What to do on the weekend?

All good times somehow come to an end and unfortunately this weekend is going to be my last one. I’ve made so many good friends here with INTERNeX and will miss them a lot when I’ll be back in Germany. But there is a phrase which goes like: We will see us a second time in our lives. And for me, I truly believe in that phrase. Nevertheless, I want to give you a last time some recommendations on what to do on the weekend.

Starting with the first one: Fright Nights! =) Since Halloween is around the corner, why not get the spooky season started with a Fright Night at the PNE Playland? You can go to 7 haunted houses and get thrilled all the time. I’ve heard from a friend that there are some guys chasing you, how awesome but terrific at the same time! If you are not scared enough by that you can put up your adrenaline level with some night ride attractions. Be sure to not miss this event since Halloween is only one time in a year and why not experiencing it in another country? 🙂

If you want a more resting or more quiet weekend you can also go to the Capilano River Regional Park exploring the Capilano Cleveland Dam, Capilano Canyon and the Salmon Hatchery. With trails and paths along the river you have lots of opportunities to see beautiful nature. The easiest way to get there is taking the sea bus from Waterfront to Lonsdale Quay and taking the bus to the Park. Besides the fact that you can walk through some of the best nature places in Vancouver, you can also see some fish there by visiting the hatchery. Right now is Salmon Running Season and your chances of seeing them jump is high. You could see the typical salmon with the red and green colour named Sockeye Salmon. For the ones of you who watch Disney movies: It is the same fish that the two bears in “Brother Bear” fish together =). But also if you don’t like watching fish you can walk up a trail and enjoy the view at the Cleveland Dam. I’m sure you’ll find a nice activity to do in the Capilano River Regional Park.

Since Vancouver is also a very high fashion city with lots of trendy shops we can recommend you going to the Vancouver Fashion Week this weekend. Depending on the show you want to see and the brands showing up the tickets can range from 30-150$. It’s a nice experience to see the new trendy clothes presented on a catwalk with the models walking by. I personally think some styles and old looks will be trendy right now and have a rebirth on some models. What is your fashion prediction?

Now caused by the weather of Raincouver this weekend, I have another fun recommendation for you! Why not spending time in the Extreme Air Park in Richmond with an indoor trampoline park? You can have fun jumping around, playing some jumping games or being a ninja warrior. With 42000 square feet room inside their walls, they can offer some awesome jumping areas. You can expect somethings like zero gravity basketball, air zone, foam zone, a half pipe, 3D dodgeball, bounce balls or vertical volleyball. I’m pretty sure you’ll find something fitting for you and your personal jump ability =).

Whatever you are going to decide on, we wish you a nice weekend with everlasting memories and a lot of fun!

See you next week!

Cheers,

Tino =)

New ‘Kids’ on the blog

We have some new ‘kids’ on the blog again! Let me introduce you to them:

Let’s start with Leo. Leo is 18 years old and from Munich in Germany. Back home he just finished his high school and A-Levels. In Canada he’ll be studying business and communication in a college for 3 or 4 months. With this he hopes to improve his English. After his time in Vancouver, he wants to study business or law in Germany, but he hasn’t quite decided yet. He chose Canada because he wanted something different and not the ‘mainstream’ countries. Also, his cousin told him good things about Vancouver and he loved the vibe of Vancouver on pictures. When he got here, he experienced that all people are very relaxed & nice. He imagined the nature exactly as it is and got a warm welcoming feeling from the city. The things he really wants to see is Wreck Beach and Whistler. Since he’s staying during the winter, he really wants to go skiing. I think Whistler would be a nice choice for him =). He also wants to go to some sports events like ice hockey, or baseball. In his free time Leo likes to play soccer and tennis and visiting different cities. He loves playing his guitar and cooking as well. When it comes to his favourite food he prefers a good old traditional German Schnitzel with fries. Nevertheless, he wants to try lots of food here, like poutine, pancakes with maple syrup and some beaver tails! How awesome is that =) We are happy to have Leo with us!

Next on our list we have Jessica from Kiel in Germany. She’s 18 years old and has just finished her high school back home. She will be in Canada for 7 weeks and already traveled around here for 2 weeks where she saw places like Banff National Park. She’s now planning to go to Vancouver Island to work for a Wildlife Project in a rehabilitation centre for 5 weeks. She chose Canada because she wanted to be far away from home and to improve her English language skills. Of course she also loves being in nature which was another reason to pick this beautiful country. Her first impression of Vancouver was that it’s beautiful and that the people here are very friendly. During her time here, she discovered that she prefers nature over than living in the city. Nevertheless she thinks the city is pretty nice. Since she already was in Banff, she crossed one thing from her bucket list: The Rockies. Besides the Rocky Mountains, she also wants to visit Stanley Park and Granville Island. After her time in Canada she doesn’t really know what to do at home. She wants to take her time here to learn something about herself and figure out what she likes. In her free time she enjoys reading books and playing badminton and basketball. One of her favourite foods are dishes with pasta or potatoes. As a dessert, she likes to have some chocolate. In Vancouver she wants to try out some poutine and pancakes with maple syrup. I’m sure she can find many places to eat these Canadian Classics. =) Anyways, we are very glad to have her in our rows!

