so, my eyes are doing a bit better now, thanks to a helpful someone here at the faculty who had some cleaning liquid with him. so on to more updates and pictures.

so sunday, me and frank decided to hike up grouse mountain, which also has great skiing and snowboarding going on from november onwards. the hike is 2.9 km long, with an elevation of 960 meters (which is approximately 4000 steps). the vancouverites call this the 'grouse grind', and after my successful attempt, i sure as hell know why! also, it is acclaimed as the largest outdoor 'single-bar', and i can understand why. wherever you go, there are always groups of girls or guys checking out the other gender (or possibly the same, who knows).

as we reached the top after about 90 minutes of pure workout, we were greeted by a cloudless sky and a breathtaking view of all vancouver! the pictures don't do it justice, but at least you can get an impression.

frank and i just sat there all day, reading, listening to music (i bought myself a portable mp3-cd player) and sleeping while getting a nice sunbath. i sure slept well the following night...

i'm off for some lunch. the campus impressions will have to wait till i find the time. right now, i have to get to mikes apartment to clean it up, do my laundry and pack my stuff for my move to campus on friday. thursday is packed with so called 'social events', such as getting to know canadian society and an evening harbour boat cruise with dinner and dance. guess i'll get to this again on the weekend, as the forecast for saturday and sunday speaks lots of rain.

but summer ain't over yet!

well, the ale tasting last night went pretty good, so i had to sleep on hendriks sofa in the fairview crescent dorm, as the bridge closed down again and i missed the last seabus to the north shore. great. now my contact lenses are sticking to my eyes and i can hardly see. but since i won't get to any updates till next week, i still want to get some pictures and campus impressions up.

so to start off, here are some pictures of lighthouse park, which is on the north shore, just at the tip of the bay. we went hiking there last saturday, and even though it was slightly overcast, it was warm and we enjoyed some great views.

the fact, that i slept on those rocks for about two hours proves, that i am currently in a mostly relaxed state. big fun.

after that, we travelled on to horseshoe bay. for some reason, frank (one of the other darmstaedter students here with me) likes to hold his camera in awkward angles when taking pictures. i don't. so here is only one of the many pictures he took.

it's possible to rent motorboats here at the harbour and take them around the bay area of vancouver for a good price. as we arrived there after 4pm, we decided not to, but we will definitely get back to that as long as it's still summer.

that night, we went to see the jay and silent bob movie, but before that, we relaxed a bit in the bay area. i was really exhausted after a long day, but see for yourself.

what should i say, this place is a visual feast, even on an overcast day like this. next time i get to the bay area (if i remember to take the camera), i'll get some shots of downtown and the cool architecture around there.

this place even has a monorail. like the simpsons. cool.

actually, i wanted to get some of the hiking pictures from last weekend up, but this sunny day asked for some campus pictures, so the other stuff will just have to wait. anyway, here some pics of the student dorm, fairview crescent, in which i will be moving into coming friday:

if my roommates are cool, i'm sure it will be fun. there are all kinds of sports going on around here, so no time for boredom.

check by again soon, i will try to get the other campus fotos up by the end of this week, plus last weekends trip. but now it's off to the campus pub for me, to get to know some of the other international grad students and have an 'ale tasting' evening.

just got a mail from a very good friend of mine. in this mail, i found a link to a really beautiful picture of her. just couldn't withstand the urge to get it up on my own page for all to see... the devastating side effects of excessive hedonism! (click on image to enlarge):

well... i finally got my account here at ubc (university of british columbia) and can get to writing of what happened in the meanwhile... first off, i used all methods of transportation to get to mike's apartment. bus, train, plane, car and even a ferry. of all methods, i hate flying the most. i should know better, but the deformation of the passenger cabin during liftoff due to the stress on the wings just freaks me out! mike was great. he took me all around town in his car for three full days, showing me all important landmarks, and the best pubs in town. and i must say, this beer is really good stuff! although i miss my weizen. but believe it or not, they actually serve 'hefeweizen'. but it is served with a lemon (!) and ice-cubes (!!), the ultimate sin. but being a visitor, i just shut up and had one, but only one. to compensate, the food here consists mostly of sushi, sushi and more sushi. i love it. so what i usually do, is get up, go to town, and just sit at a sushi bar, write my journal and enjoy the scenery outside the window. but it sure rains a lot. so much, that you really don't feel it after two straight days of rain... but right now, i'm enjoying sunshine.

