River Fire Brisbane 29/09/2012

Before I get to the grand finale of Brisbane Festival, let me just mention that the previous night was the worst of my trip. It was Friday night and I understand that most people like to party and get drunk on Friday night. But there are just as many (I swear it wasn’t just me) who like to sleep on a Friday night. It was a rude awakening (or two, to be more precise) for the four sleepers in our 8 bed dorm when the four partiers got back. Drunk and high. They slammed doors, turned on the light and LEFT it on for hours, and were as noisy as if they were on their own. I was physically incapable of yelling, or even opening my eyes, but on the inside, I was boiling. At one point the light went off again and the noise subsided, so the four sleepers went back to sleep asap. Only to be woken again at 4.30am because two very, very high guys sat on our balcony with the doors open, arguing at the top of their lungs that it is okay to take away the land of the indigenous people because the Romans did the same. The combination of yet another disruption of sleep and the complete dumb-ass-ness of that argument got enough life into me to yell at them. Which they didn’t hear through the fog of weed clouding their brains; or maybe it’s because they’re French. A fellow sleeper got up a couple of minutes later and went out there to tell them to shut the fuck up. Which they did. It was totally unfair, though: while these dudes went to bed and straight to sleep, the four original sleepers were now wide awake and it took us some time to get back to sleep.

Okay, rant over.

So today, Saturday, was the last day of Brisbane Festival and they had announced fireworks on the river as the big finale. When I left the hostel and had only been walking for a couple of minutes, I was able to see the first part of their show: fighter jet fly-by. Two Super Hornets circled around the skyline several times. On the one hand, it makes me a bit anxious to see any kind of plane that close to a skyscraper. But on the other hand, I’ve always been fascinated by military jets and helicopters. I know all the different types, and I would love to get a ride in any of them. Anyways, when the jets were gone, I followed the stream of people down to the river and found a nice spot on the quay. It was still 45 minutes until the actual “River Fire” was scheduled to begin, but they brought out another cool little treat. Another fly-by, this time by Apaches and Black Hawks (helicopters, for those who didn’t watch the movie). And they didn’t just fly past us once but showed off a little, hovering low over the water and under the bridge, close to the buildings, and even doing some stunts while flying. It’s weird how I’m completely against real life war but still love these machines. The firework started with a big bang by a single rocket and then the Hornets came back for a super low pass in the dark, throwing light marker thingies which was the signal for the fireworks to start. The spectacle went on for almost an hour and was beautiful. I haven’t been to a big official, professional firework in some time, so it was extra special. I particularly liked all the stuff they shot off and around the bridge. There were some sensational effects. It was perfectly timed as well. It was a full moon, which added to the whole atmosphere. And it started to rain only minutes after the firework was done.

Brisbane Third Day 28/09/2012

I left early to avoid the humidity and heat that always peak around lunchtime. The first thing I had planned for the day were the Roma Street Parklands. On the way there I snapped a quick photo of China-Town because I kept forgetting to do it. The Parklands are on the opposite side of the city and the entry is hard to find if you don’t know where to look, so I took a longer route than necessary. But eventually, I got there. The area where I entered wasn’t much different from all the other parks, except that this one has an amphitheater. I was tempted to just go back, but thank God I didn’t because once you move deeper into the park, it’s astonishingly beautiful. They have all sorts of tropical flowers and trees, beautifully arranged little creeks and a lake. In the so-called “Spectacle Garden”, you find an ocean of flowers, and bushes trimmed into the shape of kangaroos. It was here that I encountered even more of those skinks/dragons. They were everywhere. You have to be extra careful where you put your feet because every couple of meters, there’s one on the path sunbathing. I have never seen them that big outside of a terrarium. The way they move still creeps me out a bit, but they seem to be very peaceful. I even saw one chilling on top of a trimmed bush. After the adventure in dragonland, I went back to the city; this time using the direct route.

