#ExploreCanada: Sailing, Strolling & Sampling Vancouver & Whistler on a first-time visit.

Canada. “I believe this has been the best long-haul flight I’ve ever had”, I can hear myself saying after arriving in Vancouver. Three different movies that have moved me to tears and made me laugh, plus a great conversation with my seat neighbour from Vancouver have really made the nine hour flight from London to Vancouver seem like nothing. Overcoming the jet lag from nine hours time difference with my home country Austria, however, is a different story. Yet still: Just the air travel from Europe to the far-flung Pacific Coast, flying via Greenland as well as Northern Canada, is a journey truly worthwhile. “We are about to leave”, I chatter with my mum and friends on the phone, before saying goodbye to using my Austrian cell phone for calls for the next 10 weeks.

 

That’s 10 weeks in Canada. From West to East, following the sweet scent of the “Indian Summer”. Politically incorrect, as I hear and strive to find a better term. Adventure is calling …

… as my heart fills with joy and emotion from having arrived here. Creative Travel. Wine tours. Food festivals. Travel with the locals. Just about everything I like and “Creativelena” shares, can be found in Canada. I always felt I just had to take more time to come here, not just two or three weeks. So I “packed up my digital workspace”, prepared for a longer period of leave and braced myself for lots more open adventures. I think I chose well. “Indian Summer”, or late summer / early fall, is a truly special (travel) time in the year after all. Check this out.

Schon alleine die Anreise nach Kanada, von London aus über Grönland ...

The flight to Canada itself, from London via Greenland …

 

... sowie wenige Stunden später über die Rocky Mountains von British Columbia ...

… as well as via the Rocky Mountains of British Columbia …

 

... ist die Reise einfach wert: Vancouver, wir kommen bzw. landen!

… is simply worth the journey: Vancouver, here we go (land)!

 

Erst einmal angekommen, begebe ich mich mit der "Canada Line" gleich in den Hafen der Stadt Vancouver, zur "Waterfront" ...

A little later, I have arrived: The so-called “Canada Line” takes me right into Downtown and all the way to Vancouver’s “Waterfront” …

 

... von dem aus die flotten kleinen "Float Planes" (Wasserflugzeuge) ein reges Geschäft auf die zahlreichen Inseln rund um Vancouver machen: Nicht weniger als 55 solcher Kleinflugzeuge steuern selbige regelmäßig an!

… where I can watch all those little “float planes” go by, busying themselves as some 55 of them service the surrounding Vancouver islands on a regular basis!

 

Gleich daneben befindet sich übrigens Gastown ...

Right next to Downtown Waterfront, you can stroll over into Gastown …

 

... der älteste von Vancouver's vielen Stadtteilen ...

… Vancouver’s most historic district …

 

... mit kreativen Läden, Cafés oder Restaurants: Sogar "Elk Empanada" wird hier serviert! Mal sehen, ob ich diese noch kosten komme?

… home to many creative little cafés, nice restaurants & shops: You would even find your “elk empanada” being served here. Wonder if I should come back to trying that?

 

Wer’s gerne etwas ruhiger mag ...

If you like it a little bit more quiet …

 

... ist in den Chinesischen Gärten von Vancouver bestens aufgehoben ...

… go check out the Vancouver Chinese Gardens.

 

Hier kann wer möchte an geführten Gartentouren teilnehmen ...

They are perfect for joining a one-hour, interpretive tour …

 

... oder selbst aktiv werden ...

… or to get your creative juices flowing …

 

... und seinen eigenen chinesischen Fächer bemalen: Wer hätte gedacht, dass ich binnen 24 Stunden in der Stadt "schon wieder kreativ reisen bin"?

… as in learning how to paint your own Chinese fan: Now who would have thought, that within 24 hours of arriving to Canada, I’d be back at my natural “creative travel” mission?

 

You see, Vancouver offers all of this and more. The water city is a paradise for friends of sailing, provides excellent fish for (Sushi) gourmets, and is home to numerous “First-Nation” people and their stories: Aboriginal Canada is calling …

… including my very first cultural experiences along the West Pacific Coast: Over at the University Campus of UBC University of British Columbia, you can check out the area’s impressive human history at the MOA Museum of Anthropology. I am impressed by the campus here, featuring a totem pole right at the centre relating the history of the Musqueam people on whose lands the campus and faculties are built today. In addition to all of it, my dear friend Shareen, who I’ve met several years ago travelling in Iceland, is working at the University of British Columbia – and happily takes me down to one of her favourite beaches in Vancouver. Wreck Beach, as it is called, is a true tip only shared by the locals (Shareen & her colleagues), and you have to know how to find it. “Out of our 50.000 students, I don’t think many ever make it down here”, Shareen smiles, pointing towards some sort of secret passage, an opening in the tree line right by her workplace, the “International House” at the UBC Campus. As if that wasn’t enough, all of our lunchtime swimming is being closely watched by a passing harbour seal. Quite an experience, I must say, having a wild animal be so curious and come right within 10 – 20 meters of us!

Mittagspause in Vancouver: Baden mit dem Seehund mit Blick auf die Hafenbucht der Stadt ...

Lunch with a view in Vancouver: Harbour seals are known to be curious creatures and often come quite close …

 

... neben derer sich das Beaty Museum of Biodiversity auf dem Campus der Universität von British Columbia ebenso schmuck wie einzigartig macht: Hier überrascht ein komplettes Walskelett Besucher wie Studenten gleichermaßen!

