Today we went into Sydney for the first time. We took the train, then walked to the Botanical Gardens, stopped over for coffee, and then enjoyed a harbour cruise in a ferry. There are a couple of things that caught my attention. First of all that the business district reminded me a bit of Manhattan, but perhaps with slightly wider gaps between buildings. Of course walking around on a Sunday gives you a completely different perspective than during the weekdays.
The second observation were the bats in the Botanical Gardens - they were everywhere! Every single branch of every single tree seems to be full of bats. In fact some lower-hanging branches had been covered in spikes to prevent them from roosting too close to humans. And they weren't peacefully hanging about sleeping away waiting for nightfall. Not at all. They were rather catching up on the days/weeks/years gossip. All chattering, screeching, squealing, squawking at the same time. Just lucky that there weren't any residential areas as I don't think the bats would make particularly sociable neighbours!
The third thing that I was quite impressed about was the fact that entry to the Botanical Gardens was free. This is a relatively large and well-cared for area of green very close to the famous Opera House, so probably quite high real estate value. Nevertheless, you could wander about on a lazy sunny Sunday afternoon and have a picnic on the grass watching the ships go by in the harbour and the tourists go by on their way to the Opera House. Lovely and relaxing. If people (tourist) watching is your favourite sport then I think the Harbour Quay would probably be at least one good place to partake in this activity. During our short walk I was very interested to note that the spread of nationalities, skin tones, cultures and attire was even more diverse than in Amsterdam, perhaps on a similar scale as in London or New York. Maybe that's one of the things what people find so attractive about Sydney? That and I guess the lovely (year-round?) warm climate.
and then of course the Opera House. I don't know this for a fact, but I would suspect its one of the worlds most photographed opera halls and one of the few opera halls that is more recognized for its architecture than which operas are currently playing within it. From the front & side angles it reminded me of a giant broken dinosaur egg, with bits of shell sticking out at weird angles. From the back it looked like a gladiator mask (or these days a motorcross helmet would probably be closer), with a wide bit to cover the "mouth" area and a pointy triangular bit in the top centre. and what a location too! I haven't actually read up on any historical facts about the Opera House, but the first question I would ask is why it was built where it was. But facts and questions aside I thought it was spectacular and beautiful, and can appreciate how its become the landmark of Sydney.
Overall a lovely way to spend my 30th birthday.
In addition to impressing us adults, our walk through the park, train and ferry ride also kept Aslak entertained. Aslak is our host Paivi & Evan's 3-year old son. He was particularly funny when acting as doorman (bouncer?) in the Botanical Gardens cafe. Much to the delight of everyone, he was keen on opening the door whenever anyone was planning on coming into or out of the cafe. Future career...? :-)
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