I wanted to take a ferry from Victoria Bridge to the other end of the city, but it was kind of boring, so I got off early and walked along the river instead. It was a very long walk and I got a new blister on my foot, but I think I got more out of it walking than if I had stayed on the ferry. The riverfront is a bit smelly at times, but on the upside you can go on a boardwalk through some mangroves and the walk is just really nice because you technically move between the river on the right, and the Botanic Gardens on the left. Very scenic. By the time I made it to the other end of the city (where the hostel is located), I was sweating like a pig [do they say that in English? If not, they can start now] because it was another one of those tropical days in Brisbane. I was a little exhausted, so I napped for a bit before I went back to the State Library for free wifi. The heat is always more bearable in the afternoon; there is usually a fresh breeze blowing all the stuffiness away. I wish the wind was there in the mornings as well. In this climate, I’m not even hungry. You drink so much because of all the sweating, but this weather really kills your appetite. Which isn’t a bad thing in my opinion and I’m definitely not complaining about that. I’ll take tropical-sweaty over wet-cold anytime. At least for now.

Sightseeing Brisbane 27/09/2012

The hostel I’m staying at here in Brisbane has free washing machines and dryers, which is luxurious for backpacking standards. Which is why I spent the better part of Thursday morning doing my laundry, for the first time on this entire trip. Just before noon I left for the first part of my sightseeing trip of Brisbane. I took photos of Anzac and PO Square, before I went window shopping at Queen Street Mall. It’s huge and there are all sorts of shops, from thrift stores to upscale designer shops like Chanel. It’s also very busy, but definitely worth the time. Once I had fought my way through the masses of people there, I walked down George Street to look at and photograph the Treasury and Parliament House. Both buildings are huge and very beautiful. In front of the treasury is a statue of Queen Victoria. This is one of the things I notice the most in Australia: from all their statues of Queen Victoria, you could think she was the only British monarch in history. For some reason, Australians do not care for any other royals. Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, and now Brisbane. You cannot escape that woman. She reminds me of the Queen in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, by the way.

The Botanic Gardens are right next to Parliament House, so I thought why not kill some time there. Unfortunately, most of the garden was fenced off; probably for the festival, but I’m not sure. So I only got to see bits and pieces, but it was beautiful all the same. Today, the sun was shining and until later that afternoon, it was very humid. Too humid for me personally, but I’ll be able to deal with that for a week. I would not want to live here, though. Because if it’s like this in spring, I can’t even begin to imagine how tropical it’s going to be in the summer. I found some “new” pretty flowers that I took close-ups of, and then I saw my first gigantic lizard-thing; they’re either skinks or dragons but I don’t know which. It was huge. And just hanging out on its tree trunk. Of course I took photos of that, too, careful not to get too close because I was afraid it was going to jump at me or something. It didn’t. I saw even more of that kind when I walked along the ponds; apparently they can swim. After I had made it all the way to the River, I went back across the city. My next stop was City Hall with its high clock tower. I didn’t climb it today because it was too hot and I didn’t want to sweat even more. But I think I’ll probably do it in the next couple of days; I’ve got a whole week here, after all. A little further on lays Wickham Park, which is quite a steep climb. The view isn’t as great as from the Observatory in Sydney, but it’s a nice park and after the climb, it’s nice to catch your breath in the shade of the treas. On my way back to the hostel, I bought some more apples, which are expensive here in Australia but they’re my main food so I’ll grudgingly spend the money. I also bought some high concentrate juice because the chloride levels of Australian tab water are so high that it tastes like taking a gulp of swimming pool water and I was dehydrated almost every day because I just couldn’t make myself drink it. But dehydrating is not a good idea in this climate, so the concentrate is my solution. You only need two tablespoons of that stuff for 400ml of water, which means it’ll last at least a week and it comes in all sorts of flavors. I picked Apple-Kiwi, but I also want to try raspberry and lime. They also had Cola flavor, but I don’t think that’s for me.

At the hostel, I picked up my laptop and walked all the way down to the State Library. I love Australian State Libraries. They all have free, quick wifi and the opening hours are alright. Most importantly, they are open on Sundays as well. I booked some of my return tickets as well as a hostel for two more days of Melbourne on my way back. I have decided to give the city another chance, hoping for better weather this time.

