Melbourne

Melbourne was somehow not so exciting - perhaps not the best idea to go directly from one city to another. But I did entertain myself somewhat in the time I was there. The coolest thing was probably the "Human Bodies" exhibit, which shows bodies (human and animal) preserved by plastination. It was not as extensive as the one I saw in Toronto a few years ago, but I've been waiting to see this again so that was sweet. The best exhibit was a person where they removed everything but the blood vessels. They put the material they use (not sure what it is) into the blood vessels, then use acid to remove everything else. So you're left with this red network of veins and arteries, in exactly the same places in space as they were in when the person was alive. No pictures allowed though. :(
The visit to the Melbourne Aquarium was kinda cool, but the place was chock full of loud kids! Made me really look forward to diving and seeing some of these animals in nature. That being said, they had baby hammerhead sharks, stingrays, a sword shark,and many many other fish. One of the most fascinating things was the octopus. It "breathed" by opening a pouch by it's head to gather water, they closing it with a sort of sliding flap and pushing the water out through a nozzle. Kept doing this the whole time, nice and slowly. Deep breaths...
Down by the waterfront I found this strange really tall structure that seemed to serve no purpose. Turns out it's a huge Ferris Wheel, but without the wheel. Built in 2008, but they found cracks in parts of the wheel in 2009 and took the wheel down to repair it. Repairs are expected to take a year or so, under warranty! I guess each of these machines is unique, so you can't just go to the parts warehouse.
Probably the best thing in Melbourne was the market. I would say some 20 counters with meat along, another 10 or so with seafood, masses of vegetables and fruit. I bought some Kangaroo meat which made a great stir fry. Unlike beef, this stuff was so lean that it totally soaked up the soy sauce and olive oil I marinated it in. I also found some "Bio-dynamic free range eggs" for $10.90 a dozen. Note that Australian and Canadian dollars are about par... What the hell is "bio-dynamic"???
While in Melbourne I also went to see Lindsay. The similarity to Chris when it comes to posture, the overall physical appearance, and general way of moving and such is striking. But of course once I talked to him the personality was quite different. Same thing with Adam (an Aspergers/autistic fellow of about 18 who is staying there as well) - he sits in chairs and moves very much like Simon. Fascinating how mental and physical traits are so related.
Spent a bit of time hanging out with Katharina, whom I originally wanted to tour the Melbourne area a bit. (email mishaps prevented this). Really sweet girl, she's back in Germany now. Homesick and probably missing her boyfriend, she actually changed her flight to leave 5 days earlier (out of a 3 week trip). She had suggested taking the train to Melbourne, which is pretty sweet because otherwise I wouldn't be in Apollo Bay today.
Last night I actually had a guy called Malte staying in the same room. And I've heard my name a bunch of times when someone else was meant. So many Germans here, I can't go a day without meeting at least one and most times it seems like over half of the people in the hostel are German.
That's all on Melbourne - time to go to the Sea!
Penguins!:

 There's a fish right in the middle of the picture:

 Sea dragons?:

 Swordfish:

 Octopus - the sack fills with water on each breath, which is then squeezed out through a tube:

 A cool building - part of the Melbourne University:

 Bangers and mash - looked better than it tasted, but still:

 This whole corridor is meat, all the way to the end:

 Ground beef...:

 The old central station, still used as a train station:

 Long way down (taken from the bus):