Samstag, 24. Dezember 2011

Pictures: Trip to Canberra - Hauptstadtbesuch

Wollongong from above
 Australian War Memorial




ship's propeller



national hero and his donkey, which he saved wounded with

inside the memorial

somehow this guy reminded me of childhood and I have no idea why

kids leaving poppy seed flowers at the memorial's walls

sky over Canberra

I loooove the colour changing option on my cam
 Canberra's surroundings
 I

 II
 National Museum of Australia





Sonntag, 11. Dezember 2011

Sydney - Pictures of the Big Smoke

Sydney Harbour Bridge and Surroundings



Bondi Beach
 

Sydney - more than first impressions

Hallo in die Runde,

Again, I'm feeling incredibly bad and ashamed I've neglected this blog for such a long time. No excuses so straight to business.

What shall I say? Sydney - it's a city, a real one. And a beautiful one too. As much as I liked Perth's beaches, they bored me to tears after one and a half years spent at the Indian Ocean. Everything's different here. I have to admit the ocean (this time the Pacific) is not as half as nice but the rest of the city is just amazing.

The city is built around the Sydney Harbour, as far as I'm concerned one of the biggest and nicest natural harbours in the world. The water is turquoise and picturesque little boats are set on it to please the eye :-) Going by ferry is actually a real mode of transport here. I just remember the small ferry in Baume which no one ever seemed to use. That's different here. And I tell you there is no better way  to start your day than with a ride to work or school by ferry. No matter how tired you are or how bad the headache from yesterday's last beer ... everything just vanishes on one of the vessels.

The neighbourhood where we reside is not too far away from the CBD and every morning I can watch people on their way to work doing things which still amaze me. There are the sporty fellows who run to work: half naked with their business suits in dry cleaning plastic bags in one hand and the omnipresent I-Phone in the other. On their back a backpack with all the other essentials for the day.

Then we have the half sporty ladies already dressed up in their business chic but with running shoes on their feet to fight the steep hills which North Sydney comes with.

The others who are not as enthusiastic about getting sweaty in the morning share my bus or the ferry, many of them still adding the final touch to their make up while riding bus or ferry. Waiting for the bus is different here and you can tell that there definitely is English descent. You have to queue up in sometimes ridiculously long lines (around the actual bus stop) in order to wait for the bus. By the way, weather does not give you an excuse to step out of the line to find shelter in the bus stop house ... hmpfh!

Actually one has to queue everywhere, for everything. Almost. Somehow there hasn't been found a rule for boarding and alighting trains. There's always a handful of people standing on the platform right in front of the doors so you can't step out of the train. Argh! If you are lucky these guys try to jump aboard before you've even left. ARGH! I have to admit that those platform anarchists are mostly middle-aged who obviously don't know strict queuing rules from their home countries either. Refreshing in the queuing jungle but also the cherry on top of the stress pie :-)

By the way people dress different in the eastern states. Here you share public transport almost exclusively with either kids in their fancy school uniforms or business people in their fancy business dresses. Secretaries, PAs and other "lower employees" can be distinguished only by either the enormous heights of their heels or the fact that they are wearing thongs.

Over the last weeks I could observe the visitors of one or the other company Christmas party. OMG! European Christmas parties start with getting rid of the several layers  you've chosen to save you from the blistering cold. Here girls come half naked, with dresses that only sparely cover their boobs or bottoms. To make the whole outfit even more adventurous it's combined with high heels of ridiculous heights and one or the other alcoholic beverage too much. :-) How can you not love Australia?

As B and I are living in a rather leafy neighbourhood we also neighbour heaps of birds and they are even noisier than the little fellows in Palmyra. After a wild mating season we now have heaps of very young birds around demanding their parents to bring on more food pronto. It gets pretty annoying in the mornings but I lost my heart to rainbow loris which even come to our window to claim their share of fruit salad. TRUE STORY and pics are posted below.

Well well, my first blog in English. I'm proud although I have to admit the next one is most likely to be in German again. There are so many more things to tell. Anyway, the weather is nice (after weeks of constant cold and rain) so I want to get out of the house.

A lovely day to everyone and if I won't find time or motivation to update the blog before Christmas a HAPPY CHRISTMAS to everyone! :-)

Cheers
Tina