Merry Christmas!

For Martins birthday I had planned a little trip down to Mosselbay. Our first stop was at the harbour, where we rented a jet ski. Martin couldn’t believe how fast this little scooter accelerated! We jumped over waves and due to me leaning to the wrong side, we even fell into the water, which was very warm though. When we rode back to the shore I was so afraid, because I thought I had seen a shark! When something jumped out of the water again, we realised it was a seal. We then drove to “The Point”, which is the peak that goes farthest into the sea and thus has the light house on it. We hiked up the steep path and couldn’t believe our eyes; the whole hill was full of marmots and they weren’t afraid of us at all. On a wooden bench, with a beautiful view of the sea, we opened some nice champagne and clinked glasses to Martins 21st! We hiked for about an hour on the path along the cliff and found a rock where we enjoyed the sun for a while. To refresh ourselves we had a seat at the bar of the aquarium, which is situated on the beach and had a funny drink. It was like a little aquarium that one uses when one buys a fish at the pet shop to carry it home in. The drink was bright blue, had lots of ice cubes in it and two plastic pipes for the two of us. To round the day off we went to a lovely Pizzeria.
During the last few days we were very busy planning our trips. We had reserve accommodation in the lodges, find airstrips, where we can refuel. With the little Cessna 152 we have to refuel all three hours, so we have to make quite a few stops and a lot of airstrips don’t have fuel. We have figured out a nice trip now, but the preparations are very complicated. We are hoping for good weather now so we can take off on the 26th in the morning.
Today we were invited by a friend of Martins. He is about 40 and does his commercial pilot licence on the helicopter. We had a really nice time with him, his wife, his kids and a couple, who are friends of theirs with their kids. We had a braai and lots of interesting discussions.
We wish you all a Merry Christmas!

A beautiful flight!

Yesterday we made a beautiful flight with the Cessna 152 "Papa India Charly". Martin had actually been planning to fly to Beaufort West, but then the clouds formed over the mountain range and he decided to head towards Mosselbay. We did an unmanned airfiel procedure, a "touch and go" on the Mosselbay airfield, flew to Riversdale, where we made a circle to have a proper look at it and then flew in the direction of the ocean, because it was my wish to fly along the sea shore for as long as possible. We diecovered a magnificent beach and circled over it to lose some height. At the lowest point I fealt like I was touching the water. The water is really turquoise and it is so great to see it from so close!

A lot going on...

Martin came back from his exams on Wednesday late in the evening. On Thursday Fiona (my best friend from my exchange year from Cape Town) came to visit us with three of her friends. They had been in Plettenberg Bay and were on their way back to Cape Town. It was so nice to see her again. We talked a lot, cached up on things that had happened in our lives and had some Spaghetti. Just after they had left again, Martin and me got ready to go to George to the “End of Year Function” of the Flight Training College. It was held in a golf estate, called The Three Chameleons. We had the opportunity to either play golf or put put. We decided on the second and played with two Indians. (Just a side comment: There are a lot of Indians at the college, since the government pays them a great amount for their study, due to a lack of pilots in India.) After a speech be the director of the college, we spontaneously decided to head into town to go to the cinema. We bought tickets for We both enjoyed being at the cinema after quite a long time. On our way back we passed the Mexican restaurant we’ve been wanting to try for ages. We stopped and were spoilt by really mouth-watering nachos, pies and tortillas. It was such a nice atmosphere in this little place, there was good music and some people even danced.
On Friday we actually didn’t want to move our car, so I went to the little shop in our quarter. It is actually quite a nice shop, they even have an own bakery. When I got back the guard told me that we have to move our car from the parking space we parked it in, because the people who own it were arriving that night. We decided to go to the Lagebergmall if we had to get the engine started anyway. We got the car washed and bought a cover for it, because we really want to keep it in good condition…
On Saturday we drove to the Red Berry Farm. They have a magnificent shop of homemade jams, cheese, liquors, biscuits… and obviously strawberries. We enjoyed sitting outside in the sun and had some chips and strawberries among lots of peaceful holidaymakers.
On Sunday we just relaxed at out pool. It was a beautiful, sunny day. We made a walk in the area, down to the DVD shop and back along the railway track with the view over the sea and Mosselbay.
On Monday I had my first flight! That was such an amazing experience. We taxied from the hangar to the fuel bay, where Martin refuelled the Cessna 150 called “Foxtrot November Yankee” through the wing with a little staircase. He got in contact with the tower to get the permission to take off. We started the flight by flying exactly the route we normally drive, which was nice, because it looks so different from above. I loved being in this little plane, as I could see everything so clearly from the low altitude. We flew over our complex and then headed inlands, passed Mosselbay, saw Albertinia and Riversdale from above. It was amazing to see the landscape change from a green farmland area with lots of little lakes to a desert like ground and then the steep mountain range. After flying over a Grand-Canyon-like landscape we reached Oudtshoorn, where we landed. We took a short break and then headed back to George. Flying is so great and I can understand Martins passion for it now.
Yesterday we had our night out… We drove to Mosselbay to the cinema. We had never been there before and found out that it is a very nice place. We then drove to the centre, where I had seen a restaurant, when I drove through Mosselbay with Nita. We sat outside in a warm sea breeze and enjoyed lovely Pizza with stuffed crust. Mosselbay is so different than George, because it is much more touristy, there are lots of young couples and many little restaurants, bars and places to go dancing. We will definitely do that soon…;-)

