Arriving at Windhoek

Today we left Swakopmund and in about 3 hours of asphalted road we arrived in Windhoek, Namibia's capital.

Even Windhoek, like Swakopmund, seems to have changed a lot, and yet a few years have passed since the last time we've been here, but we know that things in fast-growing countries such as Namibia change suddenly.

They have built larger access roads to the city, new buildings, both governmental and private, and the standard of living seems to have improved.

We arrive in the afternoon and then take a short ride to the center, Windhoek does not have much to offer to a visitor, it does not have many historic buildings except for some early 20th century houses built by the Germans during the colonization period, and the Christuskirche overlooking the city center; right next to it they have recently built the monument to celebrate Namibian independence, noble intention, but the achievement leaves a bit to be desired: a huge square building in front of which a giant statue was erected.

We take some photos and go to the hotel, no camping today, when we are in small towns like Windhoek we prefer to sleep in hotels that have a safe parking space for our car; it is best to use the best prudence rather than having unpleasant surprises.

We selected a small hotel not far from downtown that has large and new rooms and has a nice garden with a small swimming pool that, considering the winter temperature, is not used by anyone but still pays the eye.

We've set a little while in the garden to update the blog and look at the maps for the next few days; what a relax, on this trip these moments are precious.

While we are in the garden, we also observe the various birds found on the branches and on the lawn, in the room there is also an information leaflet describing the species that can be seen.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, a cat wandering around the garden made an acrobatic leap of over a meter and managed to catch a flying bird; well at the end we still saw a beautiful hunting scene of a feline, though not in the savannah :-)

Thanks to an adapter for the hair dryer (that we left in the car that is at the mechanic for a check) we meet our neighbors who are not only Italian but live in Milan, among other things not far from our home; these are the funny situations that happen on the road.

We talk a little bit and find out tonight we go to dinner in the same place: Joe's Beer House, then we decide to go there together.

Joe's Beer House is an institution and is a must-have while in Windhoek; it is a brewery that serves game and some German dishes, has large wooden tables, like every Munich brewery, and beer, of course, flows in rivers.

Here both travelers and locals meet, the atmosphere is informal and you often end up chatting with those sitting next; it's fun because you never know who you can meet.

After dinner we return to the hotel, take our bottle of Amarula, our aluminum glasses and sit in the garden with our new friends for a chat.

It was a nice evening and we promise to see one another again once we come back to Milan; this is the beauty of travelling, you meet people, you start talking about the journey you are doing and sometimes you become friends or just spend unexpected and pleasant moments.