Greyhound Trip Pictures online!

Enjoy the pictures of my Greyhound Trip (West Coast) in the Photo Gallery ...

Vancouver Island, Vancouver and journey back to Winnipeg

The next day we had the fun opportunity to meet Brian. Brian is an international student I met in Winnipeg and he also spent some weeks of his holiday in Vancouver. He showed us Canada Place and later on we enjoyed some fabulous ice cream. Later on that day it was already time to head towards Vancouver Island and Victoria.

We took the ferry and had an awesome journey to the port on Vancouver Island in between beautiful islands and an amazing scenery. Arrived on the island we had a longer bus ride and finally stayed overnight at the university of Victoria.

Early next morning we got picked up by a rental car company. We then rented a car with the goal of visiting Victoria as well as the south part of the island. We passed through the city of Victoria and headed north to Nanaimo and Courtenay. In Courtenay Mark found a cool hostel in a beautiful natural setting. Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to well discover the neighborhoods.

Before it got dark we drove up a mountain to enjoy the nice neighborhood and I tried hard to discover some wildlife. Finally we ended up having a beer in downtown Courtenay.

The day after we had to give back the rental car and so we drove back to Victoria. Everybody in the city was in a soccer fever for the world cup was going on and so we also found the opportunity to watch the second half of the game with the end that wasn't as much in my favour.

After the game and lots of Italians honking we made a small discovery tour of downtown Victoria. Unfortunately, we couldn't find any lockers and so we had to carry them with us all the time. In the afternoon it was soon time then to head back to Vancouver.

In Vancouver we stayed the following nights at a backpacker hotel and I had the fun opportunity to share a room with another Swiss guy. He came from St. Gallen and was improving his English skills in Vancouver and he told me that there are lots of Swiss guys in town. He was a very friendly guy and Mark had to discover that Swiss guys have some similarities ... haha ...

On our day before we had to leave we again met Brian; he showed us some amazing places in Vancouver we had not visited before. After strolling around Stanley Park we got some tasty Japanese food ... eat as much as you can for just something more than 13 bucks ... unbelievable. Sushi, Sashimi, and lots more ... it's great to discover new food. Then we got some more of this awesome ice cream and after a cup of coffee (or a chocolate) it was already time to say goodbye.

At 6 in the morning we had to pick our Greyhound bus to Winnipeg. It was my last long journey by bus ... a 39 hours trip. We passed the rockies and stopped in Jasper. Unfortunately we were just allowed to enjoy the nice countryside mostly through the windows of the coach. By chance I also saw a small black bear ... I tried hard to find one for a long time. Later on, we arrived in Edmonton and just had time to pick up a burger before we had to take the next bus.

In the early morning hours we arrived in Saskatoon were we enjoyed some breakfast. Then we had to drive all day long through the prairies and we also passed through some places in Manitoba I haven't been before ... like Roblin, Dauphin, Riding Mountain National Park and Brandon. Finally we got back to Winnipeg for 9 pm and after a short taxi ride I was happy to be back "home".

Yep, that were two amazing trips ... I made lots of cool experiences and I spent an awesome time. Yet, it was good to be done ... for I think I couldn't enjoy visiting anymore cities. Now I had left a bit more than 2 weeks in Winnipeg and I looked forward to have an awesome time ...

Seattle & First Days in Vancouver

Actually I'm kind of lazy to write these last lines on my second trip. Yet I should write or I won't do it anymore ...

My second day in Portland I spent on walking tour. Was pretty interesting and I learnt some interesting facts about the city (interested in improving its image, has good public transportation, some funny laws ...). For lunch I visited China Town and for less then 9 US dollars I got a great meal.

As I left Portland I headed towards Seattle where I met Margret. I met Margret on my first trip in Washington DC and she invited me kindly to visit her in Seattle.

The first night I stayed at the youth hostel ... the hostel in Seattle is cool, nice utilities, the best breakfast I ever got at a hostel and I also had the opportunity to do some laundry. The next day I met Margret, she picked me up for lunch and afterwards I visited her house. Seattle is embedded in a nice setting, a really nice place to stay. The same night we visited the Space Needle (a sightseeing tower) and a Baseball Game. Thus I got some more insight into North American culture ... :)

The day after the US celebrated its national holiday. In the afternoon we went kayaking ... pretty cool ... it rememberred me the time I was kanoeing in Switzerland (10 years ago). At night we could enjoy the fire works ... pretty cool!

Then it was already time to leave Seattle and I headed towards Vancouver. In Vancouver I met Mark (from Winnipeg :)) at the YMCA. At night we visited some parts of the city and got some Chinese food (expensive!). The next day we then rented a car and drove to Whistler. On the way there we stopped a couple of times and I had the opportunity to take some great pictures of waterfalls and lakes.

Welcome in Portland

I get used to travel ... I traveled for 16 hours from yesterday 'til today ... and slept for almost 12 hours :)

So I'm now in Portland; countyside looks a bit different, yet also very beautiful. Actually, I was doing a hike and climbed a small hill (forgot already the name) and I think nature looks like in Switzerland (same kind of vegetation ... also small hills and a few mountains). The city area where I booked my hostel is quite peaceful (lots of small stores, independent movies, bookstores, and so on) and I already met some hippies *smile* ... it's for sure a cute area to stay. For lunch I enjoyed a very good Thai curry and including an appetizer I just paid 12 dollars ... amazing!!! Tonight there is a Blues Festival going on ... I might meet some people of the youth hostel there ...

Tomorrow I'm going on a walking tour in downtown Portland. In the late afternoon I will then take the bus towards Seattle ...