marvellous melbourne

A city beaming with diversity.

When I came to Australia I had a few places in mind that I absolutely wanted to visit, Melbourne was one of them and as the semester was coming towards an end, it looked like I wouldn't get the opportunity to visit after all. When study break came along I decided to go there for the weekend, exams...so what? How often do you get to go to Australia?! So I booked a flight, packed my bag and brought my books along, why not combine pain with pleasure?! Luckily my lovely flatmate offered me a ride to the airport (as we all know the Australian bus system is f*cked up and going on a 1 hour ride at 6 in the morning when it takes you 15 minutes by car, well let's just say I'm glad she offered to drive) and basically this is how I ended up going to Melbourne after all. As the others were either busy studying, going some place else or simply couldn't make up their mind, I went on my own and in the end that was the best decision I could have made. I stayed at the Base Hostel in St. Kilda which I'd definitely recommend; the location is great, staff are friendly, there's a nice bar downstairs and I got to meet open-minded people with whom I spend an amazing time at the beach and in bars. Oh and btw free champagne for the ladies every evening from 9 to 10... I don't have to tell you that we took advantage of that offer every single night, the advantages of being a lady!

I learned from my mistake of bringing too much luggage to Australia, those who travel light travel happy, and so I only brought the necessities, even more because I knew I'd probably be going on a shopping spree in Melbourne. I arrived at the hostel via free transfer and came into a room where only one bed was free, mine. My first thought: 'oh great I'm gonna be that new girl and they probably already know each other'...NOPE well yeah I was the new girl and they met each other the day before but they immediatly welcomed me and asked me to join them. That morning I went to the beach with the two girls from my room, one was from Scotland, the other one from England and a guy they met the day before, from Ireland. Finally I've had to speak English for more than a few hours, because let's be honest in Robina you only speak English at uni, shops or with your non-German flatmates... I loved the fact that for the following days I had no other choice but to talk in English and only English, how I missed this!! After enjoying a relaxing and fun day at the beach we went back to the hostel and I got to meet the rest of my roomies, another one from Scotland, a French girl and another English one, every single one of them just as nice as the ones I met earlier on. Of course we headed to the bar downstairs and claimed our free champagne, furthermore we got on really well with the bartenders and somehow managed to get several free shots throughout the night. A little tipsy but really happy we hit the streets and discovered Melbourne's nightlife. Chatting, drinking, dancing, laughing... all in all a great first night. Next morning we spend another few hours at the beach and I decided to go and see a bit more of St. Kilda. I had lunch at a really artsy café sitting outside enjoying the sun, a cold lemonade and the grilled salmon. After strolling through the little streets and spotting some peculiar places, such as a tiny barber shop where a whole band of 6 men performed in front of an audience of maybe 10 (at the most), I went back to the hostel to get ready for another champagne night with the girls. Jo and I ended up meeting some of her English friends who currently live in Australia and going out with two Aussie boys we met later on. It was a fun night and it ended in watching football in a sports bar which neither of us didn't really see coming but enjoyed just as much as going yet to another noisy club filled with drunk people.

 
Next day I went to the central, spend several hours in a beautiful park reading and relaxing on the green, wandered through Melbourne, took tons of pictures of all kinds of things and of course did a little shopping. Best way to get around is by taking the free tram, it is supposed to take tourists around town and show them the best places in the city but lots of people just take it to get around (for free). The city made me smile, also because I'm really into art and Melbourne is filled with it, on every corner you find a piece of art whether it's a statue, graffiti or a monument.

That day it was incredibly hot in Melbourne and that's probably why most streets weren't busy at all. No matter what one was doing, even if it was only sitting still in a corner or eating ice cream, everyone was sweating and sighing. At one point I got a little lost and ended up in a street with nothing but a restaurant and a 7/11 (and some artsy figure of course). In front of the restaurant was a sign which caught my attention so I got closer and read it:

you see why it caught my attention, it's something else isn't it? It made me smile because yes I was searching for the word 'shit' for several seconds before realising that I was staring at the sign for far too long and that I basically got fooled by some words written in chalk. So I took a picture and kept on walking, still smiling about myself when a guy stepped out of the 7/11 and stared at me. At first I thought I had something on my face or that maybe he was just wondering why the hell I'd be smiling like a fool all on my own... (if signs would have feelings, that's how it would feel like every single minute of its life) I almost wanted to shout 'don't worry I'm not a psycho just some lost tourist' but then he held out his hand. He smiled at me and said 'hey I just bought this ice cream when I saw you smiling, I like that you walk around with a smile on your face, that's a rare thing to spot. So I thought I'd give you the ice cream, it might just make you smile a little longer...and it will help against the heat wave I guess. Keep it up' Then he went back inside, I assume to buy himself a new ice cream and left me grinning from ear to ear. Did that just happen? That was definitely a Hollywood moment wasn't it?? Well if the guy would have been Zac Efron or Channing Tatum, it would have been!! But even like that, with the guy just being a complete stranger, he made my day! This person restored my faith in humanity right there by offering me his ice cream, for what? For a smile? I will never forget this moment, it showed me that we need to worry less and smile more often because as the saying goes: 'you never know who will fall in love with your smile' and I learned my lesson: an honest smile cannot do any harm, on the contrary it can even get you free food! Mission accomplished, his words and present made me smile a whole lot longer...maybe even the whole day. The day ended in me spending some money on Mac products (which also meant getting my make up done as they always test everything on you first) and then having dinner in an asian restaurant, which are also to be found on every corner.

Next day I packed my bags early in the morning and made my way back to the Gold Coast where my books and notes awaited me eagerly. I knew that the following days would be horrible as I didn't really get to do much learning on the weekend, nevertheless I didn't regret spending these 4 days away from Robina and if that meant that I'd have to replace sleep with nights over books and red bull that's okay, I wouldn't do it any other way if I were to choose again.

 Ein etwas anderer Weihnachtsbaum im Hafen von Melbourne

 

what a city can turn you into...madness is awaiting you

A city can be a very crowded place and it is true the more people the more you feel alone at times, after having lived in London for a year I have to admit this is partly true, however I also believe that in a city you can be a more free version of yourself. Whenever I am in a place where everybody knows me I grow kind of shy and dare not to draw too much attention to me, whether it be my style, my way of talking or my attitude. In a city nobody cares how you dress, they may look at you but who cares? Either they like it or they don't, anyhow you won't see them again and if you do it probably means you've got to know them and you like each other, same style or not.
I'm not saying that I can only be my crazy self when I know that nobody will look at me twice, no but it's easier to try new stuff when you know that you won't be judged even before having started. I don't know if I could live in a city for all of my life, I guess I'd turn into that guy in the picture after a few years as it really is stressful when everybody's running around, having no time. I love being layed back and take it easy, but once in a while I need that city buzz to re-create myself.

In my next blog I'm going to tell you about final's week and my last days in Australia so keep on reading! Love,
Cathy xxx