Here is my new bike which was $80 on trademe:

Thanks Dad for buying this for me!

It’s a 1981 Centurion Omega, made in Japan.  It was an entry-level model and I don’t know whether it was originally a 5 or 10-speed but it’s now 10, somewhere along the line it’s had Shimano biopace chainrings added, the original drop bars have been changed out for a flat bar, both pedals have had the bottom broken off and lost a reflector each, and the front rim has been replaced with a French one and had the wrong cones installed in the hub bearings (and is a wee bit buckled which I will attempt to fix by adjusting the spokes).  But it’s the perfect size for me and I like riding it

Dad got me the racks and stand from Cycle Trading Co in Christchurch who Susan K recommended to me, and I also would highly recommend them.  I had to go back a few times – first to look at the racks, then to buy the racks, then to remove the freewheel from the rear hub (so I could repack the grumbly bearings), then for new bearings and cones for the front hub, then to fix the rear derailleur which I stupidly pulled apart to clean then couldn’t retension the spring in the lower pivot bolt (lesson learned!).  Dad made me some wooden boxes to go on the racks but we ran out of time to fix them on properly, I’m using bungee cords for now.

So that’s it, I will update again when the weather gets better and I’ve used it more!

The power and water were off immediately, but I managed to clean up stuff that had spilt on the carpet and shoved all the unbroken stuff back in the fridge, and threw a broken bottle of O’Mara’s outside.  Dad came home and did some other cleaning and tidying.  We were trying to find out about Mum, but the phone was out and the mobile network was busy.  Some of the neighbours’ roofs looked pretty badly damaged, but the area is a new subdivision so all the houses were still standing.  We thought our roof was ok until later on we saw that tiles in two areas at the back had broken and slipped, so Dad got up there and replaced them so the rain that night wouldn’t come in.  He also dug a hole down the back and built an outhouse around it – after the last earthquake we knew that the water/sewage might not be operational again for days.

Dad went to find Mum and dropped me off at the garage to collect my car (which hadn’t had time to even be looked at for the WOF) but when I got home she was already there, she’d caught a taxi home.  We decided to go ahead with the move, seeing as we had the van booked and I needed to be in Dunedin for preliminary lectures on Friday.  So she cleaned up the pantry using the neighbour’s paddling pool water, and I carried on packing.

We had sandwiches and icecream for tea, and it was a long cold night – it was raining, no power, and we kept getting woken up by aftershocks.  My kitties had both run away so they were outside somewhere in the rain.

The next day it took us a long time to finish packing and get everything loaded, and we didn’t end up leaving home until 4pm.  I had to leave the kitties behind because they hadn’t turned up, so I set up the scratching post and their blankets etc. in my old room for them.  I only had 1/4 tank of diesel (I’d been planning to fill up the previous afternoon) and I wasn’t sure where I could get more.  It was a slow trip out of town and all the stations were either closed, run out of fuel, or had huge queues which would have held us up more.  I had enough to get to Ashburton but I’d heard there were a lot of people leaving town and getting fuel on the way, so I was a bit worried.  In the end the BP at Rolleston had diesel but no petrol, so there weren’t any queues which was great.  I could also get some water to drink as I’d finished all three of my drink bottles since the earthquake.

We arrived late at Dunedin and I just grabbed some couch cushions and my sleeping bag for the night, and Mum and Dad took my car to stay with someone in Mornington then came back the next day to help unload.  It was so nice to be able to use the shower and toilet again, even though I’d only been without for one day, and Mum and Dad would probably be going home to no water again.

Now I’ve unpacked everything and settled in, and it’s the first day of uni.  More on that next time!

My bedroom. The bed moved about an inch but the desk was the only other thing that didn't fall over.

The pantry floor. In the doorway everything was smashed and oozing out.

Garage. Most of this stuff was either on the workbench or leaning against it. The entire garage and workshop looked like this, and Dad was only just getting it sorted out after the last one

The outhouse Dad built in the back corner of the section (behind the beehive!)

At least I got it up and running again by myself

They aren’t covering everything from NCEA level 3 Chem, just what we need for the first year Chem subjects Otago offers, so that’s cool.  Apparently about 2000 students take CHEM191 (which is what I’ll be doing) and out of those 500 won’t have done level 3 at high school, interestingly about 500 students don’t pass so the HOD was really encouraging about us getting it sorted out before we start semester one and crash and burn.  I feel a lot better about it now that I know we’re not cramming a whole year of work into 3 weeks, and it doesn’t matter if we pass or not, we’ll still get his signature that allows us entry to CHEM191.  So of course I’ll work hard and do as much as I can but it takes away the stress knowing that I’ll still get in, and that we’re not learning a whole lot of irrelevant stuff.

