Another Fun Day Down Under Includes Finding Oktoberfest In Australia

If this keeps up, then my friends’ predictions of me never returning to America may come true.

Day 2 in Sydney had me taking a free walking tour, going back to my favorite (to this point) bar that again was the most happening place in the city, and then a new discovery that previously had not even occurred to me: an Oktoberfest celebration!

Oktoberfest in Sydney? Sure, why not. There are Oktoberfests at every city in the world. But I did not expect to find it in Sydney in a year-round German beer hall. This place serves beers in the authentic 1-liter Oktoberfest glass mugs (having been to Oktoberfest in Munich, I recognized those mugs immediately) has a German oompha band, servers in the fraulein outfits and lederhosen and picnic tables with plates of full chickened being served to beer-hoisting people.

 

It’s called Lowenbrau and it’s in the Rocks, which in two days I have determined to be the best place for bars and nightlife in Sydney. This opinion could change, of course, with more time spent here, but there’s a lot of historical pubs. popular bars (the Orient Hotel has a back patio and a bar in the front that are a dynamic one-two combo) and it’s a 10-minute walk around the harbor from the awesome Opera Bar by the Sydney Opera House.

Had Katrina, a pretty blonde from Bavaria, Germany whom I met on the free walking tour, hung with me instead of going with a fellow frau and a couple of boring Canadian backpackers to see the Botanical Gardens, she would have loved being in the bierhall. She’s in Sydney for an extended period as a nursing student and perhaps she will contact me so I can show her some fun from her native country in another country.

Regardless, it was a great day. The free walking tour is indeed free. You show up between Town Hall and St. Andrews Cathedral, look for someone in a FREE TOUR green t-shirt and take a three-hour tour on foot of Sydney (daily, 10:30 a.m., and 2:30 p.m.).  I’ll do a separate review of it but suffice to say it’s one of the best deals in the city. You do tip the guide; I gave him $15 but the more budget-minded people seem settled on $5.

And here’s a huge benefit you will only read about here: It’s a great place to meet people! Mostly, they are young and fun (think budget-minded travelers) and you’ve got something instantly in common because you are on the tour together. It’s a no-brainer if you ask me.

After the 2:30 tour ended under the Harbor Bridge, I peeled off from Katrina, her German counterpart and the boring Canadians to go to Opera Bar. I was not disappointed.

As I noted in my first blog from Sydney, this is the most happening bar in the city, at least while the sun is shining. Again, there were several hundred people there and I wound up mingling with three “Sheilas” who were drinking a bottle of champagne not because of any special occasion but “because we’re out!”

Eventually, I made it back to the area of my hotel King’s Cross. I had held out for dinner to try the pizza from one of the stands. The previous night, there were dozens of people lined up here so I figured it must be fantastic.  Let me just say that there must be really horrible pizza in King’s Cross and if ever there were a contest to determine the Word’s Worst Pizza, this place would win in a landslide.

Oh well, not everything in Sydney can be perfect.

Next up: The Gold Coast for the V8 Supercars Surfer’s Paradise Race!

Cheers!