Today we made a visit to the Reichstag, the center of Germany’s government. From the dome, we saw the surrounding buildings of the German Bundestag as well as other significant structures making up the Berlin skyline. The exhibition inside did a nice job of detailing the building’s past, its reconstruction after the war and how it’s played an integral role in German history. We realized how much we’ve forgotten from grade school history, so this visit served as a nice jumping off point for more reading and exploration of German history. Oh, and maybe good excuse to partake in the schwarz, rot & gold World Cup festivities.
We’ve combined discovering new areas of Berlin with public viewings of the World Cup. Fortunately, ‘schland has advanced to the quarter-finals so we’ve had a few games to watch. Today’s party was downstairs in our apartment building, spilling out onto the cobblestone streets and filled with friendly neighbors. Our friends Christian, Alexandra & Ben came over to watch, and the game wrapped up with celebration, fireworks and even more excitement for the next game on the 8th.
Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany: Prenzlauer Berg is situated in the former East, so the area is full of wide parade streets, old Communist monuments and GDR-era buildings. All of this is juxtaposed with pre-war architecture as well: relatively few structures in this neighborhood were destroyed in WWII. So, living here in Prenzlauer Berg is a really interesting mix of German history.
The hardwood floors, 12-foot ceilings and light-filled rooms in this pre-war apartment on Hufelandstraße was a perfect find for us. We’re on a cobblestone street and downstairs are countless cafés, ice cream shops and boutiques. The bike path leads to Volkspark Friedrichshain, Berlin’s oldest public park and great spot for walking, biking and people watching (now that summer & the warm weather has finally arrived). The neighbors are friendly and it’s easy to get around for exploring, sightseeing and discovering. It’s going to be a wonderful summer…
Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin, Germany: We’ve made it to our new home for the summer. We moved in yesterday and are already busy exploring this beautiful neighborhood and watching World Cup. More to come from our bike excursions and explorations through the city…
Okavango Delta, Botswana: Poling in to the Delta and camping overnight on one of the salt islands has has been one of our most memorable experiences to date. To understand the uniqueness of this trip requires understanding the uniqueness of this landscape.
The Okavango Delta is an enormous inland delta formed where the Okavango River reaches a tectonic trough in the central part of the Kalahari Desert. All the water reaching the Delta is ultimately evaporated and does not flow into any sea or ocean. This oasis spreads out over a 16,000 km² area, and is listed as one of the seven natural wonders of Africa.
The journey to the Delta was an adventure: we set out by 4×4 early in the morning and drove 2 hours through sand, mud and water into the last area that is accessible by vehicle. When we reached the end, we climbed a cow fence and met up with our crew on the water’s edge. From there, we got in our mokoro – a traditional dug out canoe made from the trunk of a sausage tree – and were poled through the waters of the Delta another 2 hours. We found shore on one of the salt islands – which is thought to have begun as a termite mound – and set up camp.
While on the island, we had about 5 hours of bush walking, which is a fun but fairly dangerous way of seeing the Delta’s wildlife. Our guide and head poler, M.B., gave us very specific instructions on how to stay safe – don’t talk and don’t make a move without his ok. We saw elephants, hippos, giraffes, zebra, buffalo, warthogs and wildebeests in the late afternoon and then again early in the morning. Along the way, M.B. also pointed out how the Bushmen lived on the land by using plant life and how to tell different piles of animal dung apart (see photo of him holding a cluster of impala poop pellets).
The beauty of this landscape is indescribable. Camping in the middle of nowhere surrounded by wildlife was a humbling experience, and the calm while out on the quiet water was truly beautiful. It was the quintessential back-to-nature experience and we loved it. We’re already daydreaming about ways to make it back to Botswana and specifically to the Delta for an even longer mokoro trip next time.
Kasane, Botswana: After crossing the border from Namibia, we set up camp in Kasane on the edge of Chobe National Park. We drove through the park two days and took a boat tour another, which was the perfect combination of ways to see the most wildlife in this spectacular park.
What makes Chobe stunning is its water, rich riverbanks and marshes. There was no shortage of elephants, giraffe, hippos, warthogs, crocodiles, buffalo, lizards and monkeys to see.
A few of our favorite moments…
Giraffes ‘tenting’ their legs since they are too tall to reach the grass standing
Warthogs kneeling down to eat
Hippos popping up and down with their big eyeballs to see what we were all about, and then yawning with disinterest when they realized we were just humans
Teenage elephants playing, splashing and spraying each other in the river
Roy’s is owned by a cattle ranger – cattle production is one of the biggest industries in Namibia – and is artfully designed with hanging metal sculptures and kitschy details. Felt a little like it could be a funky New Mexico ranch plopped in the middle of northeastern Namibia. We loved watching the sun go down in our bush camp, and then later sitting around the cozy campfire with a glass of wine.
We set up camp for two nights at Ngepi on the Kavango River and listened to the hippos call to each other up & down the water all night long. On our sunset river trip, we spied a few of these loud mouths poking their big eyeballs out of the water. This place was also quirky and had a sense of humor: throughout the camp are littered funny little additions like Poopa Falls, an outhouse on stilts with a view of Popa Falls.
Etosha National Park: The next day, we were awake, tent up and in our truck looking for more wildlife before the sun was up. We saw tons more zebras, springbok, gemsbok, ostriches and kudu but the really exotic guys alluded us. We drove even further into the park, set up camp and decided to call it a day.
We’d heard the watering hole at this campsite was even better than the one the night before, so we headed there at sundown. Five elephants were gathered around, and again, we were awestruck by what was right in front of us. These gentle giants were quiet, calm and unfazed by the humans staring at them.
On our third day in the park, we headed back to the watering hole at sundown. The rhinos came out to play and this time, their entrance was a bit more dramatic. A male and a female engaged in a very flirtatious courting ritual and after the female shunned this poor guy, another male came out from hiding to spar with the first male. The female came back into the picture and all three played & bathed together in the water. And at one point, in a very sweet moment, two of the rhinos appeared to kiss. It was really unexpected to see, and showed the gentler side of these imposing giants.
Etosha National Park, Namibia: Within 2 km of entering, we spotted a dozen zebras grazing in the grass and we were hooked on Etosha. We were immediately taken with the park’s beauty and the possibility of seeing Africa’s wildlife just feet from our camper truck.
That first day, we drove around for a few hours and saw hundreds more zebras, springbok, wildebeast and some oryx. After being in the hot sun all day and still feeling crappy from the malaria meds we’re taking, we were ready to head to camp. But we decided on one more turn, and just around the corner were 10 giraffes in the bush. We sat there in our car, cameras and binoculars in hand, watching them nibble thorn bushes and bat their long eyelashes. It was exciting to see these gentle & graceful animals so early in our visit…and so close!!
We found our campsite and headed to the watering hole. We sat there for a bit and said This isn’t going to happen. There’s no way animals come here while dozens of campers sit around expecting their arrival. But then, a lone rhinoceros quietly entered stage right. He approached the watering hole slowly while his mate and their baby sauntered over after. We gawked for an hour until they left as quietly as they appeared.
And so was our first day in Etosha – zebras, giraffe and some rhinos. We could barely fall asleep we were so excited.
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