Monday, June 27, 2005
Chateau Franz
Soundtrack: “Franz Ferdinand” by Franz Ferdinand
Monday 13th June. Ten hours on the coach – hardcore! There was glorious sunshine all day long, and barely any mist, so the drive down the west coast of South Island took in some utterly spectacular views, and the journey alone was totally totally worth it.
Arriving late in the day again, as far as I could tell, Franz Josef was basically a bunch of motels, some shops, and a glacier. I was going to go and look at glow-worms, but the path was pitch dark and I was shit scared of falling over a tree root and breaking an ankle and being stuck in the woods all night, so I chickened out. The walk alone was worth it, though. It’s a peaceful, sleepy little village, and the night was crisp and fresh. The sky was perfectly clear, and the crescent moon and multitudes of heavenly stars looked down on me. You can see so many more stars down here in the Southern Hemisphere, which I will never stop appreciating.
For those of you who don’t possess a working knowledge of FF folklore, here is a quick snippet of their history. The band were looking for somewhere to rehearse when Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy were walking along the disused railway line in Glasgow. However, it turned out not to be so disused, and after diving out of the way of a train, they came across a large old warehouse that had been empty for years. Apart from pigeons. They moved in, used it to hold art shows and illegal gigs, and christened it The Chateau.
When I was in Wellington, I had been flicking through my backpackers guide, and listed under backpackers in Franz Josef was a certain little place called Chateau Franz. I had to stay there, so I did.
By this time, all I wanted to do was sleep sleep sleep, so fortunately, I had a room full of nice, quiet girls. Apart from Melissa (another Irish girl – magnet for the Irish, me), who came in at 3am after a night on the piss, which was slightly vexing. Two of the girls were Korean, friends travelling together whilst learning English in Australia. They explained to me what their names meant. Sujin’s name means “shining truth,” which I thought was wonderfully poetic. Even better though, was Yongjoo’s name, which means “dragon flying through the air eating bees.” I just can’t beat that, can I?
Monday 13th June. Ten hours on the coach – hardcore! There was glorious sunshine all day long, and barely any mist, so the drive down the west coast of South Island took in some utterly spectacular views, and the journey alone was totally totally worth it.
Arriving late in the day again, as far as I could tell, Franz Josef was basically a bunch of motels, some shops, and a glacier. I was going to go and look at glow-worms, but the path was pitch dark and I was shit scared of falling over a tree root and breaking an ankle and being stuck in the woods all night, so I chickened out. The walk alone was worth it, though. It’s a peaceful, sleepy little village, and the night was crisp and fresh. The sky was perfectly clear, and the crescent moon and multitudes of heavenly stars looked down on me. You can see so many more stars down here in the Southern Hemisphere, which I will never stop appreciating.
For those of you who don’t possess a working knowledge of FF folklore, here is a quick snippet of their history. The band were looking for somewhere to rehearse when Alex Kapranos and Nick McCarthy were walking along the disused railway line in Glasgow. However, it turned out not to be so disused, and after diving out of the way of a train, they came across a large old warehouse that had been empty for years. Apart from pigeons. They moved in, used it to hold art shows and illegal gigs, and christened it The Chateau.
When I was in Wellington, I had been flicking through my backpackers guide, and listed under backpackers in Franz Josef was a certain little place called Chateau Franz. I had to stay there, so I did.
By this time, all I wanted to do was sleep sleep sleep, so fortunately, I had a room full of nice, quiet girls. Apart from Melissa (another Irish girl – magnet for the Irish, me), who came in at 3am after a night on the piss, which was slightly vexing. Two of the girls were Korean, friends travelling together whilst learning English in Australia. They explained to me what their names meant. Sujin’s name means “shining truth,” which I thought was wonderfully poetic. Even better though, was Yongjoo’s name, which means “dragon flying through the air eating bees.” I just can’t beat that, can I?
