Month: November 2009

Oktoberfest 2009!


It was with great excitement that we awaited the 2009 Octoberfest. It was the official opening of Hostel Tinktinkie!

When we received the enquiry in August to accommodate a group of 14 people, we were excited and nervous at the same time. This will be our first big group and the question was can we do it? How do we keep a big group happy? Later in the week we received another booking for 3 girls and the number increased to 17 people. We were officially fully booked!

We had our work cut out for us. We still had one room to finish! We asked the carpenter to make extra beds and I started to make the duvets and bedding. Writing about it now does not seem like allot of work but believe me it was. We looked at the room with great pride and joy when it was finished.

2 weeks before the Festival I received another email from Sebastian asking us to accommodate 2 more people. Impossible I thought, we have no more space! But Andrey came up with a solution. We have 2 blowup mattresses. Were they prepared to take it? YES!! So the number increased to 19!!!

Tinktinkie was buzzing and the vibe was great. The guys watched the soccer match between Argentina and Peru and the spirits were high when Argentina won the game. Then off to the Beer Festival for the guys!

Breakfast and showering were challenging. If you snooze you loose.It is a big family and you have to be quick! Breakfast consisted of freshly baked medialunas and facturas and coffee. Breakfast was served in the kitchen and it was wonderful to hear all the laughter and conversations around the table. Overall they entertained themselves, playing some chess or Truco (a card game) or just relaxing in a group drinking some mate. Then hard partying at the beer festival.

We would like to thank Sebastian and Majo for the bookings made at Tinktinkie. We hope you all had a fantastic time…we sure did. The Oktoberfest 2009 will always be carved in our memories and we will remember this time fondly!

Choosing a name for our Hostel!


Mis disculpas a la gente de habla español. Mi blog es en Inglés, pero hay una función para traducir en español.


Tinktinkie” is the Afrikaans word for a small little bird in South Africa.

When I was a little girl, my grandfather used to call me his Tinktinkie or little bird. It was his special name for me and I still remember it to this day. When we discussed names for our hostel I mentioned it to Andrey. He liked the name so much and so “Hostel Tinktinkie” was born.

“Tinktinkie” is a very foreign name to the Spanish speaking people here. I love it when the pronounce it! It sounds beautiful.

Que significa Tinktinkie“? “Tinktinkie” es una palabra en Afrikaans que significa un pajarito chiquito. Cuando estuve niña, mi abuelo, me llamaba “mi Tinktinkie”. Fue el nombre especial para mi y todavia estoy recordando esto con cariño.

Cuando fuimos eligiendo el nombre para el hostel se lo mencioné a Andrey. A él le gusto el nombre y asi el hostel “Tinktinkie” nació.

“Tinktinkie” es un nombre muy extraño para las personas que hablan español. Me encanta como la gente lo pronuncian! Suena hermoso.