We also have to buy our own lab coats, wish I’d known earlier because I could have got one through Partmaster at staff price!  I have my text book ordered from Book Depository but I don’t need that for Bridging Chem, just for CHEM191 next month.

While I’m here I’m staying with Mike and Susan, they are very kindly letting me sleep on their couch and it’s not super-convenient for them so I’m really grateful.  It’s made everything a lot easier for me to not have to find a flat and move my cats down straight away, and cool to have supportive, close friends to come home to each night when everything else is so new.  Unfortunately their friends who they thought would be wanting flatmates are either allergic to cats or not allowed cats in their flat, so I kinda have to start looking again.

So it all starts tomorrow, although there isn’t a lab tomorrow afternoon so we get to finish early, and Mike can show me around the campus.  I’ve been to the supermarket to get my lunch stuff (and vegemite – Susan is a marmite-eater, ewww) and apparently we get chocolate biscuits provided for morning and afternoon tea

Unfortunately being Friday afternoon by this stage the roads were quite busy – Simone said lots of people finish work early on Fridays – so it took us a while to get to Lucerne and it was starting to get dark by the time we arrived.  But the drive was really beautiful once we got off the big motorways and into the more hilly and windy roads – Switzerland is an amazing place.  In Lucerne we walked across the famous covered bridge and just looked at the amazing view, then had a bit of a wander around town and managed to resist buying anything despite all the bright shiny shops.

The famous covered bridge at Lucerne

When we arrived at Simone’s parents house in Goldswil (near Interlaken) they had dinner organised, but first we had drinks and nibbles.  Simone’s parents are lovely, all weekend her mother Judith prepared beautiful food and wouldn’t let me help at all, her father Rudi shared his wine with us and they made the effort to speak English with us and make us feel comfortable.  We had a great evening just eating, drinking and talking, and sorting out what we going to do the next day.

Reece got his own room and his own bathroom even, and  Simone and I shared a room upstairs   Their house is really nice, it was the house Rudi grew up in and instead of buying or building a new house they decided to renovate so now the living area is more open plan and they have a modern kitchen, and there’s a even basement level with a storeroom rivalling my parent’s walk-in pantry!  Only difference is Rudi had a lot of wine in his and I think my parents have way more preserved fruit instead!

Once again the central heating was great, Simone and I chose to have our window open so we didn’t get too hot overnight.  Off to bed – Schilthorn tomorrow!

Lauda was full of cool old buildings like these, I'm sure they've actually been "renovated" to look like this though, as we saw an ad in a window for it and they look far too fresh and clean and new.

When we got to Lauda it was dark but the navigator took us straight to our hotel in the centre of town (a very small town!) and the guy was expecting us and very friendly.  He told us where to find a restaurant nearby serving German food but unfortunately it was closed   So we wandered around and found somewhere that looked good, it wasn’t German food in the end but it was delicious and there was a young guy serving who was quite happy to practice his “Oxford English” on us and told us about his relatives in Australia.  Lauda was such a cool little town, narrow cobblestoned streets and interesting buildings.  We went for a walk around after dinner and saw their town band (with lots of brass!) practicing in the Rathaus which made the place seem really friendly and homely.

Most of our accommodation included breakfast and it was interesting seeing what we would get in each country.  In Dover it was an English breakfast with cereal, baked beans on toast and sausages, bacon etc.  In France it was a buffet of cereal, juice, coffee, boiled eggs, bread, cheese, cold meats and jam.  In Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Austria it was the same less the cereal, apart from at Chris and Maurice’s house where we had many options, even chocolate!  The boiled eggs for the hotel breakfasts were either warm or cold (not hot!) so they were prepared in advance and usually presented in a basket.  I have to admit by the end of the trip I was ready for something different; bread and cheese is nice but I like a bit of cereal first.

In the morning we had another wander round Lauda and took some photos before we left.  On the way out of town we took a wrong turn and so the GPS navigator recalculated and took us up this little country road over a hill, we had a fantastic view and it was great being out in the country in the crisp autumn air – we were both really pleased we’d taken the detour.  After what seemed like quite a long time we made the main road again and carried on to Tubingen where Tim, another of Reece’s nephews, is studying at university.

Tim didn’t finish at uni until 4pm so we had a few hours to wander around and we did our usual thing of setting the navigator for the town centre and just looking for a car park when we got close.  Once again the centre was little cobblestoned streets and cool buildings, we sifted around looking in shops and Reece got a shot glass for Jill.

