I just made the booking and am now holding a one way ticket to Europe for July 2018 in my hand. After living in Australia for just over three years we will move back to Europe. This now makes it very definite and I am going through it with mixed emotions. Continue reading “One way ticket to Europe!?”
Luka and I were standing on the train platform in Sydney Central, five km away from the consulate when we heard the announcement ” the next three trains will terminate at this station”. After having been traveling for four hours already, were we really going to miss our appointment now? Then the next announcement came through: “There is a car on the train track towards Bondi Junction”. That did not make our situation any better… Continue reading “Renewing a Dutch Passport in Australia – Part 2”
Or should I say the adventurous of renewing a Dutch Passport in Australia? Since we are staying longer than the two years we initially planned, Luka and I are now looking at passports that are about to expire and we are planning to travel abroad in the not too far future. So, we can just go to the consulate in Melbourne, right?
Wrong! Since 2015 the consulate in Melbourne does no longer deal with passport renewals. Continue reading “Renewing a Dutch passport in Australia – Part 1”
Culture Shock is the psychological disorientation that most people suffer when they move into a culture that is different from their own. It’s natural and healthy.
-Geert Hofstede-
For us the Australian life style has been very easy to adapt to in many ways. Always people there to give you a helping hand even if you do not ask for it. The easy going life style and having random chats with complete strangers on an almost daily basis. The international background of almost every one you meet.
Living in a new country comes with joys, opportunities and challenges. However one of the things that everyone is bound to experience is culture shock. Life abroad certainly has its ups but at times also has a few downs. Continue reading “Living Abroad and Culture Shock”
Most of the birthday parties that we have experienced in Australia so far involve going somewhere with a large, or very large group of children. Having over 15 kids is no exception, rather a norm. However, we stuck to our traditions here and Luka invited as many girls as her age.
We considered many different locations: the pool, cinema, a dance-lesson party or skating. However at the end Luka decided to do a home party this year and she wanted to watch a movie. Continue reading “Birthday party for a nine year old”
Melbourne is a city that hosts a lot of major sports events, so there is great enthusiasm in both watching and participating. That love for sports gets seeded very early on in Australia. Next to the normal sports hour in school, there are after school sport activities, sports days and inter school sports – competitions against other schools.
In the almost two years that we lived here, Kai has qualified for some of the school teams, so we got to see what the competition is like. Here is our experience. Continue reading “Primary School Sport in Victoria”
Once a year Essex Heights Primary School has a day for grandparents and special friends. It is an important gathering, as it takes up half of the school day.
For Luka this year it was a very special event this year, as we have ‘opa en oma’ from overseas! Continue reading “Grandparents day at school”
Of course the best way to see Australian wildlife is to go on a road trip. But if you would like to see more animals in one day a zoo or a sanctuary are a good alternative.
We started with the three Melbourne zoo’s, the general Melbourne Zoo in the city, Healesville Sanctuary for the Australian animals and the African Weribbee Zoo, but recently we discovered that the sanctuaries can be a great place to visit as well. Moonlite Sanctuary is one of those places. It is about an hours drive South of Melbourne CBD, towards the Mornington Peninsula. A great way to encounter the unique Australian wildlife in just one day. Continue reading “The best way to see Australian Wildlife”
Wherever you go to in Australia, you are guaranteed to see a hot plate barbecue. They are in almost every park, playground, campsite or close to rivers and beaches. You can even find them in the middle of Melbourne, along the Yara river. And, they are heavily used. Some are coin operated, many are completely free. Continue reading “How to use an Australian hot plate?”
If you get the opportunity to go and watch a world cup game, why not take it?
After the summer holidays, school has started again this week. Yesterday Kai came home with eight official looking tickets in his hands for this weekend. I thought it would be for a random game, but it said Davis Cup. Even for a tennis new-bee (that is me) that sounded familiar.
europe2australia.com 