Sydney

This picture shows the Sydney Opera House and the Sydney Harbour Bridge (do I have to say that?)

The first performance in the Opera House was a production of War and Peace on 28th September 1973, and the complex was officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II on 20th October. It had originally been estimated that the project would cost A$ 7 million and construction would last for 5 years. Incredibly, A$ 102 million was spent on the project over 19 years, which was paid off through the lottery by 1975. The entire external structure was designed by a Danish architect Jorn Utzon. However, the government refused to pay him to design the interiors and they now resemble something between a post-modern tabernacle of the Church of Jesus Christ's Last Days and the Congress Palace in Kremlin. (Jorn Utzon had left Australia before the construction was finished and never came back.)

The Harbour Bridge was completed in 1932 and cost A$ 20 million (I feel like I'm writing an audit report here). At the time of its completion it was the largest arch bridge in the world spanning over 500 meters, containing 52 000 tons of steel (its completion was accompanied by lots of enthusiasm and bold proclamations). The whole construction was apparently prefabricated in England and shipped over for assembly. (In some books I've read that the steel was actually produced in the biggest Czech steel factory at that time - Vitkovicke ocelarny - which is possible, given the newly born Czechoslovakia had very good relations with Britain before WWII, but who knows.)

Sydney was a gate to Australia for me. Before I could come to the country at the other end of the world, I had to prove to the Australian government that I had a job in my home country (I didn't) enough money to support myself there (for which I hoped but wasn't sure), I'm healthy (medical help costs money) and then the usual stuff about not being a terrorist and not intending to kill The Queen in case she turned up. In return, I received an orange visa with a kangaroo and an emu.

My flying route was Prague -> London, London -> Hong Kong (we flew over Prague), Hong Kong -> Sydney. I left Prague Wednesday morning and arrived to Sydney 36 hours later, on Friday morning (with a 12 hours time difference).

I can't sleep on planes so I arrived in a terrible condition. J. brought me some sandwiches with vegemite and cheese as a welcome dinner. The next morning, he dragged me around the town claiming that I need to put up with it to get over the jet lag. I hated him. I did feel upside down (and occasionally also inside out).

The day after, I woke up feeling my usual cr*p, but during the morning I had to admit that J was right. My body gave up and decided to cooperate. I was fine. Even my brain was back!

We saw the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House from both outside and inside, the historical ("historical") part of the town as well as the new areas, the rum factory that nowadays is a hospital (rum was an official currency in Australia until as late as the first quarter of the 19th century). We went out with a couple of Brits who settled down in Sydney with their Australian spouses. I found some really big spiders in the gardens. I was happy.

It might have been because the sky was clouded or because the first shop we passed on the way from the airport was selling perfectly European Santas Clauses (it was March) or because I lost two pairs of sunglasses in the Darling Harbour - but I didn't like Sydney. I found it very chaotic. I'm not used to skyscrapers and with too many around I kept losing my way and needed a map anywhere I went (6 years later, I'm working at Canary Wharf in London and I'm used to skyscrapers all right, no issue with directions whatsoever).

I didn't like the fact that the park in the middle of the town is called "Hyde Park". People say that Sydney is a place you have to get used to and they may be right. (We left Sydney in style: we need to get a car, we need to get a car, we need to get a car ... J was all nervous we'll get it all wrong .... cool, we got a car, parked it in front of the hostel for 10 minutes ... and ... got fined A$62. Never mind.)