Muttenz & Lucerne, Switzerland; Cape Town, South Africa; Walvis Bay, Namibia (July 5 - 26, 2022)

Location:  Aalen, Germany

At the end of the last blog, we were in Muttenz, Switzerland pet-sitting and we are now pet-sitting in Aalen, Germany.  We've done a lot of traveling between the two pet sits and have decided to chronicle our adventures in the next two blogs.  This one takes us from Muttenz to Cape Town to Walvis Bay, Namibia. 

Dave and B on the Lion's Head trail, in Cape Town, with Table Mountain in the background

July 5 - 15, 2022, Muttenz, Switzerland:  We enjoyed the rest of our time pet sitting with Kofi and Mr. Parker in Muttenz, Switzerland. We took early morning and afternoon walks with Kofi, and spent afternoons cuddling with Mr. Parker.

B and Kofi checking out a new bale of hay

Mr. Parker enjoying an afternoon in the back yard.

One of the greeters on our morning walks with Kofi

We also spent time exploring the local area.  The tram ride from Muttenz to Basel was ~20 minutes and it was easy to get around using public transport.  We spent an afternoon in Basel walking along the Rhine River and wandering around downtown.

Looking across the Rhine River at the Basel Cathedral.  Two people are floating down river with their wickelfisch and a foot ferry connected to a wire is crossing the river.

The Basel Town Hall, more than 500 years old.

There are several tour boats that offer cruises on the river.  One Tuesday morning, we boarded a boat at the Basel Schifflande (ship landing) near the town hall and cruised up the river through two locks to the town of Rheinfelden.  We ate lunch on board as we slowly made our way up river.

Our cruise ship docking at the Basel Schifflande where we boarded the boat for our cruise up river.

A camping area on the Switzerland side of the Rhine River.  The river is the border between Switzerland and Germany.

Storks in a roof top nest in Kaiseraugst.

We arrived in Rheinfelden at 13:00 where we got off the boat and walked through town and up the hill to the Feldschlosschen Brewery.  We were hoping to tour the brewery but they didn't have any available that afternoon.  Instead, we had a beer and relaxed in the cafe on site.  From there we rode the train back into Muttenz.

 

The Feldschlosschen Brewery near the town of Rheinfelden.

Another fun thing to do in Basel is to float down the Rhine River.  We borrowed a wickelfisch swim bag from Leena and Mike and rode the tram/bus to the Museum Tinguely.  Behind the museum, we packed our clothes into the wickelfisch and waded into the river.  We stopped about half-way down to warm up in the sun, then hauled out just before the final stop ~2.5 kilometers downriver just south of the Dreirosenbrucke Bridge.  We sat in the sun on the river bank to dry off and had lunch at an outdoor cafe under the trees. 

The river float entry point behind the Museum Tinguely. 
Notice the sign with the water temperature "Wasser 23 C" (73.4 F)

B packing the wickelfisch before getting into the river for the float downstream.

Leena and Mike returned from their vacation in Finland on 14-July and we finished our pet sit the 15th with one last morning walk with Leena and Kofi up to the castles above the village.  We really enjoyed our time in Muttenz.  

July 15 - 17, 2022, Lucerne, Switzerland:  From Muttenz, we rode the train to Lucerne for the weekend.  We stayed in a boutique hotel across the street from Lake Lucerne.  After checking  into the hotel, we had lunch at the tennis club cafe and an afternoon swim in the lake.  Happy hour was on the porch at our hotel and we ate supper at an outdoor restaurant near the cathedral.

The view of the lakefront from our hotel room.

Dave enjoying a glass of wine at a restaurant near the cathedral.

The lake front with the city of Lucerne and Mount Pilatus in the background.

Saturday morning we rode the bus to Kriens and did the reverse Golden Roundtrip up to Mount Pilatus.  From Kriens we took the gondola and the aerial cableway to the top of the mountain.  We walked some of the short trails at the top, had a coffee and lunch, then caught the cog railway down to Alpnachstad.  A ferry took us across the lake from Alpnachstad back to Lucerne.

The view of Mount Pilatus from the Kriens gondola.

