A wonderful trip is coming to an end and we are heading home. Overnight the weather turned cooler and we are leaving Noosa with 18 degrees and rain.

Navigating through Brisbane is difficult and so we were really glad when we reached our hotel in downtown.

A pleasant surprise was waiting for us at reception at check in: we would spend the night on the 40th floor providing us with a marvelous view over Brisbane’s sparkling downtown and its surroundings from our apartment.

Brisbane  is a bustling and noisy city especially when coming from secluded rainforests and wide plains. We stayed at the ‘iStay Rivers Hotel’ on Albert street corner of Mary street right in the city center. From our balcony we were overlooking the City Botanic Gardens and the Brisbane river.

The flight would be leaving the next day and we only had one afternoon and evening in the city. We decided to spend it in South Banks, Brisbane’s hip museum and art neighborhood which also is home to a fantastic city pool area.

Right opposite from the skyline along the river there is a peaceful rainforest walk that takes you right out of the city noise into a green splendor of the forest.

At the time we were there the Brisbane festival was going on and the city’s bridges were lit up in bright pink.

To get to South Bank we boarded the red city hopper boat from Eagle Street pier. The ride is free of charge and you hop right on- no ticket or card required.

For our last dinner the kids wanted Mexican so we went for tortillas and Margaritas (just F and I of course,  the kids settled for lemonade). Dessert was chocolate fondue with fresh fruit and marshmallows.

The ferry ride back provided us with colorful impressions of the city skyline.

Before we could leave Australia we had to rearrange our suitcases and get everything packed up nicely. Once that was done F and I enjoyed some time on the apartment’s balcony while the kids watched their last show on Australian television. Even though the balcony was absolutely stable we found the feeling of sitti g out in the open on the 40th floor quite creepy…

Here are a few more impressions of Brisbane :