Westward we go!

We left Canberra this morning on M31 (sort of an autobahn with a 110 km/h speed limit), not too much traffic and pretty pleasant two hour drive - passing Lake George (which we didn't see before, in the thunderstorm) to Bowral with a stop at Berrima's historic Courthouse (pic below), dating in 1838. 

 

Getting closer to the coast now. Originally, we had planned to stay in the so-called Southern Highlands for only one night, the next on the coast, nearby famous Jervis Bay. But, since it's a weekend and Sydney too close, it was much too expansive there. 

At our stop in Berrima, at Berkelouw Book Barn (below), we found a funny book written by German's famous Grzimek!

 

Problem today: it rains, constant ugly, drizzling rain at only about 18 deg C! In Australia,,, in late summer ,,, where we had over 30 deg. last week in Sydney! So, we made a good choice in retrospect and booked a cozy AirBnB Cottage in Moss Vale (10 min. out of Bowral) for two nights. Three modern, nicely equipped cottages on vast, lush grounds with orchards, flower beds and lots of greenery. And: lots of noisy birds of all kinds, cats and dogs! Breakfast items provided as well as welcome goodies. 

Main sight in Bowral: the Bradman (cricket) Museum. This large, partly interactive museum celebrates the stories and people who shaped cricket - a sport which originated in Great Britain. Main focus of the exhibitions is the greatest cricketer of all time: Sir Donald Bradman, who was a local. There is the Bradman Gallery, but also a gallery on women’s cricket and "Greats of the Game", sort of a Hall of Fame. The museum deals with the rules, the leagues and how Australia fought for its establishment, the British influence, the best cricket nations and players, iconic games, the history of cricket from the 14th century on, and, much, much more. Really interesting museum and even more, a fascinating sport! Would love to see a game once! Besides Aussie football (which we will still get a chance to watch in Perth!) and rugby it's probably the main sport in Australia.

 Below, Sir Don Bradman's gallery:

Women's cricket:

Well, after a walk along Bowral's main street (left), including stops at a fancy doughnut shop (photo below)  - good coffee and bakeries are to be found at every street corner! - another bookstore and Dirty Janes Antique Emporium (photos further below), we called it a day around 4:30 pm. Stocked with some groceries from Woolworths - a gigantic supermarket - we checked in and got busy to catch up with daily business.

WiFi is spotty in the cottage, and, so far, TV has "no signal". Last nights we watched some free-TV series about "Road Trains" - enormously long, heavy trucks in the Outback - and their drivers. Mostly, here, they advice to use your own account (Netflix/Amazon etc), but usually there are some free public channels, too. Life isn't getting easier with all the technology available ,,,
 

Canberra - lots to learn!

We arrived to Canberra - the capital of Australia (crest on the photo left) on Wednesday late afternoon, after driving through the thunderstorm. We stopped on our way at a supermarket and bought steaks and some other condiments. Since we had booked an AirBnB in a modern apartment building, we were lucky and had two rooms, a kitchen, a balcony, and, we were able to wash laundry and to spread out - a welcome respite for two nights!

The steaks (rump steak/porterhouse) were rather small/thin, but taste was fabulous! Tender and juicy, not like ours, and, rather cheap, too! Only around 10 Euro for the two Australian beef steaks, which we served with a salad, a "capsicum dip" (that's how they call bell peppers here) and fresh sourdough bread. Some Hunter Valley Shiraz to go with - what elso could you wish for? – served on the balcony (which is not really idyllic because directed towards the street, but okay).

 

 

Thursday morning, we were awake early, and, after an equally good home-made breakfast with eggs and chorizo, we took the streetcar in front of our door, into town (only about 10 min). It was much cooler today, only around 20 deg C, pretty pleasant, for a change! And it's me, saying that!

Arrived to downtown Canberra and noticed lots of construction going on, due to a planned extension of the streetcar line. Told beforehand: Canberra is not a destination for your "average tourist". If you are not interested in history, politics, art and architecture, don't go there! The city itself is not highly attractive, and, very spread out. 

Canberra is the capital of Australia and the main city of the Australian Capital Territory, one of six states in Australia. Founded after the colonies of Australia decided to form a federation in 1901, Canberra (470,000 pop.)  became the official seat of the Government – a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne. It wa splanned by American architects Walter and Marion Griffin from Chicago.