Looking down at the hiking trails from the gondola.

The view of the hiking trails and the surrounding mountains from the aerial cableway.

Alpenhorns at the summit, Pilatus Kulm.

A view of the hiking trails from the cog railway.

B on the stern of the ferry from Alpnachstad to Lucerne.

Chapel Bridge, Lucerne

On Sunday, we took the train from Lucerne, Switzerland to Frankfurt, Germany for an overnight flight to Cape Town, South Africa.

July 18 - 21, 2022, Cape Town, South Africa:  We arrived at the Cape Town airport early morning on Monday, 18-July.  We took a taxi to our hotel, the Cape Diem Lodge, in the Green Point area of Cape Town.  The hotel was within walking distance of the Victoria and Alfred (V&A) waterfront and we spent the afternoon wandering around there.

On Tuesday morning, Mandla picked us up at the hotel and drove us out of the city for a day of wine tasting.  We started our wine tasting at Fairview, in the Paarl region, and tasted 7 different wines each paired with a different type of cheese.  The grounds were beautiful and the tasting portions were generous.

A billy goat on the bridge over the entrance to the Fairview tasting room.

B and Dave in front of the goat tower at Fairview.

B and Dave studying the wine menu at the Fairview Tasting Room.

Our next stop was Babylonstoren in the Franschoek Valley, a beautiful wine estate with a huge fruit and vegetable garden.  We wandered around the garden, ate fresh guava from the trees, took a brief tour through the wine museum, then went into "the glass box" to do some wine tasting.  I was still a little tipsy from the tasting at Fairview so I sipped a glass of Chardonnay while Dave tasted the seven featured wines of the day.

The entrance to the Babylonstoren farm.

The garden at Babylonstoren

It was time for a lunch break so we drove through the town of Franschhoek to the Orangerie Restaurant at the Le Lude Estate.  We had a delicious lunch and enjoyed getting to know Mandla.

Dave and Mandla studying the menu at Orangerie.

The view of the mountains from the entrance of the Orangerie Restaurant.

Our next stop was the Huguenot Monument for pictures and then we went to the La Motte Wine Farm for our final tasting of the day.

The Huguenot Monument in Franschoek.

The entrance to the La Motte tasting room.

Dave working through the wines in the La Motte tasting room.

We had a wonderful day touring the wine region.  On the way back to Cape Town, Mandla took us to the entrance of the Victor Verster prison, the last prison where Nelson Mandela served timed as a political prisoner.  Dave and I both read Mandela's autobiography, A Long Walk to Freedom, while we were traveling in South Africa and we highly recommend it.

Dave and B at the statue of Nelson Mandela at Victor Verster prison.

Wednesday morning, Mandla picked us up as the sun was coming over the horizon for a hike up Lion's Head.  We started the hike across the street from the parking lot, with a medium grade up a two lane dirt road.  We passed a net pad area where they launch paragliders, then the path narrowed and the trail got steeper.  There are two ways to get up to the top.  The easier path veers around to the left.  We choose to take the more challenging route, using chains, staples and ladders to scramble up the rocks.  The view from the top was magnificent.  We could see the surrounding mountain ranges including Table Mountain and the Twelve Apostles plus the beaches and Atlantic Ocean below.

Sun rise over Cape Town.

Looking up at the Lion's Head peak.

Studying the staples and chains that lead up the challenging section of the trail

B at the top of Lion's Head.  You can see Robbin Island in the background.

Mandla at the top of Lion's Head

Using the staples and chains to get to the top of Lion's Head

The hike took us about two hours from start to finish and was a great way to start the day.  Mandla has a goal to complete 52 hikes this year so we were happy that he joined us.  He is planning to start a blog to chronicle his hikes with his two sons around the Cape Town area and we look forward to reading his blog.  On our way back to the hotel, we drove through the colorful neighborhood of Bo-Kaap.

On Thursday, we checked out of our hotel and went to the airport for our flight from Cape Town to Walvis Bay, Namibia.  We arrived in Walvis Bay late afternoon, checked into our hotel and went to a restaurant near the lagoon for supper and to watch the sunset.

