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.