CANADA - Calgary

🏔️ From City Rush to Mountain Calm ✨

What a beautiful change of scenery after the flat East Coast!

Calgary welcomed the little pandas with rolling hills, and wide-open views —a welcome contrast.

Public transport from the airport however wasn't exactly what you call a convenient.

So the pandas settled in to enjoy the view during their rather unexpected 1½-hour rush hour taxi ride. 🚕

That was until Mamabear noticed that the meter of the non moving taxi was moving very quickly towards three figures. 😳💸

So once downtown, and with only one suitcase—yes, the pandas still had it! 😂—we happily walked the rest of the way to the hotel.

And what a welcome it was!

After the dungeon experience, the panda family was completely unprepared for five-star treatment. 🏨✨

The highlight? An amazing breakfast on the 12th floor, overlooking Calgary and its beautiful surroundings.

🌿 Day 2: From Riverside Zen to Travel fail

The next morning, the pandas took full advantage of the hotel's prime location, right beside a beautiful river walk.

The water so crystal clear that it could easily compete with the mountain rivers in Austria. 💦🏔️

The morning was incredibly peaceful. Even the pandas slipped into a rare state of absolute zen. 🧘

Little did they know that this precious dose of calm and inner peace would be needed

very, very badly later that afternoon... 

In the afternoon, Mamabear was super excited to finally pick up the SUV that was supposed to take the panda family to some of the most beautiful places around Calgary.

At least, that was the plan.

Everything seemed ready:

• International driving licences? Check.

• Visa and Mastercard? Check.

• Insurance?Check.

• Car already paid? Check.

Surely nothing could go wrong!

Oh, but travel gods had other plans. 🙈

• 💥 Shock #1 — The “credit card” that wasn't one

  Our favourite travel cards, accepted all over the world as a credit cards and even at other car rentals, were apparently not considered an eligible credit card for the outstanding deposit by rental companies in Canada.

  No problem!

  The pandas had a backup: an official Belgian credit card.  Well… hypothetically. It was, of course, safely sitting back at the hotel.

• 💥 Shock #2 — The ticking clock 

  The rental office was conveniently closing at 5pm, only 40 minutes left.

  Quick calculation: 25 minutes to + 25 minutes backfrom the hotel.

  But the panda family are superstars in crisis mode. So off we ran… and ran… and ran.

  Exhausted, but back in a record-breaking 35 minutes.

• 💥 Shock #3 — The mysterious PIN

  Card in hand. Victory! 🎉 Car in plain sight, but

  PIN 1234: Wrong.

  Try again. 1234. Wrong.

  Ah! Different card, different PIN, of course. Surely the PIN from three years ago was… 1234?

  Nope. Wrong again.

• 💥 Shock #4 — Technology joins the crisis

  No problem! Just reset the PIN through the banking app.

  Except:

  The app was under Belgium nighttime maintenance, and calling the bank wasn't possible for exactly the same reason.

Thankfully, Canadian kindness came to the rescue. The incredibly helpful staff agreed to hold the car until the next morning. 🚙❤️

So, to celebrate surviving yet another crisis, the pandas got ice cream while performing singing session. 🍦🎶

Surprisingly, the mood remained excellent despite the spectacular failure.

Later that night, Mamabear finally reached the bank.

Correct PIN? Sorted! 🎉

Problem solved!

“You can use the card after the reset.”

“Great! 

“In 24 hours.”

Wait when? 24 hours.

😳 💥 Final shock.

And just like that, the last chance of getting the car disappeared—and with it, unfortunately, the entire planned Calgary road-trip adventure.

So yes, the pandas arrived in Calgary ready for mountain adventures...

…and ended up discovering just how many different ways  travel gods can say “Nope.” 🚙

🌧️ Day 3: From Mountain Plans to a Canadian “Chillook”! 🍁

On top of yesterday’s travel mishap, the weather decided to join the chaos.

After a lovely 24°C and sunshine ☀️, Calgary suddenly served up its Canadian plot twist: pouring rain and barely 10°C. 🌧️🥶

Apparently, it was a so-called “Chillook”, the opposite of the famous and beloved Chinook, as one wise Canadian explained. 🍁

Given previous experience, not exactly Little Panda adventure weather!

But never underestimate a panda.

Once dressed in practically every piece of clothing they owned, the Little Pandas were ready to face the elements. 🧥🧣☔

The destination? Calgary Zoo! 🦦🐧

Despite Mamabear always being a little hesitant about zoos, as she feels some of Earth’s creatures are better admired in their natural habitat. 🌿

That said, Calgary Zoo made a great effort with fun signs, interactive games and enthusiastic volunteers happy to share their animal knowledge. 🧐

And somehow, the rainy day turned into lots of laughs, funny animal moments and plenty of new inside jokes. 😂🦦🐧

So once again, Calgary proved the Panda Rule:

Bad weather + Little Pandas = unexpected adventure! 🌧️➡️😂✨

🔬 Day 4: Science, Space & Two Little Engineers! 🚀

The next day brought another panda favourite in every city: the Science Center! 🧪✨

After a beautiful and educational movie about the creation and history of the Moon, both pandas had plenty to say. 🌙

Even Nicobear, usually happy to simply be the movie’s cutest audience member, delivered an entire monologue about the moon.

Wow. They really are growing up. Little Pandas no more! 🥹

Then each bear found his own element:

• Nicobear 🧱 put his building skills to work, trying out all sorts of construction setups.

• Finnibear 🧠 was fascinated by the science experiments and mind games, happily challenging his brain.

• And, of course, both bears earned their very own digger driving and operating licences. 🚜🎓

Once again, the pandas only left the Science Center for one reason:

They were politely kicked out at closing time. 😂🔬

Apparently, even scientists need to go home eventually!

🛍️ Day 5: Mall Day and Rooftop Gardens  🌿

The next day was time for another relaxed panda day.

With the weather still refusing to improve, the Little Pandas decided it was finally time to discover one of Canada’s impressive giant shopping malls. 🛍️🇨🇦

And, surprisingly, we picked a good one! 😄

A rooftop botanical garden with a playground turned a potentially boring mall visit into a pretty fun day.

The plan was also to restart homeschooling… well, that proved slightly ambitious. 😂

Between the playground and everything else going on, academic motivation was once again hard to locate.

And then came the French reality check. 🇫🇷

After meeting some French-speaking children, the youngest panda realised he had apparently forgotten almost all his French. 😳

At least that made the decision about the second European language surprisingly easy:

German it will be! 🇩🇪📚

🦖 Day 6: Drumheller 🏜️

Despite the car saga, there was no way the pandas were leaving Calgary without seeing some of the surroundings! 😄

A few day-trip options were offered. The choice? Drumheller—the land of dinosaurs! 🦖

This also meant Mamabear had to say goodbye to the beautiful lakes and Rockies near Calgary. 🏔️

Definitely one for next time!

A small-bus trip turned out to be the perfect solution. 🚐

And Drumheller did not disappoint.

Strange, dramatic and beautiful landscapes made it surprisingly easy to imagine dinosaurs roaming around millions of years ago. 🦕🏜️

Even before reaching the museum, both pandas were already happily discussing dinosaurs and sharing their knowledge with fellow travellers. 🤓🦖

A great day, a very different landscape and, once again, proof that no car doesn’t mean no adventure! ✨