Nick has a conference in Sydney and Susannah decided to tag along because she can – one of the joys of sabbatical! What a great opportunity to see another part of the world. And so, after 20 hours of flying (JFK-LAX-SYD), we landed in Sydney on Sat morning (local time) ready to start our adventure.

Hungry and with our internal clocks all out of whack, we started out with some delicious food in the garden of The Q on Harris cafe – yum!

We then ventured over to the Powerhouse museum (who kindly held our bags in their “cloaking room”) while we looked around. This museum, also known as the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences, is a true STEAM museum in several senses of the phrase. The exhibits include science and technology (from the dawn of steam power to the rocket age) plus some fashion and photography, but the museum itself is housed in the turbine hall of the power generation facility of Sydney’s former tram system. The space allows for display of large machinery and installations – and the overhead crane system still in place doesn’t hurt either! We especially liked the “best of nature photos of 2019” exhibit – check out the image of a baby wombat in its mother’s pouch.

We had a light lunch in the museum cafe courtyard, soaking up vitamin D and listening to the birds, who really sound different from the ones at home. They also look different – in addition to pigeons, urban birds in Sydney include much-larger ibises who have adapted to city living and become quite bold.

Our highlight of the day was BridgeClimb – literally an excursion that goes over the top … of the Sydney Harbor bridge! It’s an expensive endeavor but unlike anything else in the world – and apparently some of the proceeds help with bridge maintenance.

The full climb takes about 2 hours up and back but there is about an hour of gearing up and orientation beforehand. All climbers have to pass a breathalyzer test and wear a specially designed bunny suit and harness. Literally everything we brought along had to be clipped on, including glasses, baseball hats, headlamps, and even our “emotional support” hankies. We were issued fleeces, raincoats, and headsets so we could hear our guide clearly over the traffic noise and be prepared for any weather. Susannah was geeking out on the precision of their prep routine – down to specially-designed jigs to help getting into harnesses, floor markings with “standing spots” to corral the wayward climbers, and sorting bins for gear return at the end – we especially liked the funnel-shaped “suit chute”. It felt a little like we were astronauts preparing for a moonshot, but this efficiency enables the company to handle up to 2000 climbers a day safely.

Unfortunately, while in the bridge climb, cameras are banned along with all personal items other than glasses, so the only photos we have of the climbing experience itself are the staged shots offered as part of the tour package. We guess it will have to remain one for the memory books! We definitely recommend climbing at twilight to see the transition from day to night. From the top of the bridge arch you can see the city and harbor laid out in all directions beneath.

The guide told us “riveting” tales of the bridge (over 6 million used in the construction, not counting the 10,000 that landed in the water). The steel arch is a beautiful structure – even more so up close than from a distance – and we gained a new appreciation of the challenge of building it, especially without any modern-day safety precautions.

We ended the day at the Hero of Waterloo pub, where we watched Australian rugby league over beer and dinner while listening to live classic rock performed in the adjoining room. The game was perplexing to follow until one of the waiters kindly explained missing details of the rules to us mystified Yanks.

Off to an early bed – we have no idea what day it time it is!!