May I Take your Order?

Last night Ricardo & I were invited to have dinner with his boss Stefan, his girlfriend Melanie and one of the development managers of Sun International, Gordon (who is from JHB). We went to a restaurant called The Gathemann; The Gathemann Restaurant is a 4.5 star German, boutique style restaurant in the heart of Windhoek, Namibia and is within walking distance of the Kalahari Sands hotel on Independence Avenue. Along with mainly German specialities they also specialize in oysters from the coast, game, truffles and fruit from the kalahari.

Firstly we had sundowners on the balcony, which overlooks the zoo park and mountain views in Windhoek. The waitresses brought us a refreshing pineapple cocktail on the house, after that Stefan ordered a very nice red wine. The restaurant has a lot of antique German art, furniture and ornaments all over.

Then we went inside for supper. We started off with fresh oysters and champaigne, followed by starters of grilled tuna salad in beans (very nice) and tongue carpaccio (which i did not try).  For mains Melanie had lamb with potato bake, the men ordered the Namibian Beef Fillet, served with vegetables and basmati rice, I had the smoked fish platter with salad. The portions unfortunately were very small though, more for the taste, art and for the enjoyment of the eye (french cuisine) so next time ill probably go there when i want something small. 

For dessert Ricardo had the white and dark chocolate mousse (which was divine...of course i had to taste), i had the creme brulee which was very creamy and tasty, Gordon had apple struddle and Melanie and Stephan had a fruit sorbet made from the Mguni fruit. 
  

The Mguni Fruit;

Not much is known about the mguni fruit except that it comes from the North of Namibia. The Gathemann restaurant makes a divine sorbet out of the fruit. We asked the waitress to bring us one of the fruits because Melanie told me it was delicious. Ricardo and I were a bit sceptical at first because it looks gross...like raw liver or something but it was actually very nice indeed. The fruit comprises of triangular shaped pips with this chewy friut around it. I must say this was the highlight of my evening because it was something new. Ricardo on the other hand didnt enjoy it because of how it looked and the slimy texture of the fruit. I took a photo of the Mguni fruit: 

   

I experienced a wonderful al fresco dining experiece at the Gathemann along with interesting and entertaining travel stories from Gordon (he says Turkey is the place to go to). It was a great...but very different dining experience and evening all round!  

Love Birds

The general idea surrounded by love birds, being humans or birds is that they are affectionate, social and bound together by a bond for long periods of time. Even though this is true for love birds this seems to be the case with humans and birds as well... i am not talking about him and I, instead i am talking about the falcon's Ricardo has made an affectionate, social and special bond with.


This is a humorous and uplifting story that one has to be apart of to appreciate but I found these Falcon's behaviour (and Ricardo's interest in them) very interesting and had to share it...enjoy!


Falcon Info:

Falcons are part of the raptor family and have the ability to fly at very high speeds and change direction rapidly, they prey mostly on birds, reptiles and mammals, and live in nests often made by other birds. The females are very protective over their nests.

The 'Love Birds' Story:


This 'love affair' all started around August this year at the very top floor of the Kalahari Sands Hotel (which Ricardo is renovating), floor 14. Ricardo found a nest safely tucked in the corner behind the fisards outside one of the suites with a female falcon in it. Everyday  he used to check up on her and make sure none of the builders interfered with her or her nest and he even covered her nest with a box when they were removing windows or making noise. 

Hannes

Sophia

After a few weeks, Ricardo and Stephan (his boss) named the two falcons... the male is 'Hannes' & the female is 'Sophia'... not so sure how they came up with them?? Hannes and Sophia got used to Ricardo and Stephan and became very friendly with them; they sit on the ledge and watch them, allow them to take photos and they don't 'scream' at them anymore. Sophia doesn't like me, or Melanie very much (Stephan's girlfriend) because when we are there she 'screams' at us and flies over our heads, and is very protective over her babies... can you believe a bird intimidates me??


Ricardo went to check up on Sophia regularly and started noticing that she was tucked away in her nest, this went on for a few days and the one morning she got out of her nest when she saw Ricardo, almost as though she was waiting for him, and she showed him her little babies. Sophia was a proud mom to two baby falcons. Once again Ricardo had to name them, so their names are: Smelia & Shpop!! (No comment and I have no idea how those names came to mind!). Here are some photos of Smelia and Shpop...the falcon babies:

Sophia with babies; Smelia & Shpop!



Smelia & Shpop

Everyday after coming home from work Ricardo gives me an update on the falcon family; Hannes brings lizards for sophia to regurgitate into her babies mouths (great!), the babies are wondering around on the ledge and that they were starting to change colour...they are no longer white fur balls! The funniest story for me though was that he told me Hannes is having an affair!! He saw Hannes was leaving the nest more often than usual and one day he followed Hannes around the building and saw that he went to another nest on the opposite wing of the building that contained another female Falcon!! 


So two months have passed since Sophia had her babies and she has now kicked them out the nest. Hannes & Sophia have since moved from their nest on the 14th floor, we don't know where their nest is now but they both pop in once in a while to say 'hi' to Ricardo and Stephan. They sit on the ledge where they are working and just chill there for a while, watching them, let them take photo's, then they go off again until the next day!

Hannes & Sophia