MELBOURNE - First Weekend

My first week in Ballarat went great! Scott, my host dad, took a few days off so that I wouldn't be alone with the kids @home right away. The other days also went well and the kids started to warm up to me. We spent my first weekend in Melbourne! :) Jenna's sister lives there with her little family, and I always have a free guest room to stay in so I don't have to drive all the way back to Ballarat late at night. She's really nice to me, and I'm really lucky to have such an open family who all consider me a real family member. I also lucked out with the weather in Melbourne, because we didn't even have to wear a sweater sometimes and the sun was out.

A few days after I arrived in Australia, I met Michelle through a post in a Facebook group and had made plans with her for this weekend. She brought a friend along, we went out to eat in Melbourne together, and we hit it off right away. Both of them are also from Germany and have been here for about 2 months, so they knew other au pairs that we met up with at St. Kilda Beach, my first visit to the beach! :) We all had a great afternoon, and before we headed home, we did a bit of shopping at the outlet. And that was the end of my Saturday.

On Sunday, like in Dubai, I went on a sightseeing tour of Melbourne by myself because there's a tram that goes in a loop around the city and provides an audio guide in English about the sights at each stop. With this guide and the help of other travel blogs, I was able to visit a lot of hotspots and landmarks in Melbourne in just one day and really experience the atmosphere of the city. First, I went to Federation Square, right at my train station 'Flinders Street'. It's the most popular meeting place in the city. You can find many restaurants, stands, museums, etc. around the square, and there are hundreds of events held there every year, like public viewings, festivals, or markets! From the square, you have a great view of the city center and the Yarra River.

About 1-2 hours later, I went to the Eureka Skydeck! A 300m tall skyscraper that was completed in 2006 and is the second tallest tower in all of Australia. It's located along the Southbank Promenade along the Yarra River. I was able to ride up to the 88th floor (285m) for about €18, in under a minute, and enjoy the view of Melbourne from above. It was definitely worth it! While it was a bit closer than on the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, it was still totally worth the price. A nice idea are the little telescopes that are distributed throughout the 360° tour and point to different landmarks, so you know exactly what you're looking at.

My next stops were the Shrine of Remembrance and the botanical garden, which are next to each other. The shrine is one of the largest war memorials in Australia and was built as a tribute to the men and women who served in World War I and to all the people who died because of the war (about 60,000 Australians). On ANZAC Day, the memorial day on April 25th, there's a gathering of a large crowd for the veterans' march. In the shrine, you can find the 'Stone of Remembrance' (marble stone) on which it says, "Greater love hath no man". The stone is positioned in such a way that on the day of the armistice (11.11) at 11 o'clock, a beam of light falls on the word 'Love', which I think is a beautiful idea and personally touched me. There are more memorials and mementos in the shrine and in the park, but I don't want to list them all here!

You can climb up steps to the shrine and get a new view of the Melbourne skyline from there.

The Royal Botanic Gardens (38 hectares) is overall a large and beautiful area where you can find a herbarium, a tropical greenhouse, and eucalyptus trees, among other things. The garden was financed by several foundations and private individuals, who can be found everywhere on small plaques that are often placed at their favorite spots. You can enjoy picnicking here and peaceful walks or runs!

And that was my first weekend in MELBOURNE! :)