smaug Posted Aug 4, 2009, 4:14 am |
Hi,
my name is Landroval and I am a young bald eagle (I am not really bald, not yet at least ![]() ![]() ![]() I was born on the Rocky Mountains and until today I spent my life looking down from high peaks or fishing in one of the lakes around here. I actually really love looking at the world below from the top of a mountain and I love fresh fish too ![]() ![]() ![]() This morning I was standing on the top of a mountain when I saw a group of strange animals labouring their way up one of the smallest mountains...and there was also a bald eagle with them (obviously a stranger as I had never seen him before and I know all the eagles living in this part of the Rockies) so I decided to fly down and find out something more about them. ![]() It turned out that they are Toyvoyagers and they travel around the world...I was actually quite intrigued by the idea of exploring the world out of my mountains and so I asked if I could be a TV too and I ended up here, looking for my first host ![]() ![]() If you wish to host me please send a pm to smaug who kindly offered to mentor me and to help me in organizing my trip...look forward to meet you ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 4, 2009, 4:22 am |
Hi,
today was a lovely day and we went for a walk in Calgary, my first exploration out of the Rockies ![]() ![]() ...and upstream. I was a bit surprised that all the birds disappeared as soon as I showed myself out of the bag, but sammino explained me that, even if we are TVs, the wildlife still see us as fearsome birds of prey ![]() ![]() After a few km we reached a place called Edworthy Park. Going up a hill you have an incredible view of North Calgary ![]() ![]() This colourful building behind me is the Alberta Children Hospital ![]() ![]() And you can even see Downtown Calgary, oooh ![]() ![]() Smaug’s pointing out that skyscrapers in Calgary are not all leaning like the Tower in Pisa, but because of the glare he couldn’t really see that the photo was coming out a bit tilted ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 9, 2009, 6:19 am |
Hi!
Yesterday Smaug told me that I have been invited to Germany by my first host, I am so excited ![]() So today I had my final look at the Rockies, in a place called C Level Cirque. First we stopped along the way because Smaug had a site visit to do. Unfortunately the visit was on Police land, so for security reason Smaug couldn’t take any picture of us to be posted here ![]() ![]() ![]() Later we reached our destination near Banff. Smaug explained us that in the early 20th century a town of more than 1000 miners was located here working on coal extraction. C Level was the highest part of the mining operation on the side of the mountain. Along the trail there are a lot of fenced holes in the ground that were the air vents for the mining shafts. Sully Monster was quite keen to jump the fence, go down and check the shafts ![]() Close to the abandoned mines we took this picture of Lake Minnewanka. ![]() Then we reached the actual cirque. Cirque is French word used by geologists to define a semicircular, bowl-shaped depression created by an alpine glacier. In this case the glacier is long gone but a little depression is still there, fed by lot of rubble falling down by the surrounding rock walls. ![]() ![]() ![]() We actually followed the trail a bit higher up to reach a good view point where we took some more photos. ![]() ![]() ![]() We didn’t linger as flies and mosquitoes were a bit of pain . Smaug said they were a bit more aggressive than usual as they almost completely ignored the exposed skin, well covered with insect repellent, and instead happily drilled their way to the unprotected skin through the clothes ![]() Once we were back to the car I had final look at the map (hmm, looks like Germany falls out of this map) and said goodbye to everybody as I will flight directly to my next host. ![]() sammino came with me to the roof of that car to look at my take-off and en route he suggested that the trip might be easier using one of the flights to Frankfurt that leave Calgary Airport daily ![]() ![]() It’s a long way but I think I can do it, Germany here I come ![]() ![]() Bye |
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Sissi Posted Aug 20, 2009, 12:01 pm |
I now arrived in Aach, in southern Germany. It's very (!!) hot at the moment here!
I was warmly welcome by Majik, Lenny and ThomasHH. We just rest in the shadow cause in the sun it would be really to hot! But Sissi told me we will soon go out and visit cool places! Can't wait! |
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Sissi Posted Aug 24, 2009, 11:20 am |
Hi
Today we made a trip to the Lochmühle in Eigeltingen. Eigeltingen is a small community with around 3.500 inhabitants, about 5 km away from Aach where Sissi is living. The Lochmühle itself is a 400-years-old farm which is nowadays a theme park that is very popular, esp. for families. ![]() Look, that's me in front of the sign that stands in front of the entry! We saw pigs ... ![]() ... and horses. ![]() ![]() There were many ponds, too. ![]() All 5 of us ![]() ![]() |
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Sissi Posted Aug 29, 2009, 6:34 am |
A trip to Radolfzell
We went to Radolfzell these days. Radolfzell is a town at the western end of Lake Constace. It is a well known health care city and an important railroad junction. In 1990 Radolfzell was named the Federal Environment Capital City of Germany. Radolfzell was developed out of a monastery founded in 826 AD as a "cell" under Bishop Radolf of Verona. The town belonged to the Abbey of Reichenau, then to the house of Habsburg for a long time, and for 40 years was a Free Imperial City. This is me at the market place. In the back you see some signs that lead to the museum, lake, park, etc. ![]() We then went to the lake. We had to pass the railroad and took a photo with a train. Sissi told us that she went to school for 3 years here in Radolfzell and always came with train. ![]() Then we reached the lake. There was a little girl with her parents coming, too and when she saw the lake she told “Oh!!! The sea!!!”. Actually, Lake Constance is really also named “Swabian Sea” (not officially though). ![]() There were also many ducks and swans. ![]() ![]() On the other side of the harbour mole is the harbour with many ships. ![]() ![]() In the end we also made a group photo! ![]() Bye bye! |
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Sissi Posted Oct 4, 2009, 5:00 pm |
I'm leaving Aach tomorrow. My new host lives in Remscheid, also in Germany so I think I won't have a long voyage ![]() |
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Sissi Posted Oct 4, 2009, 5:11 pm |
Hi mommy!
We made a walk to the Aachquelle here in Aach! The Aachquelle is Germany's biggest natural spring. It is producing an average of 8,500 liters per second. The name Aachquelle or Aachtopf is compounded from Aach (meaning water in Old High German), the name of the river created by the spring. Topf can be translated as bowl and is commonly used for round, bowl-shaped springs. The Aach flows southward into Lake Constance, which empties into the Rhine. Most of the water is derived from the Danube River and is obtained where the latter river disappears underground at the Donauversickerung (Danube Sink) near Immendingen and Fridingen. Strangely, the Danube flows eastwards into the Black Sea, whereas the Rhine flows northwards to the North Sea. Therefore the water of the Aach flows under the European continental divide. This is a relatively common feature of karst stream captures. The Aachtopf is a favourite weekend destination and very romantic. It is not possible to see the cave because it is underwater and cave diving is extremely dangerous. We had to walk through an old lane in Aach. It's the Mill-Lane (Muehlengasse) and there are many old houses. ![]() ![]() Behind the Mill-Lane is the river Aach. So obviously there are also many bridges. ![]() ![]() The signd here's showing you how many kilometers it takes to reach other towns or sightseeings. There are often people hiking or doing bycicle tours. ![]() We also went by to many gardens with trees. Although Fall is coming the leaves are still green. ![]() Then we met some goose!!! ![]() Then we arrive at the Aachquelle: ![]() Well, the water is a bit green but it's not allowed to take a bath ![]() There are also lots of trees around and the spring lies a bit into the mountains. ![]() ![]() ![]() Some more impressions: ![]() ![]() And this is where we are ![]() ![]() Hugs, Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Oct 8, 2009, 5:45 pm |
Hi Dad,
I arrived in Remscheid today. I travelled in a convenient box. Sissi packed some sweets for my next host, but I tried a few while I travelled. They were ok but I still prefer fish and small mammals. ![]() First I had a look out of the window to see how it looks like at this place. I must admit that I am contented with what I saw. ![]() ![]() ![]() I hope I will see more tomorrow. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Oct 9, 2009, 10:17 pm |
Hi Dad,
Katja showed me the city centre today. She had to go to the post office in the morning during her working time. She is working in a law firm and someone has to fetch the mail from the post office every day. At almost 10:00 am the sun was shining but it was rather cold. ![]() This is the main entrance of the shopping mall "Allee Center". ![]() We walked along the shopping street. ![]() A farmer's market is held in the shopping street on Tuesdays and Fridays. ![]() This modern building belongs to the municipality. ![]() Here you can see the central bus station and in the background the local newspaper's building. ![]() ![]() ![]() We did not like the idea of returning to Katja's workplace but we had to. We decided to buy some fruits for breakfast, so we walked towards the shopping mall. On the left side you can see the theatre. ![]() ![]() I was wondering why there were only few people in the shopping mall. Katja told me that the shops are opening at 10:00 am here (unbelievable!). ![]() Katja promised to show me more after work. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Oct 9, 2009, 10:56 pm |
Hi Dad,
when Katja finished work the sun was still shining which you should better not take for granted because they have lots of rain here, due to the rangy landscape. So we took the chance to take a walk before we went home. From a bridge I had a look at Remscheid's highest-located district, in the background. ![]() ![]() Close to the central station I saw this round building. ![]() Katja decided to walk along the Werkzeugtrasse (Route of Tools) with us. This is a lane which was built on a closed railway track for pedestrians and cyclists. It starts at the central station and is leading to the district Hasten. Remscheid is famous for its tool producing industry. This lane was sponsored by local tool producing companies, that's why it is called Route of Tools. The lane is about 5 km long with some interesting points along the route. Here we are at the central station ... ![]() ... and walking along the Route of Tools. ![]() ![]() Here is a map showing the course of the route. ![]() ![]() [img]This waggon once was for transportation of alcohol for industrial purposes. ![]() Here you can sit down and rest for a while. ![]() Here are some signs showing the names and logos of some of the sponsors. ![]() Sometimes you can find distance data painted on the ground. ![]() Of couse you can find bridges along a former railway track ... ![]() ... and also old factory buildings. Some of them are still in usage. ![]() ![]() ![]() At this point the Route of Tools is crossing a street. We decided to walk home than. ![]() From here we had to walk for about 15 minutes to get home. ![]() ![]() ![]() In this part of the city most old houses survived World War II. ![]() Katja is living in an art-nouveau-house built in 1904. I will show you the house soon. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Oct 16, 2009, 9:41 am |
Hi Dad,
although the weather is bad, we took a walk today in the suburbs of Remscheid. ![]() ![]() We walked through a small hamlet called "Spelsberg". ![]() You can often find those typical houses here, covered with slate or timer-framed houses. They usually have green shutters. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() What a nice place! They even feed birds here, but I don't think they have the right food for me. ![]() It started to rain than, so I prefered to stay in Katja's bag. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Oct 16, 2009, 9:54 am |
Hi Dad,
I just want to let you know that I'm going to spend a week or so with Katja's sister Ina. We'll travel to Helgoland, the only German island not in the immediate vicinity of the mainland. You'll have to go there by ship, the crossing will last about three hours. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 1, 2009, 7:56 am |
Hi,
we are on our way to Heligoland, or in German: Helgoland. We are in Cuxhaven now, we just entered the ship to Helgoland, the "Atlantis". In the background you can see the light vessel "Elbe 1". The passage will take about 2 1/2 hours. ![]() Cuxhaven harbour ... ![]() That's all for today. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 1, 2009, 8:17 am |
Hi,
greetings from Heligoland! Helgoland is a German archipelago in the North Sea. They are the only German islands not in the immediate vicinity of the mainland and are approximately three hours' sailing time from Cuxhaven at the mouth of the River Elbe, in the southeastern corner of the North Sea. Heligoland consists of two islands: the populated triangular 1 km2 (0.4 sq mi) main island to the west and the dune to the east. The main island is commonly divided into the Unterland ("Lower Land") at sea level, the Oberland ("Upper Land), consisting of the plateau. Today we are visiting the "Dune" ![]() This seal is only made of stone, but they have real seals here. ![]() I have a great overview from the top of this beach chair. ![]() They also have a small lighthouse on the "Dune". ![]() Here you can enjoy the Heligoland national dishes: Lobster Knieper (claws of large edible crab) Labskaus (a stew made of salted meat or corned beef, potatoes, herring, onion and beetroot) Bald Eagle with french fries *haha* ![]() ![]() I angled this gigantic fish, all on my own, and than I hauled it to land. ![]() Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 1, 2009, 8:24 am |
Hi,
I'm considering if I should fly to the "Dune" again ... ![]() The world belongs to ToyVoyagers! Hippoda is also with us and a teddy bear which belongs to Katja's sister, it's Verdi. ![]() This is the "Hermann Marwede", the largest cruiser of the DGzRS, (Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Rettung Schiffbrüchiger) in English known as the German Lifeboat Institution, which is responsible for Search and Rescue in German territorial waters in the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, including the Exclusive Economic Zone. The home port of this ship is Helgoland. The DGzRS is entirely financed by membership fees, private donations and legacies. ![]() Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 1, 2009, 8:56 am |
Hi Dad,
I found a nice place for a rest. ![]() These are the famous Hummerbuden (we did not find any english word, literally translated it would be "Lobster booth)" Formerly they were booth of fishermen, nowadays they contain shops, restaurants and bars. ![]() You can find this statue in front of Hummerbude 31. The artist included a special sort of stone. It is flint, a red flint, which is only found here on Heligoland an on the neighbour island, Dune. it was used by people in stone age already. ![]() It is really windy today. It is a force 7 - 9 wind with squalls. ![]() The sailors have to work hard ... ![]() By the way, this is the North Sea is a marginal, epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, part of the Atlantic ocean. These are lobsterots opposite of the Hummerbuden (Lobster booth), this fits perfectly. ![]() My face is a bit blurred on the next photo, but you can see the harbour and the Hummerbuden perfectly. On the left side you can see the hospital. ![]() This is a small lighthouse in the harbour. From here you can see the houses on the upper land and those on the lower land. ![]() Bye for now Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 1, 2009, 9:10 am |
Hi,
the storm is getting stronger today. If I will get wet feet? ![]() The froth is coming really close, my beaker is already wet! ![]() Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 1, 2009, 9:20 am |
Hi Dad,
Heligoland belongs to the administrative district of Pinneberg. You can find this cross on a "hill", the highest elevation of the administrative district of Pinneberg. My friend Verdi is sitting next to me. ![]() This path is called Klippenweg (cliff lane). It is leading across the upper land, above the cliffs, which are new red sandstone. ![]() The distance to the mainland is about 70 km. Despite of the Dune you cannot see any other "land". ![]() This column is the landmark of Heligoland: Lange Anna (long Anna). It is protected by a concrete wall, otherwise it might be washed away by the sea. ![]() Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 4, 2009, 11:07 am |
Hi Dad,
I am sitting in the "Bunte Kuh", ( "Coloured Cow" ), a bar with a restaurant and café, The counter is shaped like a ship. ![]() Bcause every old sailing-ship has a figurehead, this counter also has one. Isn't she pretty? ![]() This is a pretty little garden gate on the upper land. ![]() We are on our way back home now. This time I found a place which is sheltered from the wind. ![]() If I should ever need a life buoy I don't have to fly so far. ![]() Of course a life raft is even better. ![]() I really enjoyed my trip to this small island. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 4, 2009, 11:24 am |
Hi Dad,
we took a walk today in the city centre of Remscheid. Here you can see me next to the city hall. ![]() ![]() This is the water tower, from here the residents of the city centre are supplied with drinking water. The water is pumped up to this hill from a dam in a valley. ![]() I like those pretty coloured trees! ![]() ![]() This is the rear side of the shopping mall with the car park. ![]() This is one of Katja's favourite shops, for pet supplies. She bought some treats for her rats. Rats .... hmmm ... somehow I'm feeling hungry when I think of rats ..... ![]() In the afternoon we went to a district called "Hasten", a very old district. Here they have many pretty old houses, also this church, which is usually hidden behind the trees. ![]() ![]() Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 15, 2009, 11:55 am |
Hi Dad,
we are still working hard to get the cage ready. ![]() ![]() Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 15, 2009, 12:00 pm |
Hi Dad,
we are helping Katja to build a cage. She is going to have two ferrets soon. She bought an used closet and now we are building a large cage from it. ![]() ![]() This was the best part of the whole working day! ![]() Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 15, 2009, 12:05 pm |
Hi Dad,
the cage is ready and the ferrets were brought yesterday. They were taken from a ferret shelter. ![]() This is Brighty ... ![]() Shiva is playing somewhere where we cannot take a photo of her. Both are cute and playful. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 18, 2009, 8:15 pm |
Hi Dad, today we took a walk with Katja's friend Kerstin and her family dog, Pepe. We went to Wuppertal, Scharpenacken, which is a former army training area. This area was used for military purposes until 2004 A.D as a shooting range. Today there is a local recreation area with vast open areas. ![]() ![]() ![]() Hawthorne! ![]() There are also people flying model aircrafts or kites. ![]() ![]() You have a fantastic overview from the highest point (of course not to compare with the mountains in Canada, but quite nice for this region ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We found a tractor and played with it for a while. ![]() ![]() Afterwards we had to do some shoppings in a DIY-store. Katja is planning to build a cage for some pets. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 22, 2009, 7:05 pm |
Hi Dad,
we took a walk today to visit Germany's highest railway bridge. It is Muengsten Bridge, connecting Remscheid and the neighbour city Solingen. Here is river Wupper which is marking the border between Remscheid and Solingen. ![]() Can you see the outlook pavilion in the background? We will go there later. ![]() We had planned to go to the bridge at first because later the sun would have disappeared from the valley. For some sad cause it was not possible to go there. So we had to walk another path. ![]() The slopes of this valley are really steep, with lots of rock. ![]() We reached the outlook pavilion soon. ![]() From here you have a fantastic overview across the valley of the river Wupper. ![]() Our path is leading underneath Muengsten Bridge, not on the bottom of the valley but in the height of the middle third of the valley. Muengsten Bridge is made of steel. It is 107 m high and spans the valley of river Wupper. The bridge is 465 m long and was completed in 1897. ![]() ![]() This forrest region is a nature protection area. ![]() We saw a cafe in the forrest. ![]() We are in the municipal area of Solingen now, in Solingen-Unterburg. Unterburg is a picturesque old district. ![]() ![]() A small shop is decorated christmassy. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 23, 2009, 3:47 pm |
Hi Dad,
in the afternoon Katja met her friend Erika and we started today's trip to Wuppertal. We took the bus to Wuppertal and started walking on the "Sambatrasse", a closed railway track. In this region you can find a lot of those so called "Bahntrassen". They are liked by pedestrians and as well by cyclists. Usually you can walk or ride through a town without much contact to traffic and street noise. This route here is about 9 km long. We started in Wuppertal-Cronenfeld. Soon we passed this building. It's a waste incinerator. ![]() ![]() We walked along abandoned train stations and allotment gardens. ![]() It seems that someone found souvenirs along the railway track ... ![]() We saw large stacks of wood, protected against burglary or maybe wild animals. ![]() Most leafs are already fallen. ![]() Suddenly we heard a lot of noise from cars. The route is leading along a motorway feeder. ![]() ![]() A part of the Sambatrasse is crossing the Wuppertal Zoo. A bridge is build over the zoo, on the right side you can see the tiger enclosure. We even saw two tiger playing. ![]() The tiger were so far away that we had to zoom. ![]() We saw this funny sign on the bridge, just behind the tiger closure. It says Info for the tigers - Meals on wheels. Cyclists have to take care ... ![]() ![]() We reached the end of the Sambatrasse here. ![]() ![]() ![]() Katja and Erika decided to enjoy a pizza before going home. That's what they always do when they walked along the Sambatrasse *gg* Here you can see the one and only "Schwebebahn", a suspended monorail, travelling above the surface of the river Wupper. ![]() On the right side of the next photo you can see a train leaving the station ... ![]() ... and an incoming train. ![]() We went home by Schwebebahn and bus. Bye Landroval |
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olgamaus Posted Nov 26, 2009, 1:13 pm |
Hi Dad,
today it was time to say good-bye to my friends here in Germany. I am on my way to Austria now. ![]() Bye Landroval |
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marcie08 Posted Dec 6, 2009, 7:52 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today I arrived here in Graz, Austria! I met my fellow TVs: Atta, Papelbon, Mr. S and Sandi Rose. My former host-mom gave me some chocolate on my way and so I had a little gift for my new friends! I also brought them a calendar-postcard! I arrived just in time for some decorating for Christmas! Here in Austria they have a tradition: They have a special wreath here, called Advent-Kranz in German. It has 4 candles on it, one for each Advent-Sonntag (Advent-Sundays)- that are the Sundays before Christmas! You can see me decorating! We put the candles on the wreath and then some bows- they have moose on it (a bit like home :-) ) That was a nice first day! |
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marcie08 Posted Dec 9, 2009, 8:20 pm |
Hi Dad!
We started baking cookies today! First we made a shortcrust dough! It had to rest then for a while. After resting we took the rolling pin to make the dough really thin. With a cookie cutter we made some small boots- these will be some delicious cookies! While they were in the oven we made the dough for some macaroons. It was really tasty! We were even allowed to try it! We also made other cookies called "Florentiner". I guess they are named after the city of Florence, Italy. They are made of dried and candied fruit, with almonds and honey. Then you dry it in the oven. Phew- it was really hard work! |
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marcie08 Posted Dec 9, 2009, 9:46 pm |
Hi Mom!
