Promises are promises...

And that's exactly why we came back to Wellington. We owed it to this city after it warmly welcomed us on our first visit. I still don't know exactly what it is, but this city has it. As soon as I set foot on Wellington's streets from the ferry, I was filled with a sense of happiness. It was nice to be back here again.

After climbing Mount Victoria during our last stop in Wellington, we decided to take a different route of the so-called 'Wellington Walks' - to the Botanic Garden. After all, we were real professionals in this area after Christchurch. At first, the Wellington garden seemed to be better structured, but when we walked towards the Rose Garden and suddenly found ourselves at the Cable Car Museum, we knew something was not quite right. If the signposts were reversed, well, so be it. After all, we wanted to explore everything in our own way and who needs signs anyway? Oh, a map. Let's take it. Whether the orientation in this huge construct of forest, bush, plants, and wrong signposts worked better, I'll leave that open. Anyway, I liked the Wellington garden much better in terms of plants. More variety, more information, more structure. At least I didn't see any plant twice, although some bloomed so colorfully that I could have stood in front of them for hours. I'm not such a big flower lover like some others, and yet I was overwhelmed several times.

After wandering around for a few hours... um, I mean, systematically hiking, we decided to take a detour to a part of the city that we couldn't see on our last visit. Suddenly, we felt like we were in a different city. Skyscrapers outdid each other, busy businessmen ran past us, and construction sites lined up. Capital city feeling, that's for sure. But fortunately it didn't take long and we turned into a street with the well-known Wellington flair. Oh, I really fell in love with this city with its combination of culture, art, and modernity. Sitting at the harbor, we let the day come to an end and watched the ascending and descending airplanes. Wellington must look just breathtaking from this height.

The next morning, we decided once again for some education. We didn't want to come back as wild beings after wandering around in nature all the time... um, hiking. You can already tell that my language skills are deteriorating. So off to the Wellington Te Papa National Museum. Unlike in Germany, there are remarkably many exhibitions to see for free in New Zealand. And they are actually very good too! After getting detailed information about plate tectonics, climate, and New Zealand's dinosaur history, and familiarizing ourselves with an earthquake simulator of magnitude 5, we finally found out that a blue whale's heart is bigger than me. I could comfortably stand inside it. Ulli would have to duck. Man, I'm small.

After this impressive dose of natural history, we went to the current war exhibition. Although it dragged on, the impressions were indescribable. The reproduction of war scenes with wax figures made history come alive. Each room confronted the visitors with the fate of a man who sacrificed his life for Great Britain or at least put it at risk. The individual fates were underscored by quotes and really moved me. Honestly, I hadn't even been aware of the extent to which New Zealand was involved in World War I. I was a little ashamed of my ignorance, but I suspect that many people at the other end of the world feel the same way. Because it wasn't part of the history lessons (at least for me). Maybe something to think about.

I highly recommend Te Papa to anyone visiting Wellington. The exhibitions are emotional, understandable, and interactive. There was absolutely no boredom. I had to make an effort to occasionally close my jaw in amazement. No wonder that besides many adults, children also enjoyed the flow of information. In Germany, museums are more like a horror scenario for many children, here it is part of the entertainment program. And I can say that I was really entertained. In addition, I absorbed a lot of new knowledge. So if that wasn't worth it, I don't know what is. Cheers!