Alexaway - Endlich Kanada! :)

I'm just always ending up being back in Vancouver! 😀
This time I came back for the Canada Day and to see my friends again.
Canada Day in Vancouver was awesome! It's so amazing how proud the Canadians are for their country! There was a big festivals at Canada Place and downtown. A lot of music, food trucks, stuff to buy, shows and in the evening there was a firework! I spent the day with 2 friends and just enjoyed being there :)

This time I stayed in Vancouver for 2 weeks. It already feels like home here! I spent a lot of time riding my bike around Vancouver, went hiking, met some germans, went to a few festivals and all together just really enjoyed my time here!

What happens if you don't write your blog regularly? You forgot what you did! So I remember I've been to Tofino and it's a pretty nice litte town. If you're into water sports you can have a great time there. But you need a lot of money for that! Tofino is crazy expensive! You can do a lot of stuff like stand up paddling, kajaking, whale watching and so on, but I couldn't afford doing all that. So I did what I'm best in and what's for free: Biking! 😀 The area around Tofino is nice to see. But I only spent two days there and it was enough for me.

One evening we went to the Tofino Brewing Company and had a little beer tasting! That was funny!

So all together, I had a nice time in Tofino!
Oh and the directions to the Hostel were nice: "Go west to the end of Canada, then turn left!" 😀

After staying one week in Victoria I really wanted to see something more of the Island. And of course there is no better way then exploring the area with my bike! I heard of the Rotary Route (Victoria - Nanaimo) and decided pretty fast that I want to do that! This route (from my Hostel in Victoria to my Hostel in Nanaimo) is approximately 120 km long, that would be my longest Bike Tour on one day! And I have to go back the whole way on the next day. But I was looking for a challenge and there it was!

So I booked the Hostel in Nanaimo for one night, left all my stuff in the Hostel in Victoria and jumped Saturday morning at 6:30 on my bike! I was so motivated that I was pretty fast. After about one hour I had to catch a ferry and I made it to catch the first one at 7:30!

The guy who was working on the ferry asked me where I'm going today, so I told him about my plans to bike to Nanaimo. He was more than surprised (apparently there are not a lot of girls from Germany doing that haha) and offered me coffee and tea. I just love these Canadians - they are all so friendly!
35 minutes later I jumped on my bike again and passed some really nice landscapes - some parts of the road where directly at the water, some in the middle of the forest, some in little towns...

I had a lot of fun the first hours, unfortunately (what I didn't know before) this route is all the way uphill and downhill. That really kills you! It started to get really exhausting, but because I'm getting really competitive as soon as I'm on my bike I just kept going as fast as possible 😀

When I finally arrived in Nanaimo at about 2:30pm I was more than happy! The first thing I did in Nanaimo was jumping in my bed haha! There were 2 girls in my room and they asked me if I want to join them on a multi-cultural festival. My legs yelled at me that they don't want to move any more but my stomach yelled even louder that he needs food. So I tried to move my body out the bed again and walked to the festival with the others. I was so raddeld! So we went to the first food truck and as I just ordered my food there was an guy next to me saying he would like to pay for my food 😀 First I refused it but he really wanted to do it so I gave in. The foodlady was smiling, looked at me and said she thinks that I need a more rice and gave me an extra big portion! 😀 That was the next example that Canadians are just awesome!

After eating I felt even more tired so I went back to the Hostel and had a little nap for a few hours. Then I forced myself to get up again and walk around the city so that I see at least a little bit from Nanaimo. The area around the harbour was really nice!

In the evening I went to bed pretty early because I wanted to leave Nanaimo on the next morning at 6:30 again. My body felt so sore in the morning but I had no other opportunity than getting back on my bike.
The weather on Sunday was way better than on Saturday and so I had even more fun! Because I knew where I had to go, I was also faster on my way back. Unfortunately I missed the ferry and Mill Bay because I didn't check the schedule and so I had to wait for 2.5 hours! So I had to lay at the water and wait for the ferry. I wanted to cool my legs a little bit so I walked in the water but the whole ground was full of crabs! So I was pretty fast out of the water again 😀

When I finally arrived back in Victoria I was physically dead but happy! I made 240km in 2 days with a 50$ bike! 😀

After walking with all my stuff from the Hostel in Vancouver to the Skytrain, then to bus and then finally to the ferry station I had a really nice ferry trip. From Vancouver to Victoria it takes you about 1.5 hours and you pass a lot of little and beautiful islands! All together it took me forever to get to the Hostel in Victoria, I arrived in the early evening. After a short walk and grab something to eat I went to bed pretty early. The next day started with a little sightseeing tour around downtown and the harbour. Victoria is such a nice little city!

On my first day in the evening I bought a bicycle in Victoria! 50$ for a nice mountain bike! Awesome deal! I'm sure the bike is not the best one but it works and thats perfect!

On Wednesday the Hostel organized a trip to Mount Douglas which was more a walking tour than a hiking tour but it was funny to meet all the other people from the Hostel and we had a great view from the top!

Actually, when I arrived in Victoria I was planning to stay there for 3 days... Well I ended up spending a whole week there because it was so nice! The Hostel was great and especially the people there were awesome!
We spent one day in the Butcharts Garden, which is really big and nice.

I met Janna in Kelowna, she's from Germany, too and we decided to travel to Vancouver together. For me it was almost like coming home. My whole journey started in Vancouver and it was so nice to back there! I'm really in love with that city!
I spent almost all the time there with Janna, we went to the beach, walked around Downtown and visited the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.

Janna and I split up in Vancouver because she was going to Seattle and I headed to Vancouver Island. See you in Germany crazy Girl! :)

After all the hiking around Banff, Lake Louise and Field I went to Kelowna on my own. I didn't know anything about this little city when I arrived there and I ended up having a few great days there! Kelowna is located in the okanagan valley directly at the lake. It is best known for all its wineries. Although I don't drink wine and I'm not really interested in wineries, I rented a bike and went for a great tour around this beautiful area!

