What to do on the weekend – Sunny Edition

We’ve all been waiting for it and finally it’s here: Summer. At least this weekend the weather is expected to be spectacular in Vancouver! Here are some ideas on how to enjoy the sunny days.

I) BC Bubble Ball with INTERNeX Join us for Bubble Ball this Sunday, 1pm at Charleston Park! We are going to play a bunch of fun games encased in transparent big bubbles. It’s recommended to everyone who is comfortable playing sports, falling over and laughing until their abs hurt. 🙂

II) The VIMFF in North Vancouver Also on Sunday, from 3pm-9pm there’ll be the Vancouver International Mountain Film Festival, celebrating Canadian Multiculturalism with a free outdoor event at the Shipyards, right at the Londsdale Quay in North Vancouver. We’ll head over there after our Bubble Ball match, so if you’d like please join us! There’ll be award-winning mountain films, live music, giveaways, fun activities, like an outdoor climbing wall, a beer garden, snacks and more! A perfect way to end a sunny weekend.

III) Beach day Of course the sun screams for a beach day! Vancouver has a lot of them! Take a buddy and tan, play volleyball, or go swim in the ocean. For a more relaxed beach atmosphere with a little more space I recommend to go to Spanish Banks. The beach is wider and the water clearer than at the other beaches, plus you have a great view of the mountains and the city skyline. If you want to stay close to bars, restaurants and other shops I recommend Kitsilano beach. It’s such a hip area! A lot of younger people go here to play some beach games and enjoy the sun. At night you can sometimes find street artists playing their music and people just start dancing to it. To me, that really feels like summer.

IV) Lake day If you’re not into salty water, there’s also a few lakes around. You’d have to go a little further, but you could make a whole day event out of your trip. My recommendation is Cultus Lake in Chilliwack! Nearby there’s also the Cultus Lake Water Park, Castle Fun Park in Abbotsford and more. It’s a nice little getaway from the city and popular amongst many locals. A good way to explore the Canadian country side a little more. If you’re hungry on your way back stop by at Brodeur’s Bistro in Abbotsford for the best Chicken Waffles you’ll ever have (trust me on this one). The only downside: you’d probably need a car, since the public transit is not too good outside of the city.

V) Get some ice cream! Vancouver has a bunch of (n)ice cream shops. Here are my top 3 must-tries this summer:
1.) While you are in Kits, get some Rain or Shine ice cream before, or after you go to the beach and thank me later. 😉 They have some really good vegan options as well and all cones are made in house! You can smell it when you get close to the shop.
2.) Earnest Ice Cream is one of Vancouver’s favourites when it comes to the frozen dessert. They have rotating flavours that make you return all summer (and winter) long.
3.) If you are looking for a place with many many different flavours, you should check out La Casa de Gelato, with it’s 238 varieties of ice cream! This place actually won a world record.

Which ice cream are you going to try first? Are you Team Beach or Team Lake? Are you excited for summer, or are you more of a winter person?

I’m definitely excited!

Have a great weekend!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

How was the weekend?

I bet you were lazier than some of us this weekend, because let me tell you, we took on quite a challenge, but we made it!

Sunday was the day. Equipped with lots of water, snacks and some caffeine we were optimistic to reach our goal: Hiking the Grouse Grind.

I mean, I’ve read about it before, heard from others how hard it was, but really I didn’t believe it. I got proved wrong. It turned out to be one of the more challenging hikes I’ve done so far. Not that I’m a professional, but I thought I’d be fitter. 😀 The hike is about 2.5 kilometres long and has an elevation gain of 800m with a total of 2,830 stairs! That’s pretty tough.

The hardest part for me was the beginning, because you go up and up and up… and there seems to be no end. Then, finally a sign! It tells you that you reached the 1/4 mark. Pretty demotivating to me. But it turns out none of us is a quitter, so we kept going, reached half way and kept going! From that point it was clear, there’s no way back down now.

On our way we saw a lot of people struggling, which made me feel a little better, because I knew I’m not alone. Of course we also saw people passing us with such lightness, but I told myself “they’ve probably done this many times before”. I also think the actual challenge was not the hike itself, but the fact that you want to be faster than others. You try to pass people, or at least not lose sight of them. You try to make it up the mountain in less than the average time of two hours, which makes the hike even harder than it already is.

After seeing the 3/4 mark I felt motivated to reach the top. I could feel I’m in the homestretch and I increased my pace. The feeling of finally reaching the top was incredible. Since the weather was very cloudy, the view was very limited, but at least the air was nice and cool, perfect for a workout like this. After everyone arrived we had some food and drinks at the Chalet before we went exploring the mountaintop a little further.

We tried to spot the two grizzly bears Grinda and Coola, who reside at Grouse mountain, but they were asleep. On our way back down with the gondola we got lucky and had an amazing view over Vancouver. All in all, I’d say it was a pretty successful day.

Would I do the Grouse Grind again? – Maybe.

What about you? Have you done it? Or is it on your list? Was your weekend active? Or lazy?

Tell me more about it next Pub Night, 7pm at Sailor Hagar’s in North Vancouver! It’s only a short walk from the sea bus and has a beautiful view over Downtown Vancouver. Plus, it’s a real neighbourhood pub, as Canadian as it gets. 😉

See you all there!

Cheers,

Laura 🙂

How was your weekend?

Unfortunately, it is time to say goodbye to another great weekend in Vancouver. This means I only have one weekend left in this beautiful city. But hey, let’s not get into that right now. Instead, let me tell you about the fun I’ve had the past few days.

