G'day Mates! 🙃

After one week (yes - a full five days!!) of rain, the second weekend here Down Under finally showed sunshine! 🥳
That meant beach time (Manly Beach - which will also become my home for the last work week 🤩) and outdoor exercise. (Everyone here is super sporty and has an extreme body culture - it's all about keeping up 😅) My first bootcamp in Australia was a Hyrox training and I almost died 😅🤭

Of course, there was also a bit of sightseeing involved, including an evening walking tour through 'The Rocks' district, the birthplace of modern Sydney. The first houses and businesses were built by prisoners here. They were part of the British penal colony that was established in Sydney in 1788 to create the first permanent European settlement on the Australian continent. They came to Australia with the so-called First Fleet. Even today, 10-20% of the population in Sydney is 'of convict heritage'.

In this district, you can also find the oldest pub in Sydney. There are three pubs that claim this title: 

• The Fortune of War - they say they have the oldest bar license
• Lord Nelson - they say they are in the oldest building
• Waterloo - they say they are in the oldest 'bar building'

The guide said: 'Who knows what's true. But the beer tastes good in all places, so who cares.' I agree 🤭

This weekend also included the second coastal walk from North Bondi to Watson Bay. Quite different in landscape - steep cliffs and little beach... but unfortunately the temperatures are not yet suitable for swimming. 

And today, Sunday, I visited the Blue Mountains (UNESCO World Heritage Site). An impressive landscape with steep rock walls, waterfalls, and (rain/eucalyptus) forest as far as the eye can see. The forests release essential oils that, combined with dust particles and water vapor, form a bluish haze in the atmosphere. This makes the mountains appear with a blue shimmer from afar, giving the region its name. 

In the meantime, I have also completed my second week of work. The colleagues are super nice, and I can learn a lot here. I'm involved in a variety of meetings and arrange 1:1 meetings with as many colleagues as possible from the 'digital teams' and ask a lot of questions. Australia is the 'digital lighthouse' of Allianz - so I will come back enlightened 😅😁

I am already looking forward to the upcoming work week and hopefully next weekend I will stand at the surfboard for the first time in Australia. So stay tuned 🤗

Cheers,
Lisa

PS: Did you know that Google Maps originated in Australia?! 'Where 2 Technologies' was a Sydney-based company founded in 2003 by the Rasmussen brothers and the Australian innovators Noel Gordon and Stephen Ma, which developed the foundational technology for Google Maps. The mapping platform was acquired by Google in 2004, leading to the launch of Google Maps in 2005. 💡