south africa: bloemfontein

It was relatively easy to get to Bloemfontein, South Africa from Maseru, Lesotho. I walked down the hill from my guesthouse in Maseru, then along the main street for a bit until I got to the exit from Lesotho.

I got the exit stamp in my passport, and was about to exit the building when someone asked if I could come with them. I was a bit worried, but didn't feel as if I had much of a choice. It turned out they simply wanted me to fill out a questionnaire about tourism in Lesotho.

It didn't take me long to answer all the questions, and at the end there was a section for comments on how tourism in general could be imporoved in Lesotho. My main suggestion was to add buses, and have them on a schedule.

They don't need a lot of buses, but my travels would've been a lot easier with a real bus schedule. As it is, there aren't many tourists in the east of the country who don't come with their own car simply because transport is so difficult.

After exiting the building, I crossed a bridge (I think the official country border was in the middle of the river.) then walked a bit further to another buiding. This one was my entry to South Africa. It was easy to get my stamp on my passport, and I was good to go again.

Out on the other side I asked someone where I could find a taxi to go to Bloemfontein. They pointed me in the right direction, and I climbed in. It was only an hour wait, then a couple hours to get to Bloem.

Though the full name is Bloemfontein, nearly everyone calls it Bloem. It is the capital of the Orange Free State, and is an administrative city.

The taxi let me out at the taxi rank. It was a new taxi rank, with good signage for anyone wanting to go anywhere else. I figured out where I was, and started walking. I walked across a good section of the city, and made my way to the place I'd booked for that night.

The place I'd booked was a detached room in a private home. The host let me in straightaway, then proceeded to give me a talking to for walking across town to get there instead of calling him for a ride. It has never occurred to me to ask for pick up service in that it's something that usually costs extra, and I'm not a fan of extra costs. I like walking, I always have. On the other hand, I know he was just thinking of my safety.

I rested up for a while, probably too long. This is a habit I need to break. I could see so much more if I would stop wasting daylight hours by 'resting.' Or at least cut down on the time I do so.

Anywho, it was actually a lot later than I wanted it to be by the time I got myself out the door and walking again. I walked for a while without really seeing much of anything. At one major intersection I saw a big mall on the opposite side of the intersection, but I didn't go in the mall at that point. I turned more toward the city center, hoping to make it somewhere interesting before dark.

That didn't really happen, oops. I saw a supermarket and decided to check it out, though it wasn't anything different than what I'd seen previously. I bought an ice cream bar, though I probably should've bought real food.

When I got to the administrative area in the middle of the city, it was dark. Fortunately there was plenty of lighting, but it still didn't feel particularly welcoming.

I was in an area where I could see the entrance to a museum, and a court building. All the buildings in this area looked sortof stately, if that makes sense.

I found a reflecting pond of sorts in one small park, and took a couple photos. Then I walked home, going back almost exactly the same way I'd come.

Since this was winter, the sunset didn't really mean the end of the day. I got home a few minutes before an arranged meeting time with friends.

When I first realized I would be in Bloemfontein for at least one night, I sent a message to one of my rugby friends from Korea whom I knew now lived here. We arranged to meet up and have a catch up and I was thrilled.

Rochelle and Liezl picked me up and we drove to the mall I'd seen earlier in the day. We spent almost two hours at a cafe, talking about anything and everything. It was really nice to see someone I know from a different part of my life, and get caugh up on everything. Plus I got to eat/drink a float made with ice cream and rooibos tea. Yum. And a piece of cake. More yum.

The next morning I took a while to get going, even though this was my only full day in the city. Argh.

That morning my host had his driver take me to the city center, the same place I'd walked to the evening before. It wasn't where I wanted to go, and I wish I'd been able to walk, but my host was insistent, soooooo.

From the dropoff point I walked more until I got to a place called Olivenhuis. It's an art gallery. The building itself was quite pretty, and I liked the garden/lawn area in front.

