CHRISTCHURCH, NEW ZEALAND

                                   A Charming Victorian City

        Christchurch stretches from the ocean to the foothills of the mountains and is completely flat. Abel Tasman discovered New Zealand in 1642, Captain Cook sailed there a hundred years later. In 1850 the Canterbury Company, a group of leading British churchmen, sent six ships with 1200 settlers (Canterbury Pilgrims) to Christchurch. Four ships sailed, with the other two following a month later. Property was selling for 6 pounds an acre.

      Christchurch is located in the Cantabury Plain, the flattest area in the country. The Canterbury Region also includes the Southern Alps which are the highest peaks in the country.

       The River Avon runs through the very English city. Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island,  and the third largest city in New Zealand, after Auckland and Wellington. The streets all carry English names.  Churches were the focal point of the whole community, and the center city is dominated by church spires.  The present city is compact and easy to explore, and very walkable. The streets were wide and the city had free center-city tram and bus service

      Our van driver took us up 700 meters over a switch-back paved road  into the mountains. At the summit, we had an excellent view of Port  Littleton, a deep-water, active commerical harbor located in a volcano crator;  on the other side of the road Christchurch stretched to the sea. Seeing many felled trees it was explained that a recent storm blew through the area doing a lot of damage. The road was open again after weeks of closure. Slowly clean up was taking place. The city council protected much of the mountain land. Both New Zealanders and Australians are very outdoor and sports oriented and from the summit we could see many hiking trails. They seemed to be everywhere!

      After a punt ride on the River Avon, with large mansions on each side of the river, we enjoyed a very

‘girlie’ lunch at the Mona Vale mansion. Afterward we wandered the beautiful gardens of the mansion. The weather was warm and quite comfortable.

      Everywhere we went we noted children in school uniforms. This is the norm for all public schools. The children also wear hats, many of them with neck flaps to guard against the sun. People are very sun conscious.

      As we rode and walked the charming city we saw Victorian homes and their lovely English Gardens.  We learned of the country’s favorite ice cream---hokey pokey, and of course we had to try it.    It reminded my buddy of butter brickle, me of pecan crunch without the nuts. Of course we are two ice creamaholics so there was little doubt that we would enjoy the ice cream. Being from opposite parts of the country  accounted for our slight variation on the name, but we both liked  hokey pokey.

     Later in the afternoon we walked about town visiting the Arts Center, museum, arts and crafts center, the Cathedral and the Bridge of Remembrance.

     The Bridge of Remembrance linking Oxford and Cambridge Terraces over the River Avon at Cashel Street opened on Armistice Day, 11 November 1924. It became a pedestrian area in 1977.  The Bridge and its Arch of Remembrance serve as a memorial to servicemen and women of two World Wars and subsequent conflicts in Korea, Malaya, Borneo, and Vietnam. It replaces an earlier bridge over which many thousands of soldiers marched en route from the barracks to the railway station to overseas service. The Bridge of Remembrance was structurally damaged in the February 2011 earthquake. Inspections suggested it was stable and a decision was made to permanently repair the bridge.

AXEL, HOLLAND

                                   A Charming Village

      We berthed alongside a small pier in Axel, a sweet little Dutch town.  We walked to the 18^th century grist mill that burned in a 1911 and was rebuilt in the 1950s. It operates on demand and we were lucky it was working the day of our visit. The mill grinds only local grains and delivers it to a local bakery.  

         As we walked the narrow cobbled street we had a good view of the miller turning the sails to catch the wind. He was turning a large wheel similar to a ship’s wheel, and I finally understood how the cap moves. I just couldn’t visualize how the whole top of the windmill would move, and it doesn’t, just the cap on the top moves.

       An interesting video was playing on the ground level explaining how the mill works. The mill is run by the 5^th generation of the family. Afterward, I climbed up two flights of narrow stairs for a good view of how comfortably a family lives in a wind mill.

       On Main Street is a small museum, Land of Axel.  As we entered the museum, a couple dressed in traditional costume of the early 1900s greeted us. We gathered round to hear about the rather unique costumes.

      The lady bent over at the waist moving her hair forward, twisted it and pinned it to the top of her head. Then she placed a metal coiled form on her head to hold her white lace bonnet in place. This metal has a 2-inch coil, as if wrapped around a pencil, at each side of her forehead. She wears no earrings but can place decorations on the coils.

  

     If a woman can afford a choker she wears it at her neck; in this case the choker was coral with a gold clasp in the center. A vest, decorated from the neckline to the bust line on both the front and back with semi-precious stones, is worn over the blouse. I thought this was best described as bib shaped. A woman of lesser means might decorate her bib with beads.

      The shoulder wings are formed by pleating a triangle of fabric over heavy paper, then bending to form the wings which are pinned in the center, front and back. Years ago ladies wore no underwear but she wore seven skirts! The first, next to the body, was flannel. Others were cotton, linen, or velvet and topped with a black on black silky print.  After 1860 black was the color of the day. Some of the skirts had a bottom ruffle. Only the first three layers were washed.

      The docent explained, “When out in the fields and she had to go, she just stopped, spread her legs and peed.” She demonstrated for a visual effect!

      She wore woolen socks and leather shoes if she could afford them, wooden shoes if not.

She had long black sleeves to cover her arms if it was cold, and a large wool scarf to wear as a shawl for warmth. A lady had three outfits, one to wear, one to wash and one in the closet.

     The male outfit was a bit simpler. A flat black hat topped his head. A wool vest with buttons sown on each side was worn over a pleated sleeve blouse. A colorful small scarf was worn at the neck. His pants were cotton/linen and had no zipper. The front flap was held in place by a large silver buckle.  The flap reminded me of old sailor uniforms where the flap was held up with 13 buttons. 

The pants were full in the back by means of gathers. The man wore no underwear either.

      Laughing the docent said, “The front flap of the pants was referred to as the big barn door.”

     The fellow wore wool socks and the same shoes as the female. He always wore a good size knife with a wooden handle, often carved, in a side pocket of his pants. The blade of the knife was in a sheaf. It was an excellent, very interesting and entertaining demonstration!

      Axel is one of a few cities in the country having a distinct costume. The small museum highlights life of centuries past.

      From the museum it was only a few steps to the café that once was home of the first practicing physician in the area, dating back to the 1500s. Here we to enjoyed  sticky buns and hot drinks.

Delightful!

     The 60-meter high water tower can be seen from anywhere in town. It houses another small museum on the ground floor.

     The charming small village of Axel has a population of 8000. During WW II under heavy fog the people were liberated by Polish forces. Today the area is a popular art colony.

     I love charming small villages and this one was wonderful.