Off to South Africa

09.02.2013

Rain

The politically incorrect palindrome surprises us this morning. It is raining cats and dogs and while the dry land is happy about the water, we are at first undecided what to make of it. Finally we decide to go to Cape Town.
The Neighbor-Goods Market at the Old Biscuit Mill is one of the biggest attractions in Cape Town. There is a Kirtag atmosphere on the grounds of the disused mill. A myriad of people crowd between the stalls and the rich offer of goods and food can hardly be overlooked. We try roiboos beer, kudu burgers and fresh tuna. The market closes at 14:00 and we head towards the Waterfront. After a stroll through the market hall there – we haven’t seen enough yet – we visit the Two-Oceans Aquarium. The underwater world of the two oceans meeting at South Africa is impressively presented here and is ideal for bad weather days.
After the show the weather has improved a bit and we take the road via Chapman’s Peak on the way home. In the fog, the steep rocky coast looks mystical and unreal – a completely different character than the sunshine shots popular with tourists. Nevertheless, we are a bit disappointed by this road that is touted as such an important sight: the route is toll, comparatively very short and the stopping bays are sparse.

08.02.2013

African Summer

The sun heats up relentlessly and the mercury climbs to 33 degrees today. But we don’t let ourselves be slowed down and drive to Stellenbosch, the most important university town in South Africa. In the bakery ‘Vie de Pain’ we take our breakfast. A place that is highly recommended: a small lovingly designed restaurant surrounded by trendy boutiques and stores with its own bakery (the sourdough bread tastes great). After our brunch, we stroll a bit through the town and finally drive to the Delaire Graff winery, which overwhelms with its luxurious décor. The tastefully decorated entrance area including spacious terrace invites to a wine tasting and we sit comfortably in the shade of the large baobab trees.
Afterwards our ways separate. While part of the group continues towards Frenchhoek, the rest goes home to escape the heat at the pool. In the evening we dine at Long Table, a nice restaurant in the middle of the vineyards. A reservation is absolutely necessary – the restaurant is open only once a week in the evening.

07.02.2013

Elizabeth in Wonderland

Africa is full of treasures to be discovered. This includes the rich assortment of fabrics that African craftsmanship produces.
In search of the black continent’s choicest fibers, we end up in a huge factory outlet near Somerset West. Elisabeth wanders through the jungle of patterns, colors and materials and discovers many a speciality that absolutely has to be taken along!
After this intense search we have earned rest: another time we arrive at Morgenster for olive tasting and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere of the estate. Then we look over to the neighbor: Vergelegen Estate, a magnificent winery with a splendid garden makes Elisabeth’s green heart beat faster. The floral splendor – especially the roses – give the property a baroque touch. In the glow of the setting sun, we enjoy a sip of the award-winning red wine and ponder whether Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton and Queen Mum might have enjoyed this place as much as we do.

06.02.2013

Cape Town

The fact that home-ground coffee tastes much better than various ready-made products is underlined by Bettina’s morning drink every day anew. After breakfast we jump into the car and drive on the M2 to Cape Town. We park our car in the parking garage at Thibault Square and explore the city on foot. St. George Cathedral, Botanical Gardens and Green Market are within easy reach. After an extensive shopping spree at the market (bargaining is obligatory!) we stroll towards the waterfront, where we use the boat cab to get to the harbor through the newly built canals.
The V&A Waterfront is full of life and hungry we stop at the restaurant OYO. With a view of Table Mountain and right on the water, we dine on the finest lobster and ostrich fillet. Cape Town’s landmark – Table Mountain – shows its uncomfortable side: clouds and strong winds prevent a gondola ride to the top station.
Still undisturbed, we roam the colorful hustle and bustle and discover many small stores in the Victoria Mall or marvel at the gemstones at the jeweler.
Towards evening we get our car out of the underground parking again and enjoy a fabulous sundowner on the beach of Clifton, the posh district of Cape Town. With a good glass of wine we watch the setting sun and finally drive back to Somerset West.

