16.01.2018 - Auckland, the 1st day

We expected it to be much worse, but as often in New Zealand, the weather here doesn't adhere to the forecast. So, this morning we were able to have breakfast calmly and without rain. Jana took us to a trendy café on Jervois Road, which is within walking distance from us in a few minutes.

Afterwards, my wife and I agreed to go on a shopping tour on Ponsonby Road and K-Road (Karangahape), where there are some really unique shops. Second-hand clothing stores, called op-shops, are also popular here, where you can find some quirky yet stylish items. In one store, you could even mistake the prices for new items.

Speaking of prices: if you want to live in a nicer place in Auckland, you'll quickly find yourself paying several million for a house. And if you're looking for a house or a villa by the water, you'll have to dig deep into your pockets. The rents, which seem quite moderate in the weekly prices, add up to a small fortune when calculated on a monthly basis.

Compared to other cities like Wellington or Dunedin, Auckland feels like a real metropolis. The city has some office skyscrapers in the central business district, but other than that, it is very spacious. The population is just under 1.5 million, which is about one-third of New Zealand's total population. Auckland has about half a million more people than the entire South Island, making housing here as expensive or even more expensive than in Munich or Frankfurt. We could definitely believe that the city is allegedly in the top third of the most expensive cities worldwide when we saw the property prices. Especially in Ponsonby, there are very beautiful houses and streets lined with large trees.

In the early evening, we visited the pub where Jana used to work until a week ago. Beer and wine were on the house for us, and it seems like Jana left a good impression here. At around 7:30, we had a table reserved at Orphans Kitchen, a restaurant with excellent local cuisine. We had a great time here in the evening.