This morning, I packed the rest of my stuff and then left the hostel right after breakfast. While checking out, I asked the guy working at the reception for directions to JFK since the routes given by Google maps seemed unnecessarily complicated. The employee gave me a piece of paper and I chose the more direct way, even though it was supposed to take longer - I just didn't want to have to walk far with all of my luggage.
I needed to transfer to another subway at 59th street. However, there were two possible destinations for the subway in that direction. I knew which subway I wanted to take but I couldn't see the destination anywhere on the arriving subway. Even though I had asked one of the passengers on the train, I boarded the one to the wrong destination. I realized my mistake at once and got off at the next stop. When I finally boarded the right subway 15 minutes later, I still wasn't so sure if it would stop at my stop as I had already made some bad experiences with non local subways before. But as I still had enough time, I decided to just take my chances.
Like many times before, there were also some people coming into the subway begging for money. I usually just ignored them but this time, one of them offered pocket tissues as a thank you. As I was out of tissues but in need of them due to my cold, I gave the lady a few left over dollars for a small bag of tissues.
As it turned out, I had taken the right subway and ended up at the air train station, where I could take an air train to JFK.
Checking in at the terminal and getting through security was easy, although they were actually checking everything a bit more strictly here than in the other airports I had been to.
By the time I was at the gate, I still had to wait a bit more than 2 hours until I could board my plane, which would leave at 3.55 PM and arrive in Frankfurt around 5.40 AM the next day.
While I was waiting at the airport, I decided to try a New York style cheesecake. I heard that cheesecake in North America were different from cheesecakes in Germany and since I hadn't tried one yet, this was my last chance. Like everything at the airport, the cake was quite expensive. In addition to that, I didn't even really like the cake.
When I finally got on the plane, I was actually surprised and even a bit confused by the staff members speaking German... Being back in a non-English speaking country will be weird.
Thursday, November 10, 2016
Leaving New York
Wednesday, November 9, 2016
The Museum of the Moving Image and other fliming locations
I didn't have anything planned for today. However, even though I was still feeling ill and had a bad cough by now, I wanted to make the best of my last full day in New York.
Thus, I decided to start by checking out the Rockefeller Center - at least from the outside. It was raining today, which was actually a good thing since the air was a bit better this way. Due to the rain, the ice skating field in front of the Rockefeller Center was closed. There was still a lot going on, some reporters were asking people about their opinion on the election. I was asked twice but then couldn't participate since I was no American. I heard a woman saying to one of the reporters that she felt great about the outcome of the election. I really wondered how any sane woman could feel this way, though. Apart from that, people were apparently also already working on Christmas decorations, which looked quite nice already. Nevertheless, I didn't stay long in this area.
By now I had decided to check out the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria (Queens). I was mainly interested in this location because it had been a 'White Collar' filming location. Apart from that, the museum itself was also very interesting. You could see a lot about the making of movies, makeup and masks for the actors, film sets and the development of the necessary technology for film making. You could also try out some of the necessary editing procedures, for example adding sound and sound effects or automated dialogue replacement. I added some funny soundeffects to a scene of 'Home Alone 2' and used my voice for 'Babe' in a scene of the 'Babe' movie. I also added different background music to a scene of 'Independence Day' and prepared two very short movies out of aligned pictures.
It wasn't even 4 PM yet when I left here, so I decided to check out a few more places. I wanted to go to Roosevelt Island and since there was a sculpture park on the way, I decided to check that out first. There wasn't much to see in the sculpture park but I still liked it. The few sculptures there were weird in an interesting way and the park actually wasn't too busy. It was pretty small, though, and after a few minutes I started walking to the bridge to Roosevelt Island.
Since Roosevelt Island was actually pretty small and surrounded by water, it seemed a lot less busy and almost quiet to me. I guess if I had to chose a place to live in New York (which I really wouldn't want to), it would be here. My objective here was to ride the Roosevelt Island Tramway, which was a little gondola. In one episode of 'White Collar', Neal Caffrey had also ridden it and even jumped from one gondola to another. As the sun had just set when I boarded, I had a really nice view of New York by night from a bit higher up.
After I arrived back in Manhatten, I just went back to the hostel. Although 'just' isn't the right word here - I first had to find a subway and then transfer to another one, which was a bit confusing.
Later, I got a small spinach alfredo pizza from a nearby pizza shop for dinner, which was expensive but good. Then I spent the rest of the evening packing and taking a shower.
Thus, I decided to start by checking out the Rockefeller Center - at least from the outside. It was raining today, which was actually a good thing since the air was a bit better this way. Due to the rain, the ice skating field in front of the Rockefeller Center was closed. There was still a lot going on, some reporters were asking people about their opinion on the election. I was asked twice but then couldn't participate since I was no American. I heard a woman saying to one of the reporters that she felt great about the outcome of the election. I really wondered how any sane woman could feel this way, though. Apart from that, people were apparently also already working on Christmas decorations, which looked quite nice already. Nevertheless, I didn't stay long in this area.
By now I had decided to check out the Museum of the Moving Image in Astoria (Queens). I was mainly interested in this location because it had been a 'White Collar' filming location. Apart from that, the museum itself was also very interesting. You could see a lot about the making of movies, makeup and masks for the actors, film sets and the development of the necessary technology for film making. You could also try out some of the necessary editing procedures, for example adding sound and sound effects or automated dialogue replacement. I added some funny soundeffects to a scene of 'Home Alone 2' and used my voice for 'Babe' in a scene of the 'Babe' movie. I also added different background music to a scene of 'Independence Day' and prepared two very short movies out of aligned pictures.
It wasn't even 4 PM yet when I left here, so I decided to check out a few more places. I wanted to go to Roosevelt Island and since there was a sculpture park on the way, I decided to check that out first. There wasn't much to see in the sculpture park but I still liked it. The few sculptures there were weird in an interesting way and the park actually wasn't too busy. It was pretty small, though, and after a few minutes I started walking to the bridge to Roosevelt Island.
Since Roosevelt Island was actually pretty small and surrounded by water, it seemed a lot less busy and almost quiet to me. I guess if I had to chose a place to live in New York (which I really wouldn't want to), it would be here. My objective here was to ride the Roosevelt Island Tramway, which was a little gondola. In one episode of 'White Collar', Neal Caffrey had also ridden it and even jumped from one gondola to another. As the sun had just set when I boarded, I had a really nice view of New York by night from a bit higher up.
After I arrived back in Manhatten, I just went back to the hostel. Although 'just' isn't the right word here - I first had to find a subway and then transfer to another one, which was a bit confusing.
Later, I got a small spinach alfredo pizza from a nearby pizza shop for dinner, which was expensive but good. Then I spent the rest of the evening packing and taking a shower.
Tuesday, November 8, 2016
Central Park and the Comedy Cellar
As I was still feeling ill this morning, I thought that a nice walk through the park might be a good idea to get some peace and fesh air. As it turned out, Central Park wasn't really the perfect spot for that. Even though there were more trees and lawns than anywhere else in New York, you could still hear the noise of the traffic, police sirens and people in general. The air might have been a bit cleaner here, but it still wasn't the best kind of air. There was only one area in the middle of Central Park, which consisted of many rather small pathways, that gave me a more or less fake feeling of quietness. Apart from that, there was a small castle that was kind of interesting.
I had the ambition to check out a few more 'White Collar' filming locations and I knew that there were two right here in the park. They weren't too hard to find either. However, the two locations were actually a lot closer together than I had expected - in the second episode of 'White Collar', Peter had to run from one of the locations to the next and I had had the impression that there was quite a distance inbetween. In fact, you could easily walk the distance within two minutes. As it was lunch time, I had a hot dog at one of the many booths in the park.
Next I wanted to check out Madison Square. However, I ended up taking a non local subway by accident, which didn't stop where I wanted to get off. Thus, when I got off the subway, I had to take another one back a few stops. When I finally got off at the stop I had wanted to get off, I found out that I was at Washington Park - I had mixed the two names up. Consequently, I had to take yet another subway. Madison Square wasn't too far from where I was, though. When I finally got there, I was a bit disappointed since I had expected the place to look more interesting.
Then I decided to check out the Grand Central Terminal, as it had been in many movies, too. Getting there was quite easy. I just walked around the terminal once. Unfortunately, there were a lot of construction sites, which was kind of annoying. I also checked out the inside of the terminal before taking a subway to Times Square.
The subway to Times Square had a very interesting design, featuring the new 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' movie. As I had already seen Times Square, I took the next subway back to the hostel, where I relaxed the rest of the afternoon.
This evening I went to the Comedy Cellar, which I had seen on the tv show 'Louie'. I had a reservation for the 7:30 PM show but since we were supposed to come early, I already got there around 7. It was mandatory to order at least 2 things and since I didn't have dinner yet, I ordered a spinach panini and a camomile tea. The panini was quite good but I was a bit surprised that they actually serves potato chips with it. I also didn't finish all of it.
There was a woman from Nevada sitting next to me and we started chatting. As it turned out, she was currently living on 103rd Street just like me, which was an interesting coincidence. Because of that, we actually went home together, which was fun as we were chatting the whole time.
The comedy show itself was very fun, too. The main topic tonight was of course the election. One of the comedians was saying that if Hillary lost tonight, it would be really sad for her since she first lost to Obama - a black guy - and would now loose to a racist. Someone also sad that if any of us went on a job interview and answered questions the way Trump did, we would never get the job... Apart from that, the first few comedians all conveyed the same sad image of a single middle aged man who wasn't very happy with his life - probably a very stereotypical image of a comedian. There was also a guy who told more bullshit than Trump and said that he could run for presidency as well next time, as well as an Iraqi American who told us about his troubles growing up in Texas, where he could speak English better than most of the latino kids.
I had the ambition to check out a few more 'White Collar' filming locations and I knew that there were two right here in the park. They weren't too hard to find either. However, the two locations were actually a lot closer together than I had expected - in the second episode of 'White Collar', Peter had to run from one of the locations to the next and I had had the impression that there was quite a distance inbetween. In fact, you could easily walk the distance within two minutes. As it was lunch time, I had a hot dog at one of the many booths in the park.
Next I wanted to check out Madison Square. However, I ended up taking a non local subway by accident, which didn't stop where I wanted to get off. Thus, when I got off the subway, I had to take another one back a few stops. When I finally got off at the stop I had wanted to get off, I found out that I was at Washington Park - I had mixed the two names up. Consequently, I had to take yet another subway. Madison Square wasn't too far from where I was, though. When I finally got there, I was a bit disappointed since I had expected the place to look more interesting.
Then I decided to check out the Grand Central Terminal, as it had been in many movies, too. Getting there was quite easy. I just walked around the terminal once. Unfortunately, there were a lot of construction sites, which was kind of annoying. I also checked out the inside of the terminal before taking a subway to Times Square.
The subway to Times Square had a very interesting design, featuring the new 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them' movie. As I had already seen Times Square, I took the next subway back to the hostel, where I relaxed the rest of the afternoon.
This evening I went to the Comedy Cellar, which I had seen on the tv show 'Louie'. I had a reservation for the 7:30 PM show but since we were supposed to come early, I already got there around 7. It was mandatory to order at least 2 things and since I didn't have dinner yet, I ordered a spinach panini and a camomile tea. The panini was quite good but I was a bit surprised that they actually serves potato chips with it. I also didn't finish all of it.
There was a woman from Nevada sitting next to me and we started chatting. As it turned out, she was currently living on 103rd Street just like me, which was an interesting coincidence. Because of that, we actually went home together, which was fun as we were chatting the whole time.
The comedy show itself was very fun, too. The main topic tonight was of course the election. One of the comedians was saying that if Hillary lost tonight, it would be really sad for her since she first lost to Obama - a black guy - and would now loose to a racist. Someone also sad that if any of us went on a job interview and answered questions the way Trump did, we would never get the job... Apart from that, the first few comedians all conveyed the same sad image of a single middle aged man who wasn't very happy with his life - probably a very stereotypical image of a comedian. There was also a guy who told more bullshit than Trump and said that he could run for presidency as well next time, as well as an Iraqi American who told us about his troubles growing up in Texas, where he could speak English better than most of the latino kids.
Monday, November 7, 2016
Liberty and Ellis Island
Apart from a very sore throat, I was feeling better this morning. Consquently, I got ready and then took the subway down to the ferry terminals. I still had the ticket to Liberty Island and since I had bought it two days ago, today was the last day that I could make use of my ticket.
After a security screening, I could board the ferry to Liberty Island. From the shore of Manhatten the Statue of Liberty seemed a lot smaller than I had expected. However, when standing right in front of it, I could see that it was indeed quite big. I didn't feel like getting the audio tour so instead, I just walked around Liberty Island and enjoyed the views of Manhatten and the clean air. As there were no cars around, the air on this island was really a lot better than in New York. It was still quite noisy due to all the tourists, though.
About an hour later, I took a ferry to Ellis Island. I hadn't expected to be spending much time here. However, as it turned out, the museum on immigration on the island was a lot more interesting than I had expected. It was shocking to see under which conditions the people came to America in the early 20th century. There were thousands of people with barely enough space to lie down on a small bad, no accessible washrooms and a lot of seasick people everywhere inbetween. In addition to that, the immigrants had to pass a medical and a legal exam in order to be admitted after their long journey.
