Vancouver: Inspired by Nature, Art and Soccer

 

Blog 6A

Thank you for reading my blog. I had a fantastic time in Vancouver, visiting my son and his fiancée.

I left on Monday morning, June 22, around 7 AM, which meant getting up before 5 AM – challenging for a night owl who usually gets to bed after 1 AM.

However, arriving early gave me a full day to enjoy the city.

 

It was unseasonably warm, with temperatures in the high twenties, when my son picked me up from the SkyTrain. I quickly set out to explore the neighbourhood, looking for possible painting locations. I marvelled at all the magnificent, cheerful flowers along the sidewalks, in community gardens, and enjoyed the shade provided by the huge trees along the road all the way down to the harbour.

 

Science World decorated as a giant soccer ball for the FIFA World Cup 2026

That evening, my son, his fiancée, and I went to Kitsilano Beach Park. I was in awe of the spectacular view of the huge freight ships on one side and the heavily populated beaches with swimmers and volleyball players on the other, all surrounded by mountains.

 

Kitsilano Beach Park

The next day, I painted in Mount Pleasant Community Park, surrounded by flowers, vegetables, herbs, and fruit. Unfortunately, there was no spot in the shade. At least I found an old chair that I used while painting one of the colourful flower beds until the mid-day heat forced me to look for a shaded spot, which I found on a street corner with a flower bed of magenta-coloured poppies. Unfortunately, I had to stand while capturing the beautiful flowers. Therefore, I retreated quickly to the house.

 

Flower Medley, watercolour, 5.5" x 8.5", unfinished

You can check out the videos of that location here:

 1) Community garden painting spot: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/2Ih3QcQrG6I 

2) At the end of the session: https://youtube.com/shorts/aV-jGNCKuMg?si=g4sf8yfG5fmecJWo 

 

Magenta Poppies, watercolour pencils, 5.5" x 8.5", unfinished

You can check out the videos of the poppy location here:

1) Poppy Painting Spot: https://youtube.com/shorts/6ViLrHL2n14?si=bGqPSHEe5DqzuiVq

2) Painting Poppies: https://youtube.com/shorts/65JCD57uLfY?si=5rfcKGhyr2o17ByI 

 

In the early evening, we went for a 6.3 km hike in Stanley Park, one of my must-see places of the trip. We were all surprised that I could manage the distance without a break. Even a year ago, I would not have been able to manage this distance, but 4.5 years after my double pelvic fracture, I have finally regained my fitness level, with a few modifications and thanks to continuous physio exercises.

 

Beaver Lake, Stanley Park

I didn't have time to sketch. However, the visit to Stanley Park provides enough inspiration for years of painting, with the majestic trees, the beautiful rose garden, Beaver Lake, and the breathtaking views from the Seawall.

 

 

Stanley Park, view from the Seawall

On Wednesday, the FIFA World Cup game between Switzerland and Canada was held in Vancouver. My son and I joined thousands of fans downtown, many dressed in red. The outdoor viewing places were so overcrowded that we looked for a place in a restaurant to watch the game. We finally found two chairs in a small Mexican restaurant. The mood was amazing, even though Canada lost in the end. After the game, we visited Gastown, with the famous Steam Clock, and walked around the Vancouver Convention Centre, which offers amazing waterfront views.

 

Canada Place

The cooler weather on Thursday made it the perfect day to visit Queen Elizabeth Park. I strolled through the beautiful landscape before visiting the Bloedel Conservatory, home to tropical plants and rescued birds. While the tropical plants and rescued birds were breathtaking, my severe mouse phobia made the visit very stressful.

Queen Elizabeth Park with the Bloedel Conservatory in the back

 

Later, while walking to the Van Dusen Botanical Garden, I got lost and ended up in the rose garden instead, where I painted three red roses.

