For Us, Down Under is Up Above!

Loving Australia!

After flying from Bangkok to Melbourne, we enmeshed ourselves in a new place! Virgin territory, as Eli says, for us as travelers, and our sixth continent. Our first scheduled trip to Australia, four years ago, was abruptly cancelled when Eli got sick in Beijing hours before we were to fly to Sydney. He admitted, as we were leaving Thailand, that he was superstitious about another plan to come here. So far, so good.

Melbourne Meets Milwaukee–or Milwaukee Meetup in Melbourne!

The first day in Melbourne, the capital of the Australian state of Victoria, we went to the Jewish Museum of Australia.https://www.jewishmuseum.com.au As a board member of Jewish Museum Milwaukee and general fan of museums (Jewish and non), I’d emailed the one in Melbourne to ask about hours. Got lovely emails and What’s App messages back, and the board president even came in to show us around when we were there. Did I mention that our Milwaukee friend Maureen Luddy was with us? Maureen’s husband David, a London-based longtime sports journalist, operates a radio production business specializing in major tennis matches. Maureen and David had been in Melbourne since December because of the Australian Open last month. Because of this match, they’ve spent considerable amounts of time in Melbourne every year (COVID exception), so Maureen is a real Melbourne pro. She guided us on the logistics of using the terrific tram system in the city. That evening we also had dinner with her and David.

Highlights of the Jewish Museum of Australia

Like most Jewish museums, this one offers generic info on Jewish practices and rituals through objects and other visuals. But it’s the local the Jewish story we want to learn about in a new place. Australia’s is replete with pioneers from the 1800s followed by several streams of refugees. A special feature is the display of local kids’ Bar/Bat Mitzvah projects of their families’ roots. Very creative.

One historical aspect I’d never heard of was the story of the “Dunera Boys, 2,542 “enemy aliens,” who were shipped to Australia by Britain on the ship HMT Dunera in September 1940. https://www.duneraassociation.com Most were Jewish refugees who had fled Nazi persecution in Germany and Austria. They were sent to internment camps near Hay and Orange in NSW and Tatura in the state of Victoria. Some were musicians, artists, philosophers, scientists and writers. They were released in 1941; after that many fought on the Allied side and later made significant contributions to the nation’s economic, social, and cultural life. A similar story about temporary prisoners in the United Kingdom itself is told in a new book: The Island of Extraordinary Captives

Melbourne Is Fabulous

From its skyline to its lanes to its riverfront cultural “precinct” to many areas we didn’t begin to touch on, we found Melbourne to be cosmopolitan with an air of small town. Several main Central Business District (CBD) streets are small boulevards with traffic passing islands of lush boulevards. The tram system is extensive, convenient, free in CBD, and reasonable beyond–connecting to various suburban directions. The architecture is spectacular. The Melbourne Arts Precinct encompasses the National Gallery of Victoria, as well as the performance hall of the Melbourne Opera and Symphony and other theaters. Shopping opportunities abound, but we’ve tried to hold off on that until our last stop, Sydney, for schlepping/luggage reasons! And the food…a lot of Asian that more than equals China, Thailand, and other similar culinary hot spots, as well as bakery galore, French, Italian, Turkish, and smatterings of what I guess you’d call Australian, including pub food.

The Famous Croissants of Melbourne?

Across the street from our hotel we noticed a long line waiting at a place called Lune. Maureen told us this was a croissant store that stays open until it runs out of product. Eli prides himself on not standing in line for food (especially restaurants that don’t take reservations). But the day before we were taking a day trip on the Great Ocean Highway we walked by and saw only a few people waiting (inside–it was mid-afternoon). We scored a couple of almond croissants for breakfast before we left on the excursion. Yes, they were delicious. Of course. In case you want to learn more and try at home, there’s a book:

Incredible Niceness and Service

Throughout Australia, we’ve encountered such nice people who are so helpful. An example: I have a Garmin fitness watch to count steps and record swim, Pilates, and other workouts. It’s about seven years old but still serviceable. When we were leaving Thailand, I realized I was missing its charging cord. Again. From experience, I knew that I could buy on Amazon or directly from Garmin but not find retail and I didn’t think timely delivery from a US online purveyor would happen in Australia. I contemplated replacing the whole watch–which probably needs to happen, anyway, before too long–but wasn’t really ready to decide on this or a different type. We were in a sporting goods store (Eli was looking for an extra pair of convertible–zip-off to shorts–travel pants). I wandered over to the fitness watch section. When the young man helping Eli asked if I wanted to look at any, I bemoaned the loss of my charger and the unlikelihood of finding another one. This guy took out his phone, Googled a bit, and found that it was in stock at a place called JB Hi-Fi a block away. Sure enough, there it was!

Sadly, I can’t imagine a young clerk in a store in the US, knowing there was nothing in it for him (Eli didn’t find what he wanted), going the extra mile to help like this.

Btw, JB Hi-Fi is a fabulous chain all over Australia that offers everything electronic, big and small, you’d ever need or want.

No Tipping

The first morning we asked Maureen about the standard for tipping, such as for hotel maid service. She told us people don’t tip. Apparently, even low-paying jobs here pay better than in the US and other places. Others have confirmed this throughout our travels. Our American friends who live in Brisbane (where we are as I write this) said when they left a cash tip on a restaurant table after they first arrived, the restaurant staff ran after them to give it back.