One of the rangers working on the island told us the story of her ancestor - an eight-year-old girl who had travelled to the US with her eighteen-year-old aunt. After the train ride to the nearest harbour, which took about a week, and the nine day long boat ride, she almost couldn't enter the US. The reason for that was harsh - no female was allowed to enter the US on her own. Any woman would need to arrive with her husband or another male relative. Luckily, her father, who had immigrated to the US right after the girl had been born, could come and pick her up the next day.
I also thought that it was quite interesting that Bremen was mentioned a few times here - many immigrants actually booked passage to the US starting in Bremen. In fact, it was the second most common departure port at one time.
After I had checked out all the exhibits on the island and taken the ferry back to New York, it was already 5 PM. This wasn't a good time to be taking a subway - it was so full of people. Even though no one could move in there anymore, people were still trying to get in. Luckily, I had a seat since I had gotten on the subway at the first stop. Due to people always blocking the doors, the subway needed about an hour to get to the hostel instead of the usual 40 minutes.
Originally, I had planned to go to the Comedy Cellar this evening. As I was very exhausted from my trip today and didn't feel like I had enough time to relax before then, I postponed my visit. Instead, I took a shower and relaxed the rest of the evening, which was probably a good idea since I still had a very sore throat and something like a cold.
After a security screening, I could board the ferry to Liberty Island. From the shore of Manhatten the Statue of Liberty seemed a lot smaller than I had expected. However, when standing right in front of it, I could see that it was indeed quite big. I didn't feel like getting the audio tour so instead, I just walked around Liberty Island and enjoyed the views of Manhatten and the clean air. As there were no cars around, the air on this island was really a lot better than in New York. It was still quite noisy due to all the tourists, though.
About an hour later, I took a ferry to Ellis Island. I hadn't expected to be spending much time here. However, as it turned out, the museum on immigration on the island was a lot more interesting than I had expected. It was shocking to see under which conditions the people came to America in the early 20th century. There were thousands of people with barely enough space to lie down on a small bad, no accessible washrooms and a lot of seasick people everywhere inbetween. In addition to that, the immigrants had to pass a medical and a legal exam in order to be admitted after their long journey.
One of the rangers working on the island told us the story of her ancestor - an eight-year-old girl who had travelled to the US with her eighteen-year-old aunt. After the train ride to the nearest harbour, which took about a week, and the nine day long boat ride, she almost couldn't enter the US. The reason for that was harsh - no female was allowed to enter the US on her own. Any woman would need to arrive with her husband or another male relative. Luckily, her father, who had immigrated to the US right after the girl had been born, could come and pick her up the next day.
I also thought that it was quite interesting that Bremen was mentioned a few times here - many immigrants actually booked passage to the US starting in Bremen. In fact, it was the second most common departure port at one time.
After I had checked out all the exhibits on the island and taken the ferry back to New York, it was already 5 PM. This wasn't a good time to be taking a subway - it was so full of people. Even though no one could move in there anymore, people were still trying to get in. Luckily, I had a seat since I had gotten on the subway at the first stop. Due to people always blocking the doors, the subway needed about an hour to get to the hostel instead of the usual 40 minutes.
Originally, I had planned to go to the Comedy Cellar this evening. As I was very exhausted from my trip today and didn't feel like I had enough time to relax before then, I postponed my visit. Instead, I took a shower and relaxed the rest of the evening, which was probably a good idea since I still had a very sore throat and something like a cold.
Sunday, November 6, 2016
Feeling sick in New York
This morning, I got uo early in order to join the Harlem walking tour at 8:30 AM. I wasn't feeling too well when I got up, but I tried to ignore that and make the most of the day. The tour wasn't too interesting, the only thing that caught my attention was a huge cathedral. It was beautiful even though the cathedral wasn't even completely finished yet - our guide mentioned that this might still take a long time as there was currently no money for that.
We ended our tour in front of a church, where a gospel service was about to take place. I had really been looking forward to this service. Nevertheless, I had to leave early: While I was sitting there, I had the feeling that something or someone nearby was stinking like piss, which was kind of disgusting. Maybe because of that or maybe because I hadn't been feeling well since I got up, I suddenly felt extremely sick, like I could throw up any minute. Even though it was in the middle of the service, I knew I had to get out of that church.
I felt a little better when I was outside, but I still decided to go back to the hostel. When I arrived there, I had a bad headache, so I just lay down and tried to sleep a little. When I woke up later, my headache was better already. Unfortunately, my throat had started to hurt now. I didn't want to just lie in bed all day long, so I decided to go out and look for a grocery store. I needed to buy water and a few other things. Luckily, there was a store about two blocks from the hostel. After I brought my groceries home, my headache got worse again. Consequently, I lay back down and slept some more.
Around 6 PM, I was feeling a little better and since I hadn't eating yet. I went downstairs and had spaghetti for lunch/dinner. After that, I went down to the movie room, where a few other people were already watching the news about the election. As I had nothing bette rto do, I joined them for a while.
I went back upstairs around 8 PM and spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and reading.
We ended our tour in front of a church, where a gospel service was about to take place. I had really been looking forward to this service. Nevertheless, I had to leave early: While I was sitting there, I had the feeling that something or someone nearby was stinking like piss, which was kind of disgusting. Maybe because of that or maybe because I hadn't been feeling well since I got up, I suddenly felt extremely sick, like I could throw up any minute. Even though it was in the middle of the service, I knew I had to get out of that church.
I felt a little better when I was outside, but I still decided to go back to the hostel. When I arrived there, I had a bad headache, so I just lay down and tried to sleep a little. When I woke up later, my headache was better already. Unfortunately, my throat had started to hurt now. I didn't want to just lie in bed all day long, so I decided to go out and look for a grocery store. I needed to buy water and a few other things. Luckily, there was a store about two blocks from the hostel. After I brought my groceries home, my headache got worse again. Consequently, I lay back down and slept some more.
Around 6 PM, I was feeling a little better and since I hadn't eating yet. I went downstairs and had spaghetti for lunch/dinner. After that, I went down to the movie room, where a few other people were already watching the news about the election. As I had nothing bette rto do, I joined them for a while.
I went back upstairs around 8 PM and spent the rest of the evening just relaxing and reading.
Saturday, November 5, 2016
Bridges and Ferries
I had a very big breakfast this morning as I had felt like eating eggs with sausages. The breakfast was really good (even though I had had to pay extra for it) and I felt really full afterwards. While I was eating, some guy sat down at my table since he needed the power outlet that was nearby. At first I was a bit annoyed about sharing the table but then we started chatting a little bit. The guy's name was Mehmet, he was from Turkey but currently living and working in Boston. When I mentioned that New York hadn't really captivated me yet, he told me about a website with unusual sights. We checked it out and decided on a few attractions that sounded interesting.
So after breakfast, Mehmet and I took the subway Downtown. The abandonned subway station, which we wanted to check out first, was supposed to be close to City Hall. However, when we got off the subway and started walking around that area, we couldn't find any entrance. Thus, we checked the facts again and found out that getting to the abandonned subway station was kind of sketchy - you would have to stay in a certain subway after its final stop. Consequently, we decided on trying to do something else. We couldn't find any other unusual sights nearby. However, as we were close to the Brooklyn Bridge, I wanted to to go and check that out.
We ended up walking on a nice path along the water which offered an amazing view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhatten Bridge. Apart from the noise of the traffic, this was really the first nice spot that I had been to here in New York.
Next, we wanted to check out something called the 'Dream House'. We walked there for about half an hour only to find out that it was currently closed. Mehmet told me that he needed to work now for a bit, so I decided to go on on my own.
I wanted to check out the Statue of Liberty. When I got to the ferry terminal that offered the ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, I found out that I would only have been able to go to one of those two attractions this afternoon since it was already past 2 PM. Therefore, I decided to postpone this trip and to do something else now instead. The free State Island ferry was right around the corner and even though I didn't really know anything about it, I decided to take it.
The 30 minute ferry ride to State Island was actually very nice. It offered a cool view of Manhatten and the statue of Liberty. When I arrived at State Island, I decided to justwalk around for a little while. There wasn't too much to see, though. I saw some signs leading to a National Lighthouse Museum, which sounded really interesting. Unfortunately, the museum was already closed as it was 5 PM by now.
The ferry ride back to Manhatten was really nice, too. The sun was just about to set, which gave me the chance to take a few amazing sunset pictures with the Statue of Liberty.
After I arrived back in Manhatten, I just took the next subway back to the hostel. Here, I had another cheesecake chocolate muffin for dinner and took a hot shower before going to bed.
All things considered, I still didn't really like New York much. It is too noisy, there are too many people and there is nothing that really captivated me.
So after breakfast, Mehmet and I took the subway Downtown. The abandonned subway station, which we wanted to check out first, was supposed to be close to City Hall. However, when we got off the subway and started walking around that area, we couldn't find any entrance. Thus, we checked the facts again and found out that getting to the abandonned subway station was kind of sketchy - you would have to stay in a certain subway after its final stop. Consequently, we decided on trying to do something else. We couldn't find any other unusual sights nearby. However, as we were close to the Brooklyn Bridge, I wanted to to go and check that out.
We ended up walking on a nice path along the water which offered an amazing view of the Brooklyn Bridge and the Manhatten Bridge. Apart from the noise of the traffic, this was really the first nice spot that I had been to here in New York.
Next, we wanted to check out something called the 'Dream House'. We walked there for about half an hour only to find out that it was currently closed. Mehmet told me that he needed to work now for a bit, so I decided to go on on my own.
I wanted to check out the Statue of Liberty. When I got to the ferry terminal that offered the ferry ride to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, I found out that I would only have been able to go to one of those two attractions this afternoon since it was already past 2 PM. Therefore, I decided to postpone this trip and to do something else now instead. The free State Island ferry was right around the corner and even though I didn't really know anything about it, I decided to take it.
The 30 minute ferry ride to State Island was actually very nice. It offered a cool view of Manhatten and the statue of Liberty. When I arrived at State Island, I decided to justwalk around for a little while. There wasn't too much to see, though. I saw some signs leading to a National Lighthouse Museum, which sounded really interesting. Unfortunately, the museum was already closed as it was 5 PM by now.
The ferry ride back to Manhatten was really nice, too. The sun was just about to set, which gave me the chance to take a few amazing sunset pictures with the Statue of Liberty.
After I arrived back in Manhatten, I just took the next subway back to the hostel. Here, I had another cheesecake chocolate muffin for dinner and took a hot shower before going to bed.
All things considered, I still didn't really like New York much. It is too noisy, there are too many people and there is nothing that really captivated me.
Friday, November 4, 2016
Greenwich Village and tv show locations
As I didn't really know where to start in this big city, I decided to join the Greenwich Village tour offered by the hostel this morning. We left the hostel just past 10 AM and took the subway to Christopher Street. From here, we started by exploring the West Village, where we saw the exterior of the building from the tv show 'Friends' as well as many other historic buildings. We also walked through Washington Square and past the 'Comedy Cellar', which I had seen on the tv show 'Louie'. For lunch, we had a slice of pizza. Afterwards, we checked out the East Village. Our tour guide gave us a lot of information about tv shows, artists and famous bands that had started out in this neighborhood.
The tour was over around 3 PM and I decided to check out Union Square, as it wasn't too far from where the tour had ended. Afterwards, I went to Times Square. I thought about maybe getting tickets for a Broadway show, but the waiting line in front of the cheap ticket booth was very discouraging.
After walking around a bit more, I decided to go back to the hostel to have a snack. As the mouse au chocolat cake I had wanted to try wasn't available, I tried a chocolate cheesecake muffin instead. It was really extremely good, I think I have never had such a delicious muffin.
While eaiting my muffin, I went on a small walk to the exterior of the June's house from the tv show 'White Collar'. It was already getting dark outside but I didn't really mind as it was only about 10 minutes from the hostel On the way back to the hostel, I walked a bit through the Riverside Park.
The tour was over around 3 PM and I decided to check out Union Square, as it wasn't too far from where the tour had ended. Afterwards, I went to Times Square. I thought about maybe getting tickets for a Broadway show, but the waiting line in front of the cheap ticket booth was very discouraging.
After walking around a bit more, I decided to go back to the hostel to have a snack. As the mouse au chocolat cake I had wanted to try wasn't available, I tried a chocolate cheesecake muffin instead. It was really extremely good, I think I have never had such a delicious muffin.
While eaiting my muffin, I went on a small walk to the exterior of the June's house from the tv show 'White Collar'. It was already getting dark outside but I didn't really mind as it was only about 10 minutes from the hostel On the way back to the hostel, I walked a bit through the Riverside Park.
Thursday, November 3, 2016
Riding to New York
I barely slept last night as I was worried about possibly not hearing my alarm. Thus, I actually got up a few minutes before my alarm was supposed to sound and then quickly got ready. I left the hostel around 5:15 AM and went straight to the skytrain station. I ate some breakfast in the train while riding to the airport.
Getting through all the security checks at the airport didn't take as long as I had expected. Consequently, I had about 2.5 hours until my plane left. I spent the time checking out the shops in the airport and drinking a hot chocolate from starbucks.
