Christchurch… 19 years later

It’s been 19 years since I’ve been in Christchurch. Since then an earthquake ripped through the city in 2010/11 making it almost unrecognisable to me during my short walk around the centre of town. Although to be fair all I remember of Christchurch last time I visited was the cathedral spire, visiting a gay bar way too early and eating fudge at a Sunday market.

The city now has a mix of empty lots, buildings awaiting demolition and a lot of new builds making it feel like a new estate rather than an original city centre. It’s nice but very quiet.

I did a short walk past the old cathedral where 19 years ago I climbed to the top to take a photo of the city square. The spire is now gone but the square remains. A new flash looking convention centre opposite the square draws my attention which leads me to the river. A few old buildings remain along the nice riverside walk. A large abandoned building (possibly hotel) overlooks the river as it waits demolition while collecting graffiti. Quite the contrast to the new and old around it.

The new build area includes the riverside markets where I grab some Thai chicken stir fry for dinner. It’s a cool looking building with lots of vendors and a few sit down restaurants. It seems to be the place to be along the river as the rest of the city is very quiet for a Friday night.

Even though I’ve jumped forward in time today I’m a bit tired and have an early start so go back to my hotel to chill for the night. Tomorrow is a train day across the mountains I flew over this afternoon. Looking forward to a good sleep before then.Læs mere