Museum tour

Yesterday the hotel owner said: "Today it will be very, very hot and tomorrow it will be very, very cold!" Yes, it's really cold today, it can't be 10 degrees more. But yesterday it wasn't that hot, it was 24 degrees. Since I knew about the cold weather today, I took full advantage of the day yesterday and bought myself a warm, cozy softshell jacket for the cold days! After buying the jacket, I went for a quick walk through the botanical garden and looked at the New Zealand flora.

I left more indoor things for today. I start the day relaxed and calm, it's pouring outside. Around midday the rain lets up and I set off.

I actually wanted to go to the Canterbury Museum. Unfortunately, it's currently being renovated and there was only a tiny exhibition, which I got through quickly because most of what there was to see were dinosaur skeletons...

The second museum of the day was Quake City. In 2010 and 2011 Christchurch was hit by two major earthquakes. The second one in particular was very, very violent, people died, many houses collapsed or were in such bad condition that they had to be demolished. Almost 80% of the city center was destroyed. The consequences can still be seen today. There are lots of building sites everywhere in the city center and many old buildings are either still being restored or are still in very poor condition. The cathedral was also very badly damaged, the church tower even collapsed. The church is no longer usable, but is currently being renovated. As a replacement, the New Zealanders built a church made mostly of cardboard. The outer walls are made of old containers and the gable roof is supported by cardboard tubes. Even the cross is made from cardboard rolls.

Pictures and video recordings were shown in the Quake City Museum. Witnesses reported their experiences. You could see original parts of the destroyed cathedral and other buildings.

At the end of the day I do a little farewell walk through Christchurch. Tomorrow I'm leaving the city and getting my "apartment" for the next while.