Melbourne.

After two long, long days on the plane, we finally landed in Melbourne! This time the flight was very nerve-wracking. There was less space, bland food, and long queues for the toilet in the morning. There was a layover in Kuala Lumpur. We spent six hours at the airport. The airport is structured like a cross and in the middle there is a botanical garden. There, we quickly went from the cold 5 degrees Celsius weather in Amsterdam to a brisk 35 degrees Celsius. After a long wait, we could finally check in for the next flight to endure the next nine hours.

But eventually, you always arrive! We don't go through passport control together. Flo can go through the electronic gate with his French passport. I have to line up with the real people with my German passport. When it was finally my turn, everything went very quickly. My declaration form was quickly reviewed. A few questions about my knife and whether I have medication or shoes with me and then I was allowed to continue. Flo was already waiting for me with both backpacks behind the control. Next, I was asked the same questions again and we were told to follow the yellow line on the floor. We went through an electric sliding door and poof - we were outside! No stamp, no welcome to Australia, nothing. So we sat down first and checked if our visa was even valid. After a short time, we found out that everything is electronic nowadays. Our visa is stored on the chip in our passport and if we want a stamp, we have to pay $150.

On the same day, we didn't stay on our feet for long. We had something to eat at 2 pm and at 3 pm we were already in bed and slept. The next few days, we wake up every morning at the latest by 6:30 am and nothing keeps us awake for long after 8 pm.

Our backpacker is located in St. Kilda, east of Melbourne. We quickly find out that St. Kilda is the beach and party area of Melbourne. Not the best choice for a first weekend on the other side of the world. Jetlag makes itself felt, the nights are loud and the days are exhausting. Nevertheless, we manage to make the days beautiful. We visit the film museum, an art museum, the botanical garden, and the Queen Victoria Market. Both museums were a lot of fun, the film museum impressed with creative activities and the art museum with breathtaking paintings! The Queen Victoria Market is located right in the center of Melbourne. It is a large hall where some farmers, as in old times, stand and loudly advertise their wares. It was incredibly fun to shop there. The inexpensive result, vegetarian lasagna, also tasted good.

On our last night (third night), we tried couchsurfing, a website for travelers by travelers. On the website, you can find people who let you sleep on their couch. It's free, but of course, you try to do something good for your host. Stuert took us in. In the evening, he showed us the beach, the city, and hiding penguins. Stuert has traveled a lot already and we were able to exchange about many travel destinations. It's incredibly nice what kind of trust some people can give you. Stuert went to work the next morning but still warmly invited us to sleep in and leave his apartment later. That was a very good first experience with couchsurfing! I am very happy about it and will definitely do it again.

In the evening of the fourth day, we set off for the ship Spirit of Tasmania. The ship is huge, it has at least 10 floors, thousands of cabins, restaurants, a cinema, and even live music. Unfortunately, we booked too late and paid a lot for a seat. As we later found out, you can get a bed cheaper... which surprised both of us a lot, that must mean that the ship is fully booked every day. I wonder if Tasmania is also as touristy and crowded as Melbourne?!

I'm looking forward to finally getting out of the city! Off to the Tasmanian wilderness! :)