Embrace, Hug, Love, Be Passionate about Life: adventure

{For one minute, walk outside, stand there in silence, look up at the sky and contemplate how amazing life is}

Photo credit: Petr Holub

It's been a month since I've published my last post.. a month! Can you believe that? I guess time really does fly when you're having fun. A little shy of four months I boarded an airplane to Canada not knowing what was ahead of me...excited, but scared shitless. Today I'm still super excited, but no longer scared. Being in this beautiful environment, surrounded by mountains, always there but never the same, and having met so many amazing people really makes you realise how freakin' amazing life is.

The past few weeks have been filled with some fun and/or active adventures! I guess I would be really pushing it if I tried to catch up on the entire month, so I'll stick to the highlights. Obviously I'll leave out the parts where I'm doing groceries, laundry or cleaning, because that would make me, and this post for that matter ;), a whole lot less interesting.

Highlight of the highlights was an early AM hike up Ha Ling last week. On Saturday morning at 5.15 AM Petr, Petr, Eva and I went up the mountain to see the sunrise. #czechparty Headlamp on! Pancho, Jorge's beautiful black Lab, joined us on our adventure and we had a blast. Conditions were amazing, if you take the short slippery icy part of the trail out of the equation, and the sunrise was just plain beauty. Besides.. I cannot think of a better excuse to eat chocolate at 08.30 am than hiking up a mountain. What has been your favourite adventure lately?

Photo credits: Petr Holub

The hiking in the greater Canmore area is just so good. Besides Ha Ling I also went up the Centennial Ridge Trail with Annie. Super steep, but amazing views! We didn't quite make it to the summit of Mount Allan due to sketchy, slippery and snowy conditions, but we had fun nonetheless and let's be honest there's not a whole lot in life that beats eating your lunch on top of a mountain! Our way down was far from graceful though.. oops..bum sliding!

For those whom have seen The Revenant, that award winning movie with Leo, these surroundings might seem familiar, because part of the movie was shot in Canmore.. although..I just recently saw the movie and did not recognise a single peak. I didn't like the movie in general I guess.. haha.. so violent! Way, way, way funnier is the movie "A line across the sky" about the Fitz Traverse in Patagonia by Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold. Eva, Lada, Romca and I made our way to the Banff centre to see this movie as part of a re-screening of Banff Film Festival 2015 movies. #czechparty The night featured three mountain movies all well worth your time watching them; K2 - touching the sky, Operation Moffat and A line across the sky. And even though I'd already seen the latter on the Reel Rock 10 tour I was happy to see it again. Alex never disappoints you, because they don't sponsor failure. This movie makes me more and more eager to make it out to Patagonia one day! One day...

Also super stoked that I've been able to go climbing more the past few weeks. I've been hitting the gym a couple of times with Annie and Jorge, my buddy in crime, and we are really making some progress here. Recently climbed my first 6a without takes and my first 6b with a couple of takes on top rope. Yay! Spring has definitely sprung in Alberta and many climbing areas are good to go. Really excited to go outdoors soon and get back into climbing on real rock and some leading. Also a big shout out to the incredible India for her first climbing experience! Hope to see you more of you out there soon, sweetie :).

Climbing the Incredible India!

Besides climbing I've been keeping myself busy riding my bike to Banff on the Legacy Trail and hiking Tunnel Mountain with Jana, slacklining in the park with Eva & Jennifer and running the trails of Canmore with or without Pancho. I can tell you one thing.. slacklining is hard! Me and that fine tree in Riverside Park are real besties now, that's for sure. #highfive

Run Pancho, run!

On a more cultural note I went to a concert, played Settlers of Catan and partied the night away with real good tequila at Jorge's birthday party (flip cup is never a good idea no matter what they tell you ;)).