Welcome to Brisbane 26/09/2012

My bus was an hour late last night, leading to an even later check-in. While I was sitting at the in front of the (closed) transit center in Surfers Paradise, I started to get a bit worried re: where do I sleep when this bus just won’t come? When I was almost at the point of getting up to look for a cozy sleeping place on the beach, the bus finally arrived. It’s only an hour from Surfers to Brisbane and the ride wasn’t too bad although the AC was way too cold for my taste. In Brisbane I bought a ticket for the City Train and had to drive out two stops, to Fortitude Valley. Once there, the hostel wasn’t very far and I only had to ask once. That’s the upside of the fact that the affordable hostels have a tendency to be located in the red-light districts: even when it’s really late, there are still lots of people (and lots of bouncers, so you feel quite safe). Since the “normal” reception was already closed, I had to check in at the casino next door. It was close to midnight and there were a lot of wacky people in there. To end the day in style, their machine didn’t like my German credit card, but they were nice about it and just kept my passport as a deposit till the next morning. The hostel is a bit run-down and my 8 bed dorm was messy, two Italian girls were getting high on the balcony and some other people watching a movie with the volume turned up as high as possible. But I was too tired to freak out, even when there was what looked like a cockroach on the wall.

The actual first day in Brisbane was quite nice. It wasn’t too hot (around 20°C) but dry. I woke up early, as I do, and found the bathrooms freshly cleaned. Big plus! When the reception opened, I paid and then went on my first little trip around town. Brisbane looks like a big city, but walking distances are short, so you don’t have to spend money on transportation. After walking through town from North to South, I got on the free City Loop bus. The loop around CBD took about five minutes and you don’t see a whole lot, but at least afterwards I knew where to find what, which is one of the reasons I always do these kinds of things on my first day in a new town. After I bought some fresh food, I went back to the hostel and was tired enough to spend most of the afternoon fast asleep. When I woke up at 5pm, I went for a quick stroll around China-Town, which is right next to the hostel. It’s Brisbane Festival at the moment, so I joined a group of Germans (Hamburg, Braunschweig, 2xStuttgart) and a French guy to see the nightly light show down at the river. The show was short, but super cool with great music. They used water fountains from a ship to project the lasers on, with some of the lasers located on the city’s highest buildings. When we got home later that night, I tried to go online with the free wifi here, but it was too slow to even check my mails, so tomorrow afternoon, I will carry my laptop to yet another State Library and go online there.

A quick word on Germans in Australia: there are ridiculously many of them at the moment. Wherever you go, you’ll find a gazillion people speaking German. It feels like Australia has taken Mallorca’s top spot as new German colony.

Surfers Paradise 23/09/2012-25/09/2012

It truly is Paradise. It’s warm day and night, and the beaches are beautiful. As I mentioned before, my stay here was ruined a little bit by that cold which came with more coughing and fever this time. On the first day I forced myself to stay outside and be active. I walked on the beach for a couple of hours and even took the time to work on my tan. It feels really weird to bake in the sun in a bikini while your nose is running and your body is burning up with a fever. But hey, it’s all about new experiences, right? On a related note, the sunburn on my feet made every step my own version of the passion of Christ. Where the sand or the water under the shower were warm, I was hopping around like a cat on a hot tin roof. When I was sunbathing, I dug my feet deep into the (cold) sand, and walking was only bearable bare-feet and in the ocean.

The way I spent my first day might not have been the best way to handle my flu/cold/whatever, because it knocked me out that night. The fever was so high that I was still feeling warm under an icy shower. I went to sleep at 5pm and slept for a good 14 hours; sporadically waking up with coughing fits. So on my second day, I did the exact opposite of what I did on the first. I still went to the beach for a couple of hours of fresh air, but I was content with just sitting there; no walking and no “active” tanning. I went back to the hostel around mid-morning, paid for 24-hour wifi and only left the bed to take a shower later that day. It was one of the more unpleasant days of my life. I reveled in self-pity and was very whiney in general. But I guess it was the right thing to do, because today (Wednesday, last day here) I feel much better and the fever is gone. After checking out, I left my backpack at the hostel, praying that no one will steal my laptop, and went to the beach. There was a thunderstorm yesterday (if I wasn’t hallucinating), which is why it’s not as humid and hot today as it was before. I think that’s quite nice and I will spend some time on/near the beach and maybe go for a walk later. My feet aren’t hurting as much when I walk now, which is such a huge relieve because that pain was almost more unpleasant than the fever. My bus to Brisbane only leaves at 9.30 tonight, so I’ve got a whole day left to spend in paradise.