The plane left at 9:15 AM Vancouver time and landed about 4 hours and 50 minutes later at 4:50 PM New York time at the Newark airport. I had to wait for almost an hour after that until I finally had my suitcase. However, it took me another 30 minutes until I had found a way to get to New York. I had planned to use public transportation, but I didn't really find any useful information on where the buses depart or where to get the bus tickets. Thus, I decided to spend 16 USD on a shuttle to Manhatten.
I got off the shuttle somewhere close to Times Square. It was already dark when I got off the bus, which was actually less scary than I had expected. There was a lot going on here and there were people and blinking ads everywhere. Finding the tram station here was easier than I had expected. However, there were no elevators so getting down to the subway with all my luggage was a bit annoying. Surprisingly, some random guy actually helped me with that.
When I got off the subway, I had to climb up some stairs and this time, no one helped me with my luggage. The hostel was less than 2 blocks from the subway station and I was happy when I finally arrive there.
As it was already past 8 PM, I just had a cheese turkey croissant for dinner at the hostel and then took a shower. After that, I didn't really do anything anymore as I was pretty exhausted from my journey and last night.
Getting through all the security checks at the airport didn't take as long as I had expected. Consequently, I had about 2.5 hours until my plane left. I spent the time checking out the shops in the airport and drinking a hot chocolate from starbucks.
The plane left at 9:15 AM Vancouver time and landed about 4 hours and 50 minutes later at 4:50 PM New York time at the Newark airport. I had to wait for almost an hour after that until I finally had my suitcase. However, it took me another 30 minutes until I had found a way to get to New York. I had planned to use public transportation, but I didn't really find any useful information on where the buses depart or where to get the bus tickets. Thus, I decided to spend 16 USD on a shuttle to Manhatten.
I got off the shuttle somewhere close to Times Square. It was already dark when I got off the bus, which was actually less scary than I had expected. There was a lot going on here and there were people and blinking ads everywhere. Finding the tram station here was easier than I had expected. However, there were no elevators so getting down to the subway with all my luggage was a bit annoying. Surprisingly, some random guy actually helped me with that.
When I got off the subway, I had to climb up some stairs and this time, no one helped me with my luggage. The hostel was less than 2 blocks from the subway station and I was happy when I finally arrive there.
As it was already past 8 PM, I just had a cheese turkey croissant for dinner at the hostel and then took a shower. After that, I didn't really do anything anymore as I was pretty exhausted from my journey and last night.
Wednesday, November 2, 2016
Hunting Supernatural filming locations and shopping
I was quite busy this morning. At first, I checked my mail at the SWAP office, then I went to CIBC in order to close my bank account. When I called the credit card hotline in order to cancel my Canadian credit card, I was told that I could still keep it seperate from my bank account and that this wouldn't cost me anything. As a seperate credit card for emergencies might come in handy sometimes, I decided to do that.
I also talked with the Moose Travel manager Jason in order to complain about my Banff to Jasper trip which hadn't made it to Jasper. He told me that I would get a fair refund, which sounded like a good deal to me.
Around noon I took the Expoline skytrain to 'Metrotown'. There was a big shopping mall called 'Metropolis'. However, my main reason for coming here was a nearby 'Supernatural' filming set. I easily found the set. Unfortunately, apart from the helpers and all the trailers and cars, I couldn't see anything. The actors were filming inside the building - a church. So the most interesting thing I saw was a trailer with the names 'Cass' and 'Crowly' written on the doors.
Next, I decided to check out the mall. I was looking for some pants. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any affordable pants that I really liked. I also had a greek lamb pita for lunch. Around 4 PM, I went to check out the film set one more time, but I wasn't lucky this time, either.
I went back through the mall to the bus stop, where I took the '130' going North. I got off after about 35 minutes and then I still had to walk a bit further to get to the Ironworkers Memorial bridge. I knew that there was a 'Supernatural' filming location, the bunker, somewhere around here but I didn't know the exact location. As the weather was really bad (it had been raining non-stop all day long), I didn't want to spent too much time looking for the location. So I just took a walk through a park in that area and luckily, the bunker was right there. It was actually right below the bridge, but a lot further down than I had originally expected, which was the reason why it took me some time to find it.
Finally, I walked back to the bus station and took a bus back to 'Metrotown'. Before taking the skytrain back to Vancouver, I checked the film set one last time, but there still wasn't anything new for me to see.
Back at the hostel, I prepared everything for my early departure the next day.
I also talked with the Moose Travel manager Jason in order to complain about my Banff to Jasper trip which hadn't made it to Jasper. He told me that I would get a fair refund, which sounded like a good deal to me.
Around noon I took the Expoline skytrain to 'Metrotown'. There was a big shopping mall called 'Metropolis'. However, my main reason for coming here was a nearby 'Supernatural' filming set. I easily found the set. Unfortunately, apart from the helpers and all the trailers and cars, I couldn't see anything. The actors were filming inside the building - a church. So the most interesting thing I saw was a trailer with the names 'Cass' and 'Crowly' written on the doors.
Next, I decided to check out the mall. I was looking for some pants. Unfortunately, I couldn't find any affordable pants that I really liked. I also had a greek lamb pita for lunch. Around 4 PM, I went to check out the film set one more time, but I wasn't lucky this time, either.
I went back through the mall to the bus stop, where I took the '130' going North. I got off after about 35 minutes and then I still had to walk a bit further to get to the Ironworkers Memorial bridge. I knew that there was a 'Supernatural' filming location, the bunker, somewhere around here but I didn't know the exact location. As the weather was really bad (it had been raining non-stop all day long), I didn't want to spent too much time looking for the location. So I just took a walk through a park in that area and luckily, the bunker was right there. It was actually right below the bridge, but a lot further down than I had originally expected, which was the reason why it took me some time to find it.
Finally, I walked back to the bus station and took a bus back to 'Metrotown'. Before taking the skytrain back to Vancouver, I checked the film set one last time, but there still wasn't anything new for me to see.
Back at the hostel, I prepared everything for my early departure the next day.
Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Saying 'Goodbye' to Victoria
This morning, I took a shower and packed the rest of my stuff, which didn't take too long. When I saw Katrina, she gave me a Goodbye present - a copy of her favourite book, 'The Alchemist', a bookmark - in combination with a cute card, which made me feel very treasured.
Around noon, I was eating some of my leftover food and getting ready to leave while Katrina had to deal with a plumber - the pipe leading into her kitchen was leaking. About half an hour before I had planned to leave, Katrina suggested that she could drive me to the ferry terminal after the plumber had finished the repairs. As spending some more time with Katrina and not having to worry about taking the bus to the ferry terminal with all of my luggage sounded like a good idea, I happily accepted Katrina's offer. However, this meant that I couldn't take the 3 PM ferry. I would have to take the 5 PM ferry instead.
While Katrina was still busy with the plumber and cleaning up the basement, I decided to watch some more 'Suits' since there was nothing else for me to do anymore.
Katrina and I left the house just past 3 PM. We didn't go straight to the ferry terminal. Instead, we went for a small walk with Jakki around Beaver Lake. Just like usually, taking a walk in this beautiful area gave me a very peaceful and calm feeling. This was good as I was actually pretty sad about leaving Victoria - my home for the past six months. Chatting with Katrina cheered me up, too.
The thought that 'I will be back' one day was quite comforting as well. I don't know when or how exactly, but I do know that Victoria feels like home to me and that nothing will keep me away from here for too long.
After Katrina dropped me off, I met with Dave and Pam for a for minutes in order to say goodbye and to give them back the phone which I had borrowed from them. The Canadian phone had been really helpful for me during the past few months so I was very grateful that they had given it to me.
The ferry ride to Vancouver was rather uneventful. I was trying to see as much as possible of Vancouver Island while we were driving away from it. After I couldn't see the Island anymore, I only watched the ocean until it got to dark for even that.
Taking the bus and the skytrain in Vancouver with all my luggage was less annoying than I had expected but I was still glad when I arrived at my hostel. While checking in, I asked if I could get room '116' - the room where I had stayed during my first visit here. The guy at the reception, Giles, needed to do some changes but he managed to fulfill my request. In the end, I even ended up in the same bed where I had slept in during my first visit.
After leaving my stuff in my room, I walked a bit through the Downtown area looking for lunch. In the end, I decided on a small bar/restaurant, where I had a really good chicken foccacia with a green salad. When I ordered an apple cider, the waitress asked, 'That's alcohol, right?', which seemed like a weird question to me as cider was obvious alcohol. I guessed that she only wanted to make sure than I knew what I ordered.
Around noon, I was eating some of my leftover food and getting ready to leave while Katrina had to deal with a plumber - the pipe leading into her kitchen was leaking. About half an hour before I had planned to leave, Katrina suggested that she could drive me to the ferry terminal after the plumber had finished the repairs. As spending some more time with Katrina and not having to worry about taking the bus to the ferry terminal with all of my luggage sounded like a good idea, I happily accepted Katrina's offer. However, this meant that I couldn't take the 3 PM ferry. I would have to take the 5 PM ferry instead.
While Katrina was still busy with the plumber and cleaning up the basement, I decided to watch some more 'Suits' since there was nothing else for me to do anymore.
Katrina and I left the house just past 3 PM. We didn't go straight to the ferry terminal. Instead, we went for a small walk with Jakki around Beaver Lake. Just like usually, taking a walk in this beautiful area gave me a very peaceful and calm feeling. This was good as I was actually pretty sad about leaving Victoria - my home for the past six months. Chatting with Katrina cheered me up, too.
The thought that 'I will be back' one day was quite comforting as well. I don't know when or how exactly, but I do know that Victoria feels like home to me and that nothing will keep me away from here for too long.
After Katrina dropped me off, I met with Dave and Pam for a for minutes in order to say goodbye and to give them back the phone which I had borrowed from them. The Canadian phone had been really helpful for me during the past few months so I was very grateful that they had given it to me.
The ferry ride to Vancouver was rather uneventful. I was trying to see as much as possible of Vancouver Island while we were driving away from it. After I couldn't see the Island anymore, I only watched the ocean until it got to dark for even that.
Taking the bus and the skytrain in Vancouver with all my luggage was less annoying than I had expected but I was still glad when I arrived at my hostel. While checking in, I asked if I could get room '116' - the room where I had stayed during my first visit here. The guy at the reception, Giles, needed to do some changes but he managed to fulfill my request. In the end, I even ended up in the same bed where I had slept in during my first visit.
After leaving my stuff in my room, I walked a bit through the Downtown area looking for lunch. In the end, I decided on a small bar/restaurant, where I had a really good chicken foccacia with a green salad. When I ordered an apple cider, the waitress asked, 'That's alcohol, right?', which seemed like a weird question to me as cider was obvious alcohol. I guessed that she only wanted to make sure than I knew what I ordered.
Monday, October 31, 2016
The Haunted Walk
My main task today was to do my laundry and to pack all my stuff into my suitcase. I wasn't very motivated to do it, though, as I just really didn't feel like leaving here. Around noon, I had a short trip Downtown in order to pick up my pay check and to put the money in my bank account. It had been raining all morning but the sky cleared just when I wanted to leave the house.
I finished packing around 4 PM and decided to go for a short walk in Mystic Vale in order to clear my head. I wasn't in such a good mood and the now rather grey sky fit my mood perfectly. Mystic Vale was still nice, although the ground was quite muddy this afternoon. On the way to the bus stop after my walk, I saw some deer.
It was Halloween. Thus, this evening there were a lot of children in costumes knocking on our door and saying 'Trick or treat'. We gave them a lot of chocolate bars and other candy while having some of them ourselves. After a while, there were less and less kids coming, so we started watching some 'Suits'.
I had planned to go to the 'Haunted Walk' of Victoria with Margo tonight. However, she told me that she didn't really feel up to it. I wasn't too keen on getting up either, but I was still thinking about going anyway as I didn't want to miss out on anything here. In the end, Katrina decided to go there with me.
We went to the last walk of the night which started at 9:30 PM.
At first we thought that we would be the only people there but then, we were directed into a room where a lot of other people were already waiting. The walk was very interesting, we were told a lot of horrifying stories about people that died or were murdered here and about their ghosts still lingering in the old alleys and buildings of this town.
There was for example a restaurant in a building where people reportet seeing the ghost of an old chinese guy floating a few feet above the ground and watching them disapprovingly. We were told that the chinese guy used to live in the basement of the building and didn't want to give up his home. When he died, the floor was removed and something new was build there. Nevertheless, the old Chinese guy apparently still floated in the place where he used to walk on his floor.
There was also another story of a gruesome murder which was possibly commited by Jack the Ripper.
We also heard about the murder of a beautiful prostitute by a Chinese guy who had proposed to her but she had refused and laughed at him. In return, he had decapitated her with a huge knife.
There were some stories about ghosts in hotel rooms that packed your bags because wanted you to leave and other things.
All things considered, the walk was really interesting and it also offered me one last view of Victoria by night, which was nice. Some of the stories or maybe even being in some of the described places actually gave me goosebumps.
The walk took about 90 minutes so we were home just past 11 PM. Nevertheless, Katrina and I still finished watching the last episode of the third season of 'Suits'.
