Austrian visitors learn French and go Dolphin hunting

 

We had early breakfast and then it was time to pack stuff to go over to Akaroa and show visitors a special French place – as place that a certain meremaid liked very much (judging by the amount she lay on the beach and took photos).  Not saying it is a lay-about place - rather it is a laid back little community, typical French really.

Travel takes usually 1hr and some minutes – but we stopped at a small very cosy little village called  "Little River" and Bernhard seems to have a special like for Trains! No river in evidence - apart from the little brook or stream some 20 cm across . . .  ^^

Anyhow – quick photo-stop at the top of the hill looking down into the Harbor and area of Akaroa. Then on to the French town itself.  At this rate we will have long drives.  Wilfried just checking out that I am indeed making the correct photos - a panoramic shot and of course the visitors in their best light / pose.

Panoramic shot  -wonder how this will print and if we can print this across 1 meter by ??cm???

 It is more by bad luck then anything else that we are  using the English lingo in NZ - instead of the supposedly French lingo everyone craves.  I do like the French - it is a smooth and very sexy language, especially if accompanied by a lovely French maiden   ^.-  , but I digress. 

 The poor French sods on the peninsula thought they had it made – but missed out by a few days of sailing, and only to find a English flag fluttering in the wind on the Peninsula when they landed there.  Just as well – my French is pretty non existent – apart from “u lala” when looking at a certain female bear ^^!!

 

Lunch was pretty quickly eaten and we enjoyed the growing blue sky and accompanying warmth. 

Akaroa is small enough place that you can easily stroll round town in 10 minutes or so and admire the original houses and street names.  With my French still non-existent - I suggested that this "Rue Jolie" was either named after a famous actress OR was miss-spelled.  Nothing Jolly about that ^^

There is also a famous artist having been in resident in Akaroa and as a tribute to him this particular bronzed adonis is forever painting strangers.  Naturally every men / woman / child / dog and other wildlife is having their picture painted.  I had mine done several times already - and still, I cannot get him to make me look 10 years younger!!  There is a flaw in here somewhere.  Bummer.  Actually - come to think of it - there is a certain meremaid that has been memorialized.  Hmmmm must go and dig that image out later

Having booked the boat tour – we soon got on board and enjoyed a smooth sailing out to the sea and along the way saw some Hectors Dolphins and Seals and some “turns” ( well two actually because one good turn deserves another good turn) as well as several interesting land features.

A certain male Austrian (not related to the family) was advised that the Dolphins will let you take only so many pictures,  before the get camera shy. This was kind of listened  too – so some several hundred exposures later . . . . 

The aptly named Elephant Rock!!  We must have a thing going in New Zealand for Elephant's, they keep cropping up - there is a Elephant park in Bishopdale Park along with a appropriate child sized slide . . .

Further along there is a tiny we seal colony, along with a "pre-school" for juveniles, who very happily show of their whiskers.  Naturally every person on board the ship snapped several dozens or more images.  This cheeky fella was checking us out as well- so we both got a good look at each other.  I'd have to say though - I know that at least I showered this morning . . . . . . 

                           Not often seen from any point but I did like this whole in the wall.  This is however NOT THAT particular whole in the wall that lets you get unlimited amounts of cash ^^  Actually it is big enough you could almost fly a little Cessna through - if you were game enough . . . .

To soon it was time to be back on terra firma and head back to the car but not before we strolled through the "Garden of Tane"!  A collection of imported and native plants (some 300 plus) set in what should be natural environment! The walk itself is a teeny weeny bit misleading - the map we got showed just one track - but there are a number of loops and switch-backs - so it is easy to get lost.  If however you head 'up' the hill in a general direction you will eventually get to the cemeteries with it's religious divisions - and come to a playground!  Spot the children enjoying them-selfs!!   As previously posted -->  www.short-hop-to-akaroa.html  there are also some juvenile Kauri Trees in the Garden!! At 60 years old and still only 15 meters or so tall - it has a lot of growing to do.  Sadly I will not be around in 500-700 years time to see them reach their full potential!!
After this it was back home via fish and chip shop!! Tea was consumed and then the hosts retired – but not before several possible images got selected for “picture of the day”!! The Guests having almost gotten over their Jet-lag by now.  Tomorrow the major trip around the south Island starts – wooohooooo should be good fun.

