Review on the Rockies Trip

Hey Internexers! What a packed and stunning trip to the Rockies! This blog is going to be a review on the amazing countless things we did on this trip. So let’s start with the first day on Friday:

Friday, 14th of October

In the early morning, we met at the Burrard Skytrain Station with our totally experienced bus driver Terrance from Moose Bus Travel Network. We headed onto the road and made our first stop at the Bridal Veil Falls Provincial Park to see the beautiful waterfalls there. The falls were so thin and hazy that it created a nice atmosphere and explains the name. We then headed to the grocery store to pick up some food for lunch at the Lightning Lake. Although it was a bit smoky because of the forest fires happening at the US border, we enjoyed our lunch and the view. After we collected new energy from our lunch we drove towards Penticton to go onto the Skaha Lake with Stand Up Paddleboards. The feeling you get when you are on the lake and just enjoy a 360 degrees stunning view of the mountains is amazing! Fortunately nobody fell into the water because it was freezing cold! To conclude the day we had dinner together at the Kekuli Café with some Tacos and went to a Pub in Kelowna with Live Music!

Saturday, 15th of October

Since the Rockies are not around the corner you need to drive a lot, so we met early in the morning again to head on the road to Banff! The first stop we made was a historical place, because we went to the place where the very last spike was driven into the ground completing the Canadian Pacific Railway from ocean to ocean. Besides the fact that this place was so important historically we also enjoyed a beautiful river beside the monument and the trees slowly getting into fall colours of red and orange. After another bus ride we stopped at Revelstoke where we had lunch and saw a huge river which is called Columbia River. That one got a huge current so it’s rather dangerous to swim in there in the summer. When you do a trip to Banff in Alberta you actually pass a timezone. But there’s one exception with the town Golden. It is located in British Columbia but has the same timezone that Alberta does. That was a cool experience because you normally cross some timezones by plane =). In the evening we finally arrived in Banff and had a good lookout spot to watch the sunset in the Rockies. After checking into the Hostel, we had dinner and went to the Dancing Saskwatch for some club dancing! All in all it was a great day with a great ending!

Sunday, 16th of October

Sunday was Funday! We had lots of things to do on this day. We started with a tour to the most beautiful lake I’ve ever seen in my entire life: Lake Louise. It’s located 45 mins away from Banff with a beautiful mountain view around it. When we were arriving it was freezing outside and you could see frost on the benches around the lake. Next on the list of Lakes was Two Jacks Lake and Lake Minnewanka which were both so stunning! Did you know that there is a lost city called devils creek under the lake just like Atlantis? How crazy is that! The view was amazing and it was the best place to have lunch. Next we headed towards the adventure centre in Banff to rent some bikes. We did a really nice trip around a golf course and we even saw approximately 30 elks there! That was a moment I will remember for my whole life. Right now the Elk’s are in bugling season so you need to be careful when you are around them. But we managed to get some good footage which you can see in the pictures below. The roundtrip went on with a nice lookout spot and the last lake for today. We met up in the town centre in the evening to do the hike on Tunnel Mountain which gives you the best view over Banff and the area around it. We watched the sunset and ended our day with a dinner in the Elk & Oarsmen and a fun Karaoke Night in the Beaver Pub! That was truly a funday =)

Monday, 17th of October

Since Banff is far away from Vancouver the whole drive takes up about 10-11 hours with the car or the bus , so we drove a lot on this day. But regarding the fact that you are in the most beautiful country on earth you can just look outside the window to see the best nature. We did some stops in Golden, Revelstoke and Rogers Pass to sum up our big trip this month to the Rockies. We arrived again in the evening in Vancouver at around 8:30 PM.

During this trip I met so many nice people and have been to breathtaking places which I will never forget. I was so happy to be on this tour with this group. If you are interested in going to the Rockies be sure to not miss the next big trip there! =)

I hope you enjoyed this blogpost!

See you around,

Tino =)

Rocky Mountains Trip!

What a breathtaking weekend! The INTERNeX group set off on one of the best trips of the year on Friday. We went to the Rocky Mountains. Together with Moose bus adventures we created a Rockies trip individually planned for INTERNeX and it was just incredibly cool!