05.02.2013

Above the clouds

Early in the morning we are picked up by Hans (a friend of Bettina). He offered us a day trip on his private plane. From the airfield in Stellenbosch, we will board a Beechcraft Bonanza and travel to Inverdoorn. Here, a safari awaits us that far exceeds our expectations. With the safari truck we drive through the extensive area, where we can observe beside the BIG 5 still several other animals. Who would have guessed that so close to Cape Town …?
After the safari, our plane climbs again and takes us to a completely different world: Kagga Kamma, this surreal-looking stone desert – once home to the San people – enchants us with its silence and enchantment. Among the bizarre stone formations, guided by our guide, we discover the benefits of desert plants and finally arrive at the world famous prehistoric cave paintings.
We leave this impressive scenery and enjoy the view of the sprawling vineyards on our return flight before landing safely back in Stellenbosch. Together we toast the successful day at the flying club and fortify ourselves – back home – with sushi and wine.

31.01.2013

Off to the south …

To escape the moody winter weather of Bavaria, Elisabeth, Barbara and Elli Oberhauser set off to recover in sunny South Africa. As male escorts the Dreimäderlhaus decided to take Anian and Dominik with them. With Lufthansa it goes in 11 hours directly to Cape Town. The plane is overbooked and contrary to our booking we are not sitting next to each other, but spread out on middle seats in the plane. Once again, Lufthansa relies on the courtesy and dedication of its cabin crew to keep passengers happy.

01.02.2013

Welcome to Cape Town

31 degrees Celsius – the high summer in Africa surprises us! Bettina, our host, is already waiting for us at the airport. We pick up our booked rental car, a jeep from EUROPCAR, and Anian plunges into the left-hand traffic. Bettina takes us to Whalewatching Point at Gordons Bay and we toast our journey with a glass of South African Chardonnay.
Finally, we leave for Bettina’s lodge “Plumtree in Paradise” (bookable only by email at: plumcake-in-somerset@gmx.de), where we are excellently accommodated. The delightful cottage is designed with much love and we immediately use the private pool in the garden to cool off. In the hammocks, with homemade iced coffee, fresh fruit and cake we feel like in paradise and recover from the flight. In the evening we dine at Henri’s in Somerset and enjoy fresh fish and delicious steaks. While the South African beer cannot hold a candle to the Bavarian brew, the Sauvignan Blanc from Somerset tastes excellent and we end the evening on the terrace of our lodge.

02.02.2013

Multicultural South Africa

Rested and after a great breakfast Bettina takes us to the lovely market in Oude Libertas. We taste sushi, Mediterranean flatbreads, oysters and a glass of champagne or fruit smoothies. Handmade jewelry and summer dresses also end up in our shopping bags. Afterwards we will visit the winery ‘Blaauwklippen’ where we will be served wines to taste after a tour of the estate. We buy Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc and Rose for cozy evenings on our terrace.
We spend the afternoon at the pool and enjoy Klippfisch – Ceviche before we get ready for a Flamenco concert at the amphitheater in Oude Libertas. The southern rhythms whet our appetites for Mexican cuisine, so we round out the day at the Buena Vista Social Cafe with mojitos and T-bone steaks. Before going to bed we taste our purchased wine and look forward to Cape Town tomorrow.

