We had tickets for the best spot in town, a NYE party held on top of the Museum for Contemporary Arts, with a view over the harbor, the opera house and the bridge. It simply could not get any better than this.

Watching the news and the crowds that had already gathered around the harbor, we came in early, trying to avoid the traffic collapse and lock-down of the city. To our surprise, it was all under control. Out taxi arrived and took us as close to the harbor as possible within 15 minutes.

We were there way too early, the doors opened at 8, something most of the guests had misread so there was already a recognizable crowd outside of the museum… the dress code was black, pink, or gold, so we all recognized each other.

The weather had become grey and cloudy… and indeed there were some drops of rain falling at one point while we were waiting, but luckily it got better again.

We looked at the crowd streaming towards the harbor. Dressed-up in high heels or casual, Australia walked past us in a never-ending line of fashion, or -disasters. The atmosphere was great and friendly, and police everywhere was helpful and signaling that they had it all under control.

Finally, up on the terrace, the view was breathtaking. The Mega cruise liner that had blocked the view the day before had left on time so we would see both the Opera and the bridge fully. And we had an amazing view over the tens of thousands of party people below.

We had free champagne and wine all night, little nibbles coming through, a full buffet in the later evening, a singer, and a great DJ playing some cool dance music. The crowd was nice and relaxed and we had an amazing time.

At 9 o’clock, the family firework started, in time for families with small kids, so they could head home. We kept on drinking and dancing and chatting till midnight… Time flew. The fireworks is truly amazing.

We were lucky in that they did launch fireworks from the Opera house for the first time in about a decade again, so we had a double treat. In the distance you could also see the fireworks from the other harbor spots beyond the bridge and the Opera.

The location is simply perfect. I don’t really believe in those simply-must-do events, but if ever there is a place to be for NYE it has to be Sydney. It’s warm, so you’re not freezing your butt off while standing in the cold waiting for a ball to drop… It’s simply a great party out in the summer….

We danced on a bit, send the usual messages once the wifi and phone networks were functional again, and left at around 1.30. A taxi was out of any probability, but we headed for the metro, and caught a bus, so that in less than 30 minutes we were actually home.

More pics from the party and a little video from the evening: