Windhoek: Lutheran churches and meteorites downtown

Windhoek surprises those expecting only a stopover to the desert: Bavarian-style Lutheran spires, a colonial fort converted to a museum and markets telling today's Namibia coexist just blocks apart.

In 24 hours you can touch all the main points, remaining mostly on foot for much of the journey.

The Christuskirche, a Lutheran church in sandstone built in the early twentieth century, is probably the city's most photographed building: its miniature neogothic architecture deliberately clashes with the rest of the skyline.

Slightly below, the Alte Feste, Windhoek's oldest fortress, today hosts a section of the Independence Memorial Museum: it retraces Namibian history from German colonialism to independence in 1990.

On Post Street Mall, a pedestrian mall in the center, authentic fragments of the Gibeon meteorite, among the largest ever found on Earth, are displayed: an unusual detail that few visitors expect to encounter while strolling.

For local crafts, the Namibia Craft Centre gathers under one roof woodworking, textiles, and jewelry from all regions of the Country, convenient for those with little time to browse scattered markets.

Outside this day remain Katutura township, just minutes from the center but rarely included in short itineraries, and excursions toward the Namib Desert, which demand more than a full day.

Windhoek itself, though, is well exhausted in the 24 hours described, without leaving the feeling of having missed something essential.