Melbourne

Actually, it was planned to go to Fraser Island and the Whitsunday Islands with my parents. However, the weather forecast for these islands was rain and thunderstorms. So we decided spontaneously to do the Great Ocean Road in the south of Australia, as the weather forecast there was very good. For this, we booked the flight on Sunday (26.2.) and the next day we went to Melbourne early in the morning. Since many people had told me that they prefer Melbourne to Sydney, I was very curious to see what the second largest city in Australia with around 4.25 million inhabitants has to offer. Melbourne has two airports, both of which are located quite far from the city center. So it took us 1 hour to reach the center of Melbourne by bus and train. However, it was very interesting to see how different the houses in the suburbs of Melbourne look compared to the Gold Coast. Most of the houses there are built in the Victorian style.

I would describe Melbourne itself as a very beautiful city. At least, I really liked what we saw in one day. Particularly practical and cost-saving: In Melbourne, you can use public transportation for free within a certain area in the city center. There is even a tram for tourists that stops at almost all the important sights. It is an old tram that looks almost historical, and the interior is also kept very rustic. We would have probably enjoyed this tram ride more if it hadn't been so hot that day. Since there was no air conditioning in this tram, it felt like we were melting.

Melbourne is especially known for its street art. We also discovered a street corner where the walls of the buildings and trash cans in the alleys were sprayed with graffiti.

However, I was surprised that the shops close early, some as early as 6 PM. This is really unusual, especially for a big city. As a result, Melbourne seemed more like a sleepy small town to me in the evening. But I'm sure that due to the size of the city, there are definitely some areas where the nightlife is buzzing.

Only a few days later, when we returned to Melbourne after our road trip, we made a stop at Brighton Beach, which is well-known in Melbourne. There are many colorful beach huts there, called the Brighton Beach Boxes.

When we arrived in Brighton on Saturday morning, there was already a lot of hustle and bustle. Australians are known to be very sporty people. So there were many joggers, cyclists, and walkers with dogs along the sea.