28.09-01.10.2018

प्रकाशित: 03.10.2018

View of the Reef
View of the Reef

We are leaving Cairns and probably also the easy going of rural life in Australia and preparing for 3 days in the world metropolis Sydney. 

Our hotel Habour Rocks is located in the district The Rocks, Sydney's oldest and formerly a poor district, from where we can see the Bay with Habour Bridge and Opera just around the corner. 

In the afternoon, we walk along the promenade and familiarize ourselves with the area. There are so many people here, especially Asians. The large ocean liners also dock here. Every morning, there is a new cruise liner at anchor, by the way, right in the city, which then sets sail again with a lot of fuss and noise in the afternoon and disappears into the open sea on its way to the next destination.

Circular Quai with Sydney Opera
Circular Quai with Sydney Opera
The floating hotel moves on
The floating hotel moves on, the green ferry takes us

The opera house is about a 10-minute walk away, where we climb the steps and look around in search of the main entrance to the concert halls, because we have concert tickets for tomorrow.

We return to the hotel and have dinner at the Oriental Hotel next door, to then experience how the district unfolds its nightlife and lives up to its name. Across from the hotel, the girls in high heels are waiting in line, dressed up to the nines, with their companions - just as dressed up - in line. Taxis constantly arrive, spitting out more cheerful twens. The security only allows as many people into the party zone as have left the Carre before. We don't join the queue, we don't have the right outfit with us, and - there is face control, oh no.

Partyzone
Partyzone
Tags for everyone to see
Tags for everyone to see


So we return to the hotel, have a nightcap in the hotel bar, where good music from the 90s is playing, and fall into a deep sleep.

Harbour Rocks Hotel
Harbour Rocks Hotel


On the next day, equipped with an Opal card for public transport, we take the ferry from Circular Quay to Manly Beach. We take one last look back at the Opera House and Harbour Bridge and drive through many neighborhoods of the metropolis - Sydney is a city that is located almost directly on the sea everywhere.

Harbour Bridge
Harbour Bridge

In Manly Beach, we find a beach resort with a wide sandy beach and great Pacific waves, which naturally attract many surfers in search of the perfect wave. Today is a freestyle contest for the surfers and we watch the participants with their daring and skilled maneuvers.
Manly Beach
Manly Beach

Surfercontest Manly Beach
Surfercontest Manly Beach

Although the sun is high in the sky, we are freezing, as the sharp wind allows only 18°C, so we are wearing a jacket and scarf. 
The streets are hosting the jazz festival, with live music everywhere - jazz, beat, swing. Good atmosphere in the town, the old locals also mingle with folding chairs, packed lunches, knitting, and crosswords among the swinging fans.
On the beachfront
On the beachfront

Back for a short stop in Darling Habour before we get dressed up for our concert at the Opera. 
Tchaikovsky and Johann Strauss are on the program of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, which does its best. The opera house from the inside has something sacred about it. 
Sydney Opera
Sydney Opera, Concert Hall

The next day, we travel through the city by bus and ferry, visit Bondi Beach and various weekly markets with arts and crafts and local specialties. 
Live music at Circular Quay
Live music at Circular Quay
Market in the Rocks
Market in the Rocks
Bondi Beach
Bondi Beach

In the evening, we quickly stop at the street food market for a quick pizza and at the bottle shop for a bottle of well-chilled Chardonnay. Our feet are screaming for relaxation, and we make ourselves comfortable in front of the TV and watch Aussie Rules Football - an intensified version of American Football, without helmets, without protection, just 'full-on' 😅.

Conclusion: 0 crocodiles, 0 cassowaries
But: An incredibly diverse, vibrant, and international city by the sea, and a concert in an unforgettable ambiance
Sydney we 💕 you

Next stop tomorrow: Singapore - where the old and the new world come together
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