# TM around in the Anglosphere



## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

Good day ladies and gentlemen!

In this thread I want to show you the pictures I've taken in Anglophone countries, this is in contrast to my first thread where I will only show pictures of Germany and central/continental Europe.

My first country I've seen independently is New Zealand, with which I will start here. Later on, this will serve as an Index.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Sounds interesting; looking forward to see your photos


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*My Introduction to New Zealand*

I stayed in Auckland, which is with a population of over one million by far the largest Kiwi city and accounts for about a quarter of the nation's people.



It is located in the north of the North Island and is situated primarily on an isthmus, surrounded by water. There are also several large parks in the city, which all contribute to this city having one of the best qualities of life on the planet. It is however very sprawly and suburban, on this satellity picture I approximately marked the city center versus the entire built up area. There are however several former villages that serve as sub-centers on a more local level.



i stayed in Auckland for 4 weeks to go to an English language school. It was located in this very nice historic brick building in the Newmarket area.




Immediataly adjecent to it is the "Auckland Domain", a large park crowned by this wonderful World War Museum and Memorial:

I can't believe I don't have better picture, sorry


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*Newmarket*

Newmarket is one of those aforementioned former villages that have since grown into the city. Being fairly close to Downtown, there are a lot of new apartment buildings in addition to the older storefronts.


These historic buildings often add a lot of character.

I experienced New Zealand to be very clean and to have lots of nice public green space.

Typical Newmarket scene:


Nice little park on the left:


This rail junction always invited for interesting pictures in conjunction with the wheather:


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*A walk around the inner 'burbs*

At some point in my first couple of days I had some spare time and decided to look around the area. 

It is fairly close to the city center, so the were some very nice looking old (victorian?) pre WW1 houses:



As you can see, pretty much the enitire city is quite hilly:


Due to strong real estate demand, there are also quite a few newer buildings with higher densities.

Those range from these relatively small multiplexes:




Over to something a little more Hong Kong:

All in all not bad, usually they had very nice landscaping.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*Going Downtown*

Of course, sooner or later I took a train and headed downton.

I got my first look at the city from the train:


Auckland's most important transport center is Britomart station, where all suburban rail lines terminate. There is currently a tunnel going through downtown with several stations under construction, making this into a through station and turning their rail system into something similar to the Parisian RER or the German S-Bahn systems.


Once you exit the station you get to this interesting marketplace:


The area is filled with an eclectic mix of historic and contempuary buildings, which works out rather well:




There is a large mixed use modern complex nearby as well:


It looks like this building's facade had been spared from demolition when the tower was built.



I hope you enjoyed my first impressions of Auckland! There's more where these pictures came from, so I hope you'll come by next time as well.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*The first time in Downtown Auckland*

Let's continue our little walk through downtown.

It should be noted that I had a huge bias towards old buildings when taking pictures. So while as a whole the CBD is pretty modern, I mostly took pictures of Art Deco buildings or older.


The covered sidewalks are very common, as the wheather here often alternates between "sun and showers", as they call it.

Often historic buildings on the streetfront were left intact with modern highrises rising behind them.


The first wonderful example of Art Deco here. That style ended way too soon imo.


This is a typical streetscene in the CBD

A mix of modern, old and all things in between but very well kept. However, the density is confined to just a few blocks, the CBD is very small geographically.

Here you can again see how hilly it is, along with some wonderful architecture.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*Continuing in Downtown*

Some of the older buildings manage to be quite impressive, considering we are basically at the end of the world.


A nice early 'Deco highrise:

I love Art Deco <3

And we can also throw in a little lost looking Victorian/Edwardian building between two modern skyscrapers


Nice neo-gothic church with what looks like a formstone facade:


Another nice historic office building:


Which also boasted a wonderful cast-iron storefront


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*Upper CBD*

We are now nearing the upper (higher) end of the CBD, where we can find this wonderful Art Deco cinema:


It's close to the previously shown building:


I was there during wintertime in the souhern hemisphere, but the wheather in Auckland rarely dips below 12 or so degrees, with maybe an average of 16 degrees. But you have to look out if out stay in a regular house, they don't have heating!


