Takin' the "Eh" Train

I'd planned on taking a trip back to Halifax from Montreal sometime this year, and the half price sale Via put on was the edge I needed.

One of the best things you can do in Canada is take this train trip. There is a choreography to the journey that lends itself to major relaxation, and achieving a kind of rhythm that really allows you to rest.

If you like to sleep in a moving bed, that is. I do.

You board the train in time for the 6:30 departure from Montreal, and book a seat for dinner at 6:45. You then have the best seat for dinner in the eastern part of Canada (if there is a similar experience in the Rockies, I'll bow to that). The sun is setting behind Mount Royal as you glide (in fits and starts) down the Saint Lawrence River Valley, the villages and towns and their cathedrals passing by as the light fades.

The meal is okay, in winter. I hear it gets better in summer, when ridership increases. I had a roast pork, cranberry sauce, mashed potato and green bean dinner ($18)that would have been much better if it had been served with some jus, but, with a glass of Jost Trilogy was not bad. All the wines were Nova Scotian, and they were obviously selected by someone who knew wine.

Sleep came later, somewhere around Riviere du Loups, and I awoke outside Bathurst, with metres of snow outside the window. We were slowed by a young teenager moose on the track, trotting along in front of the train, hemmed in by the 3m snow banks on each side. Eventually the moose took a left at a crossing, and headed into town, and we hit the tracks for Moncton.

Home in Halifax, I arrive rested, and ready to start work after a fun short vacation.