14-15/12/2018. I hitched a ride with a young German couple in their rented vehicle at Okavango Delta, departing at 6:30 a.m. to arrive at Windhoek, Namibia’s capital, late that afternoon. The road was flat like a runway and straight as an arrow. With little interruption and distraction, the car traversed the landscape like a bullet.
For a capital, Windhoek was miserably small. Understandably, Namibia is a small country of only 2.5 million people. I spent the day walking around the city. Without skyscrapers, the usual traffic congestion, and noisy crowd, it felt more like a town. I went to a big supermarket in the city center to see what they had. As I exited, I was unceremoniously shoved to the back office and body searched on suspicion of shoplifting. I was let go with profuse apologies from the staff and a lot of blame on the security guard who finger-pointed me. I looked at myself in the mirror. Yeah, I did look sneaky and slitty. No ill-feelings. It was all good fun, what I came to Africa for.
The streets around my hotel were clean and orderly, with German-sounding names like Beethoven, Mozart, and Brahms—music to my ears. I indulged in a bit of Western food bingeing after being deprived of the past weeks. I started with a big waffle burger, washed down with a glass of thick chocolate drink. After a short walk, I came to the Town Square Mall, then found myself resisting in vain the temptation of the menu. I sat down to tickle my taste buds and pampered my soul with a rich chocolate donut enriched by a big ball of vanilla ice cream, this time, helped it along with a refreshing concoction of greenish lemonade drink. It was distinctive, with a European flavor, because of its colonial past and still with a substantial minority white population here.
Kind of weird Africa could look European. Honestly, it blends so well.
14-15/12/2018奥克万戈三角洲搭上一对年轻德国情侣的顺风车到纳米比亚首都温得和克(Windhoek)。早上六点半开车,下午抵达。九小时路程,车在笔直平坦道路风驰电掣,一路草原风貌,不知不觉抵达。
做为首都,温得和克小的可怜,其实纳米比亚人口就只两百五十万。我就在市中心闲逛,基本没什摩天楼,也没喧闹,没塞车, 感觉更像小城。我漫无目的走进一超市,离开市,众目睽睽下被保安粗鲁拉到办公室搜身,被疑在超市偷窃。后来商场人员互相指责和给我无数抱歉后放行了。这回穷游我可能装穷可能装得太过了,连非洲都看不上眼。
我住宿附近街道整齐,街名如贝多芬,莫扎特,布拉姆, 悦耳动听。几周来粗茶淡饭,到这儿后可尝西式美味佳肴,我就乘机大快朵颐。欧洲风格随处可见,毕竟这里曾经是白人殖民地,前人口还有不少白人。
在非洲碰上这欧洲风味觉得怪怪的。但这混合得巧妙,别有趣味。
Windhoek city center 温得和克市中心 Windhoek city center 温得和克市中心 Windhoek city center 温得和克市中心 Waffle sandwich for lunch in a café in Windhoek city center 温得和克市中心咖啡厅华夫饼三文治午餐 A pedestrian mall in Windhoek city center 温得和克市中心步行街 Another rich decadent tea break in Africa Windhoek 在非洲温得和克难得西式茶点