I finished packing around 4 PM and decided to go for a short walk in Mystic Vale in order to clear my head. I wasn't in such a good mood and the now rather grey sky fit my mood perfectly. Mystic Vale was still nice, although the ground was quite muddy this afternoon. On the way to the bus stop after my walk, I saw some deer.
It was Halloween. Thus, this evening there were a lot of children in costumes knocking on our door and saying 'Trick or treat'. We gave them a lot of chocolate bars and other candy while having some of them ourselves. After a while, there were less and less kids coming, so we started watching some 'Suits'.
I had planned to go to the 'Haunted Walk' of Victoria with Margo tonight. However, she told me that she didn't really feel up to it. I wasn't too keen on getting up either, but I was still thinking about going anyway as I didn't want to miss out on anything here. In the end, Katrina decided to go there with me.
We went to the last walk of the night which started at 9:30 PM.
At first we thought that we would be the only people there but then, we were directed into a room where a lot of other people were already waiting. The walk was very interesting, we were told a lot of horrifying stories about people that died or were murdered here and about their ghosts still lingering in the old alleys and buildings of this town.
There was for example a restaurant in a building where people reportet seeing the ghost of an old chinese guy floating a few feet above the ground and watching them disapprovingly. We were told that the chinese guy used to live in the basement of the building and didn't want to give up his home. When he died, the floor was removed and something new was build there. Nevertheless, the old Chinese guy apparently still floated in the place where he used to walk on his floor.
There was also another story of a gruesome murder which was possibly commited by Jack the Ripper.
We also heard about the murder of a beautiful prostitute by a Chinese guy who had proposed to her but she had refused and laughed at him. In return, he had decapitated her with a huge knife.
There were some stories about ghosts in hotel rooms that packed your bags because wanted you to leave and other things.
All things considered, the walk was really interesting and it also offered me one last view of Victoria by night, which was nice. Some of the stories or maybe even being in some of the described places actually gave me goosebumps.
The walk took about 90 minutes so we were home just past 11 PM. Nevertheless, Katrina and I still finished watching the last episode of the third season of 'Suits'.
Sunday, October 30, 2016
Halloween Pumpkin Carving and Dancing
There was a free pumpkin carving event today at a funeral chapel on Quadra Street. Margo and I went there around 1 PM. We got a huge pumpkin, a template and all the carving tools we needed for free. There were also two of Margo's friends from her English class, which was nice since this way, we had someone to chat with who already knew which tools to use and so on.
Cutting into the pumpkin and then cleaning it out was a lot harder than I had expected. The pumpkin flesh was really squishy, which was a little bit disgusting. After I had cleaned the pumpkin out and chosen a nice template with a bat on it, I had to carve the figure into the pumpkin, which took a lot of patience. After about 1.5 hours, Margo and I were done and we both loved our cute pumpkins. Margo had chosen a template with an owl for her pumpkin.
You could also get hot chocolate and hot dogs for free at the event and of course I took advantage of that. However, I somehow managed to get ketchup all over my shirt because of my hot dog. It wasn't too bad, though, as I could still easily wash it out. Margo's friends were playing something on the piano in the event room and I joined them. I tried playing a song but I still didn't really remember how to play it too well so I only managed the first part of it.
Then we walked back to the bus stop to go home with our pumpkins, which were actually quite heavy. Back at home, we placed them directly in front of the front door as halloween decorations.
There was a Halloween dance event with a dance class this evening and I convinced Tuulia and Margo to join me. We learned Bachata during the class, which was kind of fun but some of the steps were a little complicated even for me - I just needed some more practice in order to not mess the steps up. Tuulia and Margo left after the lesson but I still stayed there for a bit more than an hour in order to join the dance party. They were mostly playing latin american music. However, I didn't know any of the dances this evening apart from Salsa and Bachata. Nevertheless, I had a lot of opportunities to dance with several different dancers, which was challenging but fun. I also danced with the older chinese guy who I had seen pretty much every time that I had gone Salsa dancing anywhere as well as a few other familiar faces... The dancing community in Victoria probably wasn't too big.
I got home around 9 PM and still watched two more episods of 'Suits' with Katrina.
Cutting into the pumpkin and then cleaning it out was a lot harder than I had expected. The pumpkin flesh was really squishy, which was a little bit disgusting. After I had cleaned the pumpkin out and chosen a nice template with a bat on it, I had to carve the figure into the pumpkin, which took a lot of patience. After about 1.5 hours, Margo and I were done and we both loved our cute pumpkins. Margo had chosen a template with an owl for her pumpkin.
You could also get hot chocolate and hot dogs for free at the event and of course I took advantage of that. However, I somehow managed to get ketchup all over my shirt because of my hot dog. It wasn't too bad, though, as I could still easily wash it out. Margo's friends were playing something on the piano in the event room and I joined them. I tried playing a song but I still didn't really remember how to play it too well so I only managed the first part of it.
Then we walked back to the bus stop to go home with our pumpkins, which were actually quite heavy. Back at home, we placed them directly in front of the front door as halloween decorations.
I got home around 9 PM and still watched two more episods of 'Suits' with Katrina.
Saturday, October 29, 2016
The Duncan Road Trip with Katrina
Today, Katrina finally went with me on the road trip she had been talking about for months. She actually didn't really want to go today, as she had been hoping for a nice sunny day. Since my time here was running out, there wasn't really any other option apart from not doing it. Katrina was sceptical when I told her that the rain was supposed to stop around noon and that it would still be a nice afternoon - once again I turned out to be right about the weather.
We left around 11:30 AM. The first stop was the gas station, where Katrina filled the tank up. However, as she got her shoes wet in a puddle, she decided to turn around and put on some more water resistent shoes. When we left the house for the second time, we also took Jakki along.
Our first real stop was a viewpoint. It had just stopped raining when we got out of the car. Nevertheless, we couldn't really see anything at first, everything seemed really foggy all around us. I still tried to see it in a positive light: The fog made the valley below seem really mysterious. After standing at the viewpoint for a few minutes, the fog suddenly lifted and offered us a really amazing view of the sea and the mountains surrounding it. Thus we had in fact picked the perfect moment to stand there as the change in the scenery was unbelievable - within seconds, it changed from a white bulk of nothingness into an amazing picture.
Next, we stopped at Cowichan Bay, a little village right at the sea. There were a lot of little, cozy shops right at the harbour. We stopped at a bakery and Katrina got us some pretzels with cheese. I liked those pretzels espescially since they didn't really taste like typically German pretzels. As I didn't really know what it was and thought that I had never tasted it before, she also got us some shortbread cookies to try.
We kept driving North to Chemainus, the city of murals. On the way there, we actually saw a rainbow.
There were a lot of very nice murals on the walls of all the shops and official buildings in Chemainus. We walked a bit through the little town in order to get a look at the art. The city also had a lot of things reminding me of fairytales, for example a 'Hansel and Gretel' candy store. Katrina got several interesting types of fudge for us, which were really tasty, too. During our walk, we saw some people that were dressed up for Halloween. One guy in some kind of skull costume really caught our attention. After we had seen most of the city, we went back to the car and drove back South to Duncan.
Duncan was mostly famous for its totem poles and we really saw a lot of them here. There was one totem pole which had some parts made of abalone shell and that looked really nice in my opinion.
After our walk through Duncan, Katrina was hungry and we were thinking about where to buy some food. We tried a few places on the road out of Duncan, but they were either closed or their menu didn't appeal to us. Katrina actually got a bit frustrated around this time, which turned her into some kind of angry driver. I actually hadn't expected this so I felt like the situation was funny. We ended up stopping at a farmer's market, which also annoyed Katrina since she wouldn't be able to keep driving directly back home from there due to the lay-out of the road. However, she hadn't seen that problem before turning into the farmer's market's parking lot which is why she was annoyed about that. After we had had a tuna sandwich from the market, her mood lifted again.
On the way back, I proposed going to Shawnigan Lake. Katrina had mentioned th lake before and said that she would like to go there with Jakki. As it was already 5 PM, Katrina didn't really feel like going there anymore on our trip. I tried to change her mind by saying that it would be fun for Jakki and that otherwise, Jakki would be sad about not really going on a walk in nature. In truth, I just really wanted to see the lake and Katrina saw through my intentions. We still went to the lake.
Shawnigan Lake was really beautiful. It was surrounded by mountains and just when we got there, the sun started to set behind some of the mountains, which looked amazing. While we were there, it was raining a little bit from above, which was really weird as there were no clouds above us. The rain didn't bother us, though.
On the way home, Katrina also stopped at 'Thrifty Foods' in order to get some coffee and chips. I saw a box of 'Nanaimo bars'. I had never had any but I felt like they were a very typical Canadian candy. When I asked Katrina about what they tasted like, she encouraged me to buy the box. Even though I had already had too much sweet stuff today, I tasted a piece of the Nanaimo bars. It tasted like chocolate, coconut and butter cream.
We got home around 6:45 PM and then spent the evening watching 'Suits'.
We left around 11:30 AM. The first stop was the gas station, where Katrina filled the tank up. However, as she got her shoes wet in a puddle, she decided to turn around and put on some more water resistent shoes. When we left the house for the second time, we also took Jakki along.
Our first real stop was a viewpoint. It had just stopped raining when we got out of the car. Nevertheless, we couldn't really see anything at first, everything seemed really foggy all around us. I still tried to see it in a positive light: The fog made the valley below seem really mysterious. After standing at the viewpoint for a few minutes, the fog suddenly lifted and offered us a really amazing view of the sea and the mountains surrounding it. Thus we had in fact picked the perfect moment to stand there as the change in the scenery was unbelievable - within seconds, it changed from a white bulk of nothingness into an amazing picture.
Next, we stopped at Cowichan Bay, a little village right at the sea. There were a lot of little, cozy shops right at the harbour. We stopped at a bakery and Katrina got us some pretzels with cheese. I liked those pretzels espescially since they didn't really taste like typically German pretzels. As I didn't really know what it was and thought that I had never tasted it before, she also got us some shortbread cookies to try.
We kept driving North to Chemainus, the city of murals. On the way there, we actually saw a rainbow.
There were a lot of very nice murals on the walls of all the shops and official buildings in Chemainus. We walked a bit through the little town in order to get a look at the art. The city also had a lot of things reminding me of fairytales, for example a 'Hansel and Gretel' candy store. Katrina got several interesting types of fudge for us, which were really tasty, too. During our walk, we saw some people that were dressed up for Halloween. One guy in some kind of skull costume really caught our attention. After we had seen most of the city, we went back to the car and drove back South to Duncan.
Duncan was mostly famous for its totem poles and we really saw a lot of them here. There was one totem pole which had some parts made of abalone shell and that looked really nice in my opinion.
After our walk through Duncan, Katrina was hungry and we were thinking about where to buy some food. We tried a few places on the road out of Duncan, but they were either closed or their menu didn't appeal to us. Katrina actually got a bit frustrated around this time, which turned her into some kind of angry driver. I actually hadn't expected this so I felt like the situation was funny. We ended up stopping at a farmer's market, which also annoyed Katrina since she wouldn't be able to keep driving directly back home from there due to the lay-out of the road. However, she hadn't seen that problem before turning into the farmer's market's parking lot which is why she was annoyed about that. After we had had a tuna sandwich from the market, her mood lifted again.
On the way back, I proposed going to Shawnigan Lake. Katrina had mentioned th lake before and said that she would like to go there with Jakki. As it was already 5 PM, Katrina didn't really feel like going there anymore on our trip. I tried to change her mind by saying that it would be fun for Jakki and that otherwise, Jakki would be sad about not really going on a walk in nature. In truth, I just really wanted to see the lake and Katrina saw through my intentions. We still went to the lake.
Shawnigan Lake was really beautiful. It was surrounded by mountains and just when we got there, the sun started to set behind some of the mountains, which looked amazing. While we were there, it was raining a little bit from above, which was really weird as there were no clouds above us. The rain didn't bother us, though.
On the way home, Katrina also stopped at 'Thrifty Foods' in order to get some coffee and chips. I saw a box of 'Nanaimo bars'. I had never had any but I felt like they were a very typical Canadian candy. When I asked Katrina about what they tasted like, she encouraged me to buy the box. Even though I had already had too much sweet stuff today, I tasted a piece of the Nanaimo bars. It tasted like chocolate, coconut and butter cream.
We got home around 6:45 PM and then spent the evening watching 'Suits'.
Friday, October 28, 2016
Petting dogs and singing karaoke
I really enjoyed playing and petting Jakki and Small Cat this morning. I was actually surprised that Jakki let me pet her so much as she would usually run away from me petting her.
Around noon I decided that I had to take advantage of the good weather. Thus, I took a bus Downtown and walked to Beacon Hill Park from there. There were unbelievably many ducks in the park today - I think I had never seen so many ducks in one place! There were also still some flowers blooming, which I hadn't expected at this time of year.
