Transatlantic Flights: Why We Love Them

Transatlantic Flights - Views of Iceland and the East Coast of Canada

Granted: not always offer Transatlantic flights such beautiful views as during our flight to Toronto in late January 2015. We were on the way to Winterlude in Ottawa and wanted to experience the winter in Canada. We had heard a lot about how cold it should be there and how much snow should fall there in the winter months. We wanted to know that firsthand. A true Winter Wonderland was waiting for us in Ottawa. What we had not expected, however, were the breathtaking views of the winter Iceland, the east coast and the wintry expanses of Labrador.

The view is not always good

Transatlantic flight routes Flights over the Atlantic do not always pass through Iceland, Greenland or the Northern Labrador region. Our return flight from Toronto initially followed the course of the St. Lawrence River and then continued over water until we reached Ireland. Since we flew out at night on our return journey, it wasn't until we landed in Munich that we could see anything over Europe again, even if it was just cloud cover. But sometimes you get lucky!

Views of Iceland and Northern Canada

The view was completely different during our transatlantic flights when we arrived: there was a view of winter landscapes over Iceland. We could see streets, but also how rare towns are on the island in the Norwegian Sea. What I found most beautiful was the coastline in the west of Iceland. There we could see how far the bays extend into the interior of the island. As is often the case, Greenland was hidden under a blanket of clouds.

The east coast of Labrador

We were very lucky off the coast of Canada. There the weather cleared up again and we had a good view of the ice floes and icebergs below us. At first it was difficult to tell whether it was sea ice or already land. It was only when we approached the coast that it became clear where the land began and the sea ended. Suddenly recognizable structures could be seen: bays in which the ice floes collected and behind which the coastal landscape rose steeply. A wild and rugged landscape with no towns or signs of human settlement.

We entered Canadian territory a few hundred kilometers north of Goose Bay, and if you take a closer look at the map of this region, you can see that there are almost no traces of people there. The vastness of the wilderness was still visible as we flew further over Canadian territory: there were frozen lakes and snow-covered hills and mountains, but also snow-free areas at lower altitudes. In other regions the landscape below us was covered in deep snow, with only a striking river valley cutting through the white expanse like a scar of the earth. When I see such wild landscapes below me, I always feel very small. How great nature and wilderness are! And thank God there are still places like this on our earth that are not developed by humans.

About southern Quebec

Only when we approach the southern Quebec, the winter cloud cover closes below us again. There is a blizzard on its way to the coast right now, and the clouds are not opening again until they reach Toronto, where it is snowing. You have to be lucky enough to have views like these on his transatlantic flights. However, when the cloud cover opens, I am not interested in boarding or food on board. Then I want to see what's going on beneath me, and I think of the situation of the people who first crossed the Atlantic with simple Viking boats or even the curraghs of the Irish missionaries, trying to imagine what they felt have on their journey into the unknown. Or I think of the tragic fates of the Titanic, which sank by colliding with an iceberg in the North Sea.

These were not our first transatlantic flights, and we're curious to see which places we can see and see from the air on our next flight. And maybe there will be a chance to look at at least a part of these places ourselves. Who knows? If you want to fly further after such a flight, you can do it with this one, for example Air Canada flight from Vancouver to Brisbane in Australia do.

With this post about transatlantic flights we participate in the Blog parade "Above the clouds" by Gudrun Krinzinger.

More things to know

• Flight problems: Get your compensation with Airhelp

Source: On-site research. We would like to thank the Canadian Tourism Authority and Tourism Ontario for the transatlantic flights to Canada.