It definitely feels like we have skipped spring and went from Sprinter directly to Summer. Just last Monday it was snowing and last Sunday was already +24C and it has been like that since then and supposedly will continue for a week. I am very happy about that – I have missed the Sun tremendously! Even though it is a bit hot to sleep, because our bedroom and balcony are facing the West, we get a lot of late evening sun that heats up the flat. Leaving the windows open is good for a while until the wind rises and then starts banging the blinds against the windows. But I am still not complaining, instead I am cherishing the warmth and soaking up the sun after what seems to be an eternity in the cold.

We went for our second bicycle trip on Sunday – this time North of the city and did a good 30km tour. There were hardly any trees on that route – the only ones where in people’s private gardens. The trees and other green foliage seem to concentrate around the Bow river and given the generally dry air and not a lot of rain, it makes sense.

The bike paths are excellent here – they seem to go everywhere, are well maintained and it is possible to travel in the city on your bike without requiring any other means of transport. I found a quote in http://www.where.ca by the editor who says that the entire city is united by the impressively lengthy Bow River Pathway System and that it’s one of the most extensive recreational pathways in North America. There are a lot of people using them as well, at some most popular spots we had to slow down and navigate the crowds.

Next week we’ll go see the South – there are lots of different parks there as well. Some of the more distant ones we can get to by the C-Train or back if we don’t want to spend the whole day on a bike.