I kept walking South to Dallas road, where I sat down on a bench to watch the ocean for a while. While I was sitting there, several dogs, which were walking past, stopped and let me pet them which was nice. After a while, I decided to go down to the water. Since I hadn't gone in that direction yet, I tried climbing on the rocks from one little rocky beach to the next. It was quite fun but unfortunately, there were a few muddy and slippery passages. One time, while I was walking on an especially narrow and muddy path, I slipped and got my clothes and my handbag quite muddy. I also hurt my leg a little bit, but the pain only lasted for a few minutes. After that, I was actually glad when I arrived at some stairs where I could get back up to the road even though I had really enjoyed being so close to the ocean.
I took the next bus home where I decied to wash my muddy clothes. While they were in the washing machine, I walked with Small Cat around the garden. Afterwards, I took a shower and relaxed a little.
In the evening I went up Shelbourne Street to meet with Amy in order to sing karaoke. She hadreserved a little karaoke room for the two of us for two hours. We mostly sang english songs, although Amy didn't really know too many of them. She was more comfortable singing chinese songs. The whole thing was still pretty fun, although I was a bit shocked when I found out about the price afterwards - it was a lot more expensive than I had expected.
Around noon I decided that I had to take advantage of the good weather. Thus, I took a bus Downtown and walked to Beacon Hill Park from there. There were unbelievably many ducks in the park today - I think I had never seen so many ducks in one place! There were also still some flowers blooming, which I hadn't expected at this time of year.
I kept walking South to Dallas road, where I sat down on a bench to watch the ocean for a while. While I was sitting there, several dogs, which were walking past, stopped and let me pet them which was nice. After a while, I decided to go down to the water. Since I hadn't gone in that direction yet, I tried climbing on the rocks from one little rocky beach to the next. It was quite fun but unfortunately, there were a few muddy and slippery passages. One time, while I was walking on an especially narrow and muddy path, I slipped and got my clothes and my handbag quite muddy. I also hurt my leg a little bit, but the pain only lasted for a few minutes. After that, I was actually glad when I arrived at some stairs where I could get back up to the road even though I had really enjoyed being so close to the ocean.
I took the next bus home where I decied to wash my muddy clothes. While they were in the washing machine, I walked with Small Cat around the garden. Afterwards, I took a shower and relaxed a little.
In the evening I went up Shelbourne Street to meet with Amy in order to sing karaoke. She hadreserved a little karaoke room for the two of us for two hours. We mostly sang english songs, although Amy didn't really know too many of them. She was more comfortable singing chinese songs. The whole thing was still pretty fun, although I was a bit shocked when I found out about the price afterwards - it was a lot more expensive than I had expected.
Thursday, October 27, 2016
Ogden Point and relaxing
This morning, I decided to tidy up my room a little bit in order to prepare for packing soon.
Even though I had just been there three days ago, I went to Ogden Point again around noon. I just loved walking on that path into the ocean and enjoying the smell of the sea around me.
Afterwards, I bought some bread from the bakery and groceries from save-on-foods.
As I was pretty exhausted this afternoon from going on so many trips during the last few days, I just relaxed in front of the tv.
Even though I had just been there three days ago, I went to Ogden Point again around noon. I just loved walking on that path into the ocean and enjoying the smell of the sea around me.
Afterwards, I bought some bread from the bakery and groceries from save-on-foods.
As I was pretty exhausted this afternoon from going on so many trips during the last few days, I just relaxed in front of the tv.
Wednesday, October 26, 2016
A rainy day in Stanley Park
As I already had to check out of the Samesun this morning, I got up at 8 AM in order to have enough time to eat breakfast, take a shower, and check out. Afte checking out around 11 AM, Iris and I decided to go for a walk in Stanley Park.
The walk to Stanley Park was already quite long and it was raining the whole time. I wanted to buy an umbrella since I had lost mine a few days ago. However, I was a little picky: I wanted a cheap umbrella which looked interesting and was transparent if possible. After checking out about five stores, I found exactly what I had been looking for.
Even though it was raining almost non stop while we were there, we really enjoyed the walk through the park. We started by walking around the 'Lost Lagoon' and then we went to see the totem poles as well as a native killer whale statue.We also saw a film crew somewhere in the park but we couldn't make out what they were preparing to film. Due to the weather, we also didn't want to stay and find out about that.
On the way back Downtown, we made a detour to 'English Bay Beach' in order to see the 'Inukshuk' there.
We arrived back at the hostel around 3 PM. Iris was pretty wet by now and I hadn't really stayed dry either even though I had used my new umbrella. I decided to try and take the 5 PM ferry and so I said 'Goodbye' to Iris and quickly went to catch the next skytrain.
During the ferry ride to Victoria, there were some humpback whales close to the ferry. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see them since it took me too long to go outside.
I arrived back home around 8 PM. It wasn't raining in Victoria which reinforced my belief that there was no really bad weather in Victoria.
After cooking some rice for dinner, I decided to finally try the bath salt which Xue had given me months ago by taking a bath. The bath salt ball made the water look quite colourfull while it dissipated and afterwards, the water sparkled, which looked really interesting.
The walk to Stanley Park was already quite long and it was raining the whole time. I wanted to buy an umbrella since I had lost mine a few days ago. However, I was a little picky: I wanted a cheap umbrella which looked interesting and was transparent if possible. After checking out about five stores, I found exactly what I had been looking for.
Even though it was raining almost non stop while we were there, we really enjoyed the walk through the park. We started by walking around the 'Lost Lagoon' and then we went to see the totem poles as well as a native killer whale statue.We also saw a film crew somewhere in the park but we couldn't make out what they were preparing to film. Due to the weather, we also didn't want to stay and find out about that.
On the way back Downtown, we made a detour to 'English Bay Beach' in order to see the 'Inukshuk' there.
We arrived back at the hostel around 3 PM. Iris was pretty wet by now and I hadn't really stayed dry either even though I had used my new umbrella. I decided to try and take the 5 PM ferry and so I said 'Goodbye' to Iris and quickly went to catch the next skytrain.
During the ferry ride to Victoria, there were some humpback whales close to the ferry. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see them since it took me too long to go outside.
I arrived back home around 8 PM. It wasn't raining in Victoria which reinforced my belief that there was no really bad weather in Victoria.
After cooking some rice for dinner, I decided to finally try the bath salt which Xue had given me months ago by taking a bath. The bath salt ball made the water look quite colourfull while it dissipated and afterwards, the water sparkled, which looked really interesting.
Tuesday, October 25, 2016
Walking through Downtown Vancouver
This morning Iris and I took the ferry to Vancouver. As we wanted to take the 11 AM ferry, we had to get up pretty early, which was a bit annoying. While arriving at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, we played 'Pokemon Go' and managed to catch a lot of pokemon in that terminal before taking the bus to Downtown Vancouver.
We arrived around 2 PM at the hostel and after locking our stuff in our room, we started walking through Downtown Vancouver. At first we walked towards the harbour area and Gastown. Next, we walked through Chinatown. Finally, we walked back to Downtown.
By now, we were really hungry and thus, we had dinner at the little Sushi restaurant I had been to a few times already. I had salmon and cucumber maki as well as unagi rolls, which were really good.
Afterwards, Iris tried to get in touch with her bank as she had some trouble with her credit card. She didn't really have any success, though, so we decided to go on another small walk instead. We crossed the bridge to Gastown halfway in order to take a few night pictures of Vancouver - it was already dark now and the skyscrapers with all the lights in the windows looked pretty cool.
We arrived around 2 PM at the hostel and after locking our stuff in our room, we started walking through Downtown Vancouver. At first we walked towards the harbour area and Gastown. Next, we walked through Chinatown. Finally, we walked back to Downtown.
By now, we were really hungry and thus, we had dinner at the little Sushi restaurant I had been to a few times already. I had salmon and cucumber maki as well as unagi rolls, which were really good.
Afterwards, Iris tried to get in touch with her bank as she had some trouble with her credit card. She didn't really have any success, though, so we decided to go on another small walk instead. We crossed the bridge to Gastown halfway in order to take a few night pictures of Vancouver - it was already dark now and the skyscrapers with all the lights in the windows looked pretty cool.
Monday, October 24, 2016
Marvelling at the beautiful sky
This morning, Katrina offered to join Iris and me on a hike up Mount Doug with the two dogs. Since I had gotten lost a few times while hiking around Mount Doug, I happily accepted her offer. On the way to Mount Doug, I was sharing the backseat with Jasper. However, I was apparently sitting in Jasper's spot and he didn't want to sit anywhere else so I pretty much had a 70 pound dog sit more or less on me during the whole ride.
With Katrina guiding us, we hiked up and down Mount Doug in barely more than an hour. The paths we took were quite challenging, though, as they sometimes got a little steeper. It was still very fun and a good workout.
Afterwards, Katrina also showed Cordova Bay to us, which was just North of Mount Doug. She then dropped us off in Downtown Victoria.
As it was lunchtime, Iris and I finally went to Red Fish Blue Fish in order to have some fish and chips. Iris said that this was the first good food she had had since coming here.
After we were done eating, we took a bus to Ogden Point. It was raining a bit when we arrived there but the rain stopped while we were walking along the long path to the small lighthouse. The sky looked just spectacular with all the different kinds of clouds and the sun breaking through.
We also walked to Fisherman's Wharf in order to see some seals and to check out the floating homes. Finally, we walked back downtown along the harbour area and were rewarded with some more amazing views of the sky.
On the way to the hostel, I also had a huge scoop of maple icecream. After dropping Iris off at the hostel, I bought some milk and then took the next bus home. At home, I took a shower, started packing for our trip to Vancouver and watched some 'Suits' with Katrina.
With Katrina guiding us, we hiked up and down Mount Doug in barely more than an hour. The paths we took were quite challenging, though, as they sometimes got a little steeper. It was still very fun and a good workout.
Afterwards, Katrina also showed Cordova Bay to us, which was just North of Mount Doug. She then dropped us off in Downtown Victoria.
As it was lunchtime, Iris and I finally went to Red Fish Blue Fish in order to have some fish and chips. Iris said that this was the first good food she had had since coming here.
After we were done eating, we took a bus to Ogden Point. It was raining a bit when we arrived there but the rain stopped while we were walking along the long path to the small lighthouse. The sky looked just spectacular with all the different kinds of clouds and the sun breaking through.
We also walked to Fisherman's Wharf in order to see some seals and to check out the floating homes. Finally, we walked back downtown along the harbour area and were rewarded with some more amazing views of the sky.
On the way to the hostel, I also had a huge scoop of maple icecream. After dropping Iris off at the hostel, I bought some milk and then took the next bus home. At home, I took a shower, started packing for our trip to Vancouver and watched some 'Suits' with Katrina.
Sunday, October 23, 2016
Ballet Rocks
As I was extremely exhausted from our hike yesterday, I slept in today.
Iris and I decided to go to the ballet at 2 PM. There was a 'Ballet Rocks & Vivaldi's Four Seasons' performance at the McPherson playhouse. The theatre was a lot smaller than we had expected but it looked really cute. We were sitting in the left corner of the first row, which wasn't too bad but we couldn't really see what was happening in the left rear corner of the stage. The first half of the ballet was a very modern kind of ballet danced to rock music. I especially enjoyed the ballet performances to the songs 'Comfortably Numb' and 'Sound of Silence'. The second half of the ballet was a lot more traditional. It was my first classical ballet. My favourite season of the four seasons was definitely winter. The spring song got stuck in my head for a while as I was already familiar with parts of it. All things considered, I prefered the modern ballet to the classical ballet though.
After the ballet, Iris and I took the bus to where I lived and from there, we walked to Willow's Beach. The walk to the beach was about 2 km long but it was quite interesting as there were many typically suburban houses which looked really nice. We sat at the beach for a few minutes before walking on. Iris tried to clean her shoes with the water of the ocean which resulted in her getting wet feet. We kept walking North to Cattle Point and after that to Uplands Park. Even though it was just a short walk there were some stairs we had to climb, which wasn't really fun as we were still exhausted and especially Iris suffered from sore muscles because of our hike yesterday.
Next we took a bus to get Downtown, hoping to eat dinner at Red Fish Blue Fish. As it turned out, that store was only open during lunch hours. It was just past 6 PM and I thought that the fish store at Fisherman's Wharf might still be open. Thus we took a bus to check it out. Unfortunately, Barb's Fish and Chips had closed at dusk, so we had just missed our chance here, too.
We took the next best bus back to the hostel, were we had dinner. I had a potato and Iris had a salad and then later a potato as well.
We spent most of the evening playing some games which we had found at the hostel. We started with 'Dame', although we were soon told that the english name for that game would be 'Checkers'. Afterwards, I showed Iris how to play 'Chinese Checkers' - a game which I had learned to play here a few months ago. I won both games and Iris decided that she didn't want to play any games against a mathematician anymore. Nevertheless, we still played some 'TicTacToe'.
Iris and I decided to go to the ballet at 2 PM. There was a 'Ballet Rocks & Vivaldi's Four Seasons' performance at the McPherson playhouse. The theatre was a lot smaller than we had expected but it looked really cute. We were sitting in the left corner of the first row, which wasn't too bad but we couldn't really see what was happening in the left rear corner of the stage. The first half of the ballet was a very modern kind of ballet danced to rock music. I especially enjoyed the ballet performances to the songs 'Comfortably Numb' and 'Sound of Silence'. The second half of the ballet was a lot more traditional. It was my first classical ballet. My favourite season of the four seasons was definitely winter. The spring song got stuck in my head for a while as I was already familiar with parts of it. All things considered, I prefered the modern ballet to the classical ballet though.
