There she is: Steffi! She made it from Frankfurt to Melbourne, via Singapore. No corona measures, no checks and no delays. It’s the 7th of March. Bizar to think back to that moment. The world looks absolutely different today. Our life looks absolutely different today. Upside down. Literally. We had no clue we would rush home on the 18th of March when the Dutch government advised travellers to come back. At the time Covid-19 was pretty much a foreign issue and Australia a safe place to be. Anyway, more about that later!

Back to Steffi. It has been two years since we’ve last saw each other. Not counting the countless Formula 1 weekends during our trip when we sat on the virtual couch busy commenting on F1 races. Go MAX! Go VET! Crash HAM! Please! 👹 Yeah…. We admit: the three of us are desperately addicted to Formula 1. 😇  As such, Steffi flew half the globe to join us to the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne next weekend. 🥳

For some reason Steffi seems to skip the jet lag. Maybe because she spent the night deep frozen in her tent. Can you imagine? First time camping and the world decides to give her some of the coldest nights in March ever 🙄. Luckily she wakes up full of energy and our target for day 1 is Melbourne!

Melbourne is a dynamic, sport-mad, cosmopolitan city and we love the vibes more than Brisbane or Sydney. Modern and historic buildings next to each other, the Yara river crossing the city centre and plenty of green spots. Coffee ☕️ turns out to be another joint addiction. We therefore start at Centre Place, a cosy lane with street art, boutiques and cafes. Next stop is the F1 Sound Garage to check out this years merchandise (F1 addiction, we can’t help it 👻).

The remainder of the day we discover the Moomba festival. The largest free festival in OZ. Carnivals, parades, life music, water activities on the river and lots of people having a good time. Including us! Great atmosphere. We finish the day with Australian wine 🍷 (what else?) during a campsite dinner 😋.

The following days we follow the same rhythm. We explore the city centre, take the hop-on-hop-off bus to St Kilda (Melbourne’s beach), stroll over the Queen Victoria Market, enjoy the city from above on the Eureka tower and we absolutely make sure we take enough coffee breaks.

One day we leave the city behind to explore the Yara valley. A green area full of vineyards and a sanctuary with some of the cutest native animals on earth. You can’t travel all the way to Australia without falling in love. 😍 And I think Steffi did. With the animals I mean, not the wine. Or maybe both 😉.

During these days Corona talks sneak in. Every day a little more. The big question is if the F1 race will happen. But given that the number of infections in Australia are low and traceable to China, Italy or Iran it looks promising. At the time most of the world was still open and we knew a lot less about the why of the measures than today. What’s more, down town Melbourne crowds are still occupying trams and the Moomba Festival with over one million visitors (!) over 4 days just took place. Plus both the state Victoria as well as FIA (FIFA for F1) broadcasted that cancellation is not an option. 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

Thursday 12th of March. It’s RACEWEEKEND!! 🥳🥳🥳 Woehoe! No F1 adventures on track yet, but the circuit is open to explore. A paradise for fans! We can tell you that. Check it out. Fast cars, grand stands, corners, driver interviews and even a Steffi interview. Her seconds of fame at German television. 👍

Meanwhile, it’s hard to ignore the corona fuzz as the media is at full speed. The whole world seems to force Australia to stop the race. Whereas locally there is no worry in sight. Let alone understanding why it should be stopped. The Corona crisis in Europe 16.000 km away, is not happening here. (What did we know at the time…🙄) Luckily we managed to keep corona worries to a minimum and enjoyed a beautiful day at the Albert Park circuit. In the pocket. ✅

Late night it’s done. 😤 Four F1 crew members have been tested and our hope for an amazing weekend is losing ground. Oh this sucks. 😩 After a short night, with a mixture of sleep and corona news overload, we head towards Albert Park Circuit with little hope. And jawohl, half way to the track we receive the confirmation. NO RACE!! No F1 circus. No cars. No drivers. No anything. 😭 😭 😭 And now what?

The rest of the day we wander aimlessly around town and to torture us a little more the sun decides to cancel her job too. Sigh. 😞 We end up eating in the camp kitchen looking at boring cold rain. 😞 Lost in our own thoughts. Corona thoughts. What is happening in the world? What does this mean? The US closed their borders for Europeans. Why? A few countries locked down completely. How long? Increasing infections everyday back home. What will happen? Singapore announced a lock down this Sunday. How will Steffi get home now Singapore is closed? 🤯

What a disappointment and moreover lots of unknown. Many questions and no answers. Pfffft. But ok, a night bummed out and life goes on. Steffi sorted out a flight back home via Thailand ✅ We packed up and stocked up Kempi ✅ Left Melbourne, away from the crowds. ✅ And most important, we decided to make the best of it! ✅

Ready for a road trip! Great Ocean Road here we come! 🎉