Day 28 - Sydney to Signapore
Not much to write for today. Packed our stuff early and caught our plane out of Sydney to travel to a place that is clean, safe, quite rich and very, very small. No, we did not end up in Switzerland but in Singapore. The temperature and humidity gave it away.
Went for a stroll in the evening and some good thai food at Chijmes. End of day.
australia singapore sydney travelDay 27 - Sydney and Manly
Our last full day in Oz. This month really flew by. Kristin already complained that she wants to stay here and not go back to work. It still seems that we will be boarding the plane tomorrow but if we do not show up at home next week, then we just applied for citizenship here in Australia and never come back. I heard that they are looking for doctors and I.T. persons.Anyway, first thing today was the Opera house tour, this building really seems to be the cornerstone of our time here. Very nice and one could also shoot some photos inside the big halls which was not allowed during the opera yesterday, so the total number of photos taken now has passed 1,000.
Afterwards we took the ferry towards Manly, one of the tourist spots around the bay and met with Malcolm Edgar, his wife Leah and daughter Mia over lunch (we four had lunch, Mia had a great time putting her lunch all over the table). They suggested that we should walk along Manly Beach for some great views (That beach is in my opinion much nicer than Bondi, not that crowded and more spectacular waves). The little bronze penguin is one of many small figurines of Australian animals along the way.
Later we actually managed to get to the botanical garden by Kristin suggesting that “she really does not need to go shopping”. Imagine, a woman suggesting that she does not need to shop. The world seemed to stop for a second or so. (Kristin is keen on changing that impression when we reach Singpore…).
Took the evening harbour cruise, which offers some spectacular views of the city and all the iconic sights and landmarks.
Finally went for our “Aussie farewell dinner” to the Cafe Sydney (which is not a cafe but a fancy restaurant at the top of Customs House in the middle of Circular Quay). Sort of a best-food-in-town place, but they still let us in in T-Shirt and Jeans.
And now it is back to Europe… 
Day 26 - Sydney - With Blondie at Bondi and a night at the opera
I got some feedback to the blog that it lacks pathos. Well, it seems that I’m still a techie, not a writer, but I intend to work on that in the future.Onwards with the heroes! After a dark and long night, we rose to the first light of the new day to get what is known to some as Breakfast Of Champions, to others as a Grand Latte at Starbucks (ok, enough pathos now?).
Anyway, afterwards we took one of the bus shuttles that travel all around the city to go to Bondi beach. Even though there are other lovely beaches and probably Bondi is not even the most scenic, it is definitely the best known. Stayed there until it started raining early in the afternoon.
And then… to the opera! I do admit that I do not really care for plays where people do not talk to each other but sing in strange languages and most of the time I am sound asleep in the middle of the second act.
This time however, the opera was … subtitled. Yes, really. Actually surtitled but you get the idea. Sounds funny but is a good thing for people that do not really speak the language of the opera (italian in this case). In my opinion this should be mandatory for all operas in the future.
We saw “La Traviata” which basically is about sex, honour and sick people. There is lots of pathos as well (it is italian!), so I might just steal some for later blog entries.
And if you have some idea what is happening on the stage it is a blast. So in the end, this turned out really well for me (I know that Kristin was concerned about that) and we really had a great time (I still do not understand how Violetta could sing that well with tuberculosis but then again it might just be me).
australia bondi beach la traviatta opera house sydney travelDay 25 - Sydney
Ah, Sydney! Home of the iconic opera house, the harbour bridge and many other touristic sights.We went for an early stroll down to circular quay to get coffee at the M.C.A. and then to the major tourist spots.
As we got advice that the best way to view Sydney is from the water, Kristin and I took the “big harbour cruise” (where there are probably more Germans per sqm than in any other place).
Met up with Scott Eade in the afternoon (now I think I know all of the Turbine people) and went to a nice pub called “Lord Nelson”. Had some beer, a lot of fun and even got presented with a T-Shirt. Thanks Mate, for a great time!
Even though my knees were a bit shaky after the beer, we went up to harbour bridge for the sunset. Great view. I don’t think that I would be able to do the bridge climb, though.
australia harbour bridge opera house sydney travelDay 24 - Melbourne to Sydney
Rented bikes today and explored Melbourne by bicycle. Along the Yarra river is a nice bikeroute and you can see Melbourne from a different side. Had to return the bikes early because our flight was leaving in the afternoon.Sydney presented itself, well, rainy. And we had a cabbie that not only was too stupid to turn on the A/C (so he drove almost blind) but also dropped us off half a block from the hotel in the pouring rain. Great.
australia biking melbourne sydney travel