That is Canada how I imagined it "Hello Vancouver!"

Finally I arrived after 3 days in Vancouver. I took the bus from Toronto. It was 5.30 am and I was quite tired. I knew that my hostel has a 24 hour reception which was great and I took a taxi to it.

I just wanted to have a shower and couldn't proper think. After a great shower in my hostel and nice breakfast I went to the Jericho beach and just enjoyed the beauty around me. Yes, I did alright.

Vancouver mirrored for me the image I had about Canada: lots of nature. I have to admit that I didn't know there was a beach. Not only one.

Vancouver has lots of varieties. There are beaches, a Hippie beach, forests, mountains to hike, downtown with lots of shopping possibilities, vintage stores, vintage bookstores, Chinatown etc. etc. It is also very clean. Almost too clean.

I met in my hostel very nice people like two Germans (by the way there are a lot of Germans...), a guy from Wales and a French-Canadian who juggled with fire things which was cool or rather hot and created a nice Hippie atmosphere.

Hippie atmosphere at Wreck Beach - the nude beach in Vancouver.

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Finally I can hear myself breathing

After my shower and breakfast I went to the beach where I just sat down and enjoyed. It was around 7.30 am and I was almost alone there. I just enjoyed the silence and could hear myself breathing.

Well, in Toronto it was quite difficult to find a place where I could meditate because it was almost everywhere noisy.

My hostel was also very calm and relaxed with nice people.

Beach, mountains and the skyline of downtown. That is Vancouver.

Brave young man

I don't know for how long I sat there but after a while some people came to take a bath in the sea.

One tall, young blonde guy came around with a German accent, put his belongings beside me and asked me if I could mind his stuff. Of course. When he came back he started talking to me. Well, the only problem was that I was just badly tired...

It turned out that he was also from Germany. He was quite young but I found it very brave and cool that he talked to me. I said that to him as well and said that he should continue that because women like it. Well, I like it...

He was in the same hostel as I was and actually during my stay in Vancouver we got along pretty well. I liked his humor and could quite good talk with him. I remember when we did the laundry and he said to me: "Well you can also just take the detergent from the housekeepers." "Ah it is for free?" "No, but when they are not there..." He looked just so innocent and than that. I couldn't stop laughing.

He also had a work and holiday visa like me and was quite relaxed, never stressed and didn't plan to far but in the end everything worked out for him.

Tomboy dream team

Well, in my hostel I met also a very cool and brave girl from Germany with who I also got along pretty well. She and I had some things in common from music, to travel over braveness. She traveled the world and was before in South America etc.

I think we both were a quite cool team together. Probably a bit crazy and would push each other but it would be fun. Two tomboys together :-). Actually from her I got some advice where I could improve my Spanish and it would be a great time: Mexico instead of Chile.

I will see where I'll get leaded...

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Disturbing during meditation

A couple of days later I was meditating at the beach because in the afternoon I had an interview for a job in September and I wanted to go there relaxed.

Suddenly an elder guy came over to me.

"Are you meditating?!"
"Ehmmm, yes." Oh no, that could take some time...
"Ah cool I am also interested in meditation!" Shouldn't you know then that it means no interruption...
"Ah ok." I just sat there hoped he would go. But...
"Today is my day off. Therefore I am here at the beach. Do you live here?"
"No, I go tomorrow to Whistler." It was true.
"Ah ok. Do want to drink a coffee with me? Today or tomorrow?"
"Ehm, sorry but I have to pack today and like I said tomorrow I will leave." Hmm, tough nut.
"Ok... I'll give you my number." He wrote down his number and passed it to me. So it was high time to say something which was polite but clear...
I said: "Thank you. Well, I don't want to be impolite but I really would like to continue now my meditation because I have an interview later and I want to go there relaxed. So goodbye and maybe see you later."

So he went. Well, interesting... Apart from the naked guy in Ireland who came to me during meditation this was also quite strange.

I'm hungry!

For prevention...

By the way the interview went quite good but they needed someone immediately. The friendly Human Resource Manger obviously liked me and wanted to check another place if I can start there in September.

Before the interview I ate a cookie which turned later out was a big mistake... My insulin went down and after the interview I had such an appetite that I could eat a cow.

