Capilano suspension bridge or maybe Steveson in Richmond!
Thanks! You're the second person to recommend the suspension bridge. I checked theit website and it's $54/adult, which seems a little steep to me (maybe I'm just cheap?)
Would you say it was good value/time spent? I'm fine to spend the money if it's worth it, but probably not if it's only a 15 minute activity...
Ya, forget that. Now, take it for what it is because I never actually went because it looked like a major rip off, but I did find the cheap person alternative, which was very nice and not nearly as busy.
I'm flying from winnipeg to Halifax today. The plane is almost empty. This is glorious. I'm used to flying packed like a sardine. The atmosphere is so relaxed, not tense at all with people worried about bin space or getting bumped like usual. Maybe one kid on the entire plane.
I realize airlines are in the business to make money, but flying would be great if it was always like this.
Last edited by Johnny199r; 05-06-2019 at 02:02 PM.
Seemed like a smaller German version of Stampede to me. I don’t drink alcohol so I’m not necessarily the best to give a review on that side of it and drinking stein after stein seems like the major focus of the event.
Looking at heading to Europe late sept/early October and just wanted to know if its worth checking out.
Definitely.
It's like Stampede but instead of the Cowboys and Nashville North tents with drinking and country music, it has big tents with beer drinking and oompa music. Instead of a rodeo, it has more beer tents. Instead of a livestock show, it has more beer tents. Instead of other things that aren't beer tents, it has more beer tents. Even calling them "tents" is an understatement. The tents at Cowboys and Nashville North would be considered small at Oktoberfest.
Your best bet for avoiding the crowds is to go midweek rather than the weekends. I went on the opening weekend, and it was a zoo both Saturday and Sunday. I went back on the Monday, and it was much less crowded.
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Looking at heading to Europe late sept/early October and just wanted to know if its worth checking out.
I've been twice.
The draw is obviously the beer. The cultural experience is really good too. Most people there are quite friendly. Although there is also an element of backlash to how "touristy" the event has become that's also mixed with anti immigrant sentiment. Combine that with Germans being very blunt, and you will meet some extremely rude people.
That being said, the positive people far outweigh the negative.
I probably wouldn't recommend going if you're not into heavy drinking or you can't function after a day of heavy drinking.
. Many of the buildings have an industrial cold war vibe. The city has all the things that big European cities have to do, museums, old churches, castles, etc.. The BMW factory is also there.
However, if your plan is not to dive into the beer drinking, I'd recommend going to Munich at a different time, or going to Berlin instead.
As for comparisons to the stampede? It's much more about the drinking. However it doesn't have the lawlessness that the Nashville North tent has. Germans love customs and rules. Also be prepared for the "German stare". Germans will stare directly at you. This gets now pronounced as people drink more.
I'd definitely recommend buying lederhosen if you plan to go the tents. The Germans will appreciate the effort.
Last edited by blankall; 06-30-2019 at 02:10 PM.
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Oktoberfest is a great time. Stampede is terrible in comparison.
Stampede is very much orientated around rodeo people, kids, and young adults. For people who are too old for the craziness of the Nashville North tent, the other option is sitting in a lawn chair in one of the beer tents
Oktoberfest on the other hand is truly a cultural phenomenom, where adults of all ages get together and drink.
Anyone have suggestions for activities to do in Vancouver with kids (ages 3 and 5)? We're going to do the aquarium for sure, and IIRC we have free admission to the science centre with our telus spark passes, but would love to hear other ideas!
Bump with a bit of a trip report in case anyone else is interested. We have one more day here in Vancouver, which we plan to spend at the Aquarium and doing general beach/seawall/explore Stanley Park type stuff.