Austrian visitors learn about what being really cold means

It rained.  and then some.
Thus the decision was made to take a break from hectic activities and first up we visited son numero uno's  place of work (and bought some supplies) .  Then it was back to home for lunch and after that we discussed what we may do - and see - so . .
I suggested the Antarctic experience.  It is well worthwhile going there.

NZ has a special relationship with "the Ice" as we call it.  From Christchurch to Ross see is about 3000km and so we are exposed to the natural ebb and tide of whatever wind may come our way.  Speaking of wind - there are times when Antarctica seems to have had to many beans - at times it can blow rather strongly. In any case - we are also hosting the American supply base here which of course brings some much needed $$$ to our Economy - and some great sights of big lumbering planes flying south.  The other thing our Austrian Visitors need to remember is that as we are traveling around the country we are generally moving closer to the Ice.  Something that always provides some amusement or is it friendly rivalry between ourselves and Mamabear's sister!

So to the Antarctica center we walked and there is this "Storm Room" which is essentially a refridgerated box - that mimicks current temperatures down in Antarctica NZ station.  And every so often they re-create a storm! Thus the temperature plummets - or at least how you FEEL it.  So it stayed -8 but the wind chill was -28!! Brrrrr.  Why is this important??

Once we go up on Mount John Observatory they talk about one jacket or two jacket weather.  Sometimes it is a 3 weather jacket and on rare occasions they cancel the trip . . . . . 
So I figured this was a great training experience for our intrepid travelers!!! :)

Eventually from there it was back home to thaw out and have dinner - and then eventually bed.
In-between Wilfried managed to visit a old friend of his and have Fish and chips!! hmmm
May have that tonight as well.

Austrian visitors experiment with selfies in the Pacific

It is the blessing and curse of modern times!!
Technology has moved significant in the 30 years or so since I have been here. I can still remember that you had to go through a human operator if you wanted to place a call from here to anywhere else in the world - and now - well we have cellphones that can track you instantly anywhere in the world.  With that comes the images and goodness knows what-else in updates and news.  Having had a major earthquake in 2011 - we heard from someone in Canada how big our shake was - before we found out anything from our local news media!

 Like all things in our world - it has the potential to be good - or bad.
Selfies where initially great - but now or ever since Obama snapped himself with a blonde - it is a bit pasee - so - I was just a teeny weeny little surprised to see the following images - but not overly so - after all we are considering a boy who snapped 7 rolls of 36 images of ONE penguin coming in to sleep for the night :)  In any case - after a short discussion it was decided to head of and test the "warm" pacific waters.  Little did they know about the Kaikoura Trench which is about 10km deep or so and some 100 km north of here - and thus having a whole heap of cool temperatures - chilling everything down - including the wind.  Yes it was one of those days - yesterday 32 degrees - today 18 at best.   So bravely forward did they go -  something that had to be filmed for all posterity.  There is even a video somewhere on FB.  (hmm must try and see If I can upload that here - or at least link)
 One has to make sure one has the right "proof" of the experience!! Or was it the proof needed of the goosebumps the cold sea must have created?  Or was there a mini-jaws that nibbled on the toes?

 WAIT - you not getting out of this either.  Let see your toes - hmmm yeah - they are turning white from the cold!!! Not understood was how some locals could spend hours in this sea swimming / surfing etc.  Ha - they should - and most likely will experience the waters further south - as you know - the further south you go the closer you come to Antarctica (say no more)

Here is another famous selfie = wonder if it turned out ok????
I do remember a certain meremaid who was very brave and at least swam 10 meters or so sideways . . . . . . .  and still had goosebumps . . . .

No self-respecting model travels these days without the help of a paparazzo, and in this case there is no exception.  Still as you know it is all about location location location - speaking of which - after some discussion it was agreed that if you go straight out from here in this direction you would eventually hit Chile.  However you need to be careful with the angels - a couple of degrees further south and you miss it altogether and end up in much much colder waters

The Pier - all rebuild and still standing - the old soul gotr a bit of a shake up during the recent shakes - but it is still in good nick.  All recognized it as the location of my night photos taken last May!!

