Recap of Easter in Germany

Yes I know Easter was aaaaagggeesss ago but better late than never, right? We went to Berlin, Prague and then a quick stop in Dresden before flying back to Spain from Berlin again. Images speak louder than words (though I am a writer!) so here goes......

BERLIN

Typical German street food? Why, sausages of course.... And hey, why go to the vendors when they can come to you?? Poor guys must go home with achy backs and scorched faces, smelling of bbq.....

Alexanderplatz, in the centre of Berlin, with the TV tower in the background

The Radisson hotel has a huge aquarium inside the lobby!!! This Aquadom is the biggest cylindrical aquarium in the world, and an elevator from the Sea Life Centre (next door) goes into it!!

Beside the museum island you can catch some boats to go around for a cruise

Distinctive buildings of East Berlin seen from the tower

When in Germany, dine on sausages and beer on the street--the mustard is great! ;)

I suppose they have a guide/driver who steers....all of the guys seated on the stools have in front of them a huge straw leading into kegs of beer that are transported on this "beer bike"...

Ampelmann signals tell you that you are now in East Berlin, and form part of the daily reminders of the Communist regime

Ampelmann says stop!!!!

The weather was amazing during our trip, but it was still a bit chilly at night.

Holocaust memorial--the museum is underneath. Apparently this piece of public art cost waaaaayyyyy too much and though it's kind of cool, we think that some kids are really going to get hurt jumping from one block to another (as we saw several...)

The cool roof of the Sony Centre--home to restaurants, shopping and maybe even a cinema? (I don't remember....)

Part of the original Berlin wall with original graffiti, located at Potsdamer Platz. But wait, what's that in the distance??? The Canadian embassy!! :)

Easter Sunday means all the Turkish families are having bbqs at the park!

Why are the boys so intrigued by this skyscraper, you ask? Well, it's because it is more than a building. This is actually the Kaiser Wilhelm church, destroyed during WWII and being fixed as we speak. We wandered around the square and surrounding area for close to half an hour wondering what had happened to it, and then saw a tiny sign revealing the mystery. It is HIDDEN within this "building", which is actually a bunch of plaques (or whatever the term may be) that form this building. Usually when renovations occur for whatever reason, they just cover bits and there's scaffolding, but here in Berlin, they've gone to the extreme to protect and hide it from the silly tourists........

Sunday jamming in Mauer park

What's a visit to Germany with a visit to a typical biergarten?

Site of the Nazi book-burning. There is a hole in the ground covered by glass, and if you crouch down to look (through the scratched glass, you can't see it extremely well), you can make out the memorial--empty bookcases in an otherwise-empty room.

Is that artistic sarcasm or alien propaganda??

Graffiti is a big part of Berlin's art culture--makes for something interesting to see no matter where you are!

Tacheles, a site for many of Berlin's artists.....but perhaps not legally so. It's an interesting story but the building is occupied by artists selling their wares (almost like an open market) to the public, but apparently they aren't supposed to be in the space. Last I heard they were asked to leave but I don't know what the story is now....

There's also a space out back for the sculptures and those who work with more than just paper and canvas

Who would have thought that inside this grungy place lies great sources of artistic talent?

The famous Berlin wall, AKA the East Side Gallery

This part of the wall was my favourite--what intricate design!

Pizzeria and bar included, this beach was by the river that runs through the city. Ironically enough, the only time when it rained during our trip was when we went to the beach!!!

PRAGUE

Prague castle on top of the hill

Charles Bridge in the foreground, and the castle, all lit up at night

And here I had thought that there would be too much meat on our trip to Berlin. HA! In the Czech Republic, it is even more common and the options are more limited. I did enjoy this though---a roasted pork knee where you have to hack off the meat and dip it in various mustard-type sauces. Very juicy and tender--I like it when there is bone so it's not all meat!

Some goulash and bread dumplings--one of the famed Czech dishes

Chaotic traffic in the area close to the castle

Outside the castle grounds, I was stopped by some girls who wanted a photo, so I said sure, I'll take one for you. No, no they said, we want one with you. Uhhhh....okay I said and I posed for a photo with two random girls while their friend took the picture. Strange things happen when you are amongst tourists!! ;)

Everyone wanted to press the button to "cross" through this narrow road, just coz it had a pedestrian signal. It wasn't very exciting because you get to the other side and it's the entrance to a restaurant...what a marketing gimick!! I'm sure not many people stayed to eat though.....they need a different tactic....

