Travelling with Christ - Divine protection or just hocus pokus???

 

Dang - or as our Aussie cousins would say - strewth!

It is an amazing place - New Zealand - or better Godzone!!  Purposely built by the old Dude up there to be his favorite playground - truly a paradise!  

To go from one end of the country - (yes I am excluding the 3rd Isle here) to the other - is just over 2000km.  As long and as far as it takes to swim from Auckland to Sydney - our nearest neighbor!!! Border hopping has a different meaning here!!

Since I moved here many many many years back - we have been blessed with the ability to travel - and travel we did! After all - it is my new home so it needs thorough examination / visiting / exploring! Not contend with exploring New Zealand we also had a few trips off-shore so to speak.  

Totals ---->        37670                                                      Trips in BM 1 & 2   
                                                                                                   19341    km
Euro trip        1987       17179 km         30338    In OE               7637    km
Oma/Liesl       2000        1661  km           7332    In NZ               
Euro trip        2002        5200   km                           
Euro trip        2008        4377   km                           
Doris & Co     2014        2413   km                        total all trips   
Aussie trip     2015        1111   km                           
Margit           2017        3258    km                        64648.3    km
Cook Islands 2018        100      km                           
Euro trip       2019        2371    km                            

Sorry Martina - i did not keep a log of our Trips here although I could 'guesstimate'!!  Also the trips / km's shown here do not include the various (holiday) trips in the various cars we have owned in past years gone by and B4 we owned the Bearmobile's! Certainly there were several trips to Auntie Rachel in Dunedin!! 

:P  Did you see the Cook Islands? ? ?   It has a 'round-trip' distance of 30km!! You could conceivably WALK around the entire Island inside a day!!

Suffice to say - this kiwi is a well traveled chap! Well over 60-thousand Kilometers and counting!!

The early years of our marriage were taken up with SAVINGS - house / children / car / and family trips back to Europe  - so less annual trips away inside New Zealand.  Later on it got easier and also more affordable - so again truly blessed that we can do this! You notice the years gone by - (with 2016 - that interruption with our son getting Leukemia) and of course 2019 started the china virus were EVERYTHING just stopped!! 

I used to own a mini - my first car - and promptly crashed it one night.  No harm done to life and limb - just some pride dented - oh and of-course the car needed a bit of panel beating!  That soon got upgraded to a Citroen!! LOVELY car - such soft suspension! A dream to drive long distance!!  Lots of fond memories owning this particular car!! Because I survived the Crash - I decided someone is indeed looking after me - and in response I 'decorated' the Citroen. I also had a tiny St. George Mini cross on a chain permanently hung in the car.  I had to sell it to get enough $$$ to be able to fly out to New Zealand and begin my voluntary work for the order of St. Steven. . . Imagine that - the price of the Airline tickets was half the cost of a new car!!!  (Lovely numbers to remember - am slightly number-dyslexic - so yeah)

 In between my brother had his crash which he did not survive and so his "spirit " travels with us at all times - he was the lucky sod who always found a car park right outside where he needed it no matter where or when - and ever since his passing - I have no problems myself - a change from earlier days were I struggled!!  Thanks Manfred!

Well - it is a quirk of mine and it took Mamabear a bit getting used to! Since those early days of that crash - I have ALWAYS had a cross in my vehicles!  Sometimes they were just little trinkets - and lately (seeing I am enjoying woodworking) some made from New Zealand Timber!!! 

Here is the little one that I super glued to the First Bear-mobile!!  The new owner has taken a shine to it as well - so I understand it is a permanent feature in the old Van!! 

Then of course - the new van needed one as well - so I  had it made one day (almost before we had bought the Van)  and again - it is fixed pretty good!!  

Which does go begging the question - hmmm WHAT was the question - strewth I lost my threads . . . .

 

NZ Rimu (the dark bit) and some Kauri - oiled and fixed!

Yeah - rambling along here - so urm - yeah that question! urm - does having a cross with you in your vehicle provide you with adequate protection (traveling with Christ so to speak) or is it all just hocus pokus????

Come to think of it - do I need an actual figurine on the cross, in order for it to work???   Seems very quiet (unlike Don Camillo) . . . 

