Amazing Honeymoon in Africa

The new year started with a new adventure... It was our honeymoon and our plan was to go to Africa with a first stop in Cape Town to get acclimatized, before heading to the wilderness of Namibia. As this was our first trip to the continent we didn't really know what to expect. We heard the scariest stories about crimes, scams, health issues and so on and we were definitely more excited than on any of our other travels. Actually, this trip was my idea and Bastian was not so sure at all as he felt we should continue to explore Asia before doing something else.

Well, I am glad that I managed to convince him! Cape Town is beautiful and we had a wonderful time. We were on a tight schedule, barely two days to explore the city is really not enough so we were rushing from one attraction to the other. First stop was Bloubergstrand where we snapped our first picture of Table Mountain. We then headed  to V&A Waterfront, Cape Town's popular working harbour.

We checked into a nice boutique hotel called Derwent House. It is located at the base of Table Mountain. The hotel is nicely decorated and was really comfortable. The owners Carol and Jo were wonderful and were a great help with our planning... 

After checking in, we strolled around the center of the city. At Green Market Square, the vibrant flea market, we bought a few souvenirs.

Cape Town is also known for its good food and we had a seafood lunch at Bizerca Bistro. Bastian loves Oysters and wasn't disappointed... Yamie ;-)

In the afternoon, we went up Lion's Head, a small mountain in the middle of Cape Town. Its a 1-hour hike, quite steep at times, but well worth it as it gives a 360 degree view from the top. 

In the morning of day two we went to Bo-Kaap, formerly known as the Malay Quarter. It is basically a township, situated on the slopes of Signal Hill above the city centre. The area is known for its romantic cobble stoned streets and colorful houses.

We drove down south along the coast for about one hour towards the Cape of Good Hope. Its a spectacular drive with the most amazing scenery that you can think off. If you dream of driving on California's Hwy 1, go here... Its breathtaking!!!

Off to the Cape of Good Hope, a huge Natural Reserve where we could have spent at least a full day. It was so relaxing hiking and exploring it. Its often falsely described as the southern tip of the African continent where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet. In fact, the southernmost point is Cape Agulhas about 90 miles east from here.

There was a sign right up on the top of the lighthouse and we were reminded how far away from home we were... but honestly, we did not think of going back just yet!

We couldn't get enough of Cape Town. Next on the menu: Penguins on the rock! Near Simonstown is Boulders Beach, a beautiful white beach with turquoise waters which is home to a colony of African penguins. 

 These animals are so cute and we had so much fun just watching them sunbathing at the beach. Apparently, this species of penguin is the only one that can be found on the African continent.

We were already running late in our schedule and Bastian said that we could not leave without having been to the top of Table Mountain. We had to compromise our dinner plans   and canceled our booking. Well, we canceled lunch already due to our time constraints and I wasn't very happy about his determination... Bastian convinced me by saying that there is a nice restaurant at the peak!

The cable car to the top of Table Mountain is an experience on its own. Very steep with stunning views of Cape Town and Lion's Head. We were just on time for sunset, but I had only one thought: Food!

The restaurant wasn't exactly what I expected and Bastian bought a few nuts, potato chips and a coke. My face expression tells it all ;-)

But the views were amazing... and yes, it was really worth it! We enjoyed the views and took many many pictures. We could not believe that we were leaving this wonderful city the next morning already...

When we were back down at the Cable Car Station, my appetite kicked in again and I was desperate for some real food. We decided to go to a Steak House. The restaurant had lots of variety of meat: Springbok, Ostrich,  Gemsbok, Kudu... wait a second... that's only game meat on the menu! Bastian tried all of it and said it was not too bad! My french fries were fine too ;-)

Back at the hotel, we counted what was left from our South African Rands and noticed the animals on the backside. Next morning we would wake up at 4am to catch a flight to Namibia. We were hoping to see lots of elephants or maybe a lion...

Christmas in Veltheim


Train ride to Bastian's parents. We were super excited to finally see our family... The train ride from Zurich is a long 7 hours and we could not resist when there was an announcement noting that German 'Currywurst' is served in the train restaurant ;-)

Its always nice to come back home and the christmas season in Veltheim is always full of traditions. One of them is our walk around Lake Veronica. 

Another thing that we always do is a trip to the Weihnachtsmarkt in Braunschweig and of course eating lots of the specialties such as those lovely Poffertjes...

And yes, same procedure as every year, we went to the local restaurant called Lindenhof where the owner 'Friwi' serves the best Currywurst (in the world!). Oh, by the way, I had two of them this year!!!  

At the Wolff family, christmas time is always the time for board games. Usually everyone is getting up early in the  morning and shortly after breakfast, the first board game is on the table...

We also watched some games... This year, Bastian's favorite football team, Eintracht Braunschweig, was promoted to 2. Bundesliga and we spend 90-minutes freezing our butts off for a boring 1:1 score.

What was special this year was our daytrip to Berlin. We hadn't been for about 10 years and were keen to see how German's capital had developed. First stop Reichstag, the German parliament ...

We wanted to go up, but no need to wait in the long queue as we made a reservation at the restaurant on top. The cupola of the German Reichstag Building is a great place to have a panoramic view of Berlin. 

When we were back down, we got slightly lost and walked past the back entrance of the Reichstag. By pure chance, a familiar looking lady walked out the door... We were like, hey, is this...? Yes, it was Angie, our chancellor and arguably the most powerful women in the world walking right in front of us.  

After our meeting Angie, we walked over to the Holocaust Memorial, a memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust. Its designed by Peter Eisenman and consists of 2711 concrete slabs.

Then, Brandenburger Tor, Friedrichstrasse, Checkpoint Charlie, Alexanderplatz and so on... Berlin is a city of so much history and culture that you can easily spend a few days!

We had a wonderful time with Bastian's parents and we will definitely be back. It's unbelievable how much Berlin has changed from the last time we both went.


Finally, Christmas Eve was approaching and as always Bastian, his parents and brother Alexander celebrated together, while I was with my family in Soest.

 

 

Thanks so much to Bastian's parents for taking such good care of us... Too bad that Bastian and I could not see his sisters and nephews & nieces this year.

Work in Switzerland

In early December Bastian and I spent a few days in Switzerland for work. We came in on Sunday and spend the afternoon in Zurich for shopping and eating... 

Our favorites are the Vermicelles with chocolate and cream from Globus ;-)

For the weekend, we drove to St. Moritz with our friends Fabian and Jolie. It was the perfect getaway after a stressful week at work.

It was Fabian's birthday and Jolie organized us a very good rate at the Kempinski hotel which looks like a fairytale castle.

While the boys got some work done, Jolie and I took some were practicing with our cameras. 

In the evening, we went for a bit of luxury at the Palace Hotel where Jolie made a reservation for Fabian's birthday dinner. Fabian got surprised with a cake... what a nice evening!