Spending the holidays with friends makes it all so much... more festive! Vancouver is just a quick ferry ride (at 1.5h not that quick actually) and drive away, so I gladly accepted Carolines invitation to spend a few days over christmas at her new home in Vancouver. Her husband Zane actually had to work on christmas day which meant we got to celebrate Christmas the "German way": on Christmas Eve! Yeah! And Caroline had tons of presents for me - so it was a blast!
Starting to get a pro at this ferry business...
Caroline says: This house looks like Christmas threw up over here. (And this wasnt even the house with the most lights.... didnt make it to be mentioned in the papers...)
Downtown Vancouver made me realise that I really live in a small town now. Everything is bigger here, the streets, the houses, the stores... (and I thought they say that everything is bigger in Texas - failing to have ever travelled to Texas - I am going to start calling Vancouver Texas)
The views and the water all around is amazing. These are from just driving around a small part of Stanley Park. For sure I will have to come back in the summer!!
And I did get to see more snow!! Woohoo!! We drove up a bit towards Whistler which apparently is just as great for hanging and people watching as it is for skiing in winter and hiking in summer. I got this coat as a birthday present for myself and it proves to be perfect for rain and snow out here - and for dog walking! Now that I have a coat with a hood finding an umbrella has dropped on the list of priority purchases...
For whatever reason a whole fleet of boats (yeah, I know... they are tankers) was jsut hanging out in Vancouver harbour area. They all seemed empty. With the snow and forest and winter light it almost seemded like a game of battleship - or actual battleships ready to embark on their mission...
Yeah - snow!
The fun part about snow out here in Vancouver is that down in the valley it's actually not that cold. And there actually is no snow (at least not while I was there). Rather, when you look at the mountains and peaks around - there are five I believe - you see clearly where the snow level is. Looks like someone took out a ruler and created a line - no snow below this line.
The beautiful Christmas tree with all the presents underneath!
The flan was my contribution to dinner!! :)
Opening presents, calling the parents - fun times at Christmas!
Probably the happiest (or most dedicated) to the presents was Scout. He would not let go of that huge bone he got - even barked at himself when seeing his reflection in the window...
What my family back home had for Christmas Eve dinner: Schäufele. Yummy!
Oh that is one big bird... The turkey Caroline made for Christmas dinner was something like 6.8 kg for 5 adults and 1 baby. Too much? Nah!! Plenty of leftovers for sandwiches, casseroles, and... snacking...
Since my island has no Ikea and some stuff is fun and easy to get there - Caroline and I stopped off for my first North American Ikea experience. Strangely enough some stuff is really really the same - then again some stuff is weirdly different or missing. Like they dont have my favorite slippers. Or lower sinks in the bathroom for the kids. Or the cafeteria being a display case for Ikea furniture... Or having an Ikea family card. Strange strange strange...
The one thing that Ikea does have: Köttböllar!! And they are just as... "nice"... as they are anywhere else! Best of it all: the crunchy fries!
On the ferry ride back I just about missed the earlier ferry and had to wait for an hour for the next one. Which wasnt all that bad since I got "stuck" right next to the market with bathrooms and a Starbucks. AND I got to be bascially the first car on the ferry - and off it!
What a great way to spend Christmas days - THANKS Caroline and Zane and Scout!
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