Hmmmmm

What do you think????

Have fun!

The old bear finds some magic numbers to play with

I have always loved numbers.  Not that I can retain any of them. Nor am I particularly brilliant when it comes to adding or dividing.  I married a certain female bear for that skill - she is way ahead of me when it comes to numbers.  She can recall birthdays and equations / special dates and numerical oddities with consummate ease - which is why she is the Accountant in the family and I happily leave her to balance the books. Don't get me wrong - I can and could balance my cheque book if I had to.  Nor could I keep up with my boys once they got into algebra and numbers at school - they talked a foreign language at that point.  Nevertheless I do love numbers, and in particular statistical numbers.



There are certain numbers that just appeal - for example a 86-60-86 sequence would be great and very pleasing to look at!!



I belong to a group called ARHS - Association of Rugby Historians and Statistician and we operate a website and Facebook page.  I keep records of other certain things - like our monthly power usage and certain medal winners by state or athlete in certain sports.
For a while I kept track of every earthquake we felt in Christchurch but since the Feb shake of 3 years back gave that up.  the latest current thing is keeping track of the daily high temperatures for Christchurch / Dunedin/ Whitianga and Waiuru.  (we are comparing notes between where we live - and Pam's sister lives (Dunedin) where we would like retiring too (Whitianga) and where the boys thought they could learn how to be a soldier (Waiuru) ).   I drive my boys nuts with the insane need to get the numbers correct - and in right order.
Of course part of the fun is to draw nice graphs and such things . . . . 

So guess what - last week it dawned on me that today - yes  T O D A Y  - the 27 Feb 2014 is the exact 30 year anniversary since I touched down in New Zealand - and touchdown it was - no air-bridge in those days - you just walked down the stairs and in-between 2 yellow lines across the tarmac to the terminal!! 

30 years!!   :) 

Time to reflect. For within these 30 years a few things that have happened,  that are little anniversaries in itself.

• I have been involved as a scout-leader exactly half of my time since I been in New Zealand - some 15 years and still counting.

• I have had the same employer now for 10 years - one third of my time here

• I have been married for 96% of that time - ok ok - I can never got to 100% on that - still it is pretty good going (and next year we will celebrate 30 years of marriage)

• I have had the privilege of walking alongside my son for 25 years = thats 85% of my time here

• I have been a full time dad raising my boys for 12 years of my time here - = thats urm - adds one - looks at calculator and comes up with 40% of my time here.

•  the Millennium celebration - are sitting exactly half way between arriving and now - and who can forget all those fireworks and the y2k bug???

• I had my first jamboree in 2002 - and had 3 more since then

•  I gained 33%  (some whopping 22kg) of my original weight - yes I was a skinny rag - due to all the cycling I used to do.  Since I stopped that and stayed at home my middle has gone more sideways then I care to admit. Actually that is not a statistic I am proud to admit. Lets scrap that from the internal memory bank :)

• I have lived her 30% longer then I have in my entire life in Salzburg.

•  on average we have been back to Europe for a visit every 7.5 years

• This year will be my 10th mid winter camping trip with some scouts - to our lovely west-coast

• As a Family (counting the wife as a secretary and the boys starting keas) we are involved with scouting in various roles for the last 20 years

• We have had 14 times where someone crossed the Equator (either we made a trip or received visitor's from Europe).  It works out on average every 2.05 years .  Wohoooo who is next????

• We have had (hmm ok still have ONE) three cats - on average one every ten years.

Wohooooo - I rings Mamabear and ask her to be home early and we get a bottle of bubbles out - hmmm make that two and CELEBRATE

have fun

Sylvester / New Years celebrations 2009

You have to have some humor. Some of our traditions are that we always watch 'dinner for one'. Then at midnight there is the "Bummerl" from Vienna, followed by the Traditional "Blue Danube" Waltz - from one of the Strauss Composers. - of course having lived on the other side of the world one does not get to hear that to often - and last year we were in good old Austria and had some huge fun stomping round in the cold and seeing the fireworks and crackers and rockets and - yeah dinner for one! pity = cause we where in town (in Salzburg) we did not get to waltz in the snow ( we should have been in Vienna - or take a ghetto blaster with us).
This year - well - Mamabear managed to find 'dinner for one' on google and yeah!!
Good old Telecom stuffed our Broadband data allowance up and gave us a double quantity as a make up present (hehehe 20 gig's of data) - so naturally one has to make use of that and listen to live stream of ORF3 (and Bayern3!!)!! Wohoooooooo
anyhow below is a the clip!! - Enjoy and don't wet yourself laughing!! It is a longtime classic and we loved favorite of ours - and yeah the TV in Austria plays it EVERY year since EVER!!



