Down Under - Sydney

The vocabulary does not reach superlatives to describe this city. It is truly beautiful wherever you look. I had a certain skepticism as to whether the enthusiasm for Sydney in every report or travel guide and the ranking as one of the top tourist destinations might be more beautiful appearance than reality. But even though Sydney challenged us to fall in love with this city, no one could resist its charm and beauty. Because when we arrived, the weather was the worst you could imagine for summer in Australia: only 20 degrees Celsius and heavy rain showers. Upon arrival, I could only see the Harbour Bridge wrapped in clouds and unfortunately only faint contours of the famous Opera House. We were all very disappointed because everyone had the typical image of a sunny Sydney in mind and we knew that just two weeks ago it was 38 degrees. Someone said we were in the wrong city, and he was not wrong. Everyone felt that way. In addition, we couldn't dock in the harbor because the Queen Mary 2 had arrived earlier, so we had to tender until the evening after the Mary's departure, when QE finally got the nicer berth right next to the Harbour Bridge.

So a very problematic, wet and gloomy start, but Sydney showed its true face towards the end of the day and especially the next day: a fantastic view of a natural harbor with the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge, the slightly hilly coastal sections, wonderful beaches like Bondi and Manly Beach, an interesting city center with historical buildings, a modern financial district, and wonderful parks extending from the harbor deep into the city, first the Botanic Gardens and then blending into Hyde Park. Every view is spectacular, always looking out onto the water and the harbor that frames the city. There are 4.3 million Sydneysiders living here, that's what the residents are called, but it didn't seem overcrowded and hectic like other comparable metropolises. The city offers interesting and beautiful shopping arcades, some in historical buildings, 115 museums and 75 theaters, so entertainment and above all relaxation in the many parks in the form of picnics, sports, and relaxing – in other words, a high quality of life.

On the unfortunately very rainy ride through the very sprawling city, I also went to the famous Bondi Beach, where in this weather the waves were very high and the heavy rain didn't seem to bother the surfers as they glided acrobatically on their boards onto the beach. I tried to take a photo, but even with rain gear, I got soaking wet in just 2 minutes and gave up my project of taking interesting photos to avoid ruining my camera. Instead, the next day and already in the evening, I was able to take good photos, especially of course of the Opera House, the landmark of Sydney.

The tour of the building was very impressive because when you get closer, you can see that the roof consists of many yellowish-white tiles that appear completely white in the sunlight. The idea for this construction was conceived by the Dane Jørn Utzon in 1959, and it won the competition. The then Governor wanted a landmark to identify the very young, only 200-year-old nation, and he had in mind not so much the function of a building, but rather a sculpture. Utzon realized this with his roof, which is supposed to represent sails or, more abstractly, something flowing on the water. Similar to the Elbe Philharmonic Hall, the implementation was not clear, it increasingly led to controversial discussions and increased construction costs, which led to the architect giving up the project or being indirectly forced to do so. The Opera House was only opened by the British Queen in 1973, the architect never visited the building again and was also not present at the opening. Only his son participated in the 10-year interior design. Utzon was honored internationally, but never in Australia itself. Truly a tragic story.

The beauty of the shape is not equally reflected in the interior design. The building materials of the 60s and 70s, mainly concrete, dominate, although there are some wooden panelings, but it still looks quite dark. Only the concert hall in three of the sails forms a building that looks quite beautiful inside with wood and now very good acoustics. The opera house itself is very narrow in the stage area because it had to fit into only two sail shapes. This means that there is hardly any space for stage sets, and the productions are limited to 4 operas per quarter, after which the ballet moves in for 3 months when the sets are stored elsewhere. So it's quite different from us.

I was able to experience the Opera House in action in the evening, which gave a different impression: the indirect light made the concrete appear less gray and cold than in the morning. But there are a few peculiarities: the orchestra sits almost underground in the pit, mostly below the stage, and I was surprised that it works acoustically. Then there is a net stretched over the musicians, so they sit like in a cage and can hardly be seen. The reason: a dancer once fell into the orchestra pit, but it was unspectacular. However, the second accident led to the net, which was more amusing: in one production, there were 5 live chickens on stage, one of them fell into the pit onto a musician. He took the chicken and threw it back onto the stage, but in doing so he hit the soprano, so the performance had to be interrupted. "Down under" can be rough, even in the opera.

I liked the performance of "La Traviata", good cast, acoustically fine as well, although that is still being criticized at the Opera House. However, the stage set was very traditional, almost a bit plush with attention to detail, which we are not used to in our productions anymore. I especially enjoyed the two breaks in the foyer, or rather the lookout, with a view of the Harbour Bridge and the many illuminated ships in the harbor. That was truly spectacular. The audience was very enthusiastic and applauded enthusiastically, but compared to our theater and opera audience in Germany, they were dressed very casually. The men in suits stood out and were almost exclusively passengers of the QE. The very casual attire is also noticeable on board the ship, after 800 Australians came on board. In the evenings, the restaurant's "Maitre" already has a hard time convincing people in shorts and flip-flops to change clothes. He always says very charmingly that they would have "lost their way".

On the second day, I first took photos from the ship after having breakfast with a view of the Opera House. That was really close by, and after a short walk there, I visited the beautiful botanical garden, which is actually more like a huge park and in the middle offers gardens for Asian plants, palm trees, or herbs. In the middle is also the official residence of the Governor of Sydney, who does not live there permanently. It was built by the same architect who also built Buckingham Palace in London. You can see significant similarities. Birds run and fly around everywhere in the parks, especially the rather cheeky kiwis. They are like pigeons or seagulls with us and only lurk for food, sometimes sitting on garbage cans or on the tables in the cafes (see photo, they both have the same idea: food!). With the ever-changing view of the bays, I took nice breaks in the Botanic Gardens and couldn't imagine that I was in the middle of a 4-million-city.

Since it was Sunday, I spent the second part of the day in Sydney's oldest district, "The Rocks", because on weekends, the many small shops in the former warehouses were open and offered a lot of interesting things. The district is really located on a small rock with sloping streets and stairs. In addition, there were street cafes and pubs in the small alleys, as well as market stalls with street food and all sorts of things. It reminded me a bit of Covent Garden in London. The district also leads directly to the Harbour Bridge, the other landmark of the city, which connects the two sides of the harbor bay - for cars, trains, and pedestrians alike. The bridge, opened in 1932, was the longest arch bridge at the time with 503 meters. The very brave could also walk in a column tethered across the upper part of the bridge, but that is quite expensive and you are not allowed to bring objects such as a camera because they could fall down and injure people on the street below. There is another one of the many green spaces, where people eat or simply rest on the grass, of course again with the beautiful view of the city. I then met a few nice people from the ship because by now you get to know the group of world travelers quite well, and we treated ourselves to a drink in the oldest pub in the city and skipped the obligatory lifeboat drill, which every passenger has to attend every 27 days, and enjoyed the last hour until everyone had to be back on board for departure. The ship has become a second home and it's always great when you're through the strict security checks at the entrance and "back home".

I already regretted saying goodbye to Sydney a little because the city offers so much, so coming back is a must.

Best regards to all of you!

Eva