To cut a long story short, we love Fremantle. It's a vibrant town mixed with historic relicts, a large portion of creativity and a hint of wickedness. Freo's streets are filled with little cafés, design boutiques and second hand shops. With its alternative atmosphere the town is a lot closer to what we are used from Europe. Freo has not only captured our imagination but stimulated our creative minds to generate the video you are about to see.
A city full of artists breeds a desire for getting creative yourself. I always wanted to do a miniature video and Fremantle seemed to be a perfect setting. Lean back, pump up the volume and enjoy Freo from a different perspective. And don't forget, like with all our videos, sharing is caring: Watching the advertisings on our YouTube videos will cost you nothing but support us with a few cents!
The cappuccino strip is only one of Fremantle's many attractions. During christmas holidays all the cafés, bars and restaurants are packed with tourists and locals enjoying the for Australia otherwise untypical street life. For the first time we felt a little bit at home. And that's when traveling on a small budget is at its worst: Confronted with temptations to feast and indulge oneself on every corner but being forced to stay a spectator. It's like watching a game and not being allowed to participate. For us Australia is the most expensive country we have traveled so far. For the six months we have been here you can count the times we bought a coffee or ate out on one hand.
Fremantle's cultural mix is the origin of a large culinary selection. We even found some German bread but like with everything exotic they make you pay for it. Sometimes we wish money would not be such a big issue but I guess that's the price we pay for being able to see the world. It still was nice to find some german products even though with 8 dollars a slice of the original German Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, a traditional German cake, was far from our reach.
Everyone will tell you to see the Fremantle Markets and we will tell you no different. Half of the booths inside offer products from Asia you could find anywhere and cheaper, but the rest has some secrets to discover.
According to our experience best practice would be to time your visit to the markets to a saturday or sunday morning. That way the place is going to be full of life and action. Once you got yourself an overview you can have a shot on the many culinary specialty on offer.
The markets are a magnet for locals and tourist alike. We enjoyed just watching the scenery, diving into the atmosphere and savor the smell of fresh coffee and all kinds of food.
There's a large variety of fresh veggies and fruits on offer. But if that's what you are after we have a far better recommendation: Head for Wray Avenue and close to the corner to South Terrace you will find Gelati & Sons Farmers' Market, a grocery store that offers vegetables and fruits that have been rejected by the big food chains. If you don't mind food that is slightly out of shape you can shop fresh for a bargain price and the peace of mind to do something good.
There is one thing you will not get around in Freo: art, it's everywhere! From street art to fancy boutique galleries, Fremantle offers something for everyone, no matter what taste or budget you are after.
We even ran into a small pop-up market having local designs and creations on display. Some looked pretty home made whereas others were worth taking a second look.
And then all of the sudden you are in merchandise wonderland, design knick-knack in all its glory and variety. Being a designer myself I am caught in between two worlds. There is so much stuff you really don't need and still it makes you want to have it.
Anita and me both had a go and were fascinated of what people come up with. If that's what you like Freo is the place to be! You could spend weeks exploring the little art shops and designer stores that spread out all over town.
It's like being in a different world. So many things with no real use or need, but still so attractive and desirable. The laws of supply and demand might count for your weekly groceries shopping but are definitely suspend here. We did not bother much looking at prices we could not afford but absorbed the atmosphere of a planet I once called my own.
We did not met the little guy in person but could feel he is around. You could see the love and sweat going into many of the products and still I sometimes feel it's all a waste of energy. Why do we have to make so many things, work to afford them and waste our lives chasing a point of relief we will never reach? And than there is this other side of me that wants to get right down and do the same, experiment, develop, create and give birth to something unique that origins from my mind and no one else's.
To me fairs and design exhibitions always have something depressing. I go there full of anticipation and joy and after a few hours I get sick of what I love. This might sound schizophrenic but that's just the way I feel. Maybe it's the constant stimulation or just the greed of not having the same ideas. It's love and hate and in my eyes something a designer will have to deal with all his life.
In the end there is one thing we realized, tell me about the residents and I tell you what the town looks like they live in. Freo is home to many unique characters. From Horatio Birdbath, this solid rock of Fremantle's art scene who has been spreading his fascinating work all over town for the last decades, up to the local crack heads and drug dealers, harassing each other full-throated across the streets. Yes, we love Freo, we love it for what it is, for it's variety, for it's atmosphere, for it's flair, and even for it's dark and dirty sides. Because one thing is for sure: there's no black without white, no rain without sun and no fun without Freo.