We did some shopping in the city center today and went to the Landhaushof. That is a courtyard in the inner city. In the summertime, there are often concerts or open air movies. And now, in the weeks before Christmas there is a nativity set there, made of huge ice cubes! I guess it is hard work to built this every year and then, when the weather gets warm, the nativity set melts away ![]() We also went to the Kunsthaus, which is a museum for modern art and photography. It was built for Graz 2003, when Graz was cultural capital of Europe. The building has a very unusual form and is therefore also known as "friendly alien". You can see the building from different angles. We took a break on a model of the Kunsthaus. It was made for the blind so they can feel what the building looks like. Then we went on to the Murinsel - the island in the Mur. The Mur is the river that divides the city in 2 parts. The island was also built for 2003 and has a small amphi theatre and a café. We also had a look at the clocktower - you can see it up on the Schlossberg, a small mountain in the city center. The stairs you can see are called Russiansteps. And we found another nativity set there on display: made of wood. |
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marcie08 Posted Dec 14, 2009, 8:24 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today we continued with the baking! We wanted to frost some of the cookies, so we had to cut the chocolate first and let it melt over a bowl filled with hot water. When the chocolate was molten, we let it cool a bit and then dipped the cookies in the chocolate. We let it dry on a baking sheet. We then made two kinds of macaroons: with chocolate and with chocolate and almonds. The chocolate ones were sprinkled with cocoa, those with almonds drizzled with molten chocolate and almond slivers. We went on with decorating the small boots we had baked two days ago: We frosted them with white and red icing. Finally we took the Linzer cookies and filled them with apricot jam! I cant wait to taste them! ![]() |
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marcie08 Posted Dec 19, 2009, 5:45 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today my host mom's and host dad's families were invited for an afternoon of cookies and tea! Because it was also the 6th of december, we have been visited by St. Nicholas who puts presents in the boots of good children. Sometimes he also comes personally, especially to small kids, with a huge bag full of presents and his huge golden book, where he can find all the information about a special child for exampel that it has been good in school or that it doesn't follow all the rules... then the kids promise to do better next year and get the presents. In the old days they were given oranges and tangerines, apples, dried fruit and peanuts. Today it's also chocolate, toys... Very traditional presents are also underwear and socks, but kids don't like to get practical stuff! Kids that havent been good are visited by the Krampus, a very unkind creature with lots of fur and some birch and some chains...see here for more information on the Krampus. Of course we all have been good, so we found some goodies in our host mom's boots. There were also present for our host dad: some traditional boxers ![]() |
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marcie08 Posted Dec 21, 2009, 9:54 pm |
Hi Dad!
Look at all the holiday decorations: A huge moose - that's so cute! And of course a mistletoe above the door! And some Christmas ornaments in a huge glass. Then we did something really traditional during the wintertime in Austria: We watched skiing! Skiing is really popular here and the Austrians have a really good ski-team ![]() In the late afternoon we went to the city center and looked at the decorations and the Christmas markets there! I'm enjoying this Christmas time here! |
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marcie08 Posted Dec 24, 2009, 8:58 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today we are celebrating Christmas! So my fellow TV-friends and I wanted to wish you a very Happy Christmas. Here in Austria they wish "Frohe Weihnachten" ![]() The presents are brought here by the Christkind, which is kind of an angel who flies up in the sky! You have to write a letter with your wishes to the Christkind and put it at the window in december. The Christkind gets the letter while you are sleeping and it brings the presents to the good children (the younger and older ones) in the afternoon on Dec. 24th. It also brings the Christmas tree. Normally it rings a small bell as soon as it has finished decorating the tree. Then you are allowed to enter the room. But of course, the Christkind is no longer in the room but has flown on to the other children! We looked at the tree with the candles and then we had a delicious meal. And of course we got presents! |
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marcie08 Posted Dec 26, 2009, 9:02 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today my host mom surprised us and told us that we were going to Schladming, a town in Upper Styria, in the mountains. So we packed our bags and skis and the skigear and went to Schladming. It was pretty cold there - -15°C - but a beautiful snowy landscape! My host mom tooks us with her to the skislopes and we went up the mountains with a cable car and some chair-lifts! We lookes at the map to decide which slope to take! We also went to a skihut-restaurant to warm ourselves up and eat something. Usually it's "Gröstl", that's a dish made of roasted potatoes and noodles, sometimes also with dumplings and sausages, or meat. (See picture here.) But today we had Leberknödelsuppe (=liver dumpling soup in English). The hut is called sheep alp (Schafalm in German) and they have real sheep there- you can see in their barn, which they share with bunnies! No pics of them unfortunately. In the evening we watched a ski race held by the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation. It was a realty tv show, where Austrian celebrities learned how to race. The celebrities raced together in a team with a former Austrian professional skier, like Franz Klammer, Stephan Eberharter or Fritz Strobl. Skiing was really fun! |
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marcie08 Posted Jan 5, 2010, 5:27 pm |
Hi Dad!
We flew to London to celebrate the New Year there! We took the Heathrow Express from the airport to the city center and then traveled on to our hotel, which was right next to St. Paul's Cathedral. In the afternoon we went to the London Eye. Unfortunately is was raining cats and dogs, a really typical British weather ![]() My host-mom bought a London-Eye-bear and we TVs chatted with him. He won't become a TV but will stay with my host-mom's stepmom. Puh, what a day! Time to go to bed! Tomorrow is new year's eve and we want to celebrate! |
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marcie08 Posted Jan 7, 2010, 4:17 pm |
Hi Dad!
After a quick coffee and a pain au chocolat we started our sightseeing-tour! We first went to a monument for the big fire in London in the past and walked through the streets of London. We saw a traditional English pub. Then we went to the Tower and the Tower Bridge. It was pretty cold again today, but despite the cold there were so many people out there sightseeing! Of course we also did a little shopping at Harrod's! Then we prepared for the evening ahead! We tried my host-moms ear-muffs on- they are pretty cool, don't you think? Froggy-green frog-muffs ![]() We walked to the Thames and the fireworks viewing areas there. There were so many people, but we managed to get a nice place on a bridge. Then we had to wait for the Big Ben to strike midnight. To keep ourselves warm, we danced to the music. Finally we heard the clock strike and then everybody started counting: 10, 9, 8,, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, HAPPY NEW YEAR! People started wishing each other a happy new year and started ooohing and aahhing over the fireworks. They really were great. Maybe you have seen them on tv? And then all the English speaking started singing: \"Auld Lang Syne\". My host mom knew the song as there is also a German version, but she didn't know the English words. But she said that she has regognized the song from "Happy new year, Charlie Brown". When the fireworks had ended, we went back to the hotel and had a drink in the bar there! Hope you had a great New Year's Eve, too! |
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marcie08 Posted Jan 8, 2010, 12:18 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today we started with a lazy breakfast in bed - delivered by the roomservice! And we were quite hungry from all the oohhhing and aahhing yesterday ![]() While having breakfast we wtached the Vienna New Year's Concert which is broadcastet from Vienna to many many countries all over the world. My host mom told me that it's very traditional in Austria to watch the New Year's Concert on tv while having a late breakfast! As Mom also missed the Viennese Waltz at midnight - which is another very traditional thing to do in Austria - we waltzed together when the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra played a waltz. But, no photos of that...I guess my feet aren't made for dancing... We then took the underground to the Houses of Parliament and walked around in that area. We also went to the Buckingham Palace, but we haven't seen HM the Queen. But we saw one of her guards, with his cool felt-hat! In the afternoon we went back to our hotel and then visited St. Paul's Cathedral! We went up so many stairs which have been old and uneven and kind of slippery sometimes but finally we had reached the platform and were able to have a look over the city! I have to say, I really liked London. Maybe I'll come back for a visit some day.... |
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marcie08 Posted Jan 8, 2010, 12:55 pm |
Hi Dad!
We have arrived back here in Graz yesterday and now it's time to pack my bags again! My host mom told me that I'll go to Germany and that her own toyvoyager had already visited there. I'm curious about the new surroundings and the other TVs Ill meet there! But I'm a little sad right now too as I had to say goodbye to my new friends.... Papelbon will also leave - he's going to Belarus. Here you see us saying goodbye. Maybe our paths will cross again in the future! I really liked it here in Graz but now it's time to hop into my aircraft! Bye, host-mom, take care! And Dad, next update will come from Germany! |
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RikeH Posted Jan 11, 2010, 12:27 pm |
Hi Dad,
I arrived in Germany. There was a friendly bunny called Dicker Kumpel. He gave me a warm welcome. ![]() He introduced me to some other nice guys here – we will go on a holiday together next week. ![]() We talked a lot – and I told them a lot about Canada. I showed him my foot. ![]() They all loved the nice Tattoo on it. Then we all showed our feet – but mine is the nicest! ![]() I think that I will have a nice time here. Greetings Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Jan 14, 2010, 6:39 pm |
Hi Dad,
We have winter here in Germany now. I wanted to explore Sülfeld in the snow. This is the old school. ![]() The church is so beautiful – and the pharmacy is on the other side of the street. ![]() ![]() I had a great idea – I should build a snowman. It was hard work for a little ToyVoyager like me. ![]() But look, he is great, isn’t he? ![]() Snowy greetings Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Jan 18, 2010, 5:10 pm |
Hi Dad,
today we started our trip. It was very early in the morning – and snowy. Look – what I saw. Not much, ![]() We went from Hamburg to Frankfurt with a fast train called ICE-Train. It has nothing to do with the weather in Germany at the moment. Here you see all of us together. ![]() We all got something to eat : ![]() Here you see what I got. ![]() When we arrived at the airport we were too early for the check-in. So we waited and watched the queue for the Emirates Flight. We needed another airline, but I will tell you later, where we went. SURPRISE!!! ![]() When we waited to board the plane, we went to a place where we were able to see the planes. ![]() ![]() Look – there is our plane coming. ![]() I had a place at the window – it was a wonderful view! We were over the Alps at this moment - but I didn't believe that it counts for my life mission. ![]() I had a delicious dinner – fresh fish with rice and vegetables. (Is it good for my other mission???) ![]() It went dark outside – the sky was so beautiful! ![]() I can tell you that we had a safe landing and stay in a nice hotel. But I won't tell you now, where I am. Greetings Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Jan 18, 2010, 8:38 pm |
Hi Dad,
on this photo you can see, where I spend this holiday – in Jordan. ![]() We started in Amman and went through the city. They write with nice letters here. ![]() We went to Umm Qeis, to the Ruins of the old town Gadara. First we saw the Amphitheatre. ![]() Here we were: ![]() ![]() I had a great view from my place. ![]() Then we went to another place – there was a Basilica in the past. ![]() From this place I could see Israel and Syria. I saw the Sea of Galilee and the Golan Heights. Really interesting. RikeH and I think that this was a high place..... ![]() On the tour to the next place I saw a supermarket – I love the letters here! ![]() The next historical place was called Pella. ![]() ![]() This was a marble column – I loved the color. ![]() We drove to a very interesting place – called the Dead Sea. It is 422 m below the sea level – this was strange. The humans behaved really strange there – they put something black on their skins, waited ten minutes, and then went into the water. I didn't understand it. ![]() After the long time inside the bus I decided to take a rest and I enjoyed the sun on the beach. ![]() ![]() Later we had a picnic with delicious Hamburgers on the beach. ![]() ![]() What a great first day in Jordan. Greetings Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Jan 30, 2010, 9:49 pm |
Hi Dad,
Today was a great day for Jordan. Not only that I visited the country, but it was raining. ![]() They don't have many rain here, so we were happy for the Jordan People and decided to visit a Museum of Archeology. Here you can see some intersting things. ![]() ![]() ![]() This was the view from the entrance of the Museum – the Temple of Hercules behind me. ![]() ![]() We went to the big Amphittheater of Amman – I love these old buildings. ![]() Next to it was another nice museum. We saw there, how the people in Jordan lived in the past. ![]() ![]() We went through Amman and the souk. Here I was in front of a Mosque. ![]() They sold delicious fruits and vegetables in the Souk. ![]() We went to another great place – called Jerash. It is a very big old city – wonderful. We walked around there for 2 hours. First a Gate... ![]() ...the big oval place.. ![]() ...the Nympheum... ![]() ...more buildings... ![]() and the oval place from a hill. ![]() A really great place to visit – and the rain stopped, when we were there. Back home in the hotel we all drank soft drinks. We were not able to read, what it was, but it was jummy. ![]() After it Nasse shared his sweets with us – funny pig-sweets. ![]() Another really great day here. It is so nice to be a ToyVoyager!!! Love Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Jan 31, 2010, 6:17 pm |
Hi Dad,
today we left Amman and drove south. First we visited the Mount Nebo, a mountain where – according to the Bible, the prophet Moses is believed to have died. We had a great view from the top. ![]() ![]() There was a beautiful mosaic – normally in a church – but now in a tent. ![]() Look – what a big stone – in memorial of Moses. ![]() After having a great time on the hill – with really beautiful views, we drove to Madaba. The city is best known for its Byzantine and Umayyad mosaics, expecially a large Byzantine-era mosaic map of the Holy Land. We went into the Greek Orthodox Basilica of Saint Georg, where the famous mosaic is. ![]() ![]() Then we drove through a gorgeous landscape. ![]() We stopped to look into the Wadi Mujib. ![]() ![]() One hour later we came to Kerak, known for its famous Crusader Castle. ![]() We visited it – it was wonderful – I would love to be a knight, I think. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() In the evening we sat outside the room in the hotel and talked a lot. This time we ate my Snickers. ![]() ![]() Greetings Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Feb 3, 2010, 12:08 pm |
Hi Dad,
Today we visited one of the most famous places in Jordan, it is a city called Petra – a Unesco World Heritage Site. First we had to walk through the Siq – a dark narrow gorge. ![]() At the end of the Siq we had this view of Al Khazneh (the Treasury). ![]() Here I am in front of the Treasury. ![]() Here you see many tombs in the stone. ![]() They had an amphitheatre, too. ![]() We climbed up 200 stairs to visit the big Urn Tomb – and had a great view from the place. ![]() ![]() There were donkeys here. ![]() We went into an old church and saw some mosaics. I found an eagle. We were very important in the older times, I think. ![]() We decided to make a long walk – about 800 stairs!!! But I was happy – RikeH put me in her bag, so I didn’t have to walk all the way on my short legs. Some photos from the way. ![]() ![]() A really steep gorge: ![]() This is the place we wanted to see – El Deir (the Monastery). It was great! ![]() ![]() On our way back we had nice views, too. ![]() Back in the valley the sun came – and we saw all in different colors. ![]() ![]() ![]() This was our hotel: ![]() ![]() ![]() We had a delicious dinner in the evening – very important after the long interesting day! ![]() ![]() Bye Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Feb 5, 2010, 4:32 pm |
Hello Dad,
we had so much fun today. We made a trip with a Jeep through the Wadi Rum. We learnt that they made the Movie Lawrence from Arabia here. I never heart of it before. But the nature was nice. On our way to the Wadi Rum, we stopped at a nice place and saw the Valley of Petra. It was wonderful. ![]() ![]() Look – what a funny tree. If someone knows its name, please send a PM to RikeH. ![]() Here you can see us on our Jeep. ![]() We drove really fast and enjoyed the nature around. There was another Jeep behind us, but we were in the leading team. ![]() ![]() Our first stop – nice mountains and writing on the walls. ![]() ![]() The second stop - with a beautiful gorge. ![]() We stopped in front of a big Dune. We walked onto the top of it – and had a great view. ![]() ![]() ![]() What a wonderful day ! Greetings Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Feb 5, 2010, 5:12 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today is the last day in Jordan. We will relax in the hotel. Here you see me sitting on the balcony – and the view from our balcony. Wonderful! ![]() ![]() We went through the garden and found beautiful flowers. ![]() ![]() Outside we saw these nice young dogs. ![]() Back in the hotel we wanted to drive on this funny bike, but we are not allowed, because we TVs were too young. ![]() So we decided to relax and enjoy the last evening. ![]() What a wonderful holiday in Jordan. Greetings Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Feb 6, 2010, 10:03 am |
Hello Dad,
a new guest arrived two days ago. She is called Agatha and came from Canada, too. We talked a lot – and she showed a viewcard from her country. It is nice to have someone here from home! ![]() Today we decided to drive to a nice small town. It is called Bad Oldesloe. RikeH went to school there – many many years ago. They have a nice river there. I liked it – and saw some funny ducks in the water and on the ice. ![]() ![]() This is the townhall. It was not so easy to take this photo, because the ground was very icy. ![]() Another nice place in Bad Oldesloe. ![]() Greetings Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Feb 15, 2010, 9:06 pm |
Helau Dad,
a new guest arrived – his name is Libbs and he is from Singapore. We gave him a warm welcome – he is so small. ![]() Today we will have a great time – it is Carnival Monday. So I searched for a nice hat. RikeH offered three different ones. ![]() I decided to take the yellow one. ![]() Then I watched the parade in the TV. ![]() ![]() The people in the parade threw sweets – called Kamelle... and I cought some. ![]() I had so many... ![]() I shared the sweets with my friends. ![]() What a wonderful day! Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Feb 25, 2010, 9:26 pm |
Hello Dad,
we went to Hamburg today. We hoped for better weather. Here you see us in the train. ![]() I helped RikeH to write some postcards – they were really beautiful. ![]() After it I looked out of the window. There was still snow outside. ![]() I flew around in the train – but it was not allowed, so RikeH put me in this funny net. ![]() We wanted to explore the city, but the weather was awful. So we went into a big mall in the middle of Hamburg. We saw a shop with many nice toys – maybe one of them will become a TV, too? ![]() This was the mall – really big! ![]() Then I played on the piano – my music was wonderful. ![]() From a bookstore we had a look on the Alster – maybe we will come back some day – and walk around it. ![]() In the evening we started in the main train station. ![]() We had fun. Hugs Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Mar 7, 2010, 8:54 pm |
Hello Dad,
today we started our trip to Amrum Island – a nice German Island in the North Sea. We drove some hours – unfortunately the winter came back yesterday, but we arrived safe on the Coast – and saw our Ferry – called Schleswig-Holstein. ![]() Here you see me inside - with the typical greeting – Moin Moin. ![]() I went outside – the weather was sunny – but it was cold. ![]() We stopped at another Island, called Föhr. Some people left the Ferry, but we went on to Amrum. ![]() What a great trip. I will write more from Amrum soon. ![]() yours Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Mar 10, 2010, 5:24 pm |
Hello Dad,
we made our first walk on Amrum. Here you see me in front of a typical house. They are so beautiful. ![]() Then we went to the Dunes. ![]() I enjoyed my time on a beach chair. ![]() They had nice paths out of wood in the Dunes. ![]() Amrum is a really nice place. ![]() yours Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Mar 12, 2010, 9:39 pm |
Hello Dad,
we went to Nebel and visited the church. ![]() We went inside – it was wonderful. ![]() Outside are interesting tombstones. The life stories of the dead people are written on the stones. We read a few. ![]() Then we walked through the village – and saw some nice old red houses. ![]() ![]() There was a beautiful wind mill. ![]() We saw two old white houses – both colours are nice – and we loved the thatched roofs. ![]() ![]() Amrum is a beautiful Island. Yours Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Mar 15, 2010, 7:52 pm |
Moin Moin Dad,
it was a very cold day outside, so I decided to have a nice evening in front of the fireplace. First I had to work for it. ![]() ![]() Then I had a relaxed evening – it was warm – and comfortable. ![]() Yours Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Mar 17, 2010, 8:15 pm |
Moin Moin,
I want to show you some nice things in the flat we are living. Some beautiful mussels. ![]() A nice lighthouse. There are many lighthouses in this part of Germany. ![]() Two strange fishes. They are able to live outside the water. ![]() And here are two funny bunnies. They are sitting in an egg-sleigh and have fun all the day. ![]() We all have fun here in the holidays ! Greetings Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Mar 18, 2010, 10:41 am |
Hello Dad,
RikeH asked us, where we wanted to go today. So we took the map of Amrum Island and had a look. We decided to walk to the highest point of Amrum, because it is one of my life missions to visit high places with my hosts. ![]() Here you see me on the highest Dune – it is 32 m high. I am not sure, if this is really high? This was the way we walked on. ![]() A nice view over the other Dunes. ![]() I saw Norddorf in the distance. ![]() RikeH gave me a coin – so I looked through this telescope. I saw the North Sea – amazing. ![]() On our way back we stopped in a nice cafe. I had a delicious hot chocolate with advocaat and a yummy tart of raspberries. ![]() A big hug Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Mar 18, 2010, 9:00 pm |
Hello Dad,
We went into the Dunes - the others told us that there is a wonderful lake. The lake is wonderful – there was still some ice on it. ![]() There was a wooden way on this side of the lake. ![]() ![]() The lake looked nice from another point next to it. ![]() The path went through the Dunes – we had nice views from the highest point. ![]() ![]() ![]() Back home I tried something special for this region. It is called Küstennebel - and really delicious. ![]() Cheers Landroval |
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RikeH Posted Mar 22, 2010, 11:18 am |
Hi Dad,
Our last day On Amrum Island – we were all sitting together and talked a lot. ![]() ![]() We all will go to new hosts on Monday. Hugo will go to Finland, I will fly to Japan, Twix will visit Wales and Kasper will stay in Germany, but visit another place. We celebrated the last day with RikeH drinking a delicious bottle of wine. ![]() Oups – very delicious. ![]() We sat a very long time – and had so much fun. It is great to be a ToyVoyager! ![]() Then I said Good-Bye to Dicker Kumpel – he has been such a nice host! I really liked it here with him and RikeH. ![]() But now I am off to Japan! Hugs Landroval |
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JaymeC Posted Apr 13, 2010, 11:31 pm |
I arrived in Japan just in time for... Easter? Apparently even though the Japanese don't celebrate Easter, my host Jayme's family does, so we celebrated at home. I arrived just as they were starting the egg hunt, the Easter bunny hid lots of eggs. I helped find some as well.
![]() ![]() Afterwards we opened all the eggs up to split the candy. Lots to go around! ![]() Then it was time to dye eggs. I was okay with it since they were of course only using chicken eggs. First we got the kit out ![]() Then we got everything ready. Eggs, dye, and stickers all set out for the kids. ![]() Here are the eggs dying. ![]() And some more ![]() And finally the finished product. The kids did an excellent job didn't they? ![]() More updates soon, Landroval |
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JaymeC Posted Apr 14, 2010, 2:34 am |
Jayme decided to take the day before her final exam for us to go out and relax a bit. That's kind of backwards isn't it? But she said the weather was just too nice not to go out, so off we went to the Renassaince Resort. We started out by the indoor pool and watched the kids go down the water slides. They had lots of fun.
