sleepy evenings
transform into memories
that linger like embers
in the fire of our minds
nostalgia heavy burdens
we forever remember the moments
that mould us into who we are
sleepy evenings
and empty streets
we forever remember the words
spoken in hushed tones
so that we might for a brief period
return to these bygone beautiful instants
Change. Life continually changes. Those who are stuck in the past, who long for the past in the present, will always have a problem with the future, with how things are. But change is inherently unpredictable, strange, and alarming to some degree. Change is not easy, and that is probably why some people fight it.
I know I am not always in love with change, even though I profess its laboratory qualities.
Take to examples. One's favorite bar changes without one knowing. When you arrive after the changes have taken place, it can strike one as odd, why did they make these changes? Was it necessary, and why change something if it is not broken? (Today, we see so much change that one wonders if people change things just for the sake of changing it...) But the other example one more depressing, is that of death. People leave us, and this untimely departure can leave a gaping hole that makes it hard to change, to accept the forced change placed on us.
I found both these aspects of change present in the farm town of Swellendam. My grandparents lived in the town for many years, and we visited there regularly. But this all changed in 2021 or so when my grandparents passed away. Linked with the inherent need to change, the town itself also changed drastically throughout the years since we started visiting there.
The wonderful thing about this travel community is that one can see the change happen if enough people visit the town; and Swellendam has been on Worldmappin (pineapple) 5 or 6 now! In this post, I will venture through the new streets, the constantly changing and moving town of Swellendam, where the old meets the new, and the only constant is change. Please join me on this virtual journey to this beautiful historic and renewed town!
Nature Flowing through the Town
The town is nestled on the foot of the Swellendam Mountains. Depending on where you stand, you will have the most beautiful views of the mountains. This is where you can pick the most delicious berries! I posted about this a while ago but so also have some other Hiveans posted about this very beautiful and by no famous berry farm!
The town is also close to the Fynbos plant biome, so there are still remnants of the beauty in the town. Sadly, most of the natural plant biome is destroyed by factory farming that happens on the outskirts of the town. You drive for 100s of kilometres next to wheat, canola, and alfalfa farms. But let us not think about this for now...
Beauty stretches only as far as you are willing to look. The sleepy streets of Swellendam, especially on rainy days, are always met with the mountains in the background.
Early Morning Market
The first drastic change we encountered, for the good, was the early morning market that the town wanted to promote. This was not there when my grandparents lived, and I am sad about this as my grandfather would have loved it. He would have sold his woodwork projects there, I am sure of it!
The town subsidises the market, as the amount per stand for the day is significantly lower than others I have seen. They even reduce the fee entirely when you do not sell anything.
We saw many older people selling their hobbies, or the products from their hobbies, and this made me think even more about my grandfather...
In any case, we grabbed some nice coffee, food to snack on, and we tried to help those we could.
There is also a bustling art scene in town with some of the artists selling their art at the market.
The Historic Church
Year-round, busses full of tourists stop at the historic church in the centre of town. I think this is probably one of the most photographed attractions in town.
I am no different, as I stood there with my camera taking photographs of the church.
I remember the story my grandfather told me about the spire (the top piece of the building) falling off due to wind or fire, I cannot exactly remember. What a story it was, according to him, to get the new one fixed. What a sight it would have been to witness this event.
Alas, here I was again, after so many years, taking photographs of the church. Unfortunately, we could not enter as a service was ongoing that morning and the gates were closed.
Here are some other photographs as well.
The Historic Buildings in Town
My grandfather always told us with a sense of pride that Swellendam was the first republic in South Africa and that its then president, a President Steyn, was his great-great-grandfather, or something along that line. That is why he wanted to retire in this town. But this indicates how old the town is, with its scattered old buildings as well. Some other Hiveans have also covered this topic and my grandfathered also worked in the museum in town.
A lot of the older buildings are used for cafes and restaurants. (And yes, that looks like a Freemasons building....)
