17.07.19 - 23.07.19 East Coast Part 2 (Sydney, Blue Mountains, Newcastle)

As mentioned before, we arrived in Sydney on day 7. Pretty exhausted from the day, we settled for a short walk through Chinatown, a great dinner at one of the many food courts, and a little splash in the in-house pool (through the underground garage in the apartment block).

Day 8 - 10: On our first full day in Sydney, we walked along the waterfront to the famous attractions. We marveled at the Harbour Bridge (where tiny people could be seen, who unlike us, decided to pay for the expensive bridge climb), the Opera House, which is not as white in real life as it always seems, and strolled through the botanical garden. Finally, the temperatures were somewhat more pleasant and we could even sunbathe a bit. After thousands of steps, we made our way to Potts Point, where we had a special dinner reservation. At the vegetarian two-hat restaurant Yellow, we enjoyed a delicious 7-course menu and once again were pleasantly surprised by the casual nature of fine dining in Australia, so we didn't feel out of place in our regular clothes. After a nighttime walk, we fell tired into bed.

We took it easy on day 9. Schtä and Luki had a breakfast feast, while we headed to one of the food courts again, where Mathias finally got to have a whole fish prepared in Thai style, but there was also enough delicious variety for Lea, and once again we felt confirmed that it's time to travel to Asia again. Later, the four of us met up again and visited the Queen Victoria Building, which is now a somewhat snobby shopping center. Still, it's a beautiful building. After a short detour to our apartment to devour a whole Uncle Tetsu's cheesecake (Mathias finally has people around him who will do that with him), we continued to Newtown. We strolled up and down the trendy area before meeting up with relatives of Mathias for dinner. His mother's cousin came to Australia in her second year of life, and even though the cousins have never met, they have still stayed in touch. It was a very nice evening, even though it's somehow weird to meet with people you're actually strangers to.

Day 10: We wanted to dedicate our last day in Sydney to the theme of water, and the best way to start is at the fish market - haha. Not only can you buy whatever your fish-heart desires, but you can also have it prepared right away. But since everyone decided against slurping oysters, we went back to Chinatown to eat super delicious Biang Biang noodles before taking a ferry to Manly. It was beautiful on the water, especially because no one seemed to want the outdoor seats - Manly, well, not quite as exciting. On the way back, we spotted two playful seals in the water and enjoyed a beautiful sunset atmosphere. In the evening, we had delicious Thai food again before moving on the next day.

On day 11, we made our way to the Blue Mountains, along with numerous other cars. Compared to what we have experienced so far, the east coast is much busier, and the Blue Mountains are a popular weekend destination for Sydney. So it was no wonder that at our first stop, the most famous viewpoint in the area, we encountered quite the crowd. But we also didn't want to miss the view of the Three Sisters. In the early afternoon, we made our way to our chosen campsite, which also offered an impressive view. After delicious gnocchi and a round of Phase 10, we settled in for a cold night.

Day 12: The cold did not disappoint us and gave us a short night. We all got up early and were ready to pack up together. We had booked a cave tour in the Jenolan Caves for the morning. The cave complex consists of over 300 caves, 11 of which can be visited on various tours. We saw one and were really impressed. The rock formations were very diverse and really beautiful. Historically, we only heard the British side, but we are sure that the Indigenous Australians had already discovered these caves. Our cave was used to demonstrate electric light to the Australian public for the first time.

Our journey on this day took us to Newcastle. Somehow, everything took a bit longer than expected, and we had to drive the last half hour in the dark, which we always try to avoid to not endanger any animals and also to protect Ponyo. But everything went well. In Newcastle, we visited two former roommates of Mathias from Berlin. Carlin and Bastian lived in Berlin for six months before returning to Australia. Super lovely people, who also let us stay overnight.

Bastian also had time to spend day 13 in Newcastle with us and introduce us to the art of whale watching, which the two do regularly. After just 10 minutes by the water, we were able to see a huge bunch of dolphins, although not whales, who even came very close to all the surfers and hopped over the waves with them. Bastian led us through the city and gave us an exciting tour with interesting facts. We kept returning to the sea in the hope of spotting whales. And that's exactly what happened. Mathias and I were even lucky enough to see one jumping out of the water twice right in front of us. It was an incredible sight. They also frequently surfaced in other spots. So we walked around all day, up and down many hills, and were pretty exhausted in the evening but still looking forward to a joint dinner with Carlin, who unfortunately had to work all day. It was very nice to meet the two again and be able to share such great experiences.

To be continued.