![]() Us toys relaxed in the lounge chair. ![]() From there we went outside to grab a bite to eat. Here you can see the hotel from where we were sitting ![]() The kids had chicken nuggets and fries, not very creative but it kept them happy til it was time to go home. ![]() There was also an outside pool, but it was a little chilly so no one was in it. ![]() Finally we headed down to the beach at the Renassaince for a bit. ![]() ![]() The children were having fun burying each other so we decided to try it out and bury Haggis. ![]() Don't worry, no toys were harmed from this picture, Haggis dug himself out very quickly. ![]() After that we headed home. Jayme has to take her final next, and hopefully after that we'll get to relax some and do some more fun updates! Landroval |
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JaymeC Posted Apr 28, 2010, 11:22 pm |
Today we got to go to a Memorial Park at the Southern tip of Okinawa. Its called Peace Memorial Park and is dedicated to all who lost their lives on Okinawa during WWII. We started our trip at the playground though because the kids were antsy
![]() And here's the memorial area. You can see there is row after row of walls inscribed with all the names of those who died on Okinawa during WWII. They include not just the Okinawans, but also the Japanese, Americans, and even a few British. ![]() The memorial area is situated right on the ocean. ![]() We also stopped by the museum which was very neat, but we were unable to take pictures inside. Here's a photo of the entrance. ![]() More soon, Landroval |
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JaymeC Posted Apr 28, 2010, 11:34 pm |
We were able to visit a very neat site here on Okinawa! We started off by walking up a path with lots and lots of flowers.
![]() Finally at the top we found out where we are. Nakagusuku Castle, an UNESCO site here on Okinawa. ![]() Here you can see me next to a model of the castle with the actual castle in the background. ![]() Here's a better look at the castle. ![]() We went up many stairs ![]() Finally we were way up at the top! Isn't it a lovely view. Here's the inside of the castle ![]() And you can see the Pacific Ocean here. This is about as high as you can get on Okinawa. There are many hills, but no mountains. ![]() Hopefully we'll get out again soon! Landroval |
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JaymeC Posted May 9, 2010, 9:50 pm |
We got to go visit a fun place called Forest Adventure Park. Unfortunately us tvs only got to see it from the sidelines. Jayme said it was a bit too dangerous for us to go on the course since if we fell down we'd be lost for good and it'd be a little too easy to drop us. We did get to watch her and others while we waited though. Forest Adventure is a zipline and obstacle course. You can see the zipline course behind me. The lines may be a little too small to see clearly, but they go over the valley, which is very deep. Those aren't shrubs below, they're full grown mature, very tall trees. You can see while she didn't want to drop us on accident!
![]() To show you what the course is like, here is the practice course. Before you're allowed to do the real course they have you go through the practice course so they're sure you know all the safety precautions. They don't want anyone falling! ![]() Finally there's the obstacle course. There's a net that you jump into like tarzan hanging from a rope then you pull yourself up. And then lots of other various obstacles you can walk over. ![]() Here's a picture of Jayme, you can see why it would be kind of hard for her to hold us for poses as well since she was holding one for dear life, which was at least pretty funny to watch ![]() ![]() More soon, Landroval |
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smaug Posted Jun 21, 2010, 4:03 am |
Just updating Landroval's Map ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jun 21, 2010, 4:05 am |
Just updating Landroval's Map ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jun 21, 2010, 4:17 am |
Hello,
It was a long flight but I am eventually back home, nice to see my mountains again ![]() ![]() Blast it! It’s June and there still snow everywhere ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I can see Calgary from here. I should probably go seeing smaug and ask him about my next host. Maybe later ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jun 21, 2010, 4:58 am |
Hello,
Today I was hanging around one of my favourite fishing spots ![]() ![]() ...when I saw a group of what seemed to be TVs walking on a trail, so I decided to go meet them. And, guess what, they were smaug’s guests ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jun 27, 2010, 9:48 pm |
Hello,
Today I was wondering if my friend sammino was going to come visiting me this weekend. ![]() And here he came with a his guests...it looks like there’s been a bit of turnover among them since last week ![]() ![]() He told me that there is a nice host waiting for me in the States ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Jun 30, 2010, 9:59 pm |
Hi Dad!!!
I am writing to say I flew in to the United State last night and I am now down on the east coast in Richlands, North Carolina. My host Pixiedustlady is very nice and was happy to see me. Pixiedustlady is married to a Marine and one day I am going to go on the base and see all the helicopters. My host loved the magnet and postcard that I carried with me on my flight down. You would be very envious of the weather!! It is 94 out and sunny! The humidity is something that will take me awhile to get used too!! Here I am in my envelope! Thumper the dog brought me inside and put me down on the floor. ![]() I started peeking away and my host helped open up the top of my envelope so I could get free! ![]() Here I am with my wonderful magnet and beautiful postcard!! ![]() Next someone tapped me on my wing and I looked behind me and it was a Russian Beaver. His name is *Beaver* and he has been here since early April and will not go home till January. He is very friendly and told me I am going to have a great time here. ![]() Here I am with the other dog. She is a Chihuahua and her name is Sombrita. She speaks Spanish and all she cares about is food and a warm place to lay ![]() ![]() I got my things put away and Beaver told me we had to pack up and get ready to leave for Summit Point, West Virginia. My host is a motorcycle road racer and I got hear just in time for the rest of the racing season and the 4th of July. Beaver just got back last weekend from VIR raceway and he said it was soooo much fun!! We are packed up and will be leaving at lunch time tommorro. The drive will take us up through the state of Virginia and then we will reach the state of West Virginia. We will be up by Washington, DC. I will get to see the Shenandoah Valley, which I hear is very pretty. It will take us 7 hours to arrive at Summit Point. We will be camping in the paddock all weekend long with all the other racers. I am sure I am going to see things I have never seen before!! ![]() Here is a link to the track if you want to check it out!! http://www.summitpoint-raceway.com/ Well I am off to eat some Spaghetti and watch *Hot Tub Time Machine* ![]() Landroval |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Jul 5, 2010, 11:28 pm |
Hi Dad!!!
I got home last night about midnight. I am WORN OUT! I had a fantastic weekend up at Summit Point Raceway! Here is how my journey unfolded ![]() ![]() After we left North Carolina we drove through Virginia then onto West Virginia. West Virginia is beautiful!!! Here I am as we drive through the Shenandohah Valley. A lot of tourists come up to this part of the state so they can go hiking and camping in the forest and climb up the mountains. Of course they are nothing as spectacular as in Canada!! It was a balmy 95 degrees outside!! ![]() ![]() We arrive at the race track at 6:00 pm and here we are outside the front gate! ![]() We drive in the gate and then read the signs on which way to get to the Paddock. ![]() We unload the trailer and then set up our *camp* here I am on my host's GSXR 600. I took it out for a spin around the paddock before cooking dinner. ![]() ![]() Here I am with Beaver making Cheeseburgers for dinner. They tasted really good and I love grilled food!! ![]() The next day was a *track day* a track day gives people the opportunity to dial in their suspension and fix any problem areas they are having on the track. We went to the bottom of the hill and sat up in the stands and watched all the bikes. ![]() Here we are watching as my host and a few other bikes zip through the practice on Saturday morning!! ![]() Here we are with our host before he goes out for his first race of the day. We get tucked inside the leathers and taken out on the track so we can say we were in the race!! ![]() Here is my host's pit bike. It really comes in handy when you need to get all the way on the other side of the track!! Dont I look cool on it!! ![]() One of Beavers life missions is to take a walk in the forest. Here we are getting ready to go for a walk in the pretty forest. ![]() Here we are out on the trail, walking around and checking all the different plant life out. ![]() The next day is Sunday and it is July 4th. They have a spectacular fireworks show at night and I watch it while sipping on my Captain Morgans and coke. ![]() ![]() We packed up after that and started the long journey home. I got to see a lot of really neat race bike and I enjoyed watching them race each other around the track. Today I helped my host unload all the dirty laundry and linens and rewash everything, then we had to clean the trailer, sweep, mop and wipe everything down with Pine Sol because we are leaving this Thursday to go to Roebling Road, Georgia for another race!!!! My host NEVER does back to back races like this and we all agree it is much more fun to have some REST TIME (two weeks at least!) between races!! I will be traveling through South Carolina to get to Georgia. I will have visited five states in less then 8 days!!! I really like it down here and it is VERY hot and humid. I hope you enjoy the photos!!! |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Jul 8, 2010, 1:58 pm |
Hi Dad!!
Here I am with Beaverl. We just packed the trailer and we are leaving for Roebling Road in a few hours!! Roebling Road is located near Savannah, Georgia. The trip will take about 6 hours. We will be driving through South Carolina and then arrive in Georgia. I am excited to see the bikes race again!! We will be at the track till Sunday afternoon. I will update more in the next few days!! ![]() |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Jul 20, 2010, 12:56 am |
Hi Dad!
I finally have some free time to update my travel log!! The weather has been super hot here and thunderstoms almost every night!! It has rained and rained! very unusual weather for here at this time of year. I went down to Savannah, Georgia to Roebling Road raceway!! I traveled with Beaver and we had a great time!! Our first stop was when we left North Carolina and arrived in South Carolina. We went into the guest center and took some photos of our journey to Georgia!! ![]() ![]() ![]() Here we are as we enter the state of Georgia.... Home of the Georgia Peach and the Atlanta Braves!!! (thats my hosts favorite baseball team!) ![]() Here is the sign as we pull up to Roebling Road!! ![]() We find out that we cannot run our race bike engines from certain times or we will be asked to go home!! ![]() We sit down and take a break in our really cool double chair!!! It is very hot outside! ![]() Here is my host's friend's Yamaha Race bikes that were parked right next to us. We each have our own to go ride on the track! ![]() Beaver picks the R1 and I pick the R6 in favor of the Canadian Red color. ![]() ![]() We decide to go ride around the paddock and borrow this cute little dirt bike. It is perfect and tiny just for us!! ![]() Here we are with a delicious meal of Beer Battered Chicken with cheese fries!!! ![]() The next morning we get up and cook pancakes and sausage...... it smells soooo good!! ![]() The race weekend was fun. We didnt get any photos of the race as we were too busy eating all the time. We had fun seeing Georgia and South Carolina and we truly were in the *deep south* known for Sweet Tea, Collards and lots of unhealthy greasy fried foods that taste soooooooo good. My new favorite is Fresh Cornbread with real butter and Sourwood honey. Sourwood honey is very special honey that is made in the mountains of North Carolina. It tastes like nothing I have ever tasted before!!! We have a car show in a few weeks and then we are back off to another motorcycle race. We are going to help my host paint his motorcycle a new color scheme...... this should be fun!! |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Jul 24, 2010, 9:20 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today we went to the airport because Frankie Blue was flying in from Italy. He is a German TV and we welcomed him as soon as he got out of his envelope!! ![]() We told him all about North Carolina and then we went outside to help my host paint his race bike. We will be off again back to Summit point next month for another race!! It has been sooo hot here lately (today was 104) that all we do is stay inside and watch movies! I hope you are doing well and I will talk to you later!! |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Jul 30, 2010, 12:57 am |
Hi Dad!!
Today my host had 24 hour duty on the Marine base so we took him Taco Bell for dinner and visited the base! You need a special clearance to get out on the flight line, we got special top secret clearance to go in and look around!! Here we are at the gate waiting for our host to come and buzz us through the gate. ![]() ![]() We sat on a very cool staircase that went upstairs to the Duty hut. ![]() My host explained that the famous battles that the Marines had fought in were the ones painted on the walls. Here we are with a few of them. ![]() ![]() Once we got upstairs we got our yummy Taco Bell food out and ate it all up!! ![]() After we ate, we went down to the Helicopter Bay. We got to see the CH53 and the V22 Osprey helicopters. Here we are with the CH53... this helicopter can hold 50 Marines and pick up 20,000 lbs of gear!! Our host usually gets to take us inside the helicopters but there were too many people around... we still had fun though!! ![]() ![]() Here we are standing in front of the CH53...look how BIG it is!! ![]() On our way back to the car we took a quick photo of the V22 Osprey. These are the newest helicopters and they have two rotar heads on them!! You can see both rotars on each side of the helicopter. When they go up in the air the blades come up and over the top of the helicopter!!! we see them flying over the top of our house every single day!! ![]() We had a lot of fun being honorary Marines for the day!! we got to see things that very few people have access too!! hope your having a great day!! |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Aug 20, 2010, 12:35 am |
Hi Dad!
Just wanted to do a quick update! We have not done anything news worthy lately so I thought I would take a few photos of me and my TV friends cooking dinner!! We all went out to the mailbox today and there was a beautiful postcard from Las Vegas!! One of my host's TVs named Bart is out in Las Vegas and having a great time! He sent us a postcard from Ceasers Palace!! Here we are with the postcard. ![]() I asked my host what and where is Las Vegas.....we keep seeing really funny television commercials that say *What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas*. My host says Las Vegas is like its very own country for adults LOL it is located in Nevada out in the middle of the desert and it is spectacular to see at night!! Tonight we cooked dinner. We made 18 bean soup, potato salad and hot biscuits. We had to soak the beans overnight in water and then today we cooked it and added smoked sausage and tomatos, It was very tasty!! ![]() ![]() Here we are getting ready to put the biscuits in the oven. ![]() We are going to go to the movies and see *Eat,Love and Pray* we hear it is very good and my host loves Julia Roberts!! it has been 99 degrees with 100% humidity the entire month of August.....my host says hopefully next month it will drop into the 80s! Can you believe 80 degrees in September??? well I am off to go watch a bunch of shows that have been recorded off the DVR..... *Army Wives* *Rescue Me* and *Mad Men* are waiting for us to watch!! have you heard of these shows?? Mad Men is my hosts favorite and I have to admit the story line is fantastic!! talk to you later!! ![]() |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Sep 5, 2010, 10:28 pm |
Hi Dad!
This weekend we went to the Marine Base where my host works. They had a family day down at the Marina. We got to play on the big slides, go for a boat ride and eat lots of yummy food!! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Before we get out in the Canoe we read that the water has alligators!!! Beaver tells us that it will be ok, He talks to the alligators and explain we are TVs and we want to have some fun! ![]() ![]() Here I am with a photo of the New River Inlet. The inlet meets the Atlantic Ocean which is about five miles away from where I am standing!! I went fishing when I went out on the boat!! The water is very warm here, feels like a bathtub!! I have now seen the Atlantic Ocean!! ![]() It was a really fun day!! we were really tired when it was time to go home!!! Hope you had a good weekend!! |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Sep 14, 2010, 12:14 am |
Hi Dad!!!
How are you??? We just got back from the race track again!! I am becoming a expert rider!!! I got to go in my first race!! My host put me inside his leathers and took me in the middleweight Superbike class!! hahaha! I got up to 175 mph on the front straight!! We traveled back up to Summit Point, West Virginia for some fun racing!! The weather was nice and sunny and I had my two friends with me Frankie Blue and Beaver. Here we are in the hallway ready to load our suitcases and get comfy for the 7 hour drive. ![]() We go over to one of my hosts friends pit and check out his race bike. His team is called *Angry Snowman racing* lol you can see right in front of this photo a sticker of the angry Snowman ![]() ![]() Here we are with the Angry Snowman banner. ![]() Here we are on the Snowmans race bike. ![]() It gets late out so we go to bed. We know we have a lot of work to do in the morning. After some coffee we start working on my hosts race bike. Here we are in the tool box doing the best we can! ![]() After the bike is prepped we have to go buy some special race gas called U4 *VP* fuel..... my host says VP should stand for *Very Pricey* lol it is $85.00 for five gallons!! ![]() Next we go over to the Pirelli Tires vendor and pick up a new pair for the race......one set of tires will last only three races....my host says she tries not to think about the money they spend on the tires lol! ![]() Now it is time to race!!! here we are watching my host!! I know it is hard to see but he is the second bike in the blurry background. We cheer him on!! ![]() Here we are over at turn #10. You can see all the bikes racing in the background behind us. ![]() This is a very special weekend because the sidecars are here!!! These are two people motorcycles and they are soo exciting to watch!! we are down by the James Bond 007 bike on the ground...do you see us?? these were so neat!! ![]() ![]() At night we each get a bottle of Boones Farm to celebrate the fun weekend with!! It is kind of a joke to drink this drink as it is VERY cheap!!! but it is soo tasty!! ![]() I had a really good time and met some new friends. I have been really enjoying learning all about Motorcycle racing. We have to repack everything since we are going to the LAST race of the year which will be held at Virginia International Raceway....this is our hosts favorite track...and it is only 3 and a half hours away!! This will be taking place September 23-26th. A huge crowd will be in attendence as it is the last event of the race year for my hosts riding club. I heard Darcie say she is ready for her credit card to take a break ![]() Landroval |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Sep 20, 2010, 12:30 am |
Hi Dad!!
Today Nijntje arrived from The Netherlands with Lucan. They have been to Jordan!!! They get out of their travel envelope and come and tell us all about their travels. ![]() ![]() We have been REALLY busy getting ready for the last motorcycle race next weekend at Virginia International Raceway!! I feel like a Motorcycle expert now! I am also told that my host is selling his motorcycle because he has a brand new one that we are picking up on Tuesday!! I work hard with the other TVs to get the bike that is for sale all nice and tuned up and then I help load the trailer for next weekend. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() I heard we are going back to the Marine base again but this time we are going to FLY the helicopters!!! I cant wait!! Landroval |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 2, 2010, 11:06 pm |
Hi Dad!!
My host took us back to the Marine Corps Air Station where he works and we got to sneak out on to the flight line! Do you know where we are?? We waited till no one was around and got inside the helicopter!! Here we are at the controls!! ![]() Here we are in the CO Pilots seat ready for take off!! ![]() Here we all are inside my hosts hat looking out the back of the helicopter. ![]() This is us outside the V22 *Osprey* helicopter. This is the ONLY place in the world that they are kept!! ![]() Here we are sitting on one of the V22 Rotar blades. The blade is made out of Carbon Fiber and costs one million dollars a piece!! You can see the V22 sitting in the background waiting for us to go on a ride!! ![]() ![]() I will post photos from the very last motorcyle race of the year that I just got back from when I get some more free time ![]() Love, Landroval |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 11, 2010, 1:17 am |
Hi Dad!!
I have uploaded the photos from the last motorcycle race of the year. We had a fantastic time! The race was at Virginia International raceway. This is our hosts favorite track and it is located in a very beautiful part of Virginia. Here are my photos!! Here we are on the scooter getting ready to go for a ride!! ![]() We were parked right next to a very good friend of my hosts. His name is Jim and he races two bikes. Here we are sitting on the bikes and checking them out!! They are both Yamaha R6s. ![]() We set up our pit area and got the computer out so we could check the weather and surf the internet. ![]() We make chicken burritos for dinner!!! they are soo good!! ![]() Parked on the other side of us is our friends from New York, Danny and Gian. Here we are on Gians motorcycle. He went on to win lots of trophies on Saturday and Sunday. ![]() Here we are on the winners podium!! we get on the first place box and pose for a photo. ![]() ![]() Here we are with our friends dog. He wanted to pick us up and chew on us but my host made sure that did not happen!! hahaha! ![]() Here we are on on the track waiting to see the start of the race. You can see our host on the red bike on the front row. We love watching how fast the bikes go!! ![]() We had a wonderful time watching everyone and we were sad to see the racing season come to a end. The fun part is our host and his friends took us out on the track during one of the races!!! you could not see us because we were tucked inside the leathers!! I wish I could fly as fast as the bikes go!! Hope you are having a great weekend! Love Landroval |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 17, 2010, 4:02 am |
Hey Dad!!
Today a new TV named Regit Brown arrived!! we sat around and talked to him and told him all about our fun summer we have had!! We are now making some big plans for Halloween!! I cant wait!! ![]() |
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Pixiedustlady Posted Oct 24, 2010, 6:46 pm |
I just found out that I am leaving!! after staying here and having a great summer and Fall, I am to fly out tomorrow on Delta Airlines to Germany!! I have been learing all about Halloween and will pack lots of Halloween candy with me so I dont get hungry!! My host says she will miss me and that I can come back whenever I want for another visit!! Well I need to go pack up my bags!! see you soon!! | ||
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2010, 10:16 am |
I arrived at Bruchsal safely. I'm looking forward to discover many new places and learn a lot more about Germany.
My host told us, that it is time to write a list of cookies, we want to bake. It seems, that she plans to bake a lot. As she is ill right now, it might take some time to get things started. ![]() There are many more toyvoyagers here, who all want to help us baking the cookies. You can't imagine, how loud it can be with so many tvs around ![]() ![]() Oh, what's that sound. It is so loud outside, that we can hear it over our babbling. It's big ready-mix truck in nice colours. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2010, 10:44 am |
It is Saturday before 1rst of Advent and we decided to start decorating the house. This is a Christmas Crib Scene for windows, which our host regularly sellotapes to the window of their dining room each year.
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fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2010, 3:02 pm |
The puppy Christmas started in this house, so it is getting a bit uncomfortable for me. Thank God, there are so many other friendly toyvoyagers around me, who take care for me. So you can be sure, that I'm safe - I think.
Today the puppies cut and glued a wonderful star together. They invited all the other toyvoyagers at our place to join them and see the star grow. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Chuckle shows you, how the finished star looks like. He is as proud as if he would have created it all alone. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Dec 5, 2010, 7:53 am |
Yesterday it was 1rst Advent and today we have a nice meeting with pastry and tea. Our host's singing teacher came to join us. It was her last singing lesson with this nice teacher, so she and her son invited her to visit them at home. She was also her son's and daughter's singing teacher.
We lighted the first candle and sat down in the middle of the table - our host was very delighted ![]() ![]() This is a few out of the kitchen window. You see the snow? It's a pity, that our host still isn't well enough to go outside with us. ![]() Our star also found a place at this kitchen window. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Dec 5, 2010, 9:39 am |
Maybe you know, that my host works as a teacher. Right now she is class teacher of 3rd graders. She loves her job and she loves her class. She always talks about her kids and she doesn't only mean her own children, but her pupils. A few days ago she went to a book shop in the inner city and stayed there for hours. We all wondered, why she didn't come back home again. Today she showed us, what she had done. She went there to search for books for the Advent Calendar for her pupils. She didn't buy the books from her own money, but recieved the money from their parents. But she bought the books and before she bought them, she thought and thought, which book would be good enough for which child. She and the female book seller really enjoyed it - that's what she said.
Take a look at all the books. There are 19 books for her 19 pupils. ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Dec 5, 2010, 9:50 am |
Stars are really fascinating - so here comes star number three. This time all toyvoyager worked together, although on the photo it seems, that only one dog did the work.