The mobs on the Charles Bridge, which is always crowded.

The main square in Downtown Prague

We went to the top of the tower in the main square (passing by several very unhelpful and unfriendly ticket checkers--one of whom was sleeping and not hiding it at all!) to see the views. We saw a group of Hari Krishna pass by, singing!

The main square with booths to buy food, souvenirs and the usual market fare.

The famous dancing buildings! Can you guess which famous dancers they represent? (Post your guesses in the comments!)

DRESDEN

On our way back towards Berlin we stopped in Dresden for the day. Here is part of the famous Baroque cathedral, with an original section and the rebuilt part. The historic buildings in the town were largely destroyed during the bombings of WWII.

The river Elbe runs through the town and separates it into two distinct areas: old and new

So you wouldn't think that there'd be many Canadians in Germany, let alone in Dresden, which is a relatively small town. Well, apart from this obvious reference (there were Canadian flags confirming the identity of this restaurant), I stumbled upon an exhibition in one of the local museums of Canadian art from Alert Bay, BC. According to Google, it's part of the Germany-Canada art exchange! And if that wasn't enough, we went into a place to buy ice cream and the woman was making small talk and asking where we were from. We told her and coincidentally, her husband was Canadian (from the east) and they had lived there several years before moving back! I was going to ask her if he owned the steakhouse but she was busy with customers..... It IS a small world afterall!!!

Diversion into Canadian life

Yes I know, this blog is about my adventures in Spain, but as a side no

te, I can't resist putting up photos of wonderful Canada!!

After lots of beachtime, festivals, food and drink in the Spanish style summer, we headed back to Vancouver for a 3 week visit with friends, family and the loveliness of Canadian outdoors.

We left Spain the beginning of September and after hitting Portugal and the US (with lots of hassle of course....), we made it into Seattle where my parents picked us up. At various points along the way, we thought we would miss the connection, since we had to rush around trying to figure out where to get boarding passes, and now when you arrive in the US, you have to transfer your own baggage to another belt that's about 75m away from the place you picked up your bags. Go figure. =P

The first few days were all about adjusting, relaxing and spending time with my family. We went to lots of different places to show Ruben the fantastic variety of eats there are in Vancouver, and he was blown away!! He was adventurous and by the end of it all, he had tried a large amount of strange and yummy things (including feet of various sorts--brave boy!). :)

A sampling of eats through the trip (you all knew I was going to put food photos on here, come on now!!):

Chinese~

Barbecued meats and jellyfish!!

Noodles and dumplings Shanghai style

Dim sum--baskets of yumminess

Hotpot, AKA Chinese fondue involves a variety of ingredients

Japanese~

Sushi isn't just about maki rolls!

The tiger eye is watching you....

Japanese tapas, AKA izakaya, is more popular than sushi these days!

Canadian??

This year's abundance of Sockeye salmon was met with applause from all!

Countries hit on this culinary whirlwind tour include: Japan, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Ethiopia, Switzerland and that's just skimming the surface of Vancouver's endless offerings! We just didn't have time to get to Malaysia, Greece, France, Italy, Ukraine, Singapore, India, Afghanistan, Korea, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Lebanon.............................. ;)

Besides eating, we of course did the usual sightseeing things (it had been a while since I had been to various places):

Grouse Mountain~

"The Peak of Vancouver"

We went up the hard way though--via the infamous "Grouse Grind"--a steep, 2km hike that takes you from the bottom to the top of the mountain, an elevation gain of about 870km. It looks like a walk in the park, but trust me, it's tougher than it looks!!

Average completion time 1.5 hours, and we made it in under that, despite various breaks! It is a cause for celebration for sure!!

Of course we had to pay a visit to the resident Grizzlies up top--they weren't super amused to see us all, and just went about their own business...

All he wanted to do was have a look in the mirror and a wash, but he was followed along every step....

The views from the top are amazing and worth the sweat and suffering... ;)

There are fun lumberjack shows on top as well.....

Downtown Vancouver~

One day, we took the Skytrain out into Vancouver (our metro is elevated, hence the "sky" part) and of course, we had to "drive" ourselves there, since there is no driver on board!! (Everything is automated from the control centre and the trains aren't wheeled on regular tracks, but light rail--in fact, it's the longest automated light rail system in the world, according to the authorities.)