The lawn area had a few sculptures covered with mosaics, I liked them. The interior didn't impress me nearly as much.

From Olivenhuis I walked toward an area called Naval Hill. Yes, it's a hill. Along the way I stopped into the Orchid Botanical House. There was a sign out front warning against taking wedding photos. Since I was by myself, I didn't worry that it applied to me. Howeva, not too long before I left, a lady told me taking photos was forbidden, and said there was a sign outside. I left the house, looked at the sign, and asked her what it said. She said no photos, and I pointed to the word wedding. I pointed out that I was not taking wedding photos. She wasn't happy, to say the least.
The path to get to the top was quite steep, and wasn't easy to use. I think it was an old set of steps made with stones, but they weren't in good shape anymore. As I was going up I remember worrying about how I was going to get down.

At the top of Naval Hill is a giant statue of Nelson Mandela. Just like the one in Pretoria, this one was mostly backlit, so I had a hard time getting a photo I liked. The statue overlooks the entire city. It's a nice view, though not terribly unique or eye catching.

After getting back down the hill, I stopped in a random dairy/takeaway shop for lunch. I looked at the menu, and ordered a bacon and banana sandwich just because it sounded different from anything I'd eaten before.

It wasn't bad, but I don't think I'll be having another sandwich like that one. Since the bananas were kinda slippery, I ended up eating them, then eating the rest of the sandwich.

My next stop was the national museum. Though the entry to the museum isn't very exciting, I loved it. The museum starts with the geological history of the area, and ends with the modern history of the city. I saw a couple fossils, I saw items from sports events in Bloem, I saw South African history. Definitely a place I could've spent more time. While I bought postcards in the gift shop I chatted with the ladies working there, good fun.

As I walked through the city center in Bloem, I took more photos of the stately buildings, since they looked a lot better during daylight. I think Bloem was one of the host cities when South Africa hosted the world cup (or at least got into the mood,) so there were concrete balls lining one of the streets painted in the colours of the flags of participating countries.

As I walked to my next stop I passed Rochelle and Liezl while they drove the opposite way. I love these kinds of random meetings :)

I walked through a gated area to get to my next stop. I didn't realize there were gates until I was too far along to turn around. When I got to the second gate I had to wait about 10 minutes for the gate to open. I still don't know what the area was, or why a gate was closed. I wasn't the only one waiting, which made me feel better.

My last stop was the Anglo Boer War Museum. I ended up arriving in time to take photos of the monuments and such out front, but too late to enter the museum. Argh. (I should've moving earlier in the day.)

One of the monuments was a women's monument, saying thanks to the women and children involved in the great treks of the country. There were many walls with engraved names of those who had died during the Anglo Boer war as well. The last monument I saw had a concrete (or marble?) ball covered in moving water, as soon as I left the gardner turned off the water.

I made my way back to my accomodation, picking up more random food in a supermarket for dinner. Even though I wasn't sleeping there that night, my hosts let me use the shower and organize myself for the evening.

After warming up the food in their house, they sat with me and chatted while I ate. A couple hours later they drove me to the bus station to catch my bus to Port Elizabeth. The bus left late, which didn't surprise me, argh.

I'd like to go back to Bloem, as I still want to see the university, the war museum, and spend more time with Rochelle and Liezl!

lesotho: maseru and thaba bosiu

Maseru is the capital of Lesotho. Despite getting a ride from the family I met part of the way, it still took me a good part of the day to get to Maseru.

The family dropped me off in Butha Buthe, where I found the local taxi rank and climbed in the next taxi to go. I only had to wait an hour, which was nice.

Though I only had to wait an hour for the taxi to start moving, it felt as though we stopped every ten seconds or so to pick up more people, or drop someone off. A few times I was convinced it would be faster for me to get out and walk. The driver honked at every pedestrian he saw, slowing down plenty of times in case they wanted a ride. Since I just wanted to move, I was frustrated.

After a while I was told I needed to switch vehicles, and this next one would take me to Maseru. Since I had no idea where I was, or where this first taxi would continue on to, I did what I was told.