Let’s move on with Lukas. He’s 19 years old from a small town in the north of Germany. In Canada, he’ll go to a language school for about 2 months to improve his English, but he also got a working holiday visa to work here for 4 more months. Back home in Germany he just finished high school. When it came to deciding where he wants to go the organization gave him three options to choose from: Canada, New Zealand and Australia. He chose Canada because he thought that the others are too Mainstream =). Also nobody of his family was here before, so when he comes back he can tell them all about it! His first impression was that the city is very big but also very multicultural which he likes. One big thing on his bucket list are seeing bears, especially grizzlies, but also coming in touch with the Canadian culture and nature. Other things are seeing a hockey game and going skiing and surfing. After his time in Vancouver he wants to study Business Administration. In his free time he likes to play handball, going to the gym and meeting his friends, especially going out with them. His favourite food are ‘Spätzle’ with sauce, but here in Canada he wants to try some poutine and of course pancakes with maple syrup =). We are happy to have him in our rows and are excited for the events he’s going to join!

Last but definitely not least we have our work & travellers Marie and Lucas. They are both 24 years old and come from Braunschweig in Germany. They want to work and travel around Canada to meet new people and get to know the Canadian culture. They are not quite sure how long they are staying in Canada but maybe they want to apply for the young professional program to extend their time here. Marie was working as a kindergarten teacher back home and Lucas as a ski instructor. Lucas also worked in event marketing for a hiking brand. As they met at a fireplace in 2020 they talked about work & travelling in another country and both by coincidence were thinking about Canada =). As a ski instructor Lucas obviously wanted to work in the Rocky Mountains. But not only skiing is one of his interests, he also would like to go climbing. Marie always wanted to go Canada, the country is on top of her bucket list. Speaking of bucket lists, they both want to meet many people and make new friends here, but also see some ski resorts and nice natural environments.

Their first impression of Vancouver was that for a big city it’s quite clean and not too crowded. Also they mentioned that the people here are very nice. Since they want to work and travel they just want to go with the flow and didn’t make specific plans. When they eventually come back from Canada Marie wants to study film production and Lucas wants to become a teacher for sport and math. He also thinks about doing an apprenticeship to become a climbing instructor. In her free time Marie likes to hike on Sundays with her friends, seeing new places, and on top of that she also started to play soccer. Lucas just likes all kinds of sports like soccer, skiing, climbing, trail running and more. When it comes to their favourite food Marie likes rice pudding and for Lucas, since he’s vegetarian, Chili sin carne. 😉 In Canada they want to try out some poutine and beaver tails. We are very happy to have Marie & Lucas with us and wish them all the best for their journey!

These are our new kids on the blog! Be sure to meet them at the next Pubnight!

See you there!

Cheers,

Tino =)

What to do on the weekend?

Now with the week passing by so fast, I want to give you some inspirations on what to do on the weekend, since Vancouver has plenty of things to see!

Starting off with two super cool Internex Events, the first one will be on Saturday where we get the chance to visit Joffre Lakes for a hike. Joffre Lakes is a beautiful area with three crystal clear blue ice cold lakes that mirror the surrounding mountains. The higher you hike up, the more beautiful the lakes will get ;). The difficulty of the trail is intermediate with lots of beautiful nature around you, so it’s definitely worth the sweat! You can also cool down in one of the lakes if you dare! The round trip is about 10 km in approximately 4 hours. The trail also got an elevation gain from about 350 metres, so I think anyone can do it! Be sure not to miss this nature experience! And bring lots of water and snacks with you!

Since on Monday the national Thanksgiving Day is celebrated all over Canada, we thought about making our own little INTERNeX Thanksgiving, or Friendsgiving on Sunday. 😉 We are going to meet up at a beautiful park close to the beach in Kitsilano to celebrate together. We will provide a traditional cooked turkey and ask everyone to bring one dish to the party. You can either make something at home, or buy something from the store. This idea is called ‘potluck’ and is very popular here in Canada. That way everyone can contribute and we can all share lots of amazing dishes! On top of that we prepared some super cool games like Kubb or a trivia. PS: We can also have some drinks in the park ;). Afterwards there’s always the option to go to a pub and celebrate throughout the night (remember Monday is a holiday). Be sure not to miss this event since Thanksgiving is only once a year! We are excited to share this special Northern American holiday with many of you and are stoked about lots of good food, drinks and games in the sun.