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fam-united Posted Dec 18, 2010, 10:37 am |
The next day we had everything done, the packages were wrapped in Christmas papers and the pupils' names were in the little sacks. So our host could take the Advent calendar with her to the school. She told us, that she reads an Advent story each morning in the first school hour. At first they light the candles of the advent wreath. At last she asks one pupil to go to the Advent calendar and open the number for the day. The pupil, whose name was told there, gets up and draws out one of the packages out of the covered basket. The name on the package tells then, who will recieve it. This way three pupils have to do something each day.
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fam-united Posted Dec 18, 2010, 11:19 am |
This late afternoon we drove to Münzesheim. We thougth, that we could visit the Japanese Garden there - we've already heard a lot about it. But it was already too dark, so we had to stay inside. We were at an occupational therapist with our host's daughter. She had some problems at school with other pupils of her former class bullying her. She now tries to get more self-confidence here. I think, it is a really nice woman and a nice place, too.
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fam-united Posted Dec 18, 2010, 2:51 pm |
It's the fourth of December already. Today we found a lot of snow outside, so we ran to play in it and have a walk. At first we found a trail in the snow in front of the front door.
![]() ![]() At first we took a photo of the kindergarden, which is next to the church St. Peter. It has some nice Christmas decorations. ![]() We turned to see to the baroque church St. Peter. It is one of the few buildings of Bruchsal, which survived World WarII. It is closed, so we had no chance to go inside, but maybe we will go there during the Christmas Time. ![]() Next to the church St. Peter is the graveyard of Bruchsal. You have to walk up and down there, so it is rather difficult for older people to walk there. ![]() ![]() Here you see the back side of the house Sancta Maria. You will see the front side later. The grey wall on the left side belongs to the new apostolic church. You maybe can imagine, how steep the ways of the graveyard are, when you see, that we look down on Sancta Maria right now and even this house is higher than the entrance we were at first. ![]() There is a nice garden, which belongs to Sancta Maria. Do you see the little church tower on the left? It is the tower of the city church. There is another small small piece of the tower of the church St. Damian and Hugo, when you look well peer at the branches. This church belongs to the palace of Bruchsal. ![]() This is the front side of Sancta Maria. It houses a catholic school for social education and more. There still live some Franciscan nuns. ![]() We only had to walk down this street from Sancta Maria to our current home. You see the working place - nobody is working right now because of the cold weather. ![]() Somehow my host forgot to take pictures of me on the walk. But when we came back, we found some more trails in the snow next to the trail we've seen at first. Who might this have been? ![]() It was so cold, that we didn't want to stay outside any longer, but our host said, that she first has to clean the way in front of the house again. We asked Chuckle to open the door. ![]() He was a bit too small, so he asked Bluto and Scotty to help him, but they still weren't tall enough. ![]() Hypno-Dog came to help them now. He climbed on their heads and Chuckle on his, but you see, they still didn't reach the lock. ![]() Hypno-Dog called for Travelling Tuffy, who then climbed over their heads and sat down on Hypno-Dog's head and Chuckle sat on his head then. It was really heavy already. ![]() Because they still were too small to reach the lock, Domino asked them, if he could help. Of course they let him climb over their heads and Chuckle sat on his head then. You see, that they still had no luck. ![]() Chuckle called for Schnuffi to help them. ![]() And then I came and also Mustang Monkey asked, if he should help Bluto and Scotty to carry all these other toyvoyagers on our heads. ![]() We were really close to the lock now, but then it happened....! Oh God! I hope, nobody got hurt. ![]() Thank God! Nothing bad happened to us toyvoyagers. Now we knew a bit better how to do it. So we were a bit faster in building the toyvoyager tower. ![]() ![]() You see we had a different order now and we were building more a pyramid than a tower. ![]() ![]() We didn't feel anything of the cold weather now. We really sweat already. ![]() And yes, with Brinda's help Chuckle reached the lock finally. ![]() ![]() He turned the key and then.... ![]() What we didn't think of was, that we all will fall down - except Chuckle, Scotty and Bluto. But we all were happy, that we had been successful. Maybe we can go on walks without our host every now and then from now on. ![]() P.S. My host read this and she told me to tell you, that she will keep her key at a safe place from now on. You might feel better to know this, but we all still will try - oh, no eehmmm, I think, we won't try it again ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Dec 18, 2010, 5:14 pm |
After we had some rainy days and our host had been ill with laryngitis, we have the chance to walk in the snow again. This time we have more snow than last and everything is more beautiful. Even the wellknown church St. Peter. Last time we took the photo while standing in the graveyard area already. This time we are in front of the kindergarden.
![]() We walked across the graveyard again and then out of Bruchsal into fields. Maybe you see the little yellow sign on the left side of the snowy road. That's the place-name sign of Bruchsal or it's end. ![]() On the side of the road we found this cross. It is there for someone, who died in the 17th/ 18th century or something. ![]() Then we walked through a [url=Sunken lane]hollow way[/url]. It is Hohlweg in German. It was so beautiful with all the snow on the trees and road. ![]() Then we walked on a fieldway and had a nice view back to Bruchsal. ![]() ![]() On our way we found another trail. If it was a deer? ![]() ![]() I'm sure, that someone wonders, who left this imprints here. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Dec 19, 2010, 8:29 am |
In the evening we went to one of the Christmas markets in Bruchsal. It was the one, which only happens on the last weekend before Christmas. It's more modern style - that's what our hosts say, because there are such crazy lights on the palace wall. We enjoyed to drink a Kinderpunsch and to warm up standing next to a fire place. We saw several Christmas things to buy. It was so crowdy there, that we had no chance to take many photos.
This shows the first Christmas Market of Bruchsal. It always starts on the weekend of first of Advent and ends two or three days before Holy Eve. It is a really really small market but with a merry-go-round and with nice decorated houses. My hosts live only a few meters up the street - I'm looking to the street. ![]() The front of the palace is beautiful in the snow at night. ![]() Here you see the houses - tents- of the second Christmas market at the palace and the colourful stars on the palace backside wall. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Jan 1, 2011, 4:58 pm |
It's that time of year again, when our host goes into her kitchen for hours and bakes and bakes a lot of cookies. This year we asked her, whether we could help her with her work. At first she seemed a bit hectic and not in the mood to let us join, but then we were allowed to watch and even help her baking.
Here you see Moony cutting the vanilla bean. ![]() Paul Penguin adds the almonds. ![]() I try to stir the dough. Wow, this mixer is heavy. ![]() Even little Brinda helps. She gets the dough out of the mixing bowl. ![]() Schnuffi writes the name of the cookie on the aluminium foil: Husarenkrapferl. ![]() For the second cookies we need some almonds again. Hypno-Dog adds them to the dough. ![]() Kari adds the flour ![]() and Traveling Tuffy the sugar. ![]() Domino likes the cocos flakes, they are just as white as he is. We need the flakes for cocos macaroones with marzipan. ![]() Chuckle helps to stir the dough this time. ![]() To put the dough on the baking plate we need someone really strong: Hypno-Dog! ![]() Tuffy is waiting impatiently. ![]() Brinda tries to show them, that she's also really strong. ![]() After the dough for our Husarenkrapferl was in the fridge for about two hours, Paul puts them on the baking plate and does the last step before we put it in the oven. ![]() While the Husarenkrapferl are baking, our host forms the Vanillekipferl. ![]() Some Vanillekipferl are already baken, while some more are waiting for an empty oven. ![]() That's how the finished Vanillekipferl look like. ![]() We all try to help getting the cocosnut macaroones finished. We want to dip them in the melted chocolate. ![]() Don't they look nice? ![]() ![]() It's better to not show, how we looked like after the work was done. ![]() Our host prepared another dough for Spitzbuben cookies. We are allowed to help cutting them out. For some of us it is hard work, but for others just as easy as climbing a tree. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Umechan and Paul are really strong. They can roll the dough with the marmor rolling pin. ![]() ![]() Then we are able to cut the cookies out again. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Jan 1, 2011, 5:33 pm |
It's the last school day before Christmas break. We help our host to pack Christmas presents for her pupils: some dices and packs of cards.
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fam-united Posted Jan 1, 2011, 6:03 pm |
In the afternoon it was time for more baking:![]() We help to finish the Little Spitzbuben. ![]() the Bethmännchen ![]() Then we roll the dough for the Terrassen cookies ![]() and cut them out in three different sizes. ![]() These cookies should be Nougatkipferl, but we do Nougat rolls. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Jan 1, 2011, 6:14 pm |
Today we "glue" the Terrasse cookies together - with the help of some marmelade
![]() and cover them with powder sugar. ![]() At next we prepare the dough for Zigeunerschnitten, our host's favorite cookies. ![]() ![]() While we all worked, Moony jumps around like crazy. It is no surprise, that he falls into the powder sugar. What a laughter! ![]() ![]() ![]() Paul and I try to pick a walnut. We also had a lot of fun. ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Jan 2, 2011, 5:44 pm |
In the afternoon we have to finish the Husarenkrapferl. We have to powder them with powder sugar and then fill in marmelade in the little holes.
![]() ![]() ![]() After we baked the Zigeunerschnitten, we have to decorate them and cut them in smaller pieces. ![]() ![]() ![]() Then we cut out the Buttergebäck. We use many different small forms. ![]() Then we decorate them with colourful sugar pieces and bake them in the oven. ![]() What a mess! We have to clean up, before we can do more baking. ![]() That's much better now ![]() ![]() Look, who is back at home!!! What a Christmas surprise! Aaron, the donkey, came back after staying in Singapore for about two years. He told us, that he won't travel again. He is just too large to take him with in a bag, although he is rather small, when he is folded in a package. He had to tell so much about his life, too much to repeat it here. For us he is just a sign, that it is possible to come back home after years. ![]() ![]() Aaron joined us in watching how to bake cookies. ![]() It looks a bit messy again. This will be Walnuss-Aprikosen-Taschen (something like walnut-apricots- bags) ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Jan 2, 2011, 5:54 pm |
Today it is Holy Eve. In the morning there is time for some more baking in the kitchen. We all sit down at our special place again.
After baking and cooling down we cover the Walnuss-Aprikosen-Taschen with powder sugar. ![]() Springerle are some of our host's favorite cookies. Many people say, that you have to bake them weeks before Christmas so they get soft enough for take a bite without breaking a tooth. Our hosts usually bakes them the day before Holy Eve or on Holy Eve and she never has problems with them being too hard. ![]() While Petra is still baking and baking and preparing dinner, we sit behind the kitchen window and watch the weather change. At first we had rain, but now it starts to snow. ![]() ![]() It is midday now and we are still sitting at the same place. ![]() ![]() Still watching ![]() ![]() ![]() and watching ![]() ![]() It can be boring to sit here and not be allowed to get up ![]() ![]() We watch and watch and watch the snow falling down. You may see, that it starts to get white outside. ![]() ![]() Finally it is dark and we still watch the snow falling. ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Jan 15, 2011, 10:39 am |
Finally it is so dark outside, that we were allowed to help and set the table for dinner. We also helped to cook, but there are no photos of it. We have pasties, corn salad and chicken fricassee.
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fam-united Posted Jan 15, 2011, 10:57 am |
Then we heard a little bell ringing - the sign, that the Christchild - Christuskind - was there and had brought the presents. Now we were allowed to enter the livingroom and see the Christmastree for the first time. While our hosts were singing and playing the flute, we sat on the presents and helped singing. I'm so sorry, that there is no record of it, you would have loved it![]() ![]() After singing and reading the Christmas story - I never thought, that this really would take more than half an hour time to get finished with this - everyone was allowed to open the presents. I'm also sorry, that we don't have photos of us, but we all were too busy. Then we sat down, played a game and ate some of our selfmade cookies. Our host told us, that she tries to put some recipes on facebook. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Feb 5, 2011, 9:52 am |
Today we all were invited at my host's parents home to celebrate Christmas together.
We sat next to the cakes and cookies. You surely know those cookies ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() (I'm sorry for the bad quality of the photos) |
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fam-united Posted Feb 5, 2011, 10:17 am |
Today we went shopping and bought a new bird feeder for the balcony in front of the kitchen. At first we played in it for a while until out host told us, that it isn't for us and we should go in the house again, so the poor birds find some seed while it is so frosty outside.
At first umechan climbed into the house. ![]() ![]() Then Brinda and Kari joined umechan. ![]() Also Paul Penguin and I came to sit in the small house, while Chuckle sat on its roof. He tried to climb, but got some cold fingers and had to be really careful to not be frozen to the chain. ![]() Suddenly the dogs came and chased us away. They laughed so much, that Domino and Hypno-Dog lay in the house holding their tummies, while Schnuffi and Tuffy watched from the roof. ![]() But maybe you know the saying: He laughs best that laughs last? ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Feb 19, 2011, 4:37 pm |
![]() Today evening we have Raclette for dinner. We really liked it. My host got to bed after dinner, because her daughter was ill. So we enjoyed a game called "Mitternachtsparty" - midnightparty - without her. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Feb 26, 2011, 4:50 pm |
On 6th January is Epiphany and all children of my host family went with the starsingers. Two of them weren't dressed as kings this year, only the daughter was dressed. She was the starcarrier. It's sad, that we don't have a photo of it. Somehow we missed it. But when we came home, we had the chance to take a look at all the sweets, which they got as presents beside the money. The money is for charitable use, but the sweets are for the children. We came home with three bags - for each child one bag of sweets. Here you see, what one child had in his bag.
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fam-united Posted Feb 26, 2011, 5:14 pm |
On 6th January also was our host husband's birthday and today we celebrate with the family. For his and my host's parents she made a roast in a clay pot. It was really a lot meat for, but of course there were 10 people and us, who wanted to eat something as lunch.
![]() We helped to cut apples and onions, which we added to the meat. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Feb 26, 2011, 5:34 pm |
Again we celebrated the birthday. This time we helped to bake a lemonade cake. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Feb 26, 2011, 6:30 pm |
Today was a meeting of our hosts' family club. They said, they would take four of us with them, so our host counted out, who was allowed to join them. At first I was sad, because I thought, I never would win. But then I was happy to not stay at home, but go with them to the palace. We were there to see the exhibition of cribs and also visited other rooms in the palace. I can tell you, it really was interesting.
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() After being almost completely destroyed in the final days of World War II, the main tract was painstakingly reconstructed according to the original design and work was completed in 1975, including the magnificent dome, Marble Hall and Prince's Hall. With the rebuilding of the palace, the Town Museum (Prehistory, Ancient History, Mineralogy and Numismatics) was established with new exhibits in the southern upper storey of the palace. As well as displays chronicling the ancient and early history of the town, the exhibition features the mineral collection, coins and medals from Bruchsal and archaeological finds from the Neolithic to the medieval periods. (see bruchsal-erleben.de) Here you see photos of the exhibition of Stone Age. ![]() This is a lower jaw of a mammoth. ![]() This is a photo of a painting of my host's cousin. He painted the burning synagoge of Bruchsal. It makes me feel really sad, thinking of all the people, who lost their lifes. ![]() Here you see a small version of the jailhouse. I think, it is an interesting building. ![]() Here's the prince hall with the big crystal chandeliers. ![]() ![]() Here we are in the dome hall. ![]() ![]() Now we are in the marble hall. Everywhere you see something golden. ![]() The staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann is considered to be an architectural tour-de-force and has been described as the "finest staircase in the world. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Feb 27, 2011, 1:48 pm |
On our way home from Gochsheim, where we visited some friends of our host family, we saw this evening sky and asked our hosts to stop here and take some photos.
![]() We even saw a little piece of the moon. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Feb 27, 2011, 2:23 pm |
Our host told us, that soon there will be a birthday party for her daughter, who was 13 years end of December. She said, that in December never is enough time to celebrate with friends, so her daughter invited them to come to her in two weeks. Today we learn how to do chocolates, because the girls want to make chocolates then. At first we had to sort out the ones we wanted to make.
![]() At first we decided to try one of these two cream-vanilla-confection. ![]() ![]() After we only were allowed to watch, we told our host, that the next one we would try alone. We wanted to make confections with cornflakes and orange flavor and white chocolate. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Our host's daughter finished the cream-vanilla-confection and we were watching again. ![]() ![]() At next we tried something like wrong Raffaelo. We never will try it again - the right Raffaelo taste much better. ![]() ![]() Here we made coconut confection with Amarettini. They tasted much better. ![]() ![]() ![]() This were the nougat confection. They tasted fine, but maybe we will try another recipe next time. ![]() We helped to fill them into the patisserie forms. ![]() ![]() ![]() And that's the result after we decorated the confections. ![]() Then we tried another recipe with strawberries, but we didn't like the result too. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We loved to eat the philadelphia cheese confections, though. ![]() ![]() ![]() My host said, that she would try some chili-butter-confections and I can tell you, they really were hot. ![]() ![]() Here you see us with coconut-Amarettini-confections, nougat confections, cream-vanilla-confections and philadelphia-confections. We loved them all. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Feb 27, 2011, 2:23 pm |
Today we finished the Sweet kiss, which is a recipe of a tv serie, that comes in tv each afternoon. My host's daughter loves to watch it every now and then and we loved to eat the sweet kiss.
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fam-united Posted Feb 27, 2011, 2:37 pm |
For lunch we drove to the Michaelsberg, which belongs to Untergrombach. Untergrombach is a suburb of Bruchsal. There is a nice restaurant and we were there with my host's parents in law. After lunch we went to see the chapel and landscape of the Rhine valley.
![]() View to houses, which belong to Bruchsal. ![]() View to houses of Untergrombach and the Rhine valley. ![]() View in direction of Karlsruhe. The hills belong to the Kraichgau hill country. Bruchsal is right between the Rhine valley and Kraichgau hill country. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Mar 4, 2011, 8:54 pm |
We live at a rather loud place since months, but it seems, that this will be the last really really loud works before they get finished everything.
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fam-united Posted Mar 5, 2011, 7:53 am |
Today we drove to Münzesheim to bring my host's daughter to someone and while she stayed there to visit the Japanese Garden, which belongs to the therapy centre against alcohol and other dependencies. All buildings and works of art are made by patients of the therapy center based on antique models. The garden is about 5.000 m² large, it is open for patients and visitors. You will see a roof made of blue bottles, put into the concrete with there bottom to the outside - it's an interesting room, fascinating. Wall and floor are covered with blue tiles.
It was rather cold and already gettin dark outside, so the photos aren't that brilliant, but try to enjoy the photos. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Mar 7, 2011, 10:40 am |
Today our host's daughter has a belated birthday party with her friends. So we have to prepare everything before the guests come. At first we have to put all the ingredience for the chocolates on the working plate in the kitchen and also the recipes for the chocolates.
![]() Then we have to prepare the table for the guests. We want to eat the selfmade muffins, but our host didn't allow us to bite into a single one ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Mar 13, 2011, 5:23 pm |
It's breakfast time on a Saturday in Bruchsal. Most Saturdays my hosts buy bread rolls from their favorite bakery in Bruchsal. You can see them here. It is hard for us to choose the one we love too. Our host said, that we have to share one bread roll, because it would be enough for us to eat - we are so small, she said.
![]() ![]() We decided to take a "Krusti" and Cilly cut it in two halves. ![]() ![]() Now we had to decide, which marmelade - jam- we wanted to have on the bread roll halves or if we would like honey from Australia or hazelnut cream. The most jam is selfmade by our host's husband. ![]() ![]() We chose Australian honey. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Mar 13, 2011, 5:50 pm |
In the early evening I went on a walk with my host family.
This is an old house in the same street, where my hosts and I live. ![]() The house is next to the graveyard just like this baroque church St. Peter. You can see one of my hosts sons and their daughter in the photo too. ![]() I asked my host, if I can try to call you, but I had no success. Maybe you were out of home, too. ![]() ![]() On the opposite side of the church you see this street with the statues and old houses. ![]() Here you can read about the church. It's an original building of the 18th century and wasn't destroyed during world war II. The church was designed by the world famous baroque architect Balthasar Neumann. ![]() We didn't walk over the graveyard but down some stairs to another street. In the wall I saw this scaring head. ![]() Here you see all three kids and also some really old houses in the street. ![]() This is one of my hosts' favorite restaurant especially during summer, because there is a nice beer garden behind the house. ![]() Here we passed by the slaughterhouse. This building was an administrative building. ![]() And this is the main building of the former slaughterhouse. There is a restaurant nowadays. ![]() ![]() Here we see the Saalbach, which flows through Bruchsal. You also can see the tower, which belongs to the slaughterhouse. ![]() You see, that it's really getting dark now. We came through this old street and saw the closed bridge, which leads over the Saalbach. Cars aren't allowed to drive there, because it is out of repair since a while. I love these two old houses on either side of the street. ![]() Here we were at the Saalbach again. The bridge, which you can see here, is called Great Bridge, isn't that funny ![]() ![]() The house you can see on the right side is the main city hall. ![]() So now we are back in our hosts' street and decided to go to the church again and try a photo at night. ![]() ![]() |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 14, 2011, 9:20 pm |
Hey ![]() Today I arrived together with Robby at Fabis place. Fabi can't upload photos right now, as she has no laptop, just the old computer who doesn't have USB...so she will upload pics as soon as her new laptop is there. Just wanted to let you know that I feel good ![]() Landroval |
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fam-united Posted Mar 19, 2011, 5:58 pm |
Today we wanted to go on a short walk again, but it was so windy, that we decided to take the car. We sat down at the window - just turned around for the photo, of course.
We drove through Unteröwisheim. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Mar 19, 2011, 6:15 pm |
And then we drove through Münzesheim, where we visited the Japanese Garden the other day.
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fam-united Posted Mar 19, 2011, 6:22 pm |
Close to Gochsheim we saw this place, where we could stop with the car for a short time to take photos of the Kraich, a small river, which flows through the Kraichgau.
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fam-united Posted Mar 19, 2011, 6:39 pm |
Then we drove to Odenheim to see the Siegfried fountain. It might be the place were Siegfried was murdered.
