Flessenpost 13: A Taste of Autumn

Autumn in Australia started out with 25 degrees instead of 30 and a couple of less visits to the beach. All in all, there was no sign that summer had changed into Autumn. And for a long time every end twenties weekend I kept thinking that was going to be the last good one before the winter season would kick in. But no, weekend after weekend was blue sky and sunny, until all of a sudden something changed. The leaves instantly fell off, clouds formed over Sydney and nighttime dropped to around 14 degrees. Of course still daytime temperatures were early twenties/late teens. However, it was different. Instead of a slow transition, it was instantly notable. Because, as soon turned out, Sydney houses are not built for the cold. (Actually, they are not built for summer either, not sure what they are built for to be honest.) Insulation and heating is apparently not a thing.. So the moment the night temperature drops, the inside housing temperature does as well. So while outside is still nice and sunny, inside suddenly changed into a bloody cold, freezing ice cell.

This drop in nighttime temperature also somehow meant an end to the months of drought and suddenly Sydney showed me its interesting rainy side. Days and days, with no interruption, of rain. Two umbrellas and one new blanket later, and winter clothes being shipped over to survive the inside temperatures, I was ready for Sydney’s winter season! Of course, the moment you step outside and the sun does peek out, all layers come off and it instantly feels like beach weather again.

Nevertheless, autumn does have its perks as well and one of Sydney's biggest events arrived: Vivid! A 3-week light art festival all around the city. Vivid is similar to Glow in Eindhoven, but then bigger, way bigger. And despite the rain, I managed to go twice. Which was hardly enough to cover maybe half of what Vivid has to offer. Although the company to share it with might be half of the experience.

The royal botanic gardens, darling harbour and circular quay were full of amazing light spectacles: from static objects, to interactive pieces, light shows and a general intense light sensation. Warning though, it was definitely not suitable for the epileptic. Because, even the most stable person would get a bit of a heart attack and light shock with all the flashing lights they managed to put in every couple of meters.

But besides Vivid, autumn also means: wine season! Time to go to Hunter Valley and visit the vineyards! So the Easter Madness Road Trip crew teamed up with a couple of add-ons and off we went for another long weekend (thanks to the Queen’s Birthday) full of wine tasting, more wine, for the variety a bit of olive oil and chocolate tastings, and not to forget, more wine. Who says wine tasting at 10am is not a thing?

Despite it raining the whole weekend, I could still see the beauty of the valley with all the vineyards everywhere. But the shitty weather was all the more reason to be inside, observe the beauty from a distance (waking up with kangaroos in the backyard for example), try all the delicious wines, learn something about those wines and try to figure out what my wine taste actually is (besides cheap and drinkable). This weekend, we actually managed to put 8 people in a 6 person home, after last time we did 5 in a 4 person home. We are actually still looking for 4 more so we can try to fit in a 10 person place next time..

Anyways, all the craziness besides, it was a nice little break during busy PhD life; marking, my annual progress review, etc.. But more on that later. Winter is actually already peaking around the corner, so time to drink those wines, cuddle up or go active and go skiing!