Sydney Day 4 - Bondi Beach, The Rocks, and Flashing Christmas Trees (Australia Part 32)

Australians have their own taste when it comes to Christmas trees. Presumably due to the lack of real fir trees that would not last long in this climate, artificial trees are most commonly found. These are then adorned with as many baubles as possible and a flashing string of lights, without the need for everything to necessarily match. During breakfast, we observed the inspection of the Christmas tree decorated by the bartender by the boss (who is important because he wears a suit). A branch or two was still adjusted, which sometimes resulted in the bauble falling off. The selection of the Christmas tree top was particularly problematic. We only saw it in the evening - we didn't have breakfast for that long.

We then took the bus to Hyde Park, which has the same name as the one in London but is much smaller.

We visited the Catholic Cathedral of St. Mary's Cathedral and wandered through the shopping streets before our bus took us to Bondi Beach.

This city beach in Sydney is one of the most famous beaches in Australia and popular with surfers. We didn't see any of them, but there were definitely high waves.

After a short walk along the coast, we returned to the northern part of the city.

We took a guided tour of "The Rocks" neighborhood, which used to be one of the worst areas in Sydney. Today, it is a rather exclusive location, and instead of opium dens and criminals, you will find everything that a tourist desires.

From there, it was not far to the Harbour Bridge, where we walked to the middle on foot to get a view of the Sydney Opera House and the city skyline.

We had an even better view from the "Tower Eye," the tallest building in the city with an observation deck.

We also met Santa Claus there, who was on vacation in Australia wearing shorts and a Hawaiian shirt, and he posed for a photo with us.

We strolled through the shopping centers in the city center and admired the colorful and glittering Christmas decorations on display there.

In the evening, there were performances by various choirs in the city center. At Martin Place, we listened to a choir under the huge Christmas tree with plastic flowers and colorful baubles. There was no mulled wine, but there was iced chocolate, which was a different experience to listen to Christmas songs without a jacket and without freezing.

Afterwards, there was a light show where the Christmas tree blinked in all (un)possible colors.