The start of the holiday season...

Yesterday was my last day at the playschool before the big holidays of six weeks. A boy had his birthday party. After receiving lots of presents from all the kids and having to point out the boy or girl it was from, he blew the candles of his "Madagascar" cake. Kids here always get beautifully decorated rectangular cakes with a Princess or a Fairy or any kind of movie scene on it. This decoration is made out of custard, sugar or marzipan. The cake itself is a very plain biscuit. The kids enjoyed themselves playing; I talked to Brenda and Jessica, the two girls working with me at the school. Parents came to pick up their children at 10:30 already, since the school closed early before the holidays. I must admit that I was a bit sad when I left. I like being with all these kids, watching them play, doing play tough with them or puzzles, helping them to eat their lunch, making them feel better when they cry, hearing their stories...
I drove to a shopping centre where Martin guessed they could help us with our computer problem. Our laptop hadn’t been working anymore for a few days because it wouldn't charge anymore. There was no contact from the cable to the computer. I left it at the shop to have it tested and drove to the gym to do some cycling. Fortunately they were able to figure out the problem, I had to buy a new power supply unit and drove back home to Martin.
He had been studying all day for his upcoming exams next week Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. He was glad that I came back with the fixed computer, since he has exam questions and mock exams on it that are extremely useful for his studies. While he went through them, I started with the Christmas decoration. I had chosen red and golden balls, stars and cones, which I hang on our broad window in the living room. Finally we get a bit of a Christmassy feeling in our apartment...

Diaz Beach

Despite all the studying Martin still has to do until his tests next week we had to go shopping yesterday. We hadn’t gone for quite a while and the list was bursting and the fridge and cupboards were nearly empty. We drove down to the Langeberg Mall in Mosselbay and started cancelling items from the shopping list, while piling them into our trolley. Before we realised one and a half hours had passed..
Before driving back home Martin wanted me to see Diaz Beach. This is the tourist area of Mosselbay. There are huge hotel complexes and there is a beautiful beach. We sat down on a lawn to enjoy the sea. Kids were swimming, even though the wind was blowing quite strongly. Martin pointed out an island to me, called Seals Island. The island is really crowded with seals. This is the reason why swimming in this bay is more relaxed than at any other place in our area. The sharks eat the seals here and don’t come to the shore where people swim. Pilots don’t swim in the ocean in this area because one can see the sharks so clearly from above. Sitting there watching the sea and all the holiday makers made us feel like being on holiday ourselves…

Rain and a wonderful schoolplay...