Jordan Klassen performed at Communitea Cafe last week and I really enjoyed the fairy folk music paired with a warm cozy cup of tea. Good vibe, good tunes, good tea. #lifeisgood

Megan, Jenn and I teamed up for a Canmore Uncorked experience at Rocky Mountain Flatbread Co. and a game of Settlers of Catan. Canmore Uncorked is a food festival; 12 days of special set-price menus, culinary events, progressive dinners & cooking classes. RMF offered a $20 set-price menu and I really enjoyed my smoked salmon flatbread pizza. Yummy!! The game of Catan was so much fun that we'll have another games night this Friday. Add tea, wine and some Taylor Swift and we've got ourselves a good good night. #lifeisgoodpart2

At mountain Mercato we also participated in the Canmore Uncorked festival. We offered a set-price lunch featuring an amazing grilled cheese sandwich with homemade ketchup and a small butterleaf salad. A real treat..especially that ketchup ;).. a real piece of art from a Czech-Dutch collaboration and lots of love! Mountain Mercato also had the pleasure of welcoming the guests of the Lady MacDonald Progressive Dinner tour in her cafe.
For a short impression of the progressive dinners click here (extra kudos for those spotting me in the clip ;))

Recently all staff at Mountain Mercato went on a little road trip into the city (red. Calgary) for some coffee training at Phil & Sebastian and a delicious lunch at SideWalk Citizen. Aimee, head of training at P&S and 2014 Soy Latte Art Champion, showed us the ropes! We got some refreshers on grinding and brewing espressos, steaming milk and the baby steps of latte art. Be aware: the best coffee in town has become even better and definitely prettier! Come by to say hi and experience it yourself.

That's it for now cuties! I'll try really hard not to have you wait yet another month for a new update on life in the Rockies.

<3 Talk soon!

p.s. Did you know that Mountain Mercato is active on Facebook, Instagram & Twitter. I'm giving our social media a little boost and would love for you to follow us on either, or all for that matter, of these social media platforms. I'll keep you updated on our featured products, events & menu options or advise to kick off your day:

It's been a while... over three weeks now. Wow. I guess I really needed some time to get into the rhythm of life on the other side of this beautiful country. Since I've left Hamilton a lot has happened. Too much to capture in this blog post. Unfortunately, or not, you decide.

On January 22nd Kait dropped me off at Toronto's airport for my flight to Calgary. Apart from some minor technical issue (something with a scratch on the exterior of the airplane..yaiks!) and the delay it caused, because of the investigation and necessary paperwork, the flight was pretty smooth (typing this I realize we had quite some turbulence, but apparently it didn't bother me too much). I had never been on a flight that does not cross a border before and was happy to learn these are so easy. Less than 40 minutes after touchdown I was on the bus to Canmore. No customs, no endless waiting for your luggage, no nothing. Pretty impressive if I may say so.

After a little more than an hour I was dropped off in Canmore. That is me and my two backpacks, shoes strapped on the outside of the pack and all to be able to carry as much as possible, weighing approximately 35 kg in total. No! There are no pictures of me walking with these two bad boys, but I must have looked like an idiot, because halfway through my walk to my Airbnb-stay a super friendly lady pulled over and asked if I needed a ride somewhere. I kindly declined. After all.. you never know..right?! Wrong..people in Canmore are generally this kind!!

Nature's way of telling me "Everything is going to be alright". - My view on the bus from Calgary Airport to Canmore and thus my first encounter with Alberta's beauty. <3

This Airbnb I booked ahead of time, just so I had a place to stay for the first stretch of my time in Canmore while looking for more permanent housing and a job. I booked with Maja, her partner Sean, their 2 yr old daughter Willow (cute little Willow!) and their roommate Thea in their Mountain Home Far Away from Home. And a home far away from home it is! The room, bathroom and kitchen provided everything I needed and Maja, her family and Thea made me feel very welcome. I am so very happy that I've met them and got to be part of their family for a little while. Maja was so kind to lend me her snowshoes a couple of times and I was invited to join them at Willow's and Tate's (Willow's best friend) 2nd birthday-build-your-own-pizza-party! Which was great; the nicest people, awesome pizza, a monkey pinata and yummy healthy chocolate cake. Great community sense going on here in Canmore! Thea's, from what I've heard an awesome massage therapist (I have yet to find out ;)), and my room were both located in the basement of the house. We've really really tried, but we still have to find a time that we can go to the gym together. It will happen sometime this year! Blast & Burn, baby! Blast & Burn!

On my first day in Canmore I went on a trip. Or a retreat to be more precise. The Alberta Adventure Girls retreat at the Delta Lodge in Kananaskis. Twenty fun, outgoing and cute girls meeting at a hotel for some food, wine, girl talk, movies, yoga and hikes. Awesome!