Maybe you know the "Nibelungenlied", if not here's a copy of an wikipedia article: In the Middle High German Nibelungenlied, Sîfrit (Siegfried) is a prince of Xanten who is later revealed to have a heroic background including killing a dragon and winning lands and an immense fortune from a pair of brothers. From bathing in the dragon's blood, he is invulnerable except for a spot on his back where a leaf adhered to his skin. Determined to marry Kriemhild, the sister of King Gunther of the Burgundians, he assists Gunther in wooing Brünhild, queen of Iceland, using his cloak of invisibility to enable Gunther to beat the phenomenally strong queen at javelin throwing, boulder tossing, and the long jump. He also single-handedly conquers Nibelungenland to provide troops in case Brünhild tries to kill Gunther and his kin. Finally married to Kriemhild, he then wrestles Brünhild into submission, again invisible, so that Gunther can consummate his marriage. He gives Kriemhilt Brünhild's ring and belt. After some years, the two queens quarrel over precedence and Kriemhild shows Brünhild the ring and belt and calls her Siegfried's concubine. Siegfried and Gunther make peace but Gunther's courtier Hagen von Tronje plots to kill Siegfried and Gunther and his brothers go along with the plan. Hagen has Kriemhild place a cross on the spot on Siegfried's back where he is vulnerable, and spears him when he is drinking from a stream on a hunting trip, thus fulfilling a prophecy that whomever Kriemhild marries will die violently. He throws Siegfried's treasure into the Rhine so that Kriemhild cannot raise an army. The second half of the epic concerns her revenge. Read more at wikipedia ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Mar 19, 2011, 6:53 pm |
In Östringen we stopped at the church St. Cäcilia. The church was built in 1895 in Neo-Romanesque stile, often mentioned as "Dom - cathedral- of Kraichgau"
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fam-united Posted Mar 19, 2011, 7:02 pm |
Finally we were back in Bruchsal. You see the Damian Gate, which is the gate to the palace area
![]() a renovated shopping center for clothes ![]() and the tower of the old castle and a part of the ccommunity center next to the tower. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Mar 19, 2011, 7:17 pm |
On Rosenmontag (Carnival Monday) we all were invited to celebrate with our host's family at her parents place. We had a lot of fun. Here you see us short before eating Berliner - a jelly filled donut, not a human being![]() ![]() |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 12:25 am |
Hey,
Today we visited castle Hugenpoet. It is a hotel and a restaurant. Fabi wasn’t able to go inside, as there was a big private party, but we had a look at it from the outside. It was really cool. But have a look at the photos. ![]() ![]() It was a nice day and I hope we will visit a lot more nice places in the future. Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 12:39 am |
Hello again,
Today there was good weather outside and Fabi was feeling good, so we decided to go out to the Gruga park. We saw a little playhouse which is closed at the moment, due to problems with the roof. ![]() After that, we saw a house which was built for the parents of children, who have to stay at the hospital near the Gruga park. It is a Hundertwasser house. The parents are able to sleep there, when their children are in the university hospital of Essen. That is really nice, isn’t it? ![]() I was able to see some other birds in the Gruga park. There were even eagles. But I am not so good looking in the photos. Hope you still like them. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() On the playground next to the eagles cage was an eagle as well. But it was just out of wood. ![]() It was a long and nice day. I was really tired when we came home. Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 1:11 am |
Hello,
The next days will be separated in different updates. I mean, even if we visited 2 places on one day, we will make it to 2 updates, as it were two different places in this town. Both have an own history and being in one entry would mean that it would be so long. Fabi said we will separate it and we hope it is okay for you. Today our holidays in Berlin started. It was a short flight from Düsseldorf to Berlin and that is the reason why there are no photos of it. When we arrived in Berlin, we went to the hotel and right after that we started with sight seeing. Our first stop was Checkpoint Charlie. It is called like this, as they counted the Checkpoints with the alphabet. There was a Checkpoint Alpha, Checkpoint Beta and Checkpoint Charlie was the third Checkpoint. It is the most famous Checkpoint in Berlin. Here a quote from wikipedia:
For more infos, visit the wikipedia And now I will show you my photos of Checkpoint Charlie. Hope you like them. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 1:12 am |
Hey,
after visiting the Checkpoint Charlie, we went to the Brandenburg Gate. It was already getting dark, so this was our last stop for today. The Brandenburg Gate was a city gate long time ago. It is the only remaining gate of a series through which Berlin was once entered. ![]() I think it looks really great. What do you think? Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 12:13 pm |
Hey,
today we met some famous persons. I was so excited. Fabi said we will go to Madame Tussauds and that there are a lot famous persons. We weren’t able to make much photos, as it was so crowded there, but we made two group pictures. Here we go. First we met Anne Frank. Her diary of the Second World War was published. Every child here in Germany reads it in school, normally. Did you read the book? ![]() Later Fabi said she will be a politician now. We were all excited and asked to join her. So she allowed us and we did. We had a speech with Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany. ![]() ![]() It was really great there. I really wish I could have seen more. Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 1:23 pm |
Hey,
when we left Madame Tussauds we had a walk on the street in front of it. The street is called Unter den Linden. It is a boulevard and really nice. In the middle of the street is a centre strip with trees, little shops, places to sit and such. It is really cute. But we didn’t make photos of that. We walked a while until we arrived at interesting places. First we found a statue of Frederick the Great. ![]() Wikipedia tells us about Frederick:
Then we saw the historical Museum of Berlin. ![]() It is a great building, isn’t it? They started to build this house in 1695. So it is really old. It is the oldest building on “Unter den Linden”. When it was ready in 1730 it was used from the Prussian military for their armoury. In 1831 they opened it for the public and showed a collection of weapons in it. In 1952 until 1990 it was the Museum for German history. And in 1990 it became the Historical Museum of Berlin until now. So much to know about these buildings, right? The next photo is from the Berlin cathedral. The Berlin Cathedral had never been a cathedral in the actual sense of that term since it has never been the seat of a bishop. Right from it you can see the “Alex”. The television tower of Berlin. ![]() That was a long walk and a long day was over then. We were all tired when we came back to the hotel. So we slept really fast. Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 1:41 pm |
Hey,
Today we visited a lot places, so a lot updates will follow. First we went to the KaDeWe (Kaufhaus des Westens), but we didn’t make photos there, as they don’t like it a lot. Right next to the KaDeWe we found a fountain. It is called “Lebensalter” (age). It was made by 4 artists. ![]() As you can see on the picture, the weather was really beautiful on that day. So we decided to make a big photo tour through Berlin. Visit all the places that Fabi still wanted to see in Berlin. But to be true: We didn’t even visit half of the list, as it was way too much for one day. But Fabi decided she will come back. That was the first update for this day, more will follow. Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 31, 2011, 4:43 pm |
Hey,
Our next stop on that day was at the Museum of Technology. But not to visit it. We were there to see the Raisin Bomber which is hanging at the entrance. Fabi wanted to see it and we wanted to make photos with it. A Raisin Bomber was an airplane that brought food and other stuff to the western part of Berlin during the Berlin Blockade 1949. The name of the airplane came from the fact, that the pilots throw out candy, raisins and other sweet things of the airplane on little parachutes so that the children who were waiting for the airplane had some fun. In America these airplanes got the name Candy Bombers. And here are the pictures: ![]() ![]() On the second picture you can see a part of the Landwehrkanal. Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 31, 2011, 4:43 pm |
Heyho,
After seeing the Raisin Bomber in front of the Museum, we walked (yeah, really…it was a long walk, but we did it) to the Topography of Terror Documentation Center. There are still parts of the Berlin wall. Between 1933 and 1945, the central institutions of Nazi persecution and terror were located on the grounds of the present-day “Topography of Terror”. Since 1987 the Topography of Terror has informed the public about this historic site. The new Documentation Center with parts of the Berlin wall and the redesigned historic grounds are now opened since May 2010. So it was really new. It is the longest standing part of the Berlin wall in Berlin itself. ![]() Right next to it, we found old cars (called Trabis). We made a photo with one of it. It says “Volkspolizei” which was the police in the DDR (Deutsch Demokratische Republik – German Democratic Republic). So you see how small the cars for the police was there. Funny, or? ![]() Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 31, 2011, 4:45 pm |
Hey,
Three updates are still waiting for you, until our holidays in Berlin are over. This is one of the three last updates. Our feet were already hurting, as we walked so much already, but there were still things on the list to see. So we followed Fabi wherever she went and finally arrived at a place called Gendarmenmarkt. Now, let us look what wikipedia says for it. The Gendarmenmarkt is a square in Berlin, and the site of the Konzerthaus and the French and German Cathedrals. The centre of the Gendarmenmarkt is crowned by a statue of Germany's poet Friedrich Schiller. The square was created by Johann Arnold Nering at the end of the seventeenth century as the Linden-Markt and reconstructed by Georg Christian Ungerin 1773. The Gendarmenmarkt is named after the cuirassier regiment Gens d'Armes, which was deployed at this square until 1773. During World War II most of the buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. Today all the buildings are restored to their former state. So, now let’s see the first pictures of the French Cathedral. ![]() ![]() ![]() The French Cathedral is the colloquial name for the French Church of Friedrichstadt in Berlin. The first part was built 1701 to 1705 for the Huguenot (Calvinist) community. The domed tower is technically no part of the church, there is no access between church and tower, because both buildings have different proprietors. The church is not a cathedral in the strict sense of the word because it has never been the seat of a bishop. After that, we saw the German cathedral. ![]() The German cathedral is the colloquial name for the New Church (German: Neue Kirche) located in Berlin. In 1701-1708 Giovanni Simonetti built the first church after a design of Martin Grünberg. Then we saw the concert hall. ![]() The Konzerthaus Berlin (once called the Schauspielhaus Berlin) is a concert hall situated on the Gendarmenmarkt square in the central Mitte district of Berlin. Since 1994 it has been the seat of the German orchestra Konzerthausorchester Berlin. Acoustically, the hall is considered to be amongst the five best concert venues in the world for music and/or opera And the last thing to see on the Gendarmenmarkt is the Fountain with Schiller in front of the concert hall. ![]() What a great photo place the Gendarmenmarkt is, isn’t it? Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 31, 2011, 4:46 pm |
Hey,
It was already getting dark when we decided to make a visit at Charlottenburg Palace. It wasn’t that far from our hotel, so we were there pretty fast. Fabi didn’t find any informations about the Palace near the Palace, so let us take a look at the text from wikipedia again. Charlottenburg Palace (German: Schloss Charlottenburg) is the largest palace in Berlin and the only royal residency in the city dating back to the time of the Hohenzollern family. It is located in the Charlottenburg district of the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf burough. The palace was built at the end of the 17th century and was greatly expanded during the 18th century. It includes much exotic internal decoration in baroque and rococo styles. A large formal garden surrounded by woodland was constructed behind the palace. In the grounds of the palace various buildings were erected, including a belvedere, a mausoleum, a theatre and a pavilion. During the Second World War the palace was badly damaged but has since been reconstructed. The palace, its gardens and the buildings in the grounds are major visitor attractions. Unfortunately the gardens are closed in the evening, so we weren’t able to take a look at it. But we saw the castle itself. Take a look at the photos we made there. ![]() ![]() After that we went back to the hotel where we will make our last update for our Berlin holidays. Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Mar 31, 2011, 4:47 pm |
Hey,
So this is the last update for our Berlin holidays. Fabi bought some souvenirs today which she wanted to share with you. You know in Berlin they have a Ritter Sport chocolate shop. Fabi was in there and got all crazy. She bought a 2kg “surprise” bag with a mix of chocolate inside. And now we want to share with you what was inside the 2kg bag. ![]() ![]() And no: She doesn’t keep it all for herself. Some of the chocolate will be send away to friends and others will be eaten by her brother or her boyfriend. So she won’t eat 2kg of chocolate all alone. So that was our Berlin holidays. I hope you like the pictures and enjoyed it as much as I did. Love, Landroval |
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fam-united Posted Apr 1, 2011, 2:02 pm |
Our hosts like toy trains and think about building an own at home as soon as possible. Today we decided to go to the Märklin museum and have a look, whether they have something on sale, which they would like. So we all had the chance to go through the museum and have a look at all those old toy trains there.
![]() This is a toy train, which was on its way to its new owner - by train. It had an accident then and so it never reached his destination but now is a part of the museum. ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Apr 1, 2011, 8:48 pm |
For lunch we drove to Plochingen, because my host said, that there is a Hundertwasser Haus (house) and she would like to see it. She like these colourful houses, she said, and so we were all really curious to learn more about one of these houses.
But at first we had a look at some beautiful halftimbered houses of Plochingen. ![]() Here you see Friedensreich Hundertwasser, who was an Austrian artist. ![]() In 1985 two architects of Plochingen planned to build a residential and business house as circular building with inner yard. There are 62 flats, 16 commercial units. The area is about 1,5 hectare. 1992 the city got in contact with Friedensreich Hundertwasser and he actually liked to create the facade of the inner yard. He liked that the viewer of the inner yard would only have Hundertwasser around him and the sky above - an own Hundertwasser-world. (I found this on this website: http://www.plochingen.de/servlet/PB/menu/1211981_l1/index.html ) ![]() My host's husband took a photo of us and Petra ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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fam-united Posted Apr 2, 2011, 6:43 am |
Then we drove through Stuttgart to reach our next destination. Stuttgart is the capital of the federal state of Baden-Württemberg, to which Bruchsal belongs.
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fam-united Posted Apr 2, 2011, 7:25 am |
Finally we are here:
![]() (I'm sorry, that I'm not on this photo, but it was a bit difficult to take a photo of this building with us while driving by, but I wanted to show you this interesting building) Because my hosts already had been at the Märklin museum several times, they decided to go to the Porsche Museum, an automotive museum in the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart. You surely know Porsche, don't you? To read more about the museum, please go to wikipedia or to the Porsche museum website. Petra said, that she just doesn't know enough about cars to tell you each name of the cars we took photos of, nevertheless we all like these cars ![]() Okay, there are some really really old Porsche cars. ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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BlackCat Posted May 4, 2011, 10:45 am |
Hey ![]() today we had a short walk at Zollverein. Just a short one as Fabi had to visit the shops only. But we made some photos to show you. ![]() ![]() You can see the tower of the coal mine and the big wheel of the coking plant. Isn’t it nice? Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted May 4, 2011, 10:55 am |
Hey out there,
today we made a short stop at the Lake Baldeney. We had a short walk there and made some photos for you, which I want to share with you today. ![]() ![]() ![]() It was really nice. But after the walk we were all really tired and went to bed early. Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted May 4, 2011, 11:06 am |
Hey,
today we had a short walk through the fields near the shopping centre, where Fabi normally buys her food and such. She thought that the sunshine was so nice, so she went out with us and had a short walk there. We even made some photos for showing you. ![]() ![]() Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Jun 21, 2011, 4:28 pm |
Hello everybody,
sorry for the late updates. Fabi isn't really in the mood for writing updates at the moment. But now we want to show you at least the photos of our trips. Maybe she will add more text to it later! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Jun 21, 2011, 4:30 pm |
Hello everybody,
while having a walk we found this coal-fired power station. After the things that happened in Japan, we were really scared. But BlackCat said that this isn’t as dangerous as the nuclear power station in Japan. ![]() Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Jun 21, 2011, 4:45 pm |
Hey,
today we visited Hattingen with BlackCat. She showed us some really nice houses and such. But see yourself: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Jun 21, 2011, 4:52 pm |
Hey,
today we had a walk at the river Ruhr. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Jun 21, 2011, 4:59 pm |
Hey out there,
Today we visited Gelsenkirchen. It has a reason. Last weekend FC Schalke 04, the favourite soccer club of BlackCat and her boyfriend, won the DFB cup. We all watched the game and were so happy. So today we wanted to visit some places that are important for the FC Schalke 04, and so we did. Look at the pictures. ![]() ![]() This is right next to the so called "Kampfbahn" - the place where the story of FC Schalke 04 started. There is still a soccer field, but it is just used by the little players of Schalke now. ![]() ![]() The fanshop has a lot of nice stuff to buy. ![]() That's the headquarter. ![]() They even have cars with their emblem on it. ![]() ![]() And finally we even saw the stadion: The VELTINS Arena. ![]() Lots of love, Landroval |
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BlackCat Posted Jun 21, 2011, 5:16 pm |
Hey,
today was my last day in Essen. While you are reading this, I am already sitting in a mailbox waiting for the mailman to carry me to my new host. I am so excited. Hopefully it will be a short travel. Before I went into my envelope, I had to say Goodbye to my friends. ![]() They were all really sad, but I told them that we all will meet again. ![]() And then I turned around and walked away. ![]() BlackCat gave me a little extra to travel with. ![]() I hope I will arrive soon. Love, Landroval |
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smaug Posted Jul 10, 2011, 11:53 pm |
Hi,
Today I felt some action around my envelope and when I flew out of it I found a little crowd ![]() ![]() ![]() As soon as I was out I realised that I forgot something ![]() ![]() ...grabbed the lovely postacard that my last host gave to me ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jul 11, 2011, 12:55 am |
Hi,
Guess what, I’ve just arrived and I’m already off to a new destination ![]() ![]() Once we arrived we checked out of the window: not a very impressive view ![]() ![]() ![]() Anyway, as we desperately needed a snack, we checked out the kitchen...which turned out to be very interesting ![]() ![]() The muffins looked good... ![]() ...but we settled for these lovely Italian bisquits ![]() ![]() After the snack Sigfrido left for work and came back later on with a calzone ![]() ![]() ![]() As I had never seen anything like this I asked Dean if that was really supposed to be a pizza. So he explained me that pizza in these parts of the world looks quite different from what I probably was used to on the other side of the pond...but it also tastes much better ![]() ![]() I guess he’s right: it was delicious ![]() ![]() As you probably know, eagles are famous for their voracious appetite ![]() ![]() ![]() There was plenty of interesting food... ![]() ...but this chocolate cream seemed definitely the best dessert choice ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jul 18, 2011, 4:24 am |
Hi,
Today we eventually had some time to explore around Roma..where, btw, it’s so hot and humid that you can barely breathe ![]() ![]() ...and, the obelisk at the center of the square. I wanted to fly to its top but Sigfrido told me that you are not allowed to either climb or fly over monuments ![]() ![]() We stopped a few minutes to refresh ourselves at this fountain where that lion was pouring water out of his mouth. We were all very concerned that he might turn around, but luckily he didn’t ![]() ![]() Later we wandered around the streets... ![]() ...until we reached Piazza di Spagna...but it was too hot to walk up the famous steps. ![]() We briefly passed in front of the pantheon... ![]() ...and then moved to Trastevere where we were going to have dinner ![]() ![]() First we stopped at a bar for some drinks and snacks. While we were waiting for the drinks the sight of those pigeons unleashed my hunter instinct ![]() ![]() ![]() So I reluctantly had to focus only on the food on the table ![]() ![]() Eventually it was time for dinner, where we had a lovely starter... ![]() ...followed by a delicious pasta ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jul 21, 2011, 4:00 am |
Hi,
Today we walked a bit more around the city, but not for long since it was very hot. First we passed again in front of the Pantheon ![]() ![]() Then we walked around narrow streets trying to stay in the shade ![]() ![]() We visited Piazza Navona with its famous fountains... ![]() ...until it was, eventually, time for a brake ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jul 24, 2011, 5:11 am |
Hi,
Today is our last day in Roma so we explored around a final time ![]() ![]() ...and Palazzo Venezia. ![]() Later we stopped for a pizza ![]() ![]() Then we moved to the river Tevere. This bridge was built in the second century BC ![]() ![]() Here we were appreciating the fact that speed limits were quite low in this old part of town when a speeding car almost turned us all into flat toys ![]() ![]() We took a last look at the river with St Peter’s dome in the distance and headed home... ![]() ...where we refreshed ourselves with a lovely papaya ![]() ![]() Next update will be from northern Italy ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 1, 2011, 6:18 am |
Hi,
Today we headed to the Dolomites ![]() ![]() ![]() As I didn’t have a clue of where I was, I tried to follow the route on the GPS... ![]() ...and made sure we didn’t run out of petrol. ![]() On the way the valley around the motorway became very narrow... ![]() ![]() ...and stayed like that until we reached our exit. ![]() ![]() We passed through a few villages... ![]() ![]() ...and eventually reached our destination, Selva di Val Gardena ![]() ![]() We immediately decided to explore the village. The local products shops seem interesting ![]() ![]() ...very interesting ![]() ![]() And the mountains around are very imposing, and there’s even snow at the top. ![]() Still, the place is also a bit odd to say the least: the benches are made out of old skis ![]() ![]() ...strange characters lurk around the streets ![]() ![]() ...and it seems that climbers are allowed to practice their skills on the village buildings ![]() ![]() Later we went back to the hotel where we decided to wait for dinner chit-chatting on the window sill while enjoying the view of the valley ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 2, 2011, 4:43 am |
Hi,
Today the weather was a bit better, so we explored a bit around ![]() ![]() ...the Odle and Puez groups on the other side of the valley... ![]() ![]() ...the Sciliar group in the distance... ![]() ...and the Sella group in front of us ![]() ![]() We studied a bit the area... ![]() ...and also found some lovely flowers ![]() ![]() At this point I decided to check the view from a bit higher up... ![]() And I immediately spot something interesting, food ![]() ![]() ![]() ...but since the others didn’t seem interested in the thrill of hunting down our own lunch, we opted for a more readily available lunch ![]() ![]() ![]() On the way back we took some photo from the gondola (despite the heavily scratched windows ![]() ![]() We chatted comfortably in our seats... ![]() ...until we saw the village getting closer and started thinking about supper ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 9, 2011, 3:26 am |
Hi,
Today we took advantage again of the good weather and visited another part of the Valley reaching a peak called Seceda, from where the view was great ![]() ![]() ...Odle... ![]() ...and Sella groups. ![]() At the top there was a paragliding center, so I decided to offer my services as chief instructor ![]() ![]() ...but, amazingly, they were not interested in my teaching ![]() ![]() At one point, of course, we needed to refuel so we stopped to get a lovely slice of Apfelstrudel ![]() ![]() On the way down we stopped to take another picture over this fence. ![]() Back at the hotel we tried to sunbathe on the deck ![]() ![]() ![]() ...so we went back to our favourite window sill to enjoy pre-dinner chatting ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 15, 2011, 1:37 am |
Hi,
Today we left a very rainy Selva and headed back to Trento. ![]() On the side of the road we met a strange mouse ![]() ![]() The good news is that when we were almost home it stopped raining, so we have hope for the next few days ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 15, 2011, 2:14 am |
Hi,
Today we visited the little town of Merano ![]() ![]() ...but it seems we didn’t get lost ![]() ![]() ...and soon we were entering the town. ![]() Being a TV celebrity has its perks ![]() ![]() ![]() Then we explored a bit around the old town ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Until it was time to eat something, when we got a lovely Kaiserschmarrn ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 15, 2011, 3:05 am |
Hi,
