Südafrika Teil 1 - 21./22.08.2016

I am starting the journey that I returned from just two days ago and that I consider, at least until the next one, the most exciting, varied and thrilling of my life. From August 21st to September 8th, 2016, my husband JC and I traveled through South Africa. We drove from Capetown to Tsitsikamma on the Garden Route and back via Route 62.

In the upcoming days and weeks, I will share our experiences and impressions on this page.

August 21st/22nd, 2016

After 24 hours of flying and layover in Frankfurt and Johannesburg, we arrived in Capetown on a Monday around 2 PM.
At the airport, we picked up the rental car and Jörg fearlessly - as if it were a piece of cake - drove us to our first hotel in the Oranjezicht district.

Our guesthouse, like many houses in the area, is built in colonial style and is surely from that time. The Esperanza Guest House looks exactly like you would imagine as a 'South Africa novice'.
The villa welcomes us with charm, a sensational view, and the iconic housekeeper Gloria.

The villa welcomes us with charm, a sensational view, and the iconic housekeeper Gloria.
In terms of warmth, it can hardly be surpassed. Our luggage was picked up from the car and we were shown to our room, which is furnished in colonial style, matching the house. Everything is very beautiful, a bit morbid, but we immediately feel at home nonetheless.
First, we enjoy a delicious coffee (we will later find out that in South Africa, every room has a kettle and various packaged coffee portions and tea bags) on the large communal terrace, overlooking Capetown, the Table Mountain behind us, and the sun above us. There can hardly be a more beautiful start to a vacation.

Afterwards, we explore the city area with its hilly cobblestone streets in search of a supermarket to buy a SIM card for our phone, water, and cigarettes. In Oranjezicht, there are only pretty houses, which in rare cases can be admired from the outside, as they are surrounded by high walls, barbed wire, cameras, and warning signs. We find it scary and somehow sad: people live in one of the most beautiful places in the world and lock themselves in, like zoo animals.
Our shopping went smoothly. Well, the English spoken here was initially difficult for us to understand. It sounds harsh, a bit distorted from the native Afrikaans language. The people are very friendly and colorful.

Before we set off, I christen the ancient bathtub in the bathroom. The innkeeper Mark then gave us the tip to look for a restaurant on Kloofstreet.

This street is only about a kilometer away from our accommodation, but on the way back, in the darkness, we should definitely take a taxi.
On Kloofstreet, there really is one restaurant after another. We chose a casual-looking one. And it was a good choice. The service was extremely friendly. JC asked for a good beer, and the waiter immediately brought him several small glasses with different beers, so that the specialist from Germany could make the right choice.

JC decided on the Swedish beer called FOKOF and a pizza, and I chose a typical South African dish called Bobothie. It's something like a casserole with minced meat and a poached egg on top, served with various delicious sauces and rice. It tasted very delicious. But what surprised us the most was the price: Food for both of us with wine, beer, and two coffees only costed €13.

Right across from the restaurant, there was a taxi stand with several taxis waiting. I looked into the cars and didn't see anyone. "They're all empty!", I exclaimed excitedly to JC, and he laughed. "You have to look at the right side...the right side!". Even then, I didn't see anyone. It was only when we got closer that I could see the black taxi driver in the darkness.
By 9 PM, we were already exhausted and lying in bed.

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