E

lizabeth Bay Unit

 

Move-in: November 6, 2006








Australia flag






While we were in Singapore we had good access to the web so we did what we often do: see what is on offer at Craigslist.org There we found an ad for an apartment in Elizabeth Bay, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Working backwards, we had a good idea where Oz was, something less of NSW and Sydney, and none at all of Elizabeth Bay. We got in contact, and as we say, the rest is history. We took the place!

Our Neighborhood - Elizabeth Bay
Our Neighborhood: Potts Point on the left, Elizabeth Bay on the right
Most of the water is Sydney Harbor; the Pacific Ocean is on the horizon.
The small area bottom right is Rushcutters Bay
Our Neighborhood - Elizabeth Bay
Elizabeth Bay with Rushcutters Bay and Park (far right)

We are living in the building circled in red. On the right the grassy-area is Rushcutters Bay park and all of the yachts are in Rushcutters Bay. It's a nice walk through and around the park; we did it for the first time the day after we moved in. Now we like to shop at Aldi (see below) and we walk there through the park. Since we acquired some camp chairs we like to carry them down to the park to sit and read for an hour in the fresh air. In some ways its our front yard.

This photo is cropped from a real-estate advertisement for the building circled in white. Outside the photo to the left is the Kings Cross - Potts Point area; Beyond them about a mile (1500 m) is the CBD (Central Business District), the Sydney Harbor Bridge, and the Opera House. All would be visible from where this photo is taken. The previous photo is also from a real-estate advertisement.

Scot Forth Building. We are to the above, right
Scotforth Building.
We are on the 3rd floor (American style), 2nd and 3rd windows from the right

Our apartment has the two bay windows two floors above the woman in orange. That is, we are on the third floor, American style, and second floor, British style. The building, called Scotforth, was constructed in the mid-30s and, we are told, was pretty fancy for its day. Now it is in need of a lot of loving care: the windows are old fashioned, there is no elevator, etc. For about four weeks from the day of our arrival the woman who owns the next door unit, a studio, was gutting it and updating it with modern bathroom, kitchen, etc. We suffered much noise; fortunately we were out most days.

Looking out from the Living Room
Looking out from the Living Room

All around Scotforth many new, modern buildings have gone up and they, along with the pleasant greenery and water views, make this one of the toniest neighborhoods in Sydney. We have two main rooms, a living room and a bedroom, and both have large windows that open onto this little circle. It took us several weeks to notice that the harbor waters can be seen through the tree by nearly leaning out of the window.

In general it is rather pleasant, with the light coming in and easy viewing of the world going by. But we do have two complaints: light and sound. The bedroom blinds don't keep out much light so we wake too early (as far as we are concerned). Even if we solved the light problem, the noise problem would still wake us: every morning the commuter traffic and the street cleaner and the rubbish collector start before we want to get out of bed.

The Living Room with the new TV
The Living Room with the new TV

There is not enough storage space so things go where they can. Under the table the red object is one of our bags. Inside of it is another bag and much more that we won't need for the moment.

Our new TV on Melbourne Cup Day
Our new TV on Melbourne Cup Day

Australia, we are told, stops, for the Melbourne Cup. So we stayed in and watched it on our TV, bought just the day before. We'd been out for a walk, found ourselves at Aldi, which we'd meant to search for since we really liked the store in Berlin, and were very pleased to learn they had just the deal we wanted on a 51 cm (21 inch) TV. We got it home in the back of a cab driven by a Russian-speaking Kievian; Jan enjoyed the brief conversation.

Jan's computer is on the table. Visible through the door is part of the bedroom. The table usually holds Gerry's computer. To the right, out of sight is the bathroom.

A frequent visitor
A frequent visitor

One bit of "noise" that we enjoy comes from this fellow and his brethern. Australian birds (and plants and accents) are just different! This bird, and sometimes two, and even three, will sit and prance on our ledge for long periods. We like it.




November 21, 2006