The Best Christmas Ever

Or has Christmas even happened? Honestly, with all the family, heat and summer fruit, I can't really tell. Christmas in summer is very weird and my parents and I keep forgetting it's the end of December. A second thing was different this Christmas but that was actually really nice: having a big family around. I mean, nice people, family inside jokes, cousins to play Werewolf with and traditions entirely new to us? Yes, please!
I sincerely hope that your Christmas was just as beautiful as ours and that you can still rest a little before restarting everyday life.
As you have probably guessed, we arrived safely in Adelaide on the 22nd after a 20-hour-flight that was surprisingly pleasant. We got over our jetlags pretty quickly and so we could enjoy five very nice days with the Pope family whose daughter Meg I met in 2014.
On the 23rd, we slept as long as we could to get used to the timezone and then I helped Meg to prepare the party she threw in the afternoon. It was just a Christmas party (in my honour) with some school friends but I was the surprise guest and it was lovely to see Elly's and especially Kat's faces when they spotted me in the room. We caught up, played Werewolf and just had a good time.

An Aussie Christmas tree

The 24th was another day of catching up with old friends. In the morning, we drove to Coastlands Church (the church I went to with my host parents) which is just as inviting, alive and friendly as I remember from my time there. It was great to see all those kind people and to listen to a sermon on Christmas Eve. Especially meeting my host parents, Rod and Jenny, again was wonderful and I am so incredibly grateful that they were chosen to host a slightly crazy thirteen-year-old as international student 😉! We stayed with Rod and Jenny until the afternoon and then went back to the Popes'. There, we got to show them a little bit of a German Christmas Eve with Mama-made Käsewähe (don't let me translate that one pls), the Christmas Oratorio by Bach in the background, some gift unwrapping and sung Christmas carols. It was a very calm and musical evening. After all, the loud and crowded part was to come on the 25th.
That day, we spent the morning helping to prepare food for the Booth Christmas lunch held every year with all the family on Anna's (Meg's mum's) side. 27 people were to come, 29 actually came and everyone was very open and welcoming to us; thanks guys! The party was funny, the food was beautiful and the annual Christmas tradition of KrisKringle (version of Secret Santa) was slightly crazy and very entertaining. I am proud to say that I am now owner of a portable misty fan and a massage glove.

Eleanor and I in grandmama's beautiful garden

On the 26th, Boxing day, the family lunch was with Kenneth's (Meg's dad's) family at his brother's house and we enjoyed the good conversation on the shady veranda very much. As before, everyone was really nice and expected to see us a next time. In the evening we were kindly invited to dinner at Meg's grandmama's place up in the Adelaide Hills in Lobethal which we took as an opportunity to drive through town to see the famous Christmas lights. There was every variety, from unmotivated neighbour to retina burner (as Meg calls the too laden houses).

Among the kangaroos

Patting a pottaroo

The cathedral or what's left of it

The 27th should sadly be our last day in Adelaide but at least we didn't waste it. On the contrary: we used the beautiful weather to visit Cleland Wildlife Park, the park Rod and Jenny took me to, and see, feed and pat some Australian wildlife. Namely kangaroos, koalas, wombats, echidnas and so on. Our personal favourite were the tiny yet not at all shy pottaroos living in the park for comfort (as opposed to behind fences).
We even found a new Australian hat for Papa who had lost his in Zurich Airport. By the way; airports will now forever be known as "Eierports" to us because our navigation app always tries to read the English names the German way which leads to a lot of confusion and laughter. When we returned from Cleland, it was time to pack our suitcases and backpacks and take a little nap before leaving for the "Eierport". After a small commotion due to the ü in our name, we sat in the plane to Melbourne, and eventually Christchurch, quite nervous and exhausted. The exhaustion ended up staying as we arrived in Christchurch on December 28th at 5.00am NZ time, meaning it was still 2.30am in Adelaide and neither of us had truly had any sleep that night. So we parked somewhere in town, had a very good breakfast in a cute café and wandered through Christchurch which is...a sad story. Some old buildings are beautiful and remind one of the flair the town once had but the devastation the earthquake of 2011 caused is all too present and many houses were never restored, let alone rebuilt. Cathedral Place used to be crowded and pretty, the living heart of the city but now pidgeons are nesting where the cathedral's tower broke down, the streets are  deserted and the new buildings are - well - ugly.

One giant tree in the Botanic Gardens

Apart from the destruction, there is one place that seems entirely untouched by any earthquake or ugliness: The Botanic Gardens. Blooming flowers, ancient trees and curious birds helped us to actually arrive in the gorgeous (and chilly) New Zealand.

Mama and Papa on the castle tower

Today, on the 29th, we had a five-hour-drive from our small and very cute B&B at Tai Tapu. Down South, through Taimaru and Oamaru to Dunedin and Lanarch Castle up on the Otago Peninsula, we watched many cows and sheep pass by as the landscape slowly changed from plains to rolling hills.

View over the bay from the castle tower

We are now in what is by far the most amazing accomodation that I have ever seen. I just can't get over the fact that my bed is a freaking horse carriage!






A horse carriage in which I should really sleep now because it is getting seriously late and tomorrow the journey goes on.

Lanarch Castle, the only castle in NZ

Further South, to the Catlins and then to the fjordlands and mountains of New Zealand. I have no idea when there will be good wifi again, so this is goodbye for now.









Good night and have a wonderful new year! Slide well and don't slip, as we say,
 xx Annika