30/12/2017 - Welcome to Wellington

The sun rose over Johnsonville. Today, we were heading to New Zealand's capital city, Wellington. Wellington is only the third largest city in the country. Auckland is unrivaled at the top with 1.5 million inhabitants, followed by Christchurch with 342,000 inhabitants. Wellington has only 204,000 inhabitants - but the city still radiates the charm of a capital. Today, on Saturday, we drove to the city by car. During the week, parking prices are outrageously expensive, so it is advisable to use public transportation. On weekends, however, parking is much cheaper. (During the week, you pay $6 for half an hour of parking - we paid the same amount for 5 hours on the weekend!) So we parked our van in a parking garage and were in the city center within minutes. The first thing we were greeted by was the "Beehive". This architecturally appealing building is home to the Prime Minister and all other ministers from the cabinet. We think that the shape of a beehive has been captured very well. Right next door is the "Parliament House" - where the New Zealand Parliament meets. Both buildings are very nice to look at, but a bit difficult to photograph as they are located in the middle of the city center.
After visiting the government district, we passed an older church. As we entered, a friendly staff member immediately approached us and provided us with plenty of information material, also in German.

The "Old St Paul's" Church served as the community church of Wellington's Thorndon district from 1866 to 1964. On May 10, 1964, its doors were closed and the diocese tried to demolish the church, as a new cathedral had already been built nearby. This resulted in a large protest movement, which fortunately bore fruit in 1967 and persuaded the New Zealand government to protect the small church as a monument. Today, you can visit the Old St Paul's Church and it is still used for events such as weddings or baptisms. It must be admitted that the church looks very chic from the inside. It is made entirely of wood and is famous for its colorful stained glass windows. Instead of a normal donation, we decided to buy a small item from the church's own Christmas shop - a wooden Christmas tree ornament with a kiwi bird on it. This is our first souvenir from New Zealand. :)

After this visit, we went directly to the next attraction. The "Wellington Cable Car" has been transporting residents and visitors from the city center to the 120-meter-high suburb of Kelburn since 1902. The 5-minute ride on the funicular was not particularly exciting, but it somehow belongs to the experience. Arriving at the summit station, you have a beautiful view of the capital and its skyscrapers. We decided to walk back down through the botanical garden, as it is a pleasant walk. We enjoyed the stroll in the bright sunshine. On this day, "Windy Welly," as the city is also known, did not live up to its nickname, as there was only a light breeze and the wind did not sweep through the streets as it usually does. The botanical garden is definitely worth a visit. It is beautifully laid out and takes you through different types of gardens. When we returned to the city center, we went to the waterfront promenade. It was bustling with activity - similar to the Landungsbrücken in Hamburg. Many ships were coming and going, and there was a lot of hustle and bustle on the sidewalk. We found a nice spot by the sea and enjoyed the moment.

After our parking time was up, we headed back to Johnsonville. Tomorrow, the New Year's Eve is already here. We want to celebrate it in style at the other end of the world.