Back in August (a phrase which I almost hate typing because it demonstrates just how far behind we are on updating this blog!), I celebrated my third birthday abroad. The first two of my birthdays abroad each involved border crossings,1 and early on in this trip I had put my foot down: I would not be crossing any land borders on my birthday, and I would prefer not to have to engage in any minibus shenanigans either.
Accordingly, we traveled from Bahir Dar to Gondar the day before my birthday. I’m not going to bore you all with yet another tale of haggling over minibus prices (although this time there was an involved discussion of the fare paid for the giant cabbages being transported on the roof), but I’ll just say that I’m glad that we didn’t have to do it on my birthday.2
We checked into our hotel and spent the rest of the day relaxing and plotting our time in Gondar. Alas, even though our hotel was well-appointed, it turned out to be down the street from a couple of raucous bars that kept us up literally all night.3 In the end, I did have to strap on my backpack on my birthday – but it was just to move to a different, less fancy but much nicer hotel in a quieter part of town. Our new digs were so much more relaxing, and we enjoyed some complimentary coffee on the lovely terrace while we waited out the rain.
After lunch, we headed to the main attraction in Gondar: Fasil Ghebbi, otherwise known as the Royal Enclosure. Didn’t know there were castles in Africa? Me either!
The Royal Enclosure dates back to the 17th and 18th centuries and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site since 1979. It was fascinating to be able to walk around the grounds and see the various buildings. It drizzled through most of our visit, but, just as we were concluding our tour, the rain let up and we were able to get some great pictures. See for yourself:
After we finished with the Royal Enclosure, we took a tuk tuk across town with our guide to visit the Fasilides’ Bath, where Timkat is celebrated annually.
We rounded out my birthday with some Bob’s Burgers (thanks, Marc!) and dinner at Four Sisters, the nicest restaurant in town. We drank a lot of tej, a honey wine customary in Ethiopia, and feasted on heaps on delicious Ethiopian food. At the end of the evening, the staff performed a traditional dance in honor of my birthday and presented me with a large dish of popcorn bearing a candle, which was shared with the other patrons in the restaurant. It was a wonderful birthday!
The following day, we visited the other major attraction in Gondar: the Debre Berhan Selassie Church. According to our guidebook, when a band of “marauding Sudanese Dervishes” sacked Gondar in the 1880’s, this was the only church in town that was spared from destruction. The story is that, when the would-be invaders showed up outside the gates of the church, a swarm of bees flew out of the door and scared them away.
Where We Stayed:
☆ AG Hotel. Two goats. The hotel itself was fairly nice, but the bars down the street ruined our stay. (In fairness, we have friends who have stayed there and didn’t experience the same problem.) To the hotel’s credit, they gave us the night free. The breakfast was weird, but that wasn’t unexpected.
☆ Lodge du Chateau. Five goats. This cute place has a friendly vibe. We loved the beautiful courtyard, the terrace with the great view over the city, and our comfortable bed. The staff was great, making a welcome sign for our arrival and even gifting me with a jar of honey for my birthday. Also, the breakfast was quite delightful.
Where We Ate:
☆ AG Hotel. We were too lazy to go out for dinner, and were pleased to discover that the chicken sandwich was something remarkable.
☆ Master Chef. I had the grilled fish for lunch on my birthday while Marc had pasta, and he had fish goulash the next day while I switched to pasta. Everything was delicious, including the complimentary bread.
☆ Four Sisters. This the nicest restaurant in town and arguably the most atmospheric restaurant we visited in all of Ethiopia. We had my birthday dinner there and loved it so much we returned the next time. (The next night, we were amused to discover that we knew every single person in the restaurant: some people also staying in our hotel, some folks we had met on the boat trip in Bahir Dar, and a girl we had met in Addis Ababa who was dining with a guy who had been at Four Sisters the previous night.)
1 In 2007, we crossed from mainland China to Macau on my birthday, and the following year we crossed from Myanmar into Thailand.
2 To be fair, once we got moving in the minibus, it was a decent ride.
3 Well, it kept Marc awake. I could sleep through a train wreck.
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