Photos of Wellington

Dec 9, 2014 | Photos, The Great Journey

I took my camera and went out into the sun. The last days I walked the streets for some times, partly to buy things, partly to find points of interest, partly to get to know Wellington.

But until now I haven’t had my camera with my nor did I have such beautiful sunshine at hand. 🙂

Why don’t you just come along:

Wellington has more of small shops than bigger ones

There’s always room for trees and green areas. Well, Wellington is not AS big as there wouldn’t fit any of that…

The “Beehive” is the government buildung. It might be true to its meaning. 😉

You can walk freely on the governemnt grounds. Everything is nice and groomed, a pleasure to the eyes.

As I said. 😀

Shopping here is a little different from home. At least at the smaller supermarket I went to yet… You put your stuff into the basket, proceed to the checkout area and wait in a distance until on of the counters is vacant. Then you put your basket on top of the counter, the lovely madam scans everything after uttering ‘Hi, how are you?’ (I still don’t know what to answer to that, really) she packs it all into bags for you. One word about the selection: There is toast for 1 Dollar!! (and backpackers buy it)

Mt. Victoria in the background

The national museum ‘Te Papa’ is huge.

Especially on the waterfront you see many runners. Everyone is running in Wellington, astounding.

View of the sea, the city behind the back.

Why don’t we standardize those symbols?

As I walked on the pavement today (“today”, “yesterday” and “tomorrow” has a broken meaning anyway, I think :D), with sunscreen factor 70 just to mention it, I encountered an odd picture which I can only describe here as I didn’t carry my camera.
A section of the way was being fenced off by the workers using a handheld STOP sign. So you stop. Then a small digger left the building and when everything was safe again, the sign was turned and GO. I was told that they even use this technique to replace mobile traffic lights on roadworks. That is how the Kiwis are, but I will surely see all of this myself one day…

A different version of our “Weserspucker”…

The green is outstandingly intense and pure, no matter what plant you look at.

The national museum ‘Te Papa’ might just be the coolest attraction around. It is free, you can walk in and out as you please and there is looots to see. You can learn anything about New Zealand here. And there is free WiFi. 🙂 In general there is free WiFi all around the city…

Inspiring words inside Te Papa.

The city as seen from the looking terrace on top of the museum.

Those who like to build scaffolding will like this picture. 😉

At the hostel I sleep in a three-people-bedroom (single bed above double bed) and the lovely Taiwanese girl (who shared her first cooking with me (which was really nice (I hope Google will translate this correctly to Chinese))) turned into a french-italian backpacker couple. Loving people, full of advice and experience and providing the cutest accent mixture ever! 😀 😀

It must be Christmas.

Cuba Street is on of the most beautiful streets for shopping here. Very traditional and
nice to look at as a whole. Many buskers throughout the day complete the mood.

The famous sculpture on Cuba Street. It’s something. 🙂

And you can speak English for the whole day. Even some Germans I met at the hostel spoke only English with me. And all the cinemas show movies in their purest original language. That’s how I pictured it! 😀

Windy in Wellington

Dec 6, 2014 | The Great Journey, Updates

Just when you’ve gotten used to the life on a plane, it is over and you are..there.
Flying is not bad at all, I have to say as a conclusion. I never felt unsafe, landing and starting is a little more special than the rest and the food is alright given the circumstances. On my last flight (from Melbourne to Wellington I flew with Qantas, not with Emirates) I even got a Lindor chocolate. That made me happy! 🙂
After a last safety control and a short wait at the baggage claim I was standing there. At the Wellington airport with a visitor visa in my pocket.

Middle of Middle Earth is written on the outside of the airport.

Wellington welcomes me kind and sunny. After the bus took me into the city I walked off towards the church that’s next to my hostel. I even managed to find it, though I couldn’t have guessed that it was kinda the wrong church. 😀 I asked some people for the way and went on. As I was getting more and more unsure about my way I asked some more people. As revealed later, they were Klaus and Jennifer. Klaus is from Germany and lives for a couple of years in New Zealand now with Jennifer. When I was asking them about the way they offered to drive me there. There I was. One that is lost in a foreign city. One that has just had a two days long flight. One that is this far away from home for the first time. So we put my baggage into the car that was parked a few steps further and they drove me (some way actually) to the hostel. Until now I can’t quite believe it, especially on my first day and maybe you could notice. Here goes a BIG Thank You to you guys as without your help I couldn’t get to the finest part that soon. To the SLEEP!
I reported at the reception of the hostel, received the keys and shortly after that I found myself inside the room. I have to admit that considering the little hours of sleep and some excitement of the last days I was quite well. On the outside! Wisely I decided to hit the sheets right on the spot. My roommate is a lovely Taiwanese girl. She has two washbags hanging on the bed and then I am happy to be a boy. 😛
I arrived between the sheets and slept. I recalculated: Approx. 16 hours. :):) That’s why I am wide awake right now, as it should be. So I have (hopefully) cured the Jetlag with sleep…