Today we went for a short visit to Verona ![]() ![]() Then we explored Via Mazzini, where we hoped to do some fancy shopping ![]() ![]() ![]() Moving on we reached Piazza delle Erbe... ![]() ...and saw the tower called Torre dei Lamberti ![]() Our last stop was on the stairs at the entrance of what used to be the City Hall ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 16, 2011, 2:04 am |
Hi,
Today watching out of the window we saw that it was a nice day... ![]() ...so the others took me visiting one of their favourite spots here in Trento, the terrace of the church round the corner from the house, where we enjoyed the sun and the view over the valley ![]() ![]() ![]() And guess what, we came back just in time to see some typical canederli cooking in the pan ![]() ![]() Of course we wanted to appear helpful in preparing dinner ![]() ![]() Having given our contribution to the meal, it was time to enjoy our well deserved dinner ![]() ![]() And we even got a lovely icecream for dessert ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 16, 2011, 2:23 am |
Hi,
Today it was time to leave Italy and head back to France ![]() ![]() The side of the road was littered with old castles and churches ![]() ![]() ![]() ...and just before coming out of the valley we also had to go through a very narrow gorge. ![]() Once we eventually got on the plane we were a bit disappointed with the amount ![]() ![]() So we just filled the time reading a magazine and dreaming of new travels ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 18, 2011, 3:29 am |
Hi,
I am back in France for a short stop ![]() ![]() ...we went for a short walk in town. ![]() ![]() But we had to come home fairly quickly and start packing...apparently we’ll be on the move again very soon ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 19, 2011, 2:28 am |
Hi,
Guess what? I’m back in North America! After a few days resting at home, today we were allowed to explore a bit around ![]() ![]() Our first stop was at the Graduate College. ![]() ![]() ![]() Later we passed by the Princeton Theological Seminary. ![]() Walking on we reached the main University Campus... ![]() ...where Krystal and Sigfrido said they wanted to introduce us to a friend of theirs, a tiger ![]() ![]() Once we reached downtown we found this thing celebrating 250 years of the University. ![]() Then we passed by Nassau Hall, the main University building, that was also, for a short time, seat of the Congress ![]() ![]() We noticed that two tigers were guarding the door (it seems that there’s more tigers here than in the Bengali jungle ![]() ![]() ![]() On the way back we stopped by some more buildings in the campus. ![]() ![]() Until eventually we reached home, sorted out our shopping... ![]() ...and enjoyed our well deserved takeaway lunch ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 25, 2011, 4:56 am |
Hi,
Today Sigfrido invited us to join him at work ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() As we approached the institute Sigfrido said that it is a very important research center, so we should behave ourselves ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Once inside he showed us his work... ![]() ...and we decided to help. ![]() Apparently our help wasn’t very welcome ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Luckily, we were saved by the bell that called us to the coffee room. First we checked the view from the terrace... ![]() ![]() Then we explored the room: apparently it was reserved for discussions...just perfect for us ![]() ![]() There was a funny clock... ![]() ...and we met some famous scientist ![]() ![]() Later, instead of going back to work and embarrass ourselves any further with Sigfrido's questions ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 27, 2011, 4:40 am |
Hi,
Today the weather was a bit rubbish, so we kept ourselves busy doing the chores ![]() ![]() ![]() Then we went to the laundry. ![]() We prepared the drier... ![]() ...and passed the time reading a nice magazine ![]() ![]() Back home it was time to iron the clean clothes. ![]() We even had to prepare our own lunch... ![]() ...which, of course ![]() ![]() ![]() After all the work we decided to have some well earned rest and spent the afternoon chatting and watching the rain....the rain, the deluge ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 27, 2011, 4:47 am |
Hi,
Today we said goodbye to our friend Dean ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 29, 2011, 3:04 am |
Hi,
Today, after accompanying Dean to the post office, we had a final look around our residence ![]() ![]() ![]() We particularly liked this tree ![]() ![]() Back at the office, we were checking out the latest updates on toyvoyagers.com.... ![]() ...when something shook the building and sent us upside down ![]() ![]() We thought it was an elephant coming in from the front door ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 29, 2011, 3:20 am |
Hi,
Time to leave again ![]() ![]() ![]() The trip was frightfully boring ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 29, 2011, 3:39 am |
Hi,
Here we are at Minneapolis airport waiting for our connection to Canada ![]() ![]() ...but that wasn’t very interesting, so we explored around. ![]() ![]() We met Snoopy and Woodstock ![]() ![]() ...and even, unsuccessfully ![]() ![]() When it was time to eat we got a Chinese lunch, and Sigfrido showed us how to properly use chopsticks ![]() ![]() ![]() Later we spent the afternoon reading until it was time to catch our next flight. ![]() |
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smaug Posted Sep 1, 2011, 4:52 am |
Hi,
After a few more hours flying we eventually arrived home in Calgary, where we are going to spend the weekend ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It's nice to be home ![]() |
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smaug Posted Sep 5, 2011, 3:43 am |
Hi,
Today we went for a quick walk around Calgary downtown. We saw some of the skyscrapers ![]() ![]() ...a C-Train station... ![]() ...and these strange structures ![]() ![]() Of course, we stopped for food ![]() ![]() ...before taking a final look around and head home. ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Sep 7, 2011, 4:57 am |
Hi,
Today we went for a short visit to Banff. On the way we had privileged seats to enjoy the view of the mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() ...and just as we were parking, we met this big group of horseriders ![]() ![]() We had a look at our surroundings... ![]() ...and off we went in the middle of the Bow Valley. ![]() ![]() It was very hot, so the river was really inviting us for a skinny dive ![]() ![]() ![]() ...but smaug said that the water was too cold ![]() ![]() Later we stopped at Sundance Canyon, with it’s narrow gorge ![]() ![]() In the evening we took a ride on the Sulphur Mountain Gondola. Although the sun was setting, the view from the top was great ![]() ![]() ...the summit station of the gondola... ![]() ...and the whole Mount Rundle ridge ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Sep 8, 2011, 5:10 am |
Hi,
Today it was farewell time: I said goodbye to all my friends here in Calgary and started heading back to Europe with Sigfrido and Krystal ![]() ![]() Before we jumped in the luggage sammino gave me a big hug and wished me a safe journey ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Sep 15, 2011, 3:29 am |
Hi,
On our way back to Europe we stopped again in Minneapolis, so we had time to explore a bit better the airport...after grabbing a bite, of course ![]() ![]() We wandered around... ![]() ![]() ..checked out this “self service post office”,... ![]() ...and found a lovely high spot to keep control of what was happening below. ![]() Later we went for a little canoe trip through the departure area ![]() ![]() ...and even met another Snoopy ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Oct 3, 2011, 2:00 am |
Hi,
The weather is a bit miserably rainy these days ![]() ![]() ![]() ...and off we went mixing the ingredients. ![]() ![]() ![]() It was actually hard work, but we managed to get it ready for the oven. ![]() We thought we might go out for a walk while waiting for it to be ready, but the weather had no intention to improve. ![]() Luckily it wasn’t a long wait ![]() ![]() ...and after just a final touch, our afternoon snack was ready to be enjoyed ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Oct 6, 2011, 4:39 am |
Hi,
As we were stuck home for some time today we decided to treat ourselves and Sigfrido got a lovely cake for us ![]() ![]() ...but we quickly decided to skip directly to dessert ![]() ![]() ...which didn’t last very long ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Oct 6, 2011, 5:08 am |
Hi,
Today we shortly visited Paris ![]() ![]() ...and looked down at Place de l’Opéra and Avenue de l’Opéra. ![]() Moving on we reached Place de la Madeleine... ![]() ...with the Église de la Madeleine ![]() ![]() From the steps at the front of the church we could see Place de la Concorde in the distance. ![]() As we were getting tired we stopped to get some sugars ![]() ![]() Later we reached Place de la Concorde... ![]() ...where we checked out the Luxor Obelisk ![]() ![]() ...and looked down the Champs-Élysées ![]() ![]() Before heading home we stopped playing with one of the “Velib” bikes ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Oct 25, 2011, 4:45 am |
Hi,
As we have been a bit quiet for a while, today we decided to treat ourselves trying to bake some biscuits that we ate in Roma last time we were there ![]() ![]() ...and we started working. ![]() The results didn’t look that good ![]() ![]() ![]() Of course, while waiting for the final product to be ready, we munched a few other things, just to keep ourselves busy ![]() ![]() ![]() Eventually everything was ready. We just needed to cut out the single biscuits... ![]() ...and our lovely dessert was ready for eating ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Oct 27, 2011, 4:48 am |
Hi,
As Krystal will be leaving soon, we decided to spend some quality time by eating cakes ![]() ![]() ...and we were ready to start. First we grabbed some biscuits, I accidentally ate a few of them in the process ![]() ![]() ...biscuits that we had to crush down to crumbles. As the crushing was taking too long, I decided to speed up the process by taking control of the work ![]() ![]() ![]() Once the crushing was eventually taken care of, it was time to mix in some sort of orderly fashion all the other ingredients... ![]() ...until the results, some strange mixture ![]() ![]() The wait was a bit too long, but a few hours later we had some deliciously sweet chocolate and biscuits based slices all for us to enjoy ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Oct 30, 2011, 9:45 pm |
Hi,
Today Sigfrido told us that he had to go to Paris for work and, since he was going to have some spare time, that we should join him ![]() Our first stop was in Rue Mouffetard, where we had a hard time trying not to stop by all those lovely meat and fish stalls ![]() ![]() ![]() Leaving those temptations behind us ![]() ![]() ![]() We then walked down Rue Soufflot... ![]() ...until we reached the Luxembourg gardens, were we stopped to rest a bit ![]() ![]() ![]() While recovering from the long walk we planned our next moves. ![]() We though of visiting this Cézanne exhibition, but unfortunately, cameras were severely prohibited inside. ![]() So we just moved on a checked the outside of Saint-Sulpice wih the famous fountain ![]() ![]() ![]() A bit further on we got a glimpse of Notre Dame in the distance ![]() ![]() We then walked a bit along la Seine... ![]() ![]() ...until we reached the Louvre, where we took a final photo before diving underground to get the métro and head home ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Nov 3, 2011, 3:49 am |
Hi,
Today we said goodbye and wished a safe trip to Krystal who is travelling to Germany to visit her new host ![]() ![]() Can’t wait to see her new updates ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 16, 2011, 5:06 am |
Hi,
Today we received a parcel from Germany addressed to Sigfrido and myself....well, sort of ![]() ![]() ![]() Inside it we found presents from my friend Krystal, who sent us a lovely postcard and some delicious sweets, how nice of her ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 21, 2011, 5:24 am |
Hi,
After some time I eventually was a bit active again ![]() ![]() This bridge was full of famous travellers and explorers ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Once I reached the shopping centre I met a lot of animals that were getting ready to celebrate Christmas ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Back home Sigfrido explained me that we had work to do ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The result of our efforts looked a bit strange, but we put everything in the oven and hoped for the best. ![]() And then came the real work. As Christmas is approaching we had to start wrapping some of the presents. It was really challenging... ![]() ![]() ...and we “struggled” to decide who was the clumsiest ![]() ![]() ![]() ...but the final results seemed acceptable. ![]() ![]() So, at last we got our well deserved “reward” out of the oven... ![]() ...we cut it into nice biscuits and spent the rest of the evening chatting and eating ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 24, 2011, 3:51 am |
Hi,
Yesterday Sigfrido worked out one of his magic tricks and somehow this morning I woke up in Italy ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() After that we went back home where, what a surprise ![]() ![]() ![]() With the nice music in the background we started working. Task number one was choosing the decorations, which required a careful selection of all the available options ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Task number 2 was, of course, decorating the tree....possibly without getting too entagled in the decorations ![]() ![]() ![]() A final touch to the top of the tree and we could claim another job well done ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 24, 2011, 4:09 am |
Hi,
It seems Sigfrido is very busy working magic recently ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Luckily I found quickly a nice food-serving establishment and stopped for a snack ![]() ![]() ![]() ...but this other part of the table looked even more interesting ![]() ![]() As we were in an airport I inquired about our destination, but Sigfrido just told me that we were going to jump on that plane. ![]() Once on board, we checked out the safety info... ![]() And refreshed ourselves with a light snack ![]() ![]() I wanted to check our route on the screen... ![]() ...but got interrupted by something way more interesting ![]() ![]() With a nicely full belly we decided that it was time for a little nap, so we stole ![]() ![]() ...and made ourselves comfortable ![]() ![]() I am kind of curious of where I am going to be when I wake up this time ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 25, 2011, 12:19 am |
Hi,
It seems Sigfrido can work magic even when he sleeps ![]() ![]() ![]() As I opened my eyes I realised I was home ![]() ![]() ![]() We offered to them some lovely (and very appropriate) sweets that we collected while travelling here ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 26, 2011, 3:52 am |
Hi,
Merry Christmas ![]() This morning we found a lot of presents on the floor... ![]() ... but, since they didn’t seem to be for us ![]() ![]() ![]() Later we decided to burn some calories ![]() ![]() That red bridge over there is a new pedestrian passage over the river which was supposed to be open almost 18 months ago ![]() ![]() ![]() Back home we expected to have a turkey meal ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() After that, to be even more unconventional, we topped the meal with a lovely chocolate cake ![]() ![]() Well, eventually we were so full that we fell asleep...dreaming of more food, of course ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 1, 2012, 4:24 am |
Hi,
Today we went for a short trip near Calgary in the Elbow Valley. First we walked a bit along the Elbow River ![]() ![]() ![]() Moving on we reached the Elbow Falls and had a look at the falls from the upstream side...which looked a bit scary. ![]() While the canyon immediately downstream was quite nice ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 3, 2012, 2:24 am |
Hi,
Today we explored a bit around Calgary ![]() ![]() ![]() Then we entered a mall and stopped a bit to rest. ![]() Those flags are for the Junior Hockey World Championship which is going on right now in Calgary. ![]() Later we explored a bit the mall... ![]() ...and just before heading home we found this lovely curtain of lights ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 3, 2012, 4:18 am |
Hi,
Today it was time to say goodbye to my friends here in Calgary as Sigfrido and I are travelling back to Europe and will arrive just in time to celebrate New Year’s eve ![]() ![]() ![]() sammino checked that our travelling quarters were comfortable enough... ![]() ...and then drove us to the airport ![]() ![]() ...until we eventually reached Calgary Airport. ![]() ![]() Here he gave me a big hug and wished me a safe trip ![]() ![]() Later, to gather the necessary strength for the long flight ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 5, 2012, 5:10 am |
Hi,
After a long and boring flight I found myself back in Frankfurt. As I needed to stretch my wings ![]() ![]() It looked like I had to wait some time before catching my next flight... ![]() ...so Sigfrido and I decided to spend sime time checking out the news ![]() ![]() ...and luckily we found one newspaper that we could actually read ![]() ![]() Since there were no interesting news we entertained ourselves with a much better activity ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 5, 2012, 5:17 am |
Hi,
Eventually it was time to board our plane to Italy. During the flight I could see the Alps covered in snow... ![]() ...and the Eastern shore of Lake Garda ![]() ![]() The landing was good...almost as perfect as if I had been the pilot ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 10, 2012, 5:14 am |
Hi,
Happy New Year ![]() This morning I watched on TV a concert from the Phoenix Theatre in Venice. Sigfrido explained to me that, true to its name ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() But since nothing happened, at lunchtime I turned my attention to the table, where the typical Italian new year meal had just appeared: zampone and lentils, delicious ![]() ![]() No need to say that there were no leftovers when we were done ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 23, 2012, 3:06 am |
Hi,
Today is my last day in Italy, so Sigfrido and I decided to have a final slice of pandoro for breakfast ![]() ![]() ...and cutting the slice were a bit of a hard work ![]() ![]() But eventually our breakfast was ready ![]() ![]() Then it was time to go. Both the town and the valley were still clad in shadow... ![]() ![]() ![]() ...and only once we were out of the mountains we could work on our suntan ![]() ![]() At the airport we explored a bit the ads, as there were some strange ones ![]() ![]() ![]() ...until it was time to walk down to our gate: time to jump on another flight ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 23, 2012, 4:23 am |
Hi,
Today Sigfrido invited me to visit "his" ![]() ![]() ![]() ...but it was soon time to get to work and check some exams. ![]() Luckily I noticed that Sigfrido kept some emergency supplies on the desk, so we stopped for a break ![]() ![]() ![]() Later we checked a bit the latest on toyvoyagers.com... ![]() ...and before going home I left my autograph on the whiteboard ![]() ![]() Back home we decided to try a new special copper pot and make some polenta. ![]() It was hard work... ![]() ...but the result seemed very interesting ![]() ![]() ...and thinghs got even better when we took out of the fridge the meaty part of our dinner ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 30, 2012, 3:22 am |
Hi,
Today it was time to prepare my travelling quarters and start travelling to my next host ![]() ![]() Before I left, Sigfrido gave me a big hug and wished me a safe trip ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Kuschi Posted Feb 4, 2012, 11:58 am |
Hey,
Today I arrived at Karins place. I was really happy, two other ToyVoyagers welcomed me. That was soo nice. Karin showed me her home and her cats. On the photos you can see Odin. The other one was a little bit shy. It was a good first day. Bye |
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Kuschi Posted Feb 4, 2012, 12:02 pm |
Hey,
Today I helped Karin baking a cake. |
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Kuschi Posted Feb 4, 2012, 12:08 pm |
Hey,
Today we went to a family party. Karins aunts birthday. There was sooo much to eat. It was delicious. |
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Kuschi Posted Feb 4, 2012, 12:14 pm |
Hey,
Yesterday we went to a birthday party. There were many young people and loud but cool music. Karin told me that I am not aloud to drink alcohol. Thats ok. Orange juice tasted better. We were out until 3 o´clock in the morning. It was really funny. |
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Kuschi Posted Feb 7, 2012, 6:47 pm |
Hey
today Mr. Roboto,Twinky, Karin and I were in a museum. It was really interesting. We saw a cool old car. Karin allowed us to sit in it. ..amazing Bye |
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Kuschi Posted Mar 12, 2012, 5:37 pm |
hey ![]() Today we brought Twinky back to his mum, Kathrin. We travelled by train. We met Kathrin in Vienna. She brought other Toyvoyagers with her. That was cool. We talked a lot. We said goodbye to Twinky. On the way home, Mr. Roboto and I had really much fun in the train. We jumped around. Bye |
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Kuschi Posted Mar 12, 2012, 5:50 pm |
HEy,
Today we were at a carnival parade in a village near Wiener Neustadt. There were many people watching the decorated agricultural tractors. Many people wear fancy dresses. It was much fun. ![]() |
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Kuschi Posted Mar 12, 2012, 5:58 pm |
Hey,
Today Karin and I went to a fitness center. We worked out our bodies. I liked it but afterwards i was really tired. |
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Kuschi Posted Mar 12, 2012, 6:13 pm |
Hey youuuu..
Today Karin and I wanted to go for a walk, but it was very cloudy. I got a raincoat from Karin. That was a good idea because after 10 minutes it began to rain really hard. We got into the vehicle and cruised around in the rain. That was cool. |
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Kuschi Posted Mar 12, 2012, 6:18 pm |
Hey,
today Mr. Roboto, Karin and I went to a pizzeria. The Pizza was huge and delicious. |
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Kuschi Posted Apr 12, 2012, 10:32 am |
Hey,
Today Mr. Roboto and I celebate easter together with Karin and her family. Mr. Roboto and I played around in the garden...soo funny It was such a beautiful day. |
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Kuschi Posted Apr 12, 2012, 10:41 am |
Hey,
Karin told me that i will travel to my next host tomorrow, so we went to a typically Austrian "Heurigen" to had our last meal together. I will miss her (she told me that she will miss me too) Bye |
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kassiopaya Posted Apr 16, 2012, 3:27 pm |
Hi,
now I arrived in Munich! Mr. BigBrain helped me out of the envelope. He is a nice guy. I think we'll be great friends. I'm very curious about what I will see in Munich ![]() Greets Landroval |
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kassiopaya Posted Apr 22, 2012, 10:36 am |
Hi dad,
today we went to a big "Flohmarkt". This is a big market, where many people can sale their old things for little money. This Flohmarkt is the biggest in Munich. It only takes part once a year. There were so many people. You can see it on the pictures. Next to this Flohmarkt there is the "Frühlingsfest". It's like the Octoberfest. But it's a lot smaller and there are not so many tourists. You can see the Ferris wheel in the backround. Then we saw the big statue "Bavaria". It is an important landmark of Munich. It is made of bronze. You can go in there and look out of the eyes of Bavaria. It's a nice view over munich. But today it was not possible to got in it because there were to many people. |
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kassiopaya Posted May 14, 2012, 1:15 pm |
Hi dad,
today we had a nice summer day! 32° C ![]() That was great. We went in the garden. Look, I had a ride on a real turtle. That was fun! Afterwards we made a BBQ. Mhmmm, tasty :-). Greets from Germany! |
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kassiopaya Posted May 19, 2012, 8:17 pm |
Hi dad,
today we made a little hiking tour. First we drove 200 km. Then we were in an area called "Altmühltal". It is a big nature park. There is a little river called "Altmühl". You can see it on the pictures. We were in a big forest. There were big trees, little caves and many green fields. ![]() ![]() Sometimes you can find fossils on the wayside but this time we had no luck ![]() After this tour I was really tired. Greets Landroval |
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kassiopaya Posted Jun 3, 2012, 3:43 pm |
Hi dad,
today we had a walk in the city centre of Munich! I saw some very important places and buildings: Picture 1: This is the Residence. This is where the kings lived in, when they were in the city. Picture 2: Here you can see the city hall of munich. In the middle is a big chime of bells with dancing dalls. You can see them dancing twice a day. Picture 3: This red tower is calld "Löwenturm" which means lion tower. It was part of the city wall. Picture 4: The house in the middle is a little church. It was build by two brothers which were very religious. Inside everythin is golden! Very beautiful. Picture 5: In Munich a new synagogue was build a few years ago. It's a big and modern buildung! Picture 6: This church is the oldest church in Munich. It was build in the 12th century. It is called "Alter Peter" which means old Peter. You can go upstairs to the top but unfortunatly today it was closed. Picture 7: In the centre of Munich there is a little castle called "Kaiserburg". This means emperor castle. If you don't know it you almost don't see it. It is hidden in a very little street. Picture 8: Of course I wanted to see the "Hofbräuhaus"! It is one of the most famous places here in Munich. We didn't drink a beer there. It was to early! We were there in the morning. Picture 9: This is the Opera of Munich. Today is playing: "Siegfried" written by Richard Wagner. Picture 10: This yellow church is the "Theatinerkirche". It was build in the 17th century. It was massively damaged in second world war and rebuild afterwards. Picture 11: This little loggia is called "Feldherrnhalle" which means general hall. It was build in the 19th century by order of King Ludwig I. A sad episode of this loggia is that Adolf Hitler tried to make a putsch in 1923 in front of this hall. It was stopped and many people died. After he became leader of the "German Empire" he used it to make propaganda :-(. But now this building is used for many events like operas or movie nights. Currently there is a "Reading-Event". You can go there, take a book out of one of the shelves standing there, sit down and read :-). Ok, now you have seen so much of this city. Tomorrow I will make my way to the next host. Greets Landroval |
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kassiopaya Posted Jun 4, 2012, 10:30 am |
Hi dad,
now I'm on my way to my next host. It was a great time in Munich! ![]() I hope I will arrive savely at the home of my next host! ![]() Greets, Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 7, 2012, 6:47 pm |
Hi Dad!
