End of this very long trip that took me to Sweden and Australia and, as usual, a few lessons learned, things that worked out well and sometimes choices I might make differently.
You’ll find a summary of these Australian vacations at the bottom of the page.
The choice of the destination
This year my main destination was Melbourne. 15 months earlier I had been to Sydney and Brisbane, and I really wanted to see Melbourne, but the city’s climate, further south, was not optimal in September, whereas it was much better in December.
To this was added Sydney simply because it was my arrival city, and Adelaide because I had the opportunity to fit an extra city into my itinerary.
What can I say? Sydney and Melbourne are really interesting cities, and above all very pleasant to live in, with, as far as I’m concerned, a preference for the second, perhaps a little more European.
I’m not going to say they’re as culturally rich as many European capitals, but the National Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Victoria are well worth a visit.
And then there’s simply the atmosphere of Melbourne, really conducive to relaxing and letting go.
I’m not so keen on Adelaide, but I was kind of expecting it. A pleasant little town that can be visited quickly but there’s no need to spend more than 48 hours there.
A final word on the climate in Melbourne in winter: while it’s nicer in December than in September, it’s still not the best time of year, and as some locals have told me, I’ve sometimes seen all 4 seasons in a single day! But on the whole, the weather was fine without being too hot, which is the most important thing for a visit.
Flights
I found an excellent fare on Lufthansa/ANA from Gothenburg, which was perfect because this was an airline I really wanted to discover. Really very good, even if the management of the cancellation of a flight in Sydney could have been accompanied by much better communication. I’m not criticizing the cancellation, which was inevitable given the context, but rather the way it was handled.
I also had a bit of a scare on Lufthansa when I left Gothenburg for Frankfurt, due to the terrible weather conditions that caused the German airports to close, but in the end everything went smoothly, even though I wasn’t feeling too confident on the eve of my departure. Once again, airlines are not responsible for bad weather, but for the way they handle it.
For domestic flights, I still prefer Virgin Australia’s Economy X product, given the prohibitive prices charged by Qantas.
As for my intra-European flights with Air France…I’m still worried about their medium-haul product.
But if in the end everything went well (not without a few scares), I can only urge you to be extra careful in terms of safety margins when you’re self-connecting… on long trips like this, delays can quickly add up to days, with all the impact this can have on the rest of your trip, with bookings having to be postponed, cancelled or even lost for good.
Hotels
Two great discoveries in Gothenburg with Draken and Jacy’z and more mixed impressions in Australia.
Excellent memories of the Ritz-Carlton Melbourne and the Moxy Sydney Airport, much duller at the W Sydney and, above all, the W Melbourne and the Intercontinental Adelaide. But what I will remember and what confirms the impression of my previous stay is the penny-pinching in the application of the loyalty programs, quite similar to what can be found in the USA.
Special praise also goes to the Scandic Landvetter, with a superb view of the runways and a Jacuzzi overlooking the runways.
Restaurants
No surprise there: I always eat very well in Gothenburg and Scandinavia in general, and the Australian culinary scene is as good as it is varied.
On this vacation I ate well (apart from once or twice when it was more average) at price ranges from street food to gourmet and varying styles of food.
If I had to pick just three? Saga, a Scandinavian-Singaporean restaurant in Gothenburg, Freyja a Scandinavian in Melbourne and Aalia a Middle Eastern in Sydney.
Bottom line
Apart from a few practical considerations that led me to revise a small part of my program for weather reasons, and caused me a few major scares (the risk of traveling in winter…), it was an excellent vacation, and although in retrospect there are always things to improve and do differently, no choice proved truly disappointing.
You can copy and paste the itinerary and do the same without any fear.