Travel

Travel

Getting ready to travel again

Posted on Olympia, United States

When I wake up this morning I realize that it’s already my last day in Vancouver for now. Tomorrow morning I’ll take an early train to Seattle to meet friends and a few days later I’ll fly to my grandparents in Montana. So tonight I’ll have the challenge again to pack my backpack, but for now I decide to first go to downtown again. As I walk outside around seven AM, I feel it’s colder than yesterday. When I look up I see many stars in the sky. I don’t think I’ve seen them here before and it tells me that it’s probably going to be a clear sky day today. I’m excited about that. At the bus stop I make some small talk with a man who is also waiting. He recognises my accent and tells me that has lived in the Netherlands for a year. The early bus is not so crowded and I have some time to think. The few minutes talking with that man about the Netherlands made me realise that I don’t miss the country so much, but more my family and friends. I’m starting to really like Vancouver, despite its many rainy days.

Travel

House hunting

Posted on Vancouver, Canada

This morning starts with house hunting, because I only got a few days left in Vancouver before I go to my friends in America. I search on Facebook and Airbnb for a while until I find a few affordable places at good locations. I write messages to the house owners and quickly receive a reply from one of them. I call her up and arrange to visit the house this morning. I quickly eat breakfast and get ready to go. It’s about a 50 minutes walk from my current Airbnb, so not too far. It gives me the opportunity to discover the neighborhood a bit more.

Travel

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas

Posted on Vancouver, Canada

It’s raining again today. Someone said to me yesterday: “Welcome in Raincouver!”. I go outside early anyway, because I saw that there is a coffee meeting for startups in the city this morning. I think it might be a good opportunity to meet some more people. The bus is packed with commuters on their way to work. I think by myself how interesting it is that living in a new city can become normal so quickly. I’ve seen a big part of Vancouver now, I know where to go and already met a few people here. It’s a freeing thought to realise that you can live anywhere in the world if you want to. That reminds me of a quote that says “I always wonder why birds choose to stay in the same place when they can fly anywhere on the earth, then I ask myself the same question.”

Travel

Travelers tragedy

Posted on Vancouver, Canada

Getting into an early day rhythm goes naturally here, because I wake up by myself at three AM. I try to fall asleep again, but can’t, so I get up and do some work until eight. After breakfast I go outside and walk to a local coffee place to read a book. Their coffee isn’t really good though and after reading a few pages I decide to go somewhere else. Because it’s Sunday the busses don’t go that often and I try my chances with hitchhiking. A friendly guy stops and as we start talking he tells me that his brother is married to a Dutch girl. What a small world. He also tells me that there are quite a lot of Dutch people in this city. I wonder if I’ll meet some of them. Unfortunately he can’t drive me very far, but he drops me off at a bus stop where more busses depart from. Now it’s only a few minutes waiting before I can travel further.

A local coffee shop nearby the Airbnb
Time for coffee and a book
Travel

A long walk in the city

Posted on Vancouver, Canada

It’s seven o’clock when the alarm wakes me up. It’s weekend, but I set the alarm, because I want to get into an early rhythm next week. This morning I wake up with a feeling of ‘What am I doing here?’. It’s been only a couple of days so far, but for a moment I miss the comfort of my own home and normal life. It’s interesting that when I’m home I often have the desire to travel, but when I’m on an adventure I can also long for normal life again. Fortunately a friend from Utrecht decides to call me right at this moment and we catch up on what’s new. Even though English is my second language, I do enjoy speaking Dutch from time to time.

Travel, Uncategorized

Second day in Vancouver

Posted on Vancouver, Canada

When I wake up it’s about 2AM and I’ve slept only five hours. I’d like to sleep longer, but since I’m wide awake I decide I better start working, because it’s still daytime in the Netherlands. I make myself an espresso with the Nanopresso I got from my parents and enjoy some delicious coffee while I sit down at the small desk in my room. I’m glad I picked this Airbnb where I can also work comfortably.

Travel

Discovering Vancouver

Posted on Vancouver, Canada

It’s eight in the morning when I wake up. I’m glad to have slept for about eight hours straight, so I’ll have some energy for today. I call my parents to tell them about the journey. It’s nice that these days you can call from wherever you have internet just as easily as when you’re home. As usual the day starts with a workout and a shower. One of my friends got me really nice shower gel from Rituals for my birthday and it’s such a delight (thanks again Iris). Being rested and refreshed I get dressed and pack my bag to go into the city.

Travel

One day in Iceland

Posted on Vancouver, Canada

As usual I start the day with a short workout and a shower. It’s nice, they have a rain shower in this hotel, I love it. While waking up I think about what a great surprise this turned out to be. A free excursion to Iceland. At nine o’clock I have breakfast with my new travel friends. A Dutch man called Alfred and an American guy called Paxton who lived in my city for two years. While having breakfast together Paxton and I realise that we’ve actually briefly met once in the Starbucks where I usually work. The world is really a small place. As usual when I’m staying in a hotel I really enjoy the extensive breakfast.

Travel

The hardest part of traveling

Posted on Vancouver, Canada

I’m at Schiphol Airport only to discover that my flight is three hours four hours delayed. Fortunately I have my laptop with me, so I decide to just accept it and do some work. I’m thankful that I have work that I can do almost everywhere. I text my family and friends that the travel plans are delayed and contact Iceland air asking them what the plan is. They don’t know so much and can only tell me that I’ll find it out in Reykjavik when I arrive there. Either my connecting flight to Canada is also delayed and I can catch it or I have to get the next flight tomorrow which means I’ll have to stay a day in Iceland. I’m fine with both for now. There is not so much that I can do anyway. What’s more, the hardest part of the journey is already taken. Let’s go back a few days.

Travel

New adventures on the horizon

Posted on Utrecht, The Netherlands

Next month I’m flying to Canada to live there for a couple of months. Even though that sounds exciting, there are also moments that I think by myself ‘What am I doing?’. I have to admit that it’s a bit scary to go to a different place in the world where you don’t really know anyone yet and have to figure everything out. Somehow living in one place seems more challenging than just traveling around, but that’s probably because I’ve never done it before.