Vancouver rockssssssssssssssssss!!! Sascha and I are absolutely blown away by this city!!! There's absolutely no doubt now as to why it ranks so high in every statistic to do with cities + great living quality. The people are so over the top friendly that you find yourself on the look-out for a hidden camera . I've been thinking to myself: "That's way too nice - it must be fake." But no - it's for real! From the guy who checked my passport, to the staff at the airport, to various people in and around the hostel, countless tour guides - not a single one of them has not been awesome up to this point. Normally Canadians are described as to be friendly Americans. It doesn't do them justice. They should be dubbed "friendly Australians" - and hey, that sure says something! Patiently they've answered all of my questions...Today I got free Chinese cause I was wearing a red shirt ?! (I told you it feels as if people are almost suspiciously nice).

We are staying at the Hostelling International Central Vancouver - which is a chain. And after the first night here I feel that I will be loyal to them for the rest of my life - and I always thought I suffered from commitment issues... ; ) Last night the staff took us out to see a Comedy Show in a local bar, today we all went to Granville Island and the Public Market and tomorrow we are off to Stanley Park. Up to this point this trip has been so idiot-friendly that I'd send a five year old on it without even worrying for a second.

So yeah, Vancouver with its 180 degrees mountain scenery and beaches in the city centre is pure bliss. The only really crab bit was the way we got here. We spent the night at Gatwick airport - which wasn't great but not a big deal either. (We even got "offered" to spend another night there since the flight was overbooked. They were giving out $400 travel vouchers and a stay in a 4 star hotel in exchange for seats - but we were determined to spend the next night in an eight bed dorm instead.) But the flight with Canadian Affairs was just a complete pain. Even the pilot seemed to be a total asshole - he humiliated the flight attendants as well as passengers over the loudspeakers by publicly pointing out their wrongdoings..."The man in the red shirt - that rule also applies to you - sit down..." On that flight Big Brother was definitely watching you and as a result even I did as I was told for once ; )

The highlight of today (apart from the beautiful weather and our discovery of the beautiful inner city beach) was Sascha and me daring one another to get a piercing that's a little bit out of character...and we both ended up with having a slightly over-sized ring attached to our lower lip...Not sure whether I am gonna get used to that! But it sure gave us an adrenalin rush, a picture opportunity and a few stares from people walking by, thinking "Look at these funny looking, slightly sun-burned creatures and their equally swollen lips..." Anyways, good times : )