Frohe Weihnachten und ein glückliches neues Jahr!

For the first time, we will be spending Christmas together in the South and have chosen a particularly beautiful region for it: the Winelands near Cape Town. Here are the 23 South African wine routes, the region is very well developed for tourism, but accordingly more expensive and crowded than we are used to. We will spend the Christmas holidays in Stellenbosch and treat ourselves to some relaxing time by the pool after the long road trip, a different wine tasting every day - sorry liver! - and explore the hilly, green surroundings. One wine estate follows the next, so you don't even know where to start. For a few euros, you can taste between five and ten wines and get an explanation directly about the production, storage, and flavors of the noble drops. Many wine estates also offer events such as a night market, which feels like a Christmas market in summer, picnics in the countryside, or live music in the evening. Unlike in Germany, you don't just come here to drink wine, it's more of a normal day program that you do in addition to hikes or beach trips. Life here could really be worse!

On New Year's Eve, we head towards the sea. Enough of the countless wine tastings, the urban atmosphere, and the many people. We want to go back to nature, to the coast, to the beach! South of Cape Town on False Bay is the small town of Muizenberg - practically a suburb of Cape Town - where we have booked a hostel room for the first time on our trip. Here we hope to get in touch with other travelers a little better compared to Airbnb or campsites.
The Cape Capsules Hostel is not far from Surfer's Corner, practically right on the beach. We have the only double room, all other backpackers sleep in capsules, which are distributed like bunk beds in the house but can be closed off by a partition. The bar is closed due to the corona pandemic, but in the kitchen and the lounge, you can quickly get into conversation as is usual in hostels. Before we want or have to be diligent next week, we want to relax for a few more days, spend New Year's Eve on the beach, and above all learn to surf! As the famous infamous white sharks live in False Bay, there is an observation station in Muizenberg that alerts swimmers and surfers in case of danger. If the flag is green (good visibility) or black (moderate visibility), everything is fine. A white flag, on the other hand, indicates shark danger! A loud siren is activated. In that case, you should leave the water as quickly as possible until the shark has moved on. However, there is no real danger, as less than ten shark attacks are recorded worldwide per year. In Surfer's Corner, the beach district in Muizenberg, the surf shops are lined up next to each other. We book a surfing lesson and soon stand on the beach dressed in long wetsuits - the Atlantic is really freezing cold down here too! - and armed with surfboards. Our surf instructor briefly shows us on dry land how we have to lie down on the board, how we ideally have to get up and surf through the waves. It looks quite easy here on the beach at first. The waves should be particularly suitable for beginners, so let's go into the water! However, it turns out to be quite difficult to paddle out far enough into the water that you don't get washed back to the beach after a few seconds. With some help, we finally make it out into the water and try to implement what we practiced a minute ago on the sand. When a wave comes, we paddle, stand up, and try to get on the board. Right foot back, left foot front, look straight ahead, slightly extend arms to stabilize and maintain balance. That's easier said than done. After an hour, we have swallowed liters of saltwater, have been thrown off the boards and pushed under water dozens of times, have been able to prevent dozens of collisions with splashing children, BUT we actually managed to surf! Not very often and certainly not elegantly, but we stood on the boards and could surf back to the beach. After that, we are exhausted, have muscle soreness, and salty, tousled hair, but we are simply happy.

That's how a new year can begin!