2015 was an awesome year! We love exploring new places and coming back to those we enjoyed in the past. Instead of many international trips, we focused on trips within Canada, where we live. Alberta and British Columbia are both stunning places for outdoor lovers, and we went on a trip whenever possible.

As a new year rolled in, we don’t rush into writing down new goals for 2016. But rather look back to 2015 and reflect on the past 12 months, what they brought us and what memories we have.

Of all the experiences we have from 2015, these are our happiest travel moments of 2015:

Starting a year in Yucatan, Mexico

We spent more than 2 weeks traveling around Yucatan and visiting Playa del Carmen, Tulum, Valladolid, Isla Holbox and Cancun. Ate too much mexican food, visited Mayan ruins, snorkeled in cenotes, learnt about mexican culture and had a lot of fun. We are coming back to see other parts of Mexico in 2016!

kicking off a new year watching flamingos in Rio Lagartos

starting days drinking a fresh coconut water

Yellowstone National Park

After visiting Glacier national park in US, just few hours south from Calgary, we knew we would need more than a weekend to go to Yellowstone National Park in Montana, which is larger and a bit further. We’ve visited off-season for 5 days and driven all around.

Seeing plenty of wildlife – bison, bears, foxes, deer, pronghorn antelopes and eagles. I’ve never seen so many animals during such a short time. Driving through Yellowstone, seeing a geyser eruptions, bison blocking the road, then seeing a mama bear playing with her cub. All unforgettable memories which made our trip very special.

one of many colorful geyser basins in Yellowstone

hundreds of bison roaming the Yellowstone National Park

Trencin in Slovakia, our hometown

After 2 years of spending time in Canada and traveling around, it was time to visit our families and friends at home. It was about time! We were stoked months before our visit to finally see everybody. Few weeks of catching up with our loved ones, eating lots of delicious food (which we didn’t have to cook ourselves for a change) and enjoying summer at home was a treat.

Sailing in Croatia

As most people head out of the country for summer vacation, same was the plan of my family. During my time in Slovakia, our family had a boat booked in Croatia, so I sneaked in a trip to the southern Europe. We went sailing along the Croatian coast with my sisters and my father who was also a captain.

It was after a long time that I and Michal were not together. He spent the week with his family and mountain biking around Trencin.

best spot on the boat – enjoying the salty breeze

sailing with my sisters

Biking Moose Mountain

Moose Mountain was our unreachable destination. It’s located in Kananaskis country, getaway to the mountains, only 45 minutes from Calgary. We tried to bike up the year before, only to head back down just 3 km from the top as a storm was quickly approaching. We conquered the mountain in summer 2015. Only 13 km biking up the hill and hiking the last 3 km, we were on top. We made it and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Kananaskis country and Prairies.

on top of the Moose Mountain

Kayaking in Banff National Park

Kayaking on a double kayak with Michal was our “try something new” thing. We borrowed a kayak from friends and went to Lake Minnewanka in Banff National Park. I don’t know what we were doing most of the time on the lake – kayaking, laughing or fighting who is paddling the wrong way. Either way we tried hard to synchronize our moves to go straight and managed to paddle quite far from the shore.

kayaking Lake Minnewanka

Jasper National Park

This was our second visit to the largest national park in Canadian Rockies. But this time we brought our mountain bikes and were looking forward to see more of Jasper National Park from the saddle. Highlights of the trip were:

• a hike to the Edith Cavell Glacier, where we randomly met another Slovak couple and ended up hiking and camping together
• a biking trip to the Snake Indian Falls, a real off the beaten path in Jasper National Park

Michal with our new friends under Edith Cavell Glacier

the end of our bike trip to Snake Indian Falls

Flying over Canadian Rockies

Flying over the places you love and visited many times was an overwhelming experience. We had a chance to fly in Cessna over the Rockies with friend of ours who was finishing his pilot license. Started from Calgary, we flew above the most beautiful places in Alberta. Seeing from above – Canmore, Mt.Assiniboine, Sunshine village, Moraine Lake, Lake Louise, Lake O’Hara, Bow valley, Banff, Lake Minnewanka and Kananaskis country.

enjoying the flight over Canadian Rockies

Spray Lake in Kananaskis country

Road trip through western Canada

My friend Paja from Slovakia intended to visit us in Canada ever since I told her we are moving there. After so many failed attempts of consolidating our schedules, we finally managed to find a few weeks in autumn and went on a road trip from Calgary ->Banff->Jasper->Kamloops->Vancouver->Vancouver Island (Tofino, Ucluelet & Victoria) roughly 3700km over 12 days. From the cold and snowy Rockies in Alberta to the beach in Vancouver Island in British Columbia. We hope to see more friends coming to Canada and enjoy time with us in the Rockies.

having fun in Canmore

Vancouver Island

Northern lights and winter adventures

One of the many advantages of living in a northern country is seeing Aurora Borealis. Spending few hours in a car to drive outside of light polluted area and standing in -20C is nothing when you stand under the northern lights, constantly dancing and changing shape.

We had a few weeks off during Christmas time and enjoyed being outside most of the days. We like to go cross country skiing, something we picked up in Canada, despite the cold weather. Maybe you’ve heard this before – there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing.

Northern lights at midnight

cross country skiing at Lake Minnewanka in -20C

It’s funny when I think about the start of the year in +30C in Mexico and ending it in -20C in Banff. But diversity is what makes life interesting!

It’s not always rainbows and butterflies, but when you focus on nice memories and new goals, every year will be awesome!

During the hard times throughout the year, I will always look at this quote from William Feather:

“One way to get the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.”

What will the year of 2016 bring?

We have a lot of travel plans this year and can’t wait to see what’s ahead of us.

We wish all of you a Happy New Year!

What was YOUR happiest travel moment in 2015? Share with us in the comments below.

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