Canadian Christmas Greeting

        This year, my Christmas greetings come from far away, at least for the people who stayed home. Lake Louise in the Canadian Rockies will be the place where I will spend Christmas and New Year, the fist time without the family... But it won't be so bad as I have a lot of other people here to spend some time with, this Christmas. 

         The ice castle on the lake Louise ice skate rink gives a very Christmassy atmosphere together with the glacier in the background and all the snow around, this will be my greeting for this year:

       

       I wish everyone a very Nice Christmas and a fabulous happy New Year! Enjoy every single minute with the ones you love and you have around and be proud about what you have. 

                                                                                  The best wishes,

                                                                                                Fabian 

Lake Louise Ice Rink

     Finally the ice on the lake is thick enough and the surface is sharper, everything in order to make one of the nicest, or actually the nices ice rink in the world! ...I have already been ice skating in Vancouver! but you can't compare this! it's way bigger! but it is also true that you are skating on a lake which means that you skate on a uneven surface. But that's not a big problem if you have the Rocky Mountains surrounding you while having some fun on the ice! ...my goal during this winter is to get better and better in ice skating, the starts are always difficult, but I am sure that I will do well after going a few times!

Fairview Lookout

     It's true that Lake Louise offers many activities, but it is also true that most of them are just for the summer... But there are still a few trips people can make even if there is snow everywhere. For example you can rent skis, snowboards, cross country skis or snowshoes! And that's what I did, I mean I didn't rent them all at once, but I got some snowshoes and I decided to do a quick trip to the Fairview Lookout to get a nice overview from Lake Louise, Fairmont and the Bow Valley. Snowshoeing is so tiring, at least if you have to go up, the rest is easy, you just need to be careful by going down, it can be very slippy as you can't see what's under the whole amount of snow. 

     But at the end it was completely worthwhile! Such a breathtaking view thanks to the nice weather!

#MyFairmont

     Yes! We have also nice weather up here, even if it's minus 17 degree centigrade ;) ...and to be able to work at the Deli is one of the best things that could have happened to me! Nice people, fun and a spectacular view at the Rocky Mountains during the sunrise!

My First Day at the Fairmont

     Today was my first day of orientation, there are too many words that try to describe what happened today, too much information at one time, but excitement, a lot of excitement to be part of this! This is huge and it will get bigger within the next month. A lot of information to get processed tomorrow (day off) to get ready and start on Wednesday, at 6am, yes it will be tough, tough and challenging, but challenges are there to get over them, actually it won't be that difficult since my leader is from Mexico! ;) let's see how my first three month as Deli Attendant at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise work!

Bow River and Tunnel Mountain

      In order to enjoy my last day in Banff, I decided to do a trip on my own. As I didn't really know where to go I just went to some places close to the town, as the Bow river and the falls and the Tunnel Mountain with his spectacular views down to Banff. In total I was just out for a few hours as I wanted to meet up with Friederike to have some lunch at Tim Hortons. Here are some of the Photos I took on my trip: 

Sulphur Mountain

     With the Banff gondola you can go straight to the top of Sulphur Mountain, enjoying a Starbucks coffee on your way up, and a breathtaking view once you arrived at the top. There is not much I can say about it, it was just amazing! ...and bloody freezing! ;) Have a look at the photos:

Banff

     Yes! Finally! After 12 hours and 45 minutes I arrived with the Greyhound Express at Banff (in the province of Alberta, surrounded by the Rocky Mountains). It was a looooong night, I tried to sleep but it was nearly impossible... But it was completely worthwhile! Banff is beautiful! The snow, the mountains and the temperature, which is actually not that cold yet But I am prepared for a looong "hard" winter in Lake Louise, where I am going this weekend to start working at the Fairmont Chateau. 

     At this moment I am just sitting in McDonalds, having some coffee and apple pie to warm up a little bit before meeting some friends who are already here since a few weeks, living at the same hostel as me. To finish, here are already a few photos, nicely edited to bring up some Christmas colors ;) 

Changes...

     ...this is not about any photos I just took or something I did, this is about something that will happen, and it will happen soon! Actually it is starting tomorrow: I finally got the job I was wishing to get, I am supposed to be a Deli Attendant at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise! I am pretty happy because it is actually difficult to get a job at a Fairmont Hotel, so I am pretty proud of it! So tomorrow I am leaving Vancouver, after nearly two and a half month, first I am going for a few days to Banff, a town in the Rocky Mountains and in the National Park with the same name. Banff is one hour and a half away from Calgary, and 45 minutes from Lake Louise, where I am going to work then. My first day is on the 18th of this month, and I am pretty excited. I already have everything I need for the job: my non slippy kitchen shoes, black socks and my ProServe certificate to be able to serve liquor in Alberta! So Lake Louise, I am coming!!! 

Museum of Anthropology

     This is about to be my last week in Vancity and I just took myself a few days off in order to enjoy some Canadian culture with friends... On Monday we went ice skating to the west end community centre in Downtown, that was fun! Even thought that we hadn't been skating for years! ...at least me ;) but I didn't have any problems to get into it again, actually pretty quick!  

     And yesterday I went with Tamara and a group of people from the hostel (it was a activity organized from the samesun hostel where I slept on Sunday and monday) to the Museum of Anthropology at the UBC where getting into it on Tuesday is cheaper. The museum actually seems bigger than it is! The main hall was filled with sculptures and totems from the First Nations of Canada, then there were also exhibitions about figures, jewelry, masks and more sculptures about other nations from all around the world. It was literally a journey to all the different cultures, very impressive and interesting!