Stellenbosch- Christmas Market
30th November 2023
Tour Report

DAY AT KERSMARK/MUSEUMS/LUNCH AT KAPSTADT BRAUHAUS

The Last Thursday of the Month – the 30^th November, means it’s a TIME OUT day – just before the silly season starts in earnest!

We all boarded the coach after early morning traffic which is at times quite frustrating!

The cherry-on-the-top, and such a surprise for me, was that Winnie, who was such a regular traveller on our coach tours, came down to the coach in Constantia to say ‘hello’ to us all!  Winnie is such a special lady who can no longer come on coach trips (difficulty in getting up coach stairs); but there she was waiting at the Constantia collection point – indeed such a special privilege!

THANK YOU, Winnie, – you certainly warmed my heart!

We headed out on the N2 and our arrival at the KERSMARK in Stellenbosch was on time at 11h00.

Stellenbosch is known for heat in February/March but on arrival I chatted to a lady who said her husband had recorded 30+ at 08h00 at their home.  We believe that the lunchtime temperature was more than mid-thirties – many remarks were made about living in Cape Town close to the cold Atlantic Ocean where one gets a cool breeze most times.

However, even reports from Cape Town on Facebook on our return seemingly the Mother City had excessive heat today as well.

We chose to go to this market, and it was a good choice – the ladies all started filling bags/baskets which are supplied at the entrance.  This is not your ‘average’ Chinese type market but rather a market with high-end quality merchandise beautifully displayed.  They we all given an hour and a half and amazing how much shopping you can get done in this time!  Christmas gifts for family; different cheeses which were popular; rusks; biscuits and the list goes on and on!

Five of the ladies chose to spend the time trawling Stellenbosch – from the Moederkerk to The Village Museum there were good reports on new discoveries.

At 12h30 we all met again and headed down to Kapstadt Brauhaus where we were to have lunch.

Our choices were vast for our 2-course lunch 😊

• Starters were Crumbed Mushrooms; Halloumi Frites; Crumbed Calamari
• Mains ranged from a German Salad (very popular) in the heat; Chicken Schnitzel; Currywurst; or Hake and Chips.

It was strange that the Starters were enjoyed by all – but when the mains arrived, with the extreme heat of the day,  most ladies could not do justice to ALL the food & Doggy Bags came back to Cape Town ‘a-plenty’

We are indeed to very privileged to be able once-a-month to board a luxury coach (which proved its worth over-and-over on this extremely hot day) and spend a few quality hours with friends who are precious after 23 years.

Have a merry and restful Christmas everyone. See you all again in 2024.