Sydney

Yesterday I felt thrown into the city - today Sydney has me under its spell. What a city - big. loud, lots of people and even more cars, but somehow also relaxed. No rush, no stress.

I want to walk around Sydney, but also do a hop on hop off tour.

Last night I looked through my travel guide and marked all the attractions mentioned there on my city map. I set off on foot to the harbor, 2.5km through the city center, to buy my bus ticket there. Google Maps says it will take me 30 minutes to get there. But I have the feeling that I'm not getting there at all. There is so much to see along the way: Town Hall, Queen Victoria Building, The Strand Arcade... Here too (like in Brisbane) there are many old, small buildings right next to huge, modern high-rise buildings. But somehow it fits here.

Sydney seems the most English to me so far. There is an OxfordStreet, LiverpoolStreet... and also a Hyde Park. The royal family is also very well represented: QueenStreet, KingsStreet... Queen Victoria has her own building - a pretty old department store. There are shops in there where you won't find a single price tag on display. But the names of the shops all sound very expensive.

When I arrive at the port, I first take the bus for a ride. I always do it like this on the hop on hop off buses: I ride the whole trip, listen to everything and don't get off in between. Then I decide what else I want to see. Today I have the city tour, tomorrow I'll do the beach tour.

After the bus tour, the first thing to do is go to the old town district "The Rocks", although the district is an exaggeration, it's only a few streets. The oldest house in Sydney is also located here. There are many small shops in the district that sell everything you might or might not need as a tourist. So far I've held back a lot when it comes to buying souvenirs - I already have a heavy bag 😅. But I can't walk past a small gallery. There are a lot of small paintings/prints from Sydney in the display. One thing that catches my eye is the opera house and the Harbor Bridge behind it. I briefly consider whether I can get this painting safely to Germany and decide that it will work. Bought paintings!

Then we go to the botanical garden, which is also located in the harbor. On a headland you have the famous view of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge. I'm standing there looking at these two and somehow still can't believe I'm really here. I've been in the country for 4 weeks now and I still find it so unreal! But I'm standing here and looking at the opera and the bridge! I don't wake up - so it must be true: I'm in Australia!!!