Australia Day

After landing back in Sydney after our adventure in New Zealand the day before, we actually deserved to sleep in and have a relaxing day. But today is not just any day, it's the national holiday 'Australia Day', and we are not just anywhere in the Outback, but in the metropolis of Sydney! So, get out of bed and get ready for an exciting day!

Full of enthusiasm, we overslept our alarm and finally got out of bed around 10 o'clock to have breakfast and get ready. We'll blame it on the jet lag from the time difference that we didn't leave for the train station until around 11:30.

When we arrived at the train platform, we were lucky because there was an unscheduled special train waiting for us, as if it were just for us. It was specially used for this holiday and only stopped at the most important stations on the way to the city.

When we changed trains at "Town Hall" station, we were greeted by people handing out free flyers with the program and plastic flags with the Australian flag.

On the way to "Circular Quay" station, Silvia examined the flyer and I found out what exactly is celebrated on Australia Day, and it was very interesting. Every year on January 26th, the arrival of the "first fleet" with the first British settlers is celebrated, marking the birth of the first British colony in Australia, which has developed into this nation. And these 1300 people of the first fleet, by the way, 750 of whom were convicts, landed nowhere else but here in Sydney Cove and founded this very city where we are right now. It's pretty cool to celebrate the nation's birthday right where it all began!

However, it should also be mentioned that this day is viewed very critically by some people. This island was not just invented or built 230 years ago. Australia has existed for a long time and this continent was inhabited by people - the Aboriginal people - tens of thousands of years ago. For this reason, some critics also refer to the national holiday as "Invasion Day" because it marks the beginning of the European invasion, which ultimately led to the subjugation of the indigenous people.

In a brief briefing, I passed on my newly acquired knowledge to Silvia and received an interesting overview of what is happening in the city today. I learned that there is currently an air show over the harbor.

When we arrived at the elevated train station shortly afterwards, we were overwhelmed by the sight... No offense, the view with the Harbour Bridge to the left and the famous Opera House to the right is already amazing, but with all the happy people with flags on the pier, the planes flying in formation with gray smoke in the sky, the colorfully decorated ships in the water, the delicious mix of smells from the food stands, and the sounds of different musicians fighting against the general murmur, it created a unique impression. The music from a brass band grew louder and louder, as if someone was bringing a speaker closer and closer - and then we discovered that the ensemble was actually getting closer, but in a different way than expected. They were playing on a floating stage on the water, which was being pulled by a ship! :D

Filled with curiosity, we mingled with the crowd, which consisted mainly of people dressed in either the national colors of gold and green or, inspired by the flag, blue, white, and red. Disguised with our Australian flags, we felt almost like at a World Cup game, because you don't see that many flags in Germany for any other occasion.

Passing several street musicians and smaller stages, we walked along the water towards the Museum of Contemporary Art. Along the way, we came across a larger stage from which cool music was playing. There, the music group OKA, which blends indigenous sounds with various genres such as jazz, reggae, house, and more, was performing. We listened to a song in the reggae-dub style, in which the didgeridoo played a major role, and I really liked how it created a positive and cheerful atmosphere.

After the song, we continued on our way because we were fascinated by the floating stage and wanted to see it up close. When we arrived, we were surprised because a completely different show with a different stage design was being performed. Now, people were stomping, tapping, dancing, hopping, and drumming with various percussion instruments and everyday objects in an captivating choreography. For a brief moment, I wondered how the stage design could change so quickly from the brass band's performance, but as soon as the show was over, this question was answered. Because shortly after the show group took their bow, a ship pulled this stage away at such a speed that some of the performers had to hold on to the stage structure to avoid unintentionally going for a swim. And just like that, there was room for the next floating stage.

We continued walking along the water to the next event.

Here we witnessed the Smoking Ceremony performed by Aboriginal people. In this ceremony, certain native plants are burned to create a cleansing and healing smoke that is believed to ward off evil spirits. The fire was lit in a sacred ritual at a designated location on an island in the bay and then brought here. It was already very impressive on its own, but apparently not impressive enough for the organizers. Because they accompanied the ceremony with a didgeridoo player. That was really cool, but apparently still not impressive enough. The solution: They needed a children's choir to perform a slow and dramatic song! And that was a bit too much. The didgeridoo had a microphone, but the children's choir did not. No worries, they thought, because they could simply play the full playback over the speakers and turn up the volume so that the children were completely drowned out. Basically, the children served as decoration or photo subjects for the many proud parents in the audience - if they could even be seen and weren't completely smoked out. :D

Overall, it was still an interesting and unintentionally comical performance that we enjoyed.

Since standing around and watching things makes you hungry, we strolled to the markets and food stalls in the old district of "The Rocks". To get an idea of the food options, we walked through the entire neighborhood until we reached under the Harbour Bridge, where you have a great view of the city and the boat parade with all the beautiful and sometimes funny decorated boats. There, we also witnessed another act of the air show: paratroopers showcasing their skills in a formation, with parachutes displaying the national flag, descending rapidly in a spinning motion.

Passing shanty singers singing songs about life as a sailor, we returned to the area with specialties from all over the world. There was almost everything! In addition to delicious smelling Asian food, seafood with fresh oysters, crepes, and other street food, there were even sausages from the Munich Brauhaus. However, we decided on Turkish gözleme and took it with us to the aforementioned larger stage, where a woman and her brother performed singer/songwriter-style songs about their lives. By the way, the duo is called Tinpan Orange and plays calm and romantic music. It was really nice in the park, but like everywhere else, there were also pushy birds. However, these were not pigeons or seagulls as we know them, but ibises, which we only have in zoos in Germany. Did you know that ibises have long beaks and can quickly snatch Turkish pastries with toppings from their victims' hands? Silvia didn't know either...

Now it was already half past three in the afternoon and we wanted to experience more! What was happening in the city was great, but we were also interested in how the real Aussies really celebrate their 'Straya Day. So, we left the city center and went to a party hosted by Luke's best friend, who had already invited me to the New Year's Eve party.

It was cool to talk to people our age, and I already knew many of them from the last party. I played cricket and soccer there, and Silvia was thrilled because she got to wear Matt's pet, a python, around her neck.

We had fun, but we wanted to make the most of the day, so at 7 p.m., we went to Cronulla with Hilkka, Sol, and Cameron from our host family. There, a large stage was set up, and we watched the free concert by the 'Ten Tenors'. Hilkka and Cameron were so kind and brought us burgers that we ate while listening, demonstrating the ultimate form of multitasking. The ten tenors were really good and played a good mix of classical songs and modern songs. I especially liked their version of Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody', a medley of chart-topping songs, including Lady Gaga, and 'Unchained Melody', which you may know from the movie 'Ghost' (1990).

After the concert, another highlight followed: a dreamlike and very long fireworks display over the sea. The fireworks were launched from a ship off the beach. It was really fantastic!

After the fireworks, we returned to the party and played a bit of darts. Then, we played a card game called Mafia with everyone else. I had played this game before as a tutor with my fifth-grade students. In this game, which is played in rounds, each player is assigned a certain role by drawing cards. There is the Mafia, who would prefer to eliminate all the investigators, the investigators who try to uncover the Mafia, doctors who can save players from the Mafia's attacks, and then there is the common folk who democratically decide each round to hang a player, hoping that they are a Mafioso. The game is played sitting comfortably, and the players' actions are carried out with a finger point while all the other players not involved at the moment have their eyes closed.

After a few rounds, we were then taken by a friend of Luke's, and after a day full of great experiences, we could fall into bed comfortably.

But this time, we didn't set an alarm for the next day :)

-A guest post by Andi-