25 August 2023
Our superblessed journey started on 8 July 2023. We excitedly collected our children, Juan, Katja, and our granddaughter, Jana.
At last, we were off to Cape Town to fly out to Germany the next day. We were excited to meet the extended family, as Katja (with much appreciation, our gorgeous daughter-in-love) and our son, Juan, have been together for seven years.
What better start to our month long tour of Germany than our first stop – Graham Beck Estates – Celebrating the wonderful blessing of travelling with our children in style with a glass of bubbly and an awesome platter to boot.
Pit stop in Cape Town
We are superblessed with so many beautiful souls as friends and therefore we are spoiled for choice when in need of accommodation in Cape Town.
Our hosts for the night were Ben and Yolandi, who live in a stylish, self-restored heritage home.
We were absolutely blown away by their ingenuity, and so was Visi Magazine as they are featured in this month’s edition!
Needless to say that we felt beyond superblesssed to spend our evening in the heart of Cape Town, (my hometown) with our amazing friends in their most amazing surroundings.
Yolandi have told me before that she enjoyed painting, but when I had this chance to actually view it, I was absolutely astonished at her amazing artwork. I wholeheartedly encouraged her to pursue her passion fully, and anyone can definitely see why! There are so many more beautiful creations throughout their stunning home.
Yolandi and Ben were invited to a birthday party and we had the privilege of exercising the gift of presence by surprising our other good friends, Steaan and Lynette and crashing Steans’ birthday party. Luckily they were all very happy to receive us! As I said, we are truly blessed with the most amazing friends on our life journey…
Finally on our way flying with KLM
We were truly treated like VIP’s by KLM airlines as our Jana has special needs – Rett syndrome.
The Crew took such good care of us, and everybody fell in love with Jana.
The flight was rather bumpy, but Jana loves this and sleeps even better as she is used to being in her pram, on the rocky roads of our farm, next to the Touwriver, in Wilderness. We were blessed with an uneventful flight and happy to land in a sunny Germany.
Arriving in Germany
Germany was a happy surprise food-wise, as sugar is a definite, everyday staple. Meals together as a family are celebrated more often than not and we were welcomed by the family, into a garden party the afternoon of our arrival…
… and many more garden party events after…
Robert and my son, Juan are fishermen of note and also amazing at preparing it. Juan gets a lot of practice at home, as Jana is on a keto diet and Juan loves spearfishing. We encourage this as we obviously are superblessed to also benefit by having delicious meals together quite often.
Meeting Katjas grandparents
Oupa Veit and Ouma Gretel are the rock and pillar of the family. Having 3 children, 9 grandchildren as well as 10 great-grandchildren – they are trying to spend as much time with all of them.
And then there is Ouma Traudel – who speaks of herself as a ‘dinosaur’ – a fit 86 years old and arrived – on her bicycle – to attend our welcoming. The family all live within cycling distance from each other, although I cannot imagine one of my grandmas riding a bicycle at that age!
To me, she is the most gracious, elegant, and stylish lady with the utmost flair. I absolutely adore her… and not just because she bakes the best cakes!
They love cake and Ice cream in Germany!
Cake and ice-cream seems to be a very big deal daily and I am most definitely a fan of this. I have never seen so many ice-cream parlours.
Our very first stop when we arrived in Friedrichshagen – Katja’s hometown from her childhood… and her Dad still lives in the self-built family home (designed and build by both Mom, Dad and the children) – was in fact a busy ice-cream parlour in a very busy street where we had to wait in line as it was very well supported.
But they also move A LOT!
With this in mind, we were so happy to find out that our most regular mode of transport was to be on bicycle. Jana had her very own trailer – provided by Oupa Martin (Katja’s father), which fitted perfectly onto a bicycle.
These trailers for carting around children, were most common in the streets, and could be seen everywhere. Everyone cycled or took a train or tram for further excursions. It is also very safe to be traveling by choice on a bicycle, as cyclists have the right of way.
We were superblessed with gratitude for our most charming host, Martin (Katja’s father), as he had a huge collection of bicycles which matched all our needs.
He also had arranged an awesome car – which Katja absolutely loved – to be at our disposal, which really came in handy, especially when we had to drive to the town, where the wedding was to be held… and onwards on an exciting excursion after the wedding. But I digress…
We cycled to a restaurant adjacent to the river Spree, where we had our very first… of many, German beers.
It felt surreal walking through a walkway under the river Spree (Spreetunnel, Friedrichshagen). It is mind blowing to think that a pedestrian tunnel exists under the Spree River, opened in 1927, and is now on several walking & biking trails.
Throughout Europe, the architecture is astounding.