It has been raining for two days and nights without a stop. There is a strong wind that also brings sand from the beach and creates a very thunderstormy atmosphere. The weather has changed from one extreme to the other. Last week helicopters flew around like crazy carrying huge water bags to the area where the fire threatened to burn of the whole vegetation and now we are close to a big flood! This is really unbelievable. Martin just left for his lectures and I really hope he comes back safely. On our way to George there is the Great Brak River, a broad, meandering river that is on sea level. The houses and streets are nearly on the same level as the river and when it rains a lot, this region floods very quickly. If this happens tonight, Martin won't be able to cross it. This river is also very important to Martins flying, as a matter of fact. Since one can see it so clearly it has been defined as the border of the radio controlled area of the tower of George. So when Martin flies over it he has to report to the tower.
On Tuesday we had our Christmas concert at the playschool. All the girls wore bluish dresses with headscarves and the boys wore brown tunics. The older kids told the bible story "the loaves and the fished", after that they all got up, stood in a circle and sang a few songs. They were really good! The small playschool was packed with parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters! Luckily the rain didn't start jet, even though the sky was pitch black and announced it. So Father Christmas came and gave presents to the kids and sweeties. The families had brought picnics along with them, so we just sat there peacefully for a while.

Perfect weather...

Today is the third perfect day in a row. Previously it had always been very sunny at times, but then it rained, was foggy and windy in turns. Now the summer has really come to South Africa. The sky is bright blue each morning when we wake up and the sun shines the whole day. Perfect weather for the beach. Still we are staying at home at the moment to give Martin the oportunity to study very hard. He will write his exams in two weeks time already! After that we will start exploring the country by plane. We look so much forward to that!
Yesterday in the afternoon I had Nita come for coffee. It is so nice to talk to her. It is really nice that I get along with her so well, she is so out-going and fun to chat to.

Typical South African

When one stays in a country for some time, one makes observations that a tourist might not realise. In South Africa, there are no park benches, so there is no possibility to just sit down somewhere. Either you sit on the grass or on a wall or you take a seat in a café.
It’s amazing to watch people “work”. If there are ten guys working, one actually shovels and the nine other watch him do it. Still houses are finished in no time and the region where we live will be full of houses until we leave South Africa again.
When you go shopping, you don’t have to pack your groceries into bags yourself, there is always somebody, who does this for you and puts it back into a trolley so that you can pack them into your boot without much effort.
At a petrol station you don’t have to get out of the car. You just tell the guy how much petrol you want or for how many rands he should fill up your tank and he does it for you.
The last three examples all show how this country tries to occupy as many people as possible. We have the feeling that a lot of people building houses just come there in the morning and ask for a job.
You should see how people are transported. On the back of a rover there are usually several people, without belt or anything. The police doesn’t stop people from doing that, so we suppose that this is allowed.
One thing that one can’t experience in Switzerland are the skies! They are always so magnificent. During the day one sees it clustered with various clouds at the same time. Sometimes one side is pitch black and the other is light blue. On one side we have the sea and on the other side we have a mountain range, so there are days where there is a strip of cumulus clouds just above the mountains. The sunsets are always so special; they fill the whole sky with pink clouds and create such a magnificent atmosphere. Trees show their black silhouettes in front of the red sun. The mystical play of the sun rays is mirrored in the ocean. The evenings here really are fantastic.

Cessnas and Strawberries

Today we drove down to Mosselbay to get the "Papa Papa Delta". This is the airplane that Martin had to leave there on Saturday. The plane is actually called PPD, but in the radio alphabeth, which I find really funny, one sais the letters this way... While Martin checked the plane from outside, I climbed into a little cessna for my first time. I was surprised how small it actually is in there. The seats are so close together that you tough each others while sitting there. It was such a cool feeling to sit in there for the first time. Martin who had been checking the wings suddenly shouted: "You must come and see this. Things like that could only happen in Africa!" I couldn't believe it; there was a perfect birds nest in the engine! After all the checks outside, Martin climbed in, did a few checks there before he taxied to the runway and took off! I really can't wait to go with him. I drove of with our beautiful BMW.
Before getting to work I went to the post office in Klein Brak and we have a post box now, so if you wish to send us a letter just add P.O. Box 180 to the address:
Martin Mailänder, Marianne Trachsel
Casa Grande 9
Impala Weg
Reebok
P.O. Box 180
Klein Brakrivier
Mosselbay
South Africa
On the way to fetch Martin in the evening, I stopped at a strawberry farm. These little fruits look so delicious and as all the other vegetables here in South Africa, they taste great!

