18.01.2018 - Melbourne

That really was the last day and it was a blast. Since our flight from Auckland to Melbourne was early in the morning, the alarm clock rang just after 3am. As there is a 2-hour time difference between Auckland and Melbourne, we landed at 8:00am local time in Melbourne. After an intense and repeated security check and storing the suitcases at the airport, we took the Skybus to the city. Fortunately, there is also an i-site here, like there is in every city in New Zealand, where we could initially get information about the sightseeing options. For the first time on this trip, neither Birgit nor I had previously found out anything about the city. But with a few questions at the i-site and also at the tram stops, everything was completely problem-free.

First, we looked for a pleasant and less noisy place for breakfast. We found that at the Queen Victoria Market. A quick stroll through the market halls and then a ride on tram 35 on the inner circle through the city. The tram network is the largest in the world and is even free in the inner circle. So you can comfortably use the tram for hop-on/hop-off sightseeing.

The photos show that we really bravely explored the city center until the afternoon. Then the heat with almost 40°C became quite intense. So we settled down at the Docklands with cool drinks and enjoyed the view of the water.

Meanwhile, we are back at the airport because we depart in 1 hour towards Düsseldorf with a stopover in Abu Dhabi. At the check-in, we had a very friendly employee from Ethihad. Kenny got us a free middle seat on both flights, so we are quite comfortable in economy class. Maybe because we have staff tickets? In any case, many thanks to Kenny!

In the meantime, after only a few hours of sleep, we've been on our feet for over 20 hours. Birgit has never had such an early and long "birthday".

Now another 24 hours of flight and then we'll be home again. We're curious if Storm Friederike will allow us to land in Düsseldorf.

After a 3-hour stopover in Abu Dhabi, we continued on time to Düsseldorf, where we also landed on time on Friday afternoon, almost well-rested. We didn't have to wait long for the train connection and we were back home in no time.