after leaving perth there are no big cities to speak of in western australia. with a population of 10.000, fremantle is still one of the bigger ones. the atmosphere is relaxed, a lot of creative people live here or pass through and half of the people seem to be on holiday. the streets are filled with people sitting in cafés, on their way to go shopping or hanging out in the park.
i ended up at the pirates hostel and stayed over a month. the first week i got accustomed to the hostel life again, was working in a timber yard and drinking more than during the whole last year travelling through asia.
the day before christmas we grabbed our guitars and a couple of drinks and went to the nearby beach and had an early celebration…
ending up in the morning watching the sunrise with a box of goon, australian slang for cheap wine mostly sold in boxes of 2 or 4 litres.
at the hostel they tried very hard to get the christmas spirits flying with decorations and grabbing some drunk carol singers from the street.
with a hangover from the day earlier we started on christmas day to the beach to celebrate like the australians do. a couple of drinks and a barbeque and that´s how we rolled….
the new year we celebrated also on the beach and later in the hostel. the day after things calmed down a little. i took over the night manager position at the hostel just to save the cost for the accommodation. and i found back to reading again. for example walter moers’ the city of dreaming books.
since books are also expensive, i was glad that the local library offered a temporary membership. after being dependent on what was lying around on trading shelfs in guesthouses or second hand bookstores, it was wonderful to just type in a title in the library’s search engine and see if it is available.
a couple of good musicians and artists filled the streets in the centre everyday. and we also had some talent among us. naomi, one of the girls from the hostel giving a concert at the south beach one afternoon. listen.
it takes only several minutes to different beaches in and around fremantle and hardly a day passed without at least a short visit. here with the pirate superhero crew.
time felt so rich because of the many people around but also seemed to pass by so quickly. since i left europe, australia is the country closest when it comes to how daily life works. to go with the flow doesn’t get you to the most interesting places but rather to ones well known. it is more effort needed to explore. but that won’t stop a superhero!!