Surf Trip Details

We have another surf trip booked and would love for you to join us!!


Date: 16th December - 18th December
Website: Surf Camp
How to book:
Step 1:  select "The Weekender Surf Camp (2011) - $345"
Step 2: select "December 2011 Friday, 16 Dec 2011"
Step 3: enter how many people you are booking for
Step 4: enter promotion code internsurf
*On the following page you will see that the price has reduced from $345 all the way down to $265

Please contact intern@sydneyinternships.com.au or +61 2 9386 5441 if you have any queries. 
This trip will book out fast!!!

Mixed Emotions

Unfortunately this will be my last post on the blog. Hannah will take over the blog and keep you informed about her adventures.
On Friday I will leave to Cairns and travel down the coast to Sydney. I am already very excited about the trip but also I am sad to leave Sydney and all of my friends.


My last weekend was very good. Thursday night was a fun night out at the Ivy. Thursday is free entry which is always nice.
The next day a friend visited me and we went together to Bondi Beach to do the coastal walk and to see the sculptures by the sea. The sun was out and and we rested at the end of the exhibition on Tamarama Beach. The sculptures were beautiful but the paths were very crowded.

Sculpture by the sea

Sculptures by the sea

In the evening I went out with some friends to a restaurant in the backstreets of Paddington. It is a very nice area to eat and relax but the resaraunts can get very busy, even during the week. I highyl recommend you either book a table or turn up early.


We loved Paddington so much that we went there again the next morning to sit outside at a cafe to have breakfast. 

Paddington

After that we walked through Paddington Market and tried to catch a bus to Bondi Beach and go for a swim. Unfortunately there were too many people who had the same idea. The buses were packed and didn't even stop to let people on.... I have learnt to be very patient here in Australia. 

Paddington Market

When we finally reached the beach we were so glad just to relax and to jump into the refreshing sea. 


In the evening we had a farewell party for both my friend and I. It was an extraordinary night with highly mixed emotions.


Sunday was a recovery day, the weather was bad so we didn't go out for too many adventures only short walk to the beach and back. 


The new intern, Hannah and I are already very excited to meet many of you tonight at the intern meeting at Grill'd. She will take over the blog and the newsletter next week.


Looking forward to tonight. I wish all of you who can't join tonight a great time in Australia. For me it was awesome and I will never forget all the unique experience I have had. 


Until then...

Melbourne Roadtrip & Learn to Surf Weekend

Long time no see via the blog... I've been a little bit busy the last two weeks which means there is too much to update you all on.


The week before last I went on a road trip to Melbourne and the Great Ocean Road with some friends for a couple of days. It was simply awesome!! It was the second time I have visited this lovely city but there was still plenty of exciting things to see and do. 
We hired a car in Sydney and drove all the way down to Geelong to the beginning of the Great Ocean Road. It was the first time I have driven on the left hand side of the road. The first couple of minutes/ hours it was a little weird as I always wanted to grab the hand break on my right side out of habit. Luckily, in the end we arrived safely at our destination. If you think about doing a road trip to Melbourne I highly recommend to take breaks every two hours. It is very dangerous to carry on driving too long as the Highways are very straight, boring and tiring.
We saw loads of kangaroos and koalas (not always alive). We stopped anywhere and everywhere we wanted to. Unlike a tour bus it was great to have no restrictions.

Great Ocean Road

The Great Ocean Road was amazing to drive and the beaches and rock formations are breathtaking. The sea water is a little bit colder than in Sydney but people in our group jumped into the sea without thinking twice.

Twelve Apostles

Apollo Bay

When we arrived in Melbourne we had a bit of trouble at the beginning with the traffic and the famous 'hook turn'. You need to move into the left lane if you want to turn right...very strange! Parking in Melbourne is horrible which is why we parked our car a little outside to save money. At night we went to the casino and had a couple of drinks. Unfortunately we didn't win the 'big money'...

Melbourne at night

We also went to St. Kilda at night and watched a lightening storm over the bay while in the back there were some people with a guitar. It was very nice.


As we started our drive back to Sydney I really felt like we were on our way 'home' (even though my real home is a 24 hour flight away). 15 hours later we arrive back in Bondi.


