Sydney, Day 1

I made it! My body doesn't know what time it is, but everyone tells me the best way to beat the jet lag is exposure to sunlight. Good thing I was lucky to arrive to a beautiful morning in Sydney!

Once I dropped off my bags at the hotel, I walked to Circular Quay to check off the most iconic things first and see the Opera House and Harbour Bridge.

Then I headed over to the Australian National Maritime Museum to see if they had anything on display related to the HMAS Sydney II. Sure enough there was a small display case detailing the ship's successes in the Mediterranean and the "unthinkable" story of its loss. You can also see a model of the ship and an artwork depicting the battle with Kormoran (I couldn't make out the name of the artist).

It was weird to look at the display knowing that my grandfather was on the other side in this battle. I'm sure that weird mix of shame and curiosity will pop back up over and over during my visits to the memorials here across the country, but this was only a glass case so I guess I have to brace myself for the more immersive and powerful ones.

Speaking of immersion, I also took advantage of the museum's exhibit of historic vessels that you can climb aboard on. The two military ships you can visit are the destroyer HMAS Vampire and the submarine HMAS Onslow. Even though these vessels were remodeled and a little more modern than WWII ships, I still felt like I got a good impression of what it must have felt like to be stuck on one of these metal monstrosities for months, not to mention being engaged in a battle.

While ducking my way through the corridors, I quickly determined that I was too tall for either of these vessels. Especially the submarine felt claustrophobic, of course, but even on the destroyer everything - from the bunks to the showers to the kitchen - felt like a miniature version of the comforts I am used to. NO wonder older people think we're a spoiled generation. In any case, my respect for people who serve in the navy increased dramatically.

A note on the face I'm making in the picture above: while I was in the submarine it started raining outside, and I guess the sea became a little more "shaky". At first I thought I was getting dizzy from not having had anything to eat since getting off the airplane, but then I realized the vessel was actually swaying. Let's just say I didn't spend too much time on the sub after that.

[Shoutout to all the different volunteers on the vessels that were eager to share their knowledge. Now I know more about how a torpedo works and I also learned how a ship's speed was measured in knots back in the day.]