H eadlines
Vancouver, British Columbia, a Stellar Destination
T RAV EL
JEFF AND VIRGINIA ORENSTEIN |
JE FEATURE
Before You Go:
• youtube.com/
watch?v=w7EyUJSjFko • tourismvancouver.com
• hellobc.com
• youtube.com/
watch?v=hU6a-b6ADSE and cruises to Hawaii, This Destination at a
California and elsewhere Glance:
year-round. Mobility level: Low to
moderate. Most sidewalks have
Must-Sees for a Short
curb cuts at intersections and
all Vancouver bus, SeaBus,
Trip: • See Canada Place and the SkyTrain and West Coast
waterfront. Express trains are accessible.

• Take a carriage tour of
Stanley Park’s lush foliage Getting around: Leave your
and spectacular harbor and car at the hotel. Downtown is
skyline views.

walkable, and the public trans-
• Enjoy the architecture, food portation is excellent. A transit
and drink in the Gastown pass in Vancouver covers buses,
District. SkyTrain and SeaBus services.

VANCOUVER, BRITISH
Columbia is a great trip:
Canada’s Pacific coast gem of
a city is a cosmopolitan and Getting There:
approachable metropolis that Vancouver is a transportation
is overflowing with great vistas, crossroads.

good food and friendly people.

Vancouver, Canada’s major • Vancouver International
gateway to the Orient, is strate-
Airport (YVR), is nine miles
gically located where the
from the city center. It is
mountains of the coast range
served by 66 air carriers and
meet the Pacific Ocean and form
offers service to 121 destina- If You Only Have Two or
a picturesque and busy harbor.

tions in Asia, Canada and Three Days:
The town has been a center of
the U.S. It is connected to • The FlyOver Canada flight
trade and transportation since
the city by the Skytrain rail
simulator ride at Canada
the First Nations (the Canadian
system. Place.

term for Native Americans) • By train, the transconti- • D i n n e r s a t G l o w b a l
era. The 1858 discovery of gold
nental Canadian calls on
Restau ra nt a nd Got ha m
in the Yukon and the comple-
Vancouver thrice weekly in
Stea k house.

tion of the Canadian Pacific
summer and twice weekly • The Lost Souls Walking Tour
in winter. Amtrak runs four
Transcontinental railroad in
by Forbidden Vancouver.

times daily from Portland,
1887 launched Vancouver on
Oregon. There is also train If You Have Several Days:
an urban trajectory that has
service from Via Rail and • A day trip by ferry to Victoria
transformed it into a world-
The Rocky Mountaineer
class city with a metropolitan
on Vancouver Island.

private train.

population of 2.5 million that is
• Walking Granville Island
• By car, Vancouver is on
still growing.

(market and restaurants).

Canada Route 99, the • A daytrip to Whistler and
High-rise condominiums
northern extension of U.S.

are sprouting up all around
nearby BC mountains by car
Interstate 5, 143 miles from
town because both Canadians
or bus.

Seattle and the TransCanada • Taking a whale watching
and foreigners find the town
Highway. such a pleasant place to live.

tour in season.

Not surprisingly, throngs of • Downtown Vancouver is a • Taking a floatplane tour.

visitors flock there as well.

major cruise ship port with • Hiking/skiing the Grouse
Many Americans fly to
frequent sailings to Alaska
Mountain Resort in North
Vancouver to catch a cruise
from May through October
Vancouver. ship to Alaska and see little
besides the Canada Place cruise
port and their hotel. That is
a missed opportunity because
the city is full of night life,
gorgeous sights and attractions
that should not be missed.

This cosmopolitan mix of
east and west has become a
delightful cultural cross-
roads with a mixture of food,
cultures, sights and sounds
that will delight even the most
urbane traveler. If your travels
take you through Vancouver,
stay for a while and explore it.

Better yet, plan a visit.

Stanley Park is a favorite place to walk or cycle because it offers fabulous
views of the harbor and Canada Place and is close to downtown attractions.

