What is it like living in Vancouver?

So we were in Vancouver - a city that could fit into Berlin eight times - actually quite small compared to what we're used to. But because of the diverse and confusing bus system, it seems huge. It took us 30 minutes by bus from our accommodation to downtown, even though it's only 6km - I could ride my bike there - if it wasn't for the countless hills in the city. Since it's partly an overhead electric bus system, the buses are often delayed due to malfunctions. On the way from Commercial Drive to downtown, you spend most of the time on East Hastings, a street that turns into a rather unpleasant area just before downtown. Why? Well, it's the central point in Vancouver for homeless people. Okay, we know that from Berlin too, but not in such a concentrated form and in such a high number. But what's even worse is that most homeless people also have a history or present of drug use. Some of them completely lost in their own world. In the evening, a whole street turns into a night shelter for these poor creatures. The bus stops a few meters away from the curb and not a square meter of the sidewalk is accessible. Maybe we both see it a bit too harshly, but it did make a negative impression on us. Moving on.

So how do you spend your days in Vancouver? You explore your new 'home'. So off we go by bus, train, or on foot, racking up miles.

Now a little chronology of our experiences:

January 16, 2018 After applying for and receiving our social insurance number and 'Canadianizing' our phones, we met up in the evening with Susi and a few of her friends for a few beers at a bar in downtown. Actually, the beer here was cheaper than in East Van (6$ instead of 10$). And I had to dig deep into my English skills to be able to talk with the friends. Well, it didn't work out that well. My English is not the best.

January 20, 2018 In the evening, we went to a bar called 'The Black Lodge' with Susi and one of her friends, Fran. We couldn't resist a little snack: poutine (fries with sauce - typical Canadian) and deep-fried Oreos with vanilla ice cream - genius. Healthy and tasty. Fortunately, we had been to the gym in the afternoon, which was a 45-minute walk away (the first and last time - walking through huge puddles and constant rain wasn't for us). So it seemed somehow legitimate to treat ourselves to some snacks and a ginger beer after a decent workout (really spicy stuff). And once again, the beer was cheap. Is there still hope for this country? I was also getting better at speaking English.

January 21, 2018 Lunch date with Susi, Fran, and two more of Susi's friends. Once again, the only guy in the group. Hugh Hefner would be jealous. We had Indian food for little money. I think we should start a food blog since we eat a lot more than we travel. After that, we went to Chinatown to play some ping pong in a bar, a very cool concept. Very relaxed and beautiful afternoon.

January 22, 2018 Finally some good weather here. Packed our stuff and headed downtown, more precisely: Stanley Park - the largest park in Vancouver. Took a walk along the waterfront. Enjoying the sunshine. The route was longer than we initially thought. We felt almost like we were on a long march (team 'Earn your Canadian Bacon' (insider)). Unfortunately, we had also forgotten our snacks and after a while, we got pretty hungry - luckily, no cafe or restaurant was open either... but Vancouver is not that big and shortly after, we were satisfied with warm Chinese food from a supermarket, it's a Canadian thing. Strengthened, we went to Chinatown to buy a large suitcase for cheap. We also needed to transport the clothes we had recently bought. Why the large suitcase? Just in case.

January 25/26, 2018 Fangirl Bella found out the day before that her favorite series 'Supernatural' was being filmed in New Westminster, a suburb of Vancouver. So we hopped on the SkyTrain and went there - twice. On the first day, we saw one of the cast members (Jensen Ackles) drive by us... how exciting... 'hey... he even waved back at me...'. The second day was much more productive. We were able to watch three main characters of the series - Dean, Sam, and Castiel - from a distance during the shoot and observe all the preparations. Actually exciting. Even better, at least for me, was seeing and hearing the show's car. A 1967 Chevrolet Impala with a rumbling V8. That makes the heart of petrolheads like me beat faster. I even took a video of it starting and revving up the engine. A delight. In the evening, we went out with Susi again to play pool and eat. What was that about the food blog?

January 27, 2018 We went to Granville Island... with Susi. Who else. ;-) On this aforementioned small peninsula, there is a very nice market where you can buy many delicious foods. Done deal. We got our dinner there (tuna steak, crab cakes - super tasty, rollmops, and fresh bread). By the way, tuna is cheaper than salmon. What was that about salmon being in Canadian rivers... mmmh. After getting the food, we went to the island's own brewery for some beer tasting. Surprisingly, they had very good craft beer there. Hats off!

January 29, 2018 Off to the most beautiful 'neighborhood' in Vancouver. Gastown. The neighborhood is characterized by many beautiful historic buildings from the founding period. On the way to Gastown, we also passed Canada Place, which is supposed to resemble the Sydney Opera House (well...), and then went to see the famous steam-powered clock. By the way, it's the first steam clock in the world. Oh yeah. We also bought some things for the upcoming farm job. Weather-wise, it was lousy again... rain, rain, rain. Annoying.

January 30, 2018 Halfway decent weather and it's only going to rain half the day? Brilliant. Packed our backpacks (this time with provisions, who knows how long we'll be out), tied our shoes. Off to Lynn Canyon. A park area in the northeast of Vancouver. A path along a rushing river, which is crossed by several bridges. Many trees were bright green because they were covered in moss. The path along the river took us past a 30-foot and 90-foot pool, in which locals apparently also go swimming in the summer. The water was crystal clear and shimmered bright blue. We then headed towards the suspension bridge, which we already knew. Again, it was about 50 meters above the riverbed and connects the two 'banks'. The bridge, as well as the park, are an absolute insider tip, and on top of that, it's free and a good alternative to the Capilano Suspension Bridge (cost: $45). This is exactly how we imagined the nature of Canada, and we were not disappointed. We were able to collect many beautiful impressions. We would like to experience more of this more often.

January 31, 2018 The last evening in Vancouver. The next day we were going to Nanaimo on Vancouver Island. So we went out with Susi again in Gastown and explored some bars. One of them had a live rock 'n' roll performance and served delicious classic cocktails. We said goodbye to Susi while being quite drunk because our paths were already separating after 2.5 weeks. Then we went home and went to sleep. Unpleasant days awaited us. But at least we had pre-gamed...

PS: And in between, we looked for jobs and apartments, went shopping, got kicked out of a bar because we didn't want to eat anything (so much for the friendliness of Canadians), and did laundry at the laundromat - our Airbnb hosts wouldn't let us use their washing machine. Plus, it rained on most days. Annoying. And ultimately, you have to find a way to occupy yourself.