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dinner_for_One <--------- for more info :D

Santa was seen

Ok so my family keeps telling me that it is not Christmas yet, HOWEVER - Santa Claus has been spotted near the beach enjoying the warmth of our southern summer - before he heads of on his famous sleigh run!!

And rumor has it that hes working on his tan - and that his little goodie bag is getting fuller by the minute. Wonder what he might bring this time????

Can you name these Christmas songs

hmmmm came across this little gem of a puzzle.
I think I can name one or two of them - question is can you name these Christmas songs???? Again leave your suggestions via the comment box
Enjoy
Papabear

Hmmm me thinks this needs some serious lateral thinking . . . . . . .

1. Oh, member of the round table with missing areas
Answer - O Holy Night

2. of the tinkling metal spheres
Answer - Jingle Bell Rock

3. Vehicular homicide was committed on Dad's mom by a precipitous darling
Answer - Grandma got run over by a reindeer

4. Wanted in December: top forward incisors
Answer - All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth

5. The apartment of two psychiatrists
Answer - The Nutcracker suite -(not sure what this has got to do with Christmas??!!)

6. The lad is a diminutive percussionist
Answer - Little Drummer Boy

7. Sir Lancelot with laryngitis
Answer - Silent Night

8. Decorate the entryways
Answer - Deck the halls

9. Cup-shaped instruments fashioned of a whitish metallic element
Answer - Silver Bells

10. Oh small Israel urban center
Answer - O little town of Bethlehem

11. Far off in a haybin
Answer - Away in a manger

12. We are Kong, Lear, and Nat Cole
Answer - We three Kings

13. Duodecimal enumeration of the passage of the yuletide season
Answer - The twelve days of Christmas

14. Leave and broadcast from an elevation
Answer - Go tell it on the mountain

15. Our fervent hope is that you thoroughly enjoy your yuletide season
Answer - We wish you a merry Christmas

16. Listen, the winged heavenly messengers are proclaiming tunefully
Answer - Hark the Herald Angels sing

17. As the guardians of the woolly animals protected their charges in the dark hours
Answer - Shepherds watched their flocks by night

18. I beheld a trio of nautical vessels moving in this direction
Answer - I saw three ships

19. Jubilation to the entire terrestrial globe
Answer - Joy to the World

20. Do you perceive the same vibrations which stimulate my auditory sense organ?
Answer - Do you hear what I hear?

21. A joyful song of reverence relative to hollow metallic vessels which vibrate and bring forth a ringing sound when struck
Answer - Carol of the Bells - (Never heard that one before)

22. Parent was observed osculating a red-coated unshaven teamster
Answer - I saw mommy kissing Santa Claus

23. May the Deity bestow an absence of fatigue to mild male humans
Answer - God rest Ye merry Gentlemen

24. Rose-colored uncouth dolf is aware of the nature of precipitation,
Answer - Rudolph the red nosed reindeer

No Gluehwein and missing it already

Sigh

Yesterday I was working on the computer and to brighten a dull moment I streamed radio from Bayern 3 live - one of my more favorite radio stations while I lived in Europe. (Do not let my sister hear that)
The radio jockey from the morning show announced that he had his FIRST gluehwein for the season and then proceeded to tell on how and where and commented on the yummmmm-iness.
And here is me sitting - admittedly in a cold southerly - rather then the supposed to be warm spring -- and drooling and MISSING it. I still can remember every occasion we went and had gluehwein last year during our trip!!!! There was a definite zing on the old heart strings.

