Caro Downunder - Part 1, Arrival in Auckland
While it seems like an age ago, at the beginning of this year I had the pleasure of expecting the first visit of one of my "Munich friends" - from the one and only Caroline...
Caroline was one of the first people I met upon my move to Munich back in 2012. We met in the hallway of my first flat - I was moving in, she was (unfortunately) moving out...
But somewhere between that "hi" and "bye", or rather "griasdi" and "pfiadi", and a five minute exchange of our life stories, we decided we liked each other.
Due to our busy schedules, we generally managed a catch up every 4-6 weeks. This may not seem like a lot, but spending time with Caroline really is: quality over quantity.
Despite the fact that we only managed those catch ups every so often, she proved a true friend from very early on...
Apart from being my culinary exploration buddy, and celebrating milestones with me...She was also always there for me (in fact she was usually the first!), when shit hit the fan. And that is always when you find out who your real friends are.
Caroline was the first to help cheer me up & make a plan when the flatmates tried to kick me out in favour of their best mate, leaving me temporarily homeless...
Caroline was the one to share her birthday celebration with me, when she realised I wasn't looking forward to my birthday (five days after hers) because I was so home sick...
Caroline was the one who invited me over for a debrief, pep-talk & soul food, the same night of the day I was made redundant from my first "real" job...
So it was Caroline I called when I needed someone to listen to me about that shitty break up last year. And to my dismay - she was going through a shitty break up too!
At first I felt terrible that she was hurting too. But as we later reflected: knowing the other person was going through the same thing - at the same time - and being able to relate to each other's pain, was our saving grace.
After that initial call we made a pact, that girls do in fact rule the world ;) , we would not let the circumstances make us bitter, but better, and it was decided that she would pop over for a visit to the other side of the world ASAP.
And so that day came just a few months later, on the 26th December, when Caroline finally touched down in Auckland!
I know better than to post pictures of Caroline after a 30 hour flight, and quite frankly I was far too excited to remember to take pictures anyway...(can you tell?!)
Which is also why I have to give credit where credit is due - as most of the photos in the following posts were taken by Caroline herself! :)
We missioned up Mt Eden for her first "overview" of the city, and after a snack on my balcony, headed straight to Mission Bay for a reviving Turkish coffee.
As well as a stroll along the shore line for a catch up of epic proportions, some sea air...
...and to admire the Pohutukawas aka "New Zealand Christmas Trees", which were in full bloom.
After our mouths were dry from chatting at 100 miles an hour, we headed from one beach to the next, to end the day with a bit of a Kiwi cliche - fish & "chups"...
...best served with sand between your toes, a view of the ocean (Rangitoto in background optional...), and a cold one in your hand!
Since neither of us had had a particularly great sleep the previous night, we headed home for an early-ish night (after much more catching up on the couch of course!), as we had an early start for the first excursion planned the next day...
Where to, you'll find out tomorrow!
Yours truly,
Fräulein SoulFood x
Caroline was one of the first people I met upon my move to Munich back in 2012. We met in the hallway of my first flat - I was moving in, she was (unfortunately) moving out...
But somewhere between that "hi" and "bye", or rather "griasdi" and "pfiadi", and a five minute exchange of our life stories, we decided we liked each other.
Due to our busy schedules, we generally managed a catch up every 4-6 weeks. This may not seem like a lot, but spending time with Caroline really is: quality over quantity.
Despite the fact that we only managed those catch ups every so often, she proved a true friend from very early on...
Apart from being my culinary exploration buddy, and celebrating milestones with me...She was also always there for me (in fact she was usually the first!), when shit hit the fan. And that is always when you find out who your real friends are.
Caroline was the first to help cheer me up & make a plan when the flatmates tried to kick me out in favour of their best mate, leaving me temporarily homeless...
Caroline was the one to share her birthday celebration with me, when she realised I wasn't looking forward to my birthday (five days after hers) because I was so home sick...
Caroline was the one who invited me over for a debrief, pep-talk & soul food, the same night of the day I was made redundant from my first "real" job...
So it was Caroline I called when I needed someone to listen to me about that shitty break up last year. And to my dismay - she was going through a shitty break up too!
At first I felt terrible that she was hurting too. But as we later reflected: knowing the other person was going through the same thing - at the same time - and being able to relate to each other's pain, was our saving grace.
After that initial call we made a pact, that girls do in fact rule the world ;) , we would not let the circumstances make us bitter, but better, and it was decided that she would pop over for a visit to the other side of the world ASAP.
And so that day came just a few months later, on the 26th December, when Caroline finally touched down in Auckland!
I know better than to post pictures of Caroline after a 30 hour flight, and quite frankly I was far too excited to remember to take pictures anyway...(can you tell?!)
Which is also why I have to give credit where credit is due - as most of the photos in the following posts were taken by Caroline herself! :)
We missioned up Mt Eden for her first "overview" of the city, and after a snack on my balcony, headed straight to Mission Bay for a reviving Turkish coffee.
...and to admire the Pohutukawas aka "New Zealand Christmas Trees", which were in full bloom.
After our mouths were dry from chatting at 100 miles an hour, we headed from one beach to the next, to end the day with a bit of a Kiwi cliche - fish & "chups"...
...best served with sand between your toes, a view of the ocean (Rangitoto in background optional...), and a cold one in your hand!
Since neither of us had had a particularly great sleep the previous night, we headed home for an early-ish night (after much more catching up on the couch of course!), as we had an early start for the first excursion planned the next day...
Where to, you'll find out tomorrow!
Yours truly,
Fräulein SoulFood x
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