15th/16th February 2018

Helloooo from New Zealand! 😊

15/02/2018: Yesterday, after a really bad night's sleep, I got up for the first time. I've already slept in rooms with 19 other people and never had a problem. Who would have thought that I would sleep the worst in a 4-bed room? Around 4:00 am, a guy came into our room. He rummaged around in his clothes for a long time and shone his flashlight around. When I eventually opened my eyes annoyed, he just said, 'Hi, how're you doing?' I wordlessly turned towards the wall. 😄 He then clumsily climbed onto the bed above mine and you have to know that when someone moves in the bed above you, the entire bunk bed shakes. I was officially awake. And annoyed. But relieved when he finally got into bed. However, less than two minutes later it started. You can't imagine it, I couldn't believe that someone could snore SO LOUDLY. Earplugs, headphones, and music - nothing helped, so I actually got up totally exhausted at 7 o'clock. I packed my last things (making as much noise as possible, which unfortunately didn't impress the snorer at all, but woke up my two other roommates... big apologies for that! 😅) and checked out of the hostel on time. Because I was in such a bad mood, I decided to go shopping again and treat myself to a really nice breakfast:

I hadn't had yogurt or strawberries in soo long! Fruit is just sooo expensive here. Afterwards, I felt much better! 😄

In the evening, I took the shuttle bus to the airport, where everything went smoothly and very quickly. My highlight: There was a piano at the gate where I sat down to have keys under my fingers again after 7 weeks. That was very nice and made the waiting time much shorter. 😊

16/02/2018: The flight itself didn't leave until midnight and unfortunately only lasted three hours. Somehow, I didn't think it through when I booked it. 😄 I wanted to save a night in the hostel and sleep on the plane, and I only saw 'Departure 11:55 PM' and 'Arrival 5:30 AM'. At the time, I thought to myself, 'Oh great, 5.5 hours of sleep, that'll be enough!' I didn't consider that New Zealand is 2 hours further in the future, that the plane could be half an hour faster than usual, and that I might not sleep well the night before - I didn't think about any of these things. Lesson learned: I will never book night flights again! 😅

So, I arrived in Auckland very tired but still very excited. Everything went very quickly there and I was soon on the bus to the hostel. As I walked from the bus stop to the hostel, the sun was just rising, that's also an experience! 😄

I was at the hostel at 6:45 AM, but it didn't open until 7:00 AM. Check-in wasn't possible until 1:00 PM, so I lay down exhausted in the lounge and slept.

Shortly before check-in, I went shopping and explored the city on foot, which many people have told me they find ugly. I can't agree with that! 😊 From the first second, I felt comfortable here, but I can't say why. What is definitely funny, though, is that the city is quite hilly. When you walk through the streets, you have to climb some hills along the way. 😄

For lunch, I made a curry pan and, among a few cockroaches (Yep, super gross!), I discovered this funny sign in the kitchen:

So, after eating, I duly put away my dishes. 😄

Unfortunately, I slept through the afternoon completely. Just never book a night flight. You might save a night in the hostel, but you also lose a whole day at your destination because you're so tired.

In the evening, I pulled myself together again because there was a free BBQ on the rooftop terrace. That was a nice way to end the day. Here's the view:

The hostel is right next to a park, which you can't see in this picture because it's on the other side. I will visit it tomorrow and then see how I will spend the next time here until Sina arrives. I have some ideas, but nothing concrete planned or booked yet. I'll take care of that tomorrow!

Anyway, sending you lots of love!! ♥️