Last weekend I joined the learn to surf weekend with Surf Camp Australia which traveled to Seven Mile Beach on the South Coast. It was an amazing experience. We arrived Friday evening in the camp after a 2 hour drive and were told instructions how about the weekend. Everyday we woke up at 7am and dressed up in our wet suites and headed to the beach. After some instructions on the beach and with the help of the instructors in the water, it was great to be able to stand up and successfully SURF! By the last day we could catch the waves on our own and ride them all the way to the shore. What a marvelous feeling!!
The pain in our muscles wasn't so marvelous as we couldn't move for the next day. It was probably from the surfing but it also could have been because we went out for some drinks with the group on Saturday night...

Surf Camp before the lessons

Surfcamp Australia

Surfing with dolphins at 7 Mile Beach

The next surf weekend has already been organised!!
When:16th December
How to book: click here
Discount promo code: internsurf


I highly recommend it!!!




I also want to let you guys know that the venue for our next intern meeting has changed. The new details are:


Date:     Tuesday, 22nd November
Time:     7pm
Where:  Grill'd
Venue:  141 Crown St, Darlinghurst (short walk from Oxford street)
What to expect: delicious burgers!!


I'm already excited to see many of you at the meeting!


Until then...

Collection

We have put together a collection a video of our favourite snaps from the social meetings and weekend trips.
So many good times and fantastic memories........

Halloween and a horse race

Well, unfortunately I was sick last week so there won't be as much to talk about in this blog... but even though I was feeling bad I forced myself out of bed so that I didn't miss too much.


Sadly I also went to some farewell parties last week. I said goodbye to some really good friends of mine but it was also very good to see them again and wish them all the best. I never thought that I could make such good friends in a relatively short period of time. I will definitely miss them.


Saying goodbye to good friends is something you need to deal when living abroad but on the other side it's fantastic to welcome new friends. There are always people coming and going.


After resting in bed with tea, lemon & honey the entire Saturday (because of my cold), I forced myself out of bed in the evening. I met some friends and we had a couple of drinks (or as for me Aspirin) at their place. We played Halloween games, which I had no idea existed... For example, there was a pot of water with apples in it and you needed to get them out of the with your mouth. It was very funny! Not sure why it related to Halloween but it was good fun anyway.
After the games we dressed up for Halloween and went out to Kings Cross. Everybody wore fancy clothes which reminded me of carnival in Germany. It was a fun & fancy night!

Kings Cross

Sunday morning I was feeling much better...I went to the lovely Queen Street for lunch with some friends and after that to the beach. I lounged there for the rest of the day watching Bondi Beach life. What else could make you feel better if not that!!

Afternoon at Bondi Beach

Yesterday was the Horse Race that stops a nation. Such a crazy day for Australians! The important race was at 3pm and I felt as if the work life in  Sydney stopped for about half an hour to watch the race, and of course, to place the last bets...I also went to a pub with my colleagues to watch the race and to bet. Unfortunately I didn't win anything but it was fun anyway. In the evening you could see all of the women wearing the beautiful hats or just a feather decoration and they also dressed up which was very interesting to watch. 

I have seen that some of you have signed in for the Surf Weekend on 11th November. I'm so so so excited for that weekend and look forward to seeing you guys there!!


Until then.....

Jervis Bay - really fascinating!

Last week we had our intern meeting in the Fringe Bar. I really was surprised but also glad to see so many of you there. It was a nice evening with a pretty good steak for dinner. It's always good to meet new people and talk with them about their experiences in Sydney. After the meeting in the Fringe Bar some interns and I went together to the Bondi Road Hotel in Bondi Beach. We had a few drinks and danced to the sounds of some live bands who were performing. All in all it was a perfect Wednesday evening in my opinion. 

Intern Meeting in Fringe Bar

Friday was a beautiful sunny day and that's why a friend and I decided to go to the beach. We packed all of our stuff and took the nice walk from Bellevue Hill to Bondi Beach. The midday sun is very aggressive and hot, so we sat under one of the many shelters on the grass behind the beach and had a yummy lunch. With a full belly we continued our way to the sand and looked for a good place to rest. Even though it was during the week, the beach was packed because of the perfect weather. Finally I dared to get in the sea for the first time in Sydney... It was very refreshing and once my head was under the water it didn't feel that cold anymore.

Bondi Beach on Friday midday

The evening we had a delicious BBQ at my friend's place with an after party there. Later on we all went together to the Ivy. It was a fun night again.