Three Red Roses, watercolour, 5.5" x 8.5"

Here are the videos from this painting session:

1) View of the Rose Garden: https://youtube.com/shorts/7w9Q1y3AsBU?si=oR76kCjKoIiGjQn6

2) With the finished painting: https://youtube.com/shorts/6MVX-Mxs1Hk?si=HcHq-E2iF81jX69k 

As it rained on Friday, I visited the Vancouver Art Gallery to see the outstanding exhibition,"That Green Ideal - Emily Carr and the Idea of Nature", with about 100 works of the exceptional Canadian painter. At the end of the exhibition, visitors were encouraged to draw, inspired by Emily Carr's painting, "The Little Pine", an invitation I could not resist.

 

Vancouver Art Gallery

While Emily Carr already criticized in her art the environmental impact of industrial logging, its ecological effects and consequences on the lives of Indigenous people, the second special exhibition," Future Geographies: Art in the Century of Climate Change", was even clearer in its message that human exploitation of resources endangers all lives on the planet. It was a gloomy reminder of the consequences of our actions.

top right: an impression of Emily Carr's painting, The Little Pine

On my final day in Vancouver, we visited Granville Island with its many specialty shops and the huge indoor market. I am sure everyone's mouth was watering with the sight of all the fresh food.

 

Fresh produce at the indoor market

In the afternoon, my son and I visited Lynn Canyon Park. On our hike, we crossed the suspension bridge and the breathtaking forest. It was hot again, and we envied the people bathing in the crystal-clear Thirty Foot Pool. The many stairs on the path were quite the workout, but worth the effort. A quick detour to Deep Cove, where we skipped a famous sandwich shop with a queue of a couple of metres in favour of ice cream and a trip to a fantastic bakery in Vancouver.

 

Lynn Canyon Park

At the airport that evening, I had an unexpected surprise: While I was waiting at the gate for my overnight flight to Ottawa, I met a friend and fellow artist from Ottawa whom I hadn't seen for more than ten years. Although we still keep in touch through social media, we could have chatted for hours.

Even exhausted after a restless night and a day of moving boxes and furniture,  I returned home filled with inspiration and grateful for the opportunity to revisit Vancouver after more than thirty years. Plus, I still drew my last blue object, a Blue Jay that had visited me almost every day in June.

 

 

On the last days of June and July 1, it was challenging to choose only three objects from the many green plants and animals nature provides for our pleasure. The first two drawings show plants from the Queen Elizabeth Garden. The frog is from a reference photo taken at Petrie Island. I added the picture of the frog from July 1 to this blog because it is the last image of the series of greens. The remaining July drawings will appear in my next blog on July 31, 2026.

 

Green Objects

 

What would you like me to draw during August? Please leave your suggestion in the comments. Feel free to challenge me as I continue my daily drawing routine.

The Big Adventure – part 15: From Sault Ste. Marie to Mississauga

Blog 24

After we spent three days in the United States, we crossed the border to Canada in Sault Ste. Marie. It was already late when we checked in at a Motel at Clear Lake. All the stores were already closed, and the restaurants we saw on our way were rather expensive for our budget. Therefore, our dinner consisted of chocolate, chips and grapes. This did not help to lift my mood which had been somber since we crossed the border. All the border formalities made me realize that I did not want to live my whole life as a foreigner in an unfamiliar country without the right to vote. I started to brood about the question what would happen if Ingo found a terrific job but I would not be able to stay in Canada. Ingo was even prepared to separate for up to two years if he got a fantastic offer.

Then the questions just kept on coming. What would I do if I returned to Germany? My apartment was rented out, I had given my resignation at work. In retrospect, I am surprised how few thoughts I had spent on the possibility of not liking the country, and all the obstacles that could be in our way. I am usually an over-cautious person. This was the first time, I had taken a big leap, and I was not handling it too well. I guess I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, that I could succeed in building up a new life, and live an adventure nobody would have done before in my circle of family and friends. Nobody would have expected me to go ahead with such an adventure.

I loved Ingo, but I felt his frustration with me. He was afraid he would lose me, and disappointed that I did not fight harder to find possibilities where I saw only obstacles. He appealed to my strength of persistence, telling me that it was normal that the adaptation was difficult at first but that I would adjust to the new situation. However, I did not want to adapt, and was worried to be dependent on Ingo due to the fact that I would probably not find any work in Canada without having received a work permit first.

