Written: August 2023
Part 2 of our Germany adventure…
Part 1 on link.
We traveled to Prague on a bus from Berlin.
We arrived excitedly and had not too far to walk to our super cute apartment B found for us on AirBnB.
Having fun in the hallway…
As we arrived, we were not surprised when a friend let us know that they too were close by, and had a ticket for us to attend a Depechemode concert. We have so many amazing friends all over the world and while social media is most definitely a time stealer, it is also a connector of note.
We stayed for three nights exploring a most romantic city for sure. The tram, is just such a great way to travel, making it so much easier.
Prague is absolutely gorgeous and most definitely a must-see. For us though, three days seemed more than enough as it was very busy and quite a sensory overload. We mindlessly hopped onto a tram one day just to escape the crazy, touristy vibe!
This was also understandable, as we had just attended a very peaceful, classical concert, at Lobkowicz Palace.
Superblessed with gratitude we were, to listen to pearls of classical music, performed in the most beautiful Baroque Concert Hall, as we – in absolute awe – admired the exquisite 17th-century frescoed ceiling.
Absolute silence – but for the sound of the tram – bliss for 45 contented minutes…
We simply sat on the tram for a long time wanting to escape the city bustle. When we had observed enough of life going by, we were pleasantly surprised when we eventually disembarked, to arrive at a most tranquil space, next to the lake and just sat and enjoyed the sandwiches we had made for lunch.
Swans were peacefully gliding past on the tranquil water. B sent a message to a friend, telling him that we were watching Swan Lake…
Later on, we meandered through the streets, pub-hopping our way back towards the bustling city.
B, fully intended to do a proper analysis of all the famous beers Germany had to offer. We just had to have at least one beer at every quaint pub… and there were many…
After an afternoon spent like this, we simply had to eat and yes, obviously another beer at the restaurant Stara Doba. We can highly recommend this restaurant as we had a lovely meal in a peaceful setting and very good service.
Feeling great, well fed, and then some…
We felt strong enough to meander back to the bustling tourist trap. We were superblessed to find many an interesting sighting on our way…
Statues hanging from cables over the street.
The next day we got on the train to Dresden.
B had found us an Airbnb apartment on the 16th floor and quite ideally, situated across from the train station. From this vantage point, we could see most of the city and we were superblessed with gratitude for a magical full moon view too.
We were excited to visit an opera house, which has been on our wishlist for quite some time – B’s whole reason for a Dresden stop-over – but sadly, they were on a break until September.
We did the next best thing and went for a behind-the-scenes guided tour at the Semperoper Opera House. Although the awe-inspiring interior was being deep cleaned, it was so insightful to experience this remarkable tour. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to take photos.
We had seen on Google maps, “what to do” and as we had only one night in Dresden, we made the most of it by visiting what is named: Doba district, also far away from the touristy bustle.
Basically, it was several courtyards that had been fused together, with quaint shops everywhere selling just about anything.
Onwards to Leipzig for a visit to our good friend, Nadine, and her family.
Reinhardt – our long-time good friend – was also visiting his sons, Jasper and Marcel. We joined the family for a braai in their abundant garden and had the best time.
After a wonderful day, Reinhardt traveled with us on the tram – meeting a German gentleman – as we were in search of the nearest pub for B and Reinhardt, to try and sort out our friend’s phone for him to have reception. The German gentleman said that he would want to show us where to go and by the time we arrived at the pub, we were friends and he bought us a drink. Albeit a brief encounter, being a Soulgrower by trade, I always remember a mind-altering conversation and this was definitely one of them.
We spend only one night in Leipzig and my suggestion would be to take more time for this unexpected surprise of a city.
The next day, Nadine, being an absolute example of the perfect tour guide, guided us through a morning of happy new surprises…
An incredible bus tour of which she did a stellar job translating for us…
We traveled back to Berlin on an overfull train, sitting in the corridor, feeling like cattle being transported to the market (every single person on their phones). Here I should mention that we wasted a lot of money, missing a train station, and having to pay for a new ticket. It is advisable to book an online ticket, which needs to be prepaid a month in advance of your stay, for only 49 Euro, and with this ticket any, and all transport may be used. Would have been so worth it!
We were happy to arrive back in Friederigshagen with a few days to spare.
We went for lunch at the restaurant, Mauna Kea, where Katja used to work in her teens.
We were invited for another fun coffee and cake date with Ouma Traudel where she surprised us with the meeting of the rest of the family who we had not met yet…
That evening, more fun was had as we – B, Juan, and myself – went to experience Dark Matter in Berlin. Christopher Bauder and his design studio WHITEvoid have created genius art…
“DARK MATTER is a parallel cosmos of expansive light installations in which the boundaries between the real and the digital world become blurred. Within the pitch-black rooms of a converted factory, the visitor embarks on a journey through seven partly interactive works. Light, movement, and sound fuse into emotional choreographies of luminous shapes and colors.”
Our gorgeous friend, Susu, met us there. She came all the way from Cologne – a five-hour trip by train – to join us for a day or two before we left for home.
Read more about this on the blue hyperlink as they also shared some art with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 2014.
One night in Berlin turned out to be quite an eventful night. When we exited the show, we wanted to visit the neighbouring club, but found out that it was not so easy. The doorman/bouncer explained that the club had an ongoing weekend festival and as it was Sunday, we were refused. We felt quite rejected and decided to meet up with Katja, who had joined Ramon for a catchup. More rejection was to follow as the six of us tried to find an open pub or restaurant in the city that never sleeps. Each time we were turned away as it was now Monday early morning hours and they were all closing.
Eventually, we decided to go home by train, but alas, the trains were not operating at that hour either, so we walked the streets of Berlin for an hour or two. Needless to say, when we finally arrived home, we were very tired.
Our travels in foreign places with wonderful people were coming to an end…
At 3 o’clock, one morning/night, we were fetched by a taxi bus for our last adventure in this foreign country. This taxi driver’s dream must have been to be a racing driver, as we were transported at frightfully high speed, arriving – thankfully in one piece and rather quite awake – at a bustling, but very organized airport.
At 3 o’clock, one morning/night, we were fetched by a taxi bus for our last adventure in this foreign country. This taxi driver’s dream must have been to be a racing driver, as we were transported at frightfully high speed, arriving – thankfully in one piece and rather quite awake – at a bustling, but very organized airport.
Katja’s beautiful Mamma, Birgit, was coming with us to South Africa.
We were treated like VIP’S once again, thanks to Jana.
What a different story when we landed in S A. We knew we were home as soon as we landed, but we are all so used to it: unfriendly service – if one is lucky to receive it – without a smile. People standing around not even knowing what they are supposed to do. We just had to laugh about the obvious difference we experienced. Then we heard about the taxi’s striking… and it was also not a peaceful situation in our streets.
Luckily our amazing friend, Tsahi, brought our car to the airport and also explained the safest route out of Cape Town as we were heading straight to Warmwaterberg Spa for a ‘rest’ after a very busy holiday.
We are superblessed with gratitude for all our amazing experiences and meeting our new lovely family!