Checked out the public art through town

Historic Hotel Vancouver reflected in the glass, near the Olympic clock in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery--site of protests and demonstrations of all sorts

The central library of Vancouver, built in the style of the Roman Coliseum

A walk along the water to check out the new convention centre (green roof and all) and just relax while enjoying a stroll along the seawall

Watching the seaplanes take off and land

The Inukshuk at English Bay--a symbol of guidance of the Inuit people of Nunavut, in the north of Canada

English Bay beach is a bit bare today, despite the sunshine

A popular stop in Stanley Park, the third largest urban park in North America, and the "jewel of the city" :)

Totem poles are distinctive for each First Nations group--which animals, how they are grouped and the colours used (except here) tell a different story

It'd be cool to live in a little colourful house on the pier....maybe for a short while only

The Lions Gate bridge links downtown Vancouver and the North Shore, with the lovely local mountains in the backdrop

Kitsilano beach~

We also went for a nice stroll in Kitsilano (where health food and yoga rule) and relaxed beside the beach

Granville Island~

Granville Bridge, one of the three that connect downtown Vancouver to the rest of the city. Underneath is Granville Island, home to workshops and galleries of artisans of all sorts

People live in some cool little places along Granville Island--complete with private dock for their luxury watercraft...ooh la la....

Chinatown~

One of the entrances to Chinatown

World's most-narrow building with its glass sidewalk

Steveston~

Fisherman's wharf at Steveston, an area in southwest Richmond

People were snatching up the cheap and delicious sockeye salmon

Fresh, big and great however you want to cook it!

Ice-hockey time~

Traffic in front of the hockey arena (see my explanation of the Skytrain above)

Partied with the super fans at an NHL game--nothing like the atmosphere of it all to get your adrenaline flowing!

It was a pre-season game that night between the Calgary Flames and our Vancouver Canucks (Canuck=Canadian). Not many big names were out playing, since they were resting up and giving a chance to the young guys to show what they got.

Unfortunately, they didn't have much to show and we lost to the Flames..... (we're in blue)

During TV time-outs, a group of superskaters (sponsored by Mike's Hard Lemonade....not sure why...) came out to clean the ice quickly and efficiently.

Of course, with a truly-in-the-know-local leading the way, we also did some not-so-typical sightseeing things:

Buddhist temple~

Visiting the Buddhist temple in Richmond

Offering some incense to the gods

Quite a lot of visitors, despite the renovations in the main building

Additional zone of tranquility in the already peaceful temple

Harvest time~

Mmmm....sweet and cheap corn!!

Impressive array of colours

It's meditative and rewarding to pick your own blueberries! We managed to get only a small amount since it was the end of the season, and so the nice man gave it to us for free. No point charging us a few cents for them--they were small but super sweet!

The Tri-Cities~

Rocky Point is a popular area to visit in Port Moody, but for the locals mostly. We stood admiring the calmness and soaking in the silence of the early morning, as some sailboats were coming in...

Asian customs~

Asian supermarkets, malls, restaurants, shops etc are everywhere in Richmond. Here we stood amazed at the speed that this guy was "dancing"....Watch this video so you can see the sweat and intensity for yourselves....

Besides eating and sightseeing, we also made discoveries, learned a few things.....

International relations

Salmon isn't just salmon--you have to specify which species you are referring to! And we all know Pacific ones are better than Atlantic... ;)

Shall I say that this was a discovery or something we learned? We didn't discover or learn anything besides that this exists downtown

...and caught up with some friends along the way....

Semi-complete group reunion, after a few years now! Guess how many countries are represented here??

Grandma is really happy with her fish dinner! :)

Well, when the resources are limited, you gotta improvise...

We missed the first party, but the boys are still eager to celebrate with good eats and balloons!

Some friends are of the non-homo sapiens variety....

It's hard to eat seafood without getting your fingers into it....

This little guy was working furiously--shoving cones into his mouth, racing into the forest (probably hiding his stash somewhere) and then scrambling back out to repeat this several times. It was like he was in a race or something...and the fact that he climbed out onto the limb of one tree, swaying madly in the wind, to break off branches (which came hurtling down towards us) first, made us appreciate his diligence even more. He knew exactly what to do to release the cones for gathering in the next step of harvest. Smart!!

