Canberra

Last weekend we took a little three day vacation to Canberra, the nation’s capitol. Canberra is about a two hour and 45 minute drive inland from Wollongong. Unlike all of Australia’s other major cities which naturally developed along the coast of the continent, Canberra was planned as an inland city.

So what did we think of it? Well, it was very different from any other Australian city we’ve been to. Besides being so far from the ocean, it was very spread out like an American city. Also, it has a very structured feel to it - the streets are nice and straight, buildings are spaced evenly, etc., which actually gives the city a bit of bland feeling. That’s not to say that the city is ugly or anything like that, it just doesn’t fit the free spirited, fun loving personality of Australia.

So what did we do? Mostly we did typical tourist stuff – museums, buildings, etc. We also just relaxed at our hotel, swam in the indoor pool, and watched the free movies on the movie channel. It was a nice relaxing weekend.

You can’t go to Canberra without visiting the two most famous buildings at the heart of the city - Parliament House and the Australian War Memorial. I was surprised at how different they are from one another. In fact, they are as opposite as two buildings could be. The Parliament house looks like a giant modern art sculpture – it’s all squares and rectangles and sharp corners. The War Memorial, on the other hand, looks like an Eastern Orthodox cathedral with towering rock walls, stained-glass windows, and a huge dome ceiling. Both were interesting, but of the two, I found the War Memorial far more impressive. But I put some pictures below, so you can judge for yourself.

Parliament House

Senate Chamber

Foyer (which reminded me of a really nice hotel lobby)


War Memorial (from the courtyard entryway)

Stained-glass windows and mosaics (the pictures really don't do it justice)

The dome

Other Pics:

Taken from the National Museum of Australia with the Parliament house in the background across the lake

Emily posing with a statue of Queen Elizabeth (I don't think she realized her hand was on the royal rump)