Although the list is a major influence of our leisure time, there are pockets of fun that sidetrack the list. When compiling the list, I heavily relied on the recommendations of local Melbournians. That might be the reason why the Hofbräuhaus fell through the cracks and didn’t make the list. But rather than delving into an archeology session at this point, let’s get to the good stuff.
Author: Michael
Hi, I'm Michael, a raging introvert, challenged creative and uber-German (estimated to be 120% German). Born and raised in Northern Germany, my journey has been continually south - Regensburg, Munich and now Melbourne. I like all things photography, web culture and efficiency. If Sheldon knocked on my door three times, I'd let him in.
#51 – Scream your heart out at a footy match at the MCG … and go with somebody who can explain what’s going on – August 16, 2013
Australia is a country with a strong sports culture, which makes sense if you consider the good weather and thereby excellent conditions for sports outside. Early on we were introduced to the culture through the Australian Open in January, the Formula One in March and the excitement that built up throughout those events. However, if you follow the news, those events represent only a glitch in the sports year. The major share of news coverage goes to what the Aussies call footy (which is the abbreviation of Australian Rules Football, Aussie rules or even shorter footy) – even in summer and early autumn, when the season wasn’t even on. Footy is Australia’s contribution to the “kick the ball in the goal” ecosystem of sports, which from an outsiders perspective looks like the love child of soccer, rugby and American football.
At this point, I’ve lost the respect of every Aussie who started reading and no Australian continues to read this post. Comparing footy to American Football is for any Aussie at least as offensive as faking a British accent in front of a Brit and expecting him to find it amusing. Now that we’ve lost the southern hemisphere, let’s continue with the post.
#53 – Wine and dine your girl at Moon Under Water and talk about the George Orwell essay after which it is named – August 7, 2013
The Moon Under Water is an essay that Orwell wrote in 1946 for the Evening Standard. He describes in detail his most favourite pub, the Moon Under Water. It sports features like being quiet enough for a pleasant conversation, serving snacks and having a family friendly garden. The impatient reader can get a quick overview at Wikipedia. However, the full essay is not that long either and worth the extra five minutes. Unfortunately, Orwell’s Moon Under Water is just his ideal of a pub and he had yet to find it. “I have mentioned above ten qualities that the perfect pub should have and I know one pub that has eight of them. Even there, however, there is no draught stout, and no china mugs.”
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Dear Melbourne
You can be so much more. So much more than the stormy days, grey and rainy as they were throughout the last few weeks. So much more than the coldness that sneaks up on you, won’t leave you for days on end and drives your heating bill into astronomical heights. Honestly, you’ve been quite a turd.
But Melbourne, you can be so beautiful, so exciting. I even dare to say, you can be adventurous. Your bright cloudless skies that sport a blue like no other. Your crisp air on a sunny winter day that is warm enough to be outside just with a sweater. Your outdoorsy culture that invites for a stroll along the beach, a sit down in a lane-way cafe or a bike ride through Albert Park. You’ve been so fabulous this weekend that I forgive you. I forgive you your grumpy misdemeanour over that last couple of weeks. We’re friends again and I’m so looking forward to spending my first spring with you. The last two days’ preview makes me look forward to spring, summer and autumn so much. Just give me a couple of days to get my bike fixed and then I’m ready.
The two of us will have so much fun together.
Your BFF,
Michael
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Dear Diary
Today was a good day. Jogging in the morning sun along the beach, biking to St Kilda for brunch with friends, a little nap at noon, more biking to Elwood for afternoon steak, watching a perfect sunset at St Kilda beach, being amazed by Super Moon, finishing the day off with Sunday Movie night with friends. It’s been a very good Melbournian day filled with sun, friends and fresh air. Thank you, I’m glad we’re here.
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#97 – A day out in the Dandenongs
#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.
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#54 – Breakfast at Chez Dre
#54 – Have dessert with your breakfast at Chez Dre – Saturday, June 1 2013
Having had dinner at the Waiters Club the previous night, we were brave and chose to tackle Chez Dre directly the following morning. Chez Dré is a patisserie/ boulangerie, or as normal people call it, a café located in a small side street in South Melbourne. One week into the list and we kind of get it: good venues are in lane-ways and you have to know in advance where to go to. There is no such thing as discovery by chance. Similar to last week, when we had breakfast at St Ali’s, we just went there without making a reservation. However this week we arrived two hours later, i.e. during the breakfast rush hour in South Melbourne. The place was packed and so we had to wait some time to be seated. We put our names on the list, went out to get some groceries from the South Melbourne market and came back about 20 minutes later. Not much progress on the seating front. So we waited and engaged in light people-watching. A fashionable crowd, not quite as hip as you would see it in Brunswick, but definitely paying attention to their outer appearance. Harriet was very intimidated.
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#41 – Sun Theatre in Yarraville
#41 – Watch a movie in art deco at The Sun Theatre in Yarraville – Saturday, June 1, 2013
I’ve got a couple of cinemas on my list and The Sun Theatre was not my initial choice. But I have to say I was so wrong and so glad I included it rather than the Gold Pass seats in one of the Village Cinemas. The Sun one of the classic Melbournian cinemas that managed to stand the test of time. It originally opened in 1938 as a single-screen cinema with 1050 seats. At that time it was the most luxurious cinema in the area and drew large crowds each week (that was before TV). Today, it sports six boutique cinemas with a total of 660 seats. The six cinemas are named after classic cinemas from the area that have now long gone. You quickly get a feel that it not only was once a great cinema, but still is.
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#42 – The Waiters Club
#42 – Rescue ricotta ravioli out of the pool of tomato sauce at the Waiters Club – Friday, May 31 2013
A good restaurant is like a good person. At first sight, a person appears more attractive if they are better dressed, have a nice tan and charming manners. But the more you get to know someone, you quickly realize that it’s the inner values that make them really attractive … or not. You want to spend more time with them because they have good stories to tell, make you feel comfortable despite your own shortcomings and in the end make you have a good time.
I took the time and laid The List out on a Google Maps. You can also view it larger: 111 Things to do in and around Melbourne.