Eventually, I got to Maseru. It took a while, but I was there, yay!

My lonely planet guidebook had a basic map of Maseru, and there were a couple places noted for accomodation. Since I had no service on my phone, I was dependent on this map. I should've bought a SIM card a couple days earlier, when I first entered the country.

After figuring out how to get out of the bus station, I started walking. Getting out of this area took me a while, as the map was only basic, and didn't show all the small alleys and stores and such. I walked back and forth over the same area a few times to figure it out.

I walked to the first accomodation mentioned. At least, that is where I thought I was going. Only, I never found what I was looking for. I kept walking, in case it was further along the street. I walked for quite a while, but didn't see any buildings, let along a hotel/hostel.

So I looked up the next place listed. Go figure, it wasn't anywhere else. I wasn't thrilled about more walking, since I was carrying my pack, but I had no other options. Argh. I thought I followed the map in the book, but somehow got turned around. Eventually I ended up on the main street of the city, though not in the way I intended.

I walked and walked and walked. I thought I was following the map, but there were no street signs, so i didn't really have any idea where I was. What kind of capital city doesnt have street signs in the city center??? Let me tell you: the capital city of a country with very little infrastructure.

At one point I decided to buy a local SIM card for my phone. I figured if nothing else, I could at least figure out where I was, and if the accomodation I was heading for actually existed. I bought the SIM card, and put some money on it. I used the credit to buy data, and immediately felt better when I opened google maps and saw the little blue dot and street names.

I found my way to the place I wanted, and was able to book a room for two nights. I think the lady was quite surprised to see me out of the blue, as it was not in the city center. I sat around for a little while, enjoying how good it felt to take off my pack.

Eventually I went back out, walking down the hill and back toward the city center. I wanted to go into the information center, but that was closed already. It was only 1600! Argh. Another example of the lack of tourist infrastructure in this country.

I kept walking back along the main street, and eventually came to the supermarket I'd seen when going the other way with my pack. I wandered through there, comparing prices to what I'd seen in South Africa. I already knew that I could use rand and maloti interchangeably in this country, which was a relief.

I kept going on the street, passing a war memorial. As with the memorials I'd seen in South Africa, it was mostly focused on WW1. I'm not sure why, but there was a crocodile (not real,) on top of the memorial. I walked almost all the way back to the bus station where I'd arrived in the city. Since I knew where I was, I wasn't so afraid to continue walking.

I ended up finding dinner at a food court of sorts. Thank goodness I found the area, as there didn't seem to be anything in the way of cafes or restaurans as I know them. The guidebook didn't have anything to offer either.

That night I was happy to discover the heating pad on the bed. Maseru is lower than Oxbow or Mokhotlong, but it wasn't very warm.

The next morning I got to have another hot breakfast, and this one more than made up for the crappy one I'd had in Mokhotlong. Fried eggs, a chicken patty, beans, tomatoes, yogurt, tea, cereal, fruit, toast, and oatmeal. I was happy.

The lady running the place was able to arrange a taxi ride for me to get to the one place I wanted to see. It was a more than reasonable price as far as I could tell. The driver picked me up an hour later.

The driver took me to Thaba Bosiu, a place of honour and respect for the Basotho people. The drive was around 45 minutes, I think, though I didn't pay that much attention.

Thaba Bosiu is where the Basotho Kingdom was founded, where the first king lived on top of the mountain, defending and growing his kingdom.

The driver first took me to a church across the street from the mountain. My driver asked the caretaker, who gave me the background of the church: it was in the same spot as the first evangelical church in the country, founded in 1833. This church was simple, with a beautiful stained glass window at the back.

Next we went to the visitors center of Thaba Bosiu. The guide working there wanted me to wait until 1400 for a tour, an idea that didn't thrill me since it was only 1145 at the time. I said that wasn't going to happen, since I didnt have anything to do during the time in between. I didnt want to drive back to Maseru, then come out again.

