Travel – Willem's Planet

April 14, 2025April 14, 2025

Monday/ stamps from Japan 🇯🇵

I bought these sheets of stamps at the post office museum shop high up in Skytree tower in Tokyo in 2018.

These pages will go into my ‘World Travels’ stamp album.

January 23, 2025January 31, 2025

Thursday/ the camera has landed 📷

I left my camera behind in my hotel room in Cape Town on Monday of last week. I had it picked up at the hotel, and shipped back to me.
(Thanks for the help, Chris!)

I think this was the last straw: this camera stays home next time I go on an overseas trip.
I need a light, compact travel camera that can go into my backpack.

Here it is, the big camera with a big, heavy lens on, to boot. (Not shown in the picture is the padded camera bag that the camera was shipped in, bubble-wrapped inside the bag.
I checked the route that the camera took to get to me from Cape Town, and it looks like this:
Picked up in **Cape Town, South Africa**.
Arrived at DHL Sort Facility in **Amsterdam, The Netherlands**.
Arrived at DHL Sort Facility in **Leipzig, Germany**.
Arrived at DHL Facility **East Midlands, UK**.
Arrived at DHL Facility, **London-Heathrow, UK**.
Arrived at DHL Sort Facility, **Los Angeles Gateway, CA**.
Arrived at DHL Sort Facility, **Seattle, WA**.
Landed on **Willem’s porch**. (Landed in my hands, that is. I had to sign for it).

January 17, 2025January 31, 2025

Friday afternoon/ east, west, home best 🏡

The world traveler is home.

**Departure at Munich International Airport.**
We were bused out to the Airbus 350-900 sitting on the tarmac, so that we could clamber aboard with the stairs. Let me just stipulate that the guys wearing t-shirts may create the impression that we had summer weather out there. We did not— it was freezing!

A last look at the fuselage before I step into the warm airplane.

Making the turn onto the runway for take-off.

Halfway into the 10-hour flight, and we are over the north of the giant slab of ice called Greenland.

Somewhere over Canada, with about two hours to go to Seattle.

**Arrival at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport.**
We were international arrivals, and so we walked across the skybridge to the baggage claim and passport control, which is where I stopped to take this picture.
Our flight waited a little bit for our luggage, and then found it on the baggage claim carousel next to ours, for the flight from Frankfurt that arrived about the same time as ours. Then it was on to the Global Entry kiosk for me. There the was **no line**, and it took literally a few seconds for the face-recognition system to greenlight my entry into the United States. This way out, said an official, and that was it. So no passport stamp needed, no passport, no nothing. (Registering for Global Entry does cost $120 for a five-year membership.)

January 17, 2025January 18, 2025

Friday morning/ at the flughafen 🛫

I am at Munich International Airport, and will be heading home in just an hour or so.

It’s a 45-min train ride from central Munich to the airport. Cost €16.
I could have taken a taxi or an Uber (for €100), but the train is more fun. Our train was split in two at Neufarn station and the front part went to Freising and the back part to the airport (I was in the right part of the train!). There is a split in the train track.

Checking for my departure at the arrivals hall for train passengers .. 11h40 to Seattle, out of Terminal 2.

The view from the 6-th floor public observation deck.

January 16, 2025

It was my last day in Munich, and I ran out to Marienplatz one more time with the streetcar.
It was just about noon, and the glockenspiel* on the townhall’s clock tower played to a smattering of on-lookers that risked getting frostbite on their fingertips as they held up their phones to record a video of it. (I was one of them).
From Marienplatz I went to a few beautiful U-bahn stations on the U1 line to take pictures.

*The Rathaus-Glockenspiel is a large mechanical clock located in Marienplatz square, in old town Munich. Famous for its life-size characters, the clock twice daily re-enacts scenes from Munich’s history.

Here is a jousting scene depicted by the glockenspiel. One of the knights was mortally injured, and falls backward on the horse.

