Melbourne - also a great city, but only at second glance

Before I set off for the final leg of my trip to Melbourne, I visited the Twelve Apostles again shortly after sunrise. The weather had been a bit mixed the previous day, but it was supposed to be nice again the next day. Plus, the Twelve Apostles were only 10 kilometers away from my accommodation. And I didn't regret going there again. There were hardly any people and it was a magical atmosphere. You might be able to see a bit of that in the pictures.

After that, I drove directly 315 kilometers back to Melbourne from the Great Ocean Road. There, around noon, I was able to return the third rental car without any accidents or damage, after a total of 700 kilometers.

So now I had a day and a half to explore Melbourne. At first glance and on the first day, I found Melbourne very hectic and bustling. That's maybe not surprising for a city with 4.4 million inhabitants. Melbourne is growing rapidly and has no natural boundaries, like rivers or mountains, to expand. Already, the city covers 6,100 square kilometers (for comparison, Hamburg or Berlin both cover about 800 square kilometers). And yet, in Melbourne, like in other cities, most of the sights are spread around the city center and easily walkable. But there is also a free tram that goes around the city center in a loop, so you have short distances to the attractions.

There are many old buildings, which often look like toy houses because there are huge buildings all around them.

The old train station in the city center, Flinder Street Station, is also "surrounded" by skyscrapers.

There is also a river flowing through Melbourne, the Yarra River. From there, you have a good view of the skyline again. There is construction everywhere in Melbourne. It's hard to take a photo without a construction site or a crane in it.

There are also many cafes and restaurants, benches, and shady trees along the riverbank, making it a popular place for tourists and locals, just like in Brisbane.

A pedestrian bridge crosses the river, which is used by about 20,000 people a day.

It's also funny to see an old, no longer needed railroad bridge being converted into another pedestrian bridge. Along the bridge, there are 128 glass panels with information about Australian indigenous people and immigrants from different countries.

Melbourne is also home to one of the largest cathedrals in Australia, St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Again, it's hard to take a photo without a tall building in it...

Since a large group of Chinese tourists was dropped off in front of the cathedral just before me, I decided to skip going inside.

Another attraction is the Queen Victoria Market, one of the largest open-air markets in the southern hemisphere at around seven hectares. The Queen Victoria Market is the only remaining market from the 19th century in the central business district of Melbourne.

Maybe I'm a bit insensitive here, but I only liked two halls that contained small, tidy stalls.

The rest could have been a weekly market in any other city in the world.

Then I visited the Eureka Tower. The Skydeck there is the tallest observation deck (again) in the southern hemisphere, at 280 meters.

In just 40 seconds, the super-fast elevator takes you to the 88th floor. From there, you have an unobstructed view in all directions of Melbourne. If I had known what to expect, I would have gone there around noon when the sun is highest. Unfortunately, I had a lot of reflections in the photos from two sides.

As I hinted in the title, I only liked Melbourne at second glance. You only discover the many beautiful sides of this city, which has been awarded as one of the most livable cities in the world for years, when you take a closer look. Public art is exhibited everywhere and next to the main streets, there are small lanes again that invite you to eat, drink, and shop. Everyone is relaxed, traffic flows, and there's something to discover on almost every corner.

I then returned to my hotel in the evening, as it was time to say goodbye... The plane to Dubai was leaving the next morning at 6:00 a.m., so I had to pack my things back into my suitcase and try to get some sleep to wake up at 2:00 a.m. the next morning. I had chosen my hotel near the Skybus station. The bus runs every half hour to the airport, 24 hours a day, so everything went smoothly and I arrived at the airport on time. I will write again about what happened next and summarize in a final blog entry...]