Christchurch

This past tuesday, Gigi and I went on our way to leave Wellington to go down to Hayley's place for some serious thesis writing. We have all been really busy lately since our deadline is due next week, so we haven't had much time to travel around and see the area yet, but Gigi and I however did have a few hours in Christchurch before we were on our way to Dunedin, since our flight wasn't direct.

So, we decided to go to town after landing in Christchurch and see what the earthquakes early last year had done to this once so big and beautiful city.

I would have loved to say a lot of nice things about this town, but truth is, it's a giant dump. The centre of the city is completely demolished with everything falling apart, construction work going on everywhere, but no people. It mostly reminded me of parts of Poland and eastern Germany with buildings left unattended since WW2 where they were bombed to smithereens.

Amidst all the tragic ruins, I did however find reason for laughter! I'm telling you, someone's got their priorities wrong in Christchurch, apparently putting together an emergency shopping centre was a lot more important than, let's just say, restoring the many year old historical church in the centre of the city?

For more pictures, flick through my gallery here: http://imgur.com/a/dcyC3

Featherston French Fair

This weekend was awesome!

So Hayley was coming, which in itself is pretty cool since I haven't seen her since her housewarming way back on January 20th.

Friday night we went out and played pool, luckily Hayley and I both suck really hard at it so noone really won a game, rather we would take turns losing for pouching the 8-ball too early. After a few games we met up with Hayley's friends and went clubbing until 1:30. When we went home we sort of talked a bit too much and forgot to get off, so we had to walk for 30 minutes to get home.

The next morning we were going to visit Gigi in Masterton to go to a French Fair in Featherston. We got on the train and went to Solway Station where Gigi met us and walked us back to the Copthorne Hotel and Resort. We dropped off our bags and went to the playground for the kids (Gigi and Hayley) to play.

After that we went to KFC, while there we planned the rest of the day: Go to French Fair, go back to Masterton, go shopping for me to cook again, go home and watch TV and drink loads of New Zealand wine. Pretty good plan we thought.

Girls and their bags and hats...

Pizza-machine!

"Market trash"

So on to the busstop, get on bus and go to French Fair. As expected we forgot to get off (again), and so we thought we had to walk but didn't. Because as it turned out, Rick the busdriver (who's going to play a major role later on!), offered to go back that way after stopping at Featherston station, we kindly accepted! 20 minutes later we were at the French Fair and could check out the attractions. Rick said he'd be back at 5-10 past 5 which gave us about 3 hours at the fair.

Personally I don't think it was awesome, but there was a lot of what I would call regular market trash for sale. They did have a fucking (and this is AWESOME!) mobile pizza-bakery! That's like, amazing! A car with a giant wood-fired pizza-oven on the back of it! Oh well. I bought a gift for Marta and the girls went shopping too and got a few things. The coolest thing was probably the Betty Boob coasters that Hayley got. How she can call them girly I have no idea about!

French Fair. That was the name. While people did dress up like stereotypical french people, we didn't meet any. 7-finger chocolate man was from Belgium and the apple-juice man from Romania. The rest were presumably Kiwis.

Eventually it was time to go and so we left, waiting for the bus. Rick did come back, but he was going the wrong way! Well: He had misunderstood us or we had misunderstood him, so he thought we were going back to Martinborough and not Masterton. Whoops! We got on the bus anyways because we did not want to get stuck in the middle of nowhere at a closed French Fair without french people.


We got to Featherston station where we would have to wait for 3 hours for the train to arrive. Rick saw that we were in a kinda sucky position and gave us an amazing offer again:

Featherston

He would go to Martinborough, come back and fuel up, park the bus, and take another bus home and drop us off at Copthorne because he lives in Masterton and Solway is on the way there. We couldn't really say no to such a great offer and got off in Featherston.

Back in Featherston we went shopping for groceries and got an ice cream while waiting for Rick to get back. Rick got there and fueled his bus, we got on, he parked it, and boarded the smaller slightly broken schoolbus. On the way back we had some great discussions on the development of the whole area where he's lived most of his life, spending 18 years in Australia since there was no work in New Zealand.

