Brisbane

Brisbane - City between palms

It's pretty hard to take a picture of BRISBANE without kids climbing all over the letters

After Bali, Brisbane was a a relief. Finally we got sidewalks again! And almost no rubbish - but traveling there was a challenge!
On the Denpasar airport we learned what waiting in line really meant. First 30 minutes to the first security check, then an hour and a half to get rid of our check in luggage, then 30 minutes security check again AND yes, before boarding, there was another line to wait in just to get our carry on checked again. Arriving in Brisbane Airport, we thought it would be over - instead there was an hour and a half long line to get our passport checked and then again almost an hour until we were through customs.

Walking besides the Brisbane River

Brisbane by night

The most pleasant thing about our stay in Brisbane was that we lived in the heart of the city. In not even 2 minutes, we were at the beautiful South Bank. Walking alongside the river, sitting there and watching people, writing about the nice breeze and enjoying the sun became the thing I loved most about the city.
At South Bank, there is also a free artificial beach, a swimming pool, a rain forest and of course the big letters, spelling Brisbane. Kids, families and Asian people loved climbing up there and I loved to watch them.

Botanical Gardens

One of the amazing trees in the inner city Botanical Garden

There are two Botanic Gardens in Brisbane, one in the City Center (a smaller one) and then, when there was no space left, they continued just below Mount Coot-Tha. Both places did astonish me. The one in the inner city even had some mangroves on the river bank and a lovely view over to the cliffs of kangaroo point. And the other one was just so wide, you could spend a whole day there exploring the different plants.

Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary

A little outside of Brisbane lies the Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary. Over a 100 koalas are living there with many other animals native to Australia. I was a little disappointed at first sight. I expected a nature reserve where you could see animals in their natural surrounding, instead it was a zoo.

Me, cuddling with a koala

In the end I still loved it - for 20A$ I got to cuddle a Koala! And no, it does not stress the animals - they will be put in the hands of tourists for only 30 minutes a day and every fourth day is free. If a koala gets stressed out still, it will get a day off!
There also was a kangaroo feeding area but because of the heat the kangaroos were more interested in sleeping than in being fed. Because of that, we could just sneak up (even without kangaroo food) and pet them.
While on the ferry to Lone Pine we got some information about Brisbane, the celebrities who lived there, the Mayne Inheritance, the University and the buildings alongside the river.

Mount Coot-tha

According to the travel guide book, the most amazing view over the city should be from the top of Mount Coot-tha. As an Austrian, I have to say that 287 m doesn't deserve the name "mountain" but - shame over me - we went up by car.
The view really was stunning. You could see the small inner city of Brisbane with a few not even so high skyscrapers and than the seemingly never ending suburbs.

The view from Mount Coot-Tha

Art in public space

West End

One day for lunch we went into West End, a more alternative district of Brisbane. Because we've been there for just a few hours, I didn't see much from the promised bohemian lifestyle. No one was dancing on the streets or reciting a poem, there wasn't even a street musician but as I wrote: I only was there for a few hours around lunch time, maybe I should've come back at night. At least the shops looked different than the ones in the rest of Brisbane and there was a little bit of art in public space.

Museums

Art from Papua Neuguinea

On my last day, I went to the Museum and Science Center, the State Library, the Art Gallery and the Gallery of Modern Art. Not everything on purpose though. First things first - I love libraries, so I wanted to check out the State Library of Queensland. I was not disappointed! They did a lovely job making the library a place of relaxation full of inspiration for young writers - they even have a program for aspiring authors!
After that I wanted to see the "Wild State" exhibition about endangered animals of Queensland. I thought it would be a modern photo exhibition, so I went to the Art Gallery - there they told me, it must be in the Gallery of Modern Art - the way leads through their own exhibition about traditional art from Papua Neuguinea. I stayed longer than I had to, because I adored the masks and totem poles (I hope that is the correct translation), they had there.

Chilling area in the library

Finally I arrived at the Gallery of Modern Art. As soon as I went in, I knew I couldn't be right here. I enjoyed non of the exhibited things. At the counter, they told me to get back to the Museum and Science Center. I did! On my way I stumbled over informational photos about the Great Barrier Riff. Oh, I loved it, I thought the whole "Wild State Exhibition" would be like that. Instead it was made for kids and contained only taxidermied animals (Again, I hope I picked the right word for real animals being stuffed and prepared).

Matilda

In the evening I enjoyed the great musical of "Matilda". I didn't know the story before, so I was quite curious and I loved it! The musical was performed in the Center of Performing Arts. Mainly I was impressed by the kid actors and actresses. They were NOT switched after scenes. Those little kids performed the whole thing!

Saying Good-Bye to Brisbane

Good-Bye lovely Brisbane

Brisbane, Brisbane - I had such a lovely time with you! There were not that many traditional sights as in Singapore but the pure atmosphere made me fall in love with you. I had time, I enjoyed, I loved just sitting on the edge of your river, writing in my tiny booklet and watching all those people, who love living here. Brisbane, stay as you are for when I come back, I want to feel exactly the same: young and free and full of options.

Please forgive me for all my spelling, grammar and vocabulary mistakes!!
My mother tongue is German.