We spent the afternoon wandering around Tubingen looking at the buildings and shops, and bought snacks for afternoon tea from a local bakery

After 4pm we went to see Tim where he’s living in the university halls and had a couple of drinks (Reece brought him a whole lot of Westmalle Trappist beer) before we walked into town for dinner.  Reece had texted Tim earlier and said he wanted traditional German food so he took us to a place that was in a little brewery, but they ended up not having the sausage and potato that Reece wanted – thwarted again!  It was really cool meeting Tim, who’s from Australia, and it made Tubingen a good memory because we enjoyed our afternoon and evening there.  He was also able to explain some things about the town as we walked around which we would never have found out on our own.  The toilet room in his flat was interesting – the walls were covered in photos of the same room decorated all different ways, it looks like people have just kept redecorating it and taken another photo every time.  Unfortunately none of the current tenants there know about it – it was just like that when they arrived but it was very cool and definitely a studenty thing to do.

Next day – Switzerland and Simone!!!!

The next day (on my birthday) Bruce and Jill went on a bus tour with Julie (Reece’s sister) and Reece and I walked into town to have a look around.  We started off at the Rathaus (town hall) but it was raining and miserable so we didn’t actually get that far.  I would have liked to visit the spice museum but we were meeting the others for lunch and didn’t really have enough time   It was our own fault though for sleeping in and being lazy – if we’d left the apartment earlier I’m sure we could have fitted in much more.  We found a couple of outdoor shops to look in (we visited these in pretty much every town we stopped in) and laughed at a brand called “Jack Wolfskin”, and also saw a lot of tea shops selling all kinds of tea leaves and associated paraphernalia – seems to be a big thing there.

In front of the Rathous (town hall) in Hamburg

We met up with everyone else for lunch in a rather eclectic restaurant that seemed to have all sorts of cuisine except German, Reece was really disappointed because he wanted traditional sausage and kartoffel salade (potato salad).  Then afterwards we caught the train and did a spot of shopping, Reece and I went towards the Reeperbahn (strippers etc. that are restricted to one street, there’s a gate and door with a sign saying females and those under 18 not permitted to enter) so he could get a photo and then we walked back to the apartment through a park and saw an outdoor ice-skating rink.  I really don’t feel like we got to see Hamburg at all – we could have done a walking tour but both of us wanted to sleep in so as I mentioned earlier it’s really our own fault we didn’t see much.  I got little birthday presents from Reece’s family that I wasn’t expecting, and Reece got me a cool Triumph (motorcycle) top when we were in Lille.

In the evening we had a family birthday dinner, Sam (Reece’s nephew) chose the meal and I chose a chocolate and raspberry cake that we saw in a bakery.  The next morning it was up early as everyone else had to catch the train to the airport, then Reece and I cleaned up the apartment and we were on our way.  We had a 5-hour drive ahead of us to Lauda, a small town just past Wurzburg and off the main road a bit, which we had just picked off the map without any research.

Roadside Snack Stand at Lauwersmeer National Park in the freezing cold wind

After our second night at Monnickendam we headed north and drove along a huge dyke at Waddenzee, then started tiki-touring to to find somewhere for lunch (it was Sunday and everything was closed) and finally stopped at a little roadside stand at Lauwersmeer National Park at the start of another dyke.  We climbed up the dyke and had a look along, it was quite high and the wind was absolutely freezing!  So we warmed up with frites and hot chocolate from the snack stand before carrying on to Groningen where we were staying the night.  Reece ordered a “Big Frik” which made me think of Scrubs and was basically a long sausage with sauces, and not as good as the picture looked either.

When we arrived at Groningen it was pouring with rain so Reece and I left the others at the hostel and went out to find somewhere to eat dinner.  We seemed to find every other cuisine except Dutch, but in the end found a nice little place although we had to get a waiter who spoke English because we couldn’t figure out everything on the menu, and the menu guide in my phrasebook was next to useless!   Reece and I both opted for the Groningen mustard soup which was one of their specialties and was really delicious, then mashed potato with pickled cabbage, gravy and sausage or meatball which is apparently a traditional meal and was also really nice but it was just too much and neither of us could finish it.