We do have access to a g.-wein concentrate - just chuck boiling water at it and you get the almost real thing. ALMOST!!! It is not the same thing is it. Then I remembered how much weight I put on while over there - and that tempered my enthusiasm for wishing I could drink another one.

hmmm - come to think of it - we still have a bottle left, - ok brb - have to boil some water.

Ok my German and Austrian friends - what is the best way to drink Gluehwein??
Mit Kastanian??? Vor'm Kamin feuer?? Mit Speck??? Oder alle zusammen???

The hills are alive with the Sound of Music - or is that a location in some NZ hills?

Yes the hills are alive with Sound of Music - even in good ol' New Zealand - but I am getting ahead of myself. Let me set the scene:

Take one teenager turning 18, add long hair, laziness, and a taste for music that can only be described as LOUD. In other words like any typical teenager from millions round the world and we LOVE him very much. (thought I make this clear now!!) So we are discussing what we should get him for his birthday and him being a teenager - we just got a grunt in reply to our probing question as to what he would like. So his loving papabear jokingly suggests that perhaps a cd of the Sound Of Music (being totally counter productive) would be a good idea and he might actually enjoy a bit of Salzburg history. After all his papabear grew up in the very town where the Von Trapps used to live! Well - lets just say we got the most dirty look from said teenager you can imagine. So we left that hanging in the air and decided we would get him a voucher so that he can choose his own heavy metal rock slash music - taste to suit.

HOWEVER while his parents do love him he very unwittingly presented us with an opportunity to take out the Micky (yeah I know bad pun here). We downloaded of the net a full color DVD cover from the Film "Sound of Music"and printed that of and then put that into an empty DVD case and put the gift voucher inside that and gift wrapped it up.

roflol - his look upon opening the pressy was just priceless . Got ya Son - love heaps
Dad and Mum

From the bear with love to his only sister

I found this on the net - just for you lil' sis
enjoy!!!!!

Miss you - come online

Cool hot dude kissed the ground

Today mid-afternoon on a stinking hot summers day - I got of the plane after a 3 day journey and kissed the ground. Well not literally but yep when I left Salzburg it was a typical dull grey day and snow threatening to fall. I had a 2 hour train trip to Munich, from there another train to Frankfurt - then battling the new underground system - and not knowing in which direction to go - just dived into a carriage - and as luck would have it arrived at the Frankfurt airport. From there nonstop to Singapore and then a 6 hour layover for another plane that yes went directly to Auckland! First thing I noticed was the clean air and the short working trousers of customs officers - the palm trees and the humidity. One internal transfer later and I was on a city hop down to CHCH where I duly arrived after 2 days plus traveling - and I'm sure all hot and sweaty stinky! Seem to remember being picked up from the airport and after a quick change of clothes went for a long walk with a friend - even had a stroll at the beach!! And yes after leaving Europe with grey and dull the 20 something degrees felt definitely tropical!! Didn't help though - I still woke up at 4am and went for a one hour walk round the neighbor hood. hehehe old bakers working-hours where still very fresh in my blood.

Boy-o-boy it has been 25 years ago and I met Mamabear urm almost 10 days later - and the rest as they say is history.

I would have to say - having looked at some old pictures and my old passport photo etc - I was a real cool hot dude - handsome even. Looking at my Passport photo my son reckons I look like one of those FBI Agents - complete with glasses and trench coat!

To prove it I have included my waving good-bye to my mum photo!!
Ahhhh to be young again - fit and trim - with hair . . . . . . .

Old Wedding Fotos

Well - I was doing some late spring cleaning and came across some of our old wedding fotos, and naturally stopped and browsed.
I must say - I was a good looking slime dude and mamabear was a pretty slim cubcake too. Isn't she just gorgeous???

Life has treated us well and we both have added lots of fun and experience as well as the odd kilo (I know - we have been eating way too much chocolate - and still piling through our Mozartkugel'n from our last trip to Salzburg) to our life. Wonder if I can still fit my outfit?? Probably NOT! :)

There are of course many other old wedding fotos in our store, but I fished this one out to share.
Actually some I can't share with you - as they do show well - lets just say - ol gigles here would be red faced again. Can't have that now can we???

