Goodbye Banff

I can hardly believe that my time in Banff is already over. 4 months .. A time full of tears and sweat, full of laughter and life, which I end with mixed feelings. I have built a life here, I know every corner of this city and I know my way around the streets. It's a great feeling to be at home in a different place in the world. I was able to fulfill a dream and live in the Canadian Rocky Mountains for a while. I finally had a proper winter, well, I now consider -8°C as warm, crazy ...

Even though I suffered a lot here (from homesickness at Christmas to towing my new car to many many hours of hard work), I don't regret a single second. What doesn't kill me makes me stronger. I also had an unbelievably beautiful time here. Skiing twice a week in an incredible ski resort in the Rocky Mountains?! Do I need to say more? By the way, I'm now not bad at snowboarding either. Who would have thought ...

I definitely did everything right to keep myself mostly away from the Germans. So I found incredibly great friends in the Australians, the French and the Canadians. People whom I will probably never forget and whom I already miss terribly, even though I still have them around me. The last weeks were super intense and eventful. We did so much together and were almost out every evening, time just flew by. After a December/January low, I was simply happy again recently! And not everyone can say that they have friends who speak another language, right?! I can proudly say that my English has improved so much and I just love sitting at a table where only English is spoken, that's exactly what I wanted!

I had a crazy time full of emotional chaos here, which made me so much stronger, also made me a much better skier and gave me many many great memories.

I feel every day how I become a little less dependent and more mature, suddenly you have to deal with employment contracts and tax returns. Every now and then I have to pinch myself to realize that all of this is real and that I won't wake up and be sent to school with my mom's packed lunch. School .. about a year ago I would have called anyone crazy who would have said that I am writing this today. But it's true, school, how I miss it! Can I please go back there when I come back?

It's crazy, I have grown so much in the last time and have learned so much not only about life but also about myself. My perspective has changed in so many ways. I mean, it doesn't change that much. I still don't really know what to do with my life or how it will continue, and being an adult still scares the shit out of me, but I have realized that it will probably just stay that way. It doesn't just suddenly click and you're "all the way grown up," all-knowing and wise. Somehow you always remain just a person with your problems and fears and burdens. You just have to take life as it comes, and if you're lucky, you learn to live with it and even live it.

Crazy what suddenly goes through your head when life is completely turned upside down again. It's exciting and thrilling, but it's not so easy to leave everything behind every few weeks and start over again. Right from the beginning, over and over again. And there's still no end in sight to all of this, that sometimes scares me a little. On the other hand, it's just another new adventure to dive into.

I'm leaving behind the time here with a regular daily routine and everyday life, and I'm actually throwing myself into the next adventure. What I missed incredibly about 5 months ago, a regular daily routine, everyday life, I'm now looking forward to getting rid of it again. I'm so excited to escape the constraints here, to live in the day again and to be free, so incredibly free!

After I stayed at Felix's for a few more days to enjoy a few last ski days, I started for Vancouver on Monday. I took two days for the 10-hour drive and arrived in the city on Tuesday evening. The weather was fantastic and I already had the road trip fever again! It was great to be back on the Canadian highways after such a long time. I spent the first night in Vancouver at Jericho Beach, a cute little beach with a great view. (You can see the open sea, downtown, the hills with the ski areas in the background at the same time and listen to the waves. Something like this only exists in Vancouver.) It's still quite cold at night, but not too cold to sleep in the car. That's part of the road trip life and I love it! I spent my second day back in Vancouver washing the car, vacuuming it, and getting it in shape. Then I just sat in the park at the beach in the sun for two hours and read a book. Then, in glorious sunshine (on the beach!!), I put on my ski pants, sat in the car for half an hour, and suddenly I was back on the ski slopes. Of course, the small ski areas on the outskirts of the city cannot be compared in any way to the Rocky Mountains, but it was absolutely worth it! The view from up there was simply breathtaking and can definitely compete with LA. The whole city lies in front of you in the dark, glittering and shining. You feel like you're simply skiing into this view and if you jump over one of the ramps, you're flying over Vancouver. Just breathtaking! I couldn't take any photos while skiing because my stupid battery was dead (as always, at the perfect moment). Nevertheless, I don't want to withhold from you what I saw.

https://www.google.ca/search?q=grouse+mountain+night+skiing&client=ms-android-om-lge&prmd=imvn&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwiwy92boIDaAhUI8mMKHTVAAQMQ_AUIESgB&biw=360&bih=514

The pictures are not edited or exaggerated, it really is that beautiful!

Now I have raved enough about skiing. The season is definitively over for me.

Now I'm just a few hours away from driving to the airport and finally embracing my best friend again. With her, a piece of home comes to me in Canada.

It's time to travel again and spend my hard-earned money again. We will first visit Vancouver and Seattle, then come back to Banff for a few days, and finally drive back to Calgary with a big detour via Jasper, Edmonton, and Drumheller. I'm looking forward to showing her my beloved Rocky Mountains. Keep your fingers crossed that we'll get better weather again, it has been pouring rain here since yesterday evening. I haven't seen rain for almost 5 months now, because it was so cold in Banff that it only snowed thick white winter wonderland flakes. Well, I definitely didn't miss it either! The ski season is over, now I'm ready for spring, sun, and temperatures above zero! Doesn't that already make you dream of a Canadian summer with campfire nights ... ?!