I'm emigrating!

No kidding :D haha

But I really liked Sydney! A totally modern, chic and clean city with a downtown area, beautiful parks and gardens, a trendy 'old town' (anything older than 100 years is considered old and historic here), good food, great coffee everywhere, and countless beaches, islands, and amazing nature all around. What more could you want!

The only downside is that it's very expensive here - 2 scoops of ice cream cost about €5, a small beer costs about €5.70, pizza costs €18, but the coffee for about €2.50 was relatively cheap in comparison.

There's so much to do in Sydney. Not just within the city center, but also outside. You can easily reach anywhere in the area by ferry and bus. I was also lucky with the weather. Sydney has very few rainy days in a year, but it rained continuously in the week before I arrived, which is very unusual for the region. But during my time there, I enjoyed sunshine and pleasant temperatures.

Here's a summary of what I did in the 5 days I spent here:

Day 1:

Arrival in the morning. Since I had to wait for check-in at the hostel, I took a walk around the city.

- Royal Botanical Garden: A large and beautiful park with a nice café in the middle. From here, you can also go to 'Mrs. Macquaries Point' on a small peninsula that extends into Sydney Harbor. From there, you have a great view of the Harbour Bridge, the Opera House, and the financial district. I also walked to the Opera House - a fantastic architectural building designed by a Danish architect who never saw his work completed as there was a dispute (the construction was too complex and expensive, he was offended and left, but the Opera House was eventually built according to his plans - the planned cost was 7 million AUD, but it ended up costing 22 million AUD).

Day 2:

- Free Walking Tour: For those who don't know the concept, a Free Walking Tour is a guided city tour where you pay what you think is appropriate at the end. I did this in Budapest before and it's offered in almost every major city worldwide. It was very interesting and informative, giving me a good overview of the city.

Here's a brief history of the city: Sydney was the first ship to land from England. However, the surrounding area was not particularly inviting and was considered unsuitable for establishing a colony. Therefore, the location was used to deposit prisoners from the overcrowded prisons in England. However, these were not serious criminals, but only thieves and the like. The prisoners lived in a district that is now known as 'The Rocks' - the old town. Some buildings and relics from that time still exist. Once their sentence was served, the prisoners could return to England. However, no one could afford to do so, so most of them stayed in Australia. And so it all began - a whole nation founded by convicts :)

- Museum of Contemporary Art: A great museum of modern art, free admission (like all museums in Sydney - how amazing is that?!)

- Millers Point: A small peninsula with a beautiful park for walking and relaxing.

- Pub Tour: In the evening, I took a free guided pub tour organized by our hostel. It was a very diverse group, including a hostel staff member, an American retired couple, a German, and a middle-aged English woman. It was a mixed and fun party :D

Day 3:

- Food Market in The Rocks: I had breakfast there.

- Cockatoo Island: Then I took a ferry to Cockatoo Island, which took about 20 minutes. The island served as a prison island for a while and later, especially during World Wars I and II, as a shipyard. Some of the historic prison buildings are still intact. But the main attraction is the former huge industrial halls of the shipyard. There weren't many visitors on the island. The old industrial charm and the low number of visitors give the island a special atmosphere, and I took my time exploring it.

- Harbour Bridge: At sunset, I crossed the famous Harbour Bridge, which also offers a great view of the Opera House.

Day 4:

- The Rocks Arts Market: On Saturdays and Sundays, where the Food Market was the day before, an arts market is set up. I bought a few things there because everything was so great :D

- Bondi Beach: Then I took bus #333 to Bondi Beach (only 45 minutes from the city center). It's the most famous beach here and a surfer's paradise. From there, I started the Coast Walk to Coogee. It's a 6 km long, constructed path along the cliffs. There are smaller beaches along the way where you can relax. The views were breathtaking, and despite the many people who spent their Saturday on this path, I really enjoyed the walk. When I arrived in Coogee, I went swimming in Giles Baths - a 'natural swimming pool' - beautiful and much less crowded than the main beach. To end the day, I treated myself to a delicious pizza and an ice cream (blood orange and coconut <3).

- Street Music at Circular Quay: You can leisurely stroll along the harbor at the main transportation hub in the city center. There are always numerous street musicians there who were really good. It's very nice to sit there and listen for a while.

Day 5:

- Visit to the Arts Market in The Rocks again (this time I didn't buy anything though, haha). The area was just perfect for a morning walk with coffee.

- Afterwards, I had planned to go to Manly Beach, another popular beach where you cross the harbor by ferry, including a harbor tour. However, there were ridiculously long lines for the ferry, and I absolutely didn't feel like waiting. Maybe it wasn't the best plan to go there on a sunny Sunday...

- Watsons Bay: So I spontaneously decided to go to Watsons Bay instead. It's basically the same route by ferry, but this one was much less crowded. When I arrived, I did another short Coast Walk to a lighthouse called Macquarie Lighthouse. Then I walked back to the ferry terminal, had fish & chips, and walked to another lighthouse on the other side called Hornby Lighthouse. The views here were also beautiful. After a coffee and a brownie, I headed back to the city center in the evening. I spent my last 30 AUD at an Italian restaurant - it was delicious :)

And now, the last big part of the journey has begun: New Zealand is waiting, and I'm really looking forward to it! And of course, I'm excited for my soon-to-be travel companion for the rest of my adventure - Jan is also coming to New Zealand on the 14th, and we'll start the tour from north to south together.

P.S.: You can see more pictures in the gallery ;)