Lu-Gerda's Travels

We visited Swellendam in April.   The weather was lovely with sunshine but not to warm.   The evenings were cooler but still very nice.   The town has one of the most beautiful Dutch Reformed Churches. We took our first photos of the church Saturday evening during twilight. On Sunday morning we returned to attend the church service at 9:30.   After an interesting sermon we asked if we could look around and take a few photos of the inside*.   The inside is quite plain with wooden pews with a beautiful pulpit.   The church has a beautiful organ and pretty ceilings. *   The church is open for visitors during the week for a small fee but not on weekends.   We arrived in Swellendam at about 18:00 on Friday afternoon and were to late to see the inside. The congregation was established in 1798 and the first church building was completed in 1802. After lots of changes to the church the congregation decided to replace it with a new churc...

Time has flown by.   More than 2 weeks have passed since my last post.   I have been busy at work and we did not do any traveling.   Winter also arrived in the Western Cape and we had a lot of rain and cold weather.   Every evening I want to snuggle under a blanket and relax.   Sitting at the computer to write was not a high priority. Here are some random photos from the last month. The cloudy weather makes beautiful sunrises.   I also spend some time in the garden during the last month.   We had this wall build to help with walls getting damp at the back of the house.   The retaining blocks seemed like a perfect place to plant some of herb and vegetable plants.   Emma enjoying the sunshine Another beautiful sunrise This was about 20:00 at work.   My desk was a mess from trying to complete a lot of different work before the 28 June deadline.   And everything was su...

One of my favourite sights in George is the white Dutch Reformed Mother Church with the beautiful Outeniqua Mountain as background.   I have many memories of visiting this church: On a history class trip when I was about 10, for a art class when I was about 13, for my cousins wedding in 2004, for her baby’s christening a few years later and many other times.   But most of all I like seeing this church every time we drive through town.   The cornerstone for the church was laid on 14 April 1832.   Slaves were used for some of the building work like the digging of the six-foot deep by five-foot wide foundations.   Due to financial problems it took 12 years to complete the church and it was consecrated in 9 October 1842.  The church is a National Heritage Site. On 13 September 1905 disaster struck when the church tower collapsed.   The wood rotted from water damage and lead to the walls weakening.   After a lot of rain for two days t...

I was looking through some photos from last year December when I found these. I t was taken in the parking area of the Garden Route Mall in George. We were on our way to watch a movie and saw this beautiful sunset.

This was a great weekend for my brother and sister in law.  They are both professional mountain bike riders for Team RE:CM in South Africa. My brother won the men's solo category of the three-day RE:CM Knysna mountain bike race on Sunday.  My brother in the middel Photo by Team RE:CM on Twitter His Swiss wife was in Switzerland to compete in the Swiss Women's marathon mountain bike championships at the 60km Elsa Bike Trophy.  And she won!! Article and photo by www.cyclenation.co.za Photo from facebook by Andreas Walther I am very proud of both of them.  They are spending the next 2 months in Switzerland to train and compete in a few races. And I hope they enjoy it. Read more about them on their website www.kleinhansmuesli.com  

In October 2008 we went to Graaff-Reinet in the Eastern Cape of South Africa for my cousins wedding.   We left George early on the Saturday morning and drove the 3 hours to Graaff-Reinet.  We first went to the Acacia Guesthouse where we had rooms for the night.   The guesthouse was very nice. There were 4 rooms.   The two rooms in front had twin beds, a small bathroom with a shower and coffee making facilities.   The two rooms in the back are bigger with a small kitchen, bathroom and a double bed.   After unpacking we went to explore.   The guesthouse is close to town and we walked to the main road. Graaff-Reinet was established in 1786 and is the fourth oldest town in South Africa.   It was named after the governor of the Cape Colony, Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff and his wife whose maiden name was “Reynet”. We walked pass the Dutch Reformed Church where the wedding was taking place later. There are 5...

Every Saturday the Outeniqua Farmers Market is held opposite the Garden Route Mall in George.   The market was opened in November 2011 but I visited it for the first time in December 2012.   The market is open from 08:00 to 14:00. It was easy to find and there are lots of parking.   We visited on  a rainy day and there still were a lot of people. (On a sunny day there may be more people and it would be good to go early) There are a wide variety of stalls. From plants, art, clothes, fresh fruit & vegetables, candles, hand made soaps and many other interesting things.   There are also a lot of food stalls and many places to sit and enjoy your food.   The atmosphere was festive with people singing on the small stage and people everywhere.  There is also a playground for kids and an interesting train driving kids around. We had a great time and I will go again on a nice sunny day t...