In travel guides Perth is often described as modern metropolis in the middle of nowhere. Well, Perth is certainly in the middle of nowhere, the next large city is Adelaide and 2700km far away. But to say Perth is a modern metropolis is a little far-fetched in our opinion.

Our first impression of Perth was that we are in midst of a lovely allotment garden idyl. Apart from the business district, there are only a few multistory buildings throughout Perth which have more than three stories. The overall feeling is one of a rural country town. One house next to the other with teeny-weeny gardens around them. The houses have either no fences at all or are surrounded by thick brick walls. The houses themselves are build with either yellowish or reddish bricks and look therefore quite the same for the non-expert eye.

If we thought at all about the appearance and feeling of Perth before our departure, we visualised Perth as a large city with multistory buildings and a very glamorous flair. With an exciting day and night life. And somehow more progressive than at home.

We were therefore absolutely not prepared for this rather rural city feeling. Don’t get us wrong, it’s nothing wrong with a small town, even if this small town has this immense expansion as Perth. It just took quite some time until we aligned our expectations of Perth with Perth as it really is.