In the end, the guide took me and my driver, and we started walking. The guide told me the stories and legends of the mountain, and pointed out different historically important areas on the top of the mountain. It's not a tall mountain by anyone's standards, but it's not a slow mosey to get to the top either. My driver was huffing and puffing more than I was, hee hee.

One of the places the guide pointed out was a pile of rocks, and he had me add another rock. He said this was where visitors back in the day would've left their weapons. It was a sign of respect to come unarmed when visiting the leader of a kingdom. It was also demanded by the hosts, to keep their leader safe.

Another place pointed out was the cemetery of the royal family. I could see the tombs of King Moshoeshoe 1^st, and King Moshoeshoe 2^nd. As each was buried in the custom of the time, the second tomb is a lot bigger and more noticeable than the first.

I got to see reproductions of the house where the first king lived, and where his second wife (his favourite,) lived. Not all the wives of the king (there were 140, give or take!!) lived on the mountain, and not all of those relationships were even consummated.

Marrying the king was a way of bringing more land to the kingdom, and nearly all the people of Lesotho consider themselves to be descendents of the first king.

The guide showed me where Parliament met, and told me all the representatives were men. Cue the sexist jokes. I reminded him there would be no men without women.

Off one side of the mountain I could see another hill, in the shape of the traditional "Basotho hat." The guide pointed it out to me, and had me take one of those posed photos where it kinda looks like you're holding onto something big. It kinda looked like I was picking up the top of the 'hat.'

It was easy to see why the king chose the top of this mountain as the seat of his kingdom, as there are views over the entire surrounding area. It was very difficult for anyone to put together a surprise attack. That being said, there are legends in the kingdom about attackers coming at night and being repelled by something sortof like magic.

Afterward, my driver took me back to my room, and dropped me off. I picked up some mail I'd been carrying around, and walked to the post office. It took me a while to find the right counter, but it ended up being quite cheap. Yay!!

After the post office, I walked to the one sight of the town: a Roman Catholic church. As far as I could tell, this was the only official sight in town, it's hard to miss. I walked in, and sat for a few minutes. Sooo much quieter than the chaos outside.

My next stop was another supermarket. They didnt have any food I wanted, but I ended up buying three bottles of glycerine because they were 100mL bottles, which are perfect for traveling. When I got back to my room, I emptied them out, and instead filled them with lotion, so I no longer had to carry around a big bottle.

The next morning I had another giant breakfast before packing up. I walked down the hill, and followed the main street to the border, which wasn't all that far away.

This visit to Lesotho was far too short. I want to come back with a rental car, and more time. I want to see more of the natural beauty of the country, and learn more of the culture.

south africa and lesotho: sani pass and mokhotlong and oxbow

It took me nearly a full day to get from Himeville to my next destination. I got to the taxi rank in Underburg at 0700, hoping the public taxi would fill up quickly and depart soon. Unfortunately, this wasn't what happened. It didn't fill up until 1000. Thank goodness for my kindle! (I also updated my travel journal.)

This taxi drove around 20km down the road, to the bottom of Sani Pass. Everyone piled out of the taxi and queued up in front of a tin shack. I was at the back of the queue, as I had no idea what was going on.

When I got to the front of the queue, I wrote down my passport information and paid 150 Rand, though I don't know what it was for. Everyone else did it, I figured it was just part of the process of crossing this border.

As I was walking back to the vehicle, I realized everyone else had moved into another vehicle. I went to do the same thing, but was told there wasn't enough room. I went back to the first vehicle to wait with three others who didn't fit either. I was frustrated because I'd been the first one in the first vehicle, only to wait for three hours. I was so tired of waiting already.

Not too much later, another 4x4 vehicle came, and the four of us switched vehicles. Unfortunately, the four of us weren't nearly enough to fill it up, argh.

I ended up having to wait another two hours. I was soooo bored. If I'd known how long I had, I would've gotten out and gone for a walk. Since I didn't know (there was no schedule,) I had to stay put.

