Liebe statt Krieg!

Sometimes days start off well, sometimes bad. In our case, it started off rather poorly, but then got a lot better.

Since we had to change our room (we upgraded this time, with our own bathroom, etc.), we waited in the hostel lobby from 10 a.m. (the time we had to check out) until 2 p.m. (the time we could check in again). 4 hours. Just sitting there with the worst Wi-Fi. Oh man, you must surely think I'm a crybaby... well, that's true! Anyway, we sat there for our 4 hours of waiting, then went to the new room and took a shower. Much better than the common showers! The wait was worth it.

Eventually, we went on another big exploration tour. There's really a lot to see here. At a kindergarten (they're called the same in English), there was a sign hanging on the fence with a sentence that I had to take a photo of because it's so true: 'Love not War!' Kids always tell the truth..

With a smile on our faces, we went back to the sea. On the way, we noticed something. It was Sunday and ALL the shops were open. They don't have something like a weekend here. The shops are open every day. As a German, we find that shocking, since we only know our relaxed 5-day work week. And on Fridays, we usually leave earlier too..

At an ice cream parlor, we wanted to buy ice cream. $5 for ONE scoop. We left immediately. Later, we got ice cream at McDonald's for $2. It wasn't great, but cheaper!

As it got cooler and darker, we headed back.

Just a side note: A movie was being filmed in front of a hotel. So, if you go to the cinema next year and think, 'Those are the people from the blog about New Zealand..,' it's probably us.

But unfortunately, not everything is peaceful here. There are many homeless people, sitting/lying everywhere under bridges, awnings, and shop entrances, which is completely legitimate. But some people here don't seem to like it. A group of about 10 teenagers actually attacked a small group of homeless people while we were almost back at the hostel. There was a huge brawl. I went straight into the nearest store and told them to quickly call the police. They arrived immediately. It's just not a small village here. Whether and what exactly happened and what the reason for the attack was, nobody knows. But I suspect they just wanted to be cool and were looking for victims, following the motto: 'Look at these bums, let's punch them, it annoys me that they're always lingering around here!' Sad stuff..

But finally, something more joyful. We found a van! Tomorrow, it will be decided whether it will be our new companion or not. But more on that tomorrow...