These enormous and dramatic lamp scones are at Westfriedhof on the U1 line.

And I made this yellow one appear to sit on top of the SOS pillar.

On the far end of the U1 line is the Olympia-Einkaufszentrum station. There are huge metal studs that line the wall, creating a spaceship-futuristic look.

Nearby, and also on the U1 line, is Oberwiesenfeld station with a black and white tile pattern on the one side ..

Candidplatz on the south end of the U1 line is painted in the colors of the rainbow.

January 15, 2025January 18, 2025

Wednesday/ snow on the ground 🌨️

It started snowing at around 8 am this morning here in Munich, but it could not have been more than an inch an or so, from what I could tell.

I used the Line 19 streetcar again to get Hauptbahnhof (the main train station), and from there, ran out to Odeonsplatz and a comic book store on Fraunhoferstrasse.

The view from my hotel room (using my phone’s 5x zoom to zoom in on the Deutsche Bahn train maintenance station) at 8 this morning.

Here comes the Line 18 streetcar, at Am Lok-schuppen station.

At **Sendlinger Tor station**, I stepped off the streetcar and went underground to the U-bahn.
(The sidewalk surfaces were treacherous with the snow and ice, and there were no pedestrian crossings to speak of. Then I realized that is the other use of any U-bahn station: it’s an under passage for pedestrians to get from one side of an intersection to the other).

Here is **Odeonsplatz**, named for the former concert hall, the Odeon, on its northwestern side. The church is the Theatine Church of St. Cajetan and Adelaide (German: Theatinerkirche St. Kajetan und Adelheid)— a Roman Catholic church. It was consecrated 11 July, 1675.

Taking a closer look at the heraldic elements in the center (the lions and the white-and-blue checkered pattern is taken from the coat of arms of Bavaria).

Here is the nearby Hofgarten (Eng. ‘Courtyard garden’), established in 1613.

Back inside the **Sendlinger Tor** U-bahn station. I love the giant white saucer-shaped light fixtures.

This is a comic book store called **Comic Company** near Fraunhoferstrasse station.
I bought used three comic books for all of Є8.40. More books to weigh down my luggage but hey, I was still 10+ pounds under the weight limit with both my suitcases when I checked them in at Cape Town.

By the time I hopped off the Line 18 streetcar close to my hotel, the snow had started to melt.

January 14, 2025January 14, 2025

Tuesday/ a cold day in Munich 🥶

I put on full kit and kaboodle this morning, before venturing out in the frigid weather. I limited my excursions outside to Hauptbahnhof and Marienplatz.
(The day started at -7 °C and the high briefly reached 0°C.)

The **Line 19** street car stops almost in front of my hotel, at **Am Lok-schuppen station**.
I used it to run out the **Hauptbahnhof** (main station), and to Marienplatz. There is a ticket machine on the street car– very convenient, and only €11,10 for a Zone 3 day ticket.
There is not much of the Hauptbahnhof buildings visible from the street, because of a major construction-refurbishment project that is underway.

**Marienplatz** and its ‘new’ town hall. New is a relative term here. Marienplatz has been the city’s main square since 1158. I took this picture from inside the Hugendubel bookstore on the square.

Taking a closer look at the clock tower of the town hall.

Inside the U-bahn station by Marienplatz. This track serves the trains running on the U3 and U6 lines.

Here are the platforms at the **Münchner Freiheit** U-bahn station.

Now I’m back at Marienplatz, and the sunlight that had added a few degrees to the chilly temperatures is fading fast. So it is getting really cold again.

The iconic town towers of the **Frauenkirche** nearby Marienplatz. This church was constructed from 1468–1488.

Volt Germany is a social-liberal pro-European, eurofederalist political party in Germany.
A federal election will be held in Germany on 23 February 2025 to elect the 630 members of the 21st Bundestag.
Check out this poster.
**LET’S TAKE BACK THE FUTURE— with a strong Europe against Trump and Putin.**

Sunset here is at 4.48 pm. I have just stepped off the street car at Am Lok-schuppen station for the 3 minute walk to my hotel.

