What to Do in Vancouver – in Winter

Even if the days are getting shorter and it’s often grey and cold outside there is still much to do in Vancouver. To convince you; I would like to give you an insight into what to expect in this sometimes uncomfortable but also cozy season when autumn changes into winter.
In addition to well known activities like going for walk or sipping a hot coffee or chocolate in a cute cafe there is definitely more to do at this time of the year…
Are you still in autumn mood or can you already feel the holiday spirit?

1. Firstly, one of the places definitely on my own bucket list. The illuminated Capilano Suspension Bridge. Maybe you already saw it on many of the instragram posts, but even if it is not the case I think it’s more than beautiful walking across the huge bridge in a “world full of lights”. Starting November 20 till January 23 you can experience a fully illuminated bridge as well as the environment like all the trees around it. I would recommend going there in the evening since the lights are more “bright” when it’s dark outside. It is a bit pricey but this is the best time of year to get your moneys worth here.

2. What’s better than having a cosy afternoon or evening strolling through a Christmas Market? Trying one or two or even more hot mulled wines – sometimes the one for children is also really delicious – and having a additional delicious snack like roasted chestnuts 😉 Maybe it’s also a nice place for Christmas shopping – imagine being in time collecting all the presents and not being late like every other year 😉 Vancouver Christmas Market with all its activities, snacks and drinks takes place daily from November 13 to December 24. So after this market ends you can directly move into the Christmas celebration with family and friends.

3. Seems like this post is all about lights – our next magically illuminated location is VanDuse’s Festival of Lights in VanDusen Botanical Garden. This one returns to Vancouver by November 26. You’ll get the opportunity to explore more than a million lights which takes you into a magical winter wonderland. Don’t forget to buy a ticket in advance and above all don’t forget to enjoy your time and take a few pictures 🙂

4. Vancouver isn’t always as cold as you may think, thus it is a great place for outdoor activities like ice skating. Besides watching a Canucks game you can try being sporty yourself on the ice.
There’s the huge and of course illuminated ice rink at Robson Square. Starting from early December until February you can enjoy outdoor ice skating over there. You don’t have any skates? No problem, just borrow a pair for a small price (cash only) directly at the ice-skating rink.

And even if right now it is the rainy season in Vancouver, don’t let a little rain drop stop you from doing amazing winter outdoor activities. What’s your favourite winter activity?

Enjoy your weekend 🙂

– Tatjana

INTERNeX International Exchange
2005-689 Abbott St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 0J2
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

What to Do in Vancouver – your favourite fall recipe

So the fall series continues…
Pumpkin spice everything nice 😉 from latte to pie; pumpkin has been added everywhere;)
Food, food, food – todays blogpost is all about an autumn recipe you’ll definitely love.

So let’s start with the famous pumpkin pie, which should not be missed during this season.
Take your time because baking an old-fashioned pumpkin pie will take time (60 minutes) to be perfectly delicious.
Here are the ingredients:
For the filling
– 21 oz (600g) pumpkin puree
– 2 large eggs
– 1/2 cup packed brown sugar and 1/3 cup white sugar, 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 2 teaspoons cinnamon (in my opinion; better too much than too little)
– 1 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
– 1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom
– 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
– 1 cup (240ml) heavy cream
– 1/4 ground cloves
and for the crust
– 1 1/3 cups (200g) flour
– 1/4 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp sugar
– 1/2 cup (120g) cold butter; 1/4 cup(60ml) cold water
– 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
First start with the filling.
Beat the eggs in a bowl; add the heavy cream . Then mix the sugars, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cardamon and the lemon zest with the pumpkin puree until everything is well mixed.
If you are done with this step let’s continue with the crust. The pie crust lies around the pie and gives it hold and the delicious solid crust.

1. Start with mixing the apple cider vinegar with the cold water. Place in the fridge. Mix the flour, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Cut the cold butter into even smaller pieces and put it in the bowl. For now gradually add the cold apple cider vinegar water. Be fast so that the dough and the butter do not warm up. Next step: knead everything until the dough starts to stick together. Since the dough should not be too wet, don’t add too much water.
Now it’s time to wait; wrap the dough in a plastic wrap and leave it in the fridge for about 45 minutes.

2. Aaaafter a loong (ok not that long) wait…
roll out the dough to a size somewhat larger than a 9 inch (23cm) pie dish. Put the dough into the dish and press it down on bottom and sides. Use your fingers to create a pattern. After that prick the dough using a folk several times and place everything in the fridge for another 20 minutes.
Now you can preheat the oven to 200 degrees celcius. Put a piece of baking parchment on top of the dough and fill with rice. Bake the crust for about 20 minutes until the edges have got some colour. Remove from the oven and let cool down a bit.
After it’s slightly cooled down lover the temperature of the oven to 180 degree and put the filling into the cooled pie crust. Bake for another 50 minutes. It’s a wrap.
Tip: You really shouldn’t bake the pie any longer than written in the recipe. pay a little attention to your gut feeling. If it looks and smells good – it’s done 🙂
Cool the pumpkin pie for around 2 hours and don’t forget that the cake will come out of the oven puffed up and will deflate as is cools down. If you want feel free to decorate the cake with heavy cream, nuts or some pumpkin pie spice.