After the ballet, Iris and I took the bus to where I lived and from there, we walked to Willow's Beach. The walk to the beach was about 2 km long but it was quite interesting as there were many typically suburban houses which looked really nice. We sat at the beach for a few minutes before walking on. Iris tried to clean her shoes with the water of the ocean which resulted in her getting wet feet. We kept walking North to Cattle Point and after that to Uplands Park. Even though it was just a short walk there were some stairs we had to climb, which wasn't really fun as we were still exhausted and especially Iris suffered from sore muscles because of our hike yesterday.
Next we took a bus to get Downtown, hoping to eat dinner at Red Fish Blue Fish. As it turned out, that store was only open during lunch hours. It was just past 6 PM and I thought that the fish store at Fisherman's Wharf might still be open. Thus we took a bus to check it out. Unfortunately, Barb's Fish and Chips had closed at dusk, so we had just missed our chance here, too.
We took the next best bus back to the hostel, were we had dinner. I had a potato and Iris had a salad and then later a potato as well.
We spent most of the evening playing some games which we had found at the hostel. We started with 'Dame', although we were soon told that the english name for that game would be 'Checkers'. Afterwards, I showed Iris how to play 'Chinese Checkers' - a game which I had learned to play here a few months ago. I won both games and Iris decided that she didn't want to play any games against a mathematician anymore. Nevertheless, we still played some 'TicTacToe'.
Saturday, October 22, 2016
Another Goldstream adventure
Since it wasn't supposed to rain today, Iris and I went on a hike in the Goldstream Provincial Park even though we were both still exhausted from the last few days.
We started our hike around 12:30 PM. As we both didn't feel up to climbing Mount Finlayson today, we wanted to hike to the railwail trestle and to the 'Niagara Falls'. However, just like the last time I had been here, we took a wrong trail within the first few minutes of the hike and then had to turn around. It took us a while to find and then stay on the right path. Nevertheless, the path offered amazing views of this beautifully green and overgrown rainforest. On our way, we had to cross several creeks that flooded the path. In addition to that, the path got pretty steep sometimes so the trail was actually quite challenging. At first, we were hiking quite slowly but then I found some sticks which we used as hiking sticks. This way, the steep and rocky path became a lot easier to walk on.
After a short walk on the trestle to enjoy the view from high above, we went in the direction of the Niagara Falls. However, when we arrived at the tunnel which I had used the last time I had been here in order to cross the highway, there was a massive river flowing through the tunnel. This was a quite unfortunate turn of events, as I had planned to take a path on the other side of the highway in order to get back to the bus stop. There was no other way to cross the highway. Consequently, we now had to walk back the way we had come from. Apart from keeping us from getting to the other side of the highway, the river also made it more difficult to get to the Niagara Falls. Since it was already around 4 PM, we decided against trying to get to the other side of the river to get closer to the Niagara Falls. Instead, we had a quick snack and then turned around.
It had taken us more or less 3 hours to get to the spot where we had turned aound. Due to the sun setting just past 6 PM, we only had about 2 hours now to get back to the bus stop... Hiking around here in the dark really wouldn't have been a good idea. So even though we were extremely exhausted by now and even though we really didn't feel like taking another step, we still tried our best to get back to the bus stop as fast as possible.
On the way back, we got a little lost, too. Nevertheless, we still found our way back - we had apparently only taken some alternative paths which we hadn't seen before for some reason.
We arrived at the bus stop around 6:15 PM, which was a good time as the bus was supposed to be here at 6:29 PM. While we were waiting at the bus stop, we were helping some work and traveler from Germany whom we had seen earlier during our hike out - his phone had died.
By the time I got back home, I was freezing and really looking forward to a hot shower. After that shower, I watched some tv with Katrina.
We started our hike around 12:30 PM. As we both didn't feel up to climbing Mount Finlayson today, we wanted to hike to the railwail trestle and to the 'Niagara Falls'. However, just like the last time I had been here, we took a wrong trail within the first few minutes of the hike and then had to turn around. It took us a while to find and then stay on the right path. Nevertheless, the path offered amazing views of this beautifully green and overgrown rainforest. On our way, we had to cross several creeks that flooded the path. In addition to that, the path got pretty steep sometimes so the trail was actually quite challenging. At first, we were hiking quite slowly but then I found some sticks which we used as hiking sticks. This way, the steep and rocky path became a lot easier to walk on.
After a short walk on the trestle to enjoy the view from high above, we went in the direction of the Niagara Falls. However, when we arrived at the tunnel which I had used the last time I had been here in order to cross the highway, there was a massive river flowing through the tunnel. This was a quite unfortunate turn of events, as I had planned to take a path on the other side of the highway in order to get back to the bus stop. There was no other way to cross the highway. Consequently, we now had to walk back the way we had come from. Apart from keeping us from getting to the other side of the highway, the river also made it more difficult to get to the Niagara Falls. Since it was already around 4 PM, we decided against trying to get to the other side of the river to get closer to the Niagara Falls. Instead, we had a quick snack and then turned around.
It had taken us more or less 3 hours to get to the spot where we had turned aound. Due to the sun setting just past 6 PM, we only had about 2 hours now to get back to the bus stop... Hiking around here in the dark really wouldn't have been a good idea. So even though we were extremely exhausted by now and even though we really didn't feel like taking another step, we still tried our best to get back to the bus stop as fast as possible.
On the way back, we got a little lost, too. Nevertheless, we still found our way back - we had apparently only taken some alternative paths which we hadn't seen before for some reason.
We arrived at the bus stop around 6:15 PM, which was a good time as the bus was supposed to be here at 6:29 PM. While we were waiting at the bus stop, we were helping some work and traveler from Germany whom we had seen earlier during our hike out - his phone had died.
By the time I got back home, I was freezing and really looking forward to a hot shower. After that shower, I watched some tv with Katrina.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Cookies, Beaver Lake, and Arkenham Abbey
Katrina had baked a lot of chocolate chip cookies today and last night and since she had made too many cookies, I was 'forced' to have some cookies, too. They were really good but just too tempting for me.
Iris and I both spent the morning relaxing and doing some laundry. We met around 2:30 PM in order to take a walk around Beaver / Elk Lake, where we arrived around 3:20 PM. Calling it a 'walk' might not be appropriate - the path around the whole lake was about 10 km long. We only did about 8 km, though.
It was raining most of the time, which still didn't keep us from enjoying the scenery. We chatted a lot and after a while, we also started trying to sing children's songs or to recite peoms and ballads, which was really fun.
Even though we were just walking around the lake, we somehow managed to get lost and walk in the wrong dircetion after about three quarters of the way. We realized our mistake after a few hundred meters, though.
It took us about 3 hours to get to the bus stop and by then the sun was just about to set. In fact, we were quite fortunate to arrive at the bus stop when we did because it got pretty dark pretty quickly now and finding the way in the dark would have been really tough. We still had to sit and wait for the bus for a little while, though.
It was later than we had expected when we arrived in Downtown. Thus, instead of buying ingredients to cook dinner, we went to 'Second Slice Pizza' and had two slices of pizza each. Afterwards, Iris went to the hostel and I went home in order to put on some dry clothes and to relax a little bit before leaving again.
'Mad' would probably be a good word to describe the play tonight at Craigdarroch Castle. It was called 'Arkenham Abbey' and told the story of Batman / the Nightwatchman being at the mercy of the Joker / the Fool and other insane villains. The actors were amazing, they played their roles perfectly and you had no trouble believing that they were mad. Standing right next to some of the characters like BlackJack for example was even a bit intimidating at times.
I especially enjoyed the songs they were singing. There was one song which got stuck in my head where all of the villans were laughing in a weird way in the background while the Fool was singing to the melody of their laughs.
During the play we moved around the different levels of the castle. Parts of the play took place on the stairwell while other parts were performed in a small room or a big hall. Even moving from one location to another was quite fun as the characters of the play treated us like hostages and instructed us where to move.
All things considered, I really loved the play even though I didn't know much about Batman.
Iris and I both spent the morning relaxing and doing some laundry. We met around 2:30 PM in order to take a walk around Beaver / Elk Lake, where we arrived around 3:20 PM. Calling it a 'walk' might not be appropriate - the path around the whole lake was about 10 km long. We only did about 8 km, though.
It was raining most of the time, which still didn't keep us from enjoying the scenery. We chatted a lot and after a while, we also started trying to sing children's songs or to recite peoms and ballads, which was really fun.
Even though we were just walking around the lake, we somehow managed to get lost and walk in the wrong dircetion after about three quarters of the way. We realized our mistake after a few hundred meters, though.
It took us about 3 hours to get to the bus stop and by then the sun was just about to set. In fact, we were quite fortunate to arrive at the bus stop when we did because it got pretty dark pretty quickly now and finding the way in the dark would have been really tough. We still had to sit and wait for the bus for a little while, though.
It was later than we had expected when we arrived in Downtown. Thus, instead of buying ingredients to cook dinner, we went to 'Second Slice Pizza' and had two slices of pizza each. Afterwards, Iris went to the hostel and I went home in order to put on some dry clothes and to relax a little bit before leaving again.
'Mad' would probably be a good word to describe the play tonight at Craigdarroch Castle. It was called 'Arkenham Abbey' and told the story of Batman / the Nightwatchman being at the mercy of the Joker / the Fool and other insane villains. The actors were amazing, they played their roles perfectly and you had no trouble believing that they were mad. Standing right next to some of the characters like BlackJack for example was even a bit intimidating at times.
I especially enjoyed the songs they were singing. There was one song which got stuck in my head where all of the villans were laughing in a weird way in the background while the Fool was singing to the melody of their laughs.
During the play we moved around the different levels of the castle. Parts of the play took place on the stairwell while other parts were performed in a small room or a big hall. Even moving from one location to another was quite fun as the characters of the play treated us like hostages and instructed us where to move.
All things considered, I really loved the play even though I didn't know much about Batman.
Thursday, October 20, 2016
Exploring Witty's Lagoon with Iris
The weather report for today looked good - it was only supposed to rain for two hours in the early afternoon. Thus, we decided to check out Witty's Lagoon. During the bus ride there, we saw a huge rainbow. We arrived around 12:30 PM and just when we were about to start exploring, it started to rain. That didn't keep us from enjoying the beautiful scenery, though. I was a little surprised about the height of the water of the ocean - I remembered walking on some parts of the beach the last time I was here which would have been impossible to reach now as they were covered by water.
When the rain got heavier, we hurried to get to the foresty part of the lagoon area. The trees offered at least some kind of protection. After walking for a while, the rain stopped but everything was still wet. This made the forest seem very much alive.
When we were sitting down on a bench in order to have lunch, some guy with a big black puppy came along and chatted with us for a while.
The last time I had been here, I knew that there was a waterfall but I hadn't been able to get a good picture of it. This time we were coming from the opposite direction. This way, we discovered a few different paths, which allowed us to take several great pictures of the waterfall.
We also walked to the beach area again. However, just like Gonzales Beach, everything was covered by algae and you couldn't even see the sand anymore. It was still a very nice spot to sit and enjoy the view for a while.
We arrived back at the bus stop around 4:15 PM. The bus, which usually only left once an hour, was late, so we had to wait for a long time. Since we were really exhausted, sitting in the bus on the way back Downtown was quite nice - and we were lucky to get a seat as it was quite crowded this afternoon.
In the evening, we went to the Canoe Brewpub in order to have dinner and to listen to the 'Electric Sexpanther'.Iris and I both ordered a burger and Merridale cider, which was really good. Iris even joined me on the dancefloor during the first half of the concert. She was too exhausted to dance during the second half of the concert, though - her legs hurt from walking too much during the last few days. I was also a bit exhausted so I only danced to the first few songs of the second half. Then I sat down with Iris and just listened to the music.
We left around 11:30 PM and on the way to the bus stop, we noticed some of the lights illuminating Victoria artfully by night. I took the last bus home, which left around 11:50 PM and since the hostel was very close to the bus stop, Iris could just walk there.
When the rain got heavier, we hurried to get to the foresty part of the lagoon area. The trees offered at least some kind of protection. After walking for a while, the rain stopped but everything was still wet. This made the forest seem very much alive.
When we were sitting down on a bench in order to have lunch, some guy with a big black puppy came along and chatted with us for a while.
The last time I had been here, I knew that there was a waterfall but I hadn't been able to get a good picture of it. This time we were coming from the opposite direction. This way, we discovered a few different paths, which allowed us to take several great pictures of the waterfall.
We also walked to the beach area again. However, just like Gonzales Beach, everything was covered by algae and you couldn't even see the sand anymore. It was still a very nice spot to sit and enjoy the view for a while.
We arrived back at the bus stop around 4:15 PM. The bus, which usually only left once an hour, was late, so we had to wait for a long time. Since we were really exhausted, sitting in the bus on the way back Downtown was quite nice - and we were lucky to get a seat as it was quite crowded this afternoon.