January 14, 2025January 14, 2025

Monday night/ arrival in Munich 🛬

All went well with my 11-hr flight to Munich.
It is just frightfully cold here (-5°C/ 20°F) and it made for a rough 12-minute walk from the train station to the hotel.

Stepping on board the **Airbus A350-900** Lufthansa bird at Cape Town International airport’s Terminal A.

We are about to leave the African continent that lies 41,000 ft below us— 9 hours into the 11-hour flight to Munich.

This is the **Hirschgarten** S-Bahn (regional) railway station.
I had just stepped off the train from Munich airport, a 40 minute train ride.

January 13, 2025January 14, 2025

Monday morning/ Munich bound ✈️

It was time on Monday morning to squeeze everything into my suitcases and backpack, and head for Cape Town International Airport to catch the Lufthansa flight to Munich.

Two views from my hotel room window: from sunset Sunday night, and from early Monday morning.
In the distance, the mountains are from left to right: Table Mountain, Lion’s Head and Signal Hill.

January 13, 2025January 14, 2025

Sunday/ in Stellenbosch 🍇

My brother and I ran out to Stellenbosch University (our alma mater) on Sunday.
We stopped at the Faculty of Engineering, at Dagbreek Men’s Residence and at the Neelsie Student Centre.

A major remodeling of the main wing of the Faculty of Engineering is underway.

The buildings for the individual departments of the Faculty of Engineering look a little different from 40 years ago, with lettering and new windows. The engineering library is now called the ‘knowledge center’ (Afr. kennissentrum). Hmm.

A little house remodeled into offices, across from the Faculty of Engineering.

Here’s Victoria Street in summer time, with the trees a neon green, and the sky azure blue. The historic dormitories of Stellenbosch University as well as administrative buildings are found here.

The tennis courts where I had spent countless hours playing on as a student, are still there, as is **Helshoogte Men’s Residence**, and **Simonsberg mountain** in the distance.

The **Neelsie Student Centre** is quiet now, but will be abuzz with students come February when the new academic year gets underway.

**Red Square*** (Afr. Rooiplein) with its sun dial.
*Officially, it is the Jan Marais Square. A long time ago, though, students jokingly started calling the Administration Building nearby the ‘Kremlin’ because the notice boards (where exam results and class marks were pinned up) would declare their fate as a students. So this is a tongue-in-cheek reference to the main city square in Moscow that is the real Red Square.

January 12, 2025January 12, 2025

Saturday/ around Mossel Bay 🏖️

It was time to drive back from Plettenberg Bay to Cape Town on Saturday.
I stopped at my uncle and aunt in Mossel Bay, and took a few pictures around downtown and the beaches.

The town of **Mossel Bay** lies on a outcrop called The Point, about 2 hours’ drive west from Plettenberg Bay. This is where Portuguese mariner and becoming the first European navigator to round the southern tip of Africa.
In recent years it has become a very popular destination for retirees and for younger people moving from South Africa’s northern provinces to the Western Cape province.

Here’s the sands and calm waters of **Santos Beach** that has just a hint of surf.

The boat and water sport enthusiasts hang out on the other end of the beach, where there is a **launch ramp** for fishing boats and other craft.

The ‘**Stone Church**‘ (Afr. Klipkerk) of the Dutch Reformed Church on Church St in downtown.
The cornerstone was laid in 1878 and the church was consecrated in 1880.

Further down on **Church Street** the blue water of the bay come into view.

The **Prince Vintcent Building** on Bland Street dates back to 1901. It hosts architects offices, cafes, bakeries and studios.

The St Blaize Terrace building from 1909 is on Marsh Street near The Point.