Now you’re ready to enjoy the best cake ever 😉
– and don’t forget to share with your friends and family even if it’s that tasty 😉

For those guys staying in Canada right now – hope you had a great Canadian Thanksgiving evening with family and friends:)


Maybe you’ll find the perfect baking buddy at tonights INTERNeX pubnight:)
6pm at the Cambie pub in Gastown.

Enjoy!!

– Tatjana

INTERNeX International Exchange
2005-689 Abbott St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 0J2
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

What to Do in Vancouver – the perfect fall day

It’s already the first week of october which means the trees are now shining in beautiful autumn colours and the leaves are turning red, yellow and orange – wonderful !
What could be better than enjoying a cozy autumn day with some typical fall acitivites.
So for now let me give you some inspirations for fun fall activities to try:)

1. Maybe you’ve checked our previous instagram story. It was all about the pumpkin patches which opened this week. These places are highly recommended for taking amazing pictures and enjoying your day ( maybe with new friends you met at the INTERNeX pubnight 😉 )
Great pumpkin patches are located in Vancouver, Richmond, Surrey or Langley.

2. Visit a Farmer’s Market
Just strolling around, tasting nice food or drinks and maybe you’ll find the perfect pumpkin for your pumpkin pie or as i like to do, to decorate your apartement. Sounds like a plan.
There’s this fall market right in Vancouver Downtown starting on November 6th.

3. Go for a long walk
Since going for a walk is one of the easiest things to include in a stressful work day you can just take your time to relax a bit. This also has a great affect on your health and may give you new ideas about what you wanna do on the next autumn day.
Additionally, it’s a great experience to take a hike, grab your running shoes or even take a bike ride through Stanley Park. But better do not forget your rain clothes.

4. Autumn and Halloween festivals
What’s fall without Halloween and thinking of where to go and what to wear as the perfect costume already a few weeks in advance 😉 ?
There are many (maybe this year less than usually, but still some) festivals taking place in Vancouver.
In addition, FlyOver Canada has some Halloween theme days till the end of October which are definitely worth a visit.
But don’t forget to bring your vaccination document as well as wearing a face mask all the time. Unfortunately, covid still exists but that doesn’t have to keep us from doing fun activities especially the outdoor ones.

…there are many more fun acitivites but for now i would love to share my perfect fall day with you.
Imagine you’re having a day off to do all the cozy fall things you always wanted to do.
Start your day with pumpkin pancakes and a loong brunch. Definitely a good start in a great day.
After that just grab your jacket and go for a walk in Stanley Park or at the beach. Maybe you can spot some animals or find beautiful leaves and chestnuts for your apartement decoration.
Decorate your place will definitely put you in fall mood 😉
After a long walk you might get a bit cold so it’s the perfect time for a warm coffee or hot chocolate in one of the many cute cafés in Gastown. Take a closer look at the menu… many cafes are offering fall specials such as pumpkin spice latte.
Back home it’s definitely time for changing into comfortable clothes. It’s movie time.
For this season a nice scary horror movie would fit best…but not for me i prefer a love story :D. So if you’re not such a “scared rabbit” (as we say in Germany) enjoy the movie!! A cozy evening at home 🙂
Are you excited for cozy season? I really am.

Luckily, for today you already found the perfect activity… It’s wednesday which means INTERNeX pubnight!! 🙂 7:30pm at Craft Beer Market, False Creek.

Happy autumn ! 🙂

– Tatjana

INTERNeX International Exchange
2005-689 Abbott St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 0J2
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

What to Do in Vancouver – hockey edition

Learn more about ice hockey – a summary of the basic rules – Go Canucks, go!!!
What’s Canada without hockey? There’s definitely something missing.
As indicated in the last blogpost; today’s posting is all about understanding (ice-) hockey 🙂
Taught by an expert like me 😀 just kidding but I’ll try my best

Let’s start with the basics 🙂 What is ice hockey (known as hockey in Canada) anyway?
First a historical fact but no worries I’ll keep it short. This sport was originally developed from field hockey in the second half of the 19th century. Hockey is a game played on ice between two teams of 6 players each, one of which is the goalkeeper. Of course, the teams consist of more players, substituted during the game. This normally happens every few minutes. Which means that hockey is definitely a really fast and intensive sport. The players use long curved sticks to hit the puck, a small rubber disk (weighing exactly 166 grams), to score goals.
As many of you may know the puck is really small. One surely wonders if it’s possible to follow the puck as a spectator in a big stadium at all? I think it’s kind of easy. Where there is the crowd of players there must be the puck 🙂 Also how do you know a goal has been scored? As in many professional sports you will see a light flashing behind the goal. So, everyone can see that a goal has just been scored. The game is played in three thirds of 20 minutes with breaks between every third. The time will be stopped in every interruption during the game. Additionally, there is a change of sides after every third. That’s why a game usually lasts much longer than 60 minutes (normally about 2-2.5 hours). Which also means you can enjoy watching longer than expected 😉 and don’t forget to join singing the national anthem at the beginning of every match.

