Arrival and Days 1-4 (19-22 July)

(written by: Aaron, 22.07.18, Newcastle)

Here we are. The first blog entry. The last few days have been equally exciting and exhausting. Now we have arrived at our first medium-term accommodation.

But let's start from the beginning:

We started on Tuesday at 21:30 in Hamburg, our flights took over 20 hours, the total journey took about 32 hours.

Nevertheless, the whole thing went relatively smoothly and completely without any problems. The Emirates flights were quite comfortable, with a wide range of entertainment and decent meals. However, none of us slept much. During the short layovers at the different airports, we were able to stretch our legs and attend to our most urgent needs.

Our flight to Sydney went via Dubai and Bangkok. We arrived in Sydney on Thursday morning, just before 8 o'clock local time. When we collected our checked baggage, we encountered the first surprise: Britta's and my suitcases weren't there. An airport staff member approached us and asked if we were waiting for Emirates baggage and said that there was none left. We were directed to a service counter, where it became clear that we probably weren't the only ones with this problem. After some waiting time, the shock subsided as it turned out that the suitcases could still be found somewhere, so we were able to pick them up at the baggage claim.

After that, we took the fairly expensive subway (about €12 - the price is an exception compared to otherwise quite cheap public transportation) to the city center of Sydney. We had booked a relatively inexpensive hotel there together with the flights. It was located right next to a subway station and we were able to find it quickly. Fortunately, we were able to check in at half past 10. Our room consisted of 3 single beds, a small table, and a wardrobe with a refrigerator. The bathroom had to be shared with the rest of the floor - but that wasn't a problem considering the cleanliness and availability.

We were all very tired after our arrival, but we preferred to stay awake until the evening rather than completely disrupting our sleep schedule. So we freshened up quickly and started exploring the city on foot. Our hotel was located just south of Hyde Park, so it was quite central and we could reach the entire city center on foot. As we walked, it really hit us for the first time: We are in Australia - we are in Sydney!

So we walked to the famous Sydney Opera House and took a lot of photos (we've been taking a lot of photos over the last few days anyway).

We then found ourselves in the Royal Botanic Gardens of Sydney. This not-so-small green area is a mix of botanical garden and park and is like an oasis in the metropolis of Sydney. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped by Aldi to get the essentials. The day was not particularly long, and around 4:30 p.m., I succumbed to fatigue and the other two soon went to sleep as well.

The next day started at 7 o'clock when we were all awake and couldn't or didn't want to sleep anymore (yes, I slept for about 14 hours, of course the others had been awake longer). After breakfast, which was a buffet that wasn't particularly extensive but delicious, we thought about what we would do during the day. In a city map we received at the reception, we found a free 3-hour guided tour offered in the afternoon, which we took part in. Before that, we strolled through George Street - Sydney's primary shopping street - and adjacent streets to explore the city on our own. During the tour, a local showed us some interesting and sometimes hidden places and described them with interesting stories. We found that the Botanic Gardens is not the only oasis in Sydney, where you almost forget that you are in a big city.

We ended the tour in The Rocks, a rustic district that represents Sydney's old town. We found the atmosphere there quite cozy and decided to visit the famous weekly market in The Rocks on Saturday.

The market reminded us a bit of the bazaars that some of you may know from a holiday in Turkey or elsewhere. But without the haggling and shouting. So it was quite pleasant to stroll around and look around. In addition to clothing, bags, and accessories, there was a lot of decorations and a lot of Australian delicacies, which were often offered for tasting. There was also interesting live music at some corners.

After visiting the market, we walked over the Harbour Bridge to the northern part of Sydney. The view from the bridge is incredible - even though the safety railing is constantly in your line of sight. However, crossing the bridge's arch was too expensive for us.

We then took a coffee and tea break and crossed back to the city center of Sydney by ferry. Afterwards, we visited the nearby Sydney Observatory. It used to be an observatory and now serves as a museum for various astronomical topics.

In general, the three of us are very impressed by the city of Sydney - at least by what we have seen so far. Always clean streets, friendly people everywhere, and beautiful and peaceful places on every corner in the middle of a bustling metropolis. We will definitely come here again.

In the late afternoon, we took the train from Sydney to Newcastle - the place where we will be studying for the next 4 months. We only had a short walk in Newcastle; our Airbnb accommodation is located in the immediate vicinity of a train station. After we arrived and settled in, we fell tired into our beds.