Don Feidner

Last Update:  14 May 2015

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Arrival and Our Apartment in Windhoek

Swakopmund on the Atlantic Coast

The City of Windhoek

Walvis (whale fish) Bay

Vreugde Farm

Okapuka Ranch

Etosha National Park

Namibia by Air

033 city tour view P1260135
032 city tour castle P1260134

Our tour guide, Alexandra, with my wife, Angela

041 city tour alexandra angela P1260141
050 city Kalahari P1260150

The Kalahari Sands Hotel seems to be the main communication building in the city.

049 city ink palace P1260148

Government Admin Building: The Ink Palace

052d christ church IMG_0071
052b christ church IMG_0069
052f christ window P1260153

Note the detail in the glass windows. To the builders’ embarassment, the windows were installed backwards and had to be removed and turned around. That took an additional 6 months because the lead had to be remelted.

053 Keyring P1260154
054 Keyring P1260155

Outside the church, these very black artists were carving Makalani nuts to make key rings for the tourists - excellent detailed work.

055a Keyrings P1260224

The population here consists of 85% blacks, 10% colored (mixed) and 5% whites. It is not considered derogatory to call them that. 

057 city park IMG_0076
069 hottentot P1260165
059 city park IMG_0077

There’s not much you can do in this government park except go for a stroll or have a picnic.

065a ink palace IMG_0083

Yours Truly in front of the Ink Palace

075 windhoek IMG_0089

German Influence - Apartment Stores & Street Names

080 windhoek P1260170

Check the name of the street here. German and English mixed - Bahnhof (train station) Street. The official language in Namibia is English, then comes Afrikaans and 4 more tribal languages. The Namibians are very good at learning languages.

081 bahnhof IMG_0093

Steam Engine in front of the Windhoek Train Station

083 bahnhof danny P1260172

Military Tank Car - Note the wheel wells.

085 bahnhof IMG_0097

Rail Car Built in Germany

093 station cars P1260182
091 station schedule P1260180

Train is leaving for Walfis Bay (Whale Fish) bay at 7:55 p.m. arriving at 9 a.m. the next morning.

The trains can only travel at 24 m.p.h. because the rails are not parallel.

097 poor town P1260189
096 rail bus P1260187

Rail Bus - Bus that travels on rails.

100 poor town P1260192
105 Grove Ctr IMG_0109

Meanwhile, the relatively rich people enjoy a cappucino in a modern shopping center like this one. 

107 Frozen Yogurt P1260198

Frozen Joghurt Anyone?

131 IMG_0144 Santa Fe Spur Windhoek

Salad Anyone? At the Santa Fe Spur - an American Chain in the Modern Grove Mall

134c IMG_0152 Independence Säule N.Korean

Freedom Monument

134d IMG_0154  Independence Säule N.Korean
045 city museum P1260144
046 city museum P1260145
071 windhoek museum IMG_0085
241z P1270262 Windhoek Museum
242o P1270281 Windhoek Museum
241a P1270244 Windhoek Fidel
242g P1270271 Windhoek Museum
242i P1270273 Windhoek Museum
242k P1270276 Windhoek Museum
242p P1270282 Windhoek Museum
243a P1270287 Windhoek Museum

View of the City from the Museum

243c P1270289 Elephant Carving

Tree Stump Carved into a Twisted Elephant

243e IMG_0523 Fig Drink

It’s hot outside about 80° F

243g IMG_0525 Don Mango Drink
244e IMG_0531 Sheep Goats

Click here to continue to the Vreugde Farm

The City of Windhoek, Namibia

From a lookout above the city.

035 city tour windhoek IMG_0060

Not a cloud in the sky.

036 city tour windhoek IMG_0061
040 city tour angela P1260139
041 city tour church P1260140

Namibia is about 97% Christian, so there is no problem with Islamic radicalism in this country.

051 city Kalahari communication P1260149
052a city chriist church P1260147

Christ Church is a Lutheran church built by the Germans in 1907. The cornerstone shows 11 August.

052e christ window P1260152
052g christ ruebens IMG_0074

A highlight on the inside is this lovely painting by Reubens of Lazarus being raised from the dead.

055 Keyring P1260156
056 city park IMG_0075
058 city hottentot P1260157

Hottentot The Dutch who settled in Namibia gave these people this name. Today, they are called Khoekhoe because Hottentot was considered to be derogatory.

062a city angela IMG_0079
060 city park P1260158

Christ Church across the park.

070 tree IMG_0084

Leberwurst (liver sausage) Tree :-)

076 windhoek IMG_0090
074 kudu P1260166

This kudu stands like a god before the judicial buildings.

082 bahnhof P1260171

Old Steam Boiler

087 bahnhof steam engine P1260175

It took 4 of these steam engines to get freight up the mountain to Windhoek.

094 station inside P1260185

Inside the passenger cars, it is relatively modern.

090a station P1260184

All Aboard

104 grilling P1260195

An unattractive feature in Namibia. These tin huts with no windows are, in fact, homes - shelters - with no water, no electricity, nothing. Don't believe the people here are necessarily poor. Notice the satellite dishes. The working papa pulls up his car, and connects the car battery to the TV, which the family, huddled in their tin box watches with glee. Strangely, the people who live here are mostly happy and positive. 

101 poor town P1260193

No, they don’t live in these boxes, they only sleep in them. Their life is outside where everything takes place, washing, eating, selling, buying, cooking, as you can see here.

103 poor town P1260194
106 Grove Ctr IMG_0111
129 monkey nuts CIMG2653

Or maybe you would like some Monkey Nuts (Peanuts - for those of you who don’t understand Namibian.)

132 Impuls Kauf

In the grocery store, before you get to the cashier, you have to go through this “tunnel of impulse items” in an attempt to get you to buy more things on impulse. Many people fall for this little marketing trick.

134b IMG_0151 Independence Säule N.Korean

This Column of Independence was
built by the North Koreans.

From 1884, Namibia was a German colony known as German South-West Africa. After the First World War, the League of Nations mandated South Africa to administer the territory. Following World War II, the League of Nations was dissolved in April 1946 and its successor, the United Nations, instituted a Trusteeship system to bring all of the former German colonies in Africa under UN control. South Africa objected arguing that a majority of the territory's people were content with South African rule.

Legal argument ensued over the course of the next twenty years until, in October 1966, the UN General Assembly decided to end the mandate, declaring that South Africa had no other right to administer the territory and that henceforth South-West Africa was to come under the direct responsibility of the UN.

Namibia became independent on 21 March 1990.
.

241b P1270245 Windhoek Museum
241e P1270247 Windhoek Museum
241j P1270251 Windhoek Museum

The story of Namibia is one of supression and the fight for independence.

241k P1270252 Windhoek Museum
242c P1270265 Windhoek Museum

Namibia’s connection with Cuba, North Korea and the Russia is a matter of concern to the modern countries

242b P1270264 Windhoek Museum
242f P1270270 Windhoek Museum
242j Windhoek Museum (2)
242m P1270278 Windhoek Museum

The memories of war and the fight for independence are kept here in this North Korean-built museum.

243b P1270288 Bushmen

In the city are reminders of the Kalahari Desert and the surrounding territory. Here, two bushmen.

243c P1270290 Windhoek Tower - Kopie

German Style Tower in the City Center

244c IMG_0528 Sheep Goats
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