Arrival in Canada

Last week, I set off for Canada. I will be staying with Peter for 4 weeks. Unfortunately, there are no direct flights from the so-called “International Airport Düsseldorf”, so I flew from Frankfurt to Montreal. The flight went smoothly. However, it seems that I got caught in a strike at the airport, so even though I arrived at the airport 3 hours before departure, I was just in time for boarding at the gate. After this little stressful situation, I was able to board the plane calmly.

Of course, I was able to order my vegetarian meal before departure, which arrived after a while in the air. It is always a big surprise to see what the airline considers vegetarian. Since I am not a big fan of airplane food, I didn't have high hopes. The lunch was okay and there was a small snack just before landing. I had bread. I thought maybe they put delicious cheese or something on the bread, but I was wrong. It was a bread with nothing but carrots and cucumber. At first, I thought if the world believes that just because you're a vegetarian, you can only eat vegetables, and I was pretty confused. Unfortunately, the bread tasted exactly like it looks.

Then I saw and smelled what others got as a snack and suddenly I was very happy that I got a vegetable sandwich. To be honest, I couldn't identify what this other “snack” was.

Peter picked me up at the airport and we drove to the apartment. I had already roughly seen what his apartment looks like, but when I was there, I was very impressed. To make it short: It's like a hotel, except that you have to clean up everything yourself. The apartment is in a completely new building with a view of the city. In addition, there is a gym, a sauna, and an indoor and outdoor pool in the building, ON THE ROOF!!! And at the price that Peter is paying, anyone looking for an apartment in Cologne will be green with envy.

Montreal is a very beautiful city and not too big. You can reach everything by foot or take the metro. In the middle of the city, there is a big hill from where you can see the whole city. Currently, all the trees are turning red/orange, making the city very colorful.

I have been here for a week now and we have already experienced a lot. A friend of Peter's, Max, whom we both know from Manchester, lives in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. We visited him over the weekend and were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with him and his family.

For some inexplicable reason, Canadians celebrate Thanksgiving a month before Americans, which was very convenient for us. We were able to help prepare the dishes and I was almost tempted to try the turkey. However, my conscience was able to restrain me. The side dishes were also very delicious and for dessert, there was the traditional pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream. Max's family consisted of 25 people, which was initially overwhelming. And that was just one side of the family. Everyone was still very nice and made us feel welcome. It's maybe also exciting to see new faces at family gatherings.

In Ottawa, we also went to a real Canadian hockey game, which is a must-see. Unfortunately, I have to say that the atmosphere in the Lanxessarena was better than there. The stadium was only half full and every 5 minutes, 8 young women came onto the field to remove excess ice. My first thought was unfortunately why these pretty young women had to do this work and not just stadium employees. I had to put on my feminism glasses. During the game, there were a few physical confrontations between the players, which the fans apparently found super awesome. I don't know if there is so much testosterone flowing during the game that they have to punch each other in the face, or if it's just a show for the fans. However, I can say that ice hockey is more interesting than soccer, where someone falls to the ground every 5 minutes because someone tripped them. Hockey is fast and it requires a lot of skill because you have to be able to skate and score goals at the same time.

Next week, we're heading to New York and Toronto. Of course, we're taking the Greyhound bus for the “True American Experience”.

Stay Tuned! See you next week ☺️