I was worried where I would find work even with a work permit. I had no clue about the Canadian economy and employment situation. Then there was the question of children. Would I only look for an interim solution or did I want to build my career?

The more home sick I became, the more questions occupied my mind. Questions for which I did not even want to find a positive answer. I was up until 2 am worrying and writing in my journal.

No wonder I was tired on our last leg of the trip. We continued our trip to Manitoulin Island where we boarded the ferry to Tobermory. I was amazed how green everything was. Within the three weeks since we left Ontario, the nature has just exploded. However, it was quite cool. After two weeks in summer clothes, we had to reach for long pants, sweatshirts, and jackets.

The ferry trip was not very exciting. There was hardly anything to see until we came close to Tobermory. The lighthouse of Cove Island looked very romantic. Unfortunately, we did not take any pictures as we were struggling to eat the doughy pizza we bought in the restaurant on the ferry.

In Tobermory, we put on hiking boots and climbed over the rocks of Bruce Peninsula National Park. It was a lot of fun. I even dared to climb through a tight crevice up a big rock. The water was light green, and you could see that the limestone rocks form stairs that continue into the water. I would have loved to go swimming, but the strong current makes it impossible for humans to go into the water and destroy the idyll. I was fascinated by the many flowers that were resilient enough to grow on the rocky surface. On the impressive rocks they looked even more delicate.

From Tobermory we went straight back to Mississauga. I had hoped that I would find piles of letters from Germany from the last four weeks, but I only found one letter from my grandmother. I was very happy to hear from her, but sad that I did not get more mail. However, Ingo's mother had brought some gifts from her trip to Germany, some specialty chocolate, a cooking book, my favourite shampoo, shower gel, and toothpaste.

Today, with social media, email, Skype, Hangout, etc. it is so much easier to stay in contact. I love that I can see my parents these days when we talk through Skype. However, in 1995, I had to wait a long time to hear from my family and friends. The only ones I regularly phoned where my parents and my sister, and even that was complicated due to the time difference and it was expensive.

After our trip to Vancouver and back, we did not stay long with Ingo's parents in Mississauga. Our next destination was London, Ontario, where Ingo had studied and where we visited one of his friends.

Thank you for reading my blog. It is quite interesting to me to go back in time after more than 20 years. If you would like to continue to accompany me during my look back to my first months in Canada, please return to my blog next Friday.

The Big Adventure – part 14: From Calgary to the American Border

Blog 23

When we left Calgary, our next destination was Drumheller, the former territory of the dinosaurs. The further east we drove, the more the meadows disappeared. Finally, the farmland turned into vast areas of dry land. It looked very desolate. First, we visited the Rosedale Swinging Suspension Bridge that crossed the Red Deer River. On the opposite side of the river we could already see the “hoodoos” of the Canadian Badlands, mushroom shaped geological formations which were formed by erosion caused by water and wind. The “Dinosaur Trail” went through these fantastic rock formations. To reach the other side of the river, we had to take a small ferry.

At the end of our round trip, we found the “Little Church” which was hardly bigger than Ingo. Only six people fit inside at a time. There was no altar but Christian Music was playing. What a great place for prayer or meditation!

In the surrounding fields, Ingo and I saw many small animals the size of a hamster. They had light brown fur and were playing and cuddling together. What a sweet sight! I still do not know what kind of animals they were. Does anyone know the answer?

We continued to Bassano where we enjoyed a combination of lunch and dinner. It was already 6 pm, and we had been so immersed in the sights around us that we had not made time to eat. While we were enjoying our food, we saw a young man sitting under a tree. Shortly after, he was lying on the stairs in front of the toilets. As it turned out, he had biked from Calgary and overdone what he was capable of. We gave him some salt pretzels and grapes which he could not keep down. Then, we stayed, and talked to him until he felt better.

