Our honeymoon in Africa and Europe

JUNE and JULY 2003
We were married in Namibia, the country in which we met back in 1999.  The following story is a compilation of emails that we sent home.  In all, we were gone for six weeks and it was a wonderful reunion  with friends and an unforgettable honeymoon.

On our way over, we were in Frankfurt for a day and half in the interlude before arriving here.  Absolutely broiling - the hottest temps they have had in a long time.  We are really hitting the extremes.  Had a good time walking around Mainz - there was a festival along the River.  Beer and brats, which were a good prep for Windhoek.  The euro killed us though.

It is like we never left.  The smells, sights, and people in Windhoek.  It is all coming back.  Like how the water smells here, although it is fine to drink.  It has been etched in my brain after years of washing and drinking it.  Today is the "end of the month" - payday - so the streets are full already at 9 am.  Everyone has money to spend.  We are surprised to see the higher prices in the grocery store - they have skyrocketed tremendously, and I wonder how the poorer people can even afford the basics.

If any of you have visions of us tanning in the warm African sun, you can forget it.  It is cold and windy, down to freezing at night.  It will be colder in the south.  We went into PEP store (like kmart but cheaper and better) yesterday to buy some warmer clothes.  Forgot how brutal it could be.  This has got to be the longest winter of my life, seeing as when we left Dalton, summer had not yet come.

  

We have already hooked up with Zack and Elaine Pienaar; he will do the ceremony next Saturday.  I will see my counterpart Paul later today, and some others down in Mariental, where we will be for the weekend.

Since arriving on Tuesday, we have had our share of meat, the national food of Namibia.  Also had a king pie, an English type meat pastry for lunch one day.  It is great drinking coke out of the bottle, and having lemon cremes for a treat.  Last night we had dinner with Neshani (who was Russ' APCD in PC) and Clara, the PC nurse.  Eating, drinking, laughing, reminiscing.  One of the many good times.  Things just get better and better.

A jeweler in Windhoek has designed and made our wedding rings of white gold and an elephant hair.  We wanted a Namibian theme, and we are happy with the idea.  They are perfect, as everything has been so far.

Russ and I had a good weekend in Mariental, full of lots of braai's and visits.  It was especially good to see Paul, Marita, Mrs. Sheehama, and Hannelie.  Everyone sends their greetings.  The weather was a bit warmer than we expected but still glad we had some winter clothes with us.  Also stopped by the Woman and Child Protection Center, which is still in good operation.  That made me feel good.

  

We overnighted at Aus on the way to Luderitz.  We stayed in one of the new rock-hewn cottages at Klein Aus.  Blissfully primal.  We watched the stars late into the night.  I am convinced that is the best place on the planet to see the constellations.  Awesome.

When we reached Luderitz, we discovered that all the school kids were "missing sir".  We saw many people we knew, and all the students were scrambling to talk with Russ.  He was able to spend a lot of time at the school and catch up.  The principal finally put him to work.  The woman and child protection center there is also still operating, so that is good.  Many of the people I worked with are not there though.  A few are keeping it going.

The teachers at the school were wonderful in arranging everything for the wedding.  All we had to do was show up.  The wedding itself was perfect.  The normally difficult weather was on its best behavior - warm and without wind, almost unheard of, no one could believe it.  The school choir filled the church and really made it special.  Everything went so smoothly.  The flowers were beautiful and we were surrounded by people we knew.  Russ and I felt like celebrities.  The local paper came to interview us and after the ceremony we had a real parade through town, with people waving, clapping and honking horns.  It was so much fun.  The reception at the Zum Speregebiet hotel was charming and relaxed.

After spending a few more days in Luderitz, we drove north to Etosha, during which time our car was attacked by a cheetah.  We were driving north on the B1 (main country) when Russ spotted a cheetah on the side of the road.  We turned back around to look at it, and it started chasing the car.  We were going 80 km per hour and it hit the side of the car twice before running in front of it.  Absolutely bizarre.  It didn't seem hurt and ran over to the other side of the road.  We called the Cheetah Protection Fund but they didn't know what to make of it either.  I was face to face with the cheetah for about 5 seconds.  He/she was a lot bigger than you see on tv...

Once we were in Etosha we were not disappointed in the game sightings.  We saw 17 elephants, 2 white rhinos, 10 brown hyenas, and countless giraffes, kudu, springboks, impala, zebras, and hartebeest. 

Further north, Rundu was incredible.  We went to see Patrick, a friend of Russ' from his Peace Corps group.  Patrick stayed on after PC, married a Namibian, and opened a guesthouse in Rundu.  What an enviable life.  We have already put Rundu on the list of places where it would be good to retire.  It is much cleaner, quieter, and more relaxed than other big towns in the north, and absolutely gorgeous as it sits on the banks of the Kavango River.  We can see why the volunteers in this area loved it so much.

