Good to know!

Hey folks,

since I just moved to Brad - an Aussie guy from couchsurfing community, I have a bit time to give you some information about Vancouver and the people over here that I found out and might be interesting for those of you intending to go to Canada. No statistics this time - I promise! Skip the passage if you still think that this is useless shit! (sorry for the expression!)

Food and Grocery: Basically, the type of food you can get over here is pretty much the same as in Germany, I suppose. However, the Canadian grocery stores are no alternative to the restaurants and fast food stores as far as money is concerned. The prices for grocery are way more expensive than in Germany. Just some examples:
- just cooked pasta with gorgonzola-cream-sauce, shrimp, onions and a pineapple as dessert for three persons - spent 21 bucks/17.50 EUR!!!
- alcohol: six-pack beer (0.33l) - 12 CAD/10 EUR!!!!!!!!!!!!! Don't ask for the prices when you go out in a bar/pub...
- vegetables: tomatoes - over 2 CAD per kg
- cigarettes - normal package for 9 CAD
etc. ....

So if you like to grab some fast food (and I don't mean big MD or Burger King!), you'll probably safe a lot of money. On the other hand going to a restaurant in Downtown Vancouver always means spending at least 10 CAD for a medium sized meal.
As I told you before, Sushi is one good option to get a proper dish for little money.

transportation: Well, now the good news - The Vancouver public transportation is really good and not exactly expensive. The bus and SkyTrain network is pretty dense and it stretches all over Vancouver Metro (which also includes the outer parts of the city additionally connected by ferries and even floatplanes). 2.50 CAD is the regular price for 1 zone (which covers pretty much the core of Vancouver city); the ticket is valid for 2 hours which means that you can use it as a return ticket.
Please don't mind me mentioning one interesting behavior of the Canadians: Whenever someone gets off the bus, he/she always thanks the driver for the ride!!! In my opinion in Germany we should think about it, too!

locking doors: Well, Michael Moore proved it in his movies and it's true - Canadians usually never lock the doors to their homes (maybe Downtown is an exception in this matter). When I came to Brad's house in a quiet neighborhood named Kitsilano, the door was even open!

bikes: These days I heard that Vancouver is the city with the longest bicycle road system in the world, right after Amsterdam. Although it might not be true, it is a matter of fact that the city spends millions of dollars every year for new bikeways. It is possible to take the bike all the way around downtown by just using these bikeways - take a look on google maps to have an idea of the dimensions!
Some day I noticed bikes on almost every balcony of the apartments in downtown. Of course, I was wondering what this could possibly mean. The answer: In Vancouver the rate of bike theft is pretty high, a lot of guys over here told me about having a bike once before it has been stolen by someone even though they locked it in the cellar or the storage room. So when you like to explore Vancouver by bike - watch out!! ;)

Okay, that's it for this time. If you are interested there will be more of these short stories to tell... . :)