Through a Train Window.

Three of these four photos were taken on train rides in Canada and please believe me when I say that you can come away from the Toronto-to-Vancouver ride aboard VIA Rail’s Train #1, The Canadian, with literally hundreds of photos. I suggest making this trip in the middle of winter. It’s a much smaller train, the scenery is just as spectaccular, and the fares are much less.

Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world, and I knew that to be true when I first stepped off of Amtrak’s train #69, The Adirondack, and started through the Montreal railroad station. And there, adjacent to one of the main entrances, is this incredible bakery right there in the middle of the station. Bien venue a Montreal … et bon appetit!
This photo was taken in Jasper, Alberta, about 30 minutes after The Canadian entered the majestic Rockies. With spectacular scenery coming up until the train reaches Vancouver tomorrow, clean windows are essential for viewing and for photography. Are you listening, Amtrak?
This photo sums up why VIA Rail’s Train #1, the Canadian, is one of the great rides in the world! Heading west from Toronto, you pass through the rich Ontario farmlands then, skirt the northern shore of Lake Superior, and cross the Canadian Shield, with innumerable lakes wedged into  some of the hardest rock in the world. Then it’s across millions of acres that produce wheat and gran for much of eastern Europe. Then come the Canadian Rockies with the train threading it’s way through canyons and gorges as it follows the Fraser River (in the photo above) all the way to Vancouver and the sea. There is no better way to travel!
This photo was taken in Adelaide, Australia, during a half-day break in the trans-continental train ride on the Indian Pacific. We left Sydney mid-morning the previous day and would arrive in Perth two days from now—traveling from the Pacific Ocean across the Australian continent to the Indian Ocean[-hence the name of this famous train. I’m not sure why, but this photo is a favorite of mine. I was sure the little girl, looking so prim and proper–so Australian!–was just about to step right into the middle of that puddle. And she did.