Melbourne 24.2.09-10.3.09

As I am writing this, Jane and I are not travelling together anymore, due to the fact that I wanted to do something independently, improve my English and get immersed by the Australian culture as much as possible. That’s why I’ll carry on in English henceforth and this way also our non-German friends can see what we are doing.


City-Life in Melbourne

Our next stop on the itinerary was Melbourne, where we spent nearly a month, as it was such a vibrant place. But even after staying there for so long, we only got to scratch the surface. However it was enough to make us fall in love with it.
In terms of Couchsurfing-Hosts we really lucked out, as our hosts John and Ryan lived exactly in the city centre, adjacent to Flinder Street, the main cultural and shopping area of Melbourne. Their luxurious apartment was furnished with huge leather couches, futuristic light installations and a bar with stools, which made it appear like a high-end lounge.

We spent the days checking out the diverse art galleries, going to St Kilda Beach and sipping on beers in one of the various, alternative-styled bars, which transmitted a bohemian lifestyle. The rule in Melbourne is, that the more hidden a place, the more fashionable. Next to the large range of anti-capitalism propagating street art, cafes and fashion restaurants, Melbourne is even more renowned for its huge diversity of electronic music clubs, which consume the heart of Melbourne. Yet more intriguing than the nightlife, were the Melbourne people going there themselves. While the girls going to the clubs at King’s Cross in Sydney were all tarted up like skanks with dresses that barely covered their bottoms, high heels to the ceiling and more make-up than Chair, the people in Melbourne rather tended to dress individually, choosing more alternative style such as Indie-Rock.

The days passed while we were enjoying ourselves going shopping, sipping on cafes and watching the laid-back and easy-going people of Melbourne going about their daily lives. Whereas when you are in Hamburg in the Moenkebergstrasse, everyone seems to be always in a rush, the city life of Melbourne appears to be in slow motion.

St.Kilda

Next stop was St.Kilda, where we spent a fortnight at the share house of some friends, that we had met prior at the Cottesloe Beach in Perth. Paul, Paul the 2nd, Stef and De Niro, who are all aged between 20 and 24, welcomed us in with open arms. They got along like a house of fire, treating each other with respect and kindness, whilst making us feel at home. The time in St. Kilda flew past and the next step was to plan out upcoming road trip, which some German friends persuaded us into doing.