One day, Silke, Katja’s dad’s friend, courageously (google translate came in handy for the language barrier) offered to travel with us on the train into Berlin, as she was on her way to her apartment which is close to the river Spree and where the Berlin Wall used to be.
Some snaps in the city…
In Berlin… 3 regions coming together monument
We walked around 17 km for the day – blisters and all – and after this, had the best nights’ rest.
One day we drove into Berlin for an overnight visit with a long-time friend of Katja, Ramon, and his gorgeous, pregnant wife, Yosune.
Streetview at Ramon and Yosune…
Katja is driving and Juan is the photographer…
That evening, Ramon who is a musician of note, invited us to a youth club, where he was to play a gig. We had so much fun with games such as Jenga and others playing table tennis. There was a feast of food and – obviously – lots of cake. Honeycake was brought by our new friends, Alex and his lovely wife.
Katja and Yosune left earlier for a girl’s catchup.
We stayed for a bit of dancing and had lots of fun. After a midnight snack, we went home by taxi.
Katja had told us about the amazing flea markets available, and the next day we had the chance to visit three of them.
Both Katja and myself were quite surprised to find out that Juan is an expert shopper and the perfect shopping assistant for himself, and the both of us. The three of us made a perfect shopping team and found many treasures.
We met up with a friend, Anna, at the last market where we eventually slowed down the pace and had lunch at a cute restaurant, NYOM, in Katja’s old neighborhood.
We were to travel to a tiny town, Bartelshagen, a week in advance, in preparation for the actual wedding.
Off to the wedding
Katja and Jana, myself, and the wedding couple’s eldest daughter, Kaya, followed some time later and arrived in perfect time as the sun was setting. What a picturesque town, complete with a quaint little dam for the amazing variety of birdlife.
Superblessed we were to be accommodated for a week long in the most exquisite Manor House which can also be rented for your holiday. (Click on hyperlink for more information.)
This majestic manor belongs to the groom’s delightful parents, Uwe and Sabine.
Robert, the groom, loves good meat and on the very first evening of our arrival, we were treated to Wagyu steak… delicious.
We ate like royalty for the duration of our stay. I believe that food might very well be their love language!
We met so many impressive souls – all in that week and all working together and setting up for a most grand wedding.
We had so much fun with plenty of playtime throughout as it only gets dark around ten at night.
We became instant friends with the delightful couple, Max and Elsa, who cordially invited us to their home. We could not resist their invitation as Max is an engineer by trade, renovating their home by himself.
As we are still busy with building our own homes, we obviously had to see this… but… more about this adventure later…
Pics of our own home (building project) in South Africa
On with the wedding plans…
With a full week of preparation and more and more arrivals eager to help, we anticipated this special wedding day with a good dose of excitement.
B and I spent lots of time with Jana, as her parents were very involved in helping to make this wedding magical… and it absolutely was.
I love this photo of the sister’s embrace with little Kaya.
First and foremost, this family loves fun and games!
We were all invited to the dam where the bride and groom were to row a canoe to where a few rubber ducks, with messages inside, were to be retrieved and brought back to land.
With lots of laughter… and some more giggles from the side of the dam where we stood watching…
I believe that this couple already knew that having fun together is most important for a good marriage!
Success!
Oupa Martin and Jana having a special moment together viewing a stunning, family photo book present for Jana from the bride and groom.
The most beautiful gift was given by the bride herself. She took so much time with calligraphy, creating a personalized glass for each one of her guests. Such a beautiful demonstration of love…
… and this is just the perfect summary of the gorgeous Netti!
The bride and her helpers also picked and all the event’s flowers.
The children helped too… with everything.
We – Juan, myself, and B – were very blessed to go on a nature drive with Matthias and his lovely daughter. We spent one of those moments in time, when souls connect forever, through the admiration for nature. We sought after and saw: buck, antelope, fish-eagle, and even a jackal.
D Day arrived!
Katja, sister of the bride and Paul (right), brother of the sisters… and on the left, Andre, the best man.
A most stunning forest encapsulated this gorgeous bride on the arm of her dashing Papa Martin.
Waiting for the ceremony to begin, Robert’s brother, Matthias, and his awesome daughter, Elana, our talented pianist for the day, and Juan, brother-in-love to be.
Robert’s mother, Sabine and his dad, Uwe, and the wedding couple’s daughters, Kaya and Nika.
In front in green, the bride’s mom, Birgit, and just a smidgen of Ouma Traudel. B and myself behind them keeping a watchful eye over Jana, in her pram. Behind us, standing and in blue, Robert’s sister, Beate.
Looking like a handsome model from a magazine, Katja and Netti’s awesome brother, Paul.
