Merry Christmas (whether one wants it or not) and more in Sydney

Our morning activity was accompanied by a cloudy sky. Although there were glimpses of blue sky at the beginning in small patches, the gray prevailed. We were not surprised, as today had already been announced the day before.

So we started our program with a walk to Customs House, the former customs authority. Today it is a museum, a business building, and an event venue as well as a tourist information center. On the ground floor, there is a replica of the city of Sydney under a glass panel. Quite interesting, however, the glass is too scratched and dirty, so while you can see through it quite well, taking pictures is difficult, and the reflections in the glass are distracting...

We continued through the streets, familiarizing ourselves with the pre-Christmas decorations. In the city, you cannot avoid dealing with the decorations. In various squares and in the lobbies of the large buildings, there are huge Christmas trees that catch the eye with their colorful lights.

What stands out to us is that many people are already having lunch, despite it being somewhere between 10 and 11 o’clock. We have the impression, also from our last walk through the city, that people are always eating here... Lucky Sydneysiders... :-)

We especially enjoy the combination of architecture: old buildings in Victorian style and modern architecture. There’s always something to see!

We move on to the Queen Victoria Building, the QVB of Sydney. A large mall that houses many high-end shops. You won’t find any major clothing brands or sports manufacturers here... But we also notice that there seem to be more restaurants and cafes than “normal” shops...

However, the building is a real eye-catcher on the inside. Beautifully preserved older architecture with stunning tiled floors and shops that have also designed and furnished themselves in the style of the building. The building is listed as a historic site and comes from the 19th century. The name was given to the building in memory of Queen Victoria and her diamond jubilee. However, the Queen was not asked for permission, as otherwise, it would have had to be adorned with royal insignia...

But all of this is relatively irrelevant to us. It was nice here, even if everything is expensive. We had discovered a cafe called Cafe Vienna that directly reminded us of Cafe Wien in Playa (not because it was as upscale as this one, but the cake looked similarly delicious). We took a glance at the menu lying on the tables and the prices and spontaneously decided to skip coffee and cake...

We then moved on to St. James Church, then to St. Andrews Church, and later ended up in Hyde Park. Another part of English culture that you keep finding here. Be it street names or churches.

By now it has become quite warm and humid, even though the sun is shining very reluctantly.

Hyde Park is beautifully laid out, with grassy areas, bubbling fountains, and beautiful plants. Only the size certainly differs from the English counterpart - the Hyde Park here is much smaller than the English original (although I don’t know which park came first... ???).

We take a break here with a cola and a chocolate bar. We don’t have cookies with us; there will be some in the afternoon when we come back...

We conclude our day trip on the steps in front of the opera house, watching the hustle and bustle along the promenade and around the opera.

As the sky gets a bit grayer and because we don’t want to walk back to our accommodation in pouring rain again, we set off on our way back early enough. A short time later, it started to rain. But this time we were already in dry conditions...