 OK- stand here smile like that - more like that - and  . . . .  ALL I want to know is in what travel magazine will this image be published in????  given the speed of modern technogadgets - I expect to see this on the front of NZ woman's weekly or NZ travel brochures ?  ??  ?  It was great to be tagging along and learn something about shooting on location.

This local bird was not impressed that she was not invited. I felt so sorry for her - so I asked her if she would pose just a bit - and it obliged nicely -
then got in a huff and left abruptly.
I recently learned that the black gulled seagull is very much a local bird, the distinguishing feather to all other gulls is its black beak.  Later on we saw a Petrel flying amongst the gulls - hunting for something to eat.  They are the second largest sea-flying bird after the Albatrosses - and great to see riding the wind - effortlessly !! made you want to have wings like that yourself.
Anyhow from there is was back to base for a breather and then back out to the royal garden party which turned out to be a lounge party . . . .

Have fun

 

Austrian Bed and Breakfast is receiving visitors

So the big day dawned bright-ish - and very hot.  As can so often be the case in Canterbury we ended up being fan-baked again and temperatures soared to 32 degrees.  It was dry and hot - and into this the traveler's stepped out.  However the airport was a nice cool 20 degrees - thanks to
the air-conditioning - so it made the waiting for them bearable. The welcoming committee had a good time catching up on the gossip while the attending Press - Photographer selected a suitable spot.  As you can see there was no flag waiving, and the red carpet roll out had to be delayed till later.

The reaction said it all- and I have to say - they looked remarkably fresh.  Doris did have her suitcase opened - something about undeclared soap - but apart from that they managed to get through all the check points unscathed.  I did warn them that there are 4 hoops to go through - the Immigration / customs officials - then the veterinary people and lastly the fashion police!!  As they took so long I sent a txt of to Wilfried asking him if he got stuck at the last hurdle and if so we could help him with that.  :)  However all was well and they came out and by the looks of it were happy to see the welcoming committee.  From there we took them straight home and let them settle in, then went for a stroll down to the local outdoor mall.  Understandably after 30 hours sitting in a plane it was time to stretch the legs.  Going on from past experiences - the first thing to come to grips with was the driving on the left side on the road - which meant looking first RIGHT  then left when crossing the road and the other thing was understanding that the sun here stands in the north - not south as in europe.
Time to get home and have a meal.  Mamabear made schnitzel and  I did  a salad - that was consumed along with some glasses of wine.  Gotta say - love the posture Wilfried.  Then it was time to break out the bubbly and celebrate the fact that they actually are here in New Zealand - so we did just that - but not before we sprung one last surprise on Wilfried.
Those of you who know him will know that he is a sucker for anything sweet - let alone chocolate and every year for the last 20 years

or so we packaged of some cadbury easter eggs  - dark chocolate eggs filled with a sugar-loaded creme filling - very rich and forbidden.  This year we were a bit slack and so managed to store some eggs from our last easter time in our Fridge. 12 eggs - full well knowing that this would not be enough - but we could not find any more anywhere.  Then this January immediately after new years eve - the stores started selling easter things - way out crazy if you ask me - but in this case it worked in our favor.  So we splashed out.
There are now exactly 54 eggs in the fridge and we presented him just with that - and - yes the reaction is, as they say on the  mastercard add, - Priceless!!!  Now will that mean one egg per week to last him for the year or will it mean the need to share - or share not???? Will there be room for this in his suitcase?  How about the Austrian Border control, will they confiscate the 'foreign substance' - thus creating the need to internally store them?? ahhhh all these questions - time to ponder them while we all catching up on some much needed zzzzzzzzzzzz's!!  Tomorrow - off to town for a stroll - busker's festival and sights and beach and garden and at days end - yes - the Royal Garden party at QEiii's place - the newly acquired summer residence . . . .