03.02.2013

At the Cape of Good Hope

Early in the morning we jump into the car and head for the Cape of Good Hope. Through the township of Khayelitsha we reach Baden Powell Drive, which winds picturesquely along the coast. Our first stop is St. James where we photograph the typical colorful beach huts and admire the villas. Passing Fish Hoek and Glencairn, we head to Simons Town, a small harbor town on the east side of the Cape. We are lucky – a vintage car meeting enlivens the marketplace and we stroll from the Waterfront, via Jubilee Square through the hustle and bustle, before we strengthen ourselves with coffee, tea and cake. Red Cappuccino – a tea specialty should definitely be tried!
We continue our trip – but don’t get very far: Boulders Bay with its African penguins is a must-see. The funny water birds entertain us, but we finally tear ourselves away and head straight for the Cape of Good Hope. By car we drive through Table Mountain National Park to the popular lighthouse. On the way there we already meet an ostrich. A hike either around the lighthouse cliffs or from the visitor parking lot directly to the cape is recommended. The cape itself conveys the feeling of rapture and the end of the world, and spellbound we watch the surging surf as it powerfully hits the African continent. On the way back we finally meet the longed for Baboons, who obviously don’t shy away from opening car doors.
Out of the national park we feel like high tea, but the ostrich farm right at the national park exit is unfortunately closed. So we continue our journey via Red Hill and finally get our money’s worth at a lovely tapas bar in Kalk Bay.
At home Bettina awaits us with a special dinner: Chicken on the Can is delicious and we go to bed stuffed.

04.02.2013

Lazy Day

After our extensive Cape excursion, we want to take things a little easier today. We sleep in and in the late morning our ladies leave for a grooming and shopping tour, while the men have brunch and make plans by the pool. Bettina has a special insider tip for lunch: Sophia’s at Morgenster is the name of the location. Nestled in a picturesque vineyard, the restaurant offers exquisite dishes of French and Italian cuisine in addition to the wonderful ambience. After the meal we taste the famous olive oil of Morgenster which belongs to the top 10 in the world and drink the house wine. We then make a short detour to Strand, where we walk – nomen est omen – along the sea before returning to Somerset West.

10.02.2013

Lazy Sunday Afternoon …

After everyone wanted to sleep in, but Elisabeth and Elli were up early, they took advantage of the time and visited the mall in Somerset to get the last souvenirs for Grandma and Co. On Sunday, the huge shopping center is open and is also used by the South Africans for shopping in large numbers. In the afternoon the boys watched the ice hockey game Germany vs. Austria via stream and the ladies lay by the pool with ice cream and enjoyed the first rays of sunshine after two rainy days. Elisabeth and Bettina finally left for a concert and picnic at the Helderberg. This one is supposed to be very nice to watch the sunset. The rest of the group devoted themselves to the South African ‘Braai’: for this we got ourselves fillet of beef, ribs, chicken and a typical South African “Boerewors” (a snail-shaped bratwurst) and threw everything on Bettina’s wooden grill. What we didn’t think about, however, was that you can’t buy beer on Sunday. This means that alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase in stores and gas stations until 5 p.m. on Saturday, and then not until Monday. But the Thai around the corner has then still helped us out ;). After we were all very satiated and agreed that the South African sausage was not that appealing, we made plans for the next few days.

11.02.2013

Table Mountain

After a nice breakfast, everyone set off for Cape Town. We drifted a bit along the waterfront, always keeping an eye on Table Mountain. For the most part, the Cape Town landmark has a tablecloth of clouds on his table, so he doesn’t have an open view. Since the wind kept taking the tablecloth away today, we decided to go up Table Mountain today. After the lady at the ticket counter announced the view as “intermediate”, we accordingly had no waiting time and could board the next gondola without waiting. The gondola floor rotates so that you can enjoy a 360-degree panoramic view during the ride. After a 700 meter elevation ride, we were greeted by strong winds atop Table Mountain. Thus, the clouds were blown away and thus we also had a clear view down again and again, so that we had a wonderful view over Cape Town and the Cape region. We strolled across the 430-million-year-old sandstone and observed a wide variety of different plants during our walk. You could spend all day on Table Mountain exploring the various hiking routes, even going down. However, we went again with the gondola and later again in the direction of Clifton, in order to be able to swim still something in the sea (water temperature max. 14 degrees) and to experience the sunset with a bottle of wine. Your entry in the diary…

12.02.2013

13.02.2013

14.02.2013

15.02.2013