Category: Miestas

City animals

Another day I was reading a little zine made by Australian girl (her page here) with German roots. She was telling what impressed her in Germany. And what she loved about being back in Australia. This is her list which we agree with:

• The wildlife;
• Super friendly checkout ladies;
• The local library (I’m so happy to borrow new movies, music and fantastic books too!);
• The Ocean (oh yes!);
• Star gazing;
• Mangoes…

So, we were really impressed by the wildlife here too. Especially that you can meet many creatures just in the city. Like those little possums. They really love hanging out in European trees. And since it is autumn and leaves felt of – finally we can see those little beauties.

Another afternoon we went to one of big parks near the river. Even if it is surrounded by big streets it is pretty calm there.

Flying foxes live there. I always thought that bats sleep at day quietly, hiding in caves, abandoned sheds or at least in thick trees, so no one can see them. And there… They scream, the hang on sunshine and you’ll always see a few flying around.

 

We were noticed too.

Another day we went to see the Docklands. It is the suburb next to the city CBD and it is highly advertised in all guides, they recommend shopping and eating there. Well… Saturday noon – totally quiet, everything is closed. Just few fishermen. And a darter! We have a book with Australian birds. And darter was the last bird in one page we hadn’t met before. One page finished! Check!

They call it winter. Cardigan ends in a bag and coat – on a bench. Warm!

Posing for us and even laughing. I somehow can’t call that noise a song.

When was the last time you saw an owl? A wild one?
We went to get some groceries for lunch. The day wasn’t so busy, so we decided to walk by the sea. And there we heard some noise. Parrots screaming, nothing new. Somehow we looked ant the palm tree. And saw something white. Maybe cockatoo? But too small and not totally white. A juvenile one? And then it turned her head and looked at us! You should have seen how fast we walked home, grabbed our camera and ride our bikes back to the Barn Owl!

Magic cinema

One evening we went to the cinema. It was a modern one, but all walls were covered with red curtains and silver ones were hiding the screen. Somehow it reminded me Twin Peaks. Now this doesn’t look impressive, because we went to old Art Deco Astor cinema.

This is in the toilet! Little fireplace-heater looks like a tiny doors in the wall. You can still smell cigarettes there although it is non smoking for a long time.

I don’t know what is in the middle. And I saw the detailed frames only in the photo, I didn’t realise it when I was there. Next time I should be more sensitive to the details.

Oval balcony.

A mural on the wall.

 

 

A relief decoration.

We were watching Arrietty and Howl’s moving castle – a double feature evening. During the second movie we noticed a cat walking down the stairs. Finally he or she spent half of the movie on Laurius’ lap sleeping and purrrrring.

New friends reuniting again in the corridor.

Brunch, vinyl and other weekends

It is so fashionable to go for a brunch. Actually this means somkething – let’s go and have a very expensive sandwich instead of making one at home. Of course we go too! Many lovely places. Like this cafe on a tram stop. Someone is waiting for the breakfast. Others – for the tram.

 

Interior.

Another day we went to a free comic day to pick up our free comic copies. We ended hiding from the rain in a vodka bar and tried potato pancakes here. As it is very popular thing in Lithuania we felt like experts discussing the taste of the meal.
-Too much of lemon juice.
-Yes, too sour.

Well, we didn’t have way too big glasses or moustache and jeans were too wide, so in this place we had to hide behind a burger. Thankfully, it was enough big, so noone didn’t notice our shame.

Who killed the burger?

Actually, our most favourite thing for weekends is a hunt for the records.

Sometimes we get lovely finds and sometimes feel a big shame that we don’t know a lot about music and have to disappear quietly.

This picture is for Mini fans.

We went to a garage sale. Very conceptual one. The DJ is playing and the things they sell are… few (a bike helmet, two books, a pair of shoes and a couple of blouses).

Underground toilet in the city centre. Can you imagine 7 ladies doing the make up here?

Religious discussions inside the toilet cabin. I didn’t expect this. We are all probably used to see some anatomical or less detailed drawings and texts like “Kate loves Jake”, but not this. Some people believe in Jesus and some in Santa.

At the end of a day we go to some beloved place for live music. Here we find a Baltic dark beer and feel very suspicious if it is Lithuanian one. Of course not…

A little bit of Melbourne’s architecture

When I came to Melbourne I was very happy about it’s architecture. And I still am.

