we-in-Melbourne & Great Ocean Road

'Australia', they said 'there's always good weather', they said.

Welcome to Melbourne with its urban graffiti, with lots of vegan, organic Chai Lattes and the accompanying hipsters. Oh, you beautiful and cozy city with the charm of Berlin and a Greek quarter that is unmatched. With a wonderful view from rooftop bars with a Pale Ale or Gin Tonic in hand. A city with four seasons in one day (... ok - without snow, but with everything else). 

Speaking of Berlin... we were practically there too, in West and East Berlin in one evening - starting in East Berlin and then crossing the 'Wall' to the West. In a genius bar with authentic furnishings and great cocktails. Only the prices were consistently Western standard...

Just like in almost all other Australian cities, Melbourne has a Chinatown. Really great invention, or rather due to the high proportion of Asians, that every city has its own Asian cultural zone, where you can find not only dumplings and sushi, but all the other things that none of us would eat. Simply because we don't find cartilage in so many variations to be delicious.

Urban graffiti = not pests secretly scribbling, but gifted artists shaping streets and alleys, and sometimes reshaping them daily. Partly brilliant paintings on huge buildings. And all of this between the Victorian style of the first colonial rulers, yes the Commonwealth had struck and left its mark. Even I (Wendo) had to go to jail in appropriate attire. When it turned out to be just our hotel, the relief was great. It should be mentioned that it was impossible to find an affordable, central camping spot in Melbourne, so we treated ourselves to a real bed in the city.

Many big markets with so much gastronomy and things to buy that we don't even know how many extra suitcases we actually need to get everything home. Maybe in the end we should send a container to Germany....?!

We followed the footsteps of the indigenous people, the Aboriginals, and visited the Melbourne Museum. It was shocking to learn from the teaching of local history that whether in America, Africa or other colonies, there was also a genocide at the beginning here in Australia. A peaceful and mutual living and discovery, as the 'inhabitants' of Australia (= Europeans, led by the British and their prisoners for forced labor) like to describe it, was rare. Many terrible stories and realizations that this so fragile ecosystem Australia not only affects nature and animals, but also the indigenous population, who still struggle with the introduced diseases and the adapted eating habits with our processed sugars, white flours, and alcohol.

After so much heavy food, we continued on to the Great Ocean Road, the most famous cultural and scenic export of the Australians. Including numerous buses with Chinese people. This beautiful road along the cliffs of the Surf Coast is quite impressive, even if we had mixed weather. The landscape is constantly interrupted by our trips inland to find a free camping spot, exploring the occasional waterfall or rainforest. Small oases in the forest and by the sea with the most colorful birds and the cuddliest bears ever.

Our journey and our spirit of discovery in Australia are slowly coming to an end. There are still a few highlights to come, and in the end, the realization remains that the West Coast with Western Australia and the Northern Territory offers the biggest difference and the most impressive landscapes compared to what we know in Europe.

Farewell.