Have fun

The calm before the storm

It has been a while since I last put pen to paper - or finger to keyboard at least.
Looking back,  the last entry was before Christmas and much has happened since then. Firstly I went back to Fielding for the Scout Jamboree, travelling up on Boxing day.  Last time we had a jamboree there it became famous for it's mud and the rain we had on the second last day - some 60ml in 2 hours from 2-4am! It flooded and anyone who was there will remember it for the rest of their lives. Here our campsite along with the famous gateway can be seen - it was meant to be as an two door opening but became a revolving door post . . . . . and the first tent on the left had 10cm of water inside - the beds where kinda dry but the gear . . .  ^^

In any case - this years Jamboree in same location was much drier and better - for a start, myself went along as staff - not looking after youth but providing a program activity (internet base). Anyhow - jamboree came and went - and we had a lot of fun - least of all 'Brush'

and myself who went on a road trip delivering the gear needed for the internet base (and that included the Ferry across the Islands).  This is only the back of it - hard to belief that there are 20 pc's, along with screens and various other computing gear, in there - along with our personal gear and other bits and pieces. Yup it made it all up north and back down again on the closing day - which ended up as a long road trip - leaving Fielding 9am and arriving back in Christchurch same day - at midnight!!!!

Then the baby in this madcap group that I admit to belonging to - decided anyone can toss a birthday party anytime - so he celebrated his 26th along with some friends, including all members (and prospective newbies) of the

AITSSS unit (ssshhh its a secret).  He has certainly enjoyed his party. There is talk of a sub (woman’s) division/group to be formed (ITC??) so we shall wait and see. In any case no excuse to go out an party is usually required.


However the most exciting news is that at point of writing the expected visitors to this Austrian Bed+Breakfast will be somewhere over the Indian Ocean and hopefully have had some sleep along with the obligatory airline meals.  Mamabear is running round cracking a whip to make sure that everything is spic and span and that includes me!! 




We have been out this morning - having re-assessed our pillows and got some new ones - seems the boys more or less munted the last one. hmmm Munted - there is a new English word ^^.
The best part was that we went shopping for groceries and we ended up taking advantage of the offered petrol voucher deal - buy $200 of groceries and get $0.25 cents / per litre off at next petrol tanking - valid for 30 days -  which is great as we are going to be doing over 1000km soon . . .   So yes we had no difficulty spending a largish amount on various important supplies - that included Soy-milk for the vegan- and also some of NZ's finest Wino Finos!!
So now it just remains to having to actually make the beds - lay out the towels - draw a map how to get from bedroom to bathroom and oh yes - go and actually pick up the what must surly be tiered travellers.
Wonder if they feel up to  having a celebratory drink later. - will keep you posted.
It is almost literally the calm before the storm.

Have Fun

Urm - with apologies to Freddy Mercury ^^


 

Santa Claus been spotted chilling out with a glass of bubbly

 

It gets like that every now and then.  I had planned a surprise luncheon for Mamabear with a picnic in the Rangiora public gardens.  We used to go there with the boys when they where little and meet Mamabear for lunch and afterwards she would go back to work and the kids play on the playground - then fall asleep in the car on the way home.  Anyhow when I got there and set up the picnic (or at least tried to) I kinda got a surprise as I spotted Santa on a rug with a glass of bubbly and  - sunbathing!!  Never been shy - so I sided over and had a wee chat with the bearded fella.  Poor guy - he gets a bit lonely even with the hundreds of Elves helping him.  He was glad for  short conversation real person to person like. I asked him what he was doing here and his reply was along the lines of - every Christmas he does a trial run of various chimneys.  Seems every time a new building goes up - or is renovated he needs to pre-dive the chimneys to make sure he still fits.  Something about his girth and magic powder (not to mention the sack of presents).  Turns out, it is a specific Elf's job to sprinkle that powder the previous day over the chimneys and lately this particular Elf has been getting urm older so finds it harder to get around and - well - lets leave this there!!) With  the rebuild going on in Christchurch after the earthquakes there are many new buildings . . . ^^

So 2 days before the main event Santa whizzes round the world and does the testing.  Poor Rudolph - he's doing nothing for the whole year then gets to drive the sleigh   t w i c e   inside a week.  Anyway - while the red nosed furry - and I have to say semi grumpy looking - beast was resting someplace, Santa decided to stop near the last tested chimney and enjoy a bit of R+R.

Santa assured me that all was well and all chimneys worked. He would say that - wouldn’t he???

