EXPLORING VANCOUVER DOWNTOWN

Hey there!

 My adventure finally started some days ago. After I arrived at the airport in Vancouver it took me one more hour till I was able to leave for the hostel. First I had  to pass the passport check, after that I had to find my luggage (they separated my ski bag as extra special and didn't tell me so that I searched over 20 minutes for it till I found it on the other side of the hall). After I got all my stuff together I headed to the immigration office to activate my working holiday visa. After that I only had to get through the toll (thanks nobody were interested in me). So finally I've got a taxi to the hostel. After check in I went straight to bed and slept till the next morning.

Day1
So this has been actually my first real day in Vancouver. After breakfast I organized and informed myself. The hostel is located in Vancouver Downtown. I decided to walk along Granville St till Canada place next to the Pier of Vancouver. Perfect view. Spontaneously I decided to take a Free Shuttle to Capilano Bridge. The entry is a little bit expensive and there are a lot of tourists, but I liked the view and how they created the park. After I headed back to Vancouver there were enough time to take a walk through Gastown, a very old and traditional part of Van. I visited the Steamclock and the Gassy Jack Statue. Both looks pretty awesome. I also wanted to go to China town, but I missed it and ended up in East Hastings. There were so many used and fucked up people that I felt very uncomfortable and tried to escape fast. Somebody told me later that East Hastings and even Chinatown is the most dangerous quarter in Vancouver! So never end up there!!


Day 2
On the next day I met up with Nadine. We connected each other over a Facebook group for Work and Traveller. She just arrived one week ago and will stay in Vancouver as an Au Pair. The day was very warm and sunny so we decided to visit the Stanley Park. We rent some bikes (pink cruiser bikes, haha) and cycled along the 'seawall'. It was a little bit difficult at the beginning because of a big marathon. But we managed it and, wow, Vancity has so many different faces. That's amazing. You have mountains, the ocean, a skyline full of huge buildings, village like parts, beach, harbour, ...
If you go to Vancouver, you have to visit Stanley Park. But be careful, the seawall is one way for bikes, blades, skates!! ;)







Day 3
First Information day at the Work 'n Holiday office. I met Josephine. A nice girl from Sweden. Because it was just the two of us we did everything together. It was time to get a bank account, a Canadian phone number and, most important, a social insurance number/SIN. This number allows us to work finally complete legal. After we finished everything we grabbed some food and chilled at a small park near the hostel. Vancouver is full of places where you can sit down and relax. In the evening Josephine introduced me to her roommate Inken. She is also german and stayed in Canada since three months as a tourist. Those were her last days in Canada. We went for dinner together.

Day 4
Josephine an I had our second info day at the agency. It was about how to get work, what is importend and how does application works. We also wrote our resumes. They're completely different compared to german ones. Josephine headed back to the hostel and Inken and I went to Granville Island. We wanted to do the brewery tour but it was to late. So we just looked around the Granville Island Market. Lots of art stuff and a huge and amazing food court. Back at the hostel I booked my Ticket for the Greyhound Bus. Then we got ready and went to 'The Cambie Bar'. Inken met a lot of friends over there and we needed social life. It was a great evening filled with good and funny talks.

Day 5

My last day in Van. Also for Inken. So today we did the brewery tour with tasting. It was a very interesting tour. The leader did a good job and we were just a group of four. So everything was fine. The tasting was a lot of fun. I don't know if my german taste will ever get along with raspberry beer. Haha. When we went back we looked up at a Thrift shop. It is kind of second hand shop. Back in the hostel I started to wash and pack up my stuff. I would've to leave very very early in the morning and I didn't want to disturb anybody. After everyone and everything were ready we went out for our last dinner together at our favourite place. After that it was time to say goodbye.
I wish you all the best!!

Now is Day 6 and I am sitting in the Bus to Banff. Since 6:30 a.m. It's a ride for over 13 hrs. Guess I will enjoy the landscape of the Rocky Mountains again. Stay tuned!

Cheers