Sydney 42°C

Sunday 07.01.18

The entry is surprisingly fast. There are no more stamps and apart from the form on which you declared that you are not bringing in any food, you don't have to explain anything anymore. There are no dogs sniffing around or someone else interrogating you again.

I decide on the shuttle in the hall for $22. Somehow I don't feel like taking the subway with my heavy bag, backpack and small bag now, which would also cost $18 but would be quite fast. Unfortunately, this is a mistake.

The time gain from the fast entry and the fact that my bag practically arrived as the third piece of luggage is soon gone. The shuttles are supposed to run every 30 minutes, the next one at 10.00 a.m. But I wait until 10.30 a.m. with about 10 other people in the heat, some of whom have already been standing there for 90 minutes. Until there is finally a minibus that shuttles to the city center and not just to airport hotels. 7 stops are supposed to be served, the Russian super cool driver tries to find the way using Google Maps, already stops before the first stop to make a phone call, stops at a Holiday Inn that nobody wants to go to, and I get off as the fourth person after almost 1.5 hours.

The Travelodge Wynyard checks me in - that was my hope and that's why I was always relaxed despite the long journey from the airport, because I didn't know if they would do that, or make me wait until 2 p.m. But they are nice and so I am already in my room at 12.00 p.m., for which I pay a proud price of around $330 for 2 nights and also have to pay a 1% credit card fee. I find the latter really annoying, because no one really pays such sums in cash.

The room is large, the view is not so great, but I am on the 13th floor and it's already 42°C outside, so I take a shower and make myself a coffee and acclimatize a bit. At 3 p.m. I start walking and have a few things to organize. It is still 42 degrees, but dry heat and actually quite bearable.

First, I need two SIM cards for my tablet and phone, so I walk to Telstra, which has the best network coverage in Tasmania. Telstra also sells through Aldi, but for that I would have to walk 4 km in this heat in the "wrong" direction, just to save maybe $30, which would not be even 20 EUR. Two cards are bought for a total of $100. The tablet card with 7.5 GB of data volume costs half, the other card goes into the phone and has 5 GB of data volume. The activation is done within a few minutes. The otherwise busy George Street is completely torn up and under construction, so I walk along Pitt Street, which is mostly a pedestrian zone. In a small shop, I find a new phone case and continue walking towards "The Rocks". Some shops are still open here, but I go down to the harbor, where fortunately no cruise ship is docked today, so I have a clear view of the Opera House. I sit on a bollard and enjoy this unique view of the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House and the skyline. It is now 39 degrees, but there is a good breeze here. It's really bearable.

During my break at the hotel, I bought a ticket for the Sydney Tower for $28 online, and since the weather is not supposed to be so good tomorrow, I "have" to do it today. So back over Pitt Street.

In the Sydney Tower, you first watch a 4D movie that doesn't really have anything to do with Sydney or the tower and only lasts 3 minutes. Then you go up to the tower, which is a bit shorter than the Berlin TV tower. The windows from the inside are totally greasy and the view is not that great. You can only see the Opera House partially between two high-rise buildings. There are many Indian visitors here at the moment, with even more children. It is really loud and you can't sit and watch because groups constantly stand in front of you, taking countless selfies and children's photos.

It is now 7:30 p.m., the souvenir shop closes mercilessly, even though the tower is open until 9:30 p.m. and there are really many visitors here. At dusk, I walk the approx. 15 minutes back to the hotel and realize that I haven't eaten anything since around 6 a.m. this morning on the plane. The hotel restaurant is still open and I order fish & chips randomly, which is surprisingly good because it is made from fresh fish and very good chips. Comparatively cheap for a hotel restaurant at $20 (around 12 EUR). However, a bottle of beer costs $9, which I find quite expensive.

At 9:00 p.m. I am in bed and sleep through until the halt after small interruptions.