Unfortunately, we could not go to the Dinosaur Provincial Park anymore, but we continued to Medicine Hat where we spent the night in a motel. Our room was huge, and it had a desk and even a refrigerator. We definitely got more worth out of our money outside of the big tourist destinations. Even if a bottle of carbonated water was still extremely expensive. The cheapest 0.75L bottle we found at a store cost still almost $2. It was just not an item that was much in demand at the time. Nowadays, you can buy all kinds of different sparkling waters in the grocery stores. Ironically, by now I have switched to plain water, mostly out of the faucet. It seems that you adapt to your surroundings, even if you do not notice it.

The next day, we drove to the Cypress Hills Provincial Park. The landscape changed from flat to rocky. Everything was so quiet. You could just hear the leaves rustling in the wind and the birds. We saw a couple of free running cows, and later a coyote or maybe even a wolf. We passed two beautiful lakes: Elkwater Lake and Reesor Lake. I loved the mix of the dark greens of the conifers and the fresh greens of the deciduous forest.

Once we passed the Battle Creek, the road got worse. First there was gravel, but soon the road was more appropriate for a four wheeler. The rutting tore off part of the splitter of our car. We had to leave the car a couple of times to move boulders out of the way. If it had rained it would have been quite the muddy adventure. We even had to drive through a small creek before we finally reached the highway again. Somehow, we must have missed the right road suggested by the “Canadian Book of Roads”. We definitely saw areas of the park that are usually not visited by tourists.

On the highway, we saw a sign advising us that there would not be any settlements or gas stations for the next 134 km. A perfect time for a nap. I woke up when we reached the border to the United States. For the next two days we drove through Havre, Malta, Culbertson, Williston, Bemidji, Minot, Rugby, Crookston, Duluth, Wakefield, Marquette, along the Lake Superior through Christmas and finally back to Sault Ste. Marie in Canada.

While this was a beautiful part of our trip, I will continue my travelogue next week with our stay in Sault Ste. Marie as I am writing about my first impressions of Canada.

The Big Adventure – part 13

Blog 22

I am sitting at the cottage, enjoying a wonderful sunny day while I am writing this blog. I enjoy looking back at the great trip my husband and I did right after we moved to Canada. I am glad we went. Once Ingo had a job, we bought a house and soon after adopted a puppy. With the new responsibilities, a trip like this would have been difficult to organize.

In today’s blog, I am writing about the drive from Vernon to Calgary. At first, the landscape around us was still dominated by meadows and farmland. We passed Mara Lake, another of the magnificent lakes we saw on our trip. It was huge, with a beautiful sand beach and water as smooth as a mirror.

Soon, however, we ended up in a big cloud of dust that made it difficult to see anything around us. Highway 1 was covered with a mix of gravel and sand. For someone who was raised in Germany and was used to the well established autobahn system, seeing what roads Canadians considered a highway was unbelievable. Now, after having lived for more than 20 years in Canada, I can see the damage that is the result of the harsh winter conditions roads. In addition, the dimensions of Canada are just not comparable with the ones of “little” Germany, where the population density is much higher.

A rude awakening awaited us when we were faced with a battlefield caused by human interests. Hundreds of cut down trees created a very somber mood, especially after the picturesque lake scenery.

In 3 Valley Gap, we found a ghost town with historic buildings which were moved to the location from various towns in British Columbia. Some of the buildings were already renovated, others were in their original state. Some were still used for big gatherings. I was fascinated by a luxury train with living room, dining room and a couple of sleeping cabins. That is traveling in style!

As the owner of the museum also owned the adjacent hotel, we were taking on a tour through the hotel. The pool area was decorated with a true to scale mural of the Titanic. Ingo was fascinated by the honeymoon suite which was in a cave and had a bathtub carved out of stone and a small waterfall.

We stopped in the Mount Revelstoke National Park for a picnic and some time to sketch. Our trip led us from one park to the next. We had traveled through the Glacier National Park and the Yoko National Park that turns into the Banff National Park at the border of Alberta.

