Tuesday, 20 July 2010

Bondi Beach, ice rink


Bondi Beach has this week been transformed into the Bondi Bergstation, a replica of a European Alpine Village, as part of the Winter Festival. It features a 500 square metre outdoor ice skating rink overlooking the Pacific Ocean. There are also a number of ski huts and chalets serving alpine delicacies such as Goulash, German Bratwurst, Pretzels, Gluhwein, and Schnapps. I was there when the ice was cleared for a brief performance by a young skater before regular skaters slowly returned to the rink, late in the afternoon and continuing into the night.
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58 comments:

  1. Luis GomezTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 00:05:00 GMT+10

    These are really great!

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  2. wennTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 00:37:00 GMT+10

    lovely!

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  3. LoisTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 00:42:00 GMT+10

    Beautiful!

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  4. BLOGitseTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 00:42:00 GMT+10

    Looks funny to see ice there...
    We just booked our flights to Sydney... :)
    Have a great week ahead!

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  5. DinaTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 01:08:00 GMT+10

    How "cool" is that!!?

    My kids, who live in Bondi, had a picture on their blog of my grandson ICEskating. Now I understand where!
    Thank you.

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  6. Sylvia KTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 03:41:00 GMT+10

    That is so terrific! Not what many of us would expect to see in Sydney! I love it! Hope you have a great week!

    Sylvia

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  7. AnonymousTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 04:29:00 GMT+10

    Didn't know you could do outdoor ice skating down under, cool!

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  8. JulieTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 07:17:00 GMT+10

    This is pretty wierd to see. I guess our winters are not cold enough for many. On Sunday it was 19C. I bet a lot of energy was taken to keep the ice frozen.

    Such a wonderful backdrop. Is this in front of the pavilion?

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  9. BlossomFlowerGirlTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 07:33:00 GMT+10

    I didn't know you had an ice rink at Bondi - looks like great fun.

    Cheers.
    Melbourne Daily Photo

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  10. JimTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 07:45:00 GMT+10

    Julie, it was up on the hill, just south of the Bondi Pavilion.

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  11. JulieTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 07:57:00 GMT+10

    Hah! A friend and I had spent the afternoon up the southern pylon of the SHB and took shots of the ship berthed at Barangaroo as well. Small world, eh?

    If this is set up on the sloping greensward, then there must be a lot of supports to enable it be have a horizontal rink!!

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  12. CarolTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 08:05:00 GMT+10

    Beautiful photos, esp. enlarged. Nice light and shadows. I'm surprised more people aren't out the skating...I would be...

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  13. JimTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 08:17:00 GMT+10

    Carol, there were actually a lot more people skating out there on Saturday. My other shots were just a sea of people and you couldn't see the scenic views behind them. I happened to be there when they took a break for a brief performance by the young girl in the first shot and the next shot was taken when everyone just returned to the ice.

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  14. Felisol Tuesday, 20 July 2010 at 08:42:00 GMT+10

    Great pix from " winter wonderland".
    Some Ruby there too, suitable for Ruby Tuesday.

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  15. Simon LeongTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 08:53:00 GMT+10

    how awesome. such a contrasts of the beach and ice. looks a lot nicer and open than the cook philip park one :-)

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  16. iheartsunnydaysTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 09:06:00 GMT+10

    Oh wicked! That is so cool J-Bar. If only it was there in November when I come and visit Sydney :)

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  17. Jan AKA WammyTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 09:10:00 GMT+10

    roweriazIt seems so strange seeing people on ice...we are in the middle of a very hot and humid summer...loking forward to wool socks and mittens.

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  18. AnonymousTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 09:27:00 GMT+10

    sigh...what else to say than thank you for this much needed escape... and Glühwein...have to wait further four months until it is again sold over here. Please have a great Tuesday.

    daily athens

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  19. CarverTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 09:41:00 GMT+10

    That looks like so much fun. I forget that you are in winter while we are in summer.

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  20. RalphTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 10:13:00 GMT+10

    The Alps seem like paradise set against the gorgeous Sydney bayside. I couldn't think of a nicer vacation spot, Switzerland and Oz wrapped up as one. Nice!

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  21. AnonymousTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 10:22:00 GMT+10

    Pretty cool. Enjoying some skating while the sun is up.

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  22. RajeshTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 10:47:00 GMT+10

    Beautiful shots.

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  23. SiromadeTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 10:50:00 GMT+10

    Fantastic photo.

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  24. regTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 11:33:00 GMT+10

    with all the heat as of late I wish we where having a winter festival.

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  25. Sallie (FullTime-Life)Tuesday, 20 July 2010 at 11:47:00 GMT+10

    How fun -- and it may be winter,but I notice your sky is still bright blue. That little girl is having the time of her life isn't she?

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  26. Carolyn FordTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 12:17:00 GMT+10

    What a beautiful setting for ice skating...wow! It's SO hard to imagine that you are in the winter season when we are cooking here in southern California! Isn't nature curious?!

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  27. AnnTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 12:19:00 GMT+10

    Interesting. I can't really see the point of this festival. I still have some from the CBD one to put up. This is even stranger - at least it was miserable and raining for most of the time it was at St Mary's.