If you are into electronic music or Techno I can recommend you going to the Blue Print 25 anniversary Festival with artists like Armin Van Buuren, Kaskade, Fisher and many more. You can get a Festival Ticket or buy a ticket for a specific show. It takes place from Friday 7th to Sunday 9th of October and will be at the Pacific National Exhibition (PNE)- Forum. I bought a ticket for Fisher and I’m so hyped for the performance and the atmosphere. There are some tickets left, so be go and get one! I’m sure it’ll be great!

For those people who don’t want to have their ears blown off by the sounds of the electronic music I have another great inspiration for you. Why not visit the Van Dusen Botanical Garden in South Granville? Not only do you the chance to go out of the ever busy city centre of Vancouver, but you’ll see so many flowers, plants, trees and green areas all over the garden. It is fringed by local and exotic flora. The garden is home to more than 250000 plants representing some of the worlds most distinct growing regions. I recommend you taking a self-guided tour sheet at the entrance and make your way through the garden with the Rhododendron Walk or the Laburnum walk. Be sure to check out the Elizabethan Maze to feel completely lost. =) It is a good place to slow down your heart to tranquility and relax after a busy week.

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Whatever you are going to do in Vancouver this weekend, I hope you have a great weekend and make some everlasting experiences! I’m so excited to hear from them at next weeks Pub Night.

Stay safe and enjoy your weekend!

Cheers,

Tino =)

How was the weekend?

What a packed weekend! We did lots of things from Thursday until Sunday!

Let’s start with Thursday. I went to a Hockey game with some friends of mine, which was so great! It was the Vancouver Canucks at Rogers Arena against the Seattle Kraken. The whole vibe and the experience there was amazing! You definitely know that this sport is a national sport for the Canadians. Some shows in the break and an exciting game with some fist fights made that event super special. There were also some representatives from the indigenous peoples showing a cultural music performance, in special regards to the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, the day that  honours the children who never returned home and Survivors of residential schools, as well as their families and communities. Unfortunately the Canucks lost in the overtime against the Kraken 3-4. But overall, it was such a great experience!

On Friday, I was thinking about spending time in nature. So therefore I met with a friend of mine to go to Lynn Canyon Park with its suspension bridge. The park with its nature was so amazing! The weather was nice, so I even needed to cool myself with the fresh spring water from Lynn Canyon. In the evening, nearly 30 people from INTERNeX got together to go to the Richmond Night Market, which was also a great event. So many colourful lights and lamps illuminating the night sky, and even a live-band was playing there! We got to try so much food like flower-onions, Takoyaki (fried squid balls), grilled meat on a stick and finally the best thing for me: Beaver Tails! It’s like a long fried dough with some cinnamon and sugar, but you can also try some other flavours. I was waiting so long to try those and I got the chance on Friday. It was so yummy, you need to try it! The night market is going to be open until this Sunday, so if you don’t want to miss this special experience, go there on the weekend!

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Since you never get enough of Vancouver’s Nature, I went to the UBC Campus on Saturday to visit the Botanical Gardens with a friend. The quiet place of Nitobe Memorial Garden is a true masterpiece in the ever busy town of Vancouver. With the head full of the experiences of the Hockey game, the night market and the gardens, I met another friend group to watch the Vancouver Whitecaps this time at BC Place. This was also a special experience because I can compare the soccer situation here pretty well to the situation in my home country Germany due to the fact that I’m supporting a club there. The quality of the soccer is not comparable to the soccer in Europe, but then again you also can’t compare the hockey quality in Europe to the quality here. =) I guess both Europe and North America have their own national sports. In the end, the Whitecaps scored two goals and won 2:0. That’s what you call a successful evening!

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On Sunday we went to Whistler Village. This village is about 2 hours north of Vancouver and we went there by bus. I did find it very easy to hop on the bus and then 2 hours later you are there, voila! Whistler is known for its nature where hiking and mountain biking are the highlights during the summer season and during winter you can go skiing and snowboarding. 

We started the day in Whistler with a short coffee break and then we headed to one of the bike rentals to get some mountain bikes for our activity – biking to Lost lake and Green Lake. We were so lucky with the weather, the sun was shining as we were biking along the trail in the forest. When we reached Green Lake, we totally understood how the lake got its name. The lake is fed by glacial streams and the water was freezing cold but so refreshing. Definitely worth a swim if you are up for it on a sunny day! The location of both lakes had such a stunning view, a big recommendation when you are going to Whistler in summer!