Before the retreat a bunch of the girls went snowshoeing at Chester's Lake. It was fun, adventurous, very picture pretty and most of all it was awesome to be surrounded by these mountains. We hiked in small groups at various paces and reunited at the lake to take a crazy group-shot and countless other pictures. If you would like to see more pictures of this, and many other, adventures follow Alberta Adventures Girls on Instagram ! You won't be disappointed and might even get slightly jealous.

AAG-Groupshot!

Feelin' hot-hot-hot!

If you are wearing the most fluorescent jacket of the group you are bound to be asked to just walk out on a frozen lake and be in the picture.

To be honest I was a little anxious for this whole outing. What was I thinking signing up for a weekend like this on my first day in Alberta! But I was also eager to meet these awesome girls, connect with them and make some new adventure buddies. Megan, a fellow AAG from Canmore, was so kind to pick me up on her way to the trailhead so we got to spend a little time talking in the car before meeting all the other girls. Her enthusiasm and happy, crazy friendly, outgoing character made me relax and I realized what an awesome opportunity this was. Be in love with you life, every minute of it!
After snowshoeing we made our way to the hotel where we were greeted with cute mountain-shaped cookies in our room and hot toddy's (booze!!!), a campfire and s'mores on the hotel patio. True Canadian-style! We had dinner together, after which we enjoyed some free time. Some of us went for a walk, others went to the spa/pool. Life is good! Later on the evening we reunited in a common room to do some awesome giveaways, watch a movie, chat and snack. Some of the girls have their own businesses and were so very kind to donate their products as a retreat giveaway! I won a beauty made by Agnes from Agnes in August which is now proudly decorating my room. With regards to the snacking.. there was lots! And when I say lots I really mean lots. Popcorn, chips, veggies, fruit, crackers, creamcheese, jujubes (candy crush!), etc. Brianne went all out and made us this 'Better than sex chex mix' and like the recipe states "it's fairly orgasmic"! All in all a great night with great company. Also the bed was really really comfy. So comfy that both my roommie Laura and I had troubles getting up in the morning. Haha, but we had to, because YOGA! In my first real yoga-class ever, apart from those grueling try-out classes in high school, we were going to practice Yin Yoga that targets the connective tissues. It was fun, relaxing and my body felt so good after, like for real. I did notice that, especially, my left shoulder has some ROM issues that I need to address, so I think there will be more classes to follow in the near future (and while typing this I know I had my second yoga-class last Friday.. Hot Flow Yoga this time :)). Time for breakfast! We feasted on the buffet and omelet-stand, Yay!

Get the fire started.

By Agnes in August

@Maarten: de sloffen waren een hit!

Following breakfast I joined Megan to the skating rink to take some pictures of her skills, while some of the other girls were getting ready for our hike to Troll Falls. Pretty Awesome, eh! Megan is a roller derby player, has no fear (no fear! Check out that sport. It's daunting!) and is used to being on roller blades a couple of times a week. The hike was gorgeous, say slightly slippery, and we all kept snapping pictures for our respective blogs, Insta- and facebook-pages.

All good must come to an ending, unfortunately. Thank you Amanda, Erin and Joanna for organizing this fun, adventurous and relaxing event. <3 The best possible start to my time in Alberta for sure. Cheers to many more AAG-adventures!!

Megan the Zamboni

Quite the color we got going on here!

Selfie by Amanda!

Random ice-climbers @ Troll Falls

Sometimes you just got to let things be.

It is so much fun to be outside with photographers!!

Und jetzt...Time to find myself a job. I learned that the Job Resource Centre in Canmore has several job postings on a board and prints out your resume for you. Perfect! I had updated and personalized my CV prior to coming to Canada, so after printing I went on my way to the various coffee bars, restaurants and shops in Canmore to hand them out and see if there were any 'Help wanted' signs up. Two and a half weeks later and I'm working at Mountain Mercato in downtown Canmore. This specialty food market serves the best coffee in town, has the most delicious menu and is foodie heaven with it's deli counter filled with beautiful cheeses, charcuterie and olives, not to forget the shop with gourmet groceries and gifts for foodies. So excited to be learning more and more about the products (as we speak I have the book "Cheese - A Connoisseur's Guide to the World's Best" at my side for studying.. well duh.. Cheese!). I'm still in training, but I have very knowledgeable, awesome colleagues and am looking forward to many more shifts serving the Canmore locals as well as the many many tourists an amazing drink/meal with a smile. In the area? Come say hi! See you soon :).

