If one asks you what country is described, what would your answer be? This English speaking island nation is ruled by a monarchy that once dominated most of the world. Tea, preferably black tea, is consumed by everybody and anywhere at any time. The traditional diet contains chicken casseroles, meat pie, beef cobblers and, for breakfast, bacon and eggs. The majority of the most visited bars provide customers with at least one pool table and dart board and pints are served here preferably with as little “head” as possible. Lush green hills dominate the scenery, often, although less than before, covered with herds of sheep. Not so much seen in the rest of the world, here many sinks are decorated with two tabs, one for hot and one for cold water – I still don’t understand why. In any medium sized town one can find a croquet field, for once pronounced in the French way, or at least something similar to it. Not far from that there will be a squash hall and a bowls field, you know, petanque, as the French call it, but then played with larger balls and on a lawn instead of a gravel lane. Above all the country shares an intense passion for rugby. Cars drive on the wrong side of the road although the inhabitants of this country will desperately defend their driving and cop cars have a dark blue and fluorescing yellow patted pattern on the sides. This same pattern comes back on their traditional, some say rather old fashioned, hats. Fish and chips is available on one corner of any street and presented in three layers of wrapping paper. On the other corner you can buy curry. Last but not least, it is considered completely normal to ask for a newspaper (!!!!!) in the supermarket to keep your refrigerated and just purchased products “fresh” and cold. No I am not talking about England, the United Kingdom or Great Britain. I am talking about New Zealand. Apart from the magnificent scenery, the better climate, the accent, the rather short human history and the fact that Christmas falls in summer and not in winter, New Zealand is basically the same as it’s big brother England. If New Zealand was not discovered and named by the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman it would even have made sense to call New Zealand New Devon or New Sussex, because besides the amount of islands New Zealand does not resemble “Old” Zeeland is a single way.