones, not to mention - yourself.

- You are in Bavaria, make sure you carry back a loot of chocolates and small chocolate liquor bottles, trust me I tried all of them and the chocolate liquor ones are the best. 

- Shnapps are stronger than liquor, exercise caution!

- Around the city center among other public spaces you can access free wifi for three days, make sure you remember to check in!   

Viktualienmarkt

Each time I travel, local markets feature on the top of my list, as they give me a whiff of the country side, a special treat on trips that I cannot travel to the countryside myself. So if you’d like to experience a bit of the Bavarian countryside through its local produce head to the Viktualienmarkt for a range of fresh and dry fruits, meats, gorgeous flowers, creative trinkets, and flavoured teas, honey, coffee, cheese... I can go on! Get clicking or shop here for unique souvenirs like bags of dried lavender flowers, roasted apple chips, rose and berry flavoured spices and more.

'You haven't mentioned the beer yet?' Only because that goes without saying, doesn't it! You cannot possibly leave German soil without sampling all the beer you can get your hands on, be it via bar crawls or settling at a local beer hole every evening; tourists head to Haufbrauhaus, one of the famous beer halls in Germany. So even though beer is not my poison, this one I had to try. Amongst all the local pubs and restaurants, I liked Hackersachor, a cute and quaint little pub at Marienplatz. After a pint or two head down the road for hot banana and chocolate pancakes at a little hole-in-the-wall cafe.   

Munich main beer to banta hain!

Talk about all that chocolate and beer overload? Ah, but I managed to balance that with a diet of fresh and juicy fruits, hot candied nuts and freshly roasted chest nuts throughout the trip, ideal energy boosters for all the walking around the city. My special favourite was the spiced chilli variety of nuts; in that chilly winter it made for a perfect snack. 

Day Trips from Munich

Neuschwanstein Castle. Cool Photo credit: Melanie De Andrade

Neuschwanstein Castle: Go for the story, the vision of a tall, fair and handsome King Ludwig fulfilled, well just about. It is a gorgeous castle yes, but the mystery behind his life and death is what this day trip will always remind me of. Oh and while en-route to the castle, if you are travelling via a tour coach, they stop at a little village called Oberammergau, walk around it for gorgeous trinkets to buy, unique stuff rather than the typical travel souvenirs. 

Beyond Munich

The trains are quick and very well connected you don’t need to worry about renting a car unless you want to head for a road trip across Europe. The Db Bhan is a superlative mode when you need to travel to other parts of Germany or nearby countries such as Vienna, like I did. 

But please please try living in a Home Stay, best source to find one is Airbnb; if you research a little, you can get the comfort of a luxury hotel at the cost of a hostel stay and a fab interaction with your hosts - the locals too. 

Things I missed which you could give a try: 

Merc Benz Museum 

http://goo.gl/EUvyN9

Dachau Memorial 

http://www.munichwalktours.de/en/

Garmin Partenkirchen and Romantic Road A gorgeous drive through route. 

Dear Malaysia, its About Time We Met

I’ve always been a city kid. I find the flux of cultures and people is a heady flavour in city-scapes like no place else.  But ever so often, there is a calling to the wilderness, to the ever green jungles and magical misty mountains. How about a land with a heady mix of both; ah Malaysia, it’s about time we met.

I want to play every bit of the tourist here. Get a fine tan at the beaches of Borneo, have a scandalising fish head meal at street joints in Kuala Lumpur and shop till I drop in its many malls. I want to be the intrepid traveller too and summit the elusive Mt. Kinabalu. I watched The Sensei recently, a film about bouldering, a form of rock climbing in Mt. Kinabalu as part of the Banff Mountain film festival screened by The Himalayan Club in Bombay. Being an adventure enthusiast myself, the granite rock formations and avenue of options available there just blew me away, forever wanting to Walk the Torq.   

Explore the rain forests of Sarawak I will and free dive in Sipadan’s turquoise waters and marvel at the magic under play.

But what also excites me about Malaysia is beyond its geo-tropically gorgeous landscapes. I like to believe that I go beyond the images that pass us by on my travels and focus on the little things that meet my eye. Like sounds of the Arzan in the early hours of dawn or that elusive solo piece of a street musician; to record these sounds, paint their rhythms is something I cherish; and it all stems from the people of the land I travel to. I am drawn to the people of the land and Malaysia has a fine blend of Indian, Malay and Chinese showcased elegantly on Humans of Malaysia  in which I see candid moments of her people in an amalgamation of stories just waiting to be told. I would like to experience this heart-split-in-two country through their voice, witness their emotions towards one of Asia's economically sound states and sample what is easily one of the world's most drool worthy cuisine - Malay food.   

Food - now that’s a vital point. I was brought up to be a vegetarian. I followed it up by reason and logic and continued to be so as a young adult. But over my ten years of travel I witnessed cuisine in its most local flavour; in the fresh catch of the day at sea in Maldives or flavoured meats and chorizo at a farmers market in Vienna. The passion with which they cook their food so fine, like it has a direct connect with the Divine! I was smitten then as I am now by cuisines to every nation I travel; for is the experience of travel ever complete without sampling its cuisine, making your taste buds romance with its fragrant culture? I think not. Thus somewhere down the road, the traveller in me took precedence and since then I have relished the baklavas in Turkey, Kababs in the UAE, the Schnizel in Germany and now hope to make a few makan kaki while sampling paripap and tong sui in Malaysia.  

