A guide to relax from midterms, impressions and night outs!

If you are looking for a day off from all the impressions, a day to reflect and to just live in the moment, here is a guide to places in Sydney you do not need the Opal Card, a back pack or sandwiches to, just yourself and maybe some headphones to play music.

Hi! My name is Irena, I'm on my exchange semester at UTS and finishing my master's degree in Accounting and Finance at the University of St. Gallen in Switzerland. The end of May is approaching, classes are coming to an end, assignments are due and final parties are planned. An incredible and exciting time, but who finds the time to look back anyway?

Before my exchange semester started I travelled New Zealand, camped near Uluru, snorkeled in Cairns and visited Melbourne. Finally, I moved into my two-shared flat in Yura (UTS Housing) and started to get to know Sydney. The first weeks of socializing consisted of seeing nearly every beach and us walking in the Blue Mountains, surfing, skydiving and enjoying the sun. The nights started with listening to some old records at Mojo Record Bar, enjoying the atmosphere at Baxter’s Inn and almost always ended at the pool in IVY. As the nights are getting shorter and final exams are approaching, I feel like I had not enjoyed Sydney enough. But today is the day!

Step 1: Put on comfortable clothes & shoes and start the day with a nice breakfast and a friend! Have a chat, laugh and enjoy breakfast time together before you either continue with your friend or enjoy the time to get there by yourself.

Step 2: Make your way to Observatory Hill Park by enjoying a walk through Darling Harbour. Once you get there you can sit on the grass, enjoy the peace and look back to some of the most historical places in Sydney!

Step 3: Walk back to Darling Harbour. No, this isn't another post about the usual places in DH, walk a bit further and you'll discover a quiet place to sit and to look at the skyline of Sydney. I listen to "Koop - Island Blues" and watch the sunset quite often at this place.

Step 4: If you're hungry, you can either eat something around DH or take the way back to treat yourself to one of my secret places around Chinatown for a Chinese soup at "Haidilao Ma La Tang" on Thomas Street. You can choose what to put in your "soup" and get all the veggies for the whole week!

I hope by now you had a relaxing day off and enough time to look back to the wonderful time you've spent in Sydney in your exchange semester.

Irena Miljkovic

Accounting and Finance

University of St. Gallen, Switzerland