I arrived safe at my new host´s home today! Before I climbed out of my envelope I heard excited voices outside. As soon as I was out two other TV´s named Tiger Lilly and Vanilla gave me a big hug! I gave them my Haribo sweets and they told me that they visited Haribo in Bonn yesterday. They showed me what they bought and I think I will have a good time here! ![]() Hug Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 7, 2012, 7:33 pm |
Hey Dad!
Today we drove with the car to Hürth. That´s a city very close to Cologne. We went to the Hürth Park, a big shopping mall with a cinema inside. Today is a official holiday in Germany so most of the shops were closed but that didn´t mattered because we just wanted to watch the new movie with Jean Reno. ![]() In the cinema there were some interesting things to see. Like a Spiderman on the lift.^^ The movie was great and we ate a lot popcorn! Before we drove back home we went to the top of the multi-storey car park and took some photos. Greetings Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 9, 2012, 3:37 pm |
Hi Dad!
I had a wonderful day! We went to Cologne by train. The first thing I saw in Cologne was the cathedral. I was really impressed. It´s so big and beautiful! Then we went to the Chocolate Museum. The museum shows everything about chocolate. The production, the history in society and many more! You can also see how chocolate is made. The smell in the museum is absolutely delicious! ![]() ![]() You also can order a chocolate bar there wich is just made for you. You can choose between 40 different ingredients and 3 sorts of chocolate. Everyone of us choosed one component. Hostmom wanted milk chocolate, I wanted pistachios brittle, Vanilla wanted vanilla (of course^^) , Tiger Lilly wanted strawberrys and hostdad wanted chocolate sprinkles. So yummy! (the last photo shows us with our chocolate.). After we visited the museum we were all very hungry so went to Pizza Hut. Unfortunately we had some problems with our camera so that we couldn´t take more photos. But I can tell you what we did. We went for some shopping and later we visited a Tattoo & Piercingstudio. Hostmom got her 3rd tonguepiercing. It sounds very funny when she speaks now. ![]() Love Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 11, 2012, 4:51 am |
Hi Dad!
Today we had a lazy day. We watched the cows on the pasture behind the house and in the evening we all sat together and watched Leon - The professional. Bye Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 11, 2012, 5:03 am |
Hi Dad!
Right now it´s nearly 6a.m. here and I´m still awake! Our hosts allowed us to stay up all night and play Super Mario Galaxy 2 with them. It was a lot of fun! About an hour ago we watched the sun rise. It was absolutely beautiful! Now I´m really tired and we will go to bed. Good night Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 14, 2012, 11:11 pm |
Hi Dad!
We went to a pet shop. My hosts needed new pet litter. In the shop they had a lot of very cute little animals. I saw Degus, Mice and Guinea pigs. Afterwards we drove to the city to get some food. The weather was really horrible so that I decided to take no photos because I doesn´t wanted to get completly soaked. We bought a really delicious salad with prawns in a tortilla bowl. That was so yummy! ![]() Bye Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 14, 2012, 11:43 pm |
Hey Dad!
Today we visited Bonn and the Haribo shop! They have already been there last week but because I missed that hostmom drove with her brother to Haribo again. I saw many "Goldbären" there. In the shop they also have an area in wich they tell a bit about the company and the production. Did you know that the german showmaster Thomas Gottschalk has an entry in the guinness book of records for promoting Haribo for more than 14 years? They had so many delicious sweets! It´s really hard to choose! I also took a photo with the car from my hostmoms brother. It´s a Madza mx 5. Pretty fast and very loud! ![]() Hug Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 15, 2012, 12:17 am |
Hello Dad!
We have been baking today. We made "Nusshörnchen". Here is the recipe: 200g butter 200g cream cheese 300g flour 100g white sugar 100g brown sugar 100g ground hazelnuts Mix the first 3 ingredients than let the dough rest in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Then divide the dough into four parts and roll each part out to 26cm diameter. Now mix both sugar and the hazelnuts and spread it over the dough. Cut it into 16 pieces like a cake and roll the pieces up and put them onto the baking tin. Bake them at 180°C for approx. 15-20min. They are absolutely fantastic! ![]() We also baked some muffins. Nothing special, just some with chocolate chips. But they are not finished yet! Tomorrow we will make something special out of them! We also prepared something else for the muffins. Can you guess what it is? ![]() Bye Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 15, 2012, 7:40 pm |
Hi Dad!
This morning we finished the Muffins. At first we put a thin layer of sugar icing on the muffins and then we put blue coloured coconut flakes on them. At last we attached the eyes (the balls I showed you yesterday) with sugar icing to the muffins. Ta-da we made Cookie Monsters! ![]() Now I will also give you the recipe: (It´s for 24 muffins) 200g butter 200g sugar 1 bag of vanilla sugar 3 eggs 500g flour 2 bags of baking powder 100g chocolate chips 250-300ml milk 100g coconut flakes 150-200g marzipan paste powdered sugar (as required) small chocolate chips (as required) water and/or lemon juice (as required) loads of blue food colouring At first mix the coconut flakes with the food colouring. You can do that 1 or 2 days before you bake the muffins because they need a while to dry. Then mix the ingredients from the butter to the milk. Fill the dough into the muffin baking tin and bake them at 180°C for approx. 20min. While the muffins are in the oven mix the marzipan paste with powdered sugar until it is smooth. Then form little balls out of it and put a small chocolate chip on them. At last mix powdered sugar with some lemon juice and/or water to get a sugar icing. Now do what we did today and that´s it. ![]() Big hug Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jun 24, 2012, 9:50 pm |
Hi Dad!
We made semolina pudding with vanilla flavour. It was very easy. At first we let milk boil and then we mixed it with the semolina. After 5 min it was ready to eat. Of course we ate it all and afterwards we were so full that we could´t move anymore! ![]() Big hug Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jul 4, 2012, 8:50 pm |
Hey Daddy!
My hosts and I are very sorry that we don´t have much time for new updates. Right know my hosts are working to much but we hope that we will have more time together this weekend and next week. ![]() On June 27th we went with hostdad to Kirchheim, that´s a neighbour village of Stotzheim. There we walked through a park and took a look at a damn wich is in the center of the park. There is also a swimming bath, it´s behind the fence. It was quite a long walk and from time to time we sat down and took a rest. Before we went back home we took some flowers for our hostmom. She was very happy! Love Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jul 11, 2012, 10:35 pm |
Hey Daddy!
We went for a walk through Stotzheim and the Hardtwald. That´s the forest belonging Stotzheim. It was a wonderful and warm evening. On our way through Stotzheim we saw a lot of old buildings and a memorial for the people from Stotzheim who died in both wars. Then we went into the forest. After a while we came out of the forest and there were a lot of fields. We had a great view from there. After a while we went back into the forest and our hosts showed us the Hardtburg. That´s an ancient castle and it´s right in the middle of the forest. Most of the castle are ruins now but it´s still really beautiful. There is also a tower but right now it´s not allowed to go inside because birds are breeding there. In autumn and winter you can also climb the tower. It was a wonderful day. Hug Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jul 29, 2012, 9:29 pm |
Hi Dad!
We cooked something very strange today. It´s called Cola Chicken. ![]() For 2 servings you need: 2 Chicken breasts 330ml Cola (hostmom uses a light cola mixed with orange soda) 240ml Ketchup That are the original ingredients. Hostmom also adds some tomato purée, garlic and rosemary. Now I will tell you how we made it. First we flavoured the chicken breasts with salt and black pepper. Then we put them into the hot pan seared them on every side. We mixed the cola with ketchup and tomato purée and poured it into the pan. Then we put the lid on the pan and let it boil. After 30 min. we took the lid away, condensed the sauce and added some more salt, pepper and also garlic and rosemary. I have to admit it tasted really great! ![]() Love Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Jul 30, 2012, 6:53 pm |
Hi Dad!
Right now the weather is really great here. It´s hot and sunny! So we decided to go out and take a sunbath. Vanilla grabbed a towel and we went down the stairs and into the small garden behind the house. There we just relaxed in the sun. It was a wonderful lazy day. ![]() Hug Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Aug 27, 2012, 8:46 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today we drove to hostmom's aunt in Mausbach near Stolberg.That´s about 1 hour away from Stotzheim. In Mausbach we had a great breakfast with many fresh fruits and vegetables like watermelon, yellow sweet pepper, a double bun made of rye flour called "kölner röggelchen", scrammbled eggs & bacon, tomato-mozarella-basil packs, marmelade and curd cheese. That was so yummy! Unfortunately the photo were I show you the food was really shaky and we couldn´t use it but you can see a photo of it in the other Travellogs. We talked a lot and completely forgot about taking more photos. But on our way home we took some more and if you look real close you can see a rainbow on the photos. That was really beautiful! Hug, Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Aug 27, 2012, 9:28 pm |
Hi Dad!
Hostdad had the great idea to show us the "Katzensteine" (engl. Catstones) near Mechernich/Satzvey. It's part of a geologic formation of mottled sandstone that goes from Mechernich to Nideggen and Kall. First it was a great tour over the hiking trail A1. After approximately 1 hour I asked him if he really knew where we are, because we could see the motorway Autobahn 1 (A1)! At this point he admitted that he wasn't there before but he studied the map of trails. After another walk of 30minutes we finally had lost our way and stood in middle of the Mechernich Forest... It seems we walked criss-cross through the whole Forest! It was hot, we all were very thirsty, our feet got blisters and the sun began to go down,.... fortunately we saw a familiar high seat (in the forest we saw around 30 high seats) and found the way back to the parking place. Love Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Aug 27, 2012, 9:31 pm |
Hey Daddy!
We tried again to find the "Katzstein" and this time we found them! It was really easy today and we have no idea how we could get lost yesterday! ![]() The "Katzstein" looked really cool and hostdad also showed us an oak wich is more than 1000 years old! That was very impressive. Big hug Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Sep 2, 2012, 9:44 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today Vanilla, Tiger Lilly and I watched a very thrilling episode from the TV series Columbo when hostmum came home a put a parcel on the couch behind us. She also said something but we didn´t really listened because we were so absorbed in that episode. And then something jumped on our backs! ![]() ![]() Hug Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Sep 2, 2012, 10:34 pm |
Hello Daddy!
We had a fantastic party! Our hosts got us burgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, sushi, waffles, cocktails and whiskey. We talked a lot and Tiger Lilly allowed DuDette to ride on her back. That was very funny! Vanilla and I even danced together. ![]() In the early morning we all fell asleep. Love Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Sep 4, 2012, 9:43 pm |
Hi Dad!
I´m feeling bad! I think my head is 5 times bigger than usual. Never ever I will drink so much alcohol again! The others are not feeling better either. I think it´s better to spend the rest of the day with sleeping. Bye Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Sep 4, 2012, 9:55 pm |
Hey Dad!
Today a parcel arrived here. We were all very curious because our hosts said that there should be another TV inside. At first she seemed to be very shy and even a bit scared but as we told her that we are also TV´s she came out of her parcel and we became friends very fast. I´m sure we will have a great time together! ![]() Hug Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Oct 5, 2012, 8:31 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today we said Goodbye to Tiger Lilly! She will now continue her journey. We gave her a big hug and who knows maybe we will meet again! ![]() Greetings Landroval |
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Sabbel&Jenton Posted Oct 5, 2012, 8:36 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today I said goodbye to my new friends. They gave me a big hug and I´m feeling a little bit sad because I will miss them. But I´m also very excited and happy to see more intersting places! Bye Landroval |
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Guest Posted Nov 28, 2012, 7:28 am |
Hello dad!
Yesterday I arrived here in Ebstorf. My host is a nice young man who wandet to show me something in northern germany. Directly on the following day we made a trip to the capital-city of the country-part "Niederachsen". It is called Hannover! There we wantet to go shopping! As you can see on the following pictures we drove by train. It was about an hour and we had a lot of fun. First of all we arrived the train station and left it. Right there on the "Ernst-August-Platz" we saw a building of....Ernst August! Just a couple of minutes away from the train station we went to the Primark. It's a huge shopping center where it's easyly to lose the way for such a tiny TV like me ![]() But my host had an eye on me. And as you can see: We were very successful! |
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Guest Posted Nov 28, 2012, 7:37 am |
Hi dad!
I have to tell you something... but you are not allowed to be angry! Today we ate PIZZA! Yes, i know, a little TV like me should take care of his weight... but it was an exception. Tomorrow i will eat vegetables again. Bye, Landroval! |
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Guest Posted Nov 28, 2012, 7:48 am |
Hi dad!
Today we had a lot of fun. Here in ebstorf, i found another TV called Hühnchen. Together we played parlour games the whole afternoon. It was so funny. We played games like: - German: "Stadt, Land, Fluss" - English: "City, County, River" - Black Stories - Mastermind - Trvial Pursuit - Scrabble and many more! Hope we can do this together when i'm back home. Greetings, Landroval |
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Guest Posted Nov 28, 2012, 8:04 am |
Now i'm counting the days.
In a couple of days i will leave Ebstorf to visit another host. I had a lot of fun here, so we didn't want to let this time end without a PARTY! Thats why we made a typical german food today: Kartoffelsalat (or in english: potatoe salad). Here you can see what you need: Potatoes, Mayonnaise, Remoulade, Onion, Pickles, Herbs ans spicery. When we finished it, we decorated. And then we started eating, talking about the passed time als listening music. I bet I will miss Ebstorf.... but maybe I will return everywhen. Greetings, Landroval! |
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smaug Posted Dec 16, 2012, 7:25 pm |
Hi,
I’m back in France ![]() ![]() ![]() They gave me a big hug and told me that I will spend the holidays with them ![]() ![]() I checked out of the window and noticed that the old tower hasn’t fallen off yet ![]() ![]() Later we sat with all the gang here and I told them all about my recent travels ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 24, 2012, 1:29 pm |
Hi,
Today Sigfrido told us that we were going to prepare some sweets ![]() ![]() ![]() ...but, eventually, everything was ready for the oven. ![]() The final result looked really yummy ![]() ![]() ![]() Hopefully, whoever we are giving them to will be kind enough to share ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 24, 2012, 2:14 pm |
Hi,
I’m on the move again ![]() ![]() ... and the duty free shops. ![]() ![]() Later we decided to wait for our flight relaxing at the gate, where I couldn’t take my eyes off a little cage and the potential prey inside it ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Eventually we jumped on board and the view from the window wasn’t really exciting... ![]() ...so we spent most of time munching a snack and reading magazines. ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 24, 2012, 2:28 pm |
Hi,
I arrived in Italy ![]() ![]() ![]() Sigfrido, at last ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 24, 2012, 3:05 pm |
Hi,
Today we went for a short hike on a mountain just next to Trento ![]() ![]() ...and south. ![]() Some passage along the trail was great fun ![]() ![]() Eventually we reached the top, from where the view to north opened up a bit more. ![]() And we could see the whole Trento just below us ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 14, 2013, 2:15 am |
Hi,
Tonight there was a lot of action going on under the Christmas tree, but our attention was mostly focused on how to open the pandoro ![]() ![]() It was a bit of work ![]() ![]() ...but we eventually managed to get our well deserved slice ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 14, 2013, 2:42 am |
Hi,
Today is our last day in Italy so we went for a short walk on the side of the valley next to town ![]() ![]() Eventually, just before the sun started setting, we reached a nice spot from where we could see the mountains to the north... ![]() ...and east of town ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 14, 2013, 3:14 am |
Hi Mum, hi Dad,
Today, in the wee hour of the morning sammino waked us all up and said it was time for travelling again so we said goodbye to all our friends here in Italy ![]() ![]() Eventually it was really time to leave and sammino showed up with what was supposed to be the bus to the airport ![]() ![]() It seemed a bit undersized, but somehow we all managed to "comfortably" cram ourselves on it, it could be a long trip to the airport ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 14, 2013, 3:45 am |
Hi,
I’m back in Germany ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Actually watching planes turned out to be freaking boring, so we decided to spend the time in a slightly more entertaining fashion by sampling some local delicacies ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 14, 2013, 4:02 am |
Hi,
I’m back in Canada ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 23, 2013, 4:27 am |
Hi,
Happy New Year!! This morning we were so jet-lagged that we were up very early in the morning ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() And our destination was already basking in the early morning sun. ![]() Eventually we reached the summit where, with not a single cloud in the sky, the view was great ![]() ![]() ...and the Rockies on the other side. So nice to see my mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 18, 2013, 1:07 am |
Hi,
Today we all gathered together to say goodbye and wish a safe trip to Chino who is travelling south to the US ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 4, 2013, 4:45 am |
Hi,
Today it was unusually warm, so, after spending weeks stuck at home tending smaug’s ankle ![]() ![]() ![]() Later we spent some time under this imposing ridge... ![]() ...and had to cross the stream down in this large valley ![]() ![]() ![]() Eventually we reached the back side of Prairie Mt and we knew that we made it almost all the way back to the car ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 11, 2013, 2:54 am |
Hi,
Today I said goodbye to all my friends here in Calgary and started travelling to my next host ![]() ![]() Before I left, sammino gave me a big hug and wished me a safe journey ![]() ![]() Of course, as he was inquiring about my travelling quarters ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ...until I heard sammino screaming behind me that I was supposed to travel in the opposite direction ![]() |
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MA_17 Posted Apr 17, 2013, 11:25 pm |
Hello Daddy,
I think I finally arrived! It was a very long flight. When I found the house where you told me to go to, I landed next to a window and knocked on it. A strange looking cow behind the window told me that I'm wrong! ![]() ![]() Then I knocked on this window. And 2 little toyvoyagers were starring at me. ![]() They opened the window and helped me to come in. ![]() These little dudes are both German and their Mommies called them Lupo and Alex. ![]() I gave them the souvenirs I took with me. ![]() Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Apr 23, 2013, 10:40 am |
Hey Daddy,
we went geocaching today and we found a big box! ![]() Can you see the water? This is the river Mulde. It is a left tributary of the Elbe and 124 km in length. ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Apr 25, 2013, 10:24 am |
Hey Daddy,
as you know, spring already arrived. So we decided to enjoy the sun and did a walk near the water. Berlin has lots of water! That river is a channel and it is called Berlin-Spandauer-Schifffahrtskanal. ![]() ![]() ![]() And this is the North Harbor. ![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Apr 25, 2013, 10:43 am |
Today we found a box where a trunk of an elephant was looking out. We wondered what and who this will be.
![]() It is Troot from Finland. We gave him a warm welcome. Later we ate all his chocolate. ![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Apr 25, 2013, 9:50 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today we watched some big birds! I'm impressed! ![]() Can you see the lights between the trees? ![]() ![]() It's getting closer! ![]() ![]() Wooooaaaah it's BIG! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Apr 25, 2013, 9:58 pm |
Hello Dad,
we went geocaching today. And yeah we had luck, we found 2 boxes. ![]() ![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 3, 2013, 5:41 pm |
Hello Daddy,
we explored another channel in Berlin. They have so many! And there's so much water all over the city! It's amazing. Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 4, 2013, 11:25 pm |
Hey Dad,
today we visited some lost places. Spooky! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Look, we also found the entry to a bunker! But we were too afraid to go in! ![]() Later we decided to have a view over that little village we're staying at the moment. ![]() Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 8, 2013, 2:59 pm |
Hello Mommy,
today we visited Ferropolis. The "the city of iron" is an open museum of old huge industrial machines. It's an open air museum which contains machines from the mid-twentieth century. They can measure to 30 meters high, 120 meters long and weigh up to 1980 tons. Moreover, the area is used for several events like opera or music festivals like the "Melt! festival". There are 5 enormous excavators for open-cast mining and each of them has its own name! ![]() As we are good guys we were allowed to climb on "Gemini". From there we had a fantastic view over the whole area! Let's start with the lake around Ferropolis. It is called Gremminer Lake. ![]() This is "Big Wheel". It's huge! ![]() ![]() These are "Mad Max" on the left and "Medusa" on the right. In front of them you can see the arena. ![]() And these are "Medusa" (once again) and "Mosquito" on the right. ![]() This is "Gemini" where we were allowed to climb on it! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This is the engine room of "Gemnini". ![]() ![]() "Mad Max" in front of us. ![]() This was an amazing day. Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 9, 2013, 10:05 am |
Today Lupo left us. He's going home.
