"Ons Vir Jou SuidAfrika"

Thursday (Feb 9)

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast on the train and continued reading and relaxing until we reached Pretoria Station (hard life, I know).

At Pretoria Station, Uncle Marius was there to greet us. Again, it is SUCH a nice feeling to see the friendly face of a family member who you haven't seen for a while when you return to South Africa. Uncle Marius then gave us a quick tour of Pretoria by car -- church square and the Paul Kruger statue -- as we headed to the Blue Crane Restaurant for a quick bit to eat. Aunt Ilze ended up joining us on her lunch break since she works fairly close by. The restaurant is situated overlooking a lake with some really nice birdlife.

After lunch, we headed to the Voortrekker Monument to learn some Afrikaans history. We met our guide in front of the monument, a middle aged Afrikaaner women who misheard Uncle Marius introduce himself and called him "Mario" for the duration of tour (to our entertainment). She proceeded to give us an expansive history of the Afrikaaner people starting with Jan van Riebeeck landing in the Cape to the Battle of Blood River while throwing in some information about the history of the monument and details about its architecture. She also spiced up the tour by including some of her own political commentary as well (again to my entertainment). My favorite part of the tour was when she was finished -- ha, just kidding :) I actually really enjoyed her leading us through the marble panels on the inside of the monument that depicts the journey of the voortrekkers and struggles they had to face to find a land they could call their own. I know this is a significant part of my history as an Afrikaaner and I appreciated learning more about it.

After our tour, we had the opportunity to go to the top of the monument where we had a really nice view of Pretoria -- the union buildings, freedom park, and Unisa (from where Mamma received her Masters). We also got to see the cenotaph. On December 16 ever year, the sun comes through the roof of the monument and lights the words inscribed on the cenotaph -- "Ons Vir Jou SuidAfrika." December 16 is still observed by the descendents of the voortrekkers today to remember the Battle of Blood River.

It was then time to head back to Uncle Marius' house in Ifafi for dinner. We stopped at Jasmyn along the way to pick up a few things and got the chance to appreciate the view of Hartebeespoort dam as well as the gardens surrounding the area.

We arrived at Uncle Marius' house, greeted by the ever energetic Imke, my favorite youngest cousin :) She has grown up so much since the last time I saw her! --from a small toddler to a tall, lanky young girl. After settling in, we sat outside in the garden and enjoyed a nice glass of wine while catching up with Uncle Marius and his family. Imke kept me entertained by showing me her doll who pees after drinking a bottle, how she feeds georgie and porgie cat food, and a variety of stuffed animals. Uncle Marius then got busy with braai (chicken kabobs and boerewors--yum!), so I went down to the kitchen to keep Aunt Ilze company while she made a veggie casserole and pap en sous (especially for Ben). After a delicious dinner, we showed our Sabi Sabi pictures and headed to bed.

Friday (Feb 10)

After some breakfast, Uncle Marius took us over to the Avis rental center, so we could pick up our car to drive to Heidelberg. Ben showed off his awesome South African driving skills once again as we made it safe and sound to Ouma and Oupa Krige's house in Heidelberg. I jumped out of the car and gave Oupa a big hug, and then went to find Ouma in the garden where she was cutting a rose for to put in our room -- so sweet :) It was so nice to be there in the summer and see Ouma's garden in bloom. It was beautiful. After some tea, Aunt Adele popped over, and we all had a nice light lunch together. Then, she, Mom, Dad, and Ben left to check out Diamante en Goud while I spent some time with Oupa and Ouma at home.

That evening Oupa braaied some boerwors, lamb chops, and toasted sandwhiches for us -- so good! He even braaied out in the rain (Dankie Oupa!). After dinner, we headed to bed in the little apartment.

Saturday (Feb 11)

The next morning I spent some time reading and relaxing while keeping Oupa and Ouma company until the Ifafi Kriges got there with the food for our Saturday family lunch. As they arrived, we helped carry all the supplies to Aunt Adele's house where we would be eating. While we waited for Dinele and Con to arrive, Imke kept me busy -- feeding the fish, feeding the chickens, playing with the cat, and keeping her way from Juliet. Once everyone was there, we sat down to an incredibly delicious meal of chicken pie, roast leg of lamb, pumpkin fritters in caramel sauce (a big favorite), veggie casserole, salad, and more! Eating delicious, traditional South African food, surrounded by the family I love -- it was the perfect way to wrap up a wonderful visit in South Africa. I didn't want to leave, but the time came that we had to head to the airport. So, we said our goodbyes and drove up to O.R. Tambo where we had one more family meeting before heading back to the states.

After checking in, we found a little cafe near the terminal to meet Marita and Stuart. I'm so glad they were able to meet us at the airport, so we could catch up. After a quick drink, we unfortunately had to say our goodbyes as we headed to passport control where we were met with incredibly long lines and complete chaos. We eventually made it through and headed to our terminal, so we could settle down and buy some last minute (duty free) gifts. Just as we are about to sit down, they announce "All Delta passengers, please proceed to the end of the terminal for security check." Are you kidding me??? ANOTHER security check? But, we go stand in line and by some stroke of luck, manage to be first in line. We proceed through this "security check" where they barely glance in your bag and give you a body pat down, and put our things down in the terminal. We leave Dad with the bags as Mom, Ben and I hurry to the closest shop to buy our gifts. We return right as our flight is about to board, and we again get stopped by the power hungry airport personell telling us we have to go through the "security checkpoint." We try and explain to them that we already have gone through their security checkpoint and we just left to buy some items in the duty free shop. One employee lets mom and me through, but I make the mistake of trying to go back for Ben :P He is having more trouble probably because he is letting these people know his frustration. Eventually, we just walk past them to our bags and they either give up trying to harass us or realize that we have already gone through their BS security checkpoint.

We finally make it aboard the plane, settle into our seats, and toast to the exceptionally wonderful vacation we had in South Africa.