#97 – Stroll the little boutiques and shops in the Dandenongs and eat out at Cockoo and take a hike along the thousand steps – Sunday, June 9 2013
This is basically a triple feature of (i) the thousand steps, (ii) the little shops in Sassafras (great name!) and (iii) an “authentic Bavarian experience” at Cuckoo’s. But let’s start with the thousand steps. As we were in the middle of a long weekend and anticipating crowds, we got up bright and early to get to the Dandenongs. The streets were empty and the drive was smooth. I’m still getting used to driving on the left side (which is not the right side) and I’m still missing the efficiency of the Autobahn and its lack of traffic lights.
Our first stop brought us to the Thousand Steps trail, also known as the Kokoda Track Memorial Walk. It is located in the Dandenong Ranges National Park and was created in the early 1900’s and rebuilt to its current state in 1950. The climb is roughly 2.8 km long, but vertical and took us to a a small picnic ground at the top of the walk. The trail is a memorial for the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea that was one of the more significant locations of the World War II battle between Japanese and Australian forces in 1942.
Even early in the morning the track was already crowded by joggers and walkers doing the thousand steps for fitness purposes. By noon the tourists and visitors from Melbourne took over. We were rewarded for getting up early with easy parking. 90 minutes later when we left, parking was a nightmare and people were queuing and cruising.
Our next stop took us to Sassafras, a small village about 10 km further down the road. The Wikipedia entry for Sassafras seems longer than its main street. The 200 metres of the high street are populated by little shops offering very selected items ranging from clothing, candles, toys to gourmet food. Their prices are only justifiable by the shopping experience and the friendliness of the respective shop owner. The Desert Road variation of Rocky Road was delicious despite the price tag.
Our last stop led us to the Cuckoo restaurant. We had been warned by our German neighbour not to go there, because it heavily serves up every cliché people have about Germany. Having now been there, we can confirm: No German should ever go there for a real German experience. Northern Germans would be offended because Bavarian clichés are generalised for Germany as a whole, and Southern Germans would be offended because they got it all wrong.
Yes, they take kitsch to a whole new level. Yes, they play German pop songs of the 70s on a Casio synthesizer. Of course, there is the Neuschwanstein backdrop for the band pit. But they do it in such a non-ironic way that the whole scene is just loveable. The staff was very attentive, and as soon as they found out I came from Germany they engaged in conversation. My first devonshire coffee (not so German) was very tasty, with scones fresh out of the oven. It is the kind of a surreal experience, which you might be only able to fully appreciate if you are from Germany, but which is accessible and inclusive enough for everybody to enjoy. I’m seriously contemplating taking my lederhosen out there on October 19th, when they celebrate Oktoberfest – two weeks after the real Oktoberfest shuts down.