Our first day we did the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge and forest walk. This was great. If the other one is bigger that would be too big for us. My kids loved tromping through the forest, throwing rocks in the water, etc. Then we went to the HR McMillan Space Centre. This is cool (but pretty small). They have a big planetarium that does the usual Imax type shows, and a smaller theatre for live science demonstrations. (Set of a bottle rocket and explain how it works type stuff). The presenter was very engaging and my kids enjoyed it a lot. There are also a few exhibits, probably about 30 minutes worth. Highlight for me was a piece of moon rock you could touch. Space centre was free with our Telus Spark passes. Finally, we rode the aquabus around False Creek and went to a playground.
Day two we took the gondola up Grouse Mountain. This included the gondola up to the ski base where they had a variety of stuff. We looked at the grizzly bears, saw an owl interpretive talk, watched the lumberjack show (similar to Stampede if you've seen that one), and took the chairlift to the peak of the mountain. For a small additional charge there was also a treefort playhouse my kids liked. We didn't do the ropes course or ziplining (kids too young) or watch the movie. Then we went to Stanley Park on our way back downtown, and rode the train/played on the beach for a bit.
Day 3 (today) we went to the Science Centre here. This place was huge! It's probably 2-3 times bigger than the one in Calgary. It was also packed, because of the torrential downpour the city experienced this morning. Still worth seeing, but would have been better on a less busy day. This was also free with Calgary Science Centre passes.
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Bit of a random question, but any recommendations on where to look for extended vacation rentals? Thinking 4-6 weeks this Jan/Feb...thinking Arizona, So-Cal, or Hawaii? Probably a weird middle ground of not being a full snowbird booking (but maybe someone would be keen on medium term rental between Xmas and spring break?
Bit of a random question, but any recommendations on where to look for extended vacation rentals? Thinking 4-6 weeks this Jan/Feb...thinking Arizona, So-Cal, or Hawaii? Probably a weird middle ground of not being a full snowbird booking (but maybe someone would be keen on medium term rental between Xmas and spring break?
My inlaws use airbnb for their annual 4-6 week trip down to California or Arizona every winter and have plenty of places to choose from that cater to people doing exactly what you're planning. The only risk with airbnb is that the host could suddenly cancel last minute, and you'd have to scramble to find a place which is tough in California/Arizona that time of year as there are tons of snowbirds coming down. I would check the ratings for this. It's a big risk with airbnb in general though
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Bit of a random question, but any recommendations on where to look for extended vacation rentals? Thinking 4-6 weeks this Jan/Feb...thinking Arizona, So-Cal, or Hawaii? Probably a weird middle ground of not being a full snowbird booking (but maybe someone would be keen on medium term rental between Xmas and spring break?
Hawaii in peak season is going to cost you double/triple the other two spots but I think it’s worth it. The weather in So-Cal can be #### in January-Feb
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I’m looking for some ideas for a couples break in early December?
Does anybody have a good suggestion for a relaxing 4-7 day holiday for a couple, leaving from YYC, ideally direct flight.
We thought about an all-inclusive, and that’s an option, but looking for an option with better food, nicer rooms and maybe some sort of wellness content.
Right now best option is wickaninnish in Tofino, but that drive can be terrible and that option may be sub optimal. We’ve also considered NYC, Sedona, San Fran, Paris, Maui, San Diego.
So key aspects are:
- very nice hotel
- relaxing environment (we like to walk, but we don’t want a ton of #### to go see)
- good food
Nice to haves
- direct flight (shorter the better)
- natural environment - either mountains or sea
- wellness options like workouts, yoga etc.
- not insanely expensive ($500/night for hotel is probably what we’re looking at)
Any suggestions (even if something like mexico that is really great) would be welcome.
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The food is definitely better than average all inclusive. They have spas and wellness classes. You can choose hikes at the ports (that's what I usually do).
The food is definitely better than average all inclusive. They have spas and wellness classes. You can choose hikes at the ports (that's what I usually do).
Thanks for the suggestion. We have done cruises, but find we end up putting on about 5 lbs/week. So looking for something that isn't all we can eat, as we do eat all we can!