Day 50 - The Storm

02/23/14

The time has come. The last day on Australian soil has begun. So it's time to pack our backpacks and say goodbye to Australia. But our flight is not until 9 PM in the evening. So we can spend another day in Brisbane.

Therefore, we pack our belongings in such a way that we can leave our luggage at the hotel and only take a small backpack for the day. We will stop by the hotel again before going to the airport. At 8:30, there is a knock on the door and our breakfast arrives. Since the boutique hotel does not have a dining area, we had to specify what we would like to have today the day before. We enjoy toast and croissants at our standing bar and finish the rest of our Nutinos from the Vicky period. Now we are ready and check out with the exception of our bags.

First, we take the train from Fortitude Valley to Central Station - it's only one stop, but about 2km. We have already gotten on and off there multiple times, so we know our way around. Our destination is the Queens Street with some shops. We don't do much shopping - only Marco buys a new cap. Then this shopping trip is over. We continue to South Bank and the water landscape there that we saw yesterday. Despite the clouds, it is still warm.

After a walk of a few minutes, we arrive and settle down in the shade by the pool. The whole area is public and free. We relax and take a dip in the water when it gets hot. After drying off quickly, we head to the cozy SouthBeach restaurant for a coffee and chai tea. After that, we actually want to lie on the city beach again, but the clouds start to drop some raindrops. We decide to start heading back to the hotel. But we only make it more than 200m before the clouds break and it starts pouring down. We quickly look for shelter. Lightning and thunder are just a second away. Hello thunderstorm...

After 20 minutes, it gets worse and we try to get to the nearest metro station. Before we start walking, we take off our shirts and cover the backpack with a towel. When we arrive at the station, we are already wet for the first time. The second time is from our final stop to the hotel. When we arrive there, we make the small lobby a bit wet. But the receptionist is very understanding and takes a picture of us before we venture out into the storm again with all the luggage. Even now, we are only wearing swimming trunks, the backpack protected by a towel, and flip-flops running through ankle-deep water on the street. At the train station, we put on our shirts again and leave for the airport 1 hour earlier than planned. Before check-in, we change into dry clothes and repack our bags.

Soon, we can check-in our luggage and go through the security check. We use the time until boarding for a small snack. And soon enough, the 14-hour flight begins. Now it's definitely 'Goodbye Australia'!