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December 06, 2012

Enten im Baum

Beim Mittagsspaziergang im Burnaby Lake Regional Park (in Arbeitsplatznähe) fand Sonja heute tatsächlich Enten im Baum, sogenannte Wood Ducks, oder zu deutsch: Brautenten.
Im Park kann man das ganze Jahr über das 'wilde Leben' beobachten, und dieses bunte Geflügel ist an so einem grauen Tag ein besonderer Blickfang.
Weiblein mit Erpel nach dem Ehekrach
Wer sagt, dass man (frau) in der Mittagspause nicht noch was lernen kann...

December 03, 2012

In the Mood for Snow

My employer had invited the team for (early) Christmas celebrations at the Summit Lodge in Whistler, and we were happy to oblige. We had booked an extra night and drove up early on Friday to make the weekend getaway really worthwhile. Our trip started in torrential rainfalls, but as we were gaining elevation the rain became snow, and the world turned from depressing grey to shiny white. There is something special about the first snow in the year, which I find quite magical.
The view from our hotel room. I managed to capture some of the rare blue sky. We geared up for a hike, and took in the fresh mountain air. As most people were headed for the mountains we had the meadows all to ourselves.
The sign reads 'Keep off Greens'. Greens? What greens? They are currently covered by a foot deep of fresh white stuff, so we crossed the snow field.
We hiked around Lost Lake which was merely a three or four mile long hike, we got however quite the workout trudging through the deep snow.
This peaceful picture was taken at Green Lake. There are a handful of lakes around Whistler adding to the outdoor opportunities.
A geeky snapshot of the two of us at the lake. There were no other people around, so we had to take the picture the good ole handhold way.
Friday night we had some pretty authentic tasting Mexican food, and the chef was great with veganizing my dish. On top of it we had some awesome drinks. Mango Margarita for me and Sangria for the spouse. This restaurant is highly recommended!

The official company dinner was on Saturday night and took place at the Wildwood Bistro.  They had exactly one vegetarian dish, which I asked to veganize, but it was nothing to write home about. There was no complaints but no excitement either around the table. I would say the food was merely average. Nevertheless we had a good time, and enjoyed a midnight stroll along the Whistler pedestrian zone after.
This is us in front of the Olympic rings.
Snow and fairy lights. 
 The perfect ingredients to get into the season's spirit.
Life is good, eh!

In den Schnee!

Ein Wochenende im Schnee hatten wir sowieso geplant, umso besser, wenn so ein Ausflug im Rahmen einer Weihnachtsfeier von Sonja's Firma finanziert wird. Wer kann dazu schon nein sagen. So machten wir uns am Freitag nachmittag auf zur Summit Lodge in Whistler.
Das Wetter war durchwachsen, um den Gefrierpunkt, mit Regen und Schneeregen, der später in Schnee über ging.
Das hat uns - wie immer - nicht davon abgehalten, auf Wanderschaft zu gehen. Während die KollegInnen am Samstag Ski fahren waren oder sich im Wellnessbereich verwöhnen ließen, sind wir also um den Lost Lake herum durch den Schnee gestapft.
Am Green Lake
Am Abend fand man sich dann im Wildwoods Bistro ein, um das doch recht erfolgreiche Geschäftsjahr zusammen zu feiern. Anschließend machten wir noch einen romantischen Mitternachtspaziergang durch die schneeweiße, weihnachtlich geschmückte Fußgängerzone von Whistler.
Sonntag morgen ging es dann wieder gemütlich zurück nach Hause, wo wir dann mit dem üblichen Dauerregen empfangen wurden. Schnee kann ja doch schön sein.