i've been running around campus in the past days and it is big and beautiful. guess thats what they make you pay for. on the northern side of the campus, you get a view of the ocean and the mountains. it's really breathtaking, and i plan to post a picture of it here soon. frank, one of the other darmstadt students, has a digital camera i can borrow from him, so it will happen. other than that, the campus is a city of its own. shops, sports, pubs, even a 18 hole (free) golf course. i'll be moving on campus on the 31st of august and am really looking forward to it. as i quit smoking (reason: pack of cigarettes = 15 deutschmark), i will get into sports again. i already bought a mountainbike, and with 80 kilometers of bike and hiking trails on campus, it shouldn't get boring.

now that the jet-lag is over and i am starting to get used to the thought of being here for the next nine months, i am having a great time... actually, i already checked out alternative living quarters, just in case my ass gets kicked out of the dorm for having a little too much 'fun'. so wish me luck with my roommates. sure hope they're cool and not a bunch of 'could-you-please-be-a-little-more-quiet' guys.

now i'm off to 'subways', a fast food joint on campus that makes the best sandwiches in town. real healthy stuff... but it tastes great!

so much for the first vancouverite update... more to come next week.

ok, last entry on this page while still on german ground. the apartment is empty, my suitcase is (almost) packed and this pc will be packed away right after these few lines. the first two weeks in vancouver i'll be staying with mike, who is a cousin of john gerenscer. he lives over the lions gate bridge in west vancouver, just north of stanley park. the bridge is currently under heavy construction and closed from 8pm till 6am, so the first night will be spent in a motel somewhere downtown, as i arrive at the airport at 8pm local time (9 hours difference to germany)...

a big thanks goes out to all, who have made these last few weeks big fun and have made it incredibly hard for me to leave. you all know who i mean, so i won't start listing names. you have also made me look forward to coming back next year and perhaps even staying permanently, although i'll have to see what vancouver has in store for me to decide that one... a decision, which is at least two years away, so why worry now...

you all take care and keep contact... cheers,

andy

'no big differences, these days. just the same old walkaways. some day, i'm gonna stay. but not today...' - counting crows

suffering the painful aftermath of excessive partying and lack of sleep. we had some friends at home for beer, music and more goodbyes. big fun. i should start to pack my suitcase, but am way too tired to even think of any sort of work. laying in bed with a cat on my stomache is much more relaxing. i'll get the final steps done tomorrow, the plane doesn't leave till wednesday. i must admit, i'm starting to get a little nervous... especially after having seen some friends for the last time till next year. i still can't imagine what leaving will be like, so i guess sleeping will be a daunting task these last germany days. guess i'll be on the town in the next two evenings. tuesday evening is one last beer night with a few people in the 'grohe' around nine, so if anyone would like to join in, just hop on by.

i really suck at goodbyes at the airport. but i know anand is going with me, so if anybody else wants to see me in a sentimental state, the airport is the place to be wednesday morning at 8am.

so, back to bed... even typing gives me a strange feeling of dizziness and nausea, uaaaa...

first entry on this homepage of mine... just a few more days now, and i'll be in the plane to vancouver, where i'll be staying for full 9,5 months. so in the following months, instead of sending out e-mails to everyone, this page will serve as my travel log, possibly including some pictures of the vancouver countryside (and hopefully some parties)... at the moment though, it's just wishful thinking, as i have not maintained this website for at least 1,5 years. we shall see... got all paperwork done and most of the apartment is also cleaned out. looks pretty empty and makes me aware of my imminent departure. i'm really looking forward to this whole traveling thing, still, i am pretty sure i'll miss a lot. especially my family and good friends. hope to see a few of you in canada, i'll sure be there long enough and the flight should be resonable, so see to it!... from what i have seen and heard, it seems well worth a visit. so, time for some goodbyes at a 'niederramstaederwohnheimparty', signing off...