Sunset over the Walvis Bay Lagoon

July 21 - 26, 2022 Walvis Bay, Namibia:  Friday and Saturday we walked along the  Walvis Bay Lagoon, a popular place for bird watching, and explored the downtown area.  The lagoon is home to thousands of greater and lesser flamingos.  A few fun facts about flamingos are included in this link Why are Flamingos Pink?

Flamingos at high tide in the Walvis Bay Lagoon

Pied avocets in the Walvis Bay Lagoon

Kite surfers on the Walvis Bay Lagoon.

Flamingos feeding in the Walvis Bay Lagoon.  

If you look closely you can see them moving their legs and feet to stir up the mud as they feed.

Walvis Bay has an interesting history.  When Namibia (formerly South West Africa) became an independent country in March 1990, Walvis Bay remained under the control of South Africa and Namibian citizens had to get special permits to travel in and out of the city.  South Africa and Namibia finally reached an agreement in 1994 and Walvis Bay officially became part of Namibia.  You can read more about the history of the Walvis Bay and Namibia here.  

On Sunday, Delly picked us up at our hotel and we went for a mini-tour of the town and the surrounding areas.  It was cold and overcast as we made our way south along the lagoon to the salt works and the pink salt ponds where they dry and harvest the salt.

Harvested salt piled at the salt works, ready to be loaded onto trucks and taken to the wharf.

Delly, our tour guide and driver, at the salt ponds.

The pink lagoons where they dry the salt.

Delly turning over the dried mud clods to look at the salt on the underside.

From the salt works, we drove along the lagoon and through downtown to the township of Tutaleni, where Delly lives.  We walked along the streets and looked at the market stalls, went through the supermarket, then ate grilled beef, onions and fat cakes (deep-fried dough) at a Kapana stall.

Grilling beef and onions at a Kapana stall in the Tutaleni township.

B and Delly eating beef, onions and fat cakes at the Kapana stall.

After our snack, we went out to the Namib Desert to climb Dune 7, a 1256 feet (383 meters) sand dune.  Dave waited in the parking lot while Delly and I climbed up the steep part of the hill.  

Delly resting during her climb up the dune.  She made it half way before heading back down.

The view from the top of Dune 7 showing the parking area and the tracks leading up and down the hill.

The view from the top of Dune 7.

Monday we walked along the lagoon and prepared for our overland adventure.  We checked out of our hotel on Tuesday morning.  Delly picked us up and we went to Swakopmund, north of Walvis Bay, for a mini-tour before heading to Goanikontes Oasis to meet up with our overlanding group.

We started our tour with a drive up the coastal road from Walvis Bay to Swakopmund.  With its port facilities, Walvis Bay is mostly an industrial town whereas Swakopmund is mostly a beach / tourist town known for its German architecture.  We stopped to have a coffee at a seaside hotel, then looked at the crafts, art and carvings at the local craft market.

Dave and Delly having coffee and cookies.

The Swakopmund beach.  It was another cold and blustery winter day on the Namibian coast.

B with three Herero women in their cultural dresses at the craft market in Swakopmund. 
The Herero dress is symbolic of the history of the Herero people and the genocide committed against them by German settlers in the early 1900s.

After our coffee, we drove through town and looked at the historic buildings.  Our next stop was a small craft manufacturing center, where we watched people weaving hand made rugs.

Weaving a hand made rug at a shop in Swakopmund.

From there, we went to the township of Mondesa, where we talked to the owner of a traditional restaurant and listened to an acapella performance.

The cook in the kitchen at a Mondesa restaurant where you can try traditional Namibian foods including dried wild spinach and mopane worms.

A short video of the acapella singers

It was mid-afternoon and our tour of the town was over, it was time to head to Goanikontes.  We took the gravel road through the desert to an overlook of the moon landscape, a desolate area of hills carved out by the Swakop River.

The sign to Goanikontes Oasis

The Moon Landscape on the way to Goanikontes.

Delly dropped us off at the oasis and Kevin, our guide for the next three weeks, met us at reception and lead us to our truck.  We'll cover our overland adventures through Namibia and Botswana in the next blog.

Until next time...