Just one day in Sydney? Are you mad?
Wrong, not only once, but twice (or actually three times). I am not mad, nor am I in Sydney for just one day, but 6 days in total. And worst of all, Sydney is not the capital of Australia, but Canberra is. Don't worry, no one has ever heard about Canberra and almost no one goes there either. Apart from its political significance, Canberra is said to be quite a dull city, but nevertheless I decided to take a quick look around.
So I took the bus from Sydney to Canberra, a 3,5 hour drive through very pretty countryside. Upon arrival, I immediately hired a bike as Canberra is said to be one of the most bike-friendly cities in Australia. After 6 months of not cycling, the last time was on Rottnest Island in Perth, I felt I had to practice a bit before my return to the Netherlands. Luckily the bike was really good and the first part of my bike ride also had bikelanes, so I did not have to worry too much. Overall, actually, it was quite easy to bike, though a lot of the biking had to be done on the pedestrian paths as there were very few bike lanes present.
The first stop was the Australian War Memorial. It wasn't supposed to be the first stop, but as the bus was delayed and Mount Ainslie looked way too steep for 35 degrees weather, I decided that the lookout from the top must be saved for if I ever come back. And so it was the War Memorial where I first got off my bike. The memorial was opened in 1941 and is a memorial for all Australian armed forces and related organizations. It is a very impressive building and has an extensive museum on all the wars Australia participated in, making it a really informative and worthy stop when in Canberra.
As the War Memorial sits on the slope of a mountain, you already get a good view on the city and from there it becomes clear that Canberra is a very different city than any other in Australia. It was not until 1901 that the different Australian states were federated. This federation, however, meant that a capital city was needed and huge rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney called for a compromise: Canberra. Shortly thereafter, a design competition was launched to get Canberra ready to become the nation's capital city. Up until then, Canberra was a rural town and it really needed a new layout to house the government. Canberra is thus completely designed, and has many geometric features like circles and triangles. From the War Memorial you can look across the artificial lake to both the Old Parliament House and the new Parliament building.
The new Parliament building was also my next stop, and I took a free tour to learn more about the building and Australian government. Hearing all the information, it became clear that everything in this city is well thought-through. The new Parliament building sits in a mountain, not on top, so that it does not look like the government is above the people. You can even go to the roof of the building so that you can physically stand above Australia's government. From the colours to the art, everything is chosen for a reason, and it was very interesting to hear about the reasoning behind it. The flag on top of the building, for example, already weighs 15 kilos!
It was then time for a well-deserved break. The weather was very sticky, it was really hot and cloudy at the same time, with a really high humidity, and so my body was screaming for something cold. My stop at Patissez was therefore perfect, as this small café is the place where Freakshakes (or Freaking awesome milkshakes) originate from. I enjoyed their Cheshire Cat, a delicious strawberry cheescake shake!
It was then time to move on to visit the Australian Art Gallery, which features a significant collection of Indigenous and Australian art. I really enjoyed this, as a lot of musea here host a lot of international art, but this gallery really focused on art from their own country and culture. The building itself was not very interesting from the outside, but the inside was very pretty and there was enough information to keep entertained for a while.
After looking at the Australian art, I cycled some more around the city, passing Old Parliament House, which is now way too small for the government, an Indigenous demonstration for land rights, and many other governmental buildings. I returned my bike, bought some dinner and franatically searched for a post card from Canberra before taking the bus back to Sydney. It was a very interesting day in Canberra, a very different city from the ones I have already visited here and thus definitely worth a visit if you want a complete view of Australia. And with this trip I can now say I have officially been to every single state and territory in Australia!
Wrong, not only once, but twice (or actually three times). I am not mad, nor am I in Sydney for just one day, but 6 days in total. And worst of all, Sydney is not the capital of Australia, but Canberra is. Don't worry, no one has ever heard about Canberra and almost no one goes there either. Apart from its political significance, Canberra is said to be quite a dull city, but nevertheless I decided to take a quick look around.
So I took the bus from Sydney to Canberra, a 3,5 hour drive through very pretty countryside. Upon arrival, I immediately hired a bike as Canberra is said to be one of the most bike-friendly cities in Australia. After 6 months of not cycling, the last time was on Rottnest Island in Perth, I felt I had to practice a bit before my return to the Netherlands. Luckily the bike was really good and the first part of my bike ride also had bikelanes, so I did not have to worry too much. Overall, actually, it was quite easy to bike, though a lot of the biking had to be done on the pedestrian paths as there were very few bike lanes present.
The first stop was the Australian War Memorial. It wasn't supposed to be the first stop, but as the bus was delayed and Mount Ainslie looked way too steep for 35 degrees weather, I decided that the lookout from the top must be saved for if I ever come back. And so it was the War Memorial where I first got off my bike. The memorial was opened in 1941 and is a memorial for all Australian armed forces and related organizations. It is a very impressive building and has an extensive museum on all the wars Australia participated in, making it a really informative and worthy stop when in Canberra.
As the War Memorial sits on the slope of a mountain, you already get a good view on the city and from there it becomes clear that Canberra is a very different city than any other in Australia. It was not until 1901 that the different Australian states were federated. This federation, however, meant that a capital city was needed and huge rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney called for a compromise: Canberra. Shortly thereafter, a design competition was launched to get Canberra ready to become the nation's capital city. Up until then, Canberra was a rural town and it really needed a new layout to house the government. Canberra is thus completely designed, and has many geometric features like circles and triangles. From the War Memorial you can look across the artificial lake to both the Old Parliament House and the new Parliament building.
The new Parliament building was also my next stop, and I took a free tour to learn more about the building and Australian government. Hearing all the information, it became clear that everything in this city is well thought-through. The new Parliament building sits in a mountain, not on top, so that it does not look like the government is above the people. You can even go to the roof of the building so that you can physically stand above Australia's government. From the colours to the art, everything is chosen for a reason, and it was very interesting to hear about the reasoning behind it. The flag on top of the building, for example, already weighs 15 kilos!
It was then time to move on to visit the Australian Art Gallery, which features a significant collection of Indigenous and Australian art. I really enjoyed this, as a lot of musea here host a lot of international art, but this gallery really focused on art from their own country and culture. The building itself was not very interesting from the outside, but the inside was very pretty and there was enough information to keep entertained for a while.
After looking at the Australian art, I cycled some more around the city, passing Old Parliament House, which is now way too small for the government, an Indigenous demonstration for land rights, and many other governmental buildings. I returned my bike, bought some dinner and franatically searched for a post card from Canberra before taking the bus back to Sydney. It was a very interesting day in Canberra, a very different city from the ones I have already visited here and thus definitely worth a visit if you want a complete view of Australia. And with this trip I can now say I have officially been to every single state and territory in Australia!
0 reactions