An Adventure Abroad

Germany

These are the last few and slightly random images of our time in Germany.

You can see here our trip to the once was border between East and West Germany, we saw the border crossing at Helmstedt and a section of the wall and no mans land at Hötensleben. I just cannot imagine how it was to live in such a time and to think that people were shot out of that tower makes my skin crawl.

There are two images there of the worlds only suspension railway in Wuppertal which was quite the experience, almost rollercoaster like.

And the remaining images were walks through towns and of the beautiful drives we shared, oh and one piece of the three I had of the most delicious home made slice.

Germany

Germany

These are photos from Braunschweig. Our daily excursions and walks around the town. It was also the first time I have been on a push bike for years. 

Germany

During our stay in Hamburg we took a day trip to Lübeck. It was a beautiful town with lots of nooks and crannies. The first photos show the original gate to the town when it was once a walled city. The next couple of photos show one of the back entrances to the town.

Germany, Hamburg

This was a larger side trip, we were in Hamburg for about 5 days while Uta was attending a conference. On the journey there we stopped at a rather famous train station, it was designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser who is the same artist that designed the Hundertwasser public toilets in Kawakawa New Zealand!

Hamburg had some wonderful architecture and we thoroughly enjoyed the double decker bus tour around the city. We walked around quite a bit and enjoyed some asian cuisine which we hadn’t had in what felt like forever. 

Germany

Germany

Germany

This is the small(ish) town of Braunschweig where Nicholas’ dad lives. It’s was so full of history I feel like we didn’t spend enough time walking around the township. Key photos are:

The copper men on horses statues that were buried to survive the bombings that nearly wiped out the town in WWII

A cannon ball lodged into the side of a building that is believed to predate WWI

A statue of a lion that was commissioned before the artist had seen a lion in real life so based it off a pig and a bear.

A stone door frame with areas scratched out - the locals like to say that the lion was trying to get into the door but most likely it is from soldiers sharpening their swords.

I also saw my first ever crypt home to various royals.

Germany

Germany

So here we are all of a sudden in a completely different world. Once again it it doesn’t feel real that I’m here, I’m in Europe!

We arrived in Frankfurt after a 12ish hour journey from Sao Paulo and set straight out for an afternoon of sight seeing. Nicholas has actually lived and worked in Frankfurt so he was able to show me around the town, where he lived, his favourite restaurants and cafes, little grocery stores he frequented, it was fabulous. We walked for miles and I spent most of the time looking up. The houses and buildings have just so much character. New Zealand is so damn boring in comparison!

Sao Paulo

And then, all of a sudden, I was thrust into my version of Heaven. Our friends Julio and Patricia took us away for the weekend to Julio’s parents house. Between them and the neighbours there were dogs of every kind, a million chickens, what felt like one hundred bunnies and cute little wild marmoset monkeys. Wow, I could have stayed forever.

Sao Paulo

I have to share the churches - because we were following the architecture map we got to see a few. And they were all so beautiful and grand, so grand I couldn’t fit them in my photos.

Sao Paulo

There were many interesting buildings in Sao Paulo. We managed to locate one map that was English and it happened to be focused on architecture so we got to walk around the city admiring many of the buildings. 

The first image is from our Air B&B, it was wonderful, with tones of character and even had a cat! But not that cat, that was the neighbours cat that came to hang out with me in the indoor hammock. :)

My favourite building is the last image, this huge beautiful piece of art that stuck out in the central city about 15 floors high. 

Sao Paulo

That’s right, we’re back down the south of Brazil. This time to catch up with one of Nicholas’ good friends. The week was full of what felt like 4 things - Architecture, Art, Animals and Alcohol. I had to put alcohol in there because it started with A, what I really mean is Friends (which included a few Caipirinha) :P

We visited the well known Museu de Arte de São Paulo, the main exhibition is an absolutely stunning display of some of the most beautiful and oldest pieces I have ever seen. As you can see each piece was facing one direction, held up by a piece of glass. It gave the illusion that each piece was floating. The paintings had a description on the back so I did have a little giggle when the legs perfectly matched with some of the portraits. 

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls

Another huge feature of the Iguazu Falls is the wildlife. When it comes to lunch, you have to eat it inside. The Monkeys and Coati are not only sneaky, they are aggressive! If they even smell food in your bag they can attack, I wouldn’t mind, I’d even go in for a pat, only if they didn’t carry rabies. :( 

Iguazu Falls

I feel very lucky to have had the opportunity to see the Iguazu Falls. The main reason for the existence of the town there is because of tourism to the falls, but what makes the place extra special is the fact that the boarders for Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay all meet there. It is an expensive place to fly in and out of but if you can make it work I definitely recommend it.