At the northern end of the CBD is Aotea square, where the City hall is located. The sqaure itself is often used for various events, like in this case an icerink.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*Lower CBD*

Let's do a quick jump to the other end of the CBD, near the harbour.

There's this wonderful brick harbour building:

Notice the hommage to the "All Blacks" rugby team, which have a huge cultural standing in New Zealand.

Here was a parade for the victorious NZ sailing team in the America's Cup


And another nice Art Deco office building 


Next time, I'll show you some pictures of other places in New Zealand, but we will return to Auckland!


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## skymantle (Jul 17, 2010)

Great showcase.

The War Memorial building is not Art Deco but neoclassical.

The pre-WWI houses, probably 1880s, are Victorian era 'Italianate' style with classical features.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

^^ thanks! You are right of course about the memorial, it's quite obvious. I must have had a warped memory of it and then didn't bother to look at it again, apparently.

Thanks also for the elaboration for the victorian buildings! I would have also guessed an eclectic style of the late 19th century, but I'm not very well versed with British architecture.


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## Why-Why (Jul 20, 2016)

Interesting tour of pleasant urban scenes at "the end of the world."


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - Roturua*

Tank you, Why-Why!

For our next stop, we'll be heading to the interior of the north island, more precisely, to the small town of Roturua.

In New Zealand, there is lots of volcanic activity and that is very apparent here. You can see lots of steam rising up from geaothermal activity, the pool is also filled with water from geothermal springs. 


It all looks rather nice but the smell of sulfur takes some getting used to.


Tourism for all these hot baths is a very big economic factor here and it has a rather long history, as this very impressive former bath building can attest to:





This building now hosts a museum but it is unfortunately closed due to not meeting earthquake codes anymore.


It is part of a larger complex called "government gardes" but none of the other buildings are as impressive as this one.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - Nature of the Interior*

Some hills near Rotorua are touristically developed.




Which makes wonderful views like this easily accessible:


Even as far away from the shore as possible, water is never far away.


These are the Huka falls, north of Lake Taupo:


That blue water is honestly stunning.


The surrounding relatively preserved nature adds to the atmosphere.




Thank you for coming with me on this little trip! Next up: some more Auckland.


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## yansa (Jun 16, 2011)

Beautiful, TM_Germany! My favourite is your first shot of the Huka Falls. kay:


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates; well done :cheers:


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - Random Auckland 1*

^^ thank you very much!

Let's continue with a bit of random Auckland:



The Auckland CBD is very small in area but packs a lot of urbanity in that space.


This nice looking square was unfortunately u/c when I was there.


I like rounded balconies. And also palm trees


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - Random Auckland 2*

Cozy square:


An old mansion on top of a volcano:


These are some botanic gardens:


And here is vista of the skyline with some yachts


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - Night time Auckland*

Who doesn't like some nighttime pictures?





Illuminated historic facades are always quite the looker:




And finally, here's a picture of the great war memorial, which I've already shown previously during the day. Here it is illuminated in bright colours for a special occasion.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - Coromandel*


Let's go do some landscape sightseeing today!

We'll be going to the Coromandel pininsula, which is a largely protected natural area.

Blue skyes, blue seas, sandy beaches. What more can you ask?



Remember that this is basically in the deepest New Zealand winter



It feels really nice to go through intact nature like this





We're nearing the most famous attraction in this area



Which is this famous cave, that served as a setting in "Narnia"



Of course by now, it's quite touristy but still definitely a sight to behold.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - Volcanic peaks in Auckland*

Auckland itself is littered with parks on volcanoes that themself offer quite a lot of natural scenery.

I believe this is One Tree Hill



There are public BBQ places available!