Even though we were in the mountains, it was very warm. I guess it was a different story further up at the peaks of the mountains that were still covered in snow. Banff was a picturesque city with beautiful houses and shops. However, the prices reflected that it was a place for people with money. Nevertheless, there were lots of people strolling around.

I took over the wheel for the next part of our journey as we had a piece of well maintained highway in front of us where the speed limit was 110 km/h. Finally, we could drive at a decent speed. However, I had to admit that most roads were not suitable for the high speed I was used to driving on the German autobahn. The road conditions made it unsafe. As we were on a pleasure trip and wanted to enjoy the drive, we did not have any problems to stay within the speed limits. Another advantage was the lower fuel consumption.

We spent the night in Calgary in an inn. The next morning, we found out that we had missed our luxurious continental breakfast consisting of a doughnut and orange juice or coffee which was only “served” until 9 am. The breakfast we finally had in one of the fast food chains was a far cry from a nice German breakfast with rolls, bread, cheese, cold cuts, and jam.

We checked out the Saddledome and the main shopping street. To our surprise, we saw two food vendors selling Bavarian sausages with at least 40 people queuing up to get served.

Perhaps Ingo and I should have opened a German restaurant serving fresh “Äppelwoi” (apple wine) and “Handkäs mit Musik” (see last week's blog). We never went into the restaurant business. It would just not be the right profession for me as I do not like cooking, plus I would not have any time for painting anymore. Nevertheless, whenever my parents come for a visit, they are talking about all of us opening a German restaurant together. It will stay a dream. Even though it would be nice to have all the great German dishes available, I prefer someone else to cook and serve them. Nowadays, my husband Ingo mostly cooks in our house. He serves a variety of different cuisines. German food is only served when my mother comes for a visit and cooks for us. And I certainly make sure every time I visit Germany to eat my favourite dishes.

I hope you liked my travelogue. Please feel free to share my blog with family and friends. To find out what we experienced the next day, please return to my blog next week.

The Big Adventure – part 12

My version of Emily Carr's Formalized Trees, Spring. Emily Carr is my favourite BC artist.

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:

• 

  Foto by Benreis (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHandk%C3%A4s_Musik_Zwiebeln_K%C3%BCmmel.JPG

   

   

   Handkäs mit Musik' (Hessian: Handkäse with music); a marinated sour milk cheese with a pungent aroma, often served with apple wine, that is traditionally topped with chopped onions, and caraway

• 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.

The Big Adventure – part 11

Blog 20

For today's blog, I had to do quite a bit of translation searches because I have always written my journals, which are also the source of this blog, in German. Describing the natural wonders we saw during our stay in Port Renfrew in English made it necessary to get some online help.

Even though we did not take a lot of pictures during our trip, and some of them are of poor quality, these days you can find fantastic photos online. They have not only refreshed my memories, but also made me realize how much easier it has become to take photographs. With digital photographs, you can see right away how your photo turned out, and can pick the best ones for printing, or you can just save and share them electronically.

On our day in Port Renfrew, we got up before 7 am to go to the Botanical Beach, where we looked at the many tidal pools which contain habitats for fish, starfish, mussels, purple sea urchins, algae, green anemones, barnacles, and snails. At least, those are only the ones we recognized. I could have watched the pools for a long time but we had to hurry as the flood was coming back in.

I was very nervous on our way back to the car as we had seen many signs warning of bears and cougars. If it had been up to me, I would have passed on this hike and the chance to see the fantastic wonders of nature. Ingo was not able to convince me that we would be fine if we talked loudly. He explained that the animals just do not like to be surprised by humans. While I love to watch them from the safety of a car, behind a fence or an animal documentary, I was not keen on meeting one up close and personal. I was more than relieved when we were finally back at the parking lot.

We continued our trip in the direction of Victoria. We drove around the Saanich Peninsula but were not intrigued to investigate the area. Instead we returned to downtown Victoria where it was very busy.

