1 May 2011 Sunday Motto to Addis
It rained a lot during the night and it is just as well that we did not bush camp. The first 3 hours of the road to Addis is bad and our kilometers drop slowly. We are hungry (again!) when we finally reach tar and Willie finds a German-Ethiopian restaurant on the GPS. The word German sweeps us away on a wonderful fantasy flight where we eat Bratwurst, Schnitzel, fresh salad, fries and have foaming German beer! The restaurant is cozy, the bathroom squeaky clean with running water, flushing toilets and toilet paper! Andrej pays a visit to Hiebers (a grocery store in the town we lived), buys fresh rolls and German Wieners and Hugo comes back with the best cheese. We travel through Germany’s green pastures, vineyards and forests on a fast autobahn…and more than ever do we realize that these are the things that you so easily can take for granted until you do not have it and we appreciate it from far away.
We have cautioned expectations after Twilight when we drove through the gate of the German restaurant. It has a marvelous view from its position on the edge of the escarpment. The service is good, but no German schnitzel or Bratwurst. We are served the best Ethiopian food we had this far: Bayinet which is an assortment of spicy sauces, small pieces of meat, cabbage, spinach, ribs served on the traditional injera ‘pancake’ which is made from tef grown on the Ethiopian highlands. It is a grey-brown oversized-jumbo crepe style pancake with a distinct sour taste. You scoop the sauces or meat into the injera and eat with your hands – Ethiopian style. We’ve all grown to like it except for Willie – he has decided to stick to good old bread which is available when you ask. The food is really good and we are ready for the last 2 hours of fighting for road access to Addis.
Addis Ababa – I know nothing of the city. It is a name stored in the recesses of my mind and I’m excited to finally see and experience it. This far Ethiopia has exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations. It is very different from any other African country I’ve visited; the people are attractive, very friendly with a unique culture steeped in centuries of history, traditions and religion. Our visit, this far, has been wonderful and I have a mind-store of memories that I will relish over and in for as long as I live.
Addis lies in a valley and it is a sprawling, bustling, air-polluted city. We do not have a place to sleep yet, but Willie has several possibilities of places (budget hotels that allow camping usually in the parking lot) stored on his GPS. The sun is setting, it starts to rain and all of us are tired. The first hotel, Playbox, is a kindergarten school with a guard that is emphatic about no camping. The second does not allow camping although it did in the past. The 3rd and 4th are too expensive; promising Wim’s Holland camp looks as if it has dropped into a construction dig – we are disappointed, tired and irritation and impatience are creeping in. We find Baro hotel where we can camp in a small parking lot, but they are very full and a single room is available for Willie and me. The boys sleep in the rooftop tent and Willie and I usually stay in a room. Around the corner from Baro is Taitu hotel. They have rooms available, but it is more expensive than Baro. I have to make the final decision which I find difficult to do, tempers flare and now Willie and I are cross with one another. He decides Taitu (I am glad); I sit in the lounge to watch English TV and Willie sits in the car trying to download e-mails with a poor wireless signal – it is more less than wire!
Andrej and Hugo have met travel friends of theirs and they have a wonderful evening hanging out with the guys. Willie and I go to bed early…tomorrow is another day in Addis Ababa.
It rained a lot during the night and it is just as well that we did not bush camp. The first 3 hours of the road to Addis is bad and our kilometers drop slowly. We are hungry (again!) when we finally reach tar and Willie finds a German-Ethiopian restaurant on the GPS. The word German sweeps us away on a wonderful fantasy flight where we eat Bratwurst, Schnitzel, fresh salad, fries and have foaming German beer! The restaurant is cozy, the bathroom squeaky clean with running water, flushing toilets and toilet paper! Andrej pays a visit to Hiebers (a grocery store in the town we lived), buys fresh rolls and German Wieners and Hugo comes back with the best cheese. We travel through Germany’s green pastures, vineyards and forests on a fast autobahn…and more than ever do we realize that these are the things that you so easily can take for granted until you do not have it and we appreciate it from far away.
We have cautioned expectations after Twilight when we drove through the gate of the German restaurant. It has a marvelous view from its position on the edge of the escarpment. The service is good, but no German schnitzel or Bratwurst. We are served the best Ethiopian food we had this far: Bayinet which is an assortment of spicy sauces, small pieces of meat, cabbage, spinach, ribs served on the traditional injera ‘pancake’ which is made from tef grown on the Ethiopian highlands. It is a grey-brown oversized-jumbo crepe style pancake with a distinct sour taste. You scoop the sauces or meat into the injera and eat with your hands – Ethiopian style. We’ve all grown to like it except for Willie – he has decided to stick to good old bread which is available when you ask. The food is really good and we are ready for the last 2 hours of fighting for road access to Addis.
Addis Ababa – I know nothing of the city. It is a name stored in the recesses of my mind and I’m excited to finally see and experience it. This far Ethiopia has exceeded my wildest dreams and expectations. It is very different from any other African country I’ve visited; the people are attractive, very friendly with a unique culture steeped in centuries of history, traditions and religion. Our visit, this far, has been wonderful and I have a mind-store of memories that I will relish over and in for as long as I live.
Addis lies in a valley and it is a sprawling, bustling, air-polluted city. We do not have a place to sleep yet, but Willie has several possibilities of places (budget hotels that allow camping usually in the parking lot) stored on his GPS. The sun is setting, it starts to rain and all of us are tired. The first hotel, Playbox, is a kindergarten school with a guard that is emphatic about no camping. The second does not allow camping although it did in the past. The 3rd and 4th are too expensive; promising Wim’s Holland camp looks as if it has dropped into a construction dig – we are disappointed, tired and irritation and impatience are creeping in. We find Baro hotel where we can camp in a small parking lot, but they are very full and a single room is available for Willie and me. The boys sleep in the rooftop tent and Willie and I usually stay in a room. Around the corner from Baro is Taitu hotel. They have rooms available, but it is more expensive than Baro. I have to make the final decision which I find difficult to do, tempers flare and now Willie and I are cross with one another. He decides Taitu (I am glad); I sit in the lounge to watch English TV and Willie sits in the car trying to download e-mails with a poor wireless signal – it is more less than wire!
Andrej and Hugo have met travel friends of theirs and they have a wonderful evening hanging out with the guys. Willie and I go to bed early…tomorrow is another day in Addis Ababa.
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