Palm Sunday in Luderitz, Namibia

We arrived in Lüderitz yesterday morning. Lüderitz is a coastal town in southwestern Namibia. It was Palm Sunday and we had hoped to attend a local church service (in English) if we could get there on time. The ship hadn't docked yet so we went ahead and attended its onboard service. Afterwards, we disembarked and walked from the port into the town, perhaps a 15-20 minute walk. We were hoping to visit the "Church on the Rock", a 112 year old Evangelical Lutheran church, and attend their Palm Sunday service. Unfortunately, it started at 9 a.m. so was already over by the time we arrived. We learned that the service was in German, so we couldn’t have understood much. Still, we would have enjoyed worshiping with the locals there.

It was a climb to get up there but the church door was still open. There was a very nice man inside who answered our questions. He also had some nice postcards for sale, as well as stamps and could even make change for us in US dollars. 

 

town map

 

Willkommen

 

Felsenkirche (English: Rock Church)

Rock Church sanctuary

 

beautiful stained glass

 

There was one strange part of the particular window above. Martin Luther is shown on top but there was a bull's head with a crown on the bottom. Not sure you can make it out in this photo. Turns out, it was the Coat of Arms of Duke Johann Abrecht of Mecklenberg, Germany who donated the property the church was built on.

Bible is printed in German

plaque near entrance

examples of beautiful stained glass

 

built into the rock face on Diamond Hill

walk in love

 

panoramic bay view behind church

 

I took lots of pictures as we walked through the town and also inside the church with my friend Karen in mind. Being a Sunday, most all the businesses were closed (imagine that!) but there was one grocery store open and some sidewalk vendors across the street. For the most part, it was just tourists like ourselves walking around.

 

Bay View Hotel

blue colonial house on Berg Street

some of the streets are unpaved

Namibia cigars (photo courtesy Lynn Lott)

I wish prices at home were like they are in Luderitz. I bought a box of crackers, a jar of peanut butter, 3 candy bars (a kind that sells for $4 each at World Market) and 2 packages of anti-bacterial wipes for my purse, and my total bill came to something between $6-$7! 

 

bought by special request

 

Ronnie was anxious to get back to the ship – not only because we were hungry but also because on the walk up to the church, he discovered that his phone was not in his pocket. We wondered if perhaps one of the taxi drivers that crowded us as we came through the port gate might have taken it (we have been duly warned about pick pockets in South Africa). But thankfully, in his haste to get off he had accidentally left it on the ship! It was a huge relief but also a good reminder that we need to keep our guard up when we’re out. We are such obvious tourists! 

back at port (this thing is huge!)

our home away from home