Naturally the ensuing R+R would always be in the Southern Hemisphere or somewhere in the Pacific - we do have summer weather.  So he chilled along with a bubbly and the Strawberries and  fruit mince pie.  Imagine the surprise Mamabear got when she managed to escape the office and join me for lunch.  It is not often that you get to sit and join in a conversation with the old bearded fella!!
Kind chap that he is, he offered us a similar glass of bubbly, which we gratefully accepted.  Once we had toasted for his good health and safe journey and  safe delivery of all presents and no crash landing on icy roofs - we said good bye and left him to it.  Last we heard was a jolly laugh and a "on Rudolph - ho ho ho".

After this everything seems boringly normal.  Mamabear went back to work and I drove home and pre-packed my gear for the Jamboree.
Ah well - might spot Santa on the 25th in New Zeraland - and seeing we are on first name basis now, will offer him some refreshments before he continues on his job.
Wohooooo
Have fun

Annual Christmas Epistle to all who want to catch up what we've been doing . .

Nnaaha (So Pam says this should read as in – hello folks)
I have been given the task of writing up the bullet points – more to the point – fleshing out the bullet points (apparently because I am good with the fleshy bits). I dunno about this.  Regular readers and recipients will know (if indeed they have read the blog –> oldbearnews.blogspot.com) what we have got up to during the past twelve months.  Pam aka
Mamabear describes this past year as the year of dreams! Nightmares and hopeful dreams as well as the wishful and an occasional day-dream all featured.

    First up – Jonathan who completed his thesis on Kiwisaver.  He needed guinea pigs to answer a set of questions and from there then formulate a theory – which he did with over       10 000 words or so. Reading the Thesis I got lost after the second paragraph -something about statisticssomethingratherprobablity!!  Clever boy!!  He completed this by 31 March 2013 with a B+ grade – finishing a year-long dream (that is – of finally finishing his study and writing the thesis!) Well deserved!! Right now – he is dreaming of translating the study into a paying job – and he is marking time – hoping to get accepted into the Army as a General-in-training!! He continues to sell dreams at the local supermarket, ok – actually it is selling fish of any sort – but it's the customers dreaming of  a gourmet meal with his fish!

    Along comes Michael – who always dreams – and he actually got himself a full-time job at the local Meat factory. Thus in one stroke, no two – hmm make that three, some dreams were realized all at once!
His job is not glamorous or even brain-challenging, at the same time he cannot afford to daydream either. It is however teaching him the skills he needs (teamwork / discipline / accuracy and punctuality etc)  and the benefits of being a reliable worker. He progressed from being a mere drone to being in charge of the 'lid'-ing room (where the chain puts a lid on the box containing whatever programmed meat came down the chain AND he has to make sure it is with the correct label).  He's usually gone by the time us old foggies get out of bed and get ready for work – so that impacts on his social life.  His next dream is picking up next years “NIGHT” shift – 5pm-9.30pm!!
6 April – a cousin of mine – which I met previously once only for about urm – 20 minutes – decided to fulfill her dream and did a tikitour around the world – that included a stop over here in New Zealand. It was great getting to know her (affectionately called 'the meremaid' – for reasons we will not discuss here) and urm – yeah she had a great time here with us and also had a relaxing trip through our South Island.  Martina brought with her Ileana who had her first Birthday while in Thailand and was almost walking!! She also brought with her 50 – yes fifty Mozart-kugeln from Vienna – which I had arranged to give Mamabear a dream present in August!! Amazingly she never got wind of this and the Chocolate delicacy survived the 4 months in captivity here without being sampled by this bear or by any other tribal members living in our house!!  Yes the reason I asked the Mermaid to bring 50 was that the old Gal finally turned 50 herself.  She took it hard for a while! Previous significant '0' parties were relative easy going. This year however it caused a little anxiety (tempered with the chocolate). Actually she was lucky – I was a tad disorganised – otherwise Pam would have received 50 individually wrapped gifts from me . . .  ^^
In any case with the boys now grown up (and still living here -yes we dream of having a 'boy-less' house again) but being very capable independent people, we are now looking into the future and the impending retirement, with whatever that may hold.  Our big dream is (and we may need to win lotto or rob a bank or set up some scheme to get rich quickly) that we sell all we have and buy a decent sized Motorhome / Caravan and use that for 1 year or so and do a extended tour through New Zealand.  We could easily spend a week or 5 in Tekapo and just enjoy the scenery there, and there are heaps of places we have yet to discover in the North island!!  After we get sick of being cooped up in a mobile love-nest, we would like to build a special house in Whitianga and settle down and there grow old together and enjoy sunsets, grandchildren, and the occasional trip down memory lane.
    We are one step closer to this dream having just paid off the bank loan on our House wohooo– so   now the family own every speck of dust and brick and mortar. We also won a tiny amount on Lotto – just enough to go out for a meal – maybe not even that much although it would pay for a Burger at KFC!!!!