Besides finding a job I also started looking for an apartment even though I had booked the Airbnb till February 22nd. Everyone I met told me finding a place to stay in Canmore would be really hard, since Canmore is one of Canada's top ranked places on low vacancy rate. This stressed me out so much that I basically started searching the web (Thank god for Kijiji!) as soon as I got back form the retreat. I managed to get invited to two places that both seemed appropriate with regards to rent, type of property and location. Both places were available from the beginning of February and I ended up moving in with Andrew & Joshua on February 1st. The house is amazing as we each have our own bathroom, a fireplace (Hi winter!), a patio (Hi summer!) and the mountains in our backyard, like anyone in Canmore for that matter! Joshua and Andrew are both professional mountain guides, meaning the house is filled with amazing pictures of their adventures and books about rock-, ice and mixed climbing, skiing and mountaineering. So hard not to get inspired to go outside and play!

To get around town and commute to work I bought myself a mountainbike and a helmet (safety first!). I was a little frightened at first, because of the snow/ice/cold, but so far it's turning out to be a great way of getting around town.. apart from the mud bath I'm getting every morning. Haha. @Mam, any advice on how to wash this yellow jacket.. it's "slightly" mud covered. Woops!

Before I started working I walked around town a lot, getting familiar with some of the shops and the gym, Elevation Place. It's a amazing complex combining all exercise facilities such as the pool, the cardio and weight room, core lessons (again.. Blast & Burn, baby!) and the climbing gym! Two weeks ago Jana, a German friend from Banff, and I went climbing at Elevation Place for the first time. We had a great time being back on the ropes and can't wait for many more climbing outings to come. There's a part, called Rocktopia, that simulates actual rock and there's a large bouldering area as well. On a contrary to the gym in Hamilton there's numerous quickdraws in every route (even those without overhang).. haha. I hope to have lots of fun at this place.

In conclusion I guess I'm doing pretty fine. I'm really enjoying my time here and trying to spend as much of my time off outdoors. I signed up for the Rocky Mountain Soap Half Marathon (May 28th) and the Banff Half Marathon (June 19th.. as a 28-year old :| and hopefully supported by my lovely parents!) so I better start getting my running game back on. I've tried my first 4k outside last weekend wearing ice cleats and they felt pretty good. Definitely need to run uphills more, but we'll get there! On Tuesday Jana and I will be hiking as a kick-off for our WCT prepping. Keep tuned for a full report and hopefully some amazing pictures!

There's so much more I'd like to write about. For example my successful ProServe examination on responsible serving of alcohol or my snowshoe adventure with Annie, my battle to get my Koodo (cell) bill paid and the oddities of the Canadian banking system. But I'd also like to share some history on Canmore with you, how it became this magnificent outdoor getaway from being a typical miners town, as well as my struggles to remember all the names of the peaks that surround me on a daily basis: Ha Ling, The Three Sisters (very appropriate although they're missing one.. ;)), EEOR, Lady Mac, Yamnuska, etc. etc... you get my point! So much to say, so little words left. I try to catch up.. somewhere, someday, somehow. For nowFor now at the end of this blog post you will find some pretty pictures of some of my recent adventures and pretty views. at the end of this blog post you will find some pretty pictures of some of my recent adventures and just some pretty views.

Butttttt.. how are you guys doing? I would be thrilled if you'd leave a comment! "But how??" I've been asked. Well, you should choose 'Anonymous' in the dropdown menu behind 'Comment as:' when you leave your reply to post your comment. Please write your name in the comment itself so I know how's there (Knock, knock!). Easy-peasy no?!

For my Dutch homies: if you'd be interested in my Canadian address just give me a shout on Whatsapp (same-same as before, nothing changed) and I'll care to share! I've also gotten myself a Canadian cell number with unlimited international texting. Booyah!

Talk soon!

Love, Tatjana