We took a three hour flight from Cape Town to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe and arrived at the Ursula Homestead Lodge. Built many years ago as a private hunting camp it was named after the wife of the owner, Ursula. Later it was transformed into a lodge for visitors to enjoy the game preserve and get close to the animals, instead of hunting them. There are only 4 rooms and today we were the only guests!
There is a wide ravine in front of the property and a watering hole which attracts animals.
A giraffe appeared as we were checking in to lodge.
He has been back to visit since then.
We’ve seen many impala go by the lodge as well.
And there is a resident troop of about 30 baboons…which we think is led by this alpha male.
The parade of animals makes for a very enjoyable morning coffee experience!
Friends had recommended that we also visit the Tokara Wine Estate. On our first day in Cape Town, we bought an $8 bottle of Tokara Shiraz at the grocery store which we enjoyed at the condo during the sunsets.
Established in 2000, Tokara was named after the children of the estate owners (Tomas & Kara). The tasting room and restaurant had a very contemporary decor including original works of art.
The grounds are beautiful in the hills above the town of Stellenbosch in the Cape Wine region.
We had the 12 pm lunch reservation and enjoyed the view. Everything on the menu was under $24 and it was one of best meals we have ever had.
The menu describes this dish as “Tempura prawns with orange bisque, saffron espuma, gooseberries, crispy pancetta & candied pistachio” Yes indeed flavor combinations we had never heard of and thoroughly enjoyed!
Our enthusiastic waiters were Admire and Talent (Zoom in on their badges if you don’t believe me :). They lived up to their names. We’ll be looking for Tokara wines back home.
We drove about an hour from Cape Town to the Babylonstoren Wine Farm. Established in 1692, this is a working farm and winery which also has a hotel and shops.
Right hand drive cars in South Africa!
Traditional Cape Dutch style architecture on the property.
Jamie Lee was our charming wine tasting guide.
It was a very reasonable $5 to sample 3 reds. All were delicious.
The next day we drove south along the coastline to Boulders Bay, the home of a colony of African Penguins. We continued driving further south to the Cape Point Lighthouse and the Cape of Good Hope. Along the way we encountered roaming baboons on the roadside, ostriches and some eland (horned animals). We got much more than we bargained for!
After two long flights from Dallas – Doha (Qatar) – Cape Town, we were happy to get off the plane and rent a car to drive 30 minutes to our AirBnB on Bantry Bay. It is great to see and hear the ocean!
The three days of the convention had flown by as we were not only encouraged by the program but also by the association with so many wonderful brothers and sisters.
We were excited to hear that 164 were baptized and that the Sunday attendance was 27,132 with another 10,000 plus tied in to our key talks at seven convention locations in Germany.
Brother Jackson delivering a talk that was translated into German and Serbian-Croation as well as transmitted to seven conventions in Germany. He is always so down-to-earth.
Mihael from Munich, Germany. The boys are shopping for the same Lederhosen before we leave Vienna!
This lovely family was very warm and friendly with all of the delegates.
There were many like this brother who had immigrated from Africa and were now serving in English Congregations in nearby countries.
Jorally from India….love the shoes!
Two of our sisters from Poland.
This brother and his family were from Igieduma, Nigeria where the Branch Office is located and where I had the privilege to serve 30+ years ago.
As the program ended, this family from Bratislava wanted to make sure we felt their brotherly love.
What a memorable and faith-strengthening experience for all of us!
As we walked away from the stadium, we came across this group of children who had rehearsed a farewell song for us. Then we found the singers from the opening night dinner doing a spontaneous rendition of the “Welcome To Vienna” song they composed for the delegates.
The refrain is “Sweet Friendship and Love is Sincere”. We agree!
After a good night’s rest, we were ready for the second day of the Convention. We felt comfortable taking the subway on our own so we left a little earlier to have more time to socialize. It had rained again during the night but was clear and cool with a high of about 66 degrees in the forecast.
The view toward the German side of the stadium and the poofy clouds in the sky. It felt more like a Spring day than a Summer one.
Beverly meeting a couple in their traditional outfits.
This sister is from Mexico.
Evan with two brothers from a nearby town in the Lederhosen.
The baptism talk was given by brother Ken Flodin from Warwick and translated into both German and Serbian-Croatian. What a special and memorable talk for these baptism candidates in the Serbian-Croatian section.
They joined the baptism candidates from the German section at the pools.
We made some small gift bags with a photo contact card and wood key fob engraved with a cowboy hat that we were happy to give to all the kids.
The fleece blanket included in our welcome bag came in handy as the breeze picked up and it started to get cool.
These two sisters sat near us. Many like them wore their traditional dresses.
A sister sat next to us whose mother from South Africa made this outfit for her.
To cap off our day, we met with Rick and Renee Oschner from Tucson for dinner at this Indian restaurant.
The day had finally arrived for the convention to start. Our hotel, the Renaissance Wien was packed with Witnesses so you can imagine the long line for the breakfast buffet. Although, as you would expect it was very orderly. The few non-Witness guests at the hotel seemed over-whelmed by the crowd. Â We were instructed to meet at 8:15 a.m. in the lobby where we found several Austrian brothers and sisters with the orange umbrellas who would guide us on the subways to the stadium.
Peter (on the right) was our guide for our two subway line connection to the stadium which took about 30 minutes.
As we got closer to the entrance of the stadium, our brothers and sisters were waiting with welcome banners along the sidewalk. How loving!
The Convention banners displayed proudly.
A panorama shot of the stadium. There were three sections: German was the largest, followed by a section for Serbian-Croatian, then English.
Here is the view from the English corner of the stadium looking toward the German side. The Serbo-Croatian speaking section is to our right. The attendance was about 26,000 total (19,000 German and the balance English and Serbian-Croatian).
Here is family; seated and ready for the convention video to begin.
This was our final open day before the start of the Convention so we decided to visit a couple of historic sites in the downtown area of Vienna. We started at Belvedere Palace which has lovely gardens and some art exhibits. It was built in the early eighteenth century by the famous Baroque architect Johann Lucas von Hildebrandt to be used as the summer residence of Prince Eugene of Savoy (1663–1736).
Here is the garden and fountain area as you approach the palace. Note the implementation of editing and transition skills in this montage thanks to iMovie. Spielberg better watch out!
The appropriately named: “Hall of Marble”
A view along the entire gardens.
This immense foyer had about a 50 foot high ceiling.
Looking up at the art in the ceiling.
Austrian artist Gustav Klimt’s work “The Kiss” is on display.
Also on display is Jacques Louis David’s iconic “Napoleon at the Great St. Bernhard Pass”
At the ornate gates to the palace grounds.
Appreciating historical sites and works of art always makes us hungry so it was time to visit Cafe Central, established in 1876, whose past regular customers include Karl Marx and Sigmund Freud.
Studying the menu and appreciating the interior decor.
The showcase in the front has all of the dessert options on display; just remember the number of your selection to give to your waiter later.
But first, it was time to have the renowned Austrian dish of Wiener Schnitzel. Simple and delicious.
An “Iced Chocolate” from the menu; a scoop of vanilla ice cream in chocolate milk with whipped cream.
All over the downtown area, our brothers (both local and international delegates) are using carts to invite the public to our Convention.