We did go out canoeing one day (no one told us about hippos or crocs though!) and touched over on the Angolan side.  That is one place we'd like to visit and hope to at one point.

After driving back to Windhoek, we flew to Cape Town.  I remember the first time I came here after being in the desert for five months with Peace Corps, thinking this was an incredible place to getaway.  It still is wonderful, just way more fast paced than I remember.  Russ thinks it is just like California - granted he is doing most of the driving and it is a little hectic but NOTHING like Los Angeles.  We are staying in an area that looks a little like south Orange County (CA) without the $$$.

We are taking it easy.  That is a relative term.  Our whole trip has been very relaxed.  I still have headaches and my eye bothers me from time to time so we are just going with the flow (a good mindset anyway when you are in Africa).

Our first outing was to visit Robben Island.  It blew our minds, even more than when I was at Dachau 15 years ago.  An important history lesson, and even more than that, a living example of the reconciliation process many who were unjustly imprisoned there embrace.  The willingness to forgive such horrible crimes was an incredible testimony to their faith and strength.

Nelson Mandela turns 85 tomorrow and the whole country has been in a buzz over it all week.  There is a big bash in Joberg this weekend.  We also visited Desmond Tutu's church here in Cape Town when he was archbishop.

Table Mountain has been closed because of the wind.  Otherwise the weather has been unseasonably nice. I love seeing and buying mangoes, avocados (for 25 US cents each), oranges, papayas, and all kinds of fresh flowers on every street corner.

We have been eating avo and cheese sandwiches everyday on wholewheat bread, a nice change from our meat diet in Namibia.  Also found some incredible Indonesian food down the street from where we are staying in Sea Point.  The local Cape Malay food is also a good bet.

   

The Cape of Good Hope was lovely, and the wind only started as we were leaving.  It is such a peaceful drive out there, and both the water and the flowering landscape are stunning.

After a month in Africa we flew back to Europe.  Ooh la la!  Paris is fantisque!  Although it rained most of the time we were in France, the afternoon of the race was spectacular.  Our vantage point was at the Bastille and we saw the riders come round four times.  There were hardly any people in that area.  Of course, we soon found out where everyone was - on the Champs Elysses.  An absolute madhouse of people, we stood about twenty people back and tried to keep our balance ontop of a fence.  It was cool, not only to see Lance win, but to see recognition given to Tyler Hamilton, and then see the past winners in a parade (sadly, no LeMond though).

Paris is a hub of wonderful eateries, and we have already had some good french, vietnamese, and italian meals.  This isnt Africa though and the euro is killing us.  We are having fun on a budget.

 We are staying in the 14th arrondissment, montparnesse, which makes it easily accessible by metro.  We did a little sightseeing to Notre Dame and the Ille de cite today.

Aah, but Germany was nice too!  We spent a night at Burg Rhinefels, a 14th century castle overlooking the Rhine.  It was so romantic, and we took a cruise up and down the river the next day.  We spent another night in the small village of St. Goar at a guesthouse also with a view of the river.  It was relaxing and absolutely picturesque.  What you would think of when you imagine Old World Germany.

The train was not only punctual but comfortable and an efficient way to travel.  We had purchased rail passes before we left and that was a smart buy, because as I've mentioned before, the Euro sucked us dry.  I have complete empathy for Canadians now. 

Heidelberg has a wonderful old city that is bustling with university students, families, and couples.  I think every town should have a pedestrians only area set aside.  It is hard to walk more than fifty metres without finding an eis cafe, and the heat index called for a double scoop of gelato daily.  We walked through the woods on top of the mountain overlooking the city, down through the castle, and then meandering back through the old part of town again as we had strolled the night before.

From there we travelled to Tubingen, another university town in southern Germany, where my Uncle Marty picked us up and brought us to his home in Walddorf.  A small hamlet nestled in the middle of fields, it was a quiet and relaxing place to spend our last few days.  We met up with my cousin Torben and his new bride Berbel, who were also married on July 5.  Russ took a spin out on the autobahn as we went back to Tubingen for an afternoon and that was impressive.

People have asked us what was the best part of the trip, besides getting married.  The wedding really was perfect in every way; we could not have asked for a nicer day.  We loved being back in familiar Namibia, picking up our favorite foods, visiting with dear friends, and going places that brought back fond memories.  Cape Town was enjoyable yet a little rushed.  However, it was Russ' first time there and so extra fun for him.  We both were moved with our visit to Robben Island.  Participating in a small part of the Tour de France was incredible, although I think we'll be happy to watch it on tv next year.  And exploring Germany was an adventure.  It was Russ' first time and much of it was new to me too.  We were on a very relaxed time schedule there, and it was really quite romantic.  If it wasn't so expensive, it would be nice to think we would still be there.