Finally, another vehicle came from Underburg. That bunch jumped out and did the same queue at the shack, then most of them came into our 4x4. I was sooo excited to finally be moving.

Not too much later, we stopped again. This was the official border exit of South Africa. I stood at the window and got myself stamped out of the country, then hopped back in the vehicle.

Sani Pass is a mountain pass. It's a steep road, with a whole lot of switchbacks going up/down the side of a mountain. The views looking down the valley were incredible. I wanted to take photos, but only got one. If I have a rental car when I return, I plan to stop a whole lot.

Since the road had so many switchbacks, we never got going very fast. Eventually we made it to the top. Not too far from the top of the pass was the border control building for Lesotho. They asked me how long I planned to stay, and since I didn't know the answer to that question I said two weeks.

While waiting for everyone else to do the same thing I bought bread from a lady selling loaves out of a bucket. Yummy, and cheap. Donkeys were wandering around the area as well.

The road into Lesotho was a whole lot better than the road had been for the first half of the trip, thank goodness. We were moving a whole lot faster.

Eventually, we arrived in the town of Mokhotlong. It's basically the biggest town in this area of Lesotho. Though that isn't saying much, as the population is still pretty small.

When I arrived, I had no idea where I was going to stay. I had nothing booked, and the guidebook didn't have a map of the town. It had a couple guesthouses listed, I figured I would find one of them, somehow.

This is when I got really lucky. I was the last person to get out of the taxi, and the driver asked where I was going. I was honest and said I didn't know, that I needed a place to stay for the night. He offered to take me somewhere, and I decided to trust him. He gave me a couple options, and I chose one. He drove me there, it ended up being just a couple blocks away. He found the manager, and I was good to go.

Who knows how long I would've wandered around without the kindness of this man.

I checked in, and realized it was actually cold here. Lesotho (pronounced Le-soo-too,) is sometimes called the Kingdom in the Sky, because much of the country is way up high. My room had a warm bed, and a heater, and I quickly realized there was no wifi, and my South African SIM card got no service. Argh.

I asked the manager about logistics for the next day: time for breakfast, transport options to get to my next destination, location of that transportation. She said she would find everything out, and get back to me.

While she was finding out information for me, I went for a walk. My walk wasn't very long, because it got dark pretty soon. I was pretty cold, and there wasn't much light in the area. Eventually I found a market of sorts, and was able to buy some snacks. I made my way back to my hotel, and found the manager. She told me everything she'd learned, we figured out when I would eat breakfast, and I went back to my room. My plan was to do some 'paperwork' related to traveling, and documenting my travels. As much as I would've liked to do some writing, my hands were freezing.

I then ended up turning out the lights at 8pm. It was cold, the TV only got one channel, and there was wifi. I slept well, even though I hadn't been very physically active the day before.

This was another hot breakfast, but I have to admit it wasn't nearly as good as the rest of the breakfasts I'd had during this trip. I don't like sausage, especially if there is no mustard, so I didn't eat that. The juice was warm, and believe me, warm orange juice isn't very appetizing. Neither is warm milk on my cornflakes. I did eat the bacon and fried eggs, though they were both cold. The beans were a decent temperature and flavour.

I got out the door, and it turned out the place to catch transport to my next stop was just a couple blocks up the road. Everyone stared at me when I climbed in, so I'm guessing it isn't common for a solo white female to be taking public transport in this area. I got there at 0700, we left at 0730. I had high hopes for a good day.

I arrived in a place called Oxbow at 10am, after a beautiful ride. There were so many times I wanted to ask the driver to stop so I could hop out and take photos of the stunning landscape.

Remember what I said about Lesotho being called the Kingdom in the Sky because of the mountains? Completely accurate. Absolutely gorgeous.

At one point we drove past/around a place called Afriski, which sounds and looked totally out of place. As far as I know, this is the only place to go skiing in Southern Africa. (I could be wrong on that.) There hadn't been much snow yet, so I could only see one run that was open. It was clearly man made snow, and the whole thing looked so out of place.

