BVN DUTCH NEWS

We now also have the Dutch BVN NEWS CHANNEL as an EXTRA TV channel.  Our guests and their comfort are important to us!

SUSHI MASTER IN STELLENBOSCH

Stellenbosch has its own World Class Sushi Master.  Arata, from Genki Restaurant, currently ranks between 7th and 12th in the world as a Sushi Master.
Born in 1945, he studied for 10 years in Tokyo to become a Sushi Master. He has worked in New York, LA and Cape Town. He was at the old Tank Restaurant in the Cape Quartier for 5 ½ years before joining Genki Restaurant in Stellenbosch.

LENTE?...

Gisternag se sagte, aanhoudende reën herinner aan NP van Wyk Louw se WINTER, uit DIE HALWE KRING
"Nou lê die aarde nagtelang en week
in die donker stil genade van die reën,
en skemer huise en takke daeliks bleek
deur die wit mistigheid en suising heen.
Dis alles ryk en rustig van die swaar
geheime wasdom wat sy paaie vind
deur warm aarde na elke skeut en blaar,
en ver en naby alles duister bind
in vog en vrugbaarheid en groot verlange;
tot ons ’n helder middag skielik sien
die gras blink, en die jong graan teen die hange,
en weet dat alle rus die lewe dien:
hoe kon ek dink dat somer ryker is
as hierdie groei se stil geheimenis?"

QUOTE FOR THE DAY

"I have discovered the secret that after climbing a great hill, one only finds there are many more hills to climb." - Nelson Mandela

20 STELLENBOSCH

20 Stellenbosch - Celebrating two decades of South African sculpture, this exhibition consists of over 30 outdoor sculptures placed at various locations within the historic town of Stellenbosch. In this the project follows on Dylan Lewis’s very successful exhibition where his animal work was similarly displayed.  The exhibition endeavours to remind visitors and the local community that South African fine art, and sculpture in particular, can be unexpected, thought provoking, moving and beautiful. It is also a particular aim of 20 Stellenbosch to demonstrate the power and rewards of having art in one’s surroundings and being engaged with creativity as one goes about daily life. There are few towns in the country which are so suited to the display of public art, and it is hoped that 20 Stellenbosch will encourage debate, stimulate discussion and bring visitors from far and wide.

STIAS

A Creator Of New Knowledge - STIAS (The Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study) where top researchers and intellectual leaders are nurtured and encouraged to find innovative and sustainable solutions to issues facing the world and in particular the country and the continent of Africa.  The idea for such an Institute was first conceived in 2000 and was immediately positively received by the local and international research community. However, it was only in 2005 when a donation from the Marianne and Marcus Wallenberg foundation enabled STIAS to build a modern research and seminar centre that the Institute came into its own.

22 DIE LAAN STUDIO

22 Die Laan Studio

This is for the budget conscious, yet sophisticated, traveller, who prefers no fuss, but stylish, accommodation. Although excellently priced, it offers FREE Wi-Fi Internet, a bar fridge, microwave oven and kettle as well as a Queen size bed + a single bed in the room. There is underfloor heating in the room, and a heated towel rail in the bathroom, as well as a ceiling fan and an upright loose standing fan in the unit. We also have Satellite TV with SKY NEWS and the DUTCH BVN NEWS as EXTRA TV channels. Secure parking on the premises, behind an electronic gate, is available.

No breakfast is served, but guests have the option of having breakfast at the Guest House @ R60 pp/breakfast.

Not located on the same premises as the Guest House, it is in Koch Street in Krigeville, and is within easy walking distance from all the restaurants, shops etc in central Stellenbosch. It is very close to the 3 High Schools, Paul Roos Gymnasium, Bloemhof and Rhenish. It is also close to Primary Schools Eikestad and Rhenish, easily accessible to the R44 as well as 4 minutes’ drive from the Stellenbosch Medi-Clinic and Techno Park. It is literally down the road from the new Stellenbosch Academy of Sport (SAS).

THEATRE NEWS

OUDE LIBERTAS Hierdie opelugteater open vanjaar hul somerkonsert-reeks met Karen Zoid en Vusi Mahlasela. 27 November 2011 om 18h30
 

RECYCLING IN STELLENBOSCH

Stellenbosch Municipality has introduced an initiative to recycle waste.  We at 22 Die Laan Guest House are delighted.  Not only do we get to help with local waste management, amongst others because the Landhill Site (dumping ground) is estimated to last only another 4-5 months, but we will also be saving on refuse bags.  The Municipality provides these special refuse bags free of charge. 

