last full week in Melbourne - Week 47

It's strange to realize that now the last full week in Melbourne is ahead of us.

On Monday I was able to work all day again.

Then on Tuesday I had a day off. Ben, Marie and I went to the city together and shopped at the Victoria Market again. You can tell that going shopping at the Victoria Market every week is slowly becoming routine for us. Afterwards, Ben had to take care of some tax matters. Marie and I used this time very productively to look for a bikini for me. We went to many stores and got some advice. This took a very, very long time. But now I'm ready for the next few months on the East Coast, so we were successful with our shopping. Afterwards, we ran some other errands. We went to a very large department store that had set up a whole floor for Christmas. We were on that floor and in the 'train to the North Pole'. A small room with animations put the customers in a Christmas mood. Afterwards, you could even meet Santa Claus in person. However, we skipped that. Marie and I preferred to look at the many different stands with Christmas decorations, special sweets, and much more. It was amazing what the department store had organized. Children could paint, craft, and play while their parents went shopping.
Afterwards, we drove home tired. Marie took the train and I took my bike. When we were both on our way, it suddenly started to rain lightly. This light rain quickly turned into a heavy downpour. The whole traffic collapsed. Many trains were stuck one behind the other because you couldn't see anything anymore. The gutters were flooded with water. I have to say, since it was the way back, I didn't mind getting soaking wet. I was faster than the car drivers. They didn't move at all. Occasionally, however, I got a large amount of water on me because the cars had moved. But all in all, it was quite funny. Marie arrived home about 20 minutes later, dry but quite late for a train rider.
Ben had already gone home (in the dry) earlier because our shopping trip took longer than he had hoped. :)
After we were all dry again, I baked cinnamon rolls and the three of us enjoyed them while watching a movie. Karen was out with her friend Emma that day. Emma has been an au pair in New Zealand for half a year and knows Karen through a friend. However, she is also from Hanover and the same age as us.

On Wednesday I spent my day off with the usual tasks. I baked bread for us, which we could enjoy with a fresh salad in the evening. I also made some preparations for our upcoming trip. Since we had a lot of laundry that needed to dry, we hung it up outside in our courtyard. However, the landlord said that the laundry outside is often stolen. That's why Ben had a nice, sunny day outside. He read, sunbathed, and watched over our laundry while Marie and I were busy in the house. Karen went for a long walk in Brighton with Emma.

On Thursday I worked again. Marie spent her Thursday with a trip to the Great Ocean Road. She had to leave very early and was quite exhausted when she came back home in the evening. Ben not only had the day off from work, but also from us girls. So he relaxed.
Karen is passionate about playing fistball and on Thursday 'The Asia-Pacific Championship' started. It's a kind of fistball championship. Fistball is not so widespread in this area, which is why she could play in an international team there. So all teams (a total of five registered) play several games. The international team plays out of competition. There are three German players in this team who have been playing fistball for a long time. At the moment, the international team wins every game. However, it should be mentioned that fistball is also promoted more in Europe. She is enjoying playing fistball again and coaching other people to bring fistball even closer to them.

On Friday, it rained heavily again, so Ben and I had to cancel our work for that day. Karen was at the fistball tournament again. Marie, Ben, and I went to St. Kilda and had dinner at Lentil. After a drying phase at home, Ben and I went to watch the fistball in the evening. It was very familiar there. We even got some food, which made us very happy. Ben and I saw fistball for the first time and even had it explained to us by a representative of the international fistball association. It was very nice. While watching, I really missed the handball hall. I'm looking forward to starting again. After watching for 4 hours, Ben and I drove home in a rain break, almost dry and exhausted, and fell into bed, especially full. Marie enjoyed her evening alone and relaxed.

On Saturday, Ben and I had a day off again. Since Karen's fistball tournament ended this Saturday, Marie and I took the opportunity to see Karen play herself one last time. I even jogged there. We currently live in Armadale and this suburb is one of the wealthiest. We noticed this on our way there. One villa after the other, huge plots of land where the property wall already looks very powerful. Marie and I were amazed. The rest of the day, or rather Marie, spent packing suitcases, tidying up, etc.

On Sunday, Ben and I worked while Karen, Emma (Karen's friend), and Marie also had work. Ben and I had emptied a house in Fitzroy for someone. They had to continue with it, which the three of them did. They really enjoyed it and were very grateful to be able to work.