It has been raining for last two days and tomorrow is the national scouting mudslide day!! Yah - might even take some pics . . . . .

24th Wedding Anniversary Bear

Yep folks - here is the proof - this is myself and Mamabear having a very romantic downhill slide in a traditional Austrian sled.

Well, we had to do this earlier in the year while on holiday in Austria - 'cause of course in New Zealand during February you would be hard pushed to get any where near decent snow!!! Anyhow this will be our 24th Wedding Anniversary next weekend and I am planning on having a quiet meal out - no boys and a bottle of bubbly and who knows - the night is young - she is fresh . . . ^^ : ')

Ohhhh and I even got a pressie lined up!! Arn't I good???? Just need to find a suitable wedding anniversary paper - with teddy bears - of course!!!

Have fun - be good


PS. don't u just love the expressions

What a fruitcase - something to ponder?

Well - I just made myself a fresh fruit salad with a dash of yoghurt and some lemon juice for my lunch. Have added cut banana / plum / blueberries and some strawberries - which reminds me . . . .



While in Salzburg (regular readers will know the time frame)- in the depths of a cold winter - at some minus 10 degrees - we were able to buy a punnet of strawberries in the local supermarket - fresh from Italy - for 1 Euro - yes 1 Euro. Naturally we had to indulge ourselves and not only buy them but eat them pretty much on the spot. They were actually and surprisingly very tasty!!!!

So when we are buying Strawberries back here in good ol NZ - right at the height of the growing season - eg summer and we have to pay - urm - add 1 detract 4 ahem - 1.50 Euro's - it makes you wonder!!!!!!!
We were staggered to be able to buy them in Salzburg in wintertime at the first place - but then to be cheaper then here in Chch in summertime - wohaaaa. What is the world coming to???

Hmmmm better go and eat my lunch or the local vultures here will devour it and there are no more berries left to make another one!!

Euro pic's unsorted and unlabled

here is a link to see them all - well mine anyway - Mamabear's are yet to be loaded
Enjoy

http://cid-c6695e20e8e3fb7d.skydrive.live.com/browse.aspx/Euro%20trip%20pic

Back home - or are we???

sigh - we are back in Christchurch to be greeted by a thunder and lightning!! Most unusual - COULD we have brought back with us some winter weather????
Left Munich in snow fall and -3 degrees.
My sis tells me that today is yet another -10 degrees day in Salzburg
My dear wife informs me that she would consider another winter holiday - arriving 20 Dec and leaving after 5 weeks or so - we will need to save more then one penny for that!!!

For those stats minded folks!!

Traveled - total 4377 km while in Europe - most on the autobahns (I am so gonna miss that car)
The "little round trip" in itself was 2700 km!!

Munich - Dubai 6 hours flight
Dubai - Sydney 14 hours flight
Sydney - Christchurch 4 hours flight

That's not counting the time spent on cuing at airport/ Check in / Check out
We have handled our passport more times in last 30 hours then in the previous 10 years.

The first wash is in the machine, I had a shower, Jonno is gonna cook dinner and all I have to do is to dry said washing and then have a good nights sleep b4 I head of to Staveley Scout Camp!
So I am home - but not home - if you get the drift!!

Blow your mind job

Well I was gonna urm - "retire" from this blog (temp.) -

B U T

I have to tell you I think last night we blew Mamabear's mind out of her cortex!!!
We went into town 11 pm -ish and every men and his wife or dog went there too! The amount of people having a drink and good time was unbelievable - and more so as nearly everyone blew some firecrackers and sky rockets. There was a continuous bang and whizz and uuhhhhhh's and ahhhhh's. And yet Harald tells us it was poorly attended. Bugger - if this was poorly I do not want to know what a "good" crowd is!! The explosives going of in all shapes and directions are heaps more louder and stronger that anything you can get in NZ. These local native salzburgian (and the busloads of Italians and Germans that came too) certainly know how to party. And all this based on an ancient custom to freighten away any bad spirit in order to see in the new year in the best possible way!! The event was followed by a 10 min public fireworks display - fiered from near the castle. We did video some of it - 150mb and 2.40 min later we run out of space on our card. But then the party just started with equal equal amounts of oldies heading home and youngies heading into the town for more firecrackers and champange and dancing!!!!

