I’ve always heard how pretty Christchurch is . How it was like a small English city situated on a plain surrounded by incredible mountains. So I was prepared for the quaint houses and amazing views. What I guess I wasn’t prepared for was the incredible and lingering damage done to the city by the earthquake in 2011. The quake essentially leveled downtown or forced the razing of most of the central city and killed 185 people . Since then they have rebuilt slowly but surely yet the downtown is still littered with vacant lots and boarded up buildings. Cathedral square the heart of the city is a building zone and the iconic cathedral is still in ruins.   They plan on starting  to rebuild it this year at last. The city is still beautiful and portable and permanent buildings have popped up in the last few years but the impact is still heavy. In 2011 Christchurch was the second largest city in NZ. It’s now slipped to third as many people and jobs moved elsewhere. I still loved it ..it’s vibrant with lots of funky cafes and great shopping. I stayed in a hotel that once was the Christchurch Council building and survived the quake unscathed while the cathedral next door collapsed.  I loved the resilient feeling in the city and hope to come back when it’s fully rebuilt.   One particularly poignant place was the memorial to the victims of the quake. 185 small crosses next to the river.