The Old and the New: Blues Bars and Italian Pastries
The town has its fair share of old oddities, like most of the old towns in South Africa which I have covered. It is strange the allure and tendency to preserve the old in our towns here in South Africa. But the blending of the old with the new is an ever-increasing tendency.
The blues bar in town has been covered in yonder years by someone else, but the place really changed a bit. We went there, eating pub food, drinking beer, and enjoying a live game of Rugby on the TV; but the place is really "scruffy", a real bar, and I love it! It is in an old building, and they have various live animals from monkeys to parrots.
Elsewhere, there are many old carts (ossewaens) which people apparently still collect...
And then there is the "famous" Tredici coffee shop and restaurant. This has also been covered by someone else many years ago. As you drive into town, this big Italian (Roman or even Greek) inspired building stands out like a sore thumb (in a sense). Between all of the farmhouses, this big building housing fancy treats (not always traditional and local) offers many things to tourists. For me, it is a very strange addition to the town. But it has been operating for many years, so it is doing well...
Our Family Favorite Stops: Honey and Books
I always gravitate toward the really big bookshop in town. This place has also changed a lot, I think going through two or three different shops. Recently, the Bokmakiri bookshop (namesake of a local bird) has been housed in a big house, with many rooms filled with old and rare but also new books.
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My father's favourite shop to stop at is the local honey shop! They have "honey on tap" in which you bring your own pot and they fill it up. But they also have so many different varieties of honey, it is almost unthinkable!
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Ending the Trip with Beer, Wine, and a Rainy Evening
The evening before travelling home, it started to rain. I grabbed my beer passport, and we grabbed a beer at the new local brewery. We also grabbed a bottle of Jan Harmsgat Wine, a winery and bed and breakfast on the outskirts of town. The rich diversity of the town can be seen in just this; they cater for everyone.
The rain fell slowly, and it was almost like another goodbye for and from my grandparents. I do not like this town, just because of the memories linked to it and nothing personally about the town itself. I do not like nostalgia when it is linked to loved ones...
But the town is beautiful, and my fiance wanted to see it. And we still need to sell my grandparent's house... So we will still be travelling there for a while.
I hope that you enjoyed this virtual tour of this sleepy but ever-changing farm town in South Africa! Do visit it when you find yourself in this part of the world.
For now, happy travelling and keep safe.
All of the musings, writings, and meanderings are my own (subjective opinions). I hyperlinked a couple of other Hiveans' posts related to the town. The photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300 or iPhone.
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The town offers so many wonderful places to enjoy the day. I would have loved that honey store and eaten at Tredici. It looks elegant! Happy travels.
These are special shops with special memories! Thank you for travelling with me and I am sure that you would have loved them. Hope that you might see them sometime! Safe travels.
Travel Digest #2292.
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Hiya, @ybanezkim26 here, just swinging by to let you know that this post made it into our Honorable Mentions in Your post has been manually curated by the @worldmappin team. If you like what we're doing, please drop by to check out all the rest of today's great posts and consider supporting other authors like yourself and us so we can keep the project going!Thank you so much @ybanezkim26 for the mention! Keep well.
I had an utmost fun while reading this, the town has a lot of wonderful places to visit
Thank you so much! I really appreciate that! Keep well and safe travels
We wanted to go back again, as we simply did not have enough time to see everything, but that won't happen now!Beautiful historic Swellendam, you brought back happy memories @fermentedphil! Yes, you're on the ball, we were there as the nasty COVID hit SA, and made it just before the lockdown!
Take home the new memories <3
Thank you so much. It is really a wonderful place and it has so many beautiful scenery around it, from the historic buildings to the most beautiful forests in the mountains. And thank you so much, that is true; take home the new memories.
Whoa, amazing. Swellendam looks like those towns I've seen on movies. You have amazing photography skills too!
Thank you so much, I really appreciate it! It comes from many years of learning the camera I work with, thanks so much!