After resting and recuperating in Christchurch for a bit, it was time for another adventure. After some deliberation, we decided to “take it easy” and just go for a walk… THROUGH A CAVE! Yep, about an hour’s drive from Christchurch is the Cave Stream, one of New Zealand’s best kept secrets – if only because it is nigh impossible to reach if you do not have your own transportation. It’s a 600-meter walk upstream, through a limestone cave, in water that goes from knee-deep to waist-deep (and is not too cold, if you’re lucky), and it’s AWESOME in the most literal sense of the word. Bonus: in Europe, there would inevitably be a ticket booth, guided tours, all kinds of health and safety measures, and possibly a souvenir shop. Here, all we got was a sign telling us to wear proper clothing, bring a flashlight, and godspeed. So in we went, and good times were had.
Seeing as it is kind of hard to convey how cool the whole experiene was, I’m just gonna skip right to the pictures instead, as they sort of tell their own story (even though it’s hard to take pics in pitch black conditions)…
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20
March
Christchurch, as it turns out, is a very nice city, with a nice, small city center and enough to do to keep anyone occupied for at least a couple of days. Thus, I had originally planned on writing a sort of comprehensive travel guide for the entire city, but while writing my review of the Canterbury Museum, I got a bit carried away – so instead of getting my take on the town, here is a review of JUST the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, because I felt like writing one… apparently. There’s a bit on the Antarctic Centre at the end though, so feel free to skip most of this article if you were planning on going there and skipping the museum!
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20
March
I finally, FINALLY got around to selecting, resizing and enhancing some pictures I took during the tarp of the trip that I have already written about (8-13 February)(click on “New Zealand” for more info). Enjoy!!
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19
March
In November and December 2009, I went to Vienna (for a Hludowicus Project Meeting), and to Frankfurt (for a T&I project meeting). In between those two, I spent some time working in the ever-inspiring OEAW, where the coffee and company is good and plentiful, and strolled around beautiful Vienna in what turned out to be the last few nice days of the year (weather-wise, that is). Went to the Leopold Museum to see Munch and the Uncanny, went to the Albertina to compensate for this expressionist onslaught with some nice Impressionists impressions, went to the Wien Museum to experience the excitement of Vienna in the 20s and 30s (all great exhibitions by the way!), got lost in the labyrinth that is the Wiener Altstadt, got some trinkets at the Christkindlmarkt, went to the Kunsthistorisches Museum to gawk at Old Dutch Masters, Egyptian stuff and Charles the Bold, and felt revived by all this high art and culture.
Also, I drank quite a few beers, gluhweins, Rieslinge, and other beverages there, saw Modern Earl perform in some basement with some of my new-found friends, and had an overall good time! So thanks to everyone involved for making that happen!! (and an extra-special thank-you to Gerda for letting me stay at her apartment! You rock!)
Seeing as it has already been some time since all this went down (holidays, you know), I figured I’d just let the few pictures I took do the talking. Just a few, I’m afraid, as I actually had to work as well, but still, they seem kinda nice… Read the rest of this entry »
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8
January
Four fabulous friends visited me in Berlin, and here is the report, originally published on 17 March 2009!
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7
January