Earplugs - and the world screams less

6:30 AM the alarm clock rings. Grumpily we slowly get up. Anja still has the earplugs in. Without them, it would have been unbearable with the train. Maybe it helps to keep the earplugs in all day, it changes how one perceives the world around, it feels less hectic, the city noise is far away. But that’s not possible, we need to concentrate on the morning city traffic to return the camper at FRASERWAY. The bags are packed, somehow stuffed, one last time at the dumping station, refueling, and here we are already. It has gone quite well driving. Canadians are courteous on the road after all. The return is completed quickly, no defects, no problems, a quick check and that's it. The worse part was disassembling the bikes in the wind and packing them back into the boxes. Finally done, a shuttle bus takes us along with the bike boxes and 8 loudly chattering Germans (thankfully to the airport) to the Holiday Inn Vancouver, Richmond. The driver is really funny and insists on helping us despite his knee brace. By noon we are already at the hotel, but check-in isn’t until 3 PM. The nice lady gives us the key already and our bike boxes vanish into the luggage storage as if by magic. We are very grateful, we are allowed to go to our room. It's windy, cloudy, and cold, and a quick stop in the room to warm up feels good. Since the day is still young, unlike us, we decide to take the Skytrain into the city, a kind of subway. The weather is unpredictable. Vancouver is a metropolis, but surprisingly beautiful. Many skyscrapers, but also old converted industrial buildings and plenty of green. At the moment the city is in football fever, the World Cup starts this week. Go Switzerland!!! We stroll through the old Gastown district, ultra-modern high-rises, and along the waterfront. The approaching rain drives us back to the hotel. Next door we have a delicious dinner at the diner with beer from here of course. We lie full on our beds watching the nearby highway and listen to its rush. There’s no need for TV or phone, you can observe the cars, trucks, buses, ambulances, and invent your own stories, the lives of others, fantasizing until your eyes close.....