Freo & Rotto - goodbye Australia!!

My last stop was Fremantle. OMG I loooove Freo!! Only 10 minutes by train from Cottesloe. From Perth it's about 30 minutes.

The city was one of my highlights! Such a great vibe, trendy cafes, boho shops, Bathers beach is right in the city. Small beach, but perfect for cooling off. It was always over 30°C here. South Beach is 2km from Freo and it's amazing! Only 10 minutes by bike. You can rent bikes for free here, among other places at the Visitor Center. Cogee Beach is also nice! About 30 minutes by bike in South Freo. And there is my absolute favorite mural in South Freo. I think it was painted, not sprayed. I uploaded photos. It looks so amazing! And inside was my absolute favorite furniture store! It was called East West Designs. A huge warehouse with the most beautiful furniture. Most of them imported from Indonesia. Lots of antique-chic. I could have bought so much, but sending them would be too expensive:) I could have moved in right away. Well.. I was totally impressed.
When in Freo, you definitely have to go to the Fremantle Markets! They are on Fri, Sat & Sun! I love markets and always look for them first when I'm somewhere new, and these are definitely amazing. Really good food and all sorts of knick-knacks. Not cheap stuff. Rather good quality and not too cheap. You can find many beautiful things. Jewelry, candles, clothes, everything..
I was there all 3 days:) But my hostel was only 2 minutes away. And there you can find the cheapest and freshest fruits, etc. You can try everything there. Just walk through once and you'll be full. First fruits, then try coconut milk ice cream, then crepes, pide.. one of the reasons why I went there several times:p
There's always something going on in Freo. Live music, night markets, free concerts in the park... Also, on January 26th, there was Australia Day. The national holiday. 39°C in the shade that day! Even that was too hot for me. We all went to the beach from the hostel (I can't remember the name, north of F). There we had hot dogs and drinks, went swimming, played cricket.. luckily we had a huge tent and shade. In the evening, there was a big fireworks display on the beach.
I can definitely recommend the city.
The Pirates Hostel (AU$30) is good if you're looking for a party hostel and the YHA prison Hostel (AU$23) is really cool too! I liked that one the most. It used to be a women's prison. The rooms are here in the cells.

Oh, and one day I visited Rottnest Island! Beautiful island! Turquoise water, great for snorkeling and bike rides. Different routes of various lengths. I did the 10km route. It was so hot and I was told (by someone who did the tour by bus) that it's flat there!! BUT it's definitely not flat there! I arrived with the expectation that it would be easy and I could just bike along leisurely.. it was over 30°, I was sweating sooo much and had to get off my bike at some hills (!) because I couldn't go on. They don't rent out mountain bikes there, just 3 gears city cruisers. Quite a challenge! And in between, you get overtaken by these road bikers who make it look sooo easy when they ride uphill and you're struggling while pushing your bike.

But it was still an amazing route and going downhill was always great:) With the wind in my hair.
The view is incredible and you can see quokkas everywhere! I mainly went there because of them. The day trip is not cheap. You pay $80 for the ferry there and back. And you have to rent a bike (around $30) if you don't have one or take the bus (I don't remember the price, I think it's also $30). There are no cars on the island. That's why it's cheaper with a packaged deal (+ bike rental/bus) for $99. But you get a discount at most hostels. In the YHA even for $74. And on Tuesdays, the ferry is only half the price.

But as a day trip, it was enough for me. The quokkas (marsupials that hop like kangaroos) are so cute and tame. They take selfies with you and smile into the camera:) They only live in Australia and mainly on Rottnest Island. The island even got its name ("Rats' Nest") because of these animals, as the quokkas were initially mistaken for large rats.

Australia was great!
It took some getting used to the language here. In particular, instead of 'thanks', they always say 'cheers'. When someone said it to me for the first time, I just thought: 'I don't even have a drink in my hand! What's going on here?' I found it a bit strange at first, and now I say it all the time myself.🙈 You rarely hear it in the States.. David also taught me a few phrases like 'she'll be apples', which simply means 'fine'.

I think Australians are a very good-looking people. They are all super fit and athletic. I have rarely seen such a slim country. There are no overweight people here at all. And yet I didn't find the food to be excessively healthy..

And I love their way of life. To live is the number one priority and work comes second. They don't work late either. I talked to some immigrants and they all said the same thing. If someone stays at work for too long, the boss sends them home:) I also didn't even know that you can buy your visa here and then live and work here. One person paid AU$12,000 and now lives here.. but the country is really on the other side of the world..

All right, off to Bali!

Cheers, Australia!