I want to witness this medley of lush jungles and city-scapes all encompassed into the heart of one culture curry that is Malaysia. And then when the city calls her girl back home, she will leave with a bag full of stories to share with the world about this microcosm - Malaysia.  

I am participating in the MalaysiaJao Blogathon Contest in association with BlogAdda.com.

Going the Home Stay Way

I wanted a respite from the plastic confines of a hotel, was not much in the mood for room service and took a fancy to befriend locals. So I chose to do just that on my next trip – I went the home stay way and what an experience it was.

What is it about home stays? I mean why would you leave your home to travel across the globe and live in a stranger’s home? The bed, the pillows even the bathroom arrangements are not going to be like that at yours; then why this sudden fixation with home stays when you can just as well choose to stay at a luxury hotel or resort?

Aha, I think it is part of the dynamic nature of travel; it’s like adding a dimension to your regular travel experience by befriending the unknown.   

A friend suggested I try Airbnb, a platform where you can rent a room or a flat at a local resident’s home and stay with locals. Now that’s what I was looking for. So I decided to give it a go.

After a couple of brief and friendly online interactions with the hosts I zeroed in on Stephie and Stephan’s home, there was something so inviting and endearing about the interaction with them. Stephie shared her excitement of hosting us as she had just got back from a trip exploring India and was eager to share her memories.

So even before we arrived at their place, there was a sense of familiarity which eased any doubt of staying at a strangers place.

Serendipity. One of my favourite words in the English dictionary, I like to call it happenstance too. Here's why. We were late to collect the key to their home and were almost resigned to the fact that we might be homeless for the first couple of hours in Munich and there we saw our host Stephan waiting for us at the station with the key. Us having taken the wrong train, losing the way to reach a couple of stations too far, then riding back on, getting off at the far left side of the platform just where he stood, all summed up to a pure moment of happenstance, a couple of compartments here and there or a couple of minutes arriving too early or two late and we would have missed each other.

I have shared my experience of the day we arrived in the story about The Key.

With the key now safe and secure we headed towards the apartment in the direction Stephan had pointed out, a couple of blocks away. The local residential homes gave me a contemporary vibe with wide open glass windows and well light spaces. An early morning photo shoot was in process as we walked up the set of stair overlooking the studio towards our home for the next few days in Munich.

Even though it was a rented space that slight hesitance stalled me at the entrance as it made me aware of entering a stranger’s home.  They were both off to work so we knew we had the home to ourselves for a while this gave us time to settle in.Neatly placed shoes to one corner at the entrance, a jacket rack and an old polished wooden trunk greeted me. With the soft patter of wooden flooring we entered their home. The colours – with small motifs hanging around the corridors leading to a magazine collage like colourful kitchen.

Chocolate nuggets placed at the center of an old wood table surrounded by a divan covered in the most eclectic of hues; their furniture made for a cute and quaint arrangement.  

A kettle of freshly brewed tea awaited us as we entered the kitchen and whilst I helped myself to a cuppa, the handmade bulletin board adorning the wall across marked with their memories; photographs of friends, cards from family and messages from previous guests gave us a glimpse into their lives and even before we met them, I already liked them.

Our designated room was beyond the kitchen and what do we see just as we enter our room? A gorgeously colourful room yes, but there on the bed kept snug atop each pillow – a little welcome gift a Bavarian chocolate!

Talk about combining the candid comforts of home with the luxuries of a hotel!

We enjoyed conversations with Stephie about India and she shared anecdotes with us about her experience with the sweetest people while she travelled through Rajasthan. She opened up her loot of spices and the Indian cuisine recipes she had brought along with her to Germany and one of the days we almost set about attempting to cook a batch of Aloo Gobi(A dish with potatoes and cauliflowers infused with Indian spices and masala) but were stalled by a late night at the local bar instead.

One morning when my sister and fellow traveller Yuktie took ill with a cold and cough, Stephan volunteered to make her a home brew concoction from his collection of greens and herbs. I think she was half cured just by that adorable act kindness! “How are you feeling now,” he asked when he got back home that evening. “Oh much better thanks to your herbal drink,” she gushed. “I think it’s more of a placebo effect!” he said. Aha!      

Make sure to mark your flag on this uber cool scratch map when you visit Stephie and Stephan's home 

I would love to tell you more of the little things that touched my heart while staying with Stephie and Stephan but I’d rather you discover them yourself the next time you visit Munich. 

Tips while choosing to stay at a home stay:

-          For a worthwhile home stay experience look up local residents that offer to share a room from the homes they actually live in. This brings in a local flavour to your experience, with their suggestions on things to do and explore without hampering your privacy and independence.

