I’m struggling with this post. I keep writing stuff and then deleting it because I don’t know what to say about Hillbrow that I haven’t said before. I’ve been blogging about Hillbrow since 2011 (that first post was embarrassing though), and I’ve used up all the Hillbrow clichés. I’ve even created some clichés of my own, like “Hillbrow is hard to know.” I wrote that in 2017 and then almost used it as the title of this post, until I realized it’s super pretentious.

I don’t want to go into the whole story of why the library, which underwent a glorious renovation just a little over a decade ago, has been closed for such an inordinately long time – theoretically for repairs. There are lots of other stories you can read about that, and anyway if you live in Joburg you already know the answer. The city is experiencing a complete breakdown of infrastructure and public services, and our political leaders seem unwilling or unable to do anything about it.

Thorsten and I recently spent three days in Munich, Germany, at the beginning of our whirlwind European trip. We went to Munich because it was a logical place to meet up with Thorsten’s kids, who live across the border in Austria, and because we wanted to visit Thorsten’s friend Susi, who was his schoolmate many years ago at the German School in Joburg. Susi lives with her family just outside Munich, in the quaint town of Pullach.

Every time I think I’ve visited all the historic churches in downtown Joburg, another one pops out of the woodwork. My latest “discovery” is the spectacular Cathedral of St. Mary the Virgin, or St. Mary’s Cathedral, on Wanderers Street in the Joburg CBD.

When my friend Michelle, with whom I traveled around Spain during my recent European trip, first suggested we should check out the Picos de Europa, I had the same response that you might be having: the Who de What?

Ever since I moved to Melville in 2010 – and since long before that – people have been portending the suburb’s demise. “Melville’s not like it used to be,” people would say. And I used to chuckle at those people until a couple of years ago, when I’m ashamed to admit I became one of them.

I recently learned a bonkers statistic: Around 40% of all of the hominid fossils ever discovered were unearthed in the Cradle of Humankind. In other words, close to half of all the known fossils from our human ancestors – in the entire world – came out of the ground right here in Gauteng Province. This UNESCO World Heritage Site, less than an hour from Joburg, is more than a bunch of bucolic green hills – it’s one of the most important archeological regions on earth.

This jumpsuit love story began eight months ago, when I booked a Caraci experience on Airbnb to celebrate my birthday. Thorsten and I spent a glorious day in the Joburg CBD, shopping for African print fabric, learning how to sew, hanging out in the city, and having fabulous jackets made to our exact measurements.