christoph's odyssey in new zealand

I travelled for 90 days around the country and I didn’t have any apartments back in Auckland. So, the only place which I considered to be my flat was the van. I spent by far the biggest part of the day in my van. Consequently, I had to find a name for it and it didn’t take me that long to find a suitable name for it! I named my van THE WHITE PEARL!!! You got it? If not, I’ll explain you why I chose this name.

Last semester, we used to watch a lot of movies on Sunday afternoons and evenings. One movie was called “Pirates of the Caribbean”. The main figure in the movie is Captain Jack Sparrow, played by Johnny Depp, and his sailing boat “The Black Pearl”. And The Black Pearl was the fastest sailing boat on the ocean. You got it?
You’re right, well done! I named my blog Captain Chrischi (and I’m a Captain as well, but I don’t have a sailing boat) months before I bought the van and as my van is white, it matches perfectly. The White Pearl is driven by Captain Chrischi and it's probably the slowest van on New Zealand’s roads. I guess that’s the reason why I haven’t got any speeding tickets during the last few months… ;-)

Well, living on the 20th floor hasn’t only advantages… Within the last two days, the lift hasn’t worked properly. Exactly, we had to take the stairs after we walked up one of the steepest streets in New Zealand. It’s actually that steep that I can’t even use the reverse gear (of my van) and I can hardly stop the car by using the breaks… You should see my calf!

In the past, the region around Auckland has been a very geothermal active. And all the hills in city can be traced back to extinct volcanoes. Although the volcanoes aren’t active anymore, there is still geothermal activity in the region. Nevertheless, I haven’t considered this fact and its possible occurrence and impact in my life. Since yesterday evening, this has changed. While my flatmates and me were sitting in the living room and enjoying the view, the building suddenly started shaking and we heard some strange sounds (like things would be bursting). And it lasted for a couple of seconds. You’re right, this was an earthquake! I just survived my first earthquake in Auckland! I hope that it won’t happen again as it was quite scary!

This is confirmed by an article in the New Zealand Herald Times:
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10425133

Switzerland is one of the most successful ski nations again!!! And what about Austria? Haven't they received their monthly epo supply?

why are the swiss so successful again? new coach? better cheese than any other competing nations? better skis? well, the answer is related to the bad and warm weather in europe and therefore, the lack of proper training opportunities! What has swiss ski done that our athletes are that competitive?

They hired for a few days an external coach that the swiss ski boys got their exercises and that they were well prepared for the WM in Sweden. They found him and great training opportunities in New Zealand. To be precise, it was on glacier on the westcoast! It seems that it finally worked out very well!

I just included a picture as well that you guys can picture the coach on whom the current success is based.... :-)

damn, i miss the snow and skiing so much...................

hi folks!

After almost 90 days on the road, the swiss hippie has finally arrived in auckland on monday evening! after an exciting time and a lot of great times and memories, it was time to settle down and get back a daily routine! i guess i will miss my van during the next few months and i haven't decided yet whether i'm gonna sell the van soon or if i'll keep it until the end of my stay.

As soon as possible i'm gonna post some updates on different topics such as my van's name or the past weeks!

in a minute, i'll drive to the airport in order to pick up patrick and priska from their holiday "need a holiday" trip!

see you soon


this is the view from the living room of our new flat!