It’s a pretty young city, so there is no old town, the one we are used to see in European cities. Though, there are some great examples of Victorian and Art Deco architectural styles.

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This is what I call Australian old town. There are lots of streets like this – two-three storeys houses leaning each to other. Also, there are suburbs with individual houses, with old trees or without them. Actually Melbourne is very green city.

  

City centre is full of skyscrapers, glass towers, it looks nice from all sides. Sometimes, if it is good weather, you can see the city skyline from far far away, like 50 km or more. I’ll post a picture in post about Mornington peninsula.

Part of a street mural.

The actuall street.

One of contemporary art exhibition spaces.

Amazing, isn’t it? I should come back to this house to take better pictures.

Social houses. They are very different from all architecture. Seems like soviet architecture. Every second suburb near the city has a one tall the same looking building like this. All other houses are much smaller around. It is a pretty strange look.

For the trains crossing the city.

In the CBD. Street art street full of street art 🙂 Some old theatre entrance lights.

Glass skyscrapers and great Art Deco building.

The city doesn’t look very tall from here, does it? More like a little cosy town at the river.

A tooth fairy lives in this little house.

What a special effect!

This is St Kilda again. Note that house on the right picture.

St Kilda in the rain. When the autumn came it got very green. Even on a very cold day, when I look at those palm trees swinging in the wind, stormy wavy sea (which on normal day stays calm and still like glass), even then I don’t feel like winter, it always seems like a tropical storm.

This building on the end of a sea jetty used to be an ice creamery. It was in those days when St.Kilda was a resort place for Melbournians.

Every time I pass these house I wish I lived here, it gives me that cosy feeling.

Our street on a rainy day.

The same street. Well, this part is not about architecture. One night we woke up because of big noise. We live here only a couple of months but there were two false fire alarms in a hotel just in front of us. and firemen came with 2-4 cars. This time in that lovely house with round corners was a fire. Luckily, it was empty apartment and no one was hurt. So, firemen came with 6 big cars, ambulance and police was there too – big noise in the middle of the night.

Going up

When I got in Melbourne CBD for the first time it looked busy and interesting but all places seemed limited to fast food, sushi and noodles bars or very expensive restaurants, shopping malls, shopping centres, boring designer handbags shops and night clubs in office buildings. Yes, in daytime it is a grey office building, in night time they open some hidden door which takes you down or upstairs to a club where all those screaming drunk girls with high heels go. But it was just first impression. After walking around we discovered some galleries, independent not boring designer shops, amazing hidden cafes with hairdresser, coffee and art shop in one and other things. And the thing with Melbourne – there is like another city on the second, third, seventh floor level.

The fancy – kitschy – magic bar upstairs.

 

Reda, are you reading this? It was full of stuffed animals, birds, dried giant bugs and other scientific objects decorated with some jewellery.

 

 

A giraffe with golden mascara on her eyelashes and a bird (this supposed to be called earbird?). An ostrich with pearls. If women had such long necks, can you imagine how many pearls would they need?!

You hardly can see the street through jungle in the balcony in the second floor (or how they call it first floor in Australia). If you go upstairs on the roof of some 6-7 floors building you get into another beach themed bar.

Another building. Staircase.

It is a home for renown bookshop Metropolis,  a couple of restaurants, martial arts studio, few designer boutiques, a gallery space or few.

Rooftop cinema shows old and new movies on a warm and cool summer nights. On a daytime it’s a good place to have some beer or lunch.

The construction process in Melbourne – they left only façade of the giant building.

Gallery boxes on the roof.

After a week they opened a modern jewellery exhibition in this space.

One of the boutiques I told about. Oh, again staircase, same picture!

This is a staircase with a lift. It is in the same building we were at night with Reda. It’s on her blog. See the elevator door on the right.

 

Doors are opened manually, oldschool stuff.

 

We found two galleries in that building, amazing view from one of them.

We got a nice present from our neighbours – a tour to the highest viewing platform in southern hemisphere.

The view to St Kilda side. There is the F1 track going around the lake. Just above the island in the photo you can see some tall white buildings on the shore – it is St Kilda where we live.

 

The city.

 

Melbourne’s landmark Federation square trough kaleidoscope monoculars.