14 JULY 22, 2021
JEWISH EXPONENT
brings crowds in June and July.

Where to Stay: The St. Regis
Hotel is a delightful New York-
style heritage boutique hotel
within an attentive staff and
fine rooms. It is a 15-minute
walk to Canada Place. The
Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel
at Canada Place is popular
for those seeking an upscale
experience convenient to the
cruise port.

Senior Advantage: Great
museums, eclectic dining,
When to go: Anytime. Even interesting attractions.

though it is located north of
Seattle, Vancouver is the Special Travel Interests:
warmest part of Canada, with Cruises to Alaska, whale
an average winter high tempera- watching, watersports. l
ture in the 40s and delightful
spring and fall and summers in Jeff and Virginia Orenstein are
the 70s. The popular Vancouver husband-and-wife travel writers
International Jazz Festival from Sarasota, Florida.

The Canada Place cruise ship terminal and convention center offers
beautiful harbor vistas and is a beehive of activity in downtown Vancouver.

JEWISHEXPONENT.COM



H eadlines
Jewish Vancouver
The Vancouver Rowing Club is one of Stanley Park’s attractions.

Float planes fly out of Vancouver harbor, offering convenient and frequent transportation to
Victoria, Port Angeles, Washington and elsewhere around the region.
Photos by Jeff Orenstein
VANCOUVER IS CANADA’S third-most populous city and also has
the third-largest concentration of Canadian Jews, with more than 7%
of the nation’s Jewish citizens.

The face of Vancouver’s Jewish community is changing rapidly, with
36% of its population born outside of Canada — the largest percentage
in the country. It is one of the fastest-growing Jewish communities in
the world, despite the high cost of living in British Columbia. Eighty
percent of the Jews in the province live in greater Vancouver.

While the metropolitan area does not have the Jewish gravitas of
Toronto or Montreal, the community has numerous synagogues, kosher
restaurants, a Jewish Community Center and a typical big-city array of
Jewish organizations and agencies to serve its population and visitors.

Early Jewish settlers arrived around the 1880s, drawn by the harbor
and the railroad and the promise of commercial growth. While they
were largely isolated from the Jewish centers of Eastern Canada,
they were deeply involved in the growing civic and commercial life
of Vancouver. The city’s second mayor was David Oppenheimer, a
German Jew who was in office from 1887 to 1891 and who is widely
recognized as a significant figure in city history.

By the first decades of the 21st century, there were 15 Jewish
congregations in the Greater Vancouver area representing all Jewish
movements, with the Conservative congregations boasting the largest
number of members. Reform congregations follow in the second
place, with the Orthodox and Chabad congregations attended by a
dedicated minority. However, approximately half of the Jews living
in the Vancouver metropolitan area are not affiliated with a religious
congregation. Vancouver also boasts a Hillel House at the University of British
Columbia. Today, the Vancouver Jewish community continues to develop.

Sephardic Congregation Beth Hamidrash opened a new synagogue in
2004, while Congregation Schara Tzedeck, the largest in B.C., celebrated
a century of existence in 2007. There are also other Orthodox, Reform
and Conservative congregations in the city and in surrounding areas,
including Victoria, and many of them are growing. l
— Jeff and Virginia Orenstein
A CALL FOR HELP
Jonathan Newman is in dire need of a new kidney – and he and his family are
praying he will find an altruistic donor to save his life.

Newman, who is 39, has polycystic kidney disease (PKD), a genetic disorder that
took the lives of his grandmother and great-grandmother. Fortunately his mother
and maternal uncle found donors and have gone on to lead healthy lives.

Since this is a genetic problem, and not due to an illness (e.g. diabetes), a do-
nated kidney will not be attacked, and is expected to last many years, if not the
patient’s full life time. It is expected that once Jonathan receives a new kidney,
he will be able to lead a normal life – and enjoy every moment with his wife as
they raise their young son.

Jonathan is currently listed for transplant at University of
Pennsylvania and two other institutions.

For further information, please contact Jonathan Newman’s father, Edward
Newman at enewman591@aol.com or (201) 265-2939.

PA I D A D V E R T I S E M E N T
JEWISHEXPONENT.COM JEWISH EXPONENT
JULY 22, 2021
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