Seattle or how the bad weather got us again!

03/01/2020: Arrival in Seattle at 8 pm

After our train ride, we just grab something to eat at a Chinese snack bar near the hostel with Trisha. The owner is in a bad mood... I would be too, because her shift ends in only 20 minutes.

Trisha explains to us that waiters in restaurants are poorly paid and therefore the tip can reach up to 20%. Basically, you pay part of the waiter's salary as a tip.

Julian and I are in separate rooms again. I have to sleep in the top bunk for the first time. Now I'm the one whose bed squeaks with every movement.

The next day, we want to participate in a free city tour from 12 to 2 pm. Julian is not so thrilled about it at first. Especially because it's cold and it's drizzling all the time. The cold weather, which I was looking forward to, is not so nice when it's also raining.

Never mind! I put on as many layers as possible and off we go. We explore the area on foot for a little while.

There isn't really much going on here. There aren't so many people around either.

We walk to the Public Market Center at Pike Place - a market where you can buy many fresh things. The first Starbucks is also located nearby. Of course, we get a coffee here.

Then the city tour starts at Victor Steinbrueck Park and Shawn is a really funny guy! The city tour is very interesting and exciting, even though it is drizzling the whole time. He also explains why it rains so much here. The reason is the mountains, specifically the Olympic Mountains! Warm air collects here, rises up, and becomes a cloud that rains over Seattle due to the cold air. By the way, this kind of weather today is not considered rain... just a little drizzle...

He tells us about some restaurants and bars where you can eat and drink cheaply. Many people who work in Seattle often go home directly after work. To ensure that the city still generates income, there are often happy hours after work.

The landmark of Seattle is the Space Needle - an observation deck. Shawn suggests that we should go to the Smith Tower or the Columbia Tower instead. The admission fee is much cheaper. There is a Starbucks on the 40th floor of the Columbia Tower that you can visit for free. When we pass by the Smith Tower, Shawn tells us that the ugliest parking garage in Seattle is located here. Many residents complained about its ugliness and the whole area with its beautiful old houses has been protected, so no new buildings are allowed to be built.

There are purple glass stones embedded in the streets along the way. They are inconspicuous at first and don't catch your attention right away. Shawn explains that Seattle was rebuilt after a fire. The city was raised by a few meters during the reconstruction. For example, ground-level floors became the basement of houses. One of the reasons for the elevation was that there is ebb and flow in the Elliott Bay, and during low tide, the toilets didn't work properly and everything was pushed up. While the city was being rebuilt, normal city life continued, and the shops that used to be on the street were suddenly in the basement. In order to bring sunlight into these basements, these small glass stones were embedded in the new street. After some time, the sunlight caused a chemical reaction, turning the transparent glass purple.

You could have visited this underground world on a guided tour. Unfortunately, we didn't have time for that.

Shawn told us where we could go with the ferry. For those who still remember Twilight: We could have gone to Forks. The city where Bella moves to her father.

After the city tour, we are hungry and go eat. The food is really delicious. We also visit a bar.

The next day, we walk to the Columbia Tower to visit the Starbucks. The elevator ride is really fast and the view is very beautiful, even though we haven't reached the top on the 40th floor. We stay here for a while and even get a little sample cup of the newest drink: matcha with pineapple juice. I think the taste is quite alright. Julian hands me his sample cup after taking a sip. When going down in the elevator, I feel the same pressure in my ears as when flying. When we reach the bottom, there is a floor with many different dining options. Since we are penny-pinchers, we decide to come back in 1 1/2 hours when the food is offered at a reduced price. After a break at the hostel, where I warm up again, we walk back to the Columbia Tower and have dinner. Then we go to a bar that is supposed to be the hottest place. You can only enter the bar if you are at least 21 years old, and it's really cool. But it turns out to be quite complicated: First, the bartender doesn't accept our German IDs. He prefers to see our passports. Of course, we don't have them with us, and the last bars have always accepted our IDs. He asks his boss, who gives him the okay. Okay, now we can order. Julian gets a beer. I would like to have a shandy. But they only sell Sprite here in cans. So I order a beer and a can of Sprite... When we receive our drinks, he wants a card for payment. We don't have it either because we wanted to pay in cash. The waiter takes our cash and pays with his card. What a hassle...

In the evening, it's movie night at the hostel. Julian wants to see which movie is playing there. So he's already sitting in the common room while I'm still packing my backpack in my room. When I join him, the movie has already started. It's an anime film: Princess Mononoke. Although I join in and the movie is in English, I get into the plot. However, I don't find the movie sooo exciting. When two girls walk past the door, they shout, 'Ooohh, Mononoke!!' and even stop in the doorway. So it seems like the movie is well known!

The next day, we will take the Bolt Bus to Vancouver. Then we will have arrived in Canada. So I go to bed relatively early.

Unfortunately, I can't sleep. Now there are six of us in the room and one of the girls is snoring so loudly that I can't sleep a wink. The other girls even get up again because they can't fall asleep either. When I finally fall asleep, I'm awakened at 5 am: a girl has to check out, turns on the lights, and then starts packing her suitcase... Then two more girls check out with only one hour of sleep. The night was not so great...

The next morning, I have breakfast first and try to wake up with coffee. We check out at 11 am and still have a few hours until our bus departs. So we have another coffee in a nice little shop. With our last dollars, we buy some food at an Asian supermarket.

Then our Bolt Bus tour to Vancouver starts. At the border, we all have to get off and go to the border officer with all our luggage. Since we have our work and holiday visa and it is checked at the border and a new document is issued, the check takes about 30 minutes. The bus driver is already really annoyed and doesn't talk to us anymore when we finally return to the bus. The last part to Vancouver only takes 45 minutes.

Arriving in Vancouver, we have to walk for about 25 minutes to the hostel. In doing so, we pass the East Hastings Street. There are so many drug addicts and homeless people here that I get a little anxious and shocked. Quick, let's get through here quickly! The whole street smells like weed and there are syringes lying on the street. People sit on blankets and try to sell things here. That really dampened my mood and I'm glad when we're out of the street.

I hope that our days here in Vancouver go better. More about that in a future post.

Our summary of Seattle:

Julian didn't like Seattle so much because he didn't feel like he really fit in. It wasn't a city where he would have stayed longer.

I have to say that there wasn't much going on in Seattle, considering that it's supposed to be the largest city in the Pacific Northwest. Maybe it was because we didn't make it to the Space Needle in the two/three days. The Space Needle is supposed to be the busiest area. What I liked was the hostel. It was a really modern youth hostel with a large kitchen and lovingly decorated common areas. I already liked Seattle. I think with a little more time and a little better weather, the stay would have been remembered better.

Now the main thing is to arrive in Vancouver: We have to apply for a social insurance number and open a bank account.

After that, the job search begins. Maybe we even have a job prospect already. But I can't write anything specific yet.