The Departure: Frankfurt - Windhoek

November 9th is the date we have been eagerly anticipating for months. For over a year, we have been making plans that have been overturned, rebuilt, and become more concrete over time.

So here we are at Frankfurt Airport, having given up our beloved apartment, left our home, survived dozens of farewells from family and friends, and waiting with a suitcase and a stuffed backpack for our adventure to begin.

The adventure: an almost nine-month journey through all the countries of southern Africa, starting with Namibia. We were already here in 2019 and explored the northern part of the country in a few weeks, went on safari, and admired the vast, barren landscapes. Namibia fascinated and captivated us so much that we knew back then: we will come back. Over time, the idea has become a solid plan. My teaching degree is now almost finished after submitting my master's thesis, and Maxi's work contract expired in November. We both are facing a completely new phase of life - teacher training and further education as a viticulture technician - so why not squeeze in another year abroad in between?

Traveling for "only" nine months seemed a bit too long for us, so we decided to do an internship for several months. During this time, we hope to escape a bit from being tourists and immerse ourselves deeper in the local culture, meet people, and build a temporary home. Before our internships start in January, we have two more months. Two months to travel from Namibia southwards to Cape Town. After the internships, we will continue through South Africa, Lesotho, Swaziland (now officially called eSwatini), Botswana, and perhaps also Zimbabwe, and Zambia back to Namibia, from where we will fly back to Germany at the end of July.

So, those are the framework conditions, let's get started!

From Frankfurt, there is a direct flight to Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.

When checking in, we encounter very different characters. Some seem to be more touristy like us, while others are already wearing the typical clothing for farmers: beige vests, zip trousers, and a farmer's hat. While this seems completely surreal here, the German-Namibian farmers actually dress like this in Namibia. The man next to us first registers his weapon at the check-in - completely normal here in Namibia. At first glance, we are the only travelers our age, otherwise, we mainly see older people. Maybe it's because of the travel time, or maybe it's because Namibia is not necessarily the first country that comes to mind for young people during a big trip. The fact that Namibia is (still) underestimated suits us just fine. After all, we prefer to be off the beaten path and enjoy the places all to ourselves. The complete opposite of an all-inclusive beach hotel vacation, but just right for us.