The next bus back to my hostel needed quite long so I decided to drop off at the supermarket which was a 20 minutes walk away from my hostel and looked for something I could eat. I couldn't find something like a sandwich or what every and all other products where in big packages...

I looked around and the next thing I saw was a small and cheap package of Frankfurter sausages... I bought them and I opened greedy the package outside the shop but hidden in a plastic bag and ate the first ones. I think it looked very awkward to the people around me but I didn't care because I was in the eating mode...

Later I was full and couldn't believe that I ate this disgusting things but in the moment they were just great :-). I later told my German friend the story and he couldn't stop laughing.

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Bicycle tour through Vancouver

One day I hired a bicycle and discovered Vancouver. It was really nice. I was lucky again and got a new bicycle because all others were out.

The young Latino guy in the shop put a basket on it by passing me his muesli bar to held it for a minute. We both were laughing as if it was the normal thing in the world to held the muesli bar or as if we were old friends. :-)

So my tour could start. It was actually a quite busy day because it was a holiday and obviously everyone got the great idea to rent a bicycle. That means if someone on the narrow paths got an accident or stopped it caused a traffic jam or even the next accident...

Even for a Muensterraner like me it was quite challenging to ride among all kind of levels: From people how know a bicycle just from their childhood and some pros.

Here are some nice impressions I took during my tour.

Start of my tour.

"Under the bridge Downtown..."

Harbor in Vancouver

Being in balance. I still have to check out what that means. I saw this kind
of stone sculptures also in Toronto.

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Hippie atmosphere in Vancouver

Vancouver is quite a relaxed city in comparison to other big cities I visited so far. I don't know it is the nature around or the open secret Hippie area. What does that mean?

Well, in Vancouver there is the so-called Wreck Beach which you reach by looking for a small way with lots of steps through the forest. It is a very beautiful way but the way upstairs is very exhausting...

When you got there you feel like being in another world... It is a nude beach by the way but that shouldn't be that surprising.

An own world

I went there one day and I was amazed that I found this own world.

First what I saw was lots of naked and relaxed people. I noticed the strong and sweet smell of cannabis in the air and a shop which sold blankets and clothes with Indian pattern. There were also two police officers beside a guy who looked a bit mental... The police officers were quite relaxed and friendly with the guy.

Hippie atmosphere and Indian stuff to buy.
I bought one blanket, of course :-).

"Beer, Cider, mushrooms..."

There were also some guys (naked of course) who went around and sold some beverages and other things: "Cider, Coke, Beer..." Cool! Here it was obviously fine to drink alcohol in the public and the police didn't care. Great. "Mushrooms..."

Have I got that right?! Magic mushrooms at the beach... well that explained the mental guy gathered by the police officers. I think my fantasy is too weird for something like that. I would probably end up like the poor guy...

I spent the whole afternoon at Wreck Beach, got a sunburn because I was convinced that I wouldn't need to use sun creme due to Spain...

Adapting to the Hippie atmosphere. I felt very comfortable there.

Continuing the Hippie style

When I came back to my hostel I met my German friends and the guy from Wales and the one from Quebec. The guy from Wales worked in Vancouver as a kind of lumber jack and cut trees etc.

The French-Canadian was looking for work but his plan was to go to Whistler. Like me in a couple of days to start my newWorkaway job.

He could also juggle and tried it with fire which was quite cool or rather hot and impressive. So the Hippie atmosphere continued :-).

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Worth to see with lots of different impressions

Yes I really liked to be in Vancouver. I spent 5 days there and I was happy that I went there and discovered the city. In between I had an phone interview for a job in a winter resort which sounded quite good. Yes, at that time I was very convinced to work in a winter resort and focused to find a job there. I imagined it at that time very cool to snowboard a lot etc.

Even I was a bit fed up to snowboard every day during my last winter vacations... Hmmm.

Next destination: Whistler

I took again a Greyhound bus to Whistler which just lasted two hours ;-). There I started my next job in a lodge. My host wrote me during my time in Spain if I could come around for 3 weeks. I could and it suited me very well to go there because everyone told me before that British Columbia is nice.

Read next time about how I went kayaking, did a downhill mountain bike course for girls, tried to sail with a Swiss friend, met some snakes and had a reunion with my friends from my hostel in Vancouver.

Thank you for reading my story and see you next time :-).