Brisbane (Australia Part 39)

Our last stop in Australia was Brisbane - among other things to visit relatives there.

After a day of rest, we set out to explore the city center. Our tour started at City Hall, which is now open to the public and houses a museum.

But first, we joined a guided tour of the building, which once cost nearly a million Australian pounds - four times the originally estimated amount.

We then took an old elevator up to the town hall tower, where we not only saw the clock from the inside, but also the city from above.

In the small museum, we could read a lot about the city's history. The city was named after the then Governor of New South Wales. However, this gentleman never set foot in it during his lifetime. Instead, the city now owns the door to his residence in Scotland (what a generous gift) and proudly displays it behind glass.

Across the street, we also visited the Uniting Church. In the midst of all the skyscrapers that have been built around the square, the church looked like a small model house.

In the church, we had a longer conversation with a friendly lady and learned that the Uniting Church in Australia is a merger of the Congregational Union and the Presbyterian and Methodist churches.

We then continued our walk along the river and took one of the public transport boats to the botanical garden. Right there is the Queensland Parliament building.

Shortly afterwards, a guided tour took place, which we joined. Queensland is the only state in Australia without two chambers of parliament, as the upper house abolished itself.

After a walk through the botanical garden and the main shopping street, Queensstreet, our first day in Brisbane came to an end.

The next day, we planned to explore the other side of the river and got off at Southbank.

First, we visited the Queensland Museum, which houses historical and natural history exhibitions. We saw a replica of the Diprotodon, an ancient giant marsupial, among other things.

We also made a short detour to the Art Gallery, but the exhibition did not convince us.

After a stroll through the city center, we sat down in the square in front of City Hall and enjoyed a cocktail while waiting for the evening light show at City Hall.

In the dark, the story of a little Australian girl named Maddie was projected onto the facade of City Hall. She wishes for a white Christmas and is therefore taken to the North Pole by a flying Christmas kangaroo, where she meets Santa Claus. But it's too cold for her there, so she flies back to Australia with Santa Claus in his sleigh (led by the kangaroo before Rudolph). There, she enjoys her summery Christmas in the pool.

So we had seen the city center of Brisbane to our satisfaction. In the next few days, we stayed in the suburb where we also spent the night.

We also strolled through a shopping center, where we could feel the Christmas atmosphere not only because of the decorations, but also because of the air conditioning set to freezing temperatures.

We also visited the Christmas world, which was designed more for younger children. Nevertheless, we took some photos, but then we didn't dare to take a photo on Santa's lap. We preferred to let the many waiting toddlers go first...

So our ten weeks in Australia quickly passed. With many impressions, our journey continues to the next destination: New Zealand.