On Saturday, it was time for our INTERNeX event: Outdoor Game Day. Six fun activities were on the schedule. But first things first: Team division. Who forms ‘team pink’ and who is part of ‘team blue’? After we determined that, we spilled the secret that there’d be a prize for the winning team. We had to get you guys motivated. Time to play the first game: ‘Card Relay Race’. Let’s find out how competitive you guys are. In this game, both teams had to collect all cards of a specific symbol. But, it wasn’t that simple. The cards lay, face down, on the other side of the field. Team members had to run back and forth, flipping a card at a time, until their stack was complete. It took quite some time before there was a winner, but in the end, it was 1-0 for team blue.

A round of memory, Kubb and water bottle bowling later, it was 3-1 for team blue. Next up: Pictionary. This was a challenging game in which everyone could show off their drawing skills. Well, or lack of drawing skills. This game surely created a lot of laughs. The last game involved water, sponges and buckets. The goal: bringing as much water to the other side as possible. Though it might seem impossible, both teams had the exact same amount of water in their buckets. So, both teams got a point. The end score: 5-2 for team blue. Congrats guys! I hope you liked your prize!

After multiple hours of being active, it was snack time (schnacks!). A couple of us went to the Warehouse in Gastown for lunch. When we finished our meals, I went home to freshen up. Not long after that, I went to Surrey to meet up with friends. We spent the evening watching my favorite movie: Safe Haven (If you haven’t watched it yet, get on it!) and Pitch Perfect 2.

On Sunday, I spent most of my day relaxing. In the evening, however, I went to the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Two YouTubers I watch, Dan Howell and Phil Lester, are on tour right now and on this day, they were in Vancouver. Their show is called Interactive Introverts and its aim is “giving the people what they want”, as Dan likes to say. I laughed a lot and couldn’t have spent my Sunday night any better.

I hope you all had a great weekend as well. See you tomorrow for our Outdoor Movie event in Stanley Park!

– Angy

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

How was your weekend?

It’s beginning to look a lot like… summer! I did not expect to be able to wear shorts mid-May, but Vancouver continues to amaze me. Let’s look back on this fun, sunny weekend.

Friday night, it was time to go to our favorite country bar again: the Yale Saloon. And you know what that means… line-dancing time! Sadly, we were not wearing cowboy boots or hats, but that did not make it any less fun. Since we went line dancing before, we were not sure if we would learn a new choreography this time, or if we could show off moves we had already learned before. The choreographer did not let us down: we learned some new moves! When the line dancing ended, it was time to join some of you to the Bourbon. As always, we had a great time catching up with all of you and dancing to good music (sometimes even in a cage).

On Saturday, it was time to watch the Grand Final of 2018’s Eurovision Song Contest. I might have left Europe, but the European part of me has not left me. (Although, not only Europe participates in the contest, so what does being European regarding ‘Eurovision’ mean anyway?) My favorite thing about Eurovision is discussing the performances with friends, since most of the performances are quite, let’s say, unique. But hey, it would not be Eurovision if it didn’t include some laughs. I discussed the show with my Bulgarian friend from college, both of us supporting our own country. We figured neither of our home countries would win this year, but Israel’s “Toy” song winning the contest was definitely unexpected. Not only because of the song, but Israel is not even in Europe. Although, even Australia participates, so can we really be that surprised?

When I woke up on Sunday, I opened my weather app and saw that it was going to be 25 degrees Celsius that day. Great! Time to go to the beach! I spent the afternoon enjoying the sun and playing beach volleyball with some of you. At 4:30pm, we took the sky train to Planet Lazer: it was time to play laser tag with all of you! Playing three games was a lot of fun, yet exhausting as well. Water was our best friend when we finished. After hydrating ourselves, we all went home to rest. 

I hope you all had a great weekend!

See you on Wednesday at 131 Water!

– Angy

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

Smart Saver Vancouver

Summer is getting closer, which means the days are getting longer and especially warmer. It’s the time of the year where people spend more time outdoors than indoors. And also, people are more active. Hiking is a great and cheap way to discover the beauty Canada has to offer. So, here are some ideas of great hikes to do.

In North Vancouver, there are many hiking trails. The Baden Powell Trail is one of the most famous ones. The trail is going through the entire North Shore mountain range. It is therefore linking several parks together along its way. The Baden Powell trail can be entered through different points. Depending on which entry is taken, a hike can take up to 5 hours. When entering the trail at Lynn Canyon Park, you can cross a suspension bridge (for free) and enjoy several wonderful views along the river.

The Grouse Grind hiking trail is another well-known hike in Vancouver. It is a 2.9km long trail that brings you to the top of Grouse Mountain. From there, you have a beautiful view over Vancouver. The trail is also known as ‘Mother Nature’s Stairmaster’ because there is a total amount of 2830 stairs to climb. The hike takes around 1.5 to 2 hours, depending on the skill level of the hiker.

If you would like to get out of Vancouver, how about doing a hike on Bowen Island? For around $18 and 20 minutes on the ferry, you get on the island. There, you can do the Mount Gardener hike. Mount Gardener is the tallest mountain on Bowen Island with 719m elevation. The trail is a 10km round trip that offers a panoramic view of Port Mellon, the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island. There are several routes one can take to get to the top. The hike is not an easy one: it can take 5 to 6 hours until you’re at the top of the mountain.

So, grab your hiking shoes, pack enough snacks and water in your backpack and discover one of many hiking trails Vancouver has to offer.

See you all tonight at the Library Square for PuB NiGHT!

– Nadine

INTERNeX International Exchange
International Village,
Suite 2077, 2079 – 88 West Pender Street
Vancouver, Canada -V6B 6N9-
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com