The Rink: Have you ever taken a closer look at the hockey rink? It’s full of coloured lines with different meanings. The two lines on each end where the goal is located are called the goal lines. Unlike in soccer the players are also allowed to play behind these goal lines. The blue lines divide the surface into equal thirds, called zones. The zone right in front of the teams own goal is the defensive zone.
The opposite one is called attacking zone or offensive zone. Between the two blue lines is the neutral zone. The dots with circles around them form the face-off circles, which can be used as a start point after an interruption.

Penalty: In hockey, penalties or even brawls are certainly not uncommon. However, the use of the body is an important part of the game. Thus, it is allowed to “check” a player of the opposing team.
But of course, there are rules 🙂

A really common penalty is caused by using the stick inappropriately. This must never be held above shoulder height, especially to hit someone in the face. Also not allowed are fouls such as elbowing, fighting (when players drop their gloves and throw punches at each other), kneeing (fouling an opponent with the knee), slashing or tripping which can cause an opposite player to fall by using a part of the body or the stick or charging which is taking a long run at someone or specifically targeting the head with a hit. Penalties can be 2 minutes for a minor or 5 minutes for a major (or 10 minutes for fighting… or a game misconduct for something very serious); 5 minutes major penalties do not end when the fouled team scores as it does with a minor penalty… it keeps going for the full duration. Sometimes you will receive a double minor with is 2+2 minutes… this is often the case when someone gets a “high stick” to the face which is 2 minutes and another 2 if they drew blood during the hit. Crazy.

Powerplay and Man-Down: Of course, such a penalty situation is only bad for one team. The resulting overpowering situation for the other team is called powerplay. A good chance to score a goal. The penalized team is considered a “man-down” or “two-men down” if the play results in a 5 vs 3 scenario when they are double penalized

Offside & Icing: If a player enters the offensive zone before the puck that is considered offside. And I think that’s way easier than in soccer 😀 BUT if you shoot the puck the full length of the ice it is called icing and the play is called back to the defensive zone of the team that “iced” the puck. However if a team is a man down due to having received a penalty they are allowed to ice the puck so you will often see them shoot the puck the full distance to get it out of their defensive zone during the penalty.

So that’s it for now I hope I could give you a good first insight into the Canadian national sport.

Have a look at the upcoming season schedule. There are only 4 days left till the first game of the year.
Find further information on https://www.nhl.com/canucks

Cheers,

– Tatjana

INTERNeX International Exchange
2005-689 Abbott St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 0J2
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com

What to Do in Vancouver on a rainy day

Why is our beautiful Vancouver also called Raincouver?
Of course it is because there are many rainy days during the rainy season (most rainy between October to March). However, that doesn’t mean there’s not much to do on these days. I’ve compiled some inspirations of fun things to do in Vancouver on a rainy day.

First start with a trip to Gastown on a rainy day. Isn’t it cosy choosing one of the cute little cafes to have a great chat with friends while drinking hot chocolate and watching the rain running down the windows. As I mentioned in one of the previous blogposts; I can highly recommend trying the nutella latte 😉 In the evening it’s also a nice place to drink and eat your way through the many restaurants and bars. Maybe it would be cool to go bowling, play pool, or sing your favourite songs at a karaoke bar afterwards?
Yaletown about 20 minutes walk south of Gastown also has a lot of nice cafes and restaurants and even a billiards room.

Shopping. What’s the first thing that comes to your mind when thinking of a great indoor activity? For me it’s definitely shopping 😉 Besides the many stores on Robson street the malls such as Pacific centre or Hudson Mall are also worth a visit. If you want to head to Vancouver’s shopping HQ you may want to think about taking a Skytrain to Metropolis at Metrotown (it’s in Burnaby about 20 mins from downtown). Maybe you can spot a great offer and brighten your rainy day 😉

A rainy day is definitely a day for all our museum and culture lovers. Learn about human ancestors at the Museum of Anthropology or have a look at interesting work from famous painters at Vancouver Art Gallery. Of course there are many more places to explore like the Vancouver Maritime Museum or the Police Museum.
Also our sports enthusiasts will find their proper place with a visit at BC Sports Hall of Fame.
I’m curious about your experiences after you’ve visited one of these places.

Skiing. In the first moment this might sound a bit weird because nobody wants to be on a ski slope in the rain, i guess. But maybe it’s a good way to escape the rain. While going on top of the mountain you will also go above the clouds which means no rain anymore; there’s still the possibility having a snowy day but I think that’s ideal for skiing.

Watch hockey. Since the hockey season as well as the rainy season starts in October this is definitely a good coincidence to go watch a hockey match on a rainy day. For more tips about how hockey works and further information for the upcoming season you have to be patient.
As a hint i can say; have a look at the blogposts next week.

If you still want to stay outdoors you can just buy a cute umbrella and rubber boots and go for a walk. It certainly won’t be as crowded as usual.

Have great Weekend 🙂

– Tatjana

INTERNeX International Exchange
2005-689 Abbott St., Vancouver, BC, V6B 0J2
Web: http://www.internexcanada.com
Email: pr@internexcanada.com