We went strolling through the main shopping streets and visited “The Spirit of Christmas”, a multilevel store that offered Christmas articles throughout the year. I could not believe the range of products and the fact that people would want to purchase Christmas gifts year around.

Many of the big tourist attractions and hotels are located close to the harbour, including the Parliament Buildings, the Pacific Undersea Gardens, the Royal British Museum, and the Royal London Wax Museum with Josephine Tussaud's wax figures.

We decided to have dinner in the harbour area. It was not easy to find something for our budget. At the end we decided on a restaurant that was slightly pricier than what we had hoped for but the food was worth it. There, I learned what the term “bottomless glass” means. When Ingo told me I could refill my glass as often as I wanted without having to pay, I would not believe him. Soft drinks were already so much cheaper in Canada than in Germany. I thought he was pulling my leg. I was only convinced when I saw the bill.

Trying to find a supermarket to buy food for the next day, we reached an area with one huge mansion after the other. I had seen some of the big houses in the Mississauga area but they paled in comparison. I still do not know how people can afford such luxury, and why they would want to live in such a big palace. I would prefer to travel and paint instead of putting so much money in a property.

We finally ended up in a huge grocery store where a lot of products were sold in bulk according to one's needs. What a great concept! Until now, I still have not seen something similar in Germany.

While we were in Vancouver, we even found a store where the bottles would be washed by a machine and then refilled with the desired drinks. I have to admit that I never saw this system anywhere else. Sadly, I suppose it was not profitable enough.

After dinner, we took some night photos of the lighted Parliament Buildings. The lights from the ships and the busyness in the streets with pedestrians, musicians, horse-drawn carriages and rickshaws created a wonderful mood.

The next morning, we started our return trip when we boarded the ferry to Vancouver. To join me on my look back to our adventures please return to this blog next week.

The Big Adventure Part 10 - Vancouver Island, Day 2

Blog 19

From Port Alberni we continued along the Cameron Lake to Coombs, which looks like a small town from a Western movie. Then we drove further on to Parkville. We decided to take a detour to the Englishman River Falls. We had just started our walk when I remembered that I had left my purse on the backseat. I went back to hide it in the trunk. That is when I saw the two mastiffs running free in the parking lot. If you have followed my blogs, you know that I had a severe dog phobia (as well as other pets) for many years. Therefore, you will not be surprised to learn that I jumped into the driver’s seat of the car and was trapped in the car. Even when another lady asked the owner to put her dogs on a leash, she just called them back. I hoped Ingo would return, and he finally did after what seemed an eternity. While the dogs sniffed at Ingo, he talked to the lady who was totally indifferent. Her two puppies would not harm anyone. I did not really care. I did not even want them to come close to me.

Under Ingo's protection, I finally emerged from the car and we hiked to the two waterfalls. The water in the natural pool beneath the waterfalls was beautifully green. It would have been amazing to swim in it but at this time of the year it was definitely too cold.

Following along the Strait of Georgia, we passed Nanaimo and reached Chemainus, a picturesque little town with lots of small art and craft shops, cafes, and restaurants. The town is famous for its huge outdoor murals which attract many tourists. I loved this little town. The atmosphere was just enticing. There was so much to see and the smell of delicious food hung in the air. It was too bad that we had already stopped at McDonald's.

Ingo bought two first nation drawings, while I was fascinated by some handmade teddy bears. As a bear collector and maker, this was like being in a candy store. One had eyes with lids that closed when he was lying on his back. Lying down he was humming with satisfaction, his belly moved up and down, and his head moved slightly to the back. When you pressed the little guy into your arms, he chuckled. Adorable! I would have loved to take him with me but I had already bought a bear dressed in Inuit clothes in Edmonton. Unfortunately, I never saw a bear like this again.

On our way to Port Renfrew, we got a first glimpse of Victoria because we took the wrong highway by mistake. The road to Port Renfrew was close to the water. However, the view was mostly blocked by the many trees, mostly deciduous trees.

We had a picnic in River Jordan. The view toward the sea was fantastic, but the fallen temperatures and the strong wind forced us to retreat to the car to finish our meal.

