Sydney - Saw a lot despite poor planning

Now I can officially reveal it: I made a really dumb mistake at the beginning of my trip planning. For some reason, due to the time difference, I assumed I would arrive in Sydney one day earlier... As a result, I only had one day to explore Sydney because the flight to Alice Springs was already scheduled for the next day. Luckily, I arrived early and booked a room at the airport hotel, so I was able to start my 'extreme sightseeing' at 8:00 am. Looking back, I can say that I saw almost everything that was important to me.

Sydney is truly a beautiful and vibrant city. It is very hilly and consists of many bays. If I had more time, I would have taken one of the numerous ferries to explore Sydney from the water. However, I chose to make use of the short time I had by taking a hop-on/hop-off bus to see the highlights of Sydney. I was surprised to see how many beautiful old buildings and streets there are. In the background, you can always see the modern skyscrapers, but they don't really bother. There are many parks, the Botanical Garden, and the harbor area is filled with life. The highlight for me, as probably for all tourists, is the area around 'Circular Quay' (where I also got caught without a ticket...). When you arrive there, you immediately see the two main attractions, the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House. Ferries come and go every minute, and there are plenty of cafes, but also quiet places to relax. Throughout the city, you can see interesting and funny sculptures, but the funniest one for me was a skyscraper covered in plants. It's also called the tallest vertical garden in the world. I didn't remember how many different plants there were, but there are supposed to be thousands. The whole thing is irrigated only with rainwater collected on the roof and a sophisticated system that reaches every plant.

The city tour also took me to the famous Bondi Beach. A beautiful bay with white sand and nice waves, ideal for surfing. There were also many surfers in the water, and there are plenty of cafes around as well.

How can you spot non-Australian tourists in Sydney? You have to constantly dodge because Australians not only drive on the left but also walk on the left. Whether on escalators or on the street, you have to zigzag all the time to avoid colliding with oncoming pedestrians...

In the evening, I returned to the airport hotel with many beautiful impressions and a valid ticket. The train there partially runs above ground and partially underground, and it consists of double-decker trains. It was quite strange to see the first double-decker subway train pulling into the station. I had never seen that before.