Last days in Sydney

Saturday, 11.2.17, around 40 degrees - The Rocks Market, Sydney

Every Saturday there is a larger market in Sydney where several vendors sell their goods. The range of products is huge :) So there are handmade soaps, jewelry, glass figures and other art, as well as various clothing, body oils, singing bowls, clothing and accessories for dogs, and and and...

At the booth with the singing bowls, the seller showed us, me and Nazli, how they work. Since I am left-handed, he placed the bowl in my right hand, for right-handed people it's the opposite. With a wooden stick, we struck the bowl and immediately circled it from the outside with the same stick. It is important to exert enough pressure to preserve the sound. Through this process, the entire bowl vibrated, which was transmitted through my hand to my arm.

Continuing along the market, we found many fascinating objects. I was most impressed by an Australian game (an elongated wooden board with two coins) and the handmade 3D stamps. The latter were created by cutting out parts of stamps and stacking the individual elements. Original Australian stamps were used for this. Certainly not for shaky hands ;)

After a short break in the nearby park, we made our way to the 'Chinese Garden of Friendship'. Since it's very hot today, we spent a lot of time in the shade. Fortunately, the garden also had shade to offer. It is a fairly large garden with various temples. In the center is a large pond, which can be crossed by paths and small bridges. There are many and especially large koi fish swimming in this pond. There are various trees and bushes throughout the garden, creating the impression that you are really in China. At least that's how I imagine it :) The special thing about this day was not only an exhibition of Penjing, but also the opportunity for visitors to fill out and hang up a card with wishes and dreams for 2017. After all, it's the year of the Rooster ;) While filling out and hanging up the card, we were also photographed. Unfortunately, we forgot to ask where this will be published. Maybe we can find out something through Google?

In the afternoon, we spontaneously went to Manly Beach. Fortunately, there was a ferry that took us there, so we could cool off with the fresh wind. 40 degrees were almost unbearable... Upon arriving in Manly, we ate Fish & Chips and enjoyed the beach and the refreshing sea until evening.

On the way back with the ferry, we spotted flying foxes in the sky. Compared to German bats, this looked very impressive.

Sunday, 12.2.17, around 33 degrees - Coogee Beach, Sydney

Last night was unpleasantly hot, which made sleeping difficult. Therefore, the last day in Sydney should be even more relaxed. I met up with Nazli and after a few errands, we went to Coogee Beach. There, we met up with my roommate Rosa, who is from Finland.

The beach is south of Bondi Beach and, despite the increasingly deteriorating weather, was very crowded. The waves were partly big and powerful, but we still dared to go into the water. Throwing ourselves into the waves at the right time was a lot of fun, even though I got knocked over a few times.
The sky continued to darken and it became windier, time to leave. More or less just in time, because half an hour later rain was announced.

Nazli and I later went out to eat together for the final meal. We had a great time together and it was wonderful not to have to travel alone all the time. We will surely see each other again!