Once we reached China Beach, it got spooky. The fog got thicker and thicker. I almost felt like sitting in a plane flying through a thick sea of clouds. The landscape was somber with lots of huge areas of deforestation. It was disenchanting.

In Port Renfrew, a tiny town with a population of maybe one hundred, we immediately found a bed and breakfast which looked alright at first sight. However, while I was settling down to write my journal, I saw some blood on both the blanket as well as the pillows. Disgusting! We had already been told that the hotel was very run-down. As the fog had just engulfed everything, we did have no other choice but to stay. However, we packed our stuff and moved quietly to another room. In this room, there was only blood on one side of the bed. Ingo assumed the blood did not get removed during the wash or that it was from the cat which was jumping all over the place but I was not convinced. Needless to say, I spent the night in a thick sweater and pants instead of pyjamas.

The Big Adventure Part 9 - Vancouver Island

my version of Emily Carr's painting "Odds and Ends"

Blog 18

I am writing this blog on the 21^st anniversary of my arrival in Canada. While I love the Canadian nature, regained my love for painting and have been lucky enough to spend a lot of time creating or teaching art, I am still not sure that my move to Canada was the right thing for me. My ties to my family and friends in Germany are still very strong. I miss being more actively involved in their lives, whether it is in good times or in challenging moments. For my husband and children this longing is often hard to understand as the people who are important to me are mostly strangers to them.

I feel lucky that I have made some very good friends here in Canada - most of them through our shared love of art. However, the bonds are different compared to those of my friends in Germany. I guess it is because we never spent time together until I was a wife and mother. 

I am thankful for my husband's parents and siblings who treated me as an equal part of the family from the moment they met me. They supported us in our decision even though they thought that our plan to move together to Canada was very risky. Once I started getting serious about my art, they have continuously encouraged my artistic endeavors.

I certainly have adapted to the life in Canada and changed. While I keep in touch with my family and friends, I am certainly not up to date with the cultural and economic changes in Germany. As everyone who lives away from his mother country, I hold on to the memories and traditions to keep my culture alive and sometimes might see the grass as greener in Germany. I guess what it comes down to is that I will always be torn between Germany and Canada, feeling that I neither fully belong to one country nor the other. 

When I left off my memories of our trip to Vancouver at the beginning of April, my future husband and I had just embarked a ferry to Vancouver Island. On the two hour trip, we saw the water framed by the snow-peaked mountains and one lonely sailboat. We docked in Nanaimo. We had planned to drive to Kelsey Bay along the Johnstone Strait with a huge concentration of orca whales. However, we wanted to have enough time to visit Victoria and leave the island two days later again as the prices for the ferry were higher on the weekends.

We turned back to Qualicum Beach and continued in the direction of Port Alberni. We stopped at Cathedral Grove, a part of the MacMillan Provincial Park, with Douglas firs which are up to 800 years old. I have never seen such humongous trees. Ingo took some great pictures of us among those huge trees.

When we finally settled into our motel in Port Alberni it was almost 8 pm. The days just seemed to fly by. We had so much fun discovering the areas that we totally lost track of time. Usually, we were much too tired at night to go out but rested in our room.

The motor inn in Port Alberni offered not only a suite but also had its own pizzeria which delivered the pizza straight to our room. What could be more convenient? You just have to ignore how unhealthy the food itself was. The constant fatty and sweet foods created lots of problems for my stomach. I was definitely not used to so much fat and sugar in my diet.

The next morning we went to the harbour and took in the idyllic view. We felt like being in a nature documentary. We even saw a tugboat hauling lots of wood into the harbour. The forest industry is still one of the most important industries in this area.

I hope you liked my travelogue. Please feel free to share my blog with family and friends. To find out what we experienced the next day, please return to my blog next week.

