Carry on Canberra

Our whole reason for this Australia jaunt was an Artificial Intelligence Conference that Rachel wanted to attend in Canberra. It has been illuminating.  After a few fun-filled days in Sydney, we arrived in Canberra early Tuesday afternoon after a four hour train ride. I like trains, they give you the opportunity to catch up on your novel ( reading one or writing one), stare droolingly at the scenery, or do nothing, all with more comfort and leg room than you will ever find in economy on an international flight. But, I digress. Canberra train station is on the outskirts of the city and doesn’t really give a good first impression. We wandered out of the station, across the road and waited for the bus into the City centre. An odd note; Canberra transit is in the midst of changing it’s ticketing system and the new one won’t be up and running until late 2024, so transit is free. That’s great for the user, but it does suggest that the upgrade wasn’t thought through.  Arriving near our destination, we hopped of the bus next to an Expressway with a vague idea of the direction we were supposed to go, backed up with meandering Google Maps directions. We were perplexed by the map directions until we realised that you can’t actually go directly anywhere in Canberra. After dragging our suitcases through the construction site that was our best route to our accommodations, we were pleasantly surprised to find a little cafe and had a pick me up espresso before heading on. It was our first real encounter with people and activity since getting off the bus. After dropping off our luggage in the apartment, we set off to find sustenance. It reminded me of Bill Bryson’s description of Canberra from his superlative Down Under. Canberra city centre is very modern and for the longest time, seemingly deserted. After a considerable amount of walking,we eventually found what turned out to be the eating and entertainment section. As a reward for our efforts, we went for a late lunch. The rest of our stay followed a similar pattern—-a circuitous hike, followed by either a cultural experience or a visit to a pub. I would not discourage anyone from visiting Canberra, it is quite beautiful. That being said, it does have some downsides. Canberra is a planned city and that’s the problem; it feels planned. There are few places that feel like they developed organically, there is an artificial feeling to it that’s hard to shake. The other major issue is that Canberra is really only fully accessible if you have a car. There is public transit, but walking twenty minutes to a bus stop to catch a bus that will take a half an hour to get you where you want to go is inconvenient to say the least. That is especially so if Google maps tells you that you can walk the whole way in thirty minutes. People who live here love it and I can understand why, but after experiencing the visceral vibe of Sydney,  Canberra does feel like a bit of a backwater.