Trains, Shrines and Wineries

We've already mentioned Melbourne's fantastic parks. Unless we were late or it was raining (in which case we hopped on one of the city's convenient and often quaint trams), we would walk through the Royal Botanical Gardens, the Fitzroy Gardens or the Queen Victoria Gardens on our way to and from the Central Business District and our accommodations in a converted Richmond warehouse. During one of these meandering trips through the greener parts of Melbourne, we stumbled across The Shrine of Remembrance.

Initially the Shrine was built to memorialize those who fought in World War I, but it now commemorates the sacrifices of Australian forces in all of the country's conflicts and peacekeeping missions. Inside the building, the sanctuary was designed so that on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month a ray of sunshine penetrates the roof and strikes the word "love" on a memorial stone that reads: "Greater love hath no man." Unfortunately, every other day of the year a twice-hourly simulation of this annual event, accompanied by a booming yet difficult to understand recording, detracts from the mystique of this rare astrological occurrence. The most striking part of the memorial are the open spaces outside of it. But the combination of colors on the wall of seemingly endless medals located in the visitor center is a close second.

Just in case we didn't get enough greenery in Melbourne, we decided to rent a car and a take a short overnight trip. With Cindy's cousin in the car helping to help us avoid the bizarre Melbournian hook turns on our way out of the city, we headed towards the Yarra Valley for a bit of wine tasting and scenery. Located less than an hour from the city, the valley is the oldest grape growing region in Victoria. Not only did we enjoy sampling the wines but we also happily took advantage of some of the other refined attractions wineries now offer, like cheese tastings and art galleries. We even bought a few bottles before retiring to our motel for the night. The allure of bad TV movies kept all of us up past our bedtimes and the next morning we found ourselves -- sloshing flat white in hand -- sprinting through a small Australian town in order to catch a train.

Puffing Billy is a restored 1900s-era steam train that still runs through the Dandenong Mountain Ranges. The trip is popular and we didn't want to miss out, so it was reassuring to see the smiling conductors standing by the ticket booth telling us we could slow down, they'd wait. After buying our passage and boarding a car near the middle we caught our breath as someone ahead shouted, "ALL ABOARD!" The train started moving as a volunteer wearing historical conductor garb began to tell us about the train. While we slowly passed through the fern-friendly land, he would call attention to points of interest and alert us to any good photo opportunities coming up, like if the track was bending so that we could catch a good shot of the smoking engine up ahead or the people hanging out the windows behind.

I had never ridden a steam train before and had no idea what to expect. I can safely say that the ride was pleasantly soothing, but not altogether riveting. Even dangling our legs out the window (a seated position that is not only permissible but, if their brochure photos are any indication, encouraged) was a bit anticlimactic since the train failed to approach thrill-ride velocity. Without the imminent possibility of serious bodily harm or tummy-twisting dips, cutting off the circulation in our legs by means of our awkward perch was little consolation.

However, once we made our first stop, I took a stroll up to the engine and immediately became enamoured of the machine. The amount of steam and heat spewing forth was mesmerizing. For the first time I began to understand the allure of these old trains. I was nearly inspired to slip into some overalls and matching denim hat and start helping the experts stoke the fire and fill her up from the water tower. It wasn't until later that I realized that you can indulge this fantasy.

By Meredith Bragg |  March 3, 2006; 5:16 PM ET  | Category:  Australia
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Posted by: Josie | March 6, 2006 06:38 PM

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