Today I am trying out the Hurstbridge train line. I hop off at Macleod station. I had never heard of this suburb before. There’s a line of shops close to the station. I walk into the fish and chips shop and order an Minimum chips, an Australian delicacy. The man in the shop couldn’t tell, if there are any interesting things in Macleod. At a playground across the street I meet Carl, an Irish immigrant who has been in Melbourne for 5 years. He is super friendly and tells me about the nature reserve where I can see kangaroos. I walk off towards the reserve and pass some beautiful front yards with lots of birds in them. Inside the reserve it feels very quiet and peaceful. I think I’m the only person in there. Then all the sudden I see a roo standing right in front staring at me. I think this is actually the first time I have seen a kangaroo in Melbourne out of the zoo.

Belgrave has come up in conversations a few times over the last few weeks. I feel like I had to go there. The train only takes me to Ringwood. From there on a bus drives me to Belgrave. The bus is packed. A whole school class is on board. I’m cramped in this bus full of people and I don’t really know where I’m going. I start questioning myself. Why am I doing this curiosity journey? I know that I really like it and want to do more of it, maybe through Victoria, maybe though Australia, maybe through the whole world. Mastaneh told me yesterday that she really likes Life on Mars, so I put on a David Bowie playlist.

As the bus pulls into Belgrave Station, these two lines pop into my head:

Only if we can see the world in different ways, we can see how it really is.

Only if we can see ourselves in different ways, we can see who we really are.

I walk passed all these beautiful murals. Then Freddie Mercury starts playing with Under Pressure. The two lines I thought of before, start making perfect sense and start resonating with the song. I’m overwhelmed by my emotions and I find a log to sit on stare into forrest. It’s so simple, yet so beautiful. I have never felt something like this before. It feels like I finally let go of my soul and let it tell me what it wanted to tell me for such a long time. I knew for a while that I want to gain more perspective and inspire others to gain more perspective and now I know why. I feel free and on track at the same time. It’s a wonderful feeling. I need continue travelling and exchange views with others.

I start walking along the train line passed all these beautiful gardens. I feel at peace with myself. There are so many magnificent views and little things to be discovered on the way. I reach Upper Ferntree Gully. Something pulls me into a side street and I find myself in front of the 1812 Theatre. I walk in and find Malcolm who is in the foyer rehearsing for the Vicar of Dibley play that is starting next week. He tells me to have a look in the actual theatre. In there I find Loretta and Louise and  have a beautiful chat. I start to make my way home. I walk by a newsagent with these amazing hand painted greeting cards in the window. In there is Jimmy. He tells me that his wife makes the cards. I buy two of them, one with dandelions and one with a butterfly. Back in Fitzroy I catch up with my friend Tim for a Laksa and I tell about my amazing discoveries.

Today’s Curiosity Walk starts at Tim’s warehouse. Jules is over to have a chat with Tim about making handles the blades he forged. Jules’ parrot Birdy is there too. I’m traveling up the Upfield Line. I’m getting off at the last stop and walk through Coolaroo. I find myself in a big industrial area with lots of recycling places dumps for broken cars and concrete mixers. There is a lot of rubbish, but in between there are all these little pockets of green. There are lots of planes flying across and its not surprising that Australian movie “The Castle” was set in Coolaroo. I arrive at a residential area and enter a milk bar and buy an ice cream from Matt. Back at Upfield station I meet Nebahand a jewellery maker and choreographer. I hop off at Jewell station in Brunswick, meet my friends Sarah and Trevor and go to the Moth story telling. I actually get to tell my curiosity walk story and make a lot of people smile.

The Melbourne Cup is on, the race that stops the nation. Up to until a few years ago there was always another race on Cup Day, the Eastment St Billy Cart Derby in Northcote. It was a fantastic community event where brave dare devils would ride Billy Carts down Eastment St. Unfortunately, it got too big and was cancelled a few years ago. This year it was going to be replaced by the Eastment St Junkfest. I had to check it out. It was a beautiful atmosphere. A lot of the residents had little garage sales, there was a stand where you could get bad haircuts, bands were playing and you could join in with group karaoke. Every once in a while a little shower went down and people huddled together under umbrellas. It was a great feeling of community. I bumped into lots of friends. One of them was Jeremi. Jeremi had just moved to Northcote a week ago, so we went on a little tour of the Northcote hinterland.  I discovered a new look out from where you had a great view of the surrounding suburbs. I walked home as the sun was going down. I took some nice pictures of lots of spring flowers in the evening light and even saw a rainbow when I arrived back in Collingwood.

My Curiosity Walk began while I was swimming at Fitzroy Pool. My friend Alex texted me to come over and have a look at his new place in Clifton Hill. He told me he was going to the shops and to come over in 30 min. I went to Smith St to have a sandwich and I got another text from Alex: “Look into the window!” There he was standing right next to me at the shop register. He drove me to his new place and showed me his beautiful backyard. Alex lives close to a shot tower. It’s a tower where they use dispensed drops of molten lead from the top. While the droplets were falling they formed perfect spheres to be used as bullets. On the premise of the shot tower there is now a linen import business. We asked them if we could have a look inside the shot tower and were told that I hadn’t been opened in decades and the stairs were rotted away. So we continued exploring and found a hidden playground. We sat on the swings. Something I hadn’t done in ages. We went on through the Clifton Hill, passed lots of blooming roses and had a pub meal before I made my way back to Fitzroy. There were lots of people on the streets dressed up in amazing Halloween costumes.