This is the undeniably true tourism slogan of the most western Canadian Province bordering the USA, British Columbia. After a few months of working in Germany I signed a contract with Image Engine, in Canada. I decided it was best to leave my BMW at home in Vienna and look for an alternative in Canada.
Like most major Canadian cities Vancouver borders the US in the South. The city is know for it’s rainy climate during fall and winter. There is no such thing as London weather once you have experienced Vancouver during this period. Spring and summer however make up for it big time.
The ‘little’ green peninsula on the center right on the image above is Stanley Park. It’s one of the biggest city parks in the world and unlike most parks it is not perfectly cultivated. It’s the same kind of rain forest you can find anywhere else in B.C. The park is named after Lord Stanley who was one of the first kind of prime ministers of Canada. He is also name giver to the Stanley Cup, the big final tournament of each season of the (North American) National Hockey League (NHL).
The look of the Vancouver skyline is dominated by apartment buildings of which each floor has balconies, surprisingly all the way to the top.
Vancouver is ideal for any kind of outdoors sports. Lot’s of biking routes and hiking opportunities. Kayaking and rowing are also very popular. Some people even play hockey!
While Vancouver globally speaking is a very new city it is astounding to find out that tall buildings like this brick building below can be up to a century old.
The city has one of the biggest China Towns which is often used for movie shoots to double as Asia.
Because the the city faces the sea in the west there are no mountains to block the sunset which is often very colorful.
Fishing is also big in Vancouver and naturally all along the coast like in the little fishing village of Steveston just a few dozen km south of metro Vancouver. Surprisingly in Vancouver fish is quite expensive. However here in Steveston the prices are very competitive. Freshly caught salmon is just a tad more expensive than chicken by the pound. (Unlike the US Canada seems to be on the fence about whether to use imperial or metric units so they use a bit of both..)
