Saturday, April 14, 2012

Dunedin: More Scottish than Edinburgh?

“Dunedin” is the old Gaelic word for “Edinburgh” and Dunedin wears its Scottish heritage with pride.  Many of the streets and buildings have Scottish names.

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At the very centre of Dunedin, The Octagon, is situated a sculpture of (Scottish poet) Robert Burns, here seen with a seagull on his head.  The city hall clock tower chimes every quarter hour, and could be easily heard from our hotel.

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It is claimed that the Dunedin Railway Station is the most photographed building in NZ.

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In some ways, Dunedin reminded us of San Francisco, with its Victorian and Edwardian architecture.

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Eat your heart out San Francisco!  The Guinness Book of Records has confirmed that Baldwin Street, Dunedin is the steepest street in the world.

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Pretty Celtic, huh?
This Celtic Cross takes pride of place in central Dunedin.  Interestingly, it includes some Maori artwork.

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It was a surprise, in the midst of all this Celticness, to come across the Dunedin Chinese Gardens  (see Pat in new Ashburton jumper).

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I had this very delicious seafood chowder, while Pat had the local bluefin cod, at the Irish restaurant The Craic, which also serves whiskey and haggis at the end of one of the city walking tours.  Oh well, I suppose it’s Celtic.
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View of Dunedin from our hotel window.
Visited on 11th-13th April 2012.

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