Bus 199 before departure to Solway

So Greytown, which we passed through on our way back, was the first inland town in New Zealand. It was created when all the rich people had bought the good land along the coasts mostly on the South Island, so poor people had no options for starting up. For 25 pounds they could but 1 acte land in Greytown to build a house on, and get 25 acres of land to grow to grow crops on somewhere around the city. With no money however, they couldn't afford to clear off the bush and start growing crops so after a few years you had a small town with a whole lot of poor people with big houses and no land because it had all been sold to the rich people. Masterton and Carterton which are nearby, were named after the two people behind this seemingly great initiative, Masters and Carter.

Anyways, we got back to Copthorne and thanked Rick many times for being so damn amazing throughout our day (which without him would have gone terribly wrong!). And I started cooking.

Pasta with a sauce made of: leak, carrots, beans, capcicum, tomato sauce and then some fried bacon. The girls loved it and it was truly amazing!

That was my weekend! Tomorrow back to Welly and work on project and relax! It was great seeing Hayley again and we had a great experience just, messing up our entire plan for saturday!

A weekend in Karori

So this weekend was definitely not boring!

Friday after work, Gunhild (another Dane who works on the same floor as me) and I went to the train station to wait for Gigi and Sara who were on the train from Masterton. The train however was so full, that they dumped a bunch of passengers including Sara into buses so they could drive over the mountains instead. All this moving people around delayed the train which Gigi was still in by an hour and 15 minutes, but at 6:15 we were finally gathered in Wellington and ln our way towards the bus towarda Gunhild's place.

The girls got ready, with their showers, makeup, clothes swapping and shoe picking, and eventually we were ready to go back into the city and party all night long, and so we did.

We didn't really know where to go except around Courtney Place, which was a great idea. There is nothing but clubs and bars in that area, so we had fun all night walking around and trying most of them. We got drunk and danced, and that's about all that went on friday night/saturday morning.

Saturday afternoon was spent in the garden, playing badminton and other beach games that Jenn and Barry, Gunhild's hosts, had in a little bag full of toys. Since noone else was home to do it, us danes decided took some potatoes and a really good Danish persille-sovs, om nom nom!

After we had eaten, Jenn took us all to Zealandia, a sanctuary for some of New Zealands hunted wild like the Kiwi, that can't defend itself against cats, dogs and other animals imported by the Brits back some few hundred years ago. It was a really great trip but unfortunately it's hard to take good pictures on a nightwalk, which is when the Kiwi is out, together with their indigigeneous reptile, frog and the glow worm. A funny little fella that glows bright blue at night to attract little insects and eat them.

Sunday we spent sleeping late again, except for Gigi who got up early and went home. The rest of went on a drive down the south end of the north island with Barry as our tour guide, telling us a lot about the earthquake fault lines in Wellington. Then we dropped Nena, a german backpacker, off at a cloister or something, at least she was handed over to Sister Lucy. Barry then told us it was a community that used to have schools, daycare, hospital, church and much more but have had to cut down due to the decreasing amount sisters in community.

Today, monday, it's time for another week of work! But it won't be boring, that's for sure.

Pictures will come a little later.

Weekend with Gigi

So, I'm now in Wairarapa at the Copthorne Hotel and Resort. It's a nice hotel where Gigi is interning. The plan for the weekend is to go see a Rugby match between Hurricanes and Crusaders. Gigi's pretty sure one of the teams are staying at the hotel, but were not sure which one. Possibly the Hurricanes though as the hotel staff is rooting for them.
This hotel is far out in the middle of nowhere, so me being hungry wasn't a good thing last night, as Gigi doesn't really cook, I just had to check out what the fridge had to offer.
2 potatoes, a tomato, an onion, a leek, and a big orange potato-like thing.
I peeled the potatoes and the orange thing and boiled them. Chopped up half an onion and the rest, and fried it all. When the potatoes were done I fried them too.
It was delicious, and whatever that orange thing was, it tasted well. Even for Gigi and I, who both love meat.

