Auckland. How great.

The flight to Auckland was delayed by a good 60 minutes, so I had to spend almost 17.5 hours on this plane. But once again, Emirates Airlines made the flight as pleasant as possible, they even allowed us to move around the plane, which I took advantage of quite often. With ten cups of coffee (big mistake!), I managed to stay awake the whole time, a total of 40 hours. When the plane landed, I could have cried tears of joy.

The immigration process went smoothly, unlike what I had expected. On the bus to the hostel, I got my first impression of Auckland, which dampened my excitement a bit:

Auckland is, to put it mildly, not the most beautiful city. It's just a normal big city without any real highlights. I felt like I was in Berlin. This feeling would only be reinforced later on.

The hostel itself is... okay? It's a typical backpacker hostel, designed for functionality and affordability.

I'm sleeping in an 8-bed dorm, which is not so bad. The people are super nice and all of them are Germans. So far, I've only met two non-German work and travelers. So much for 'speaking English'. I still need to figure out how to organize my backpack because I don't want to unpack and pack everything every time.

The bathrooms are not inviting and it's cold everywhere. The breakfast is a joke: two types of cereal, a pack of wheat toast, and peanut butter. And after 7 am, there are only crumbs left. But there is a kitchen, so in the next few days, I will mainly (actually only) eat apples and rice.

Even after a city stroll, Auckland couldn't improve. The only real tourist attraction is the Sky Tower (but with its mere 300 meters, it can't compare to the Burj Khalifa). That was quickly checked off the list, but the bad weather was a shame.

But there is no hope for improvement in the next few days either. The temperatures here haven't exceeded 14 degrees yet - that's why I had to buy thicker pants in addition to a raincoat.

You can enjoy a nice view of the city not only from the Tower but also from Mount Eden, one of the mountains rising in the middle of the city. On the way there, I noticed how many joggers there are in Auckland.

What else is typical? The traffic lights that announce the green phase for pedestrians with a shrill whistle. I still get startled. And of course, driving on the left. It will take some more time for me to get used to that.

Tomorrow, I will have the official introduction from IEP (my organization) and I will also focus on my CV and job search that day. On Sunday, I booked a tour to Black Beach, a recommendation from a roommate. I also want to take a boat trip to two nearby islands off Auckland. However, I still don't know what to do with the rest of my time here. There is still plenty of time until Wednesday and I'm already tired of Auckland. I still have to get through today, so I'll come up with something.

Best regards