The Big Adventure – part 8: Continuing to Explore Vancouver

Blog 14

Vancouver had so much to offer, but we had to plan our trip with our small budget in mind. Instead of taking the skyride to Grouse Mountain, the famous Vancouver mountain with a fantastic view over the city, we decided to visit the Capilano Suspension Bridge and the Cleveland Dam with its impressive waterfall.

I saw my very first IMAX movie in Vancouver, a double feature of “Antarctica” and “Into the Deep”. I could hardly believe how real everything looked, like we were right in the movie, able to touch everything. I was impressed with the five story high screen and the digital sound system. What filled me with wonder and excitement is taken for granted today.

At one point, we switched from the motel to a bed and breakfast establishment because we found out that they did not charge the hotel tax. Plus we even had a fridge and microwave oven in our room which was handy, as the constant restaurant visits made a big hole in our wallet.

Stanley Park was one of the area we visited regularly during our stay. We found the place of the “Seven Sisters”, six gigantic Douglas Firs and one Red Cedar, that were a big tourist attraction. After those seven giants had died and had to be chopped off, their stomps were left as reminders.

We visited the Vancouver Aquarium which is also located in Stanley Park. I love the aquatic life and was fascinated by the species we saw, especially the whales, dolphins, sea lions, turtles, fish and plants. I have had both fish and water turtles for most of my life. I was quite devastated when I had to leave my three water turtles behind in Germany, and very delighted when we finally found a new pair that entertain us in our living room.

We also had a first look at the new swimming pool at Stanley Park that had created a lot of headlines because one of the slides designed in the shape of a seal had a ball balanced on its head. The opponents argued that the ball had to be removed because animals should not be depicted in a way that was not appropriate for their species. This would be just for the amusement of humans. At the end the ball was removed. However, no-one complained about the other slide, a multicoloured turtle with a silly yellow hat.

As I have a sweet tooth, we also could not miss a visit to the “Sirloiner and Cheesecake Factory”. The atmosphere and the food were great. After I had one of their big salads, we had to take the $4/piece cheesecake with white chocolate to go. I am not surprised the cheesecake was so expensive considering the prices of dairy. I was wondering how people could even afford to dine out. With taxes and tip, the meals, and especially the drinks, were very expensive.

Another day, we went to a muffin cafe and I tried a cherry muffin with almonds. Delicious! Muffins were totally unknown in Germany at that time. However, within the last couple of years, these personal cakes have also been introduced to Germany as I can see from the many recipes in my mother's magazines.

We also visited Mount Seymour Provincial Park that is located approximately 15 kilometres north of Downtown Vancouver. We went on a long, partially challenging, hike and enjoyed the fantastic view over the city.

Another interesting sight was the Burnaby Village Museum, where we could study the life in the Burnaby Region at the turn of the century. Burnaby is east of Vancouver, about a 20 minute drive. The museum is located at Deer Lake Park. It is a reconstructed village that contains historical buildings. Costumed staff demonstrated the traditional trades.

Another highlight was the Van Dusen Botanical Garden. I could hardly get enough of the rhododendrons and poppies as well as the wild flowers which were in full bloom. While I sketched a little bit, Ingo had a nap on the grass. I could have stayed for hours to soak it all up.

On the final evening of our stay, we had dinner at “The Only Other Fish and Oyster Cafe”, a small restaurant on Granville Island. You could order any kind of fish dish. The chefs were just separated by a bar and were joking with the customers. I really enjoyed myself and the delicious meal of salmon, rice, and Caesar salad.

The next day, we took the ferry to Vancouver Island. We really like what Vancouver had to offer, and cherished everything we saw. We also knew that it would not be the right place for us to live. Job opportunities were not too great and the cost of living seemed very high, not even considering the cost of apartments or houses. A move to Vancouver would also have meant that we would not even be able to see Ingo's family on a regular basis, and it was even further from Germany.

Today, on the release of this blog, I will be in Villegia Chéribourg in the Magog-Orford region where the Plein Air Ensemble will spent the spring painting trip. For the next two weeks, I will take a break from my view into the “rear view mirror”. Instead, I will write about the painting trip, hopefully with photos from new paintings.