Aha, another Spanish connection!

We took one week to hit the Canadian Rockies, which span across the border of British Columbia and the next province to the east, Alberta. Here we explored thoroughly two of the National Parks, Banff and Jasper, and all that they had to offer (it was a lot!).

First though, we went through the Okanagan, an area in BC known for its fruit and wines:

The famous Okanagan Lake is huge, and stretches 135km from Vernon down to Penticton, with many more important cities along the way, such as Kelowna, Westbank, Summerland, and Peachland, which is where we were in this photo.

The calm waters and mountains in the backdrop make for a peaceful setting

We rented a condo to stay in Penticton, and it was beautiful and a great deal! The place had big beds, well-equipped kitchen, great bathrooms, a bbq and lots of CDs, books etc. Highly recommended if anyone is interested in a getaway out that way.

Of course we had to go see the estate of Mission Hill, but we didn't go on a tour there. Just a look around at the land was enough....

...because we went further along and enjoyed the views and ambience at the smaller, cuter, and cozier (personal opinion here) Quail's Gate Winery. They've expanded since I was last there a few years back, but the views are still spectacular and peaceful!

After an informative tour (I learned lots about the winemaking process since I knew very little before!), our guide led us through a tasting of various wines, including tips and tricks to really pick up the smells and flavours.

Reflection of the tour group in my glass

One night, we bought lots of fruits and vegetables and cooked up a feast. We ended the night with a lovely, juicy blueberry pie--much to everyone's delight! :)

From there, we drove eastward and after quite a few hours, crossed over into the next province of Canada, Alberta, where we started off in Banff National Park. We explored it thoroughly and then split off from Tanja and Janine, who rented a car to spend more time in the wilderness and take in a canoe trip up in northern BC, in Prince George. Ruben and I continued northbound to Lake Louise, then Jasper National Park and breathed in the cool mountain air (quite cold at times, actually!), smelled the trees (and animals), gasped at the views and relaxed in some of the most breathtaking places Mother Nature has to offer in Canada. The Rockies are by far one of the most incredible things that Canadians have to be proud of!!

Main themes in the Rockies:

Lakes~

Moraine Lake, Ruben's choice from all that we saw, in various shapes and sizes. Here is the typical shot with the brightly-coloured canoes. Unfortunately it was all hazy and the views weren't as spectacular, and the water wasn't as picture-perfect as in the brochures. :)

The famous Lake Louise

We went back the next morning and it was clearer, hence the "crowd" compared to yesterday...still not the best day for the perfect photo, but hey, nature does what it wants, when it wants! :)

My favourite lake, Peyto Lake, a glacier-fed gem hidden away, just a short trek up from the parking area. The colour is actually that brilliant turquoise colour!! It was amazing! Thanks to Janine for the tip, or we may not have stopped...though lots of tourists knew about it....

Near the town of Jasper, we went to see the Valley of the Five Lakes, a short hike around to see five lakes that supposedly were all different in colour. This one is quite a darker green...

...and this one is more turquoise, but distinguishing amongst all five was difficult...

Maligne Lake in Jasper National Park was large and lovely as well. Our last attempt at renting a canoe to explore a lake was foiled, as we arrived in the afternoon and they had closed up, since it wasn't high season for tourism anymore. We tried unsuccessfully at Moraine Lake in Banff as well! :(

We did enjoy the tranquility of the lake though, and it was quite deserted since the boat tours were finished for the day. Here you see two of the ones that take you down the other end of the lake on a cruise (1.5hrs) to Spirit Island. We thought $55 was a bit much for a cruise to see an island, despite how cute it looks....

Mountains~

Within the town of Banff

A picturesque lookout point

Yes there was snow!! I said it was cold, even though it was September!!

Pyramid Mountain--obvious why, right?

Making new friends~

What a friendly Canuck!

Surprise! Nibbling lunch right beside us on the sidewalk in Banff

People have been pulling too hard...

A Spanish koala in Canada?!?!

Can you see someone in there?

Just going for a leisurely walk near Maligne Lake

This easy-going Mountie was all too happy to pose for photos

Driving along in Jasper, we came across a "traffic jam"--people had stopped to run down to the middle of the river to watch the wildlife....