After a great time by the lakes, we went back to the village to return the bikes as we were exploring the village in search of lunch. We bought some classic poutine, salad, a lot of water and some soft drinks to keep us hydrated in the warm weather. In the centre of the village we found a park table with a parasol so we took the chance to have our lunch there enjoying Whistler Village. 

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For the next activity we went up to the mountain with the Black Comb gondola. It took us about 25 minutes to go up with the gondola, and hey; what a view! We stopped at the first mountaintop taking in the beautiful view before we went to the next gondola, the Peak 2 Peak with a 360 degrees experience which provided a perspective of British Columbia’s rooftop with views of Whistler Village, volcano peaks, coastal rainforests and glaciers. The Peak 2 Peak gondola is 4,4km long which is the world’s longest unsupported span for a lift of this kind at 3.025km height. It’s the world’s highest lift at 436m above the valley floor. So cool!! When we reached the other top we saw the Olympic Games statue shining in the background so we were totally in for another group photo in front of that statue. On the mountain they had a lodge serving coffee, food and other beverages. They even had a game in the centre of that patio which was a lot of fun for us and other visitors. Unfortunately, we couldn’t go up to the face of the mountain where they had a suspension bridge because of preparations for the upcoming winter season, so let’s go to Whistler as soon as the winter season starts!

After a few hours our visit on the mountain reached an end and we decided to go back to the Village with the two gondolas to meet the rest of the group and do some shopping before going back home to Vancouver. I can tell that Whistler is such a beautiful village that offers a lot of sightseeing and activities, so if you are going to Whistler in the near future, I’m sure you will enjoy every second of it, like I did!

We hope you had a great weekend and we hope to see many of you on Pub Night this Wednesday 😀

Cheers

Ida & Tino =)

New ‘Kids’ on the Blog

Another week went by so fast, so here we are again to introduce you to our new kids on the blog. =)

This time, we have a big group of people joining our Internex Family. We’ve got 25 new students from Bielefeld in Germany. They specialize on IT-Technologies and IT-Solutions. Here in Canada, they do a practicum in different companies especially for IT – Working and finding solutions for the IT in their companies. They are going to be here for about 4 weeks to enjoy their internship abroad. I’ve met 4 of them so far, but I’m excited to meet many more of them at Pub Night to find out more about their work! Are you joining too? =)

This picture was taken right before flying to Canada. We wish all of them a nice time here in Vancouver and hope to see many at the PubNight!

Next we have Anise. Anise is 20 years old and originally from a town close to Dortmund in Germany. She’ll be doing voluntary work in Stanley Park for 3 months since she loves being surrounded by nature and animals. Back home, she’s studying English & Educational Science to become a high school teacher, how cool is that? =) As part of her studies she needs to do 3 months abroad in an English speaking country and therefore she picked Canada. Also, she wanted a country which is far away from Germany and safe. Here, she can combine many aspects like the big city, the sea, the beach, but also being in nature. We’re very happy that she can fulfil her dream with us here in Vancouver! Her first impression of Vancouver was gorgeous! She thinks that the nature is amazing and so are the people of Canada with their outgoing demeanour and open-minded living. She doesn’t really have something on her bucket list since she wants to go with the flow and quote: ” Go wherever the river is taking me” – That’s also a nice way to experience Canada! In her free time she likes spending time with her friends and listening to music, for example Rap. Her favourite artist is Nicki Minaj =). She also loves going shopping in the city and to read books. When it comes to food, she enjoys almost everything, but when she has to choose it will probably be Bulgur with tomatoes. Here in Canada she really wants to try some pancakes with maple syrup. Who doesn’t? =) We are very happy to have her in our rows and that she will join us on our events. Maybe you can see her at today’s pub night?

Last but not least we have Anselm. He’s 18 years old from Berlin in Germany. He’s doing a voluntary work at a documentation film company for 1 month and after that he wants to work & travel through Canada in the service industry, for example at a Coffee Shop. He wants to go to Toronto. Back home he just finished high school. He picked Canada because he knew that he wanted an English speaking country which is also far away from Germany. Then he had the decision between New Zealand and Canada, but he also wanted the combination of a big city and nature and therefore went to Canada. I’m sure he made the right decision, since Vancouver’s so big =) He was first impressed by the positive and friendly people here in Canada, because for example a random guy helped him a lot with an issue on a vending machine, which was a nice experience for him. Anselm also loves the atmosphere in Downtown and especially North America! Next to seeing the nature, he has also whale watching on his bucket list. In his free time he likes meeting his friends and doing some Karate. Seems like we have a Karate Kid in our rows =) He also likes making music on the piano and watching videos on Youtube about History and Geography. His favourite food is Lasagne and he even tried poutine back in Germany. Now, he wants to try the real Canadian version =) We’re happy to have Anselm with INTERNeX and that he’s able to have a Canadian experience with us!