The plan the next morning was to head for a cheese shop just down the road but unfortunately it was closed on Mondays, seems to be usual over there for shops to be closed the whole day or at least just the morning (who wants to work Monday morning anyway – sounds like a good idea to me!).  So we left and detoured through a couple of small towns on the way to Hamburg, trying to find a supermarket with a good selection of cheeses because Jill wanted to get some for Reece’s brother and sister back in London.  Eventually found some and then we carried on driving to Hamburg where we were joining more of Reece’s family to celebrate his nephew’s 21st.

I liked Holland, and it was easy for us because most people spoke at least a little English.  I liked how easy it looked to cycle everywhere, although I’m sure it would be hard cycling along the top of a dyke into a head wind!  There WERE windmills everywhere, but mostly the new kind that are tall and streamlined with thin blades.  We saw quite a few of the old traditional type but a lot of them weren’t working.  New Zealanders seem to complain a lot about how wind turbines for generating power are noisy and a blot on the landscape but I thought they were ok.  There was often one right in someone’s backyard in the country so they can’t be that noisy, or maybe they’re using better quality turbines!  We saw them all around Belgium, Holland and Germany.  I was disappointed about not being able to visit the Anne Frank House – we tried to book in advance online but they were already booked out for the days we were in Amsterdam – and about missing out on a factory tour at De Porceleyne Fles, but I still got to see other cool stuff.  I’ll just have to save those for next time!

Op De Horsten - our B&B near Amsterdam

After finally leaving Chris and Maurice’s place in Belgium we headed on to Holland, Chris had booked us into a B&B in Monnickendam on the north side of Amsterdam.  It was great having her to organise it because she could speak Dutch to them and get it all sorted, their English was a bit limited (better than our Dutch though!).  When I’d looked for accomodation on the internet we were going to stay in Amsterdam itself but I couldn’t find anywhere that had free parking included, and Reece had looked at places but not actually got around to booking anything.  If we stayed somewhere in the city and had to park on the street it was going to cost the equivalent of NZ$40-60 per day!

Delft "Sweetdish" - I love the beautiful designs on these little plates

First we headed to the official Delftware factory (de Porceleyne Fles) which I wanted to tour, but by the time we got there it was too late for a tour so we just looked around the factory shop.  They had heaps of souvenir-type things (eg. clogs and windmills) that didn’t cost too much, but when I went further back into the shop there was the real stuff that cost rather a lot, but the difference in quality was obvious.  They had some amazing stuff with beautiful patterns, I love the classic blue and white floral designs rather than the multi-coloured ones or actual pictures.  I ended up spending a bit more than I originally intended, got a couple of little plates/dishes that were on sale because they were last season’s design.

Then on to our B&B, Bruce and Jill had a room upstairs with an ensuite and Reece and I had a self-contained apartment that was still in the process of being finished so it wasn’t quite self-contained yet – toilet but no shower or handbasin!  But we had a kitchette, sofa and chairs and a coffee table so we all had dinner out there (bread, cheese, dutch sausage, mustard, tomatoes and fruit and Belgian chocolate to finish with) and then played cards.  Next day we headed to Amsterdam on the bus for the day – the bus stop was practically right outside where we were staying.  The bus fares for all of us cost nearly what parking for the day would have cost, but it was a better deal because we didn’t have the stress of driving into town and we had better accomodation than we would have had for the same price in town.  There was a big dyke on the other side of the road from where we stayed with a cycle path along the top, this seemed to be pretty common – there were lots of cycle paths in the country and in the cities the cycle lane systems were fantastic.  The stories are true – there are HEAPS of cyclists in Amsterdam and on more than one occasion we had near misses when crossing the road because we weren’t paying attention and they just come out of nowhere so quickly!  On every corner and every bridge there were hordes of bicycles parked, and cyclists don’t have to wear helmets so they’re all just riding around in their normal casual or business clothes.

Amsterdam

We spent the day just wandering around looking in the shops, no one had anything planned or organised and I hadn’t bothered because I thought Reece’s parents were sorting it out.  Bruce had Dutch friends in NZ and so had learned quite of bit of Dutch language, he had a constant smile on his face being there and having the chance to actually use it in Holland.

There were lots of coffeehouses (hint: they don’t have just coffee on the menu) but we skirted the red light district, although Jill managed to see a couple of ladies sitting in a window that somehow the rest of us all missed.   She was collecting a shot glass from every country or main city we visited so she was busy looking for a shot glass and postcards, the rest of us were just happy wandering around taking photos and trying not to get run over by cyclists.  She eventually bought one and Reece asked which she ended up getting, she said the one he’d pointed out to her and he cracked up… he had been only joking and when she got it out and showed it to him he showed her the marijuana leaves in the middle of the emblem where there should be three crosses…