After the bike tour I went for a little hike on the Knox Mountain. It took me only 1 hour to get to a nice viewpoint. On the way up there I saw a snake! Still not a bear but I'm getting closer!! 😉

The city on its own is nothing really special. But when you take your time to discover the area around it you'll have an awesome time in Kelowna!

After leaving the Ranch I went very spontaneously to Banff. I heard a lot of good things about this town so I decided to stay there for two nights. All the hostels were pretty busy so I was happy that I found a bed at all! Banff is really cute! It takes you about 15 minutes to walk from one side of the town to the other one. All together it's very touristic there but what am I supposed to say - I'm a tourist, too! 😀

Banff is perfect for going for a hike! There are a lot of trails around. Unfortunately it was pouring raining when I arrived in Banff so I only had one day for hiking! But this day was just perfect! We went up the Sulphur Mountain which took us about 1,5 hours. From the top you have a stunning view over Banff, a few lakes and mountains:

For very lazy people (like us 😛) there is free Gondola for the way down. On the bottom of the Mountain there are Hot Springs waiting for you! Is there anything better then jumping in really hot water after a nice hike?! It was an amazing hiking day!

On my 2. day in Banff I met a nice girl at the hostel and we decided to travel together for a few days. She has a car here so we were perfectly flexible for wherever we want to go. Our first stop was Lake Louise which is about 20 minutes from Banff. This lake is so nice to see and we went for a day hike around the lake and on top of some mountains. It was pretty exhausting but for sure worth it!

After that hike we drove to the Lake Moraine, which is by far one of the most beautiful lakes I've ever seen! A lot of people told me I should go there and they were really right! Although it rained, it was such a nice spot!

I spent the last 6 weeks near Edmonton on the Riverwood Ranch. It had an amazing time there - I can't even write down how much fun I had, how much I learned and how much I love "my Canadian Family"! Bruce and Megan are running this Ranch together, offering Trail Rides and Cattle Drives. During my stay there was a lot of preperation to do for the busy summer. So they showed me how fencing works, how I cut firewood, how to really work with horses and cows and a lot of other things!
We also went to a few Rodeos (by the way: I love Rodeos!!!!), Megan and I went to Edmonton for a day...

I'll be back there in a few weeks! 🙂

It was very spontanously that I decided to stay in Calgary for the weekend. My next stop is near Edmonton and the bus drive from Revelstoke to Edmonton would take about 10 hours (or longer?!) and I had no motivation doing that ;) So, here I am now in Calgary! And I'm more than happy to be here! The City is so amazing! It's almost as beautiful as Vancouver here!
I arrived on Friday evening, went to the hostel (which is by the way one of the best I ever stayed at!) and realized that the people here are 90% Germans! Although it doesn't help with my English, I got to know some Germans who are really nice, one of the girls stays in the same room as I do.
So I spent almost the whole weekend with Anja :)

I started my Saturday with the free(!) Breakfast here in the hostel and then went for a run. Calgary is so great because it only takes you a few minutes to get from downtown to the river, where you can run or cycle along the skyline but in nature. Just great! So I had already seen a little bit when Anja and I decided to discover the city in the afternoon. First we walked trough downtown, which is cute because it's relatively small. We had lunch in a mall, where are botanic garden is created. Crazy Canada!

Then we went up the Calgary tower to enjoy the view from the top over the city!

We cooked our own dinner in the hostels kitchen (omlette, yummy :)), afterwards we went to a country club and danced half the night to songs we had never heard before. 😀 The club was really good, with a great DJ and a great atmosphere.
One beer costs 6-9$ there! So you're not allowed to drink something on the streets and you're not able to make a few beers in the club because they're so expensive 😀 I think I like Canada ;)

On Sunday, the weather was absolutely great! Sunshine, about 25°C and no clouds! Anja and I rented two bikes from the hostel and decided to discover the area around Downtown 😉 First we went to a well known lookout, which was so beautiful!

Then we headed on to another viewpoint a little farer away.

After that we drove a little bit around and ended at the bow river, where we took a short break before going back to the city. There is the "Bow River Pathway" were you can walk or cycle directly next to the river. That was so great!

For dinner we went back home to the hostel. It was already my last evening here in Calgary and I wanted to see the sunset over the city. So we decided to go back to the first lookout and enjoy the sunset from up there. It was a good decision! A few other Germans came along with us and so we spent about 3 hours on top of the lookout, just enjoying the view.

Today is Monday and in the afternoon I will leave Calgary to go to Edmonton by the Greyhound bus. I had a really great time in this beautiful city and can only recommend everybody to see and enjoy this city! So by the way, Dad & Manu: It is a great decision to start in Calgary! 😉

I'm in Canada for already 6 weeks! Time runs so fast! I really have to tell the world that Canada is so great! I already visited so many places, met so many people and saw so many crazy things :) I'm very happy to be here 🙂

Today I left Nakusp after more than 4 weeks. That was really crazy because I already felt like home there. I had a really great time there and will definitely go back there some day ;)

Now I'm in Calgary. The bus drive from Revelstoke to Calgary took 6 hours. It was beautiful because most of the time we drove through the Rockies. Although it was raining, it was great to see all the mountains, rivers and green trees. And then suddenly there were no more mountains but only a wide country. There was nothing but the road. Amazing! When I arrived in Calgary I first went to the Hostel. It's very small but clean and good. In the evening I went for a short walk through downtown, ate a soup at Tim Hortons (you can find this shop every 100 meters...) and enjoyed being here.
The next two days I will discover Calgary and then another Greyhound Bus will take me to Edmonton!