![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 9, 2013, 10:13 am |
Hello Daddy,
once again we watched some big birds! There were so many. They had their own place to start and land. I'm impressed! Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 15, 2013, 10:39 pm |
Hello Daddy!
Today the weather was beautiful. So we decided to take a ride near the lake... A ride... on a skateboard!!! Never did something like this before! ![]() Once again we went to the "Gremminer Lake" where we already visited Ferropolis. On the other side of the lake you can see the "city of iron". ![]() ![]() ![]() We found a funny red building called "lunchbox". ![]() We climbed inside the lunchbox and enjoyed the view. ![]() Next to the skating area we found some scrap metal figures made by a school. I had a look through the telescope and saw a planet. ![]() ![]() ![]() It was a lovely day. Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 15, 2013, 11:17 pm |
Hey Dad,
we went geocaching again. And yeah we have good eyes. We found a small cache in the colors of the nature! Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 16, 2013, 8:01 pm |
Hello Daddy,
we did a small tour by bike today to a small village called Möhlau. It's not very famous so there's not so much to tell about. ![]() ![]() ![]() In the middle of the village we met some lovely deers. They wanted some food from us, but we didn't have anything. ![]() ![]() At the end of our tour we relaxed a little bit near a small lake. It's one of the old pits from the time of brown coal strip mining, now flooded. It's so peaceful here even there's a street with lots of cars next to it. ![]() Your little Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 20, 2013, 11:36 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today we jumped into the car and went around. We watched small villages and lots of beautiful countryside! Look at the colorful yellow field of rape. Isn't it beautiful? Just enjoy the pictures! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 20, 2013, 11:46 pm |
Hey Dad,
how are you? Today the weather was sunny. Crawfish picked us up with her pink car and we took a ride on a green field! Toyvoyagers on tour in their own car! Stunning! ![]() ![]() ![]() Fyi: Crawfish is the proud owner of that car and she owns a driver's license. ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 24, 2013, 10:21 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today we used the car to pick up some TVs at the train station. Tsukumo and Mr. Stanley arrived. We jumped out of the car and welcomed them. ![]() Then we put all their stuff into the trunk of the car. They had so much sweets, magnets and big postcards, the trunk was even full! ![]() We all jumped into the car and Crawfish brought us home. We were too many TVs so Alex had to use his own vehicle. ![]() ![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted May 27, 2013, 10:50 pm |
Hello Daddy,
we did a short trip to the Muldestausee. It's the water reservoir of the river Mulde. It's an old abandoned open pit. ![]() ![]() ![]() Then we met a really big eagle (and lots of other big birds). Can you see me on top of these birds? ![]() I just noticed that I'm really small. Sammino never told me that! ![]() I'm smaller than a kestrel! ![]() But I found a way to grow up and look like a real big eagle! ![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jun 4, 2013, 4:44 pm |
Hello Daddy,
we did a journey to the capital of Saxony-Anhalt: Magdeburg. It is one of the most important medieval cities of Europe. We had just 1,5 hours for a short walk. The first we saw in Magdeburg was The Green Citadel. A large, pink building of a modern architectural style designed by Friedensreich Hundertwasser and completed in 2005. There were trees on the building! ![]() One of Magdeburg's most impressive buildings is the Lutheran Cathedral of Saints Catherine and Maurice with a height of 104 m (341.21 ft), making it the highest church building of eastern Germany. ![]() The area around the cathedral was also very interesting... ![]() In this park we found a monument of Kaiser Wilhelm I. ![]() This is the river Elbe. It's bigger than it should be. I heard a flood is coming! ![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jun 4, 2013, 7:26 pm |
Hello Daddy,
we did a little trip by car just to watch the countryside! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jun 4, 2013, 10:26 pm |
Hey Daddy,
no more updates for this week! I'm not sure if you watched the news of Europe and noticed about the flood in East Germany! There's water everywhere. The village where I stay is safe, but lots of villages around us are full of water. No places where we could go! But have a look at Crawfish's update of today! As she can swim she checked the water. We weren't allowed to go. Too dangerous! Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jun 12, 2013, 8:56 pm |
Hello Daddy,
how are you? We did a sightseeing tour in the capital of Germany: Berlin! We started at the famous tv tower "Fernsehturm". It was constructed between 1965 and 1969 and with its height of 368 meters, it is the tallest structure in Germany. There is a visitor platform and a revolving restaurant in the middle of the sphere. The tower is part of the World Federation of Great Towers (WFGT). ![]() ![]() This is the Red City Hall, the town hall of Berlin. It is located near Alexanderplatz and is the home to the governing mayor and the government (the Senate of Berlin) of the Federal state of Berlin. The name of the landmark building dates from the facade design with red clinker bricks. The City Hall was built between 1861 and 1869 in the style of the north Italian High Renaissance. ![]() Then we visited the St. Nicholas' Church, the best-known building of the quarter Nicholas' Quarter which is the reconstructed historical heart of Berlin. It is the oldest church in town and it was built between 1220 and 1230. ![]() The last place we visited was the Berlin Cathedral which is the colloquial name for the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church in Berlin. It was built in the 15th century. The Berlin Cathedral has never been a cathedral in the actual sense of that term since it has never been the seat of a bishop. ![]() That's all for now. See you soon! Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jun 12, 2013, 9:06 pm |
Today it was really warm outside so me and the other toyvoyagers enjoyed the day at a small lake. Just relaxing... ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jun 18, 2013, 10:04 pm |
Hello Daddy,
we did a little tour by car. Can you imagine that the people living in some of these houses have been evacuated just one week ago?! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Look, I show you a picture taken without me just one week ago... ![]() ...and this is the same street today!!! ![]() ![]() Love you! Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jun 21, 2013, 12:32 am |
Hello Daddy,
today the weather was perfect for a tour on bike! We visited the elevated dump of the village. It wasn't easy to go up that hill! But it was worth it! First I just saw the high wind wheels! ![]() Then I turned around and had a great view! It was better than you can see on the picture. We could see the next city which is about 50 kilometers away! Amazing! ![]() On our way back home we also found a geocache! ![]() This box was big enough for a toyvoyager! ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jun 21, 2013, 12:43 am |
It's sunny.
It's warm. Time to chill. ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jun 26, 2013, 10:38 am |
Hello Daddy,
we did another tiny biking tour. First we stopped on a tiny river. On the other side there were some interesting birds... ![]() After biking for some more minutes we found this cute tiny waterfall. ![]() From there we crossed a lovely wooden bridge... ![]() ...and reached a nice lake. Here we relaxed for a while. ![]() Yours Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jul 3, 2013, 10:22 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today I visited the park of Wörlitz, which is a part of the Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm. While my host was taking part on a bike tour we Toyvoyagers decided to visit the park. The central Wörlitzer Park lies adjacent to the small town of Wörlitz at an anabranch of the Elbe river. It was laid out between 1769 and 1773 as one of the first English gardens on the continent. According to the ideals of Duke Leopold III the park would also serve as an educational institution in architecture, gardening and agriculture, therefore large parts were open to the public from the beginning. Most buildings were designed by Erdmannsdorff, while the gardens were laid out by Johann Friedrich Eyserbeck. The gardens are protected from floods of the Elbe river in the north by a dam which is also a belt-walk offering numerous views along the park's sight lines. Wörlitz Palace finished in 1773, residence of Duke Leopold and his wife Louise of Brandenburg-Schwedt, was the first Neoclassical building in present-day Germany. The palace and its interior with valuable cabinets from the studio of Abraham and David Roentgen as well as a large collection of Wedgwood porcelain were publicly accessible. Louise had her private home in the adjacent Graues Haus (Grey House). At the eastern rim of the palace's garden stands the Wörlitz Synagogue built in 1790 as a rotunda modelled after the ancient "Temple of Vesta in Tivoli, Italy. The Neo-Gothic St Peter's Church in the west with its 66 m (217 ft) tall steeple was finished in 1809. The philosophy of Jean-Jacques Rousseau and the aesthetic of Johann Joachim Winckelmann underlie the design of the park. Wörlitz Lake featured an island atop which was a model of Mount Vesuvius. The duke would stage fireworks that seemed to issue from an erupting volcano to entertain his guests. At the foot of the mountain on the island was a building intended to suggest William Hamilton's home at Pompeii. Few years ago my host worked as a tour guide in the castle and the park. This is the most famous building, the palace. ![]() We walked along the beautiful lake... ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We found old stones. ![]() This is the church. You can already see it when you're still 10km away from the city! ![]() There are lots of flowers, trees, stones... ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This stone is a volcano and it is called "Vesuv" like the famous one in Itlay! ![]() It was a really nice day. Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jul 10, 2013, 8:16 pm |
Hello Daddy,
the weather was beautiful so we decided to walk around a bit. First we found a nice square with some flowers. ![]() Then we walked to the famous Tiergarten. It is, with its 210 hectares (520 acres), the largest urban park of Berlin. ![]() ![]() ![]() After a while we found the Victory Column. It is a major tourist attraction to the city of Berlin. Berliners, with their fondness for giving nicknames to buildings, call the statue Goldelse, meaning something like "Golden Lizzy". ![]() I killed a lion!!! NO!!! I didn't! I just found the sleepy kitty near the Victory Column. He was purring the whole time. ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jul 13, 2013, 10:34 pm |
Hello Daddy,
we did a tour by bike. First we went through the garden of a castle and found a really nice building. ![]() ![]() ![]() Then we found the river Spree. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Berlin has also lots of channels so we decided to follow one of them to go home. ![]() ![]() Your little Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jul 17, 2013, 9:00 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today the bell rang. We opened the door and welcomed 2 new toyvoyagers called Nathalie and Big foot. ![]() We all cuddled them. ![]() Then both showed us their souvenirs. ![]() Yours Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jul 20, 2013, 9:58 pm |
Today Tsukumo left us.
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MA_17 Posted Jul 23, 2013, 10:38 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today we visited the most famous lake of Berlin: Greater Wannsee. Its size is 2,732 km² and it is about 2,53km in length. Nobody was there in the morning, just some little Toyvoyagers. ![]() ![]() ![]() Your little Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jul 24, 2013, 10:06 pm |
Hello Dad,
today we drove through Teltow, a small town near Berlin. It looks very nice. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() On the place where Teltow ends Berlin starts. There's no space left between both cities. ![]() In Berlin we drove through the shortest avenue of the whole city: Tusnelda Allee. There's just one house number. It's number 1 for the church. There's nothing else in this street. ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jul 27, 2013, 8:59 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today it was hot. Too hot! But we decided to visit the Botanical Garden. It has an area of 43 hectares and around 22,000 different plant species. Sadly our camera didn't have enough energy. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Jul 28, 2013, 1:23 pm |
Hello Daddy!
Today we visited Erfurt the capital of the Thuringia. It is also the main city nearest to the geographical centre of Germany. First we went to the Krämerbrücke. It is a bridge which is covered with inhabited, half timbered buildings on both sides. It is unique in Europe north of the Alps. ![]() This is the next stop we wanted to visit: the famous Erfurt Cathedral (left) and St. Severus Church (right). ![]() The Catholic Erfurt Cathedral is a 1200 year old church located on Cathedral Hill. It is of an International Gothic style, and is also known as St Mary's Cathedral, and is located, uniquely, on a hillside. ![]() It was beautiful inside the Cathedral. ![]() Your little Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Aug 1, 2013, 10:33 pm |
Hello Dad,
it's my hosts holidays so we have lots of time to visit some nice places. Today we went to a small village called Wiehe. We were allowed to sit in the first row in the car. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() This village is really small with only 2000 inhabitants! But then we were told that here we will find the worlds biggest model railroad year-round show! ![]() It was so impressing. Big train, small trains, tiny trains... ![]() First I took a picture in front of the mountain Brocken. It's not so far away from here. ![]() This is America! Mt. Rushmore looks a little bit different I think. ![]() ![]() LOOK who I met in America. That guy was really surprised to meet another eagle who knows his language! ![]() ![]() your impressed Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Aug 1, 2013, 11:34 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today our host had to go to Halle/Saale. Sure, we were in the car, too. ![]() Halle is a city in the Southern part of the German state Saxony-Anhalt and it is a very important economy and education-center in east Germany. The University of Halle-Wittenberg is the biggest university in Saxony-Anhalt and one of the oldest Universities in Germany. It has a population of about 250.000 inhabitants. First we saw nothing... ![]() ![]() But then... Halle! We crossed the river Saale which had a big flood in June. ![]() ![]() The city center is coming closer. ![]() The church which you can see on the left is "Market Church of Our Dear Lady". It was built between 1529 and 1554 and is the most recent of its medieval churches. ![]() And 2 more churches... (middle + right) ![]() This white building is called Francke Foundations. It is famous for its baroque buildings (including Europe‘s largest surving half-timbered building) and historical collections. ![]() Some newer buildings in Halle... ![]() This is Riebeck square. About 10 years ago it was the most dangerous place in Halle to cross by car. Now there are more traffic lights, better paintings on the street and you don't have to check for the tram, because they also finally got traffic lights. ![]() ![]() ![]() Yes, we got it! ![]() ![]() Look, this is the "Water tower North". It's 54 meters high and it was built between 1897 - 1899. The high level tank got a capacity of 1500 m³! ![]() Driving in the shadow is really nice at this temperatures! ![]() We left Halle. ![]() ![]() ![]() Then we passed a small city called Bitterfeld... ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() At the end of that small city we saw the famous lake Goitzsche. It is a former brown-coal open cast mine. ![]() ![]() And we crossed the river Mulde, where Crawfish made a report about the flood in June. ![]() There was a locomotive standing next to the street, but there was no station anywhere. ![]() ![]() Just a few kilometers left till "home". Our butts already started hurting. ![]() ![]() Landroooooval |
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MA_17 Posted Aug 8, 2013, 8:02 pm |
Hello Daddy!
I think today was the hottest day of the summer. Our therometer said 39,5°C. ![]() But, who cares?! We jumped into the car and travelled for a few hours. We were really surprised when we arrived. Lots of other plushies welcomed us! ![]() ![]() ![]() Look, all of us are official registered as Toyvoygers. ![]() We are the "flying gang". ![]() ![]() Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Aug 14, 2013, 9:42 pm |
Hello Daddy,
every time when we're having an overnight stay in Berlin we hear a noise around us. It rumbles and sometimes it tickles under our feet. It often feels like tiny earthquakes! ![]() So now we decided to ask Alex_Kitty what this noise is and he showed us! It's the underground which is passing under our feet. The station close to our house is not so nice, so we went through the city to find one which is more beautiful for taking a picture. ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Aug 17, 2013, 9:36 pm |
Hello Daddy,
at the moment our host doesn't have so much time. So we decided to enjoy the day at a playground. It was not easy to find one. After a while we saw this slide. Hmm, looks like nobody was playing here for a while. We decided not to use it... Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Aug 17, 2013, 9:55 pm |
Hello Daddy,
guess what! We found a boat! It was standing around... ![]() Little Toyvoyagers are very curious! Alex and Troot went to close to the boat when it keel over. ![]() ![]() Luckily they have friends who rescued them! So what to do with a boat...? We should use it! ![]() ![]() We all jumped into the boat and paddled on the great ocean. Let's see where we will be stranding... ![]() Your seasick Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Aug 21, 2013, 10:19 am |
Hello Daddy,
our journey by boat took really long. After a while we fall asleep and when we woke up we were on a place we didn't know. It looks a little bit scary. There was nobody else except us. Is this an unknown planet? Who is living here? Will we get back home? ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Does somebody know where our boat is? ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Sep 8, 2013, 6:29 pm |
Ouh Daddy...
Our host found us lying on the ground with some bottles. Hmm, these drinks were delicious. She took the bottles away from us and said we should not wonder when we see spooky places which look like foreign planets... ![]() Whatever... I don't care what she said...I just want to sleep! ZzZzZzzzzz ![]() Piip piip Landrovalzzzzzz |
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MA_17 Posted Sep 14, 2013, 10:38 am |
Hey Daddy,
I really don't know what happened! When we woke up after a really long nap, Nathalie was missing. We were searching everywhere, but we couldn't find her. Maybe she doesn't want to hang out anymore with us crazy guys. ![]() So today our host decided we could do some sports. A bike tour would be nice, so we did! ![]() While biking through forests and over fields we saw a family of pheasants! We jumped off of the bike and waited to see them again. Look! ![]() ![]() We couldn't find any more animals on the field. ![]() ![]() Going by bike is really slow, so we decided to take the train back home. We waited for so long, but no train arrived. So we went on by bike. ![]() ![]() We arrived at a big lake. As it was really hot today we wanted to go swimming, but our host told us that swimming is not allowed here. ![]() ![]() Am I still drunk or do you see that ufo, too??? ![]() ![]() ![]() On our way back we met this lovely lady. She was surprised about our visit as she never saw Toyvoyagers before. Her hubby wasn't so nice to us... ![]() ![]() Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Sep 18, 2013, 7:45 pm |
Hey Daddy,
it's time for a road trip. We just traveled through a town called Bitterfeld. Not really interesting at all... ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Yours Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Sep 18, 2013, 8:16 pm |
Hey Daddy,
the weather was ok so we did a short stopover at Lake Goitzsche. It's one of the biggest lakes in this area. It's size is about 24.000 hectar and it was formed of 3 former open-cast mines. And it was really windy! ![]() ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Sep 30, 2013, 11:54 am |
Hey Daddy,
guess what?! We made another road trip. ![]() We crossed little villages like Dessau and Zerbst, and we didn't have time for sightseeing, but it was nice, too. We drove over rivers and through tunnels. Funny trip. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 1, 2013, 4:11 pm |
Hello Dad,
today we found a box! We were really curious and hoped it would be full of sweets! ![]() But then it opened and Gustav and Phog jumped out. ![]() We welcomed them. ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 2, 2013, 6:57 pm |
Ehm Daddy? I swear I have nothing to do with this, but...
We were playing outside, just like Toyvoyagers do. We had a lot of fun... ![]() Anyway, they are going to send you the bill... ![]() I hope you still love me! ![]() Your little Landroval (Pictures taken "before" and "after" having fun! ![]() Before: ![]() After: ![]() |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 7, 2013, 12:06 am |
Hello Daddy,
I was just kidding, you won't get a bill... I hope! ![]() Let me tell ya the whole story! We jumped into the car for... guess what... a roadtrip! ![]() But it was only a short one. We used the freeway just to come to the next exit, because lots of other streets were closed. Our destination for today was Vockerode, a small village with about 1500 inhabitants. And they own an old power station which is closed since 1998. ![]() What do we want here? And what are all these people doing here? We did the same like all of them: taking pictures of the 2 last chimneys, each 100m tall. ![]() At 11 o'clock sharp there were 2 really loud explosions, followed by 2 little earthquakes and LOTS of dust! After a few minutes we could see clearly what happened! The chimneys were gone! ![]() Later we were informed that people used about 90kg explosive materials and 900 detonators. ![]() This pic was taken by our host! ![]() Everybody was a bit sad, because these 2 chimneys were some typical landmarks for the village. You could see them on the freeway long time before arrival. We couldn't take any pictures during the explosion, but a good video can be seen here. After a while we were allowed to go to the chimneys and have a closer look. ![]() On our way back we just had eyes for the power station and where everything happened. All of us still shocked from the explosions and the earthquakes! ![]() ![]() ...when we noticed we weren't driving on a street. Holy crap! ![]() ![]() We never noticed before some tracks here. ![]() ![]() Woah and what a tiny and beautiful train! And yes, the train isn't longer than you can see in the pic. Just a few cm of it cut off in the pic. ![]() Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 9, 2013, 8:01 pm |
Just another update in the car. We cruised to Berlin and through the city!
![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 9, 2013, 8:12 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today we found some seeds. We decided to grow them! First we needed a box with some soil. ![]() We "cut" the soil into single pieces and gave them numbers. Then we placed lots of seeds in it. All seeds were cacti and succulents. ![]() At least we placed the seed box in a plastic bag, filled it with some water and closed it. Now we have a tiny greenhouse for the seeds. Lets see if they are going to grow! ![]() PS: We are going on holidays SOON! ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 9, 2013, 8:56 pm |
Hello Daddy,
as I promised: we made a trip! ![]() Yesterday we traveled through whole Germany to Cologne, the biggest city at the river Rhine! ![]() After that long journey we were too tired and just slept the whole evening. But today... We woke up really late, so the first we needed was something delicious to eat! ![]() ![]() We started at the famous Hohenzollern Bridge, which is crossing the Rhine. It is the most heavily used railway bridge in Germany. People have placed love padlocks on the fence between the sidewalk and the tracks! Amazing! ![]() ![]() Then it was time to see the most famous sight of the city: the Cologne Cathedral! It is a Roman Catholic church. It is also the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. Construction of Cologne Cathedral commenced in 1248 and was halted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880. It is 144.5m (474 ft) long, 86.5m (284 ft) wide and its towers are approximately 157m (515 ft) tall. The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires and largest façade of any church in the world. ![]() ![]() We had a wonderful warm and sunny day, but we had to go back home in the evening. ![]() Your Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 14, 2013, 7:28 pm |
Hello Daddy,
today we made a tour around the Berlin Cathedral (Berliner Dom) which is the colloquial name for the Evangelical Supreme Parish and Collegiate Church in Berlin. The Berlin Cathedral has never been a cathedral in the actual sense of that term since it has never been the seat of a bishop. It was built in the 15th century. ![]() ![]() ![]() Isn't this a pretty view of the river Spree, the TV-tower and the Bode Museum at the Museum Island?! ![]() ![]() Hugs Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 14, 2013, 7:42 pm |
We celebrated Big foot's birthday! ![]() ![]() |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 14, 2013, 8:37 pm |
Hello Daddy,
I heard you want me to come home. Are you serious? I think you're kidding me! ![]() I shall fly all these tousands of miles back with my tiny wings? ![]() ![]() Ok ok, I try my best! ![]() But before I leave I did another sightseeing tour in Berlin, you know Dad, the capital of Germany (which is in Europe... EUROPE!). This is about 4600 miles away from home, just fyi! ![]() I started at the Bundeskanzleramt (Federal Chancellery). The inhabitants of Berlin call it "Waschmaschine" (washing machine). ![]() Then I saw the German Bundestag which is located in the Reichstag Building. The centrepiece of the building is the generously glazed chamber that is crowned by the dome. