🎉 28.06.2020 - Julian's Birthday 🎉

Today is Julian's birthday! Congratulations, my Zänki!

Yesterday we celebrated the start of his birthday. There was beer and cider, and after a modified birthday song, Julian was allowed to unwrap his presents. He had wished for a pair of sunglasses, which we bought together a few weeks ago. In addition, I knitted him an ankle bracelet and baked the famous chocolate cake.

Since we had to work yesterday, we were so tired after the gift-giving and a piece of cake that we went to sleep.

This morning we had coffee and cake for breakfast. I have planned an outing for the day. But don't tell Julian where we are going at the beginning. When we set off in the morning sunshine, we walk towards the water and Julian tries to guess what we will be doing today:

'We're going to take the water taxi to North Vancouver!' - 'Wrong!'

'Are we going to rent a bicycle!? Oh, you're wearing a dress...'

'Are we going on a city tour? Oh, we didn't have a fixed schedule!'

'Or are we doing an indoor activity like 3D mini golf?' - 'Also wrong...'

After a few minutes of walking, we are very close to Chinatown. That is the starting point of our activities and Julian actually guesses the first point: the thinnest building in the world.

We take some typical tourist photos here and then continue to the next point.

I found a park on the internet that is supposed to be worth seeing: the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classic Chinese Garden

Unfortunately, the entire park is closed and we can only look through the gate. It looks really beautiful and we decide to come back when the park reopens.

The next stop is the Andy Livingstone Park. Here we sit on a water staircase, enjoy the sun, and have a little picnic. I have packed a few pieces of cake. 😃🤤

After the little refreshment, I take Julian to the next point. For that, we have to go through the creepy East Hastings Street. Since it's bright and sunny, we don't feel quite as uncomfortable. But we hurry to leave the street. When we turn onto the target street, I can already see our next stop. I point it out to Julian and watch his reaction eagerly. I have chosen the Police Museum and Archives for a visit. Julian is a bit hesitant at first... 'To the museum? ... Okay...'

But the museum is really exciting and worth seeing. There is so much to see and read and some puzzles to solve. It's not huge, but it's very informative. It starts with the history of the Vancouver Police and the topic of traffic. The next room is about the topic of morality. This is followed by a room about investigations and investigation procedures. The next room shows true criminal cases including exhibits and evidence. Since the museum is located in the former premises of the forensic medicine, there is also a room dedicated to this topic. Particularly exciting here are the body parts preserved in alcohol. That may sound a bit macabre, but it's really interesting to see everything. In the window of this room, there is a hole from a bullet casing. The story behind it is that there was an attack on the - at that time the only - forensic pathologist, so that he could not find out what had happened to the victim. However, the bullet missed the forensic pathologist and the perpetrator was arrested. The last room shows pictures of police officers and police dogs who died in action and should never be forgotten through this room. However, the exhibition is not over yet, as there is another room at the exit with a changing theme. At the moment, it's about weapons, rifles, and homemade weapons.

After the exhibition, we walk to the last point that I have found in Chinatown. Now comes the actual highlight of the day! On the recommendation of a colleague, I want to go to Besties with Julian to have dinner. They are supposed to have really delicious German currywurst, just like in Berlin. When we arrive there, I'm really disappointed because you are not allowed to sit in the restaurant but can only take the food to go.

Therefore, we decide to go to the neighborhood of Yaletown, where Julian visited a brewery with his colleagues a few weeks ago. There we want to sit down and think about where we can eat.

When we arrive at the brewery, we treat ourselves to a refreshing beer and a portion of garlic fries to satisfy our initial hunger. When we ask the waitress if Julian can get a T-shirt as a gift because it's his birthday today, she first asks her colleagues: 'We don't have a T-shirt, but I have something better!' Julian receives a beer glass from the brewery. It has a 'reorder line'. This is a line where you should order your next beer so that you are never 'dry'. 😂🍻

Julian is very happy. But when I get up, I accidentally bump into my empty glass, which falls over and gets a big crack. The waitress tells us that it's not a problem. But I'm so embarrassed in that moment. 🤦

We make our way back towards our apartment. We have chosen a Japanese restaurant right next to our building. The food is incredibly delicious, and we enjoy the three courses: first, there is soup, then raw tuna and salmon. Julian ordered rice with chicken, and I chose rice with beef. After that, I ordered mochi ice cream for dessert, and Julian ordered a sushi roll.

Afterwards, we go home and let the day come to a relaxed end.

That was a really beautiful day! ♥