Not too much later, we passed the city sign saying we'd entered Oxbow. I didn't see any buildings, but wasn't too worried. A few minutes later the taxi pulled up in the parking lot of a lodge, and let me out.

Side note: I never did figure out if there was anything else in the 'town' of Oxbow. Surely there must be some requirements for having the designation? I didn't see anything except my lodge! I saw no houses, markets, petrol stations, etc...

I walked in, and asked if they had a room available. Fortunately, they did, as a bunch of rooms were checking out. It seemed they were pretty full. My room wasn't clean yet, but I was able to put the bag in the room and go out for the day. I suppose I could've been worried about security, but since I was generally in the middle of nowhere, my only other choice would've been hiking with my pack, which I didn't want to do.

I walked out with no real idea of what I could do, or where I could go. This ended up being one of the most amazing days I had during my entire trip. The scenery in this area is beyond lovely. I didn't find any specific hiking trails, but I did find a few trails used by shepherds. I followed a river for a while, which wasn't big, but was pretty.

At one point I tried to jump across the river where it was slightly frozen, but not frozen enough to stand on. I thought I'd made it, but didn't. Instead, I slipped and fell.

The fall itself wasn't bad, except for the small chunks I took out of the front of my lower left leg. Thank goodness there wasn't too much blood, though I knew immediately there would be some deep bruising, and I would have scars.

I climbed up a few random hills, and loved looking all the way around. I wish I'd had more time to go on more hikes in the area. The mountains were fantastic.

At one point I heard a lot of bells, and realized a shepherd was guiding sheep through the area. At another point I stumbled across a mostly frozen waterfall.

Absolutely beautiful. Cold of course, and I slipped again while trying to take photos on the ice at the bottom. Oh well, it was worth it.

7 hours after I walked out, I went back to the lodge. I don't think my hiking had taken me very far distancewise, but I was worn out. I sat in the living room area, close to the fire, which was kept well fed. The heat felt good. When I sat down and took a better look at my legs I realized my shoes were completely shot. They were torn, argh. I probably should've thrown them away then, but I needed them for the rest of my trip and hoped it could happen.

I ended up chatting for quite a while with a lady who was visiting with her family. She and her husband lived with their two sons near Kruger National Park in South Africa; they'd come to Lesotho to take their sons skiing for the first time. She told me of their plans to immigrate to New Zealand, as they were not happy with the safety and education systems in South Africa.

Eventually, it was time for dinner. The price of this lodge automatically included breakfast and dinner buffets for all guests. The dining room was in a different building, and when I got there I was surprised to see a lot more people. I think most of them were families who had been skiing all day.

Dinner was good. There was a lot of food, divided into sections. We all went through a queue for the hot food, choices included lamb, chicken, mince, tomato soup, and green beans. Cold foods included salad, jello, pudding, etc...

Hot drinks like tea and coffee, cold drinks like juice and milk. I was stuffed by the time I walked out.

The natural gas heater in my room did a great job. I turned the lights out just before the generator for the whole area was turned off at 2300.

I slept well, and woke up at the perfect tine. I got dressed, and went to breakfast, another buffet. I had poached eggs, (that didn't look very different from the fried eggs,) as well as bacon, cereal, tea, toast, fruit, and yogurt. I ended up eating with the family I'd met the day before. They were leaving that day as well, heading back to South Africa.

I packed up my stuff, then went out to the road to wait. No one knew how long I would have to wait, since the public taxis don't run on a schedule. This was the only road through the area, so this was the only option I had for moving on.

I think I'd been out there for about 20 minutes, when the family I'd met the day before started to pull out. They saw me there, asked how long I"d been there, and insisted I ride with them. They figured they could at least get me going in the right direction. I was extremely grateful, as I had no idea how long it would be for me otherwise.

