Vancouver

After a ten-hour bus ride, I finally arrived in Vancouver late in the evening. The bus ride takes you through large valleys with huge forests and beautiful rivers. It's only two train stations and a short walk from the bus stop to the hostel. The Samesun Hostel is located right in downtown Vancouver. The hostel itself has a bar on the ground floor and four floors above full of mostly young travelers from all over the world. After taking my things to the room, I was able to quickly meet some people in the bar. I share my room with three Australians. The majority of people in the hostel are from Australia. For most Australians, it's the first stop before heading to one of the many ski resorts. Over the course of the week, I have already met at least 20 people who will be working in the same ski resort sooner or later.

The hostel offers daily excursions, which serve to quickly and easily reach beautiful places and to meet many people. Many people on the bus on the way to the first destination have also just arrived the day before. They come from England, Ireland, Australia, the USA, Germany, etc. quickly form a larger group, in which I explore the city in the following days. Everyone is happy about the good group dynamics and is sad to have to leave in the end...

Vancouver is located in the southwest of the province of British Columbia at the western end of Canada, right on the Pacific Ocean, and with a population of 2.5 million people, it is the third largest city in Canada. The city is preceded by a large island (Vancouver Island), which is why the sea here is very calm. The summers are mild and warm, and the winters are rather rainy but rarely below 0 degrees. I immediately like the city. Most of the highlights are within walking distance. Granville Market is located on a small river island and offers a large market with fresh food, small restaurants, and a small brewery. If you walk along the coast, you will come directly to Stanley Park, a large city park that invites you to go hiking or cycling. Overall, the city is very bicycle-friendly and pays great attention to an environmentally friendly image. Two excursions organized by the hostel lead to Lynn Canyon and a beautiful place on the coast. Lynn Canyon once again impresses with beautiful forests and a crystal-clear river. (Nick, whom I visited in Calgary, said on every excursion: "It is always just rocks, trees, and water." He is of course right, but it is always very beautiful in nature.)

Also within walking distance is the historic district of Gastown. It offers many restaurants and a nice ambience in industrial design. The highlight is a steam clock that plays a melody every quarter of an hour and attracts many tourists.

I usually spend my evenings with my fellow travelers in the bar at Samesun Hostel. The atmosphere here is always very good. The streets are busy around the clock and there is always something to see. As befits Canada, we of course went to an NHL hockey game. The stadium is huge and can hardly be compared to German ice hockey. The absolute number one popular sport offers a gigantic show. It is said that Canadians are born with ice skates. There are ice hockey rinks here like soccer fields in Germany, which ultimately leads to the high level of the league.

All in all, the city is worth a visit and I am glad to have stayed for a whole week. I have now taken a bus two hours north to the ski resort of Whistler. The place is the main venue for the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Here I will spend the next few months working and of course skiing, skiing, skiing...