5 things I love about Adelaide

#1 Tiny little Adelaide

Compared to Vienna, Adelaide seems so small, but I really enjoy living here, because it is like the perfect halfway between my little hometown in Upper Austria and big Vienna. You find your way around here very easily and I hardly ever feel lost. I also love the fact that I bump into some other exchange students on the streets quite frequently - as my GP said: Adelaide is the biggest village in Australia :D

#2 Being so close to the beach

Adelaide is also known for being the '20 minute city', which means you can hit so many different beautiful beaches within only 20 minutes. I also enjoy being at the beach in winter, but I am so excited for my first bike ride down River Torrens with a beach towel in my bag. 

#3 Student discounts everywhere

You get student discounts in the Pubs, Clubs, Restaurants, Cinemas, at the hairdresser and even on pyjama shorts - jackpot!

#4 Exotic atmosphere

On one of my first days here, I strolled through the city centre and recognized that the birds sound and look a lot different to what I am used to - there were budgies in the trees and I was a bit surprised. To complete the picture, there are lots of palm trees everywhere.

#5 Everything is in walking distance

This one refers to #1. The city centre of Adelaide is 10.5 square kilometres and the bus system is not the best. The busses only leave every 20-30 minutes and you never know how long it will take until the next bus arrives. That sounds like I am writing a '5 things I hate about Adelaide' post, but as I prefer to keep a positive mind: I don't need the busses at all. Everything I need is in walking distance, which means it won't take me longer than 10-15 minutes to get there by foot and I get a lot of exercise for free - whooop :D

An apple a day keeps the doctor away

I am glad that there is a place in Adelaide where I can satisfy my cravings for fresh fruits and vegetables - the Central Market. Doing the grocery shopping there is so much more enjoyable then at Coles and Woolworths - the products are fresh, regional and cheap (what more could you ask for?) and I just like the atmosphere at the market, because it's way more relaxing than at the Naschmarkt in Vienna, where all the salesman are very pushy. When you go there on Saturdays just before they close you can make good bargains, for example 7 bananas for 1$ or 10 oranges for 3$. 

5 avocados for 5 bucks, which is 3,90€ and they are always perfect - I'm in heaven :)

Deep Creek

I don't feel like writing anything at all right now, so just enjoy the photos that I have taken today in the Deep Creek Conservation Park :-)

hiking track to the waterfall

view over Deep Creek

Nicole, Julia and Chloe

Lisa, Valeska, Nicole, Julia, Max, Fabian, Serife, Tanja, Chloe, Nantke, Niklas, Emma and Efe - Thank you guys so much for this great weekend!

Fleurieu Peninsula

Fleurieu Peninsula - that's how the area in the south of Adelaide is called where we spend the weekend. Today we slept in, had breakfast together and then drove to Horseshoe Bay, where we took some photos, enjoyed the sun and then left again for Murray River, which was not worth taking pictures though. In the evening we took part in a penguin tour on Granite Island and even saw two cute little penguins. Now we are back at our house, having dinner together and playing the werewolf game again and again. I wish we could stay in that house together for the rest of the exchange semester!

Horseshoe Bay

trying to look like badass ninjas - fail #1

trying to look like badass ninjas - fail #2

Serife, Emma, Fabian, Nicole, Tanja, Valeska, Efe, Lisa, Julia and me (missing Nantke, Niklas, Max and Chloe on that picture, because they didn't manage to join us before the penguin tour - blame the traffic)

Granite Island

on the way to the penguin tour

Mini Vacay in Victor Harbor

This weekend is unfortunately the last one before the real university madness begins, so we decided to do something special and spend the weekend in Victor Harbor which is a one hour drive away from Adelaide. As we love to be spontaneous, we booked this amazing house (BBQ, pool table, comfortable beds and so much space) for the 15 of us yesterday, hired cars whilst being out at the Bongo Club again and finally headed south this afternoon. We spent the first hours here exploring Granite Island and enjoying the stunning landscape.

the bridge to Granite Island

This rock reminds me of Grimm's fairytales.

Fabian, Nicole, Lisa, Efe and me

So we are the lucky five of us who don't have university on a friday, that's the reason why we were the first who arrived in Victor Harbor and therefore could spend the whole afternoon walking around Granite Island.