The next day I met up with some friends at Tamarama Beach. This beach is a lot smaller then Bondi and not that packed. The beach has a completely different character than Bondi Beach. It's interesting to see how different the Beaches are. On our way home we also passed Bronte and it was different again than Tamarama. There were masses of young people making BBQs, playing games and just enjoying them selves. It almost looked like on a youth festival.


Yesterday we made our trip to Jervis Bay with Colourful Trips. It was amazing! The three hours drive from Sydney were definitely worth it. Our first stop was at Fitzroy Falls where we had a magnificent view of the rain forest and the river that ended in this beautiful waterfall. 

Fitzroy Fall

The next stop was Jervis Bay and it was fantastic. First the weather was as good as it could be and then we had this gorgeous view of Jervis Bay. 

Jervis Bay

We went on board a boat and enjoyed ourselves on the top deck with some 'compulsory' biscuits and coffee. Suddenly the captain said that we were about to see some whales and that was exactly what happened... There was a mother whale with her calf playing in the water. We saw them jumping, splashing and waving with their fins. It was really fascinating and also rare to see them acting like that, as our captain told us. 

Whale's fin

After the long boat trip we had some lunch in the small town where our bus stopped. We then drove to a really beautiful beach. It wasn't crowded at all at that beach which was very surprising for us as we are used to the packed beaches in Bondi. The sand was so soft that it even made squeaky noises when we walked. The very bright sand was surrounded by the quiet sea which had a comfortable warm temperature probably because of the bay. The beach formed a little lagoon where you could just watch the beautiful scenery and enjoy the sunny afternoon. Unfortunately we needed to leave this place too soon which was sad as we have liked to spend longer there. We couldn't be late for the bus. The tour guide told us in a joke that he actually preferred Germans as customers because they were always on time. Trying to break this rule he always brings them to this place because it's so magnificent and nobody wants to leave...even the punctual Germans were always late. 

Beautiful beach at Jervis Bay

one of the lagoons

I really can recommend the visit to Jervis Bay to all of you who couldn't join the trip. And I guess all of you who made the trip would agree with me???

Until then...

Whales and Dolphins....tick!!!

It feels like summer is coming. After many disappointing cold and wet weekends, finally it was lovely!
For the first time in Sydney I saw dolphins at Bondi Beach. There was a pod of them swimming and playing around in the sea not too far away from the sand. They were jumping out of the water only a few meters away from the surfers. It was absolutely fantastic to watch them. 
Believe it or not, I also saw a whale's spout from my balcony...very lucky!! It would shoot up a few metres into the air and then get taken away in the wind. It was so amazing and will be in my memory for a very long time! 

Dolphins at Bondi Beach

On Saturday the sun was out called for us to get out of bed early.  Some friends and I made our way to the Fish Markets in Pyrmont.
The walk from Darling Harbour to the market is very nice, especially when the weather is as beautiful as it was on Saturday. We became a little bit lost on the way and stopped to ask directions from an old lady. Her response was "follow the smell". So we did and found ourselves at the heart of the fishy smell. The market is very impressive. There are huge (and for me exotic) fish and they are much cheaper than in the supermarket. 
We had a delicious seafood mix and found a space in between the crowds of people who were sitting on the waterfront enjoying their meal. 
For the first time in my life I tried an oyster... It was alright but I still prefer other seafood. 

Fish Market

The rest of the afternoon we enjoyed the sun at Darling Harbour watching the people, chatting and having ice cream. It was a wonderful Sydney Saturday! 

Darling Harbour view to the Monorail and CBD

In the evening we had some drinks at a friends place and after that we all went to Kings Cross to party. We had a fun night at the Kings Cross Hotel until the early hours of the morning. 


Sunday was again a beautiful day and as soon as I got up I went down to Bondi Beach along with the rest of Sydney. After a little walk over the Bondi Market which is really lovely, some friends and I had a nice relaxing afternoon at the beach. The warm sand under our feet felt so good and to hear the massive waves while we relaxed on our towels made us feel like we were in paradise. As soon as the sun goes down, which is fortunately not that early any more, it becomes a bit chilly and too cold to sit on the beach. 


This Wednesday (19th) we have our next intern meeting at the Fringe Bar on Oxford St from 7pm.
I'm looking forward to seeing many of you there. 


Until then...