Nearby is this beautiful building for **the old The Point High School** (which now houses **Milkwood Primary School**).
Keating & Co did the construction, also in 1909. The stones were quarried in the hills and transported with cocopans on the rails to the school. Different stones were used: dark pink stones contrasts with the sandstone around the windows.

This tide pool is across from **The Point Caravan Park**.

January 10, 2025January 10, 2025

Friday/ Jukani wildlife sanctuary 🦁

These pictures are from our visit to Jukani wildlife sanctuary this morning.

The encampments are reasonably large, and in almost all cases the animals are from zoos or from situations where they will no longer survive in the wild.

Animals in the pictures: Burchell’s zebra, springbok, lion, mountain lion, Siberian tiger, caracal, brown hyena.

January 9, 2025January 10, 2025

Thursday 👺

Here is a selection of photos du jour.

There was no palm tree at this beach house that belonged to my family thirty years ago. My dad sold it in 1996 and some time after that it was turned into a self-catering guest house.

The 6-story atrium inside the **Beacon Isle hotel**.

This is a **western cattle egret** (Bubulcus ibis).

A decorative mask from Ghana, for sale in the Global Village art store here in Plettenberg Bay for US $184.

January 8, 2025January 9, 2025

Wednesday/ the Knysna waterfront ⚓

Knysna is a town on the Garden Route and 33 km (20 miles) west of Plettenberg Bay on the N2 national route.

The pirate ship on the Knysna waterfront offers a bar and snacks, and trips around the Knysna estuary up to The Heads and then back again for sunset.

There are many other kinds of watercraft in the marina, of course.

This is a view from a restaurant called Drydock Co towards the Knysna Heads: the headlands of two peninsulas that enclose and form the Knysna River Estuary.

This public art installation of bronze with a chromed finish is called “Zephyr”, and the artist is Stephan Raubenheimer.

January 5, 2025January 6, 2025

Sunday/ to Plettenberg Bay 🐚

It’s a 6-hour drive to Plettenberg Bay. We opted for the N1 national route through the Huguenot Tunnel to Swellendam, from where we took the N2 to Plettenberg Bay.

I could only take pictures of the first half of the drive, while I was the passenger and not the driver. 🤗

It’s a 6 hour drive from Cape Town to Plettenberg Bay.

Here is the entrance to the **Huguenot Tunnel**.
It is a toll road tunnel that runs through the Du Toitskloof Mountains, connecting Cape Town to the northern regions of the country.
The tunnel is 3.9 km (2.4 mi) long and it opened in March 1988.
The tunnel offers a route that is safer, faster (between 15 and 26 mins) and shorter (by 11 km/ 6.8 mi) than the old Du Toitskloof Pass over the mountain.

At the other side of the tunnel, there are beautiful scenes of the Du Toitskloof Mountains.

Soft cloud puffs and the jagged outcrops of the Du Toitskloof Mountains.

This is a railway station building in the town of **Robertson**.

The town of **Ashton** lies at the foot of the Langeberg mountain range.
This arch bridge is new (it opened in August 2021) and lies over the Cogmans Gorge River (Afr. Kogmanskloofrivier) in Ashton.

Here is **Swellendam**, the third oldest town in South Africa after Cape Town and Stellenbosch.

I found this hibiscus flower in **Riversdale**, as we made a stop to have some lunch.

This is the **N2 national highway** in the Riversdale area— even though it offers only one lane in each direction here.
We did not run into too much traffic going east, but we ran into lines of cars going in the opposite direction, heading back to Cape Town. The kids in school still have a week or two of summer recess, but maybe mom or dad will have to go back to work on Monday.

Lots of rolling hills and farmland in the **Riversdale** area.

We made it! We lost the blue skies and the sun along the way, but that’s OK. It’s just a rainy day in Plettenberg Bay and we will soon have the sun back.
This is the view from our Airbnb, of the **Keurbooms Estuary** and the beaches around **Plettenberg Bay**.

