Lu-Gerda's Travels

I have been looking at some of my older photos the last few days and decided to end the month with a post about a visit to the Two Oceans Aquarium  in Cape Town in July 2007.   I visited the aquarium with one of my friends who live in Cape Town.  We try to do something interesting evertime we get together. (See here and here for places we visited on previous weekends)   It was a very cold, winter weekend when I went to visit Cape Town.   It was raining and some of the mountains had snow on them.   We drove into the city to the Aquarium at the V&A Waterfront on Saturday morning and arrived about 8:30.   After paying our entry fees we started to walk through the different exhibits.   There is a lot of information on display about each of the species.   We saw exhibits of the following: Atlantic Ocean Gallery with translucent jellies and seahorses Indian Ocean Gallery with Western clownfish (or Nemo’s), honeycomb eels and a coral exhibit Predator Exhibit in an

After walking on a Swiss Alps we drove to Lucerne for souvenir shopping.   We bought Swiss army knives and the most delicious chocolate.   At about 18:30 we walked to our hotel and had to cross over the Spreuerbrücke .   This bridge has interesting “Dance of Death” roof panels. We were staying in the Lowengraben Jail Hotel .   It was built in 1862 and was used as a prison until 1998 and we were staying in the cells.   We ate dinner in the hotel before walking to the lake at 20:15. The water of Lake Lucerne was clear and had a blue green colour.   There were swans swimming around the boat as we left the shore for a cruise on the lake.   We each got a drink and we decided to try a Swiss beer.   It was a great evening with a light breeze in the air that got a little cold at the end of the night.   The lake was so pretty with the mountains all around.   At about 21:00 the sun started to set and turned the sky in the most wonderful colours. The cru

The next stop on our Eastern Cape trip was Graaff-Reinet.   We took a longer route with a few interesting places along the way.   We left Grahamstown and drove 30 kilometer on the R67 to Fort Brown.   Fort Brown is not really a town, but only a police station and farms.   The Fort Brown Gun Tower has been incorporated into the SA Police Station.   It is next to the road and easy to find.   We had to sign in at the police station and could then walk around and take some photos.   There was not much else to do and it was only a quick stop. Lt. Col. G. Lewis, the Commanding Officer of the Royal Engineers at the Cape, drew plans for fortified barracks at Hermanus Kraal.   AA young officer, William Jervois, was appointed to in 1841 to carry out the work.   Hermanus Kraal was later renamed to Fort Brown after Lt Brown of the 75 th Regiment who was in command during the war of 1835. Fort Brown consisted of a group of buildings surrounded by a high stone wall.   At the c

Today is my last post about our three days in Grahamstown.   It was our first visit to this city and we enjoyed it.   We also enjoyed our stay as the Colonel Graham Guest House .   But before I tell you about the rest of our trip in the Eastern Cape, here is a few photos of other old buildings in the town. Grocott's Mail This building with is beautiful facade was declared a National Heritage Site in 1984.   The original façade was destroyed in a fire in 1906 and it was replaced with the current gabled front. City Hall The City Hall and Settlers’ Memorial Tower in High Street is a National Heritage site.   The foundation stone for the Memorial Tower was laid as celebration for the 5oth anniversary of the 1820 British Settlers.   After struggling to complete the tower it was decided that the tower should be part of the town hall.   The Town Hall was opened in 1882. City Hall Memorial Tower High Street

After a late night in Florence we were only a few tired people at breakfast on Sunday.   After breakfast we were joined by the rest of the group to leave at 7:45 for Switzerland.   It was a long drive of almost 7 hours before reaching Mount Stanserhorn in the Swiss Alps.   Most of the people on the bus were sleeping during the drive. We boarded a funicular at the bottom of Mount Stanserhorn and it took us to a gondola or cable car to go up the mountain.   The mountain is 1920m above sea level.   Along the way we saw and hear some Swiss cows with bells around their necks. The view was amazing.   We could see Swiss Alps with snow on the tops and on the other side we saw the blue Lake Lucerne.   We walked up to the top of the mountain.   The sun was shining and it was a lovely day.   After about an hour we got back on the gondola and went down the mountain.   Read more of the trip to Europe in 2008: 10.          Day

Grahamstown has some very old schools with beautiful school grounds.   We drove around and visited some of the schools. St Andrew’s College St Andrew’s College is a private school for boys and was founded in 1855 by Bishop John Armstrong.   Although the school has an Anglican foundation, they accept pupils from all religions. The beautiful College Chapel was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and was consecrated in 1914.   The Memorial Clock Tower was opened on 30 November 1923 and is a monument to the Andreans who nobly sacrificed their lives in the First World War. College Chapel The Memorial Clock Tower The Memorial Clock Tower Diocesan School for Girls Diocesan School for Girls is a private school for girls.   It was founded in1874 by Bishop Merriman and is one of the oldest girl’s schools in South Africa. Kingswood College Kingswood College was founded in 1894 as an independent school for girls and boys.   It is one of the oldest Methodist

Our dog, Emma, turned 3 today and I just had to show you this picture.   We visited my parents in George this weekend and Emma was treated with a beef burger patty with three candles. She needed some help to blow out the candles but not to eat the meat.

Grahamstown is also known as the “City of Saints” with 52 Churches of numerous denominations in the town.   We already visited the Commemoration Church , the Cathedral of St Michael and St George , the Baptist Mother Church   and St Bartholomew . On the 1 May we went for a drive in the town looking for more churches.   Here are some of them: St Philip’s Anglican Church This isiXhosa-medium church was built in 1860 for the mostly refugee population.   In front of the church the burnt remains of St Phillips Hall, once a school building, can be seen. Christ Church Christ Church was built from a bequest from Rosa Wright and was opened for worship in 1867 Synagogue A plaque on the outside of the synagogue gives the following information: “The synagogue was consecrated on 19 Aug 1913 to serve the growing Jewish community of Grahamstown. Jews first settled in Grahamstown with the arrival of the 1820 Settlers, worshipping in temporary sanctuaries fo