It's a government town, with lots of state institutions and offices, military organisations (Defence Force), foreign embassies and other government-related companies and organisations. Rather sterile. Main attraction is the National Triangle with all its museums and "political sights". First we went to the Visitor Center with the National Capital Exhibition (left, above) to get an introduction and directions. Interesting! We went on, but had underestimated the distances. Boy, it was quite a bit of a walk between the different sights and museums on the Triangle!

National Library was next (with exhibitions there, too) - photo below -, then on to the National Portrait Gallery (further below). 

Skipped the National Gallery and went on to the Old Parliament House (1927),  a beautiful building, nowadays seat of the Museum of Australian Democracy with highly interesting exhibitions and well-maintained original features of the former parliament house.

 Nearby the Parliament Gardens, with a beautiful rose garden:

,,, and on to the new Parliament Building:

The new Parliament House opened in 1988, with Queen Elizabeth being present for the opening, and it's huge: 300 m large and 300 m wide, huge with 4.500 rooms! A lego modell (below) shows the dimensions. We peeked in the House of Reps (eucalyptus green, below) and the Senate (red-soil-colored, above), checked the exhibitions and climbed on the roof for the views (which were blurred because of the clouds).

 

View from the roof:

Fortunately, feet tired, we found a bus to bring us to the National Museum of Australia, passing the large campus of the Australian National University (ANU). Next stop: The National Museum of Australia (left), another huge architecturally interesting complex with heaps of information about the Australian history, culture, industry, flora and fauna. All a bit overwhelming and not too clearly structured, but, nevertheless, a good source of information. Brain is rotating now,,, so much new and interesting to learn and see!

Above a Holden car, one of the only cars produced in Australia. Very sturdy and solid!

Saltwater crocodile -highly dangerous!

End of the day in downtown Canberra - guess where? At one of two local breweries, "Bent Spoke Brewing Company", packed with office people at Happy Hour. We had a "Feierabendbier" (after-work drink) and walked to the streetcar stop and back to the apartment from there. Dinner was a rather simple affair with leftovers from yesterday.

From the Blue Mountains to the "Bush Capital" of Australia

 

 

Our Day 2 in the Blue Mountains started at a bakery on Main Street (below), with freshly baked meat pies, a (British?) tradition in Australia. And some sweet, buttery cinnamon roll, too. 

We went for a walk after breakfast and found the first real murals in Australia, in Katoomba!

 

 

 

On to the Blue Mountains Heritage Center after check-out and there we learned a little bit more about the history of the region and the Aborigines:

,,, but, most impressive: the nature itself: endless green-blueish softly waving hills grown over with Eucalyptus and ferns, with waterfalls and some rugged reddish sandstone inbetween. At Govetts Leap, another observation point, several trails started and we hiked at least a short one.

See the waterfall and the "Hanging Swamp" (below) - I assume ferns and lichen and mosses?

Wish, we would have had planned more time here, but how could we know? Therefore, we drove another 300 km or so towards Canberra, the capital of Australia. Again, winding roads, sides often unmarked and unpaved, road constructions, crests and steep decends, bumps and potholes. I had assumed, that due to the distances roads are straight and smooth, but,,, wrong! It's not really relaxing like in the U.S.A. to drive long distances, almost never can use the Cruise Control, always full attention necessary. Some roadkill, too, and rarely places to stop on the way.

 

Landscape became a bit more "agricultural" after we left the Blue Mountains, more grain fields, and, cow and sheep pasture. Merino Sheep (see below in the background) are very common, 80% of the wool is supposed to come from Australia!

In a pretty non-distinct town we stopped for a break and had a little "snacky" as the Australians say (they tend to belittle many words, like "breaky" for breakfast or "barby" for BBQ). Freddo Frogs (below) are an Australian icon. The Freddo Frog was created in 1930 as an appealing, affordable chocolate treat.

On the last stretch of way on the autobahn into Canberra, the capitol of Australia, we hit a real ugly rainstorm. Visibility went down to almost zero, water came down horizontally, road was flooded and driving was no fun at all. It took about 15 min., then it fortunately slowed down, shortly before we reached Canberra. Glad, that the car will stay in the garage tomorrow!