Martin is a private pilot!!!

Martin is a private pilot! In smooth conditions Martin took of for his private pilot test on Friday in the morning. He was tested on stalls and spins, had to show how to do a forced and precautionary landings, fly crosscountry, reading the map listening to the radio, follow their instructions and calculating his route new, if any changes appeared. He had to always radio correctly and perform all actions that a pilot has to do. He is so excited to have his licence and smiled all over the face, when I went to pick him up in the afternoon to go down to Herolds Bay. We just relaxed for a while in the warm sun and hearing the waves and Martin told me about his day. He had been so tense and nervous that he had shivered all morning and was so relieved that he actually passed his test! We went for a refreshing milkshake on this hot day. Because we had been wondering how it looks like when one gets out of this city streets we drove to the end of one. We got out of the car and crossed a field. Some strange birds flew out of the high dry grass. We went through ferns, which were just opening their leaves and through knee-high shrubs until we reached a sheer with a little mystical creek. On the rocks grew tiny white flowers. We were so surprised to find such a nice place only a few metres away from the busy town. We celebrated this special day at the Panarottis, where we had a nice Italian meal with a good glass of Rosé.
On Saturday Martin went for a flight. Suddenly I received an sms from him saying that he would fly over our house in 1 minute. I ran out to the pool because I thought that he might see me there. He made a nice circle above our house and I waved. He did really see me! It’s so strange to think that this is actually him, up in the air in this little aircraft. Soon I will fly for my first time with him! We only have to get my headset and we will take off together. I am so excited. After he had circled over our house, he planned to land in George, but the tower wouldn’t let him land because there was too much wind. He had to go land in Mosselbay instead and was picked up by a friend from the college. The plane is still there now, waiting to be picked up when the weather gets better. It is so cloudy and cold at the moment. On Sunday we just stayed at home. Martin studied hard the whole day and I sewed. It was such a quiet atmosphere and very relaxing.

About us and the county we are staying in...

The flying conditions are just perfect! Martin had two cross country flights to Oudtshoorn, Ladysmith, Riversdale and back to George on Friday with Schoeman and on Saturday on his own. The two flights were each about 3 hours and he loved them. They were beautiful from the lanscape, but still he was exhausted after them, because he has to concentrate so hard. These flights brought him a large step towards his PPL, which is now really close. He will have his pretest on the next bright day and his test on the following one, so by the end of this week he will have his licence. I can't wait for my first flight and am so excited to see this country from an other perspective. Yesterday the Springboks, which is South Africas Rugby team, played in the finals against England in France. We can now understand what is meant by the saying "sport unites", which we didn't quite understand when we were still in Switzerland. People wear the Springbok t-shirt, have South African flags painted onto their cheeks or even their whole face, carry flags with them ... they clearly indicate that they are feeling with the team. There was probably no household where the TV wasn't on to watch this importand game. For the first time we switched our TV on and watched some of the game as well They won!
Yesterday I spent the afternoon cooking. I first baked a NEw York cheese cake, which looks really nice. We haven't tried it though, because it still has to rest in the fridge. We will do that with some lovely South African tea this afternoon. I then started cutting mushrooms, aubergine, zucchinis, tomatoes, peppers, onions, garlic and basil. Can you guess what for? Lasagne! I cooked these ingredients, made a white sauce and boiled the pasta sheets, before layering them into an oven dish. We had a delicious supper with a green salad as a starter and some good South African red wine.
I love cooking and having seen "no reservations" at the cinema on Friday night made me want to improve my cooking skills and perfect them. Nice food really makes the difrence to a great lifestyle. I enjoy being able to spend so much time on cooking.

A little breakdown...

