Lu-Gerda's Travels

Just a short post to start the week.  A beautiful sunrise over the Outeniqua Mountains on a Sunday morning in May.

After walking around in Dorp Street we made our way to the Braak or “fallow land”.   This open piece of land had many different uses over the years from fair grounds, market place and military parade. At the one end we saw a small white building surrounded by a wall.   The date on the building was 1777 and immediately we were interested.   At first I thought it was a church due to the bell tower.   And I guess that was the reason the bell tower was added to the building. This was the V.O.C Kruithuis or Powder Magazine built in 1777 to store ammunition.   It is the only remaining powder magazine from the days of the VOC.   Today it is a museum.   The entrance fee was only R5 and we decided to take a look inside.   The museum displays a collection of firearms, cannons, military uniforms etc. It is very small with only two rooms.   It did not take long to look at all the displays.   Included in the entrance...

  Last month I wrote a book review and I enjoyed it.   Today I want to share some more of my favourite travel books.   DK Eyewitness Travel Guides I bought my first travel guide in 2008. I was planning a trip with my friend Lelanie to London and Europe.   While planning the trip I bought the DK Eyewitness Travel Guide: Europe and I paid R 282.00 for it.   Except for my university textbooks, this was the most expensive book I have ever bought for myself.    We were doing a Contiki Tour and visited 7 countries.   I studied the information in guide the about the cities we would visit.    I made lists of places I want to see and then looked for more information about them.   In the end I did not take the guide with me (the 800 pages was just to heavy to carry along) but packed all my lists to use.  At Departures at Cape Town Airport in 2008 My second guide was for the same trip.   The Eyewitness Trave...

I love all the old buildings in Stellenbosch but the town is probably better known for its wine.   For a change from all the history posts I want to tell you more about a visit to Fairview Wine Farm in December 2011. We were spending the weekend at my sister in Brackenfell.   Sunday was a warm summer day and we decided to drive to Fairview for the morning. The history of this farm dated back to 1693 when the land was granted to Steven Verwey.   Originally it was known as Bloemkoolfontein or “Cauliflower Fountain” and the name was changed about 100 year ago.   The farm was part of 8 insolvent estates before the Back family bought it in 1937 and the fate of the farm changed. The farm is popular and it was very busy.   There is Wine and Cheese Tasting, a Shop and Deli and a Restaurant.   We did the standard tasting that includes 6 wines and a selection of cheese.   We started with the wine tasting and enjo...

   It has been a while since I last post some photos of Mossel Bay. After lovely sunny weather during the week we had a windy day with rain on Saturday.     We decided buy take-aways and drive to the Point for an early lunch. The wind was unpleasant but I took Emma (or dog) for a walk before returning to the car.    We ate while enjoying the beautiful view of the ocean and clouds.   Then I went back into the wind to take a few photos.      But the clouds were multiplying and it was cold outside.  We drove to the parking area next to the Point Hotel for a few photos of the Poort.      There was a lot of foam from the waves.      On our way home the rain started to fall  and continued to fall in short showers the rest of the day. The perfect weather for a quiet afternoon at home.

Dorp or “Town” Street is one of my favourite streets in Stellenbosch.   I love the beautiful old oak trees that line the street along with all the old homes with their interesting gables, windows, doors and stoeps. We started our walk at the Dutch Reformed Church and walked along Dorp Street until we reached Oom Samie’s Winkel.   The street is very busy but we kept crossing to see buildings on both sides. Saxenhof – 159 Dorp Street The land was granted to Pieter Andriesz Saxe in 1704 and he probably built the original Saxenhof house.   In the late 19 th century the house was extended to a double storey with the interesting wooden balcony.   Stellenbosch Hotel – 160 & 162 Dorp Street After the original building was destroyed is a fire in 1803, the present building was built. Lutheran Church This church was designed by Carl Otto Hager and was inaugurated in 1854.   The church fell into disuse and was bought by Dr Anton R...

I am almost to late for the Capture the Colour photo challenge  but it sounded like a lot of fun and I decided to give it a try. The challenge is simple, “publish a blog post showcasing five of your  favourite travel photographs which best capture the colour of our five categories:  red, blue, green, yellow and white”. Here are my picks from our trip to the Eastern Cape in South Africa in 2012: Green: Pier Street Mosque, Port Elizabeth White: Dutch Reformed Church, Alexandria Yellow: The Big Pineapple, Bathurst Blue: View from Magazine Hill, Graaff-Reinet   Red: Oldest Official Letter Box in South Africa, Grahamstown The instruction for the photo challenge is to nominate 5 fellow bloggers to take part.     Since the competition closes today, I will not nominate other bloggers.