Whistler

I am now writing a post about Whistler because I promised you that you would read something about snow.

The first day is sunny and there are many tourists in Whistler Village. Everyone is busy with their skis or snowboards. Julian immediately plans that we will go skiing this week.

I am a bit nervous because I have a job interview in the next few days. Susann - Julian is already traveling with her - is currently in Whistler as well and works in a hotel. Through her contacts, we get an appointment for a job interview at the hotel.

But before that, we check into our hotel. Since Whistler depends on tourism, all hotels and hostels are quite expensive! So we are really glad that we find a twin room in a hotel that is even a bit cheaper than a hostel. 

When we enter our room, we are amazed. It is not a twin room at all! We are staying in a room with 24 people, because it is a pod hotel! That means you have a kind of bunk where the bed and a small facility for clothes are. With a curtain, you have your twin room. 

We both laugh: We could have booked a hostel as well.

In the evening, we meet Susann and she shows us the village and a few pubs. I buy a thick hat first so that I don't get cold ears. 

It is supposed to snow tomorrow! We are already very excited and looking forward to the snow.

And the next morning, it's finally here! The sky is gray and the ground is white! The snow stays immediately and so we set off into the cold white. We explore the village, visit the shops, and walk to the slopes. The slope ends directly in the village, so you can ski down relaxed and be directly at the hotel. 

It snows all day and is so windy that the snow blows in your face while walking! That's not for me because I get cold quickly. So I get a hot chocolate to warm up.

In two days, we want to go skiing and still need some ski pants and proper gloves. So we go shopping. The season is almost over, so there are many reduced items. 

Since we have a job interview tomorrow, we go to bed early.

The next morning, we have our job interview with Tina. She tells us how busy it is in the hotel, as the ski season is currently the peak season in Whistler. I will work as a maid and Julian as a houseman. I will clean the rooms. Julian will bring and replenish the materials and laundry on the floors. The interview goes really well, and we got the job. We are supposed to start working on Sunday. It was really easy, but only because we had good contacts through Susann.

In the afternoon, we go to the ski rental and get the equipment: skis, ski poles, ski boots, and a helmet. We also buy ski goggles. 

The next day is our ski day. We get up early to be the first ones on the slopes. We already booked the day pass yesterday and just need to go to the express stand with the email to pick up the pass. The gondolas start at eight o'clock. Since I need to get back into it, we want to start with the easy slopes. So we only take a small lift up. I'm really excited and a little bit anxious. After all, it has been 16 years since I last went skiing, and my friends from high school probably laugh at me now because they have to think about the old story with the tree. But hugging trees is supposed to be good for you...

But it's like riding a bike - apparently you don't forget it. We need a bit of time to get back into it, but it works quite well! There aren't many people on the slopes yet, and the snow surface still has the ridges that make it so easy to ride. However, I sit down once because I can't brake anymore. Getting up is really difficult, so it takes me a while to finally get back on my skis! It's especially embarrassing that I fell right under the lift, so everyone sitting in the lift sees me struggling with the slippery ground.

When we arrive back downhill, we directly get back into the lift and this time we go up with another lift. After the second ride, we are almost twice as high as the first time. So we start again and after a few minutes and slopes, we arrive at a third lift. This six-person lift takes us all the way to the top. The weather is absolutely beautiful, it's sunny, and tiny ice crystals sparkle in the air! The view is incredible. I'm happy that we took the third lift, although I wasn't so sure about it at first. Now I really have to ski all the way down the mountain. But we take the green slope again, which doesn't start off completely flat! So many different slopes cross our path, so you have to be careful where you ski now. Since Julian doesn't always want to take the easiest route, he sometimes skis a short section of a blue slope when it crosses our path. And then it happens by accident: Julian skis a bit too far on the blue slope, and I have to leave my beautiful easy green slope and also ski down a short section of the blue slope! Then we continue on a green slope that is a lot of fun. I definitely want to ski this 'Bear Cub' slope again.

When we arrive back downhill, we take a break and go back to the hotel. After an hour, we start again and this time, we take the gondola all the way to the top! I definitely want to ski the Bear Cub again... that's the plan... However, since Julian doesn't want to take the same initial route, we start going left this time. In the end, we ski down steep and bumpy slopes that make me exhausted in a short time. Then the slope ends, and we drive off-road through deep snow to get back on a slope. When we finally arrive at a lift, we decide to take the lift up again, even though the way back to the village is not that far anymore. When we arrive at the top, I decide to take the gondola back down because my legs are burning. Julian skis down the right slope this time and gets to ski the Bear Cub again. I complain for at least ten minutes because I wanted to ski the slope again so badly and once again it is confirmed that Julian's 'shortcuts' are often not really good alternatives. Despite the fact that we felt like we didn't get that far the second time, we spent almost two hours on the mountain. I arrive at the gondola just a short time before Julian. Now he is really exhausted because he skied all the way from the top to the bottom without a break and the beautiful ridges from this morning are gone.

Afterwards, we return the ski equipment and go back to the hotel. I can sleep really well at night.

The next day, we have to check out of the hotel. We stay in the village because we have to sign the papers with our employer. After that, we take our backpacks and take the bus to a hostel outside the village. The new hostel is really nice. Everything is very open and spacious, and the beds are comfortable. The topic of coronavirus is starting to affect us as well. In the hostel's living room, they inform us about the possible symptoms and that we should inform the hostel staff if we don't feel well. 

The next day, we buy black shoes and food for work. At night, I can't sleep and feel restless because of my first day of work.

Then my first day of work comes, and it is so exhausting that I am really tired in the evening. I am assigned to work with an Indian woman who is supposed to teach me everything. But most of the time, we work with another Indian woman, and they both speak a lot in their language. At the end of the shift, I am so glad to have finished work. 

The second day of work is just as exhausting, and Corona is the number one topic. According to my schedule, I only have to work tomorrow and then have four days off. 

And at the end of my third day of work, it is announced that one hotel will probably close, as the mountain and the ski slopes have also been closed.

So today, on my first day off, I use the time to write the report.

At the end of the previous post, I didn't think that my work could be over so quickly again because the virus threw a spanner in the works. But since we don't have any final information yet, we will continue to wait and see. 

By now, I have moved into a staff house, and Julian into another staff house. But one by one, all the staff are leaving the accommodations to go home or fly back. And starting tomorrow, I will live alone on my floor in a large house. The house is really nice, so it's not so bad that I will be all by myself. But it is scary because normally there would be at least six of us living together. Only one room on the lower floor is still occupied. 

Currently, we still don't know what our plans are. Julian still has work right now. So we will stay here for now and then plan further.

I hope everything is okay back home in Germany and everyone stays healthy. 

I wish you all good health.