You won't believe what happened to us last weekend. In the late afternoon we drove to the Langenberg Mall where we had arranged to meet Nita (the agent who found our apartment) at five o'clock. We went into the mall to get some flowers for her and when we got back to the car we couldn't turn the ignition on. Martin tried and tried, unscrewed parts, checked all the wires and fuses, but couldn't find the mistake. So we drove to Dana Bay, where Nita and her family lives and decided to find a solution later. They live in a big house on a cliff, with a beautiful view of the sea. We sat and the balcony and talked for quite a while, before Nita and I went into the kitchen and prepared salads and Kubus (her husband) showed Martin how to prepare a South African braai. A braai is a special grill. Every apartment has one (we too, but we didn't really know how to use it). The coal takes quite a long time to get really hot. They are both Rugby fans and since it is very close to the final, which is this weekend Rugby was on on TV. It was a very relaxed atmosphere, we laughed and enjoyed ourselves. Later we ate the great, colourful salads. We had no idea how to get back to the mall, what to do with the car... But they helped us to solve the problem. The borrowed us one of their cars, which was so nice of them.
On Sunday we drove to the mall again and while I did some shopping, Martin tried again to find the mistake, but nothing was wrong, just the ignition lock didn't move. We drove around the area to find a place where we could have it fixed and found one close by. Martin phoned this guy and he told us that he will fix it on Monday, we should just leave him the key. We enjoyed a lovely vegetarian burger at Wimpy and drove home, Martin told the Flight Training College that he couldn't come on Monday and I told the plaschool that I wasn't able to get there. There is simply no way to get anywhere without a car! Nita, Kubus and their daughter came to pick up the car and we had a nice tea time.
On Monday we just stayed at home, Martin studied and I read. We were so glad that we got the car back in the afternoon so that we could drive to the college by half past 3 and Martin could start his lectures for the Commercial Pilot Licence. I went to gym in the mean time.
Today everything was back to normal again. The weather is beautiful and Martin can fly twice! We are having the care cleaned inside and outside today to make it look perfect.
We are well, apart of this little breakdown and enjoy the sunny summer close to the sea! It is so beautiful...

Summertime in South Africa...

The summer has now really started. It is nice, warm and the sun shines every day to give me the opportunity to drive to Herold's bay (a nice litttle beach close to the airport) every afternoon. One afternoon the two of us drove down and discovered moving creatures on the street. It took us some time to realise that they were huge locusts mating. Sadly a lot of people don't care about those little animals and drive over them.
While I was on the beach, enjoying the nice weather, Martin did too because he could fly a lot. He made a big step towards his PPL. We can speak of luck that he is still alive though. I had such a fright, when he told me what had happend to him and his favourite instructor Schoeman. After Martin had realised that his plane had an error, they gave the plane into repair. After repair, another pilot took the plane and did low level flights. After this flight, Martin and Shoeman got in and started doing all the checks a pilot does before departing. But the throttle just couldn't get pushed in. So Shoeman got out and started to open the whole outside of the plane and started to swear. The repair people had left a gripper inside it!!! This could have cost their lives if the gripper had gotten stuck while they were practising emergency landing on that day. I couldn't believe that something like that had happend and it seemed like a miracle to me that I was sitting in the car next to Martin.
He loves flying here in South Africa where nearly everything is allowed compared to Switzerland. Some friends heard Martin and Shoeman in the radio and told them where they are on the highway, so they flew down right over the highway and waved at them...

On Friday we had a party at the playschool. A girl had her 3rd birthday which she celebrated at the school with a jumping castle, a fairy cake, lots of presents from all the kids and painted faces. That was fun, especially because the weather was so nice.

Last night we had our night out. We went to our favourite pizza place, called Panarottis and watched a funny movie at the cinema. We love going to the cinema, especially here, where a ticket only costs 2.25 Swiss Francs. Next to the cinema is a really nice pool (billiard) place, where we played a game and enjoyed that very much.
Tonight we are invited for a braai with Nita (the agent, who found this apartment for us), her family and the secretary from the renting office, who I had spoken to a lot. We look really forward to this barbecue and our first evening in company.

just a little update...

