Weather wise we got unlucky with our visit to Melbourne as our three day stay coincided exactly with a heatwave that hit the city. Temperatures rose to 37 degrees during our stay and it would not cool down for the night. So we tried to avoid the heat until we literally could not bear it any longer.

Before we had to give up we saw a few absolute highlights of Melbourne though. One of them was the State Library Victoria. Entering the building we were already greeted by the most enthusiastic employee I’ve ever seen. He promised us “Ahhh!” and was not mistaken: the La Trobe reading room was indeed mesmerizing with its glass dome ceiling.

At Victoria Markets I finally found the Australian wool hat I’ve been hunting for all holiday long. Victoria Market is one of the largest markets in Melbourne and you can buy virtually anything here from vegetables to electronics, from crafts to kitsch.

After strolling through the market we visited Flagstaff Park in order to cool off a bit.

The rest of the afternoon we walked around the CBD diving in and out of several shopping centers for the air conditioning.

At dinner time we met with one of Hubby’s former colleagues at a local pub for chili mussels and a refreshing beer. We had a lovely evening chatting while Football supporters were cheering on the Australia Football League game between the Gold Coasts Suns and the Richmond Tigers.

On our way back to the apartment we took a detour to see Melbourne’s Moomba festival and its fireworks. Both sides of the Yarra river were a large party zone with rides and food stalls. On the Yarra river we watched water skiers perform cheered on by the crowd on both sides.

The whole festival is dry meaning no alcohol allowed on the premises. And people were having a great time! Could you imagine this happening in any other part of the world?