This morning I rose, showered and went out. In Wellington it is 16 degrees and it is windy. They told me in Wellington it is always windy and this is quite calm. I might find out eventually. 🙂 I went to the waterfront, too and just looked at the city. Without my camera for now, but with open eyes. I still can’t grasp where I am. I will visit the national museum ‘Te Papa’, I have decided spontaneously. Maybe I’ll get some clarity there. 😀

On the little tour I got myself a travel adapter and a bottle of L&P. That is the national beverage of the Kiwis. “World famous in New Zealand” says the other side. 😉

Melbourne Airport

Dec 4, 2014 | The Great Journey, Updates

Dark night at mine, bright day at yours.
I’m sitting in Melbourne at my gate. All alone, as the boarding is still 6 hours away. And when it is 4 o’clock at night at yours, then I will already wander through a December afternoon in Wellington…

To be honest, I don’t really know what to write. There was nothing tooo special yet. Cause you already prepared for the general hassle of a long flight. 🙂 Until now everything went well, no calamity or sorrow. Only the jetlag worries me. I mean, who is wide awake at 4 o’clock at night under normal circumstances? 😀

Actually in this post I wanted to show you the nightsky I mentioned earlier… 🙂

“…and the black fell back further and further!”

The next post I will publish when there’s more to tell. And that might most possibly be when I am in New Zealand…

Breakfast above the Indian Ocean

Dec 4, 2014 | The Great Journey, Updates

WI-FI on the plane is some fine invention. Actually it is your profit. 😉

After security controls, passport checks and one step after the other parted me from my parents I boarded the plane towards Dubai. My first serious flight… I don’t have much comparison, but it is all alright, no worries…

I don’t want to go on about flying as there is much to come yet… Only this: The composition of LEDs and small holes in the plane’s ceiling makes for a marvellous nightsky (never as nice as yours, Resa) and let’s the landing appear a little less frightning…

In Dubai there was some time for admiring the airport itself. I mean, who would expect a waterfall a 100 metres wide INSIDE each terminal? 😀 Besides, there was something for chocolate lovers…

World record in Dubai. The biggest chocolate structure. (the competition probably melted already)

I just had breakfast. My my, the fruit was delicious!

The morbid, longish thing is a croissant.

Soon we land in Kuala Lumpur. From there it is Melbourne and after a short stop-over Wellington.

And those planes can shake quite a deal. I only know that from railways, where such movement makes a lot more sense… But as long as the stewardesses don’t sit there pale and eyes wide open, you needn’t worry.

The Last Goodbye

Dec 3, 2014 | Before The Great Journey, Thoughts

Alarm clock. The Last Goodbye by Billy Boyd.

The mood is set. The last morning, the last breakfast, the last drive on German streets.

My bag is packed. I know that well, as I finished filling it only before midnight. The last day was chaotic. Caused by a chain of unfortunate events my actual travel bag will go on the adventure of flying alone. Meanwhile I got a (pretty flash looking) substitution bag. But that one has already vanished in the guts of the airport. So the actual bag will be sent to the first hostel I will stay at for the first days in Wellington. All cool, not as nice, but cool… 😀

My (transitional) travel gear

My last diary entry at home was mostly made out of a list of people I met yesterday. Who I held tight. Who I like.
I didn’t make it to see everybody and didn’t manage to see everybody in person. But with a little more time I wouldn’t want to miss out on that. To drink a few coffees more and to let the hugs last a little longer.
I think the most intense parting has been the one from my Audi (the one from my parents is yet to come) as I will not see him again…

My parents…

Instead this morning my heart has been warmed considerably looking at the long absence in front. I will miss you all!!

Now I am sitting at the airport. Opposite my parents. My stomach digests fastfood. The final moments could be shared better than with a display in the middle, but they will read this significant post as well.

Slowly it gets to me, how incomprehensible all this is. I will get on that plane in a minute and..Goodbye.
I am GONE.

This entry I decide to end with a cliffhanger. More details I will tell you in 50 hours of traveling…

Fact: From this day on I won’t be contactable on my smartphone anymore. No Whatsapp, no push notifications, no ongoing reachability. (In New Zealand I will still have a phone number, but only for the classic SMS and phonecalls. 🙂 )
This is an experiment I am looking forward to. My emails, Facebook and the blog I will still be able to access. Just not ALWAYS. 😉