Sydney... Fuck Yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!

"Fuck Yeah!!!" were the familiar words we heard on a beach on our second day in Sydney.
It became clear that we were not in Asia anymore. The words, or better said the screams came from a group of buffed-up, sweaty dudes, I mean mates playing ball(s) on the beach. It almost sounded as if one of them was reaching a climax: "Fuck, yeah, fuck yeah......... FUCK YEAAAAAAAAAH!!!!!"

So, we flew to Sydney from Denpasar, Bali and on our way there, we expected very hot weather due to the historical heat-wave. The day we arrived it rained and then it kept raining for the next few days.
My friend Jurgita picked us up from the airport, I was anxious about our meeting since we have not seen each other since 1996. It was easy to recognize her, she had not changed much. We became friends in Frankfurt, Germany before I moved to the US. Later she met an Australian, they got married and 6 years ago moved to Sydney, his home.
Jurgita is originaly from Lithuania, so back then we spoke German together. But now we automatically started speaking English to each other. With some people it does not matter how much time passes that you don't see them, because once you do, you just pick it up where you left it off the last time. It was like that for me and Jurgita. I was happy that we finally cought up with each other after 12 years.
Jurgita and her husband Aistis have a cute, 6-month old baby-boy whose name is Natas (Satan backwards :)
They live in a big house in North Sydney and we stayed with them. As soon as we arrived they gave us a mega warm welcome, even though I've never met her husband and Jurgita has never met Miko before. Staying at their place was a unique experience, like Aistis said: "Welcome to the commune!" Jurgita, Aistis and their baby live with Aistis' dad Dan, Aistis' "crazy" uncle, Jurgita's parents who are visiting for 6 months and remodeling the house, Alkina the dog, plus Hana and Miko :) Full house for sure.


Sydney was a nice stop. We did not do much which was the plan.
We saw the famous Opera House, the Sydney Harbour Bridge and the beautiful Botanic Garden. There were exotic birds, funny Bottle tree, ponds with fishes, and large fruit eating bats all hanging in one tree bickering at each other. We took a nice nap there. Being in the Botanic Garden felt a little like being in the Central Park in New York, with the downtown buildings rising behind the tree line.









































Outside of that we went three times to the beach: swimming, body-boarding and body surfing. The water was so warm and welcoming, I completely forgot they had big white sharks over there and there were 2 shark attacks just two weeks before (and later). Even though Sydney reminded us of a bigger version of San Francisco, the beaches here are quite different. Unlike in SF (cold & windy), they are friendly, warm, sandy beaches with great waves. We went to Manly, Dee Why, and Bondi beach. Manly stands out as favorite.


Miko got to practice driving a stick shift on the left side in a super loud and cute, yellow, little convertible Honda. Thank you Jurgita and Aistis, who gave us so much when we arrived, a computer to use and a cell phone, a roof over our heads and a car! Merci beacoup.



Being in Sydney was very nice but at the same time felt a little weird. Like we were back in the US, which made Miko little scared about the return getting closer. Before going to Australia, I always pictured it as an even mix between the European and American culture, but I realized it is closer to the American. People are not as big or buffed up as in the US.

We had a good time with Jurgita and Aistis, sitting in their backyard until wee hours, drinking and talking. They are both night birds. We stayed with them for 6 nights and then again got a warm welcome from Mr. Tom Proctor & Gen MacMahon (in absence). They have a great apartment in downtown Sydney. Miko used to work with Tom at Giant Killer Robots and with Gen at Tippett Studio. Unfortunately Gen was in New Zealand while we were in Sydney. On our first night there, we helped Tom make home made gnocchi with pesto sauce. Delicious. See Gen, you should have been there ;)

We also had the great honor to see Mister Andy Tamandl (another former Robot) on his visit home from LA.
It was nice to see those familiar faces and geek out about movies again.

So Sydney was pretty much all about chilling out, living in a commune, catching up with friends, swimming, body boarding, drinking beer and eating fish & chips, tasting kangarou meat (we did not get to see any of them alive :(, showing off in a noisy yellow convertible, revisiting McDonald, redescovering the movie theater, watching big boobs bouncing all over the city (what's up with the boobs on a platter says Hana), and enjoying coffee at local cafes. Plus great breakfasts at Bunker on Liverpool Street, Darlinghurst. Bunker you are the best!!! FUCK YEAH!!!




























And finally, Miko's interesting talk with the owner of a surf shop, a genuinly nice guy who was racist against anyone not Australian, especially Americans ("all perverts & druggies") even though some of them were his friends. He told Miko that it was good that he is going to New Zealand next: "They like foreigners over there."

New Zealand here we come....

PS: This entry is short because some of you complained that our entries are becoming too long. Hope this is short enough for your lunch break Yann ;)