    Dreaming ahead – we have my Cousin Doris and her hubby Bernhard, who said they would be coming out here along with Wilfried Mayr.  Wilfried is a longstanding & connected to NZ lad, who lives in his hometown of Vienna.  Wilfried stayed with us for 6 months and had 6 months at Mrs. Peach' house in 1988– and he has since returned here for a short holiday trip.  He wants to go down memory lane – hopefully he won't get lost in his dreams!  Doris and Bernhard are also exploring this lovely Country of ours. So naturally this bed and breakfast owner is busy dreaming along and preparing some – urm – things – such as where to sleep – what to see / do / taste / smell etc.  I know the Mermaid has met with them and gave them tips. Wonder if this included the deal with Colonel Sanders to avoid the sandflies????

     Since you heard from us last, our 'time-out' included short trips.  These included going down to Oamaru and see the little penguins, the stone quarry and back home via McKenzie Country. In fact the image at the front of this missive is from the last trip and it marks a bit of a recently started tradition.  We raised a glass  - or two - there (or at lake Pukaki to be more precise) when we celebrated Pam's Birthday there – and lucky us – we yet again got to see Mt Cook without clouds.  Not many see it in this state!!   Then we stopped over on the Westcoast for 5 days – actually it was a batch from a guy we know in Barrytown – lovely spot!!  Touched down briefly on the Heaphy track near Karamea – saw the Pancake rocks do their things – went for a walk or two and also down to Ross and the Gold digging and walked on the newly created Tree-top walk way near Hokitika, along with the Hokitika Gorge! Phewww – it was meant to be a holiday – and rest assured – it was. Every night we drove down to the beach (1 km away) along with a bottle of white and 2 glasses and spotted the sunsets – well – most nights – there often was just too many clouds for a real decent sunset.  I did manage to get some good pictures though!! (check the Blog!!)   Recently we also drove down to Dunedin and celebrated Jeff’s (Pam' sister's Partner) 50th Birthday. His party was 'James Bond' themed and we were expecting lots and lots of glamorous 25 year old Bond Girls. 

Didn't help when Pam decided to be a Martini Glass instead (being from Christchurch she was 'shaken – not stirred')!! Luckily for her, no-one wanted to have a drink from this particular glass. I don't think she realised the possible complications urm - connotations. .  ^^ Having missed out in seeing a decent bird there we went and saw another bird – urm -a big bird – urm – Albatross! Yes we made it out and, like a Paparazzi or peeping Tom, saw them close up in their natural habitat!!  Mamabear impressed with their 'Courting' skills!! The other highlight of that trip was the Chinese garden in Dunedin – it gave us ideas to dream about when we build THAT house!!

    Pam's Father continues to potter along. He realised his dream of being in Raratonga (yet again) for his 80th Birthday and had a party over there.  Invited guests were most of the folks he got to know during the last 20 years of trips over there.

    Otherwise – it is business as usual here – we dream of a nice garden (and seeing we work on it only in short spurts – it remains a dream mostly) work continues to give us the cash so we can go and enjoy the country, and the house – well – it still stands despite the earthquakes from the last three years or so. Reinhold continues to be involved with scouting, and Pam dreams of a time when that comes to an end!! :)
I am on strict instructions to include lots of pictures (which can be found on the Blog!!) but I am sure you do not wish to read a 6 page letter – sooooo without much further adoooo –
Have a Merry Christmas and happy new year and big hugs to all those who want one. 

Doris / Bernhard / Wilfried – SEE YOU SOON!!

Hmmm I think I have sent you into a dream-like -state already . . . . .