January 4, 2025January 5, 2025

Saturday/ checking out 🏨

It’s time to leave the Cape Town area, and the Airbnb that I have been staying in. My friend and I are driving up the coast to Plettenberg Bay in the morning.

I have been staying in an apartment in one of these buildings by the Tyger Waterfront in Bellville. The complex is built around an old quarry that has been transformed into a 4-hectare man-made lake with a promenade around it.

A **Cape wagtail** (Afr. Kaapse kwikstertjie, Motacilla capensis) sits on a handrail.

And this fella is a **rock hyrax** (Afr. Kaapse dassie, Procavia capensis). They are small, plump and tail-less guinea-pig-like animals, about as large as a big rabbit.

December 31, 2024January 1, 2025

Tuesday/ out goes 2024 🌇

Four of us had a great seafood dinner at the Century City mall outside of Cape Town.
As we walked outside, we caught this view of beautiful twilight colors over Table Mountain.

December 29, 2024December 30, 2024

Sunday/ in the dry dock 🚢

I stopped briefly at the Victoria & Alfred Waterfront today, to use one of the parking garages there.

This is the Robinson Dry Dock in the so-called Alfred Basin in the Waterfront, and it is the oldest operating dry dock of its kind in the world. It dates back to 1882. The foundation stone for the dock was laid by Prince Alfred, second son of Queen Victoria. Named after Governor Sir Hercules Robinson, it was used to repair over 300 ships during World War II.

The **Robinson Dry Dock** is currently occupied by research vessel DR. FRIDTJOF NANSEN, sailing under the flag of Norway.
Ships are typically dry-docked every five years for a special survey, but may also be dry-docked for inspections, maintenance, and repairs, in between.

December 28, 2024December 31, 2024

Saturday/ at the mall 🏪

There is a little Christmas market in the Tyger Valley Shopping Centre, still open for a final few days.
It’s good that it is indoors: day-time highs here were 35°C and 34°C (95°F and 93°F) on Wednesday and Thursday, and 30°C (86°F today).

The Christmas market on the lower level of the food court in the Tyger Valley Shopping Centre. The jumbotron screen (top left corner) showed what was happening in the first of two cricket tests between South Africa 🇿🇦 and Pakistan 🇵🇰.

And what happened today in the first of two cricket tests between South Africa and Pakistan that is underway in Centurion in Gauteng Province?
From espncricinfo.com:
“The first Test match at Centurion is tantalisingly poised after Pakistan took three wickets in nine overs to leave South Africa wobbling at 27 for 3, still 121 runs away from the 147-run target that seals a win, as well as a place in the 2023-25 World Test Championship [WTC] final.
After South Africa had bowled Pakistan out for 237, they needed a fairly comfortable 148 to secure victory, but an unerring spell of accurate medium-fast bowling from Mohammad Abbas and Khurram Shahzad was well rewarded. Aside from Aiden Markram, the South Africa batters were somewhat timid in their approach to the last few overs of the day, while Abbas and Shahzad targeted the pads. Abbas brought one to jag back in sharply into Tony de Zorzi for the first breakthrough.”
**Update Sun 12/29** [From espncricinfo.com] “**South Africa have qualified for the World Test Championship (WTC) final after beating Pakistan by two wickets in a high-drama encounter at SuperSport Park.** Set a modest but challenging target of 148 to win, they were 99 for 8 just before lunch and it was left to Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen to score the remaining 51 runs in a tense ninth-wicket stand against a Pakistan attack with their tails up.”

December 27, 2024January 1, 2025

Friday/ Pringle Bay beach 🏖️

Happy Friday, the last one for 2024!

These photos are from yesterday, from a little trip I made with my family to Pringle Bay.
Pringle Bay is a small, coastal village in the Overberg region of the Western Cape, in South Africa. It is situated at the foot of Hangklip, on the opposite side of False Bay from Cape Point. The town and surrounds are part of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, a UNESCO Heritage Site. [Wikipedia]