Climbung up the hill, you get some fabulous views



Old house turned visitor center



There is a monument on the top:


This commomerates the Moari population



The Auckland CBD in the distance



This was taken from another volcanic peak, Mount Eden


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## openlyJane (Feb 3, 2010)

Great photos. New Zealand always looks so pristine, and 'clean'.


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates; well done


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

Thanks! That's exactly my impression as well. Even though at least the Northern Island for the most part isn't the natural paradise that many people think it is, New Zealand as a whole just seems incredibly pristine and peaceful. It has a whole different atmosphere to it than any other place I've been to. The clear waters, the beautiful landscapes, the refreshing wheather, everything plays into it.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - St. Kevins Arcade and Meyers Park*


Next, we're gonna visit Saint Kevin's Arcade, a historic shopping passage.



It's not very big but the historic ambiente with the skylight and architectural elements make it a very pleasing place





The rear entrance leads to Meyers Park, which is a linear green space situated in a depression between two streets.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - Albert Park*

My favourite CBD park in Auckland is Albert park, which is situated on a sort of plateau in the middle of Downtown.








We've seen this structure several times by now. It's called "Sky tower" and is the talles construct in Auckland. In the next post, we'll get to see the view from the top.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

*New Zealand - Sky Tower*

Albert Park can be seen on the right



The construction on the upper street is for the downtown rail tunnel



The floor here is made of glass



Looking south away from dowtown, Aotea square can be seen on the lower left,the row of trees in the block above that belong to Meyers Park:





Here you can see Albert Park again, the bigger park behind that is the Auckland Domain with the War Memorial Museum on top:


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

I'm gonna conclude my visit to New Zealand with another random collection of pictures

Old residential row:



Korean shaved ice (Bingsu)



Nice looking courtyard:



A big wooden church:



Typical commercial buildings:









and another church, this time in brick:



That's about all I have of New Zealand! Hope you could enjoy the pictures. Next time, we'll visit a different country!


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

The next country we'll briefly visit is a green Island in the Atlantic. I'm talking about Ireland, of course!

This is O'Connell Street, probably the widest in the city:




It is towered over by this toothpick looking monumetn called "the spire"



There is a picture of the old times here, it looks like the Irish might have been the inventors of modernist architecture 😅


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

The "Liffey" crosses thtough the city.



The most famous bridges crossing it are the historic cast iron Ha'penny bridge:



As well as the modern Samuel Beckett Bridge by Calatrave, which symbolizes the typical Irish harp:


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

Now it's time for some architectural impressions!


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

This is Dublin's Trinity College:


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

Dublin has a number of nice parks, one of which is St. Stephens:


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates; well done


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

Thanks Christos!


Dublin also has a castle, although I'm unfortunately not very familiar with it's history.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

One of the most impressive Museums here is the National Archeological Museum


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

Dublin's old town consists of small alleys and narrow houses.





The famous Temple Bar is here on the right


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

This shopping arcade reminded me of a mini-Harrod's





You can't miss Guiness when in Ireland - although alcohol is surprisingly expensive.



This is part of the Guiness brewery.



Very interesting italianate building with terracotta reliefs:



What other type of alcohol is Ireland famous for? Whiskey, of course. So feel free to stop by at the appropriate museum.


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

Ireland once had a "window tax" where you had to pay for each window. If you didn't want to pay, you had to have a building without windows. As was the case with the "Parliament house" which is now owned by the Bank of Ireland.



Nicely lit building:


Hostel with a flowerfully painted facade:


Pedestrian shopping street:


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## TM_Germany (Nov 7, 2015)

To rather belatetly finish off my trip in Ireland, we'll do a quick trip to the Irish coast in Howth. 

The waterfront in the town itself has a stron "fishing town" vibe.


Howth by now has been reached by Dublin's sprawl. The coast is home to some very desireable real estate:


Off the coast of Howth is this Island, called "Ireland's Eye"


The place is known mostly for it's cliffy coastline with hiking paths offering nice views:


That was already it from Ireland. See you next in another country!


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## christos-greece (Feb 19, 2008)

Great, very nice updates once more


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