-          A lot of home-stays I noticed on rental sites are fully furnished apartments that hosts rent out for the duration of your stay. That’s not so much a home stay as just an apartment on rent.

-     Opt for home-stays a couple of stops away from the city centre. I often find ones located in and around the city centre are noisy and overwhelming and I prefer coming back to a quiet home after a long day of exploring. 

-      Always ask your host about things they would recommend to do, may be step out with them for a drink and exchange travel stories; you don't have to follow everything they recommend, its just good to get a local perspective.Don’t hesitate to share your travel stories with them, you will be surprised how keen they are to meet new people and know about new cultures.  

Listed below are a few amongst the many digital platforms that showcase shared accommodation spaces for travellers

-          Airbnb.com

-          Flipkey.com

-          Couchsurfer.com

-          Housetrip.com

-     Wimdu.com 

Summer's Adventures Through Europe

Meet Summer Bercenas, a traveller to seven states, seventeen countries, and three continents in the past two years.  In 2012 she started her blog www.summersadventures.com and writes about travel experiences, tips and tricks for different places around the world. Read on about her adventures through Europe.

Travelling is amazing. Travelling for two years is incredible! When you travel so often, it's incredible the small things you start to learn about each culture.  I love learning about different ways of life, history, and fun facts about every place I visit.  I have spent the most time in Spain, France, and Croatia throughout my European travels so far.  So I'm going to tell you some of the things that I have learned from each of these three very different countries.

Sugar Cube Villages in Spain

Spain:

I have spent over six months on and off living in Spain.  Needless to say it is one of my favourite cultures and there are several reasons why. Andalucia is known for its small sugar cube villages (all white villages, usually with red roofs.)  I love these small beauties, I have been fortunate to have lived in one for a short time and adored it.  With orange lined cobblestone streets, perched on a hill, overlooking the Mediterranean, and with so much charm.  There is no way someone could not appreciate these small sugar cube villages. Tapas is a small dish of food that typically goes with drinks.  

Iznajar, Andalucia

It could be amazing with Spanish olives, quail eggs over roasted potatoes and vegetables, or even goat cheese and walnuts in a honey sauce.  Trying tapas is a great way to get a taste of Spain. If you come to Spain in the afternoon, depending on what part of Spain you are in you will find most shops closed for 'siesta'.  Siesta is when most families close their shops and go home for a big meal and some family time.  It's amazing how family oriented Spain is, it's something you can really appreciate.

Anncey, France

France:

France is one of those places that most people want to see.  However, France is very touristy.  I like to find the places that are a little less known, not overrun by tourists.  That way you can see the actual town and not just gift shops and tourist places. Visiting the less known places like Annecy or Tourrettes-sur-Loup is amazing.  The places where you can see small flower shops, medieval maze like villages, places you can visit with the locals and hear how much they love their town.  Places like that are the polar opposite of tourist cities with hustle and bustle, glitz and glam, and no time to stop and smell the roses.

France is a foodies dream land with so much freshly baked bread, pastries that will make your mouth water, and cheeses from Camembert to Roquefort.  There's something about going to a boulangerie to buy your fresh baguettes for the day that makes you so happy!  Stopping by a boulangerie, patisserie, and fromagerie is a must in France. Most of Europe is great about transportation.  With trains, subways, buses, and cabs who needs a car?  While travelling through France, most of the time my family of four took the public transportation to get into the cities.  Each time we were impressed by how good it was.  Fun fact, there are actually cheeses that are banned from being allowed on subways because of how much they stink!

Plitvice, Croatia

Croatia:

Spending the summer in Croatia was one of the best things I ever did.  With the crystal clear Adriatic Sea so close and so much history there is no way you couldn't love it! One of the first things I noticed about Croatia was how much incredible history there was.  The things you learn about each place is fascinating!  Visiting Diocletean's palace and learning about the history between the Romans and Christians, was very interesting. Croatia has an Italian influence. Restaurants will serve creamy pasta, pizza, and gnocchi most with the options of truffles.  No wonder the Istrian cuisine is so delicious!

You will find in Europe that many people speak several languages.  This was very much the case in Croatia.  There is Italian, German, French, English, Dutch, and more!  Even more incredible is that you will find many people speak each language I listed!  It's nice that when you need information, there are many people that speak your language.

I have learned so much about different cultures throughout my travels.  Travel is amazing, the memories you make will last a lifetime.  I have loved travelling and connecting with other travel bloggers along the way. 

I am currently working on a book series about my travels.  My first book, Learning to Fly, will be available soon.  In my books I talk about challenges and funny stories that happen while travelling around the world.  The time our camper broke down in Switzerland, how we learned not to bring stinky cheese onto the subway, and cliff jumping into the Adriatic Sea.

Blog: www.summersadventures.com

Twitter @SummerBarcenas

Pinterest: www.pinterest.com/waikiwi/followers

Amazon: www.amazon.com/A-Dog-Holidays-Summer-Barcenas-ebook/dp/B00HE1BJNK

Author Blog: www.summerbarcenas.com

Press Story: Travel Trends in 2014

http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?edcode=820022&QuickEdition=yes