It is so great that the weather is so sunny at the moment and that the wind is not as strong anymore as it was during the last couple of days. Martin had a splendig flying lesson yesterday, which made him so happy. He is also back with the teacher he used to have a year a go, who is a brilliant tutor and will help him make his PPL in perfect way.
I am happy at the playschool as well and I am so impressed what these kids are taught, eventhough they are still so small. In the morning when they arrive they play with toys on the carpet, but when Marianne (the teacher) clapps her hands and sais: "Clean up everybody!", it only takes a few seconds and all the toys are pur away nicely in baskets. Before they have their snack at 10 o'clock they all fold their hands, close their eyes and sing "thank you father for our food".
I can not believe that we have only been here for less than two weeks... I have gotten so used to our lifestyle here.
Last night we enjoyed a meal out at a pizza place and just chatted for a long time. Tonight we will go out to a place close to our house. We are really getting to know the place now that everything is sorted out and we are settled.

Hi everybody...

Hi everybody... We are really getting used to living in our little flat now. Today we even bought a small heater because we thought it was worth the 150 Rand not to freeze all the time when we are at home. And I got a cell phone now as well. The number is as follows: +27 76 508 29 30.
I really love the playschool I am going to every day. The Christmas play is getting better every day. The kids are making me laugh all the time and they are so cute.
Martin had a great day yesterday. You should have seen his happy face when I met him at the gym last night. In the morning he was so disappointed because the weather wasn't that great but then the sun came out and he had a beautiful flight. He is studdying so hard and I admire how he does that.
At this point we would like to thank all the people who visit our blog for all your interest. We are so happy to share a little part of our life with you and it is always so kind to get e-mails and hear from your side what you are doing...

Our first "working" day...

Our first "working" day is over. We are quite satisfied with ourselves. Martin could fly once this morning and had a lot of time to study for a test he is going to write tomorrow. He will start his commercial pilot lectures in two weeks time.
Unfortunately I still don't have my mobile phone, so he couldn't call me and tell me that he has already finished at 10 o'clock.
After I had dropped Martin off at the college, I drove to the playschool in Heatherlands. Because I didn't find it at first, I drove around and could get a picture of the surrounding area. It's quite upmarket with nice locked-up villas. The playschool serves the needs of the mothers living in these houses. They don't work and mostly have a nanny but drop their kids off at playschool in the mornings, while they go shopping or go to gym.
Marianne Franklin, the woman in charge of the school is a really kind lady, as are the two women working with her. There are 24 kids aged between 2 and 4 years. At the moment, they are learning little sentences and songs for a christmas play. Since the school holidays start on the 1st of December they will do this play a bit before Christmas.
Had I known that Martin was already waiting for me when I left the playschool just after 12, I would have gone to fetch him. Instead I rushed to the Garden Route Mall intending to get my phone, which wasn't there...
We had a good first day, are quite tired though and are looking forward to a good nights sleep. As there is no heating in our apartment, no isolation and the weather still quite chilly, we are a bit cold. We are looking forward to the summer when the weather is better and Martin can also fly a bit more...

A beautiful walk...

After having been to gym, we feel so much fitter. It really is great! After having done our exercises we could even relax in a vapour bath and take a leisurely shower!
We just came back from a beautiful walk in our quarter and took some photos of the sea to show you how nice it is here. We picked the perfect time, just before sunset. It shone directly into the white waves. We were amazed at all the flowers and bushes that grow here. There is such a wide variety almost unbelievable if you don’t see it with your’s own eyes… We even saw two cute little birds with white stripes and wondered what kind they might be. The light brown sand of the beach reaches all along the seaside and is so inviting for a long barefoot walk. Something we would like to do very soon…

Attention!

Just a quick remark. For some reason I cannot open my hotmail-address, so please send all the e-mails to martin.marianne.george@gmail.com. And could you do me the favour and resend the e-mails you have already sent within the past few days to the address mentioned above. Thank you so much!

We are getting settled...

