For the most part, the balance of my week was uneventful and spent mostly on work. On Wednesday, a rough storm hit and brought plenty of wind and rain. While the inclement weather drove most people to remain inside, there were some who took advantage of it – a brave group of kite surfers fought through the cold and seemed to be having the time of their lives darting around the rough seas at the mercy of the powerful winds.
The weather on Thursday was much better and allowed for some nice pictures during a break for lunch.
The hotel was separated from the beach by a busy street with no crosswalks (or at least none nearby) so I resorted to jaywalking. Under normal circumstances this wouldn’t be much of an issue, but given the seemingly high speed limit and opposite (drive on the left…) driving rules it actually proved a bit problematic. Even though I knew where I needed to look before crossing, my conditioned behavior kept taking over and I’d routinely look in the opposite direction than I should be.
On Thursday night I changed hotels to be closer to central Melbourne since I planned to explore the city over the weekend before departing for Switzerland on Sunday night. I had booked the hotel online and it was interesting to say the least. I guess that it could be best described as a funky retro motel conversion. Here’s a pictures from my room, whose wallpaper could be appreciated by any rock and roll fan.
When I arrived there was a girl pleading for the gentleman at the reception desk to let her check in without providing a credit card for potential damages / incidentals. After hearing that it was against hotel policy to do so, she made huge scene and begged for special treatment. She talked about how many times she had stayed there before, how she knew the owners, how she didn’t want to provide her card because she had been a victim of fraud once before, etc., etc. It ended up being a very bizarre situation and I felt bad for the poor guy who had to deal with her.
***
On Friday I ended up working all day and my plan to explore the city unfortunately fell through. I was able to attend an Australian Rules Football game on Friday night, though, which was a lot of fun. It was a match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Carlton Blues (both professional teams from Melbourne) at Etihad (Docklands) Stadium and I bought a general admission ticket for the upper deck (where I had been told the true fans sit).
By chance, I picked the North Melbourne side of the stadium to sit on and thus found myself supporting the Kangaroos. In theory, I could have rooted for the other team – as the brave gentleman a couple of spots away from me did – but I preferred to leave the game without experiencing serious bodily harm.
When the teams came onto the field before the match started, they were each greeted by their own team song that more or less resembled a college fight song. I’m not sure exactly how to describe them other than they sounded like something that a barbershop quartet might sing. Regardless, the fans loved them and sang along at the top of their lungs.
Once the match began, the name “Australian Rules Football” appeared to be a bit of a misnomer, as I wasn’t able to pick up on any specific rules whatsoever. The whole game felt more like a chaotic interaction between two teams in which pretty much anything goes and occasionally a penalty is called. That said, as the game progressed I think that I was able to pick up on some of the nuances.
Overall, the match was very exciting with a lot of scoring and little downtime. And the best part was that the fans went absolutely nuts the whole time (even groups of women that had gone to the match on their own). I also liked how even though it was a very violent and physical game, the players seemed to shake it off after each play and not hold any personal grudges. The rough play was just part of the game and nothing more.
Ultimately, North Melbourne prevailed so I was able to celebrate amongst the Kangaroo fans once the final whistle blew. It was funny to hear the opposing fans go back and forth with eachother as they headed to the exits, and it reminded me a lot of American sports fans.
As a final thought, I don’t think that I can put into words exactly how big ARF is in Melbourne. It is the capital of the sport and home to nine of Australia’s 16 professional teams. Effectively, different neighborhoods within Melbourne have their own teams and provide enough support to routinely fill 50k+ stadiums. Amidst a secular country like Australia, ARF seems to be Melbourne’s religion.
The weather on Thursday was much better and allowed for some nice pictures during a break for lunch.
The hotel was separated from the beach by a busy street with no crosswalks (or at least none nearby) so I resorted to jaywalking. Under normal circumstances this wouldn’t be much of an issue, but given the seemingly high speed limit and opposite (drive on the left…) driving rules it actually proved a bit problematic. Even though I knew where I needed to look before crossing, my conditioned behavior kept taking over and I’d routinely look in the opposite direction than I should be.
On Thursday night I changed hotels to be closer to central Melbourne since I planned to explore the city over the weekend before departing for Switzerland on Sunday night. I had booked the hotel online and it was interesting to say the least. I guess that it could be best described as a funky retro motel conversion. Here’s a pictures from my room, whose wallpaper could be appreciated by any rock and roll fan.
When I arrived there was a girl pleading for the gentleman at the reception desk to let her check in without providing a credit card for potential damages / incidentals. After hearing that it was against hotel policy to do so, she made huge scene and begged for special treatment. She talked about how many times she had stayed there before, how she knew the owners, how she didn’t want to provide her card because she had been a victim of fraud once before, etc., etc. It ended up being a very bizarre situation and I felt bad for the poor guy who had to deal with her.***
On Friday I ended up working all day and my plan to explore the city unfortunately fell through. I was able to attend an Australian Rules Football game on Friday night, though, which was a lot of fun. It was a match between the North Melbourne Kangaroos and the Carlton Blues (both professional teams from Melbourne) at Etihad (Docklands) Stadium and I bought a general admission ticket for the upper deck (where I had been told the true fans sit).
By chance, I picked the North Melbourne side of the stadium to sit on and thus found myself supporting the Kangaroos. In theory, I could have rooted for the other team – as the brave gentleman a couple of spots away from me did – but I preferred to leave the game without experiencing serious bodily harm.
When the teams came onto the field before the match started, they were each greeted by their own team song that more or less resembled a college fight song. I’m not sure exactly how to describe them other than they sounded like something that a barbershop quartet might sing. Regardless, the fans loved them and sang along at the top of their lungs.
Once the match began, the name “Australian Rules Football” appeared to be a bit of a misnomer, as I wasn’t able to pick up on any specific rules whatsoever. The whole game felt more like a chaotic interaction between two teams in which pretty much anything goes and occasionally a penalty is called. That said, as the game progressed I think that I was able to pick up on some of the nuances.
Overall, the match was very exciting with a lot of scoring and little downtime. And the best part was that the fans went absolutely nuts the whole time (even groups of women that had gone to the match on their own). I also liked how even though it was a very violent and physical game, the players seemed to shake it off after each play and not hold any personal grudges. The rough play was just part of the game and nothing more.
Ultimately, North Melbourne prevailed so I was able to celebrate amongst the Kangaroo fans once the final whistle blew. It was funny to hear the opposing fans go back and forth with eachother as they headed to the exits, and it reminded me a lot of American sports fans.
As a final thought, I don’t think that I can put into words exactly how big ARF is in Melbourne. It is the capital of the sport and home to nine of Australia’s 16 professional teams. Effectively, different neighborhoods within Melbourne have their own teams and provide enough support to routinely fill 50k+ stadiums. Amidst a secular country like Australia, ARF seems to be Melbourne’s religion. 
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