Warm Welcome Wellington - What?!

So Gigi and I got out of bed, rushed to the bus station, and got aboard (considering I was dragging along a female I consider 45 minutes from wake-up to bus station fast).
Auckland to Wellington went smooth, Jetstar hasn't been as terrible as expected. We got to sit on row 2 for some reason so we're pretty good, getting off first and everything. My only problem was the amount of legspace (about 5 cm less than 'normal' airlines), and this weird buzzing sound that the airplane made once the engines turned on. Thanks again to China Southern Airlines for providing me with an airplane survival kit, the earplugs came in handy once again!

In Wellington Gigi and I took a shuttle (cheapest) to the train station. It was pouring rain even before we landed and it is still raining outside (it's 10 in the evening at the time of writing). After I ran across a big street for 2 cheeseburgers for her, we said goodbye to eachother. I then proceeded to Creative HQ where I'll be working for 3 months, to meet up with Nathan and get introduced.

I'll talk more about my job, the things that I'm allowed to say, in case any competitors snaps up my blog, in a later post. It's really exciting and I'm looking forward to get my hands dirty (not like in the picture below though!).
If you want to know more about the company and what they do, check out the website: www.educa.co.nz
Apparently that kinda thing is big down here ('apparently' because I never heard of anything like it existing in Europe or US, maybe because I don't have kids yet.

For now I'll just leave you with this children's book cover I stumbled upon in a magazine, seemingly teaching kids about the great terror that puberty can be for some.

When the weather clears up I'll make sure to take some pictures from the balcony where I live, Robyn's house is amazing.

Goodbye Auckland

So, Gigi and I went our separate ways earlier today, she did wait for me apparently, but she wasn't in front of the store we agreed to meet by. Either way, she didn't waste her day, but went to Waiheke as well and went on a wine tour. She had her fun it seems, so that's all good.
We met up at ACB around 18:00 and went out for bubble tea, Gigi doesn't like it. So after drinking a liter of tea, we went back, Gigi wanted to take a quick nap, and I should wake her up shortly. 40 minutes later I was hungry . But she didn't want to leave. So, McD for me, then back and into bed. Guess it's the best, since we're flying with Nazi Airlines... Ahem... Jetstar, tomorrow.
Jetstar provides you with a 30 minute timeframe to check in and board their airplane, if you're late, you miss your flight. On top of that they have a whole bunch of other regulations, word on the street is (that'll be backpackers and other NZ people I've talked to and mentioned the name Jetstar), that they're horrible. It get's you from A to B, nothing else. The Ryanair of new Zealand so to say. I'm looking forward to see how it actually goes though.
Tomorrow we're getting up early and then heading to the airport. Then I'll take Gigi to her train towards Masterton, and I myself will go meet with Nathan at Creative HQ (the place I'll be working). He'll take me to Robyn's and I'll start working on the 2nd. So I guess this marks the end of my vacation. :(

So far!

A day in Auckland

So to start the day off, was me. Even though I went to bed last, I was the first one to wake up after a stunning 6 hours of sleep. Most importantly, I feel fresh. A real bed after so long feels really great.
Gigi eventually woke up and we headed to the ferries, but first I had to stop and get a SIM for my phone, so after getting a sandwhich I went into the mall while Gigi headed back Queen's street to look at some girl stuff.
I said I's be back 9:50, i didn't get there until 9:52 however so I waited 3 more minutes for Gigi. She didn't show up however. So I figured she was a smart girl and went on the boat already. So I went down there, got a ticket and stepped aboard, hoping to find my travelmate somewhere. Nope, she wasn't on the boat. So I went to Waiheke Island myself.
Since the boat came in every hour I decided to stroll up the hill towards Church Bay while waiting for the next one to see if Gigi would catch that boat, she didn't. Either way:
The Island is amazing! A wonderful sight and a true display of the paradise that New Zealand is. I'm sure the NZ expert would have some comments here but bear in mind that this is my first day and honestly, everything is amazing!
I've attaches a few pictures and once I have the chance and get off McD wifi I will upload more.
As you may be able to see, there are no signs or other tourists on my path. This is because I didn't want to do any of the advertised tours, which were strictly wine and restaurant tours, and I didn't bring my bathing suit either. So I asked the guy behind the counter in the terminal what to do, and he pointed me along the beach, up the hill and down the other side. So I went, look at the pictures, it's gorgeous.

