Melbourne

29/01/22 - 01/01/23:
Arrived in Melbourne - the flight from Sri Lanka was surprisingly fast. At the airport, I wanted to check if my luggage had arrived and my AirTag was last synchronized in Colombo the night before - great. But after some waiting, my backpack was luckily on the luggage carousel. Immigration was also very fast and trouble-free. I went into the city by Skybus. At Southern Cross, I had to transfer to the tram. The system was very easy, very similar to the underground network in London. So I already knew my way around. Once I arrived at the accommodation, I put down my things, changed clothes, and went in search of food. So off to the city center of Melbourne. The accommodation is in East Richmond (about 1.7km to the city center) with a huge park and beautiful old houses.
The city center is definitely worth seeing, with beautiful side streets and well-preserved old buildings in front of the skyline.
The next day, I took a Free Walking Tour - highly recommended! The guide told us a lot about the history of Melbourne and gave some tips for traveling in and around Melbourne.
Afterwards, I went to St. Kilda, where I sat on the promenade and watched people and dogs. Then I took the tram to South Wharf (near the harbor). That day, I walked over 23km.
On 31/12, I took the train to Brighton, the journey takes about 40 minutes. When I arrived, I was rewarded with a great view of the sea. Since I really wanted to see the famous beach houses, I walked along the beach and looked at the colorful houses. Unfortunately, it was very crowded, so I couldn't take many photos, but it's definitely worth seeing. After a short break on the beach, I continued towards Melbourne. I had a good view of the skyline and could enjoy the sound of the waves and the nature around me. In the evening, it was New Year's Eve. I met two women from Berlin on the walking tour and we arranged to meet in a park in the evening. At 10 PM, there was a pre-firework show for children, and then we found another spot and counted down the hours, minutes, and seconds until midnight. Among other things, because we were tired and wanted to go to bed 😀 but also because it was just an "early" New Year's Eve on the other side of the world. Everywhere in Melbourne, friends and families gathered and ate and waited. One thing to note: in Melbourne and Sydney, you are not allowed to drink alcohol outside, otherwise fines can be imposed. However, before midnight, you could hear the occasional bottle of champagne popping. It was pretty cool to count down the New Year with so many people. The fireworks took place all around Melbourne, no matter which direction I turned, I could see fireworks everywhere.
Today (on 01/01/23), I will be taking a rental car to the Great Ocean Road - stay tuned 😉