Blog 21
Now that I have painted outside for about 10 years, I look differently at nature. It has sharpened my view of my surroundings. At the time of our trip however, even though I was fascinated with nature, I only created the occasional sketch. It was new territory for me. Until then I had only painted inside, mostly from photographs or the occasional still life.
I wish we could go back to all these places, and I could see them
with a fresh eye and sketch what I see. Maybe one day. At the moment,
I am seriously thinking of painting some of the sights referring to
our photos. Having just found out that one of my favourite teachers
is moving to British Columbia, maybe there will be a possibility to
join him and another of our Plein Air Ensemble members who has lived
out west for many years for a painting trip.
Now back to my travelogue. After we disembarked the ferry in
Vancouver, we drove through a landscape of meadows and fields. I felt
like being in the Netherlands. In Fort Langley, a picturesque Western
town, we missed the highway we wanted to take and stayed instead on
Highway 1 until Hope. We continued to Kaleden where we were
surrounded by lakes. We say lots of motor boats, skidoos, and people
swimming. The Okanagan Lake was one of the biggest lakes I had ever
seen.
The region of the Okanagan Valley is very fertile. There are many
orchards and lots and lots of roadside vendors. Unfortunately, most
of them were closed when we came by late in the afternoon.
vineyards of the German wine route |
sketch of the the vineyards from the train from Mainz to Bonn, March 2016 |
The vineyards reminded us of Germany's Weinstraße (wine route) and caused us to think about all the foods we were longing for:
-
my mother's roasted duck with rutabaga
-
salmon with horseradish
-
fresh rolls with blue cheese
-
Sauerkraut casserole
-
spinach
-
my mother's warm potato salad with bratwurst
I guess having had hamburgers as our main meal for weeks really
increased our longing for some flavourful food.
At least I was able to satisfy my sweet tooth. In Kelowna, we found
the fantastic bakery and restaurant “The Cheesecake Cafe”, where
we bought a very yummy piece with berries and apricots. The piece was
as expensive as in Vancouver but had double the size. Their cream
tarts were so huge, at least 15 cm high. I had never seen anything
like it. Three people could have easily shared a piece.
In Vernon, we spent the night. The affordable motel offered not only
a nice room but also a pool, a whirlpool and a sauna. As it was still
very warm, we enjoyed the facilities to refresh ourselves after a day
of travel.
I finally managed to call my parents and my sister. In British
Columbia, it was hard to find any credit card phones. Most of the
time we had to call through the switchboard of the lodging
facilities, which increased the fees by 30%. At the end, we ended up
charging the telephone fees to the account of Ingo's parents.
The banking system was also different. While most bills in Germany
are still paid by bank transfer, here in Canada people generally used
cheques. I do not even remember anymore why we needed cheques but
Ingo had forgotten his, and could only order new ones at the
account-holding branch of his bank which was in Mississauga. We had
to ask his father to send cheques to the payees. How much easier
banking has become with the help of PayPal and e-transfers.
I hope you enjoy my 1995 impressions of Canada, and learn a little
bit about Germany at the same time. I will continue my blog next week
with our drive to Calgary. Please return to my blog next Friday. I would like to know if you have some favourite foods that remind you of home. If
so, please leave me a comment.
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