Monday, 11 July
After breakfast, Sebastian followed us to the closest train station. Linnea and I went on the train to Sydney Central. During the ride, we got a short glimpse of the Sydney Opera House.
At Central, the Australians we met there were nice, one of them pointed out where the lift was without us even asking (guess our bags showed that we needed it). When we had found our train to Newcastle, we took a seat and relaxed, listening to music.
Meeting us in Newcastle were our hosts for the Airbnb place we had booked for the first week. To meet us at the station was really kind and exceeded our expectations, as it turned out that was only the beginning.
When we got to the Hamilton train stop in Newcastle, we were greeted by Jenny and Grahame, our Airbnb hosts. They were really kind, helping us with our bags, and drove us to their apartment, which is located in a remodelled building of a former wool brokery.
Within the first five minutes in the apartment, the fire alarm went off in the whole building. During this unplanned fire drill, Jenny told us she had prepared lunch.
After lunch, Grahame took us on sightseeing around Newcastle. During the tour, we stopped at Memorial Walk alongside the beach where we walked along a bit and spotted whales.
After the sightseeing, we were driven to our first of four house inspections, which we had booked in advance. It was a brick house with 16 rooms in Mayfield. This house later became our first-hand choice and will be the place where we live.
The property manager showing the house, Mecca, was nice. She was focused on our needs and seemed to be a good person to have in charge of your accommodation. After the inspection, she asked us if we wanted a lift back to the Airbnb-place, so she ended up driving us back to our temporary home.
In the evening, we ate dinner together with Jenny and Grahame. It was very nice!
/ Gustav
