The Birrarung: In Melbourne, it was a day of sunshine and white puffy clouds after a week that was wintry gray from what I hear. I found the river first, just on the other side of the rail tracks from my hostel. It’s name is the Yarra. Instead of the grimy wharves and shipyards that defined Yarra’s yesterday, the river now forms the spine of a waterfront wonderland of parks and promenades backed up by ‘old’ Melbourne on one side and the new Melbourne of glitzy high rises on the other. The tallest of those high rises reminded me of New York City simply because it is the tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere. Along the Yarra, I found a heliport, a giant Ferris wheel, and a circus under the big top. There is also an installation of totems reaching into the sky, quite appropriate along a river with an aboriginal name (though not actually the aboriginal name of the river). The only thing left of old Melbourne’s working waterfront is a row of figureheads looking like they were installed in the 1990s and now await some maintenance. The arches under the rail line have been taken over by boutiques and one of them offers passage into the Melbourne aquarium, which specializes in the Southern Ocean. Oh yes, the aboriginal name of the river was Birrarung.
The CBD: Think of the Charles River in Boston and the Schuylkill in Philadelphia. What comes to mind? The scull races, right? Melboune’s Yarra seemed made for sculling and reminded me of both cities. Later in the day, I also thought of Baltimore. Both of these cities still have their old shot towers, tall brick cylinders used to make shot for guns. The lead was liquid at the top of the tower, solid and spherical by the time it reached the bottom. Melbourne has done the most amazing thing with its old shot tower. The city has put a dome over it and built a circular shopping mall, called Melbourne Central around it. I wish Baltimore’s mayor could see it. The tower is in the heart of the CBD now. And by the way, that is what the Australians call their ‘downtowns’: CBDs. That stands for Central Business District. By 5 pm, the day was but a glow in the western sky (remember: Southern Hemisphere), so I decided the CBD was the place to be: I went to see X-Men: First Class, which took me to back to New York City and the Westchester suburbs. Nothing reminded me of Washington, DC, but other than that the Melbourne experience was papered with megalopolitan memories.
It’s the middle of winter here, but spring-like. An Australian I met in Thailand, however, told that the city had seen snow for the first time ever this year. I know they have snow further inland, though. I was in Ballarat, the gold mining town, more than two decades ago and it snowed. Here it is cool enough for a jacket, though I don’t have one (only a single long-sleeve shirt). I searched for second-hand stores with no luck (far away, I was told), and then checked prices at some CBD department stores. Prices for anything began at $75 (on sale!), and the Australian dollar is now about equal to the US dollar. Things seem very expensive here. Tomorrow, I will look again for a sweater or jacket. I think I will head to Old Vic.
Geographically yours,
D.J.Z.
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