South Africa (2020)
Inhalt/Content
Johannesburg – The most dangerous city in the world?
The journey from Cape Town to Johannesburg took us about 20 hours. This sounds like a real horror trip, but was amazingly bearable. Either we were so hardened after the Mokhotlong bus, or the trip was really not bad at all. In the beginning we went through the Winelands with their beautiful mountainous landscape. Since we had to leave out the Garden Route for time reasons, this was at least a small consolation. As already during our trip to Port Elizabeth, this bus was a sleeping bus again. We also had exactly the same seats as before: On the upper deck in the front with a great view. Thanks to the transformable seats one could sleep a few hours. Now and then there were short stops at rest areas where you could stretch your legs a little. The first harbingers of Johannesburg came when our highway crossed Soweto, probably the most famous township in South Africa. Shortly afterwards, we could already see the World Cup stadium and finally the skyline of Johannesburg on the horizon. At this point I made a decisive mistake. I googled field reports about the bus station in Johannesburg. What I found there sounded anything but good. From losing valuables to a blow on the head with a bloody awakening in one of the side streets, everything was there. Welcome to the most dangerous city in the world. Now it has to be said that it all sounds very bad, of course, but the people in Johannesburg dealt with it in their own way. Our coach drove to an underground guarded parking lot, which was almost completely shielded from the outside world. We grabbed our bags and went into the station hall, which was big enough to pass as an airport. Next to the counter of our bus company we found a quiet but not secluded spot where I could take out my smartphone and call an Uber. To my surprise this worked without any problems. Shortly afterwards the driver called me and explained to me what I already suspected, namely that he could not simply drive to the bus station because it was too dangerous. He explained me through the phone the way to the upper parking deck, where we should wait at the entrance, because there were also security people. From there he picked us up on foot and we walked together to his car, which he had parked a little aside for safety reasons.
Our accommodation was a cool hostel in Melville, the hipster district of Johannesburg and at the same time one of the safest districts of there, although there had been a shooting shortly before. The close surroundings of our hostels could be explored safely on foot. There was a long street with hip restaurants where we had a late lunch. Additionally there was a small shopping mall where there was also a big supermarket. There we stocked up with some food. In general we took it rather quiet that day. Kevin could catch up on what he had wanted to do for a long time: He put on his swimming shorts and jumped into the pool, which was right in front of our room. I sat down on the edge and splashed in the water at least with my legs a little bit. In the evening there was a Braai, a traditional African barbecue in our hostel. We had bought some meat before, which we handed over to the staff, who then grilled it and gave it back to us served on plates. All in all it was really pleasant and all the bad things you heard about Johannesburg were quickly forgotten in Melville.
The next day was also our last day in South Africa. Since our flight did not leave until the evening, we wanted to make full use of the day. We checked out, but left our luggage in the accommodation. Our destination for the day was the Apartheid Museum. The Apartheid Museum was one of the best museums we had been to so far. We were there right at the opening and it was the right thing to do because the museum was huge. When you pay the entrance fee you are randomly declared on the ticket as white or non-white. In our case Kevin was white and I was not white. According to our tickets we had to use different entrances. That sounds like a small thing, but it already had a good influence on our personal feeling. Behind the entrances there were stories of white or non-whites from the apartheid period. There were also pictures of identity cards and official documents. We met again on an outside corridor where mirrors were placed with photos of different people who were completely different but whose families had all come to South Africa at some point. Later in the museum there were also their individual stories in detail next to personal items that were on display. In general, the exhibition was very nicely structured with many personal stories and beautiful interactive exhibits. At the time of our visit there was also a temporary exhibition about Nelson Mandela. The visit of this small additional exhibition alone took already 2 hours. Towards the end of the exhibition I was interviewed, because at that time an image video was shot for the museum. If I should find this video online in the future, I will link it here 😉
The museum is absolutely recommendable and it is worth the time in any case. Towards the end of the exhibition there were some modern artworks where among other things there was a poem that summarizes all the social problems South Africa has at the moment very well:
After our tour through the museum, we visited the souvenir shop and had some refreshments in the restaurant. At the same time we escaped a little storm that was raging outside.
Finally, we went to the airport. On this last tour Africa said goodbye to us again in its typical way. Actually we called our Uber to the airport in time, but there was a traffic jam in the city center because it was rush hour. The Uber App called attention loudly and showed the driver ways to avoid the traffic jam, but for a reason I can’t explain, our driver ignored the signals and drove deeper and deeper into the traffic jam. So it happened that we arrived at the airport much later than expected. There were two terminals, A and B. My app showed me that our flight was leaving from terminal B, but it was not listed anywhere on site. We quickly went to the information desk and asked. Unfortunately there were two flights to Frankfurt that day. A Lufthansa flight from Terminal A and a South African Airways flight from Terminal B. The latter was our flight. But the lady at the info desk sent us to Terminal A, of course. Since we were already late anyway, we put on our big backpacks and ran off. At Terminal A they informed us that we were obviously in the wrong place. But unfortunately nobody knew where we had to go. We should ask again in terminal B. So we repeated the whole game and sprinted back to Terminal B, where we explained to the lady at the info desk that we were not flying with Lufthansa, but with South African Airways. Thereupon she sent us to a counter, which was wrong again of course, but the right counter was within sight and so we managed to hand in our luggage in time and go through the security checks. In the transit area we squandered our last change for souvenirs and lots of biltong before we got on the plane and said goodbye to South Africa.
Conclusion
We have traveled a lot now, but Africa is different than our previous destinations. Until the end we could not get used to the hard borders between extreme poverty and a luxurious life. It is also this hard border that does not allow for winners in the end. In South Africa, being black means having only a limited chance of a good life in dignity. Being white, on the other hand, means giving up your freedom and hiding behind security fences. In Lesotho, we learned what the term “Third World” really means by looking incredible poverty in the face. And yet Africa is a beautiful continent and South Africa is definitely worth a visit. Besides the interesting history, it is above all the nature that amazes one here. It is one thing to see wild animals at the weekend in the zoo. But if you drive along a road in one of the national parks and meet a herd of elephants, it is a completely different feeling. Drakensberg on the other hand is beautiful on both the South African and Lesotho side with its mountain panorama and interesting wildlife. And finally there is the coastal region with its steep cliffs and the incredibly cute penguins. Those who love nature will also love South Africa.
