August 29, 2014

Food Friday: Canada // San Francisco // New Jersey

An Avocado a day keeps the doctor away ♥
Rocky Mountains // Hostel Lake Louise

Yes, you see it right in the title, I have been travelling a lot and I just arrived in New Jersey at a friend's place. So, don't worry, there are two more travel posts coming up this weekend about the rest of my Canada trip and the days I've spent in San Francisco!

But to change up my posts a bit, I'm showing you a little of what we ate and cooked in the Rocky Mountains, in Vancouver, on the plane, in Berkeley, San Francisco and in New Jersey. 

Enjoy the small Food Diary and stay tuned!

On Granville Island // Vancouver
Terra Blueberry Bread & Lemon Ice Tea 
Highly Recommended! 

 North Vancouver
Homemade Kale Chips, Yummy ♥
Recipe coming soon!

Happy Buddha!
Sushi from Vancouver is super-delicious!
Berry Salad with Fresh Coconut Meat & Coconut Water ♥

Very first Zucchini Lasagna with Tofu & Salad

Super expensive Mozzarella Tomatoe Sandwich 
at the Airport Phoenix, AZ


Good Bye Canada, Hello San Francisco ♥
Berkeley = Food Heaven

Vietnamese Pho with Tofu & Veggies

Chinese Take Home Dinner

Carla's Boiled Tomatoe & Avocado Salad
LOVED IT! ♥.♥

Fish & Chips at Sam's Anchor Café
Tiburon, CA

Breakfast with Oats & homemade Coconut Yogurt
Berries & Chia & Hemp Seeds

Lunch Special at Joshuya's Brasserie
Berkeley, CA

Vegetarian Chinese Lunch
Fried Rice with Spinach & Coconut Tofu & Veggies 
Downtown San Francisco

Best Smoothie ever at 4am!
Coconut Yogurt & Berries


Goodbye San Francisco, Hello New Jersey

Dragonfly Asian Fusion
Angry Sargeant's Roll // Dancing Monkey Roll
Yummy ♥

August 26, 2014

Rocky Mountains // Mount Fairview


Mount Fairview 2744m
5.1km to summit
1013m elevation gain
6hour round trip

In the Hiking Map it said: 
In a region that was explored by Swiss Mountain Guides in the early 20th century, it makes sense to challenge your inner mountaineer with a steep hike up a famous peak. And the 'fair' view at the top? It's downright spectacular!


A few thoughts from me:

This was the hardest hike I've ever done. I had my stick because I just sprained my ankle, but still it was really challenging. It was very very steep and the last 400m were just crazy. There was actually no way, no trail, only stones. We had to climb up there. Yep, it was hard for me and the sun was burning, we had little water. At some point, I was like: fuck it, boys, you go by yourself, I'll wait here.. but I was almost up there.. after a short break: okay, let's do this, I came so far and want to see the view, let's not look back, take your time and walk up slowly and safely!


WE MADE IT :) :) :)
Everything was gone and we were so so so happy!
Enjoy the pictures and see what nature offers to us!


Happy faces on top of Mount Fairview, thank you guys!


On our way back, we got somekind of lost and didn't take the same route back, hello shortcut! We skipped most of the forest part and sat down to slide down the stones.. Going downwards was painful for my ankle, but sitting and sliding was really good! Yes, it was fun, but we had no more water, so we rushed to come back down to Lake Louise to dunk our heads into water.. 

This was my last post from the Rocky Mountains in Canada and I'll assure you, I'll be back, better trained and better prepared for many more hiking trips! Cheers! ♥


August 24, 2014

Rocky Mountains // Banff Nationalpark // Lake Louise

Parker Ridge
Our plan was to stay at the Icefield Center for only one night and pack up our stuff to hitchhike to Lake Louise, the next biggest town in Banff Nationalpark.. until.. Ellen offered us some hot tea. I was the only one receiving it since my body craved something warm after the hike to the Athabasca Glacier in the morning. Yep, we weren't as well prepared for this camping trip. The boys wanted to keep it adventurous and wanted to do stuff like: camping wild, making our own fire, using soup cans instead of pots.. didn't work out that well I'd say.

But anyways, so at the end, we stayed one more night and Ellen gave us a ride to Lake Louise. Again, we were really fortunate to meet her because she even offered us to stay at her place when we would arrive back in Vancouver. Crazy, huh? So, it's always better to not plan and just go with the flow..

The day we drove towards Lake Louise, we stopped at several sightseeings and did one short hike, which was manageable for my swollen and blue ankle. First, we did the 2hr, 5,4km (with return) Parker Ridge Trail which brought us to the amazing view of the Saskatchewan Glacier and the Saskatchewan River. Then, we stopped at Peyto Lake, which has this incredible ice blue color. The third stop we did was at Bow Lake, which was just amazing and beautiful. I loved it there because you could also walk by the water and not only stand on a platform to look at it.

Peyto Lake
Bow Lake
Num-Ti-Jah-Lodge at Bow Lake

Since we spent so little time in the Jasper Nationalpark, we decided to stay the rest of our trip in Lake Louise. At first, we really had a hard time finding a space to pitch our tent because it is high season right now and the campground here was full, but for the first night everything turned out fine because the Hostel in town had three spots left. It was kind of expensive but at that point (it was early evening again) we would take anything. After checking in, we went hiking shoes shopping and although it was super expensive, I was happy with my purchase. That day we did not do much and were glad about a hot shower and some warm food. You really get to appreciate it. The next day, we got up early and hoped for a spot at the campground. Again, we had luck and booked three more nights there. Funny thing, when we walked to our site, there was a stick on the table, which turned into my hiking stick and it was just perfect for my ankle..

Mount Temple
Mount Fairview to the left at Lake Louise
The first day, we hiked from the campground to Lake Louise, a 4km + hike, which would be our little warm-up for what was coming. Arriving at Lake Louise, it was really crowded and touristy so that we decided to hike further to Mirror Lake. When we arrived there, we were like: Well, it's actually not too bad, let's hike up to the Tea House and to Lake Agnes. In total, we did something like a 14 km (with return), 400m elevation gain, hike. So, at the end it took us pretty much the whole day, but it was totally worth it, hope you enjoy the pictures!

Mirror Lake
Lake Agnes
Yes, my very first pair of Hiking Shoes!

The next day, we rested a bit for our big hike coming up.. We wanted to conquer Mount Fairview because Ellen recommended to us: if you guys only had one day in Lake Louise, do Mount Fairview, 5.1km to summit, 1013m elevation gain, 5 to 6 hour roundtrip. And yes, although a bit handicapped, I wanted to do it, too! 

The German neighbours, there are so! many travelling :)

A new post, only for the Mount Fairview Hike is coming up the next days, so stay tuned for more beautiful pictures! 

And the pictures underneath were taken after the big hike at the Hostel in Lake Louise. After three nights of camping and lots of hiking, we decided to volunteer and work there to stay for free. We wanted to relax and one night, I got to listen to some elders of the First Nation, they talked about their culture, how they had to adapt to the West and what they would do when seeing a bear. I had a blast that night!