Melbourne
Although we had heard much praise about Melbourne
it seemed to us very much like many other cities. Granted, the Yarra
river with its banks, cafes and shops, the parks, and the botanical
garden provide lots of green and calm spots that are good for a
relaxing break, nevertheless we were not especially impressed.
Here we received our initiation to "strine",
the local idiom. We asked the taxi driver to take us to a restaurant,
the "Botanical"; however, during the ride he kept on asking
which gate we were going to (meaning which gate of the Botanical
Gardens), which sounded to me like "which guide you got" -
and I answered the latter question. Finally it turned out that he did
not know the restaurant, I gave him its street address, which he
fortunately did known.
The Rialto tower offers an overview of the city
and its suburbs. For planning a visit to Melbourne, the website
of the city council is a good starting point.
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Some impressions of the city after a long
flight.
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Some views of the city from the Yarra river.
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Views from our hotel room.
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Views from the Rialto tower follow.
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Some people say the cafeteria is a good place
for lunch or a wine. We did not find this place with its formica
tables very inviting.
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They have a peculiar way of making a right turn
on some streets in Melbourne. It is called "right turn from
left".
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To turn right, you have to use the leftmost
lane, stop in front of the cars waiting in the crossing road and
start after the traffic on the lane you were coming from has been
stopped by a traffic light
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Queen Victoria market offers almost everything
you can think of.
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Impressions of the last night in Melbourne.
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