Travel Australia - 20 things to do in one day in Sydney

I know I know I know. No one wants to be a bloody tourist, but we all are. “Nah, won’t do it, that's just for "tourists." This is a typical "tourist trap." I really can’t say it often enough, I like being a "tourist-in" because being a "tourist" is so much nicer than sitting at home and watch TV. Most people dream to see Sydney, the capital city of New South Wales in Australia at least once in their lifetime. Dunno what they expect, they arrive at the airport and turn into a Sydneysider that instant? That is most certainly not going to happen, so everyone calm down and come with me on this very touristy (just saying) but very lovely day in Sydney. It is so worth the trip. Whenever I think of Sydney I think of the colour blue, read on and you will find out why.

Prepare for your day in Sydney

Preparation for the day might go like this: Unpack suitcase, brush your teeth, take a shower, check the weather ten times, change your shoes four times, repack handbag twice, stow passport in the safe, put sandals on, oh no, rather sneakers. Rubbish, we are in Australia, put the sandals on again, now the pants won’t go with the shoes, another change of clothes, nevertheless pack sneakers just in case it starts to rain, meaning you will have to carry them the whole time? 

Road map, guide book, hang camera around your neck ... The pants won’t go with the sneakers, looks like in the end you decide to leave them in the room. Do you need a jacket? Batteries for the camera … and off you go.

Sydney - Could life be any better?

Your day begins with a bus trip to Bondi North. Here you can eat breakfast first, there are plenty of cafes. You will need energy for the day ahead. Perfect can’t go any better. Go for a leisurely walk at Bondi Beach. This is probably Australia's most famous beach. End the beach walk at Icebergs right at the beginning of the beach. Have a cappuccino while drinking in the stunning view over the pool, the beach and the ocean.

Walk along Tamarama and Bronte Bay

 Believe it or not, it is true, there are people in this world who live here. Take a short bus ride to the suburb of Paddington. Go for a stroll and have lunch. From here you take another brief bus ride to Circular Quay. Jump onto a ferry to Manly, take pictures of the Opera House and the Harbour Bridge while on board. Take it all in, the breeze, the blue sea and the vast sky. In Manly go for a beach walk, watch the surfers, have a sunset drink at the beach or even better at the pier.

Take the ferry back to the Circular Quay

Walk over to the Opera Bar, grab another drink, look at the bats flying out of the city over your head, the bridge and the Opera house. Life couldn’t be any better, right?

You can use buses, trains, ferry's, taxis, or even the light rail while in Sydney, for all info please check here. 

Are you planning to travel to Sydney? You have been, so what is your favourite thing to do in Sydney? Looking forward to hearing from you.

From Berlin with love

Travel Denmark: Esbjerg - Art, architecture, UNESCO listed nature and drip coffee

Having been to Altona in Hamburg recently I learned that, in 1868, they built a replacement harbour for Altona somewhere in Denmark. Who would have thought that Altona in Germany was once Denmark’s most important North Sea Port? The new port was built in Esbjerg in Jutland. Esbjerg is the main town for Denmark's oil and offshore activities and remains a working town. I decided to visit to experience how far away from Hamburg this harbour would be. I visit Denmark’s fifth biggest city to follow that story of the past, just to make it complete and to understand how interwoven Altona’s and Esbjerg’s history is. 

My expectations were rather relaxed, I thought this surely isn't going to be as exciting as a trip to the capital city Copenhagen. But as it happened this town is not how I expected it to be, it has indeed everything you would need for a relaxing trip.

Travel Australia: A waitress, a pilot and a Cowboy in William Creek in the outback

Tanned, wrinkled and with a satisfied grin sits the pilot with a can of beer in a stubby holder at the bar. "I once lived one and a half years in Germany, but I can't remember the name of the place." ... Right, there are so many places in Germany. “It was beautiful, but I'd rather be in Australia. I was married to a German for 15 years. Four months of the year I live in William Creek, the rest of the time I spend in Sydney."

Flights over Lake Eyre and the Outback in South Australia

He fills his time by taking tourists on sightseeing flights over Lake Eyre and the Outback in South Australia. Some people call it work. When he is done for the day, he literally parks his plane in front of the pub. Well, not quite, it is a walk of few hundred meters over a trail from the small airport of the place.

The outback - flowers, different stones, and birds and enchanted overgrown trees

Australia and the Outback. It surprises me again and again when people ask, why do you want to travel so far when there is nothing you can do there? There is so much to see and do, but you have to look. For some, the landscape and the places in the Outback may be bleak. But there are countless types of flowers, different stones, and birds and enchanted overgrown trees and then there are all the people with whom you can talk. What do they do here in this ‘emptiness'? My curiosity is undiminished. I want to hear a good reason not to want to travel to the Outback. But with reason, it is also always a matter of interest.

The waitress at the pub is for a year in William Creek. I look at her and think about it. A whole year living in the middle of nowhere? Not quite sure, but there are only three citizens here (and the waitress is already one of them) plus a few pilots, the seasonal workers.

She has a very ingenious reason why she has decided to have applied for a job in nowhere: 210 kilometres north of Maree and 166 kilometres east of Coober Pedy only to reach on a dirt road. I am more than intrigued. She needs money and lots of it, for a planned grand tour of Europe. In William Creek, there are no temptations.  

Discussing horoscopes from a two-day-old newspaper

There are no restaurants, shoe shops, boutiques, book and/or record shops, and no cinemas. The rent is negligible. Actually, everything she earns can be saved for her dream to travel. This lady has an excellent plan indeed. She tells me she has so much fun  “Days pass by quickly, there come so many people into this pub, it is never boring.” I can understand, especially when I watch her and the guests at the bar, loudly discussing their horoscope from the two-day-old newspaper.

The dish that I order from her is sold out. She calls across the guest room and over the heads of the Cowboy’s seated at the bar, whether I am interested in something else. All eyes are on me. My face feels as red as the outside raging sunset when I say “I'm vegetarian.” A dusty type in jeans and boots grunts obviously astonished but friendly "Hey, you're here in cattle country." He has got all laughs on his side ... Everyone in this place makes you feel as you belong here. The pilot and I both agree. “William Creek has a really good vibe." And their coffee is also a real killer (we are in Australia).

A tiny bit of advice: Before you go somewhere in Australia outside of the urban areas, please check the local weather conditions. Locals are always happy to help.

From Berlin with love