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| Central Train Station |
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| The Shrine |
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| CBD far back, MCG (Melbourne Cricket Grounds) on right |
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| At Shrine with Iris |
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| CBD at night |
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| St. Kilda, looking at CBD |
Melbourne was founded in 1835 (47 years after the European
settlement of Australia). Melbourne was officially declared a city by Queen
Victoria in 1847. In 1851, it became the capital city of the newly created
colony of Victoria. To read more, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melbourne.
Sunday was luckily a totally different story in regards of
the weather, which gave me a perfect moment to go wondering. First up was the
Central Market. The good thing about the big markets down under is that you can
literally buy almost everything and anything you need from there. After that a
quick look around the CBD area, the Shrine of Rememberance (built in 1934) –
initially meant as a war memorial for the men and women who served in the WWI,
but later (now) the memorial for all Australians who have served in war since (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shrine_of_Remembrance).
And what better way to spend a Sunday evening than enjoy live irish music in a
pub with some imperial pints of beer (so far Victoria is the only place they
serve real pint, not the joke-pint of 0,375ml).
On Monday I headed towards the other side of Port Phillip
Bay, to Queenscliff where Sirli and Andrew were expecting me along with his
grandfather – Andrew or commonly known as Pop. I felt good to arrive as living
in hostels and not having a chance of unpacking my belongings is eventually
tiring. The first days I just more or less relaxed, did almost nothing except
went out and about with Sirli, went swimming and had a good chat with Pop. It
blew my mind to hear he is 93 years old! And still fully alive, enjoying his beers
and wine during every dinner. And he is a huge fan of Vana Tallinn as I was
told. Well, a remarkable man he is!
AdventurePark is the place I found work at as an RA – Ride Attendant.
So far the workhours have not been too great, but that’s just probably because
I am comparing the farmwork and earning a lot more and working a lot longer. On
the other hand as I am almost the oldest casual worker and have the great
foreign accent I have still got a fair amount of hours. More will start to come
after Christmas and in January when holidays really kick off! Last Friday we
had a good night out in Geelong when Daniel invited me to come along as some of
the casual staff headed out for a beer. It turned out to be a good and long
evening as we unexpectedly met up with the whole management team. A good way to
get to know everybody a lot more, including the owners.
The good thing I discovered here about golf is that you do
not need a Green Card as you do in Estonia. So it really doesn’t matter how
good or bad you are at playing golf, just rent a set of clubs, pay the fee and
off you go. A couple of weeks ago I had a good time at Queenscliff Golf Course,
located on isolated Swan Island. Otherwise it’s closed for public because of
some military area being on it aswell, but if you are going for a game of golf,
you are more than welcome to come in. And you can do it while some kangaroos won't let themselves be disturbed just there on the course. :) Golfing is probably something I will
continue doing when back at home. Good fun this game! Also there’s a good beach
for surfing in Ocean Grove, not too far from Queenscliff, but so far haven’t
had time to go out there.
Now, probably the most interesting topic for everybody
reading – Christmas celebrations in Australia. Fortunately enough I will have
to experience how an Aussie family celebrates it as I will join Andrew’s family
for that. Last weekend however we had a warm-up event when Bridie, Andrew’s
sister had her birthday combined with housewarming party, again combined with
pre-Christmas lunch. A big gathering, nice people, many dogs, heaps of food, more
to drink, and one present from each. Stealing Santa has been their family
tradition for many years. The idea is that everyone bought a present for up to
30aud and something that would be suitable of a grown-up. All presents were put
in the centre of the room and the order of the people choosing the gifts was
done. Then the first person picks a gift. The second person now has a chance of
either to pick a new one from the pile or steal the previous present. The third
one again has the same choice, either to pick a new one or steal a desirable
one from those already picked and opened. The game is also known as White Elephant
Gift Exchange or Thieving Secret Santa – read more on Wikipedia.
What concerns the actual Christmas, then so far I know here
only the Christmas day is relatively important, 24th the Christmas Eve does not
really get that much attention and then 26th is the Boxing Day which on one
hand is a day where more or less everything is closed, but as I read it also
tends to be a huge day for shopping. What is more correct – we’ll see! J Details about Xmas
will follow in due time.
What concerns the New Year’s Eve then so far I do not
exactly know. But as alwasy here, there’s a good chance something will come up J
Again it would be interesting to know how many people
actually read all this I write here, so if you would give me some feedback, I’d
be thankful!
Enjoy your Christmas everybody and take a chance of really
taking the time off! J
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