On Friday we hit the road. There was a long bus trip ahead, but everybody was super motivated and was ready for the trip.  Mike was our driver and guide and brought a bit of atmosphere into the group. After everything was stowed away in our bus, we were ready to go and set off!

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We spent our first night in Kelowna, but already on the way there we stopped at many exciting and beautiful places like the Bridal Veil Falls in Rosedale. Then we made our way to Kawkawa Lake, when we arrived there, we all jumped into the water and then we had a brilliant idea…why not make a challenge out of it. The challenge was to swim in every lake we visited! I took this challenge very seriously during the trip (I was the only one who really swam in every lake) because Mike (guide) and I came up with the idea, but the others also enjoyed the idea even if they didn’t swim in every lake.

Hope, a small city east of Vancouver, is known for his wooden figures and we happened to witness the famous competition where the candidates carved wooden figures with a chainsaw.

On the way to Kelowna we also visited the Othello tunnels, which also belong to one of the most famous sights and fo20190816_143420.jpgr reason. Unbelievable that these tunnels were created only with dynamite and manual work.

Arrived in Kelowna it was time to check into the hostel and everyone could hardly wait for dinner. Even though it was very windy at the beach in Kelowna we decided to eat pizza and enjoy the view of the water. For me it meant swimming in the water again! The challenge must go on!

Some of us, despite the fact that it was a long and exhausting trip, went for a drink in the evening, which led to the fact that the next morning it was nice and quiet in the bus 😛

Now it was time for us to head to Banff and on 20190817_180527the way there Mike showed us many breathtaking places. We stopped at Kalamalka lake and then we went to a lake that really took my breath away. Emerald Lake, a glacial lake that looks like it’s photo-shopped. Small glacial minerals make the water look turquoise. Due to the fact that the lake consists of glacial water it has a water temperature of only a few degrees Celsius. This didn’t stop Mike and me from jumping from the bridge into the ice-cold water. We were a little attraction, and no one could believe that there are actually two crazy people jumping into such cold water, some of the tourists even walked around in winter jackets. Nevertheless, we jumped, and I think my heart stopped beating for a moment, but I’ve never felt so good about anything. A unique experience that I will be talking about for a long time to come.

After we arrived in Banff, we spent a relaxed evening together.

On Sunday we had a pretty early start into the day, because we had a lot ahead of us. We started with a small hike to the waterfalls in Johnston Canyon. Arriving at the upper waterfalls Mike did a little meditation with us which made us appreciate what we have. After that we went to Lake Louise, where almost everybody took part in the lake challenge and to top it off, we all went to Lake Moraine and jumped into the water. We asked the staff of the canoe rental what the water temperature of the lake was, and it was 6°C, yes you read correctly, 6°C. It was very cold, but I am proud that all of us have made it. Both Emerald lake, Lake Louise and Lake moraine look as if someone had coloured the lake blue, I’ve never seen anything like it in my life, unbelievable! In the evening we went to the Banff Hot pools, which were a good change after the cold lakes.
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The trip was nearing its end and yesterday we made our way back to Vancouver. A short stop at the Natural Bridge made the trip complete and we made it back to Vancouver safely.

The trip was simply breathtaking and unique!

 Hope you have a great week and to see you at tomorrow’s PUB NiGHT at the Yale Saloon!

-Lilly

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?

Even though we had a long weekend because of the Canada Day on Monday, time went by really fast. Lets take a look at what we did this weekend.

IMG_0686Me and my fellow students Barbara and Franzi went to the Rocky Mountains this weekend. We did a 4 day tour, so it started on Friday and we came back to Vancouver on Monday. The first day was more or less just the drive to our first hotel in Revelstoke. But the program on Saturday was really eventful. We went to the Emerald Lake, to Lake Louise and to Lake Moraine. I’ve never seen such a blue, clear water. However, Lake Peyto (which we’ve visited on Sunday) was my highlight of all the lakes we saw. When you have a look at the picture, you will understand why.

We also explored Banff and Jasper during our trip. Cute little towns surrounded by breathtaking mountains. In Banff we also had the opportunity to ride the gondola, which was pretty cool. Luckily we had good weather and therefore a nice view.IMG_0360

On our last evening we stayed a night in a small town called Valemount. We had BBQ with burgers and hot dogs there and we also made S’mores, a typical canadian snack. Later that evening our tour guide encouraged us to show typical dances of our nation. That’s why we learned Mexican, Japanese and Spanish dances. 🙂

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abd3579f-858e-4f52-bd93-dd5d582fc174.jpgEven though we arrived a bit later in Vancouver on Monday than we expected, we were still able to see the firework of Canada Day. I hope you enjoyed it as much as we did. 