From AKL to Auckland City

Right now I'm about to go to sleep at ACB, Auckland Central Backpackers. The place is ok, reminds me of the Jugendherberge (plural) I visited in Germany while I was a student at Østerskov Efterskole. Crappy showers, crowded rooms and extremely polite service.

But let's get back to where I last left you:
Gigi and I got out of AKL, Auckland Airport, after walking through another security point with Chinese people everywhere. I don't know what's wrong with them, but they come across as very unpolite in their behavior. The group in front of us, decided that it would more practical to take their bags off their carts, realizing that they had to run them through the X-ray 1 by 1 while having their passports and customs declarations checked. So 2 people did that while the woman was left to deal with the police officer. They continued (without their passports and all of the luggage) to the X-ray and left the cart blocking the line for everyone else. When the officer yelled at them to get their attention, the younger man quickly replied: "Yes yes, X-ray" and wandered off before the officer got to react. A college caught them and took them all aside to make space for Gigi and I.

After that, we went outside a had a breath of fresh air (first since leaving Amsterdam), and yes, literally fresh air, that stuff doesn't exist in China. Much like New York it's dry and polluted, smelly if you want.
I tries to get a SIM for my phone, but apparently I have to go to "real" store to get a Micro-SIM for my iPhone 4S. So that'll have to wait until tomorrow (today by the time this is posted).
Gigi and I then took the bus to Auckland central. It took me some time to realize we were in the wrong side of the road, probably because I'm so exhausted after the trip. On that note, I'll enjoy the landscape tomorrow as well.
When we got to Downtown, we checked in at ACB, I showered and we went outside to walk around the city and find some WiFi (thank god for McDonalds!).
Gigi went back to bed I wanted to find some Bubble Tea. Being so close to China there had to be a tea house somewhere. I found (Thank you Siri!), went there and had a cup. Now I'm back here.

Stay tuned for tomorrows post, Gigi doesn't know it yet but we're going to Waiheke Island as Clare (my supervisor from IBA) suggested. Supposedly it's really beautiful there.

P.S.: Is it mandatory for backpackers to snore? 3 of the 5 others in here do so. Including Gigi :p

Amsterdam!

We got safely through security and now waiting to board. We got here early so we even got to watch the G4S guys check out the security area. I was surprised at how thorpugh they were: Checked everything, the emergency fire hose, the paper rolls for printing new boarding passes and both sides of the glass wall (really?)...

We had our seats changed for free, courtesy of KLM, so we're a little closer at least.
This area is like chinatown. All advertisement is in chinese and then the dead faces staring at this tall white guy walking through the masses, pretty funny.

Looking forward to board and see what food we'll be served. Never flew with China Southern before.

Checking in: Billund Airport

So far so good. Got through security, the fastest in the world, it's literally faster than shopping in Fakta, and the cool thing is, they don't want you to stay longer than that. So, while Gigi (my travelmate going to New Zealand) grabs a snack, I'll just update you on the next few days:
Most of my time will be spend in the air, first with the delightful KLM crew towards Amsterdam and then their partner China Southern for the rest of the trip towards Auckland.
Gigi and I will stay in Auckland for 2 days before going to Wellington. We have yet to find out where we will be staying, but we are certain we will figure things out. If not, I've watche The Terminal and know some tricks about surviving in an airport.

If you want to contact me, you should use email, G+ or post a comment.

Lastly: Goodbye Denmark, I hope the socialists won't make it any worse before I return!