Done-Eden

This weekend I went to Dunedin and I had a blast!

After a six hour bus ride, I arrived in Dunedin and dropped my bag at the hostel I had arranged to stay in, Manor House Backpackers. It was a lovely old building on a hill and I quickly met some of the other guests, but I had places to be! The Cadbury chocolate factory in Dunedin has tours, which includes samples! I thought I knew a lot about chocolate, but there was plenty that I didn't know. The most interesting thing was how different chocolates are sold in different countries. Cadbury does a lot more than creme eggs. Fun fact: the same recipe of chocolate can taste different depending on the milk used. NZ chocolates taste different than others because the milk is from grass-fed cows. I don't know if I could tell, but the chocolate sure was good, so I'll take their word for it.

Dunedin is full of gorgeous old churches made of stone and stained-glass windows. I spent the  rest of the day walking around town and talking to the other guests at the Manor House.

On Saturday I went to the railway station, which claims to be the most photographed building in Dunedin, New Zealand, or the southern hemisphere, depending on who you ask. Right outside was the farmer's market which was large and brought to life by the exceptionally warm weather and shining sun. I decided to buy lunch there and had a little picnic in the sun on a hill overlooking the city. Inside the railway station is the NZ Sports Hall of Fame so I gave it a visit. It wasn't the best museum I've been too, but it was good to learn a little about sports here. 

After the disappointment of the sports hall of fame, the Otago museum was exceptional. There were some fairly standard culture around the world sections and they were done very well, but my favorite parts were about the Maori culture and the wildlife native to NZ. The architecture and sculptures that are part of Maori culture are similar to cliché tiki Hawaiian ones, but Maori ones are unique to themselves and so much more beautiful than the fake luau stuff. In the nature section was a bunch of Moa skeletons and some recreations. The moa are birds that were once found only in NZ but were hunted to extinction a few hundred years ago. The tallest is around 12 feet tall, covered in feathers, and has no wings. Moa don't even have vestigial wing bones. I think the recreations look like Big Bird's pre-historic cousin. 

At that point I headed back to the hostel to go with some of the people there to the midwinter carnival downtown.  Although it had been sunny that whole day, it was pouring buckets now. Since the carnival was all outdoors and included paper lanterns, the carnival was cancelled and I ended up hanging out with my new acquaintances. By the end of the night I had met an American, a Dutch-Canadian, two French people, a Spaniard, and a handful of Kiwis. At times it is awkward with a group of people that have just met, but it's always fun to talk to people from around the world. 

On Sunday I didn't have much time before I needed to be back on the bus to Christchurch so I headed off across town to Baldwin Street, the steepest street in the world. It was actually pretty far away so I had already had quite a walk before I got there. I thought about turning around at the bottom to head back and maybe go the art gallery, but I thought if I had made it that far, I had better walk to the top. It sure was steep though. They were not lying. On the way back I walked through the botanic garden and stopped at a cafe to get a cup of Earl Grey and tasty muffin. Possibly chocolate chip and rhubarb - they have some weird muffins here. 

The bus ride back was crowded and the bus was so full it could barely make it up some of the hills. From that bus stop I had to take the city bus back to my flat, and by that point I was glad to be home. On my way there I realized how nice it was to be able to consider my little room in my little apartment a home. It's only temporary and on the other side of the planet than usual, but it's a home nonetheless. 

I hope you had as good a weekend as me!