Overall, it was an incredible weekend and I’m really thankful for this great experience. If you haven’t been to the Rocky mountains yet, you should definitely think about going there. 

See you all on Wednesday at the Dime On Granville. 

-Karina

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

The Rockies Review – Part 2

We are back in Vancouver from our awesome weekend in the Rockies. The long weekend, which in my opinion was too short, was filled with many sights along the way. Since it was wonderful weather, we got to experience them in their full glory.

IMG_BanffBy Sunday we’ve already seen quite a bit of the Rockies, and that morning was probably the hardest for everybody to get out of bed, due to our long Saturday night. It was a sunny day in Banff, and no matter what everybody’s plans were, we had the best conditions. We had the opportunity to ride the gondola, which some of you did, and I heard it was amazing. Most of you, however, went to the hot springs and enjoyed the view. I explored downtown Banff, walked around and looked at what the stores had to offer.

IMG_lake louise

 

By 1:30 we left Banff and drove to Lake Louise. The lake was completely frozen, allowing us to walk on it. Since there was still snow, it seemed like a winter wonderland.

 

 

IMG_smoresIn the evening, we arrived at the Mountain View cabins in Golden, BC. It was in the middle of nowhere and we stayed in white little cabins. As the name suggests, we had an amazing view of the mountains. The evening began with a BBQ with burgers and hot dogs. Later that night, we all gathered around the campfire, made S’mores, and our guide, Nicole, sang songs for us, while playing the guitar. The later it got, the more people went to their cabins, as it got quite cold. The next morning our hosts prepared an amazing breakfast and afterwards we headed back to Vancouver.

Overall, it was an incredible weekend with a lot of fun. I was able to get to know you guys better, which I’m happy about. I hope you enjoyed this trip as much as I did.

See you tonight at the pub night at the Beaver.

– Megan

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

The Rockies Review – Part 1

As I am writing this blog post I am having some mixed feelings. I am sad because our trip to the Rockies is behind us. I am relieved that everything went well. I am happy because I have some time to rest now. I am also thankful for all the great memories we made during this trip. This weekend was something I am never going to forget.20190420_121953_0-1.jpeg

I still can’t quite process how much sightseeing we managed to do during these past few days. I am not even trying to list all the places we saw since that would require a lot of space and I don’t think it would be that interesting to read. For a change I am going to tell you more about few things that were the highlights of the trip for me.20190420_020416_0

On our way to Banff we stopped at Glacier Discovery Centre. It was time to have a nice walk on a glacier. We hopped on to this vehicle called “the Ice Explorer”, which is especially designed for driving on a glacier. The weather was spoiling us as it was a sunny day and you didn’t really even need a jacket outside. We spent some time walking around the glacier, taking pics (ofcourse) and enjoying the amazing view. There was supposed to be an opportunity to get some super pure water straight from the glacier but it had been snowing so much the previous day that we didn’t find any running water. Instead we ended up collecting some snow from the glacier to our water bottles. I mean it kinda does the job, doesn’t it?20190421_104350_0-2.jpeg

Half way through our trip we spent a night in Banff. A stunning little town surrounded by breathtaking mountains. The night in Banff was a party night for us and we sure partied like there was no tomorrow. The next day it was time to explore the town itself a bit more. Checkout from the hotel was early and our party group was feeling pretty tired after having only few hours of sleep. We made a great plan and decided to visit Banff Upper Hot Springs which was located only a 10-minute-drive away. There we spent a relaxed sunny morning in steaming hot water. The views from the pool to the Rocky Mountains were absolutely gorgeous. What else can you wish for?

As mentioned, this weekend was super eventful, and this was only a sneak peak of the whole trip. If I were to tell you every single thing about the trip, I would have to write a book. What can I say; this trip is something you really have to experience yourself. Thanks to everyone who participated. I had such a great time with you all and without you guys it wouldn’t have been this amazing!

-Jasmin xx

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