Seeing we had to travel the next day we headed home for comfort and bed.
Then when we woke up (lol - on same day) - it SNOWS. Yes thick and heavey, the road is covered and Mamabear is now completly lost in her brain!!! We will see if now we can make our snowman - as promised to Brush!!!! It also means we might have to leave 60 min earlier as intended as driving on the autobahn is just a tad more hazardous!!!!!


You never know - we might yet be stuck here!!!!
Be good and Broom, Brush, Spade, Mr Schick and G.H. - I see you at Staveley Scoout camp!!

Big Bang - in Salzburg

Wohooooooo
Its new years eve in Salzburg = hey NZ'ers - HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!!

Anyhow - its another stunning clear day - and yes another -9 degrees!! Slept in and then drove to a shop near airport to get last minute supplies for the feast later on. Saw the "other home" of Mr Red Bull - who is a native of Salzburg and has a luxury mansion on Lake Fuschl! He has a place at the airport which doubles as a display for aircraft (inside his house - talk about a

garage!!) and includes a very expensive restaurante and bar. Us mere mortals cannot afford to eat there!! He certainly has more cash then he knows what to do with it. He owns a soccer club, ice hockey club and wants to build a Soccer school - a school for soccer prodigy's!!















Anyhow - today will be our last full day in europe. Had difficulty confirming our flight back to nz, and mamabear -after freaking out - managed to get hold of a emirate spokesperson who did confirm our flights. For a while the internet hick up looked like we had to stay a few more days - but rats - yes we have to leave on time and should return on time!! STAVELEY - here I come!
So later early afternoon we will be in town where there will be a traditional "Boeller" urm bang from the top of the castle. Which is as I gather a rather large howitzer firing blanks from the top - but making a HUGE noise!! Cant wait. At some point we fire our own bangers and rockets. Daniel is itching to go out and let rip - yesterday, and today is worse!
Then back home and dinner and drinks and the obligatory tv show - "Dinner for One".
A annual new years eve tv classic, that has cult status in europe - you just wont believe!
Then back into the town to see the fireworks - and then bed. Urm just as well that our flight is not leaving till 9 pm on Jan 1!!! We can sleep in - a rarity!


Here is the promised picture to prove that I was in Munich with mayzoon and her crew. And yes it was as cold as it looks there!!
For those eagle eyed people - yes we were right outside the famous Brauhaus!!

The real Jack frost is knocking on the door

wohooo -
The Marionetten Theater was soo cool. You eventually forgot that they WERE puppets and on strings. The play was good and short (yes it was a shortened 1 hour version of the opera) but you heard all the favorites arias and songs. Interestingly enough there were heaps of under fives there with their parents. Good way to introduce the kids to opera!!

Anyhow - we woke yet to another stunner -blue skies and -10 degrees and other parts of the province had -17 degrees. I jokingly suggested to my sister it is time to invent a battery powered bootwarmer. Some coil etc - it would do the trick - only to be told that it already exists for the ski-ers! Seems to many complaints about cold feet while sking were made so the industry created and catered for the demand.
The proffesional skiers even get jackets that are battery powered and keep them warm!!
Wonder if I can flog one for myself? ? ?

Well we decided to help my sister in th ekitchen today as she is cooking a rather special meal and then use what little warmth there is in the afternoon to get and buy our boys their christmas presents! Given the weight restrictions it will have to be small and light!!!!

Glorious and bloody cold

Well we had a (as Augi would have said - ) a blue dome day, so decided to grab the opportunity and head up Untersberg (remember - the mountain papabear could see from his bedroom while a child)
Trust me it was jolly cold. The Scenery though was fantastic and a small sample of the pics are enclosed here.
Top second on right - the view from top towards the town of Salzburg, and yes airport runway s just visible on the left hand side of the picture!!
It was a rather steep climb in some parts and the only way mamabear could make it was on her ample bumm- slipping and sliding down!! Who needs a sled????





I liked this pic cause the sun was reflecting in the wind blown snow!!!! And yes it was indeed cold!!