Melbourne: Hipster hurray!

 

"Hell-no" burger

Australia. The land down under. If you believe all the things posted on Facebook, the country is filled with giant animals and other things that can kill you, be it funnel web spiders, salt water crocs, venomous 2-headed snakes, bull sharks, bodybuilding kangaroos, or Hugh Jackman’s deltoids. Or worse - Vegemite! 

My work trip brought me to Melbourne and Sydney. I never really thought much about visiting the land down under because it seems so far away, and it takes an entire day to travel.  So, I had no clue what it had to offer.  While there were definitely shockers (what?! they eat their beloved kangaroos?!), most of what I saw in Melbourne and Sydney were quite tame. Its not like these cities were crawling with koalas and wombats. Although that would be cute.  

First up, Melbourne. Melbourne was crawling with laidback hipsters, still cute, but less so than koalas. I stayed at an Art Hotel, where my room was adorned with a huge original art piece on the main wall, and everything was tastefully contemporary.  It was a great preview on what Melbourne had in store for me. Here are my top memorable moments in Melbourne:

• Coffee - I will never call myself a coffee connoisseur ever again. Coffee in Melbourne is a culture on its own.  I've been to Europe and enjoyed cafes aplenty, but have never had consistently Ahhh-mazing coffee than I've experienced in Melbourne. Is it the water? Is it the beans? Is there hidden kale in it? What sorcery is this?! Interestingly enough, I read that the rise of coffee in Australia began as a response to drunkenness. The Temperance movement in the 1890s saw abstinence from alcohol and into more socialization - enter the cafes! And the Melbourne coffee literacy got passed on to present generation. Safe to say, the beans are on their genes! 

Coffee roasting heaven

• Laneways and arcades - after arriving in Melbourne, I was quickly educated in Melbourne shopping way. Laneways and arcades have completely different meaning than how we use these words in the US. Laneways are narrow streets or tucked away alleys, paved or not with cobblestones, and lined with arrays of cafes, boutiques, shops and restaurants. Think Diagon Alley, if you're a Potterhead.   Arcades, on the other hand, are covered shopping plazas. They are often connected by laneways. These were so cute, and I enjoyed every navigation (translation: getting lost) minute. 

Hebrew happy new year greeting
at the Royal Arcade

Centre Place laneway

• St. Kilda - I didn't have time to go to the historic 1912 amusement park, Luna Park, and I'm not really sure I tried very hard after seeing the creepy clown entrance. Yikes. But that not-so-good tingling sensation down my spine easily blew away when dusk came and I headed to the pier to watch the sunset.  I was on a mission when I took the public tram ride to St. Kilda: See the little penguins - the smallest species of penguins in the world.  These little nuggets come home to the St. Kilda breakwater at half an hour past sunset.  They swim and waddle back to their nests among the rocks every night. Absolutely adorable!

Luna Park, amusing or disturbing? I'll pass!

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• Queen Victoria Market - 140 years strong, and the largest open-air market in the southern hemisphere, this market is full of life! and souvenirs! and Uggs! and food, so much of it. 

I can guess, but I'd rather not know. :(

Uggs. Uggs. Uggs. Say that 10x,
and you'll sound like hip enough for Melbourne

Breakfast?

3D street art:
Because 2D graffiti is not trendy enough!

• Sights - Street art, bridges, buskers, and shoppers.  Melbourne is like a mellower version of Philadelphia, or Philly's quirky cousin. It's quite easy to navigate by foot, bus, tram or Uber.  I tried them all. 

I was fortunate to meet up with Ethel, a friend from grad school who moved to Melbourne. She graciously took me to some places that I wouldn't have known otherwise (cause I had no time to read the Frommers Guide I brought!).  The Coop's Shot Tower was fascinating. I didn't even know such places existed nor what a shot tower was until I visited Melbourne, though I could guess it. Basically, this is the tower were they made small pellets for shotguns. When the factory produces pellets or "shot balls", they send down the molten lead down the tower by free fall down to a water basin at the bottom.  The liquid lead forms spheres and solidify as they fall down the tower.


Ethel also took me to the State Library which is Australia's oldest public library. Thanks Ethel! Since I love looking down from great heights, we went all the way to the top floor treating me to the view of the chess room, which houses books dedicated to... well, chess. How on earth did you guess that? Perhaps because nothing screams hipster like Chess does? ;) They even have game tables with chessboards.