We are really getting settled at our little place now. There are towels in the bathrooms, there is fruit in a bowl on our bar, the fridge is filled. By the way, we were so impressed at the offer for vegetarian meat. We've tried some saussages and hamburgers and they are really good...
Yesterday was such a nice day. We actually just stayed at home to give Martin enough time to study air law. He might have to do all the exams for the PPL (Private Pilot Licence) again because everything has changed since last year. So at the moment he is busy studying and catching up on all the stuff.
Our old BMW drives really well and it is in quite a good condition but we still took some time to get it cleaned and stop the rubber gaskets from brittling away. Martin sprayed them with a special oil and he also checked all the locks, which don't open and close as smooth as we would like them to. I cleaned the ceiling inside the car which was full of stains.
In the evening we drove to the beach closest to us (3 minutes) and enjoyed the beautiful view of the ocean. There was a light breeze and it was a warm evening. Martin also took me to Herold's Bay which is a stunning bay close to George. We sat there for quite a while looking at the waves, the sun, shining brightly into the red rocks covered with green bushes.
Before driving to town, we stopped at a big gym and signed up for a year. This gym looks fantastic, there is also a big pool, a sauna, obviousely lots of treadmills and fitness tools. They also offer classes like dancing, aerobics, fitness... We are planning to go there at least twice a week.
We then drove pass the Medi Clinic, which seems to be a great hospital, to George, where we bougth two cinema tickets for "Ratatouille". We loved this movie, it was so cute. The kind of movie that has got a lot of humour but still some sense, is unpredictable and just great! You have to go and see it!
When we got home, Martin had another chance to study, while I cooked a late night supper.
It's great to be here and we love to welcome everyone who would like to come and visit us. There is so much we would like to show you and share with you!

We've arrived!!!

We have arrived! Finally we report to you from George! Everything is fine. We arrived as planned in George on Thursday afternoon, where Wollie (who sold the old BMW to Martin) handed Martin the car keys of his personal car, so we could drive to Mosselbay. On our way we met Nita, who is the agent of Just Letting, the agency through which we got our apartment. Following her we reached our apartment building "Casa Grande" in Reebok. The apartment is really beautiful and the pictures hadn't promised us too much. We even have the view of the sea! After we had brought our stuff upstairs, we went out to have Pizza at a really lovely place. Yesterday and today we were running around the whole day to get the things missing in the apartment, buy grocaries, get the Internet connection, which costed us a furtune, but isn't even that fast, opening an account, settling all the papers connected with the car... This evening was the first time we could really sit down in our apartment and enjoy it. Martin got went pass the Flight Training College today and will start his lessons on Monday. I will also start on that day. But before that Martin still has to teach me to drive this oldtimer as it seems to be quite difficult... We are very well, happy and relieved that we could get so many things done within these few days. We even got Martins mobile phone number: +27 76 508 54 18.
The weather is sunny and hot and we are both very happy...

We've checked in...

This morning we packed up everything and met at the airport at 11 o'clock. After some repacking we could hand in our bags at the check-in desk and received our boarding cards. For the last time we drove to Winterthur together and walked through the town where we used to spend so much time during schooltime. The last evening with our families, before we meet each others at nine o'clock at the passport control and fly far far away to Africa...

Celebrations and parties before we leave...

On Friday we celebrated Martins promotion to lieutenant at the Casino in Berne. In the evening we went to the magnificent dance at the Palace Hotel in Lausanne, which Martin had organised. It was simply perfect: The salon was decorated with shinig candles, a band played beautifully throughout the evening, we had a delicious 5-course menu, funny entertainment and danced until the last dance. It was such a stunning evenig and I can only congratulate and admire Martin for having planned this whole evenig so perfectly. I felt so spoilt and will always think back at this day as one of the most special days in my life!
Yesterday evening Stefanie organised a surprise party for Martin, where family and friends came to say good-bye to him and also me. She had prepared a colourful Apéro-table with all Martin's favourite food. It was such an enjoyable and cosy evening.
Today we will have my farewell at our house in Winterthur.
We are both very busy with the last preparations and with trying to get everything we would like to take with us to South Africa into one suitcase of 20 kg.
Only one day left until we leave...

our postal address

If you feel like sending us a letter or something, here is our postal address in Mosselbay...
Casa Grande 9
Impala Weg Reebok
Klein Brakriver
Mosselbay
We are always happy to receive messages from dear friends and family...;-)

only a week left in Switzerland...

The time is moving closer quickly... only one week left and we will be off to South Africa for one year. Nothing can possibly stand in our way now. We have rented a beautiful apartment in Mosselbay, bought an old BMW from the 70ies, Martin has got place at the Flight Training Center in George and I am able to work at the Heatherlands Playschool in George as volunteer...