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  28. AlTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 12:20:00 GMT+10

    Fun shots. I don't think of Australia as being cold enough for an outdoor skating rink, but apparently in the winter it must be.

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  29. LewTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 12:22:00 GMT+10

    It is a beautiful spot for a skate! I must admit that outdoor winter sports is not what I expect to see in Australia. Nice to have a bit of old Europe in your winter.

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  30. JimTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 13:06:00 GMT+10

    AI, Australia has variations in temperature and climate across the continent. Places like Hobart and Canberra can be very cold in winter, while places like Darwin and Alice Springs are hot all year round. Sydney sits somewhere in between.

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  31. Bruce CaspersonnTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 13:09:00 GMT+10

    Amazing!

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  32. EJTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 13:15:00 GMT+10

    Very nice Ice Rink.

    Rubies on planes

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  33. magiceyeTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 13:32:00 GMT+10

    that is wonderful!

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  34. This Is My Blog - fishing guyTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 14:08:00 GMT+10

    JBar: Neat shots at the early winter ice rink. You have something attached to the comment entry. Please try to have it removed.

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  35. stanTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 15:16:00 GMT+10

    I believe I swam once in Bondi waters. V cold for my asian body. But I loved it!

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  36. Pietro BrosioTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 15:18:00 GMT+10

    Very beautiful and interesting too!
    Great views.

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  37. giorno26 ¸¸.•*¨*•.Tuesday, 20 July 2010 at 15:24:00 GMT+10

    Hi,
    belle queste foto.... con quersto caldo un pò di ghiaccio non ci starebbe male !!
    Buona giornata :-))

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  38. GattinaTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 16:16:00 GMT+10

    That looks so strange to me, ice skating in the middle of the summer, lol !

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  39. UnknownTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 16:36:00 GMT+10

    Fantastic - wish I were there!

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  40. IndraniTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 17:55:00 GMT+10

    Great pictures.

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  41. LifeRamblingsTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 17:57:00 GMT+10

    great shots. i missed Sydney.

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  42. WolynskiTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 18:40:00 GMT+10

    Very strange sight in Australia, which is as un-Alpine as it gets.

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  43. MoTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 18:48:00 GMT+10

    Ice on the beach does seem strange

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  44. LolaTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 18:56:00 GMT+10

    Thanks for stopping by!

    And what lovely images of yr beautiful city (I've scrolled down a lot!).

    I was fortunate enough to visit Aus & NZ in the Spring & put on quite a lot of weight from all the great cuisine I came across! If you're curious as to my current body shape (despite desperate dieting), pop over to my current post!!

    LOLA:)

    PS Mine is HERE. Hope you can join me! And I'll do my best to return to yr lovely blog as often as time permits!

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  45. imacTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 19:01:00 GMT+10

    Hi Jim, What a wonderful blog you have here, so colourful and bright, and your photos are great.
    Thanks for your visit and your kind comments on my Cream of the Crop.

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  46. nonizamboniTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 21:41:00 GMT+10

    What an interesting contrast of the wintry ice rink and that gorgeus ocean water. Nice capture of the skater too!

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  47. VioletSkyTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 22:51:00 GMT+10

    Somehow, 'Bondi' and 'ice' are not two words I would ever have put together!

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  48. JennTuesday, 20 July 2010 at 22:56:00 GMT+10

    Must be fun to wander around sampling all the good eats!

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  49. LinneaWednesday, 21 July 2010 at 02:00:00 GMT+10

    Never a dull moment in your homeTown!

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  50. AnonymousWednesday, 21 July 2010 at 06:16:00 GMT+10

    As long as they don't spray the CHEMTRAILS that heat up the atmosphere and melt the snow caps, then the ice rink will be ok.
    Look Up.

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  51. DaniWednesday, 21 July 2010 at 06:58:00 GMT+10

    WOW, So cool. It's summer here so at first i was confused.

    Great shots.

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  52. NatureFootstepWednesday, 21 July 2010 at 07:07:00 GMT+10

    skating, when it is summer....then I realised, you have winter. :)

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  53. BillWednesday, 21 July 2010 at 08:21:00 GMT+10

    Wow that would have been quite a sight.

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  54. AnonymousWednesday, 21 July 2010 at 13:00:00 GMT+10

    That's quite a sight! The winter festival sounds good. I miss eating some of those German foods.

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  55. marcia@joyismygoalWednesday, 21 July 2010 at 13:47:00 GMT+10

    what fun it looks like they are having

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  56. Walk in New YorkWednesday, 21 July 2010 at 17:54:00 GMT+10

    SURPRENANT ;)

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  57. Joan ElizabethThursday, 22 July 2010 at 19:55:00 GMT+10

    There doesn't seem to be any end of festivals in Sydney at the moment.

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  58. Louis la VacheMonday, 26 July 2010 at 12:56:00 GMT+10

    «Louis» wonders how stable these modern cruise ships are in rough seas - they all look so top-heavy.

    Here's some images «Louis» got of Queen Mary 2 when she called on San Francisco in 2007.

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