Day 1 - or is it already Day 3

After 35 long hours, a distance of over 16,000 km and staying in two different countries and continents, we arrived in Sydney today at 8:40 local time.

The first hurdle was to determine how strictly the immigration authorities would enforce the rules and whether the little bit of leather in our shoes and the occasional chocolate bar would be considered 'to declare'. Next, we had to figure out which line to join with our passports. And the last and biggest challenge was to take our suitcases filled to the brim off the conveyor belt and line up in the right queue.

In the end, we didn't have to declare our leather-resistant hiking shoes or the finest Austrian milk chocolate, and we could have also joined the fast track with our ePassports. But as a wise saying goes, 'all's well that ends well!' and this part of the journey went smoothly as well, and we were warmly welcomed by Hannah's uncle Erik.

On the drive from the airport to Hannah's relatives' house, we already got a first impression of Sydney.

After finally being able to take a shower and rejuvenate ourselves after three sweaty travel days, we set off with Erik to get a first glimpse of the city on foot. We started our tour by walking across the Harbour Bridge, through the oldest neighborhood, the Rocks, to Circular Quay and the Sydney Opera House. There, we briefly paused and were overwhelmed by the view of the scenery.
Then we took a detour through the Botanic Gardens to the General Post Office.

There, we caught the train that took us safely back. The last hurdle of the day was not falling asleep on the gently rocking train. But we managed that brilliantly as well and now we are looking forward to a well-deserved restful sleep...

h&h