In the evening, we went to the Canoe Brewpub in order to have dinner and to listen to the 'Electric Sexpanther'.Iris and I both ordered a burger and Merridale cider, which was really good. Iris even joined me on the dancefloor during the first half of the concert. She was too exhausted to dance during the second half of the concert, though - her legs hurt from walking too much during the last few days. I was also a bit exhausted so I only danced to the first few songs of the second half. Then I sat down with Iris and just listened to the music.
We left around 11:30 PM and on the way to the bus stop, we noticed some of the lights illuminating Victoria artfully by night. I took the last bus home, which left around 11:50 PM and since the hostel was very close to the bus stop, Iris could just walk there.
Wednesday, October 19, 2016
Finnerty Gardens and Rocky Horror
The weather was supposed to be nice this morning and we wanted to take advantage of that. Thus the first thing I did with Iris was to hike up Mount Tolmie, which has a height of just 66m, in order to show her the spectacular view of Vicoria and the surrounding area from above.
Afterwards we walked to Finnerty Gardens. I felt like the Finnerty Gardens were much nicer now than they had been during my last visit in summer since there were so many colourful leaves all around us. In addition to that, we saw several deer and a really cute hummingbird while we were there.
Next, we took the bus in order to check out Gonzales Bay. As soon as we arrived there it started to rain. Nevertheless, we walked along the beach for a few minutes. There were so many algae on the beach, they almost made the beach look like grassland. In addition to that, the missing sunshine made the beach look less overwhelming in my opinion.
Afterwards we walked to Finnerty Gardens. I felt like the Finnerty Gardens were much nicer now than they had been during my last visit in summer since there were so many colourful leaves all around us. In addition to that, we saw several deer and a really cute hummingbird while we were there.
Next, we took the bus in order to check out Gonzales Bay. As soon as we arrived there it started to rain. Nevertheless, we walked along the beach for a few minutes. There were so many algae on the beach, they almost made the beach look like grassland. In addition to that, the missing sunshine made the beach look less overwhelming in my opinion.
Around 2 PM we settled down in a Starbucks in Downtown where we enjoyed a hot chocolate while playing some 'Pokemon Go'. Iris had wanted to catch a 'Tauros', which she managed to do here. While we were sitting here, several adorable sparrows were jumping all around us, hoping to get some crumbs.
I left Iris around 3 PM as I still wanted to wash my hair at home. Somewhere between Starbucks and my bus home, I managed to loose my umbrella, which was a bit annoying.
I left Iris around 3 PM as I still wanted to wash my hair at home. Somewhere between Starbucks and my bus home, I managed to loose my umbrella, which was a bit annoying.
While I was waiting for my hair to dry, I watched the US presidential debate with Katrina and Tuulia.
Later that evening, I wanted to go to the 'Rocky Horros Show' with Tuulia and Iris. Tuulia and I were supposed to meet Iris at the theatre. Unfortunately, our bus left too early so that we ended up waiting 20 minutes at the bus stop. We still made it in time, though.
The 'Rocky Horros Show' was absurd and fascinating. Iris had bought us a 'goodie bag', which contained - among other things - a sponge, bubbles, a glove, a card, a balloon and a glow stick. We were supposed to use those items at certain times during the show but it was just impossible to find the right timing. Consequently, the audience didn't really participate as planned. Apart from that, the show was really captivating in a disturbing kind of way. The costumes were provocative, sexy and surprising. The actors were convincingly queer and their songs were very entertaining. Iris called the whole thing 'awesome awkward sexy', which described it perfectly.
After the show, Iris and I went to the hostel where we had dinner while listening to the artists of the 'Open Mic' night.
Later that evening, I wanted to go to the 'Rocky Horros Show' with Tuulia and Iris. Tuulia and I were supposed to meet Iris at the theatre. Unfortunately, our bus left too early so that we ended up waiting 20 minutes at the bus stop. We still made it in time, though.
The 'Rocky Horros Show' was absurd and fascinating. Iris had bought us a 'goodie bag', which contained - among other things - a sponge, bubbles, a glove, a card, a balloon and a glow stick. We were supposed to use those items at certain times during the show but it was just impossible to find the right timing. Consequently, the audience didn't really participate as planned. Apart from that, the show was really captivating in a disturbing kind of way. The costumes were provocative, sexy and surprising. The actors were convincingly queer and their songs were very entertaining. Iris called the whole thing 'awesome awkward sexy', which described it perfectly.
After the show, Iris and I went to the hostel where we had dinner while listening to the artists of the 'Open Mic' night.
Tuesday, October 18, 2016
The Lighthouse and 'The Girl on the Train'
Even through the sky was grey and it was still raining a bit this morning, I went with Iris on a trip to the Fisgard Lighthouse and by the time we arrived, it had stopped raining. Since we went there during the off-season, we didn't even have to pay an entrance fee this time. However, the exhibitions were closed. We didn't mind, though, since we didn't come to see the exhibitions anyway - we were more interested in the beautiful nature and the amazing scenery all around us.
Right after we arrived at the fort and checked out the battery, we discovered two deer and a lot of geese. After they had fled, we walked around the fort area for a while. It seemed amazing how many birds lived in the trees in this area; we could hear them sing their songs all the time. We took several short but a little more remote and challenging paths in order to get better views of the ocean. All the while, we kept walking closer to the lighthouse. When we found a spot where we could see the lighthouse as well as the beach, the ocean, and the faraway city, we decided to sit down and have some lunch. Our lunch mainly consisted of a salad which we had bought at the supermarket the day before. By now, the sun was even showing sometimes and thus the water of the ocean was sparkling in the light of the sun.
After lunch, we walked to the lighthouse. Unfortunately, we couldn't go into the lighthouse and we also couldn't look around the lighthouse for too long as there was some filming going on.
On the way back to the bus stop we saw another deer - this time it was definitly a male one. It was walking quite close to the road, which worried us since it was almost running into a passing car a few times. Luckily, nothing happened and the deer even stood still for us to take pictures.
Back Downtown, I went with Iris to some store we had seen the day before. Here, she bought a 'Pusheen the cat' plushie, which was really cute. Then, we went to my place and stayed there for a little bit.
In the evening, Katrina went with Iris and me as well as with Tuulia to the Silvercity cinema where we watched 'The Girl on the Train', a really interesting but quite confusing movie.
Right after we arrived at the fort and checked out the battery, we discovered two deer and a lot of geese. After they had fled, we walked around the fort area for a while. It seemed amazing how many birds lived in the trees in this area; we could hear them sing their songs all the time. We took several short but a little more remote and challenging paths in order to get better views of the ocean. All the while, we kept walking closer to the lighthouse. When we found a spot where we could see the lighthouse as well as the beach, the ocean, and the faraway city, we decided to sit down and have some lunch. Our lunch mainly consisted of a salad which we had bought at the supermarket the day before. By now, the sun was even showing sometimes and thus the water of the ocean was sparkling in the light of the sun.
After lunch, we walked to the lighthouse. Unfortunately, we couldn't go into the lighthouse and we also couldn't look around the lighthouse for too long as there was some filming going on.
On the way back to the bus stop we saw another deer - this time it was definitly a male one. It was walking quite close to the road, which worried us since it was almost running into a passing car a few times. Luckily, nothing happened and the deer even stood still for us to take pictures.
Back Downtown, I went with Iris to some store we had seen the day before. Here, she bought a 'Pusheen the cat' plushie, which was really cute. Then, we went to my place and stayed there for a little bit.
In the evening, Katrina went with Iris and me as well as with Tuulia to the Silvercity cinema where we watched 'The Girl on the Train', a really interesting but quite confusing movie.
Monday, October 17, 2016
Showing some of my favourite spots to Iris
I met Iris at the hostel around 11 AM and even though it was raining a little bit, we decided to take a walk so that she would get a few first impressions of Victoria.
We started by walking through Chinatown. As we passed a few of the 'hands of time' on our way, I told Iris about them and we decided to try and find all of them (or rather just take pictures of all of them since I already knew their exact locations). Thus, we ended up walking along the harbour in the direction of Beacon Hill Park.
After we found the statue of a hand located in Beacon Hill Park, I wanted to show Iris my favourite little beach, which was located South of the park. While walking down the stairs to that beach, I slipped and hurt my arm a little bit by holding on to the handrail, which was just a bit annoying so I mostly ignored it. Even though it was still raining, the rather remote beach was really impressive.
We still saw and took pictures of a lot of squirrels and ducks on the way back through the park. By the time we arrived in Downtown Victoria, it had more or less stopped raining and I was showing Iris the gift store where I had worked.
As it was already 2 PM, we decided to go to the Bay Centre to have some lunch. As poutine was the most Canadian dish I knew, we decided to have some for lunch. Just like me, Iris felt like poutine tasted a lot better than it looked (which really isn't that hard considering that it looked gross). Afterwards, I really felt like eating some ice cream so we went to a nearby ice cream shop where we both had a cone of ice cream with two flavours and a lot of toppings (like strawberries, brownies and coconot macaroons).
Next, we decided to take advantage of the good weather and walked to the hand furthest away from Downtown Victoria. To do that, we had to cross the bridge to Esquimalt and then walk along the harbour shore for a while, which offered really nice views of the harbour. The hand we found at the end of our walk was the 11th statue of the 12 statues of hands in the set. As the weather was still really nice and the sky was starting to look more beautiful every minute, we decided to do another short trip.
While Iris and I were chatting about our plan for tomorrow, it became obvious that I wasn't really used to long conversations in German anymore and that I had started to mix up a lot of German and English words - the best example being 'Leuchthaus' instead of 'Leuchtturm' (German) or 'Lighthouse' (English).
We took a bus to the University and there, I walked with Iris through Mystic Vale. Just like me, she loved this huge forest right next to the University of Victoria.
On the way back to the hostel, we stopped at Save on foods so that Iris could buy some snacks. I helped her bring her bags back to the hostel. After arriving there, the two of us still played some 'Pokemon Go' before I left in order to give Iris a chance to get some more sleep.
Back at home, I took a shower and then watched some 'Suits' and 'Better Things' with Katrina.
We started by walking through Chinatown. As we passed a few of the 'hands of time' on our way, I told Iris about them and we decided to try and find all of them (or rather just take pictures of all of them since I already knew their exact locations). Thus, we ended up walking along the harbour in the direction of Beacon Hill Park.
After we found the statue of a hand located in Beacon Hill Park, I wanted to show Iris my favourite little beach, which was located South of the park. While walking down the stairs to that beach, I slipped and hurt my arm a little bit by holding on to the handrail, which was just a bit annoying so I mostly ignored it. Even though it was still raining, the rather remote beach was really impressive.
We still saw and took pictures of a lot of squirrels and ducks on the way back through the park. By the time we arrived in Downtown Victoria, it had more or less stopped raining and I was showing Iris the gift store where I had worked.
As it was already 2 PM, we decided to go to the Bay Centre to have some lunch. As poutine was the most Canadian dish I knew, we decided to have some for lunch. Just like me, Iris felt like poutine tasted a lot better than it looked (which really isn't that hard considering that it looked gross). Afterwards, I really felt like eating some ice cream so we went to a nearby ice cream shop where we both had a cone of ice cream with two flavours and a lot of toppings (like strawberries, brownies and coconot macaroons).
Next, we decided to take advantage of the good weather and walked to the hand furthest away from Downtown Victoria. To do that, we had to cross the bridge to Esquimalt and then walk along the harbour shore for a while, which offered really nice views of the harbour. The hand we found at the end of our walk was the 11th statue of the 12 statues of hands in the set. As the weather was still really nice and the sky was starting to look more beautiful every minute, we decided to do another short trip.
While Iris and I were chatting about our plan for tomorrow, it became obvious that I wasn't really used to long conversations in German anymore and that I had started to mix up a lot of German and English words - the best example being 'Leuchthaus' instead of 'Leuchtturm' (German) or 'Lighthouse' (English).
We took a bus to the University and there, I walked with Iris through Mystic Vale. Just like me, she loved this huge forest right next to the University of Victoria.
On the way back to the hostel, we stopped at Save on foods so that Iris could buy some snacks. I helped her bring her bags back to the hostel. After arriving there, the two of us still played some 'Pokemon Go' before I left in order to give Iris a chance to get some more sleep.
Back at home, I took a shower and then watched some 'Suits' and 'Better Things' with Katrina.
Sunday, October 16, 2016
Background Music - Part 4
Since today was my last day at work, I thought it might be nice to dedicate another post to the music I had to listen to at work every day.
My last shift wasn't really that exciting - in fact it was a little boring as there were almost no customers again. I didn't really feel like cleaning the shelves on my last day, so I pretty much did nothing during the last 3 hours of my 7.25 hour shift except for chatting with Grace and listening to music.
Serena Ryder - Heavy Love
Marianas Trench - One Love
One Republic - Counting Stars
James Bay - Let it go
Barenaked Ladies - Odds are
Fun. - We are young
Ariana Grande - Into You
Train - Drops of Jupiter
Calvin Harris - This is what you came for
One Direction - Night changes
Alessia Cara - Wild Things
Tyler Shaw - House of Cards
Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams
Serena Ryder - Got your Number
This evening, Iris arrived in Victoria after a long flight and ferry ride. I had wanted to join her in the bus a few bus stops North of the Ocean Island Inn. Unfortunately, I just missed her bus. Thus we eventually met at the bus stop close to the hostel. I brought her to the hostel and then spent about an hour there before taking a bus home.
