Canberra the Capital
We left Sydney and caught the morning bus to Canberra; the capital of Australia.
Size-wise it's a lot smaller than many other cities in Australia, but I've heard that it was chosen because the people couldn't come to an agreement whether Sydney or Melbourne should be capital, and to deal with the dilemma in a true Aussie fashion a small city in between the two giants were chosen; Canberra.
As we arrived the bus driver announced that they were expecting two thunderstorms in Canberra on this day, just as the rain began pouring down.
With only 12 hours on our hands, we decided that the weather wasn't gonna hold us back. We grabbed an umbrella and a map from a shop in the bus station and headed out towards our first point of interest; Australian War Memorial.
This place was a monument build to honor and the fallen soldiers of wars in Australian history. Wall upon wall filled with names of men and women who gave their lives for their country. A very beautiful gesture, but also a very sad place to visit.
As we headed towards our next stop, the skies cleared and the sun broke loose. No thunderstorms after all! We quickly went back to the station to rent a couple of bicycle and rode to the National Museum of Australia, which, like many other museums and places in Canberra has free entrance (humbly paid by the Australian tax payers). The museum was huge on the outside, but a lot smaller on the inside. We went around the exhibition a bit too quickly, anxious to get back on the bikes.
Riding the bicycles was a great freedom, I had almost forgot how free you feel on a bicycle.
Next up we crossed the Commonwealth Bridge and headed straight for the Parliament of Australia on Capital Hill. From there we had a great view all the way over the Old Parliament House, across the Commonwealth Bridge and all the way to the War Memorial.
A visit inside the Parliament was like entering the airport,; metal detectors and bag scanners.
After a quick peak, we grabbed our bikes from the parking basement and headed out into the sunny weather once again. Destination; Old Parliament House. A ride around the outside parking was enough, and we quickly continued to the bay.
At the bay of Lake Burley Griffin we got a great view with Captain Cook Memorial Jet in front of the Commonwealth Bridge. We also spotted black swans and big schools of fish.
With a slight sunburn we returned to the station - sore legs and happy minds - for an ice cream and a relax before our next bus with destination; Melbourne.
Size-wise it's a lot smaller than many other cities in Australia, but I've heard that it was chosen because the people couldn't come to an agreement whether Sydney or Melbourne should be capital, and to deal with the dilemma in a true Aussie fashion a small city in between the two giants were chosen; Canberra.
As we arrived the bus driver announced that they were expecting two thunderstorms in Canberra on this day, just as the rain began pouring down.
With only 12 hours on our hands, we decided that the weather wasn't gonna hold us back. We grabbed an umbrella and a map from a shop in the bus station and headed out towards our first point of interest; Australian War Memorial.
This place was a monument build to honor and the fallen soldiers of wars in Australian history. Wall upon wall filled with names of men and women who gave their lives for their country. A very beautiful gesture, but also a very sad place to visit.
As we headed towards our next stop, the skies cleared and the sun broke loose. No thunderstorms after all! We quickly went back to the station to rent a couple of bicycle and rode to the National Museum of Australia, which, like many other museums and places in Canberra has free entrance (humbly paid by the Australian tax payers). The museum was huge on the outside, but a lot smaller on the inside. We went around the exhibition a bit too quickly, anxious to get back on the bikes.
Riding the bicycles was a great freedom, I had almost forgot how free you feel on a bicycle.
Next up we crossed the Commonwealth Bridge and headed straight for the Parliament of Australia on Capital Hill. From there we had a great view all the way over the Old Parliament House, across the Commonwealth Bridge and all the way to the War Memorial.
A visit inside the Parliament was like entering the airport,; metal detectors and bag scanners.
With a slight sunburn we returned to the station - sore legs and happy minds - for an ice cream and a relax before our next bus with destination; Melbourne.
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