Pam and Reinhold
Aka   Mamabear & Papabear

 

Austrian Bed and Breakfast owner discovers a Christmas market in Kiwiland - sort of

Remember the show "The vicar from Dibly" and the Character that used to always answer any question with "nonono no no yes" ??  Well in this vain it was "yes yes yes - no"

Let me explain - today while browsing the news paper in Christchurch, New Zealand I came across a little insert -
titled "Outside" Riccarton Christmas market opens tonight - 4pm-7pm.

Mmmmmhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh

Christmas market - gluewein/ roasted chestnuts / stands with christmas tree decorations / toys / various christmas themed nick-knacks gifts / freshly cut Christmas pine trees Christmas lights all over the stands and houses and so forth. Other popular attractions at the market include the Nativity Scene (a crèche or crib), Zwetschgenmännle (figures made of decorated dried plums), Nussknacker (carved Nutcrackers), Gebrannte Mandeln (candied, toasted almonds), traditional Christmas cookies such as Lebkuchen and Magenbrot (both forms of soft gingerbread), Bratwurst, and for many visitors one of the highlights of the market: Glühwein, hot mulled wine (with or without a shot of brandy), or Eierpunsch (an egg-based warm alcoholic drink).

Both help stave off the cold winter air which sometimes dips below freezing. More regional food specialities include Christstollen (Stollen), a sort of egg bread with candied fruit in Saxony, and hot Apfelwein and Frankfurter Bethmännchen in Hesse. Many other handmade items, toys, books, Christmas tree decorations and ornaments (and in recent years less useful gadgets) can be found at a Christmas Market.

These markets originated in Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, North Italy and Alsace but are now being held in many other countries. The history of Christmas markets goes back to the Late Middle Ages in the German-speaking part of Europe. Dresden's Strietzelmarkt was first held in 1434. The Christmas markets of Bautzen (first held in 1384),  Frankfurt (first mentioned in 1393) and Munich (1310) were even older. The Vienna "December market" was a kind of forerunner of the Christmas market and dates back to 1294!!

In many towns in Germany and Austria, Advent is usually ushered in with the opening of the Christmas market or "Weihnachtsmarkt". In southern Germany and Austria it is sometimes called a "Christkind(e)l(s)markt" (German language, literally meaning "Christ child market"). Generally held in the town square and adjacent pedestrian zones, the market sells food, drink, and seasonal items from open-air stalls, accompanied by traditional singing and dancing. On opening nights (and in some towns more often) onlookers welcome the "Christkind" (originally boy Jesus, but more often depicted as an angel-like girl), acted out by a local child.

If you been to a Christkindlmarkt in Europe you will understand what I mean.

So yes -I  was excited - thinking that it finally made it here as well.

It was quickly agreed that mamabear would finish work just a few minutes before her usual leaving time - pick me up and we head to Riccarton.
Now I know - we are on the other side of the world and there are a few teeny weeny minor glitches - the wrong season for one.

A; it does not get dark here until 9.30pm or so
B; it usually is summer - so temp's in the evening will still be around 20 degrees.

We knew it will not have the same atmosphere as in Europe - you could never ever replicate this here.  Who would want to eat hot roasted chestnuts or drink a hot "Glühwein" here (known as Mulled wine) on a hot summers night?? Well I may have been tempted just for nostalgia’s sake.
To cut a long story short - we went there. Let me tell you - it was a complete waste of time.
The half dozen or so stands there sold various ornaments / hand crafted things from silk or wool a couple of foodie places, plus the usual takeout food (greek and something Asian)
From anything Christmas related - no sign in any shape or form.
In fact the only thing with Christmas in (or with it) would have been the title in the news paper advert.  Hmmm wonder if this could be construed as misleading advertizing????

Still it wasn’t a complete loss - we did get to sit on a park bench and enjoy the ducks and have a nice relaxed chat in the late afternoon sun.
So indeed it was a case of "yes yes yes  yes - no!!"

Austrian bed and breakfast owner goes frog hunting

meh - those days are over.
However I found this in the news paper today - so hunted the net to see if I could find the link - this was not to be.
So not to be thwarted - I scanned the article and post the image here.
Might take a while to upload - so
goes and takes a shower - meanwhile - pixel by pixel . . . . .


grrrrr upload failed - image file to big




re-sizes image


not going to happen - will upload in drop box

:)
have fun