Buga: 17.10.2017
Yesterday the rain took a break and I used that opportunity to do some sightseeing.
I started at Queen Elizabeth Park, one of the highest points in Vancouver. Unfortunately, I just missed the Indian Summer, but you can still see the play of colors on individual trees. Due to the park's high location, you have a fantastic view of the city from there, especially in yesterday's beautiful weather.
After my walk through the park, I took the train to Downtown. From there, I walked through Gastown, a neighborhood that reminded me a lot of England. If you ever come to Vancouver and are looking for souvenirs, this is the place to be. Souvenir shops here offer everything your patriotic Canadian heart desires.
From Gastown, I walked through the city to Yaletown. Yaletown is an old industrial district that has been converted into a trendy neighborhood with hip clubs and restaurants.
After Yaletown, I continued to Granville Island. You can get there by Aquabuses, small passenger ferries. In addition to the Public Market, a market hall with many stands offering international specialties, Granville Island also houses a hall with restaurants (hence the photo of the 'German specialties', whatever Perogies may be) and other shops with artisanal products. I love market halls, I will definitely come here more often, even though it is not so easy without a car, as you can only reach the island by ferry and you have to pay for the ferries, of course.
Six hours of walking through the city in all directions was enough for one day, so I went back to the Airbnb room after Granville Island (Damn, I have muscle soreness today :/ ).
All in all, I have to say that public transportation in Vancouver is quite expensive and also difficult to navigate for non-locals. There are buses, the Skytrain, the Seabus, and various metro lines. However, these transport systems are not properly connected, so changing trains is quite difficult. Moreover, there are no timetables at the bus stops and the website is not really helpful either. On top of that, the bus stops here do not have proper names, but are named after the street intersections. Since the streets here are all kilometers long, it looks like this:
EB W 16 AVE
AT
COURTENAY ST
EB W 16 AVE
AT
CROWN ST
EB MARPOLE AVE
AT
MCRAE AVE
EB W 16 AVE
AT
OAK ST
NB SLOCAN ST
AT
WARD ST
.
As a visitor, this can be really confusing.