EAT OUT AWARDS 2011

Stellenbosch boasts 3 of the top10 EAT OUT restaurants in the country! At a glittering awards ceremony held at the Rotunda at the Bay Hotel recently,  the winners of the 2011 Eat Out DStv Food Network Restaurant Awards and the prestigious Top 10 restaurants were announced. The 3 Stellenbosch restaurants are Overture, Terroir and Jordan. The Table at De Meye was voted the best Country Style Restaurant.

NELSON MANDELA

22 Die Laan Guest House salutes Nelson Mandela - icon of our life time. This art work by Marco Cianfanelli near Howick celebrates the 50 years since Mandela's capture in 1962.
On 5 August 1962, an otherwise ordinary piece of road along the R103, roughly three kilometres outside Howick in South Africa's KwaZulu-Natal province, suddenly took on profound consequence. Armed apartheid police flagged down a car in which Nelson Mandela was pretending to be the chauffeur.
Having succeeded in evading capture by apartheid operatives for 17 months, Mandela had just paid a clandestine visit to African National Congress (ANC) president Chief Albert Luthuli's Groutville home to report back on his African odyssey, and to request support in calling for an armed struggle.
It was in this dramatic way, at this unassuming spot, that Nelson Mandela was finally captured, and proceeded to disappear from public view for the next 27 years.
Marking the 50-year anniversary of what began Nelson Mandela's "long walk to freedom" - and the piece of land that, quite randomly, irrevocably altered the history of South Africa - is a quietly powerful new sculpture, set into the environment of this silently potent space.
The extraordinary sculpture by artist Marco Cianfanelli comprises 50 steel column constructions - each between 6.5 and 9.5 metres tall.  The approach to the site, designed by architect Jeremy Rose of Mashabane Rose Associates, leads one down a path towards the sculpture where, at a distance of 35 metres, a portrait of Nelson Mandela, looking west, comes into focus as the 50 linear vertical units line up to create the illusion of a flat image.
The effect of Cianfanelli's image is at once monumental and transient.
Cianfanelli says of the deliberate structural paradox: "The 50 columns represent the 50 years since his capture, but they also suggest the idea of many making the whole; of solidarity.
"It points to an irony, as the political act of Mandela's incarceration cemented his status as an icon of struggle, which helped ferment the groundswell of resistance, solidarity and uprising, bringing about political change and democracy."
The sculpture both affects and is affected by the surrounding landscape, visually shifting throughout the day as light and atmosphere behind and around it change.
An additional five smaller columns create an axis from the main sculpture to the monument site across the road.

WINTER IN DIE LAAN, STELLENBOSCH…

Beat the cold this winter with a book and a glass of sherry in front of our fireplace http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtIa3RFFOjM&feature=em-upload_owner

THINGS TO DO IN STELLENBOSCH & CAPE TOWN

STELLENBOSCH:  DELHEIM WINE ESTATE MUSHROOM WEEK  Did you know about this fantastic event at Delheim Wine Estate: The Delheim Mushroom Week – 17-23 June 2013.  Contact us to book your accommodation at 22 Die Laan Guest House for this event and join the cooking experience.  021 886 8753/ info@22dielaanguesthouse.co.za  Rooms are limited so book now !  http://www.delheim.com/blog/   Want to know a Boletus Edulis from a pine ring and discover the secret world of wild mushrooms? While many fungi fans are known to remain tight lipped about their favourite hunting spot for the elusive ‘shroom, Delheim lifts the lid on this secrecy with our Mushroom Week which kicks off with two exclusive foraging expeditions in our own forest on 17 & 18 June.

Avid aficionados can slip on their boots and baskets and join us for an enchanting trudge through the forest in search of these rare seasonal delicacies under the guidance of Nora Sperling-Thiel and Gary Goldman aka “The Mushroom Hunter’ – a guru with a keen fungi sense and sharp eye who can spot a camouflaged porcini in no time.  After working up an appetite in the forest, foragers will head to Delheim’s Vat Cellar for an exquisite buffet-style lunch indulgence featuring wild and exotic* mushroom dishes, to be enjoyed with a selection of Delheim’s latest vintages and cellar gems.

There are only a few spots available for the Delheim Wild Mushroom Forage (on 17 & 18 June) and tickets cost R250 per person, which include a short-course in mushroom identification – a very important precursor to avoid poisoning and learn the dangers and don’ts when it comes to picking these edible wonders – prior to the forest forage, as well as the languid cellar lunch (beverages excluded).

The hunt starts at 10.30 and pre-bookings for this ex-CEP-tional experience are essential. For more information or to book, contact Delheim at Tel. 021 888 4607; send an email to restaurant@delheim.com, or visit http://www.delheim.com