Welcome to North America – Our Passion 2.0
About 10 years ago – the children had grown up and the map of Europe in our living room was filled with hundreds of marking pins – my wife and I flew to the United States for the first time together. The infinite vastness, the beauty of the mountains and lakes, the world of animals and plants and last but not least the cities and towns fascinated us so much that from now on we returned to the North American continent every year.
Big, bigger, great
After 16 trips (including 7 to Canada), we probably saw more of those two countries than most Americans or Canadians: Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco in the USA, Toronto, Montréal and Vancouver in Canada, just to mention some of the cities. We watched the waves of the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean and travelled around the Great Lakes.
We hiked the trails of the Rocky Mountains and suffered in the heat of Death Valley. Marmots, rattlesnakes, moose, a few bears and even a wolverine crossed our path. We followed the footsteps of those Germans who found a new home in Texas or Wisconsin, and more than once we faced the memorials of both World War I and II.
Lands of Heroes
During all those years, we encountered American and Canadian national heroes and important entrepreneurs. Terry Fox, John F. Kennedy, Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos or Tim Hortons are just a few names on our long travel list. We visited Google Campus, the Boeing factory, the first Amazon Go store and Leonard Cohen’s grave.
Each of these sites told us a story that often also has an impact on people’s life here in Germany. However, the real heroes of that continent are the people we met on our travels. Almost all of them gave us a warm welcome, provided us some insight into the customs of their country and left us with a friendly advice for our further journey.

NORTHWEST (1)

It is our first trip together to the American continent with the full programme from the start: eleven hours of direct flight, a time difference of nine hours – you can’t go…

SOUTHWEST (1)

Our journey through the southwest of the United States is a journey of superlatives. We will visit nine national parks and two national monuments, cross…

NEW ENGLAND

New England – a region you probably remember from the textbooks of your English lessons. Wasn’t there the Mayflower and the Boston Tea Party? A glance at the…

WEST

It is the classical trip to the western Canada: Flight to Vancouver, a visit of the wild coast of Vancouver Island, followed by a round trip through the national…

MIDDLE OF THE WEST

This tour takes us to seven states, which are geographically part of the southwest, northwest and midwest. Therefore, we call this route a journey to the…

SOUTHWEST (2)

This year we start our tour in San Diego. Further southwest in the USA is impossible; there is even a tram to Tijuana in Mexico! We allow three days for the city – it is…

WEST

Around the Sierra Nevada – hardly a round trip has been more diverse. Four impressive national parks, blistering heat and snow within a few days, a totally…

MARITIMES

Three small provinces in eastern Canada are called Maritimes: Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick. Together with Newfoundland and…

TEXAS

Texas is big – only Alaska is larger in area. The “Lone Star State” also has – after California – the most inhabitants. The Texans are quite proud of their state…

ONTARIO

Ontario is Canada’s most important province. Almost 40 percent of the population lives in Ontario, the capital of Canada is located here, and the Golden Horseshoe is…

NORTHWEST (2)

Eight years after our first trip we are back. Top left, just before the Canadian border, in the state of Washington. This time we fly directly to Seattle, the most exciting…

FLORIDA

Which are the destinations Germans prefer most in the USA? The names are always the same: New York, California, Las Vegas – and Florida. The “Sunshine…

NEWFOUNDLAND

Newfoundland is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and is a really big island with a third of the area of Germany. However, only half a million people live here – 180.000…

QUÉBEC

Our journey through the province of Québec (which is the French part of Canada) begins at the international airport of Montréal. A first detour leads us to Mont-…

GREAT LAKES

Our trip around Lake Michigan starts at the international airport of Chicago. However, we save the city for the end of our trip and head directly to Milwau…

ALBERTA/SASKATCHEWAN

Alberta is well known to travelers – here are the world-famous Banff and Jasper National Parks in the middle of the Rocky Mountains. But what on earth do you want…