The All Blacks

The exciting events piled up and so Tim was finally allowed to redeem his birthday present today. A day trip to Hamilton included a visit to a game of the All Blacks! What football is to Germans, rugby is to New Zealanders, maybe even more extreme...

We started the day quietly and first visited a typical market for New Zealand. Most weekends you can find markets with stands of regional and seasonal offerings in almost every small town or even in the countryside. Fresh bread, unusual jams and spicy spreads, sausage, cheese, abundant and freshly caught seafood, sweets, freshly brewed coffee, and even handicrafts not intended to be eaten. Caro and I loved visiting these markets during our trip. The offerings from self-producers and local farmers were usually fresh and made with love. Compared to average bakers, you could find real bread at the markets. Crispy, delicious, and sometimes still warm. We could occasionally enjoy dark varieties as well. There was plenty of fruit, not only familiar varieties but also exotics like feijoa, loquat, and tamarillo. The open conversations that all locals had at these markets were particularly enriching. We often learned a lot about local attractions or the production of the products. Everyone was always very friendly, attentive, and interested.

In the small suburb of Cambridge, no, we are not in England, we visited a really cute market with Pia. It didn't take long until we indulged in the specialities. Freshly prepared flat white, the New Zealand coffee specialty, meets filled flavor bomb donouts, delicious. With live music and sunshine, we enjoyed ourselves and increased our anticipation for the game.

Covered with fresh food for the next few days, Tim did not miss the opportunity to buy 12 fresh oysters. Although we have been in New Zealand for quite a while and oysters are not uncommon here, we had never allowed ourselves a dozen. Tim's plan to share the 12 slippery delicacies with the girls turned out to be a crazy idea. Perhaps Tim could have guessed that Pia, as a vegetarian, would reject them. Surprisingly, Caro also kept her distance from the slimy offering in the bowl, after almost throwing up on her first attempt half a year ago. So what do you do with 12 oysters?! Of course, you eat them alone :)

Slightly euphoric, in Tim's case even aphrodisiac, we arrived at the stadium after a brisk march. The game was the last test match before the subsequent World Cup in Japan. The opponent was the world power Tonga, ranked 12th in the world. But the number 1 was, of course, the clear favorite. More than 20,000 fans wanted to see their national team in good form today. The atmosphere and the weather were perfect. Pia and Tim were somewhat surprised by the fan culture. Although people were all in a good mood and curious, compared to German football, they were quite reserved and quiet. Tim's idea of making a fan parallel to the NFL did not hold up either. We were all absolutely thrilled with the sport itself. Fast, physical, and agile are the apparent virtues of this sport. Sometimes you could even hear the bodies hitting each other from the stands.

In the twilight, we reached our campsite, which was once again in the Hobbiton area and offered a great view of the typical hilly landscapes.