Australia has been calling my name for years. It began in high school, when the country struck me as everything Germany wasn’t, and the promise of adventure planted a dream of one day visiting or even living down under. I can’t say exactly when it took hold, but the pull has never faded, and I’ve been fortunate to return many times since.

I’ve now been to Australia several times, and I was fortunate to work for a while at both the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra and the University of Western Australia (UWA) in Perth. It was during these longer stays that I came to truly appreciate the warmth of the Aussies and their relaxed way of life.

Over twenty years ago, in 2004, I visited Australia for the first time to attend a conference at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra and to visit old friends that relocated to Australia to work at the ANU. After the conference was over, we took a road trip from Canberra to Sydney with a longer stop over in the Blue Mountains.

Two years later, I visited Adelaide, again to attend a Plant Molecular Biology conference. In this occasion, I was accompanied by a colleague from my Department at the Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany, and decided to extend our visit for another 10 days. We rented a car and drove from Adelaide to Melbourne, visiting the Gampions National Park and follow the Great Ocean Road along the coast of Victoria.

Over twenty years ago, in 2004, I visited Australia for the first time to attend a conference at the Australian National University (ANU) in Canberra and to visit old friends that relocated to Australia to work at the ANU. After the conference was over, we took a road trip from Canberra to Sydney with a longer stop over in the Blue Mountains.

Two years later, I visited Adelaide, again to attend a Plant Molecular Biology conference. In this occasion, I was accompanied by a colleague from my Department at the Ruhr-University of Bochum, Germany, and decided to extend our visit for another 10 days. We rented a car and drove from Adelaide to Melbourne, visiting the Gampions National Park and follow the Great Ocean Road along the coast of Victoria.