We drove around mountains, waiting for sheep to cross the road a few times. We drove through farming areas, and saw some people plowing land by animal. We saw small waterfalls. We saw kids playing or farming. There were so many more times I thought about asking to stop for photos. It really is a gorgeous area of the world.

They took me to the next town, called Butha Buthe. They then drove to their border crossing, which I found the local taxi rank. I hopped in, and ended up waiting only about an hour. By this point, waiting for an hour is practically nothing to me.

Lesotho is beautiful, and I want to go back. It doesn't get many tourists, for a number of reasons. First, their economy is awful. Second, there is little to no infrastructure, especially tourist infrastructure.

south africa: himeville

My 'taxi' from Maritzburg took a couple hours to get to Underburg. That wasn't nearly as long as I expected it to be, but I was happy about it. The problem was, my next destination wasn't Underburg, it was Himeville.

I got some food at the taxi rank in Underburg, chicken curry and rice. With the normal assorted sides, yay.

Underburg isn't really a town, it's barely a village. It's more like a crossroads for the few people who live in the area. There are public taxis that will take you to other small towns in the area, unfortunately none of them were going to where I wanted to go.
Underburg is close to the edge of Drakensburg National Park, a beautiful park of South Africa. By staying in Himeville I was hoping to do some amazing hiking.

I found the information office in Underburg, and asked how I could get to Himeville. The guy told me there should be private taxis waiting around. Unfortunately, I never did see any of those taxis. Argh. While I was in the office I noticed adverts for a couple hotels in the area, as well as tours of the area offered by different companies.

I ended up walking to Himeville. It was 6 or 7 kilometers down the road. The walk was almost entirely flat, and it was really sunny. With the sun, and carrying my pack, I was sweating by the time I arrived at my accomodation.

I was able to check in straightaway, and my room was absolutely lovely.

One thing I realized almost straightaway was that it was actually cold, or at least colder than I'd been during this entire trip. There was an electric heater in my room, and though I didn't plug it in when I first checked in, I knew I'd need it at night.

After relaxing for a while I went out for a walk. My walk wasn't as long as I wanted, but it was my fault for not getting out faster after checking in. I was outside during sunset, which was beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.

I could see mountains off in the distance. I loved it. I knew I would only be in the area for a couple nights, but also knew I wanted to come back to this area with a whole lot more time to explore and hike. Next time I come back I will have a rental car too, so I can get around to everywhere. There isn't a lot of public transport in this area, argh.

The next morning I got to have another of the hot breakfasts I'd come to love. Fried eggs, tomatoes, bacon, corn flakes, tea, and yogurt. Life is good.

I ended up walking outside just before noon. My first stop was a local museum.

The museum is in what remains of a fortress, and is all about the history of the area. There were displays of items that used to be used in daily life, and descriptions of various important times in the history of the area.

I liked it. My favourite exhibit was that of what the old school room looked like. Maybe it's because I'm a teacher now, but this sort of exhibit fascinates me. Education defines a society.

My next 'sight' was the church in the village. St. Mark's church. It was open, which almost shocked me, as I'd kinda gotten used to everything being closed except for specific times.

St Mark's isn't big, but I was surprised at how big it is. Himeville is tiny, absolutely tiny, so I was surprised at the size of the church.

While I was eating breakfast, the manager told me of a walk I could go on to see more beautiful landscapes. After leaving the church, I headed down the road toward a turnoff I needed. I found the turnoff, and simply followed it for a while.

This road took me through a few beautiful landscapes. I was happy with all that I saw, and wished I had more time. I don't really know how far I went, but it was a good walk. I walked through part of a biosphere reserve, then all the way back to the main road where I'd started the walk.

When I got back to that road, I walked toward Underburg. It made my walking day longer, but I really needed to go to an ATM, and I wanted to refill my snack bag. I ended up back in my room in Himeville a little bit after dark.

The next morning, I was awake early, so I had time to eat breakfast, and get back to the taxi rank in Underburg. Goodbye for now, Himeville.