Shhhh...the family is resting!

At first, we weren't sure if they were elk or caribou or whatever, but we did some research and found out how to distinguish them. They are elk (unless someone says I'm horribly mistaken....) lounging and enjoying the peace and quiet.

One of the young ones went wandering around, trekked out towards the water, and starting doing its business.....now that's nature un-edited!

The male watches over the group

Driving along further, we encountered another mini-traffic jam. In the mountains, this is usually an indicator of wildlife. We smelled them before we saw them--stinky mountain goats!!

Which way do we go?

Showing us their white bottoms

The story of the silly squirrels:

We saw many of them along the way and of course they are such a common sight that I didn't think anything of it. But that wasn't the case with Ruben--"Look, a squirrel!!" They are cute, though they are everywhere, but they made it onto the new friends list because we saw some of the funniest, most-hardworking bunch ever! This one for example, was sitting on a rail furiously scarfing down bits of this cone. You can see the progress from full cone to partially-bare. A lady walked by and it freaked out a bit and scurried onto the tree behind, but then came right back to the same spot and kept munching away as soon as she was a metre away.

The before picture

Almost there!!

The after picture--remnants of the cone and various bits--see how clean the stalk is! (Or maybe it's called a stem or something completely different....)

Later on in Whistler we saw another one racing in and out from the walking path, gathering seeds to store somewhere. When there were none left on the ground, it scurried up a tree, out on a precariously swaying branch, and starting breaking off bits of it and dropping them to the ground. Then it raced back down, stuffed a cone in between its teeth (still with needles attached to the branch) and ran to put it away. It was unbelievably methodical and hilarious to watch!

Other impressive water-related sights~

Athabasca Glacier

Lots of warning signs to be careful of fragile areas and not go out-of-bounds!

Deep, thundering canyons galore

We're not sure what this crazy was doing on the other side of the fence....

The water isn't THAT cold in Canada!

On the return from the Rockies, we looped around and powered through Kamloops and arrived in Whistler late the same night...lots of driving but we figured it was better to spend a night closer to there than wander around with nothing to do in Kamloops all night. The curves and darkness of the section between Lillooet and Pemberton had me worried, especially with the wildlife running around, and the rain.... Such is the story of this trip--rain during the most treacherous drives and the hazards of animals surprising you on the road!

It was a beautiful day the next day and we walked around to explore how things had changed since the Olympics. Whistler was pretty much the same, though with some construction and bits of Olympic remains such as the 5 rings:

The self-timer only gave us 10 seconds to get ready....

A quiet time in the centre of the village

Throughout the Rockies trip, we saw lots of people from various places. Of course many US tourists, and others from out-of-country, but we also spotted many Canadians from around the country. So many, in fact, that we started taking photos of the different licence plates. We didn't manage to find one from every province and territory, but we got close--only 5 remaining and they are far away! Here is the selection, in order from west to east (starting north with the Yukon):

After a week in the Okanagan, Rockies and Whistler, we spent the last week of the trip catching up with family and friends, and did more exploring in Vancouver. The last day of the trip before flying back to Europe, we took the bus down to Seattle. (Word of advice: the Amtrak bus is much cheaper and faster than the Quick Shuttle. The trains were sold out and I don't know how much they were, but the Amtrak bus left the same bus station as the Quick Shuttle and made fewer stops.) The border crossing was amazingly fast--20 mins for a bus full of people and we didn't get asked anything! We arrived to relatively good weather, wandered around the city, saw the port, the football stadium (there seemed to be good ambience in there with a game going on), Pike Place Market, the downtown and the old town.

Seattle Seahawks stadium

Going crazy for giant ice cream!!

The first ever Starbucks coffee shop

Famous Pike Place Market--no fish-throwing today because we got there late and they were closing down already...

Then we grabbed our bags, took the light rail train towards the airport and called the hotel for pickup. They have a good system there, with phones connecting you to the hotels and bays for waiting for shuttle service outside the airport. We stayed at the Days Inn near the airport and it was great--a big comfy room, jacuzzi (!), free breakfast buffet (with lots of variety and make-your-own waffles too!) and free 24hrs airport shuttle.

In total, we were away for just over 3 weeks and it flew by....but it was lovely and fun, even for the local, who hadn't seen certain places for a long time! :)