… there is also this fella to be watched, a mighty whale skeleton on display at the Beaty Museum of Biodiversity at UBC Campus!

 

Am meisten aber begeistert mich der wie selbstverständlich aufgestellte Totem-Pfahl ...

Quite impressed by the totem pole here too …

 

... sowie das Anthropologie-Museum, beide auf demselben Campus errichtet und uns Besuchern einiges über die "First Nations" der Pazifikküste von British Columbia erklärend ...

… as well as the MOA Museum of Anthropology, a good introduction to those wanting to learn more about “First Nation” history in British Columbia …

 

... mein Glück ist, dass Shareen mich später noch zum Segeln mitnimmt ...

… lucky girls going out sailing later …

 

... und mir die Stadt am Wasser ...

… where Shareen and her friends show me their water city …

 

... aus eben jener Perspektive zeigt, die sie so einzigartig macht.

… from the very perspective that makes it so unique.

 

Traumhaft ...

What a moment …

 

... vor allem beim ausklingenden Bier zum Sonnenuntergang, hier mit Blick südwestlich Richtung Stanley Park / Downtown Vancouver.

… especially as we end the day like this, watching over Stanley Park / Downtown Vancouver.

 

Unser Tipp für alle Feinschmecker lautet zudem: Shima ya Sushi ...

And if you are headed for some great Japanese food that the city is known for: Make sure it is Shima ya Sushi on Victoria Street 5589 you go to in Vancouver …

 

... denn hier könnt Ihr dem Küchenchef mächtig auf die Finger sehen, wie er jedes einzelne Sushi mit viel Geschmack und Hingabe "zaubert" ...

… the chef there really does his magic on every single, handcrafted sushi he creates, and it is pure joy to watch him doing so …

 

... Tausend Dank für diesen tollen Kulinarik-Tipp, Shareen !!

… thanks so much Shareen for this gorgeous insider foodie tip !!

 

And on the weekend? “Let’s go to Whistler!” – Whistler? Well yeah! Whistler Highway too is especially pretty to drive on. After all, scenic beauty is right what British Columbia is all about.

On the way, Shareen takes up another friend of hers, Julia who is a soon to be exchange student with Shareen’s UBC University of British Columbia. I just love talking to both of them, listening in on where else Julia has already been in Canada – and how Shareen plans to train for her bike race to Whistler taking place on 10 September … 111 kilometres and some 1.700 metres of difference in altitude, now how you train for that I don’t quite know!

My dear: As much as I like being active myself, I do prefer our road trip to Whistler this time … Let me tell you where to stop on the way as you are heading north, as it’s more about the journey than the destination really.

Unterwegs mit meinen Mädls: Shareen, Julia und ich (von links nach rechts) vor den Shannon Falls, die nach dem trockenen Sommer eher dürftig ausgefallen sind ...

Out & about with the girls: Shareen, Julia and I (from left to right) in front of Shanon Falls that haven’t seen too much water recently, as it’s been quite dry I hear …

 

... auch beim Aufstieg mit der modernen "Sea to Sky Gondola" wird deutlich, wie sehr sich die Blätter bereits begonnen haben zu verfärben – vielerorts vor mangelndem Regen ...

… and also going up on our modern “Sea to Sky Gondola” it becomes quite obvious that the changing of the colours has already begun – from dried up trees rather than the fall itself …

 

... und dennoch: Das Land rund um Squamish, wie hier bei der Wanderung zum "Great Chief Mountain Lookout", ist einfach fabelhaft ...

… and yet: The countryside around Squamish is just magical, as we keep hiking towards the “Great Chief Mountain Lookout” …

 

... Blick auf den Howe Fjord von der Bergstation der "Sea to Sky Gondola" ...

… with a view over Howe Fjord from the mountain station of the “Sea to Sky Gondola” …

 

... und ist das hier nicht ein schöner Ort zum Heiraten? :D

… and isn’t this a most magical spot to get married, really? 😀

 

Keine Stunde weiter lockt der Wintersportort Whistler, Austragungsort der Olympischen Winterspiele 2010 ...

Just an hour further north, we are enchanted by Whistler Mountain resort, host city of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games …

 

... mit seiner jüngsten Attraktion, der sogenannten "Peak to Peak Gondola" die zwei Bergstationen über ein knapp ein Kilometer breites Tal miteinander verbindet ...

… featuring one of its more recent attractions, the so-called “Peak to Peak Gondola” connecting two mountain stations over a large valley floor …

 

... hier lässt es sich gut Picknick machen ...

… the perfect place for having brought our picnic all the way …

 

... oder aber einfach nur am Berg entspannen: Zum Beispiel bei diesen traumhaften Ausblicken hier.

… or simply to come up and relax at one of the surrounding, modern mountain huts.

 

Haven’t had enough yet? Check out my travel photography from Vancouver, Whistler & around here:

 

I have also produced a travel video that highlights some of my travel adventures in Western Canada, all the way from Vancouver to the vast open plains east of the Rocky Mountains. A fascinating, funky take on what has truly been a life-changing journey. Enjoy with sound & smile 🙂

 

Disclaimer: Thank you Tourism Vancouver for assisting me in planning my stay and providing me with a Vancouver Experience Pass. All opinions are my own.

You may also like

Join the discussion