When we return from Namibia to Switzerland, we have to get used to a different dimension. At 825,000 square kilometers, Namibia is about twenty times larger than Switzerland and has a population of just under three million. (After Mongolia, Namibia is considered the most sparsely populated independent country in the world.) Unlike in Switzerland, people in Namibia are not in one another’s way…

Farms in Namibia are also larger, measuring between 3,000 and 30,000 hectares. (In Switzerland, the average farm size is just under 22 hectares!). It’s no exaggeration to say that Namibia offers its residents plenty of space. It’s no wonder that buildings are more spacious and the houses have larger rooms. (Visitors from Namibia are always amazed when they visit us in Kandersteg and see how small the rooms are.) We then explain to them that this has something to do with the high property prices. And also with the fact that heating costs are lower for smaller rooms than for larger ones.

It always takes us a few days to get used to it. The bathroom in our house in Swakopmund is four times the size of the one in Kandersteg, the bedroom three times, and the living room twice. Yesterday, Brigitta grinned and called it a «doll’s house». But we feel comfortable here; and at least we can’t get lost in this apartment…