'Seriously, fuck off'

This quote is intended as a demonstration of the rough tone that prevails on Sydney's streets. The above was the harsh reaction of a Sydneysider to an approaching fundraiser, who actually wanted to steal a few seconds of his scarce time!

Of course, this was only a very exaggerated incident on my part! And the tone on Sydney's streets is anything but rough! On the contrary, the people of Sydney are very elegant and pleasant city dwellers, almost cozy (probably due to the good weather... and the great location). Unless, of course... it's nighttime! Then the pubs and clubs in the 'City of Celebration' fill up and the whole city turns into a sea of ​​miniskirts. Then it can also get a bit rough (I even saw a girl who had obviously had one too many drinks and simply squatted on the street to attend to a natural need...).

On 'New Year's Eve' they went a step further! The world-famous fireworks attract around 1 million visitors from all over the world to the city every year. Which means - 2 million elbows more! And these were used according to Darwin's principle of survival of the fittest, as desired (if you've ever been squeezed between hundreds of people all trying to squeeze through a tiny opening at the same time, you know what I mean)! The unanimous conclusion of the evening was in any case: once and never again! We could well understand why Jacqueline (a friend of Richard's parents who has been living in Sydney for several years) avoids this hustle and bustle year after year.

We also tried our luck at the famous Circular Quay, from which one is said to have the best view of the fireworks - but in vain! To secure a good spot here, you probably have to set up your tent in the early morning hours... Finally, after a short ride on the subway between two buildings, we found a small gap where a manageable crowd had gathered - lucky us! From here we had a good view of the skyline without becoming victims of a panic. Then the time had finally come and we could watch as several million dollars were blown away in the air or poured down on the city like a golden rain - that was quite nice to look at! So 'happy new year' turned into 'stressful new year' with a few worthwhile side effects (the fireworks were really awesome). Nevertheless, it was really interesting to see so much concentrated craving for sensation and so much human selfishness in one place...

Oh and if you're wondering why I suddenly started talking about Jacqueline and Richard's parents... one reason why we undertook the long and arduous (and indeed arduous, see previous blog post) journey to 'Aussiland' was to finally see Richard's parents again (and without a computer frame and completely unblurred), who were just finishing their trip to Australia. Added to this was Richard's Dad's birthday - which we celebrated fittingly with lots of beer and good food in the most expensive area! Just to give you an idea of the prices: a glass of beer costs eight dollars here, a burger costs over 20! The high prices for beer in Australia, as in New Zealand, are nothing unusual. Desperate measures to limit high alcohol consumption. But in vain - people still buy the stuff anyway! Anyway, Sydney must take the crown for prices when it comes to prices! We noticed this at the airport, when we had just set foot on Australian soil and our first five Australian dollars (due to a hunger attack on my part) went for a small muffin. It is also dangerous how quickly you get used to these prices and suddenly find a scoop of ice cream for 5 dollars cheap...

A wise man once said, when you come to a new city, you should definitely get lost first - that's the only way to truly get to know a city.

More important than rushing from one tourist spot to the next and taking hundreds of photos of all the possible landmarks, it is to stroll through the streets and gather impressions, sounds, and smells. To develop a feeling for the city. That's how I got to know Sydney as a calm (but still incredibly lively), clean (but not sterile!), chic, elegant, colorful, modern, historic, and international city. And somehow there was also a lot of vacation feeling in the air, which probably had to do with the sea and the good weather, but also with the many vacationers themselves, who walked along the waterfront in light summer clothing...

Of course, we also took a walk across the famous Harbour Bridge (in its ugly blue suit and with a safety harness over the arch: about 200$, just walking across the bridge normally: free... it's probably not hard to guess what we did) and also paid a visit to the famous Opera House, which is not as white as one might think (otherwise the 3D effect would be lost, as we later learned on a tour). We also admired, among other things, the Christmas tree covered with Swarovski crystals in the Queen Victoria Building (a department store in the style of Victorian neo-romanticism - according to Wikipedia), visited various gardens (including the Chinese Garden Of Friendship - a small green oasis of peace in the midst of high-rise buildings), watched surfers at Manly Beach, were disgusted by dead and living giant spiders in the Australian Museum, and ate! A LOT! And all sponsored by Richard's parents (thanks again). So, among other things, we consumed the most expensive fish & chips of our lives and Richard got to enjoy kangaroo steak for the first time.

One of my absolute highlights, however, was the ferry ride through the harbor district and on the Parramatta River, which cheekily made a kind of rift in the city. The ferry serves as a kind of water bus (indispensable in a city with so much water) and small ferry docks serve as bus stops. The scenery with all the small bays and boats and the skyline in the background is simply breathtaking - especially in the evening when everything is illuminated in a rich pink by the setting sun. In addition, we got all of this for a mere $2.50, because Sunday is Super-Duper-Savings Day (the name is made up... don't be surprised, I'm really very tired...) and all means of transportation could be paid for once with $2.50.

My second little highlight was the evening walk through our neighborhood Glebe (a quiet neighborhood about an hour's walk from the city center, lined with second-hand shops and cozy cafes/restaurants), eating burgers, and then having a drink at 'Thievery' (or Den of Thieves). The little pub was only dimly lit and open towards the street, small gemstones were hidden in the wall, and little thieving references were scribbled in the menu. In the end, the bill was served in an old book. That was really stylish.

As fate always strives for a balance of good and not so good experiences, it was time again for something really 'not so good' to happen - namely, Richard's phone (and with it our only way of taking decent pictures) fell down (I have to confess my guilt here). Diagnosis: traumatic brain injury. But there is still a chance for improvement... It's strange that it survived all my daring photo experiments on the Harbour Bridge and was lost while simply trying to take a picture of a house... Fortunately, we temporarily got Richard's mom's phone and can still take pictures.

Currently, we are in the Bay of Plenty, helping Cathy and Bernie with their small farm (or their 'lifestyle block') and their gardening, which they make a living from. We live in our own little apartment and the fridge is filled with goodies (there's even no shortage of beer... very unusual for us). Just to give you an idea of the two, here's a little incident that happened at the dinner table:

Cathy: 'I want a horse.'

Bernie: 'Then I want a new rifle.'

Cathy: 'You already have five!'

Bernie: 'So what? Five are not enough, I need a sixth.'

...

Of course, this should be read with a twinkle in the eye, because the two of them are really funny and nice!

But we'll talk about that another time...

Cheers,

Richi&Maggi, Wednesday 11.01.2017, near Katikati/Bay of Plenty 10:14 a.m. (I actually managed to write this blog post over three days...)

P.S.: More pictures will follow later ;)