My last shift wasn't really that exciting - in fact it was a little boring as there were almost no customers again. I didn't really feel like cleaning the shelves on my last day, so I pretty much did nothing during the last 3 hours of my 7.25 hour shift except for chatting with Grace and listening to music.
Serena Ryder - Heavy Love
Marianas Trench - One Love
One Republic - Counting Stars
James Bay - Let it go
Barenaked Ladies - Odds are
Fun. - We are young
Ariana Grande - Into You
Train - Drops of Jupiter
Calvin Harris - This is what you came for
One Direction - Night changes
Alessia Cara - Wild Things
Tyler Shaw - House of Cards
Taylor Swift - Wildest Dreams
Serena Ryder - Got your Number
This evening, Iris arrived in Victoria after a long flight and ferry ride. I had wanted to join her in the bus a few bus stops North of the Ocean Island Inn. Unfortunately, I just missed her bus. Thus we eventually met at the bus stop close to the hostel. I brought her to the hostel and then spent about an hour there before taking a bus home.
Saturday, October 15, 2016
My second to last day at work
Today, I only had to start working at 5:30 PM so I could spend the morning and afternoon relaxing at home. This gave me the chance to read a little bit more of the book 'Firesong', the third and last book of the series I have been reading here.
I already left for work around 4 PM for several reasons: On the one hand side there was supposed to be a 'Zombie Walk' in Downtown Victoria which I really wanted to see. Unfortunately, I only saw about three people running around the streets with zombie make-up and torn clothes. This was probably due to the weather - it was raining and quite windy outside.
On the other hand side I wanted to pay 'Overboard' a quick visit to find out what to do with my key for that store. While being there, I also chatted a little bit with Jennifer.
My third reason for being early today was that I wanted to buy a t-shirt - I just didn't know which one yet. Consequently, I collected all of the t-shirts in the store that I found remotely interesting in order to try them on. It took me about 20 minutes to decide on a shirt. After buying that shirt, I had to start working right away and I spent about the first 20 minutes of my shift cleaning up the mess I had made trying all these shirts on.
It was only Grace and me working this evening. Grace told me about a baileys and almond liqueur which Kate had brought to the store to celebrate her last day. Grace said that she was a little drunk because of it and that her face had been red right after drinking the liqueur. It sounded kind of fun and when Grace offered that I should go and try the drink as well, I didn't hesitate.
Since we barely had any customers this evening, I checked out some lucky charm tokens and decided to buy two of them. I wasn't really supposed to leave my side of the store but since there was no customer around, I quickly went to Grace's side to have her sell the items to me. Just when the transaction was finished, the phone started to ring and both of us were kind of paranoid, thinking that there had been someone watching us and was now calling to tell us off. As it turned out, it was just a coworker who called to ask something but the whole situation was kind of funny.
So even though it wasn't really busy at the store today, it was still an entertaining and kind of unusual shift.
When I got home around 9:45 PM, I still watched two episodes of 'Suits' with Katrina before going to bed.
I already left for work around 4 PM for several reasons: On the one hand side there was supposed to be a 'Zombie Walk' in Downtown Victoria which I really wanted to see. Unfortunately, I only saw about three people running around the streets with zombie make-up and torn clothes. This was probably due to the weather - it was raining and quite windy outside.
On the other hand side I wanted to pay 'Overboard' a quick visit to find out what to do with my key for that store. While being there, I also chatted a little bit with Jennifer.
My third reason for being early today was that I wanted to buy a t-shirt - I just didn't know which one yet. Consequently, I collected all of the t-shirts in the store that I found remotely interesting in order to try them on. It took me about 20 minutes to decide on a shirt. After buying that shirt, I had to start working right away and I spent about the first 20 minutes of my shift cleaning up the mess I had made trying all these shirts on.
It was only Grace and me working this evening. Grace told me about a baileys and almond liqueur which Kate had brought to the store to celebrate her last day. Grace said that she was a little drunk because of it and that her face had been red right after drinking the liqueur. It sounded kind of fun and when Grace offered that I should go and try the drink as well, I didn't hesitate.
Since we barely had any customers this evening, I checked out some lucky charm tokens and decided to buy two of them. I wasn't really supposed to leave my side of the store but since there was no customer around, I quickly went to Grace's side to have her sell the items to me. Just when the transaction was finished, the phone started to ring and both of us were kind of paranoid, thinking that there had been someone watching us and was now calling to tell us off. As it turned out, it was just a coworker who called to ask something but the whole situation was kind of funny.
So even though it wasn't really busy at the store today, it was still an entertaining and kind of unusual shift.
When I got home around 9:45 PM, I still watched two episodes of 'Suits' with Katrina before going to bed.
Friday, October 14, 2016
Baking plum cakes
Today was a really rainy and windy day. Thus I didn't mind spending most of the day inside baking plum cake. I managed to make three plum cakes - two small ones that I would take to work and a big one I would share with everyone living in the house.
When I was done baking, I read a little bit before going to work. I went there early since I still had to pick up my paycheck. Work was extremely boring this evening. I was working from 5:30 PM to 9:15 PM and there were almost no customers. Apart from that there was nothing that needed to be done. Consequently, we even closed 5 minutes early.
When I got home, I had another piece of cake with some vanilla ice cream which Katrina had bought (this combination is amazing). Then I chatted a little bit with Tuulia before going to bed in order to read some more.
When I was done baking, I read a little bit before going to work. I went there early since I still had to pick up my paycheck. Work was extremely boring this evening. I was working from 5:30 PM to 9:15 PM and there were almost no customers. Apart from that there was nothing that needed to be done. Consequently, we even closed 5 minutes early.
When I got home, I had another piece of cake with some vanilla ice cream which Katrina had bought (this combination is amazing). Then I chatted a little bit with Tuulia before going to bed in order to read some more.
Thursday, October 13, 2016
The start of my last week at the gift store
My 8 hour work shift today was rather boring. We barely had any customers and apart from refolding t-shirts and delinting caps, there was nothing to do. However, I did find out that this was my last week at the gift store, which was a bit surprising to me since I had expected to work there at least one more week.
On my way home, I had to stop at the bakery in order to pick up some bread which I had ordered there yesterday. It had been raining all day already so walking to the bakery wasn't very fun. In addition to that I was quite exhausted from work and just getting up early so many days in a row. Thus, I was happy when I was sitting on the bus going home.
I had wanted to bake some cake or something for my last day at work but I fet like my time was running out now as I wouldn't see some of my coworkers again after tomorrow. Thus, I decided to go and buy the ingredients for a cake this evening. Katrina was so kind to drive me to the supermarket where I got the plums I was still missing. We also stopped at two liquor stores, where she got some boxed wine and I got a Merridale cider - my favourite brand.
As I didn't want to bake the cake today, I spent the evening watching tv shows with Katrina again.
On my way home, I had to stop at the bakery in order to pick up some bread which I had ordered there yesterday. It had been raining all day already so walking to the bakery wasn't very fun. In addition to that I was quite exhausted from work and just getting up early so many days in a row. Thus, I was happy when I was sitting on the bus going home.
I had wanted to bake some cake or something for my last day at work but I fet like my time was running out now as I wouldn't see some of my coworkers again after tomorrow. Thus, I decided to go and buy the ingredients for a cake this evening. Katrina was so kind to drive me to the supermarket where I got the plums I was still missing. We also stopped at two liquor stores, where she got some boxed wine and I got a Merridale cider - my favourite brand.
As I didn't want to bake the cake today, I spent the evening watching tv shows with Katrina again.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Leaving Calgary and arriving in Victoria
I took a short walk to Chinatown and then back to the hostel along the Bow River in order to get a few more impressions of Calgary this morning. I didn't have too much time, though, since I had to check out before 11 AM. In general I liked Calgary but I felt like there were just too many construction sites all over the city.
While going to the airport by bus, I could see the Rockies in the background behind Calgary. At first I was surprised by that as I hadn't seen any mountains when I arrived here. Then I reasoned that this was due to the sky being so grey and cloudy that day - the white mountains hadn't been able to stand out that way.
The Calgary airport is a lot bigger and harder to navigate than the Victoria airport. I also had to wait a lot longer for the security check. But that was ok since I had been at the airport very early anyway.
I tried a Chicken sandwich from Tim Hortons for lunch and it was actually quite good.
The Calgary airport is a lot bigger and harder to navigate than the Victoria airport. I also had to wait a lot longer for the security check. But that was ok since I had been at the airport very early anyway.
I tried a Chicken sandwich from Tim Hortons for lunch and it was actually quite good.
The guy sitting next to me on the plane introduced himself with 'Hi, I'm your next door neighbour, David'. He immediately loved my response that there was no door between us. We chatted during the whole flight, which was really nice. He was originally from the Caribbean but had been living here in Canada for 50 years. By now he had a huge family with 16 grandchildren and he loved Canada just like me.
The plane landed just past 2 PM. I loved being back in Victoria. Especially the slightly salty smell of the air was just amazing.
The bus ride home was quite long but I was used to that by now. Since I also picked up some groceries on the way home, it was past 5 PM when I arrived.
At home I did my laundry, took a shower, unpacked, and cooked some healthy dinner. I then spent the evening watching 'Suits' with Katrina.
The bus ride home was quite long but I was used to that by now. Since I also picked up some groceries on the way home, it was past 5 PM when I arrived.
At home I did my laundry, took a shower, unpacked, and cooked some healthy dinner. I then spent the evening watching 'Suits' with Katrina.
Tuesday, October 11, 2016
Spotting wildlife and more around Banff
I got up early this morning in order to check out the place Cody had shown us for seeing elk. It was about a 30 minute hike from the hostel. I knew that I would have a better chance if I arrived early but I only managed to leave the hostel at 9 AM. I still hoped that this would be early enough. At first I couldn't see any elk but that was due to their color blending in with the surrounding vegetation. When I got a little closer there were at least 20 elk. There was one male elk with extremely big antlers and the rest of them were female. Apparently I wasn't the only one who came to that spot in order to see elk - there were two older people who were taking pictures as well. They advised me not to get too close as the male elk can be dangerous but I already knew that. After a few minutes the elk herd started retreating.
I decided to keep walking and a few minutes later, I also saw two deer - a male and a female one. There was a 'Marsh Loop' a bit further down the road. It was a nice 2.3 km hike close to the Bow River and offered some nice views of the scenery and surrounding mountains. The only annoying thing was that the trail was also used by horses and very muddy. So walking there wasn't too nice even though the mud was mostly frozen.
Shortly before I reached the end of the trail, I saw an extremely cute squirrel which was carrying a big nut in his mouth.
Shortly before I reached the end of the trail, I saw an extremely cute squirrel which was carrying a big nut in his mouth.
Next I arrived at the 'Cave and Basin' a National Historic Sight. Unfortunately, it turned out to be closed today. Consequently, I couldn't enter the cave. However, I could still walk on two broadwalks that lead me around the site. That way, I could see 'the Basin', a natural hot spring pool, as well as several holes in the ground filled with hot water. The natural hot springs emerging in that area were filling up those water basins. Furthermore, they were flowwing down into the marshland and creating a unique ecosystem that offered many warm loving species a habitat. I didn't stay close to the springs for too long, though, as they were smelling like sulphur, which wasn't a nice smell.
The second broadwalk lead me through the marshland and offered a few chances to see and find out about the birds and fish living there.
When I had seen everything I could see in that area today, I decided to walk back in the direction of Banff.
I arrived back in Downtown Banff around half past noon and against my better judgement, I decided to walk to and then try and climb the local 'Tunnel Mountain'. I was already exhausted, so I wasn't sure if I could do it. However, I still had a few hours until my bus was supposed to arrive so I thought this was a good activity to fill the time. The trail wasn't too hard but as it was going uphill the whole time, it was still very exhausting. The view I had on the way was well worth it, though. After about 3/4 of the way, I saw the cutest chipmunk. It was running around really quickly and eating some buds, which was just adorable to watch. When I reached the top just before 2 PM, I was extremely proud that I did it. After a really short break, I climbed back down, which only took 35 minutes now.
On the way to the Samesun hostel, I stopped at the supermarket to get a late lunch snack. I only picked up my suitcase at the hostel and then walked to the Greyhound bus station, where I arrived around 4 PM.
My bus was supposed to leave at 5:35 PM. After waiting until around 6 PM, I was told that the bus had broken down in Lake Louise and they would send another bus from Calgary, which would take another 1.5 hours. So I had to keep waiting even longer.
As we were still waiting by 7:30 PM, the bus driver brought donuts and muffins for everyone.
The bus finally arrived at 8:30 PM but it still took a little while until it left Banff: The 9 PM bus would only make it here around 4 AM due to the highway being closed off. Thus we were waiting for potential passengers of that bus as well.
I arrived in Calgary around 10:30 PM and then still had to get to the hostel. Getting from the Greyhound station to the tram stop was kind of tricky and I was quite sure I took a path I wasn't supposed to take but at least I got there somehow. Getting to the hostel from the tram stop was easy and I arrived just around 11:15 PM.
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