Living with the Christchurch Earthquake

I've been down to Christchurch a lot for work and pleasure over the last year.  Its a city still dealing with frequent aftershocks but it seems to have a real buzz too.  On my last trip I visited the Container City.  I was pleasantly delighted.  The area was alive and vibrant.  They've really created a wonderful atmosphere and provided funky and fun shops.  Beautiful and bright flowers are dotted here and there.

But there's still evidence of the mountain that the city had to climb.  I visited the old main square (Cathedral Square) and gazed in abandoned windows and looked at fallen buildings.  It was heart breaking and fascinating at the same time.  I still can't get my head around how close all this was to the bright and welcoming container city.

Myself and my friend walked with a throng of people on the last day the square was open and parts of it were very somber.  Demolition is ongoing but a number of buildings are waiting the demolition crews. 

Coming out of the square and the walk, the vibrant flowers were a much needed tonic.  I was only an infrequent visitor to Christchurch so I found it hard to picture much of the affected area as it was.  But it still had a very sobering impact.  I wanted to leave you all on the same positive and vibrant note.