ຈັດພີມມາ: 05.07.2024
The next challenge was driving on the left, but my husband mastered that well too.
In order to stock up on the necessary supplies (after all, the hotel we had booked didn't serve breakfast), we stopped at Aldi, Aldi Süd of course. The selection there was similar to what we had at home, so we found everything we needed relatively quickly.
Then we went on to the hotel. Unfortunately we couldn't check in yet, but we could leave our suitcases and our car found a place in the hotel's rather cramped parking garage (at a bargain price of $30 per day). We then set off on foot into the city center. We crossed the Victoria Bridge into the South Beach Parkland. There we looked for something to eat for lunch. Then we continued walking through the park to the Goodwill Bridge. In the park there is a lagoon for swimming, where the lifeguards bravely hold out but no one goes swimming in the 20°C in the Australian winter, and a huge water playground, which is currently being renovated. Here we also encountered the ibis, also known as the "garbage bird", for the first time.
On the other side of the Brisbane River we went back to the hotel, past the Old Government House and the Queensland Parliament.
Once back at the hotel, we were able to go to our rooms. Since we were all pretty tired due to jet lag, we took a break. Before we were all in danger of falling asleep, however, we set off again at around 3:30 p.m. This time we took the free CityHopper ferry across the Brisbane River around the inner-city peninsula. Then we walked back to the center. Again and again we passed old buildings that had been integrated into the new, modern high-rise buildings, creating an interesting contrast. This way, you can still get a small impression of old Brisbane today, despite the many modern high-rise buildings with glass facades.
To end the day, we had pizza at Vapiano before we fell into bed pretty exhausted at around 8 p.m. After two sleepless nights, we finally had a real bed again!
For statistics:
Overnight: The Great Southern Hotel Brisbane
Distance travelled: 17 km
Walked: 11 km
Weather: cloudy with sunshine, approx. 20°C