Robert has told us so much about his amazing brother, Matthias, who was also the master of ceremony and we now understand why. What an impressive man!
He truly had everyone in awe…
… and his beautiful daughter, Elena, captured the melodious tunes perfectly in this magical space.
And once again… the bride and groom having fun… with Ching, Chong, Cha…
to see who would share their message first… this couple is without a doubt, super competitive…
And then, for only a moment, they got serious with each of their – obviously, most impressive – vows.
Juan and Katja having a beautiful moment…
Speeches, smiles, and eating cake, with such abundance of happiness took us well into the night.
Family photos were taken and this family is indeed photogenic!
And in the evening, Martin sang lovely songs which Katja fondly remembers from her childhood. Martin is a most elegant entertainer.
We were superblessed indeed!
Our new friends, Elsa and Max having a dance together.
Elsa has been duly dubbed – The Dancing Queen.
And keeping true to tradition, Katja added some artwork to the wedding couple’s car…
The day after this magical wedding, everyone had a delightful breakfast together.
Most of the guests said their goodbyes and departed. A few stayed behind with us to help with the cleanup.
The next day my birthday arrived!
I received so many surprises and was superblessed with gratitude!
The wedding couple, Robert and Netti, with their beautiful daughters, brought me some long-stemmed sunflowers.
Robert’s Mom and Dad, Uwe and Sabine, gifted me the most delicious chocolates, which lasted long after our arrival back in South Africa and made us think of them fondly as we enjoyed it.
We decided to drive out and visit Warnemünde for the day.
We traveled on a ferry trip into the harbor and had lunch – the famous, fish brötchen – at one of the stalls. This was perfectly paired, as my amazing hubby, obviously remembered the champagne.
We wandered around in awe, feeling superblessed indeed, enjoying the rich culture and stunning views of the baltic sea. And being in Germany, we just had to have some more ice cream!
Mother nature’s gift to me – my favorite tree – the Willow
Off to Schmersau
A day or so after we drove to Schmersau, Sachsen-Anhalt. This is where Max and Elsa live.
En route, we stopped at the town just before and did a quick visit to a very old church…
The centre of Seehausen is St.Petri Church which was built 1170-1180 in a romanesque style and transformed into a gothic hall church between 1440 – 1480.[7] The height of its impressive towers amounts to 62 metre. Its baroque pulpit dates from 1710, and the wood carvings of the altar, a winged altarpiece were made in the Netherlands in the 15th century [8] The organ which dates from 1867 was renovated in 2014.
Schmersau proved to be the smallest town, with just the best feeling, and, especially after the very busy time we had with so many new faces.
We felt superblessed to be visiting with our amazing new friends, Max and Elsa. They have truly managed to carve out a calm and peaceful life and I would say that they live in their very own Eden.
They have purchased land and are busy with restoration in the traditional way of the 1800s.
They grow their vegetables and have chickens and livestock… basically, they are self-sufficient.
Imagine our surprise, when we were introduced to one of their friends, Pieter, a South African man!
It felt utterly surreal in this little town of just around 80 people, when – upon meeting us – Pieter went to fetch a gramophone and played us a vinyl record with the title “Sarie Marais”, also known as “My Sarie Marais”… Afrikaans pronunciation which is a traditional South African folk song, created possibly during the First Anglo-Boer War (c. 1880) or (more likely) the Second Anglo-Boer War (ca. 1900).
We had the privilege of visiting for a few days and a first for us… sleeping in a sauna, as this was one of the first rooms which Max prioritised. He definitely has his priorities straight, as building is hard work and self-care is of utmost importance.
Writing this, I believe that I have come a long way in learning self-love, which is what my books and journals are all about. Superblessed with gratitude for this life journey. Superblessed also with our Katja, who helped me create a most awesome website and continues to be my unofficial PA. She is the absolute best!
Back to the lovely little town, Schmersau…
We had time available to walk through this quaint town, pushing Jana in her stroller and just being…
After a wonderful yoga practice in they’re sacred garden, we left, with hearts full and filled with love for this lovely couple.
Back to Berlin via…
On our way back to Berlin, Katja took us to the town she studied at: Potsdam. We just had to visit the most amazing Sanssouci Park and we were blown away by the architecture of buildings of considerable size and the most majestic parks.
We strolled through these grandiose parks in mostly misty and rainy weather, with Jana snugly tucked in her carry-on, on her Daddy’s back.
Sanssouci Park is definitely, a bucket-list thing to do. Make sure to have a full day or two available as there are a lot more to be seen, which we didn’t have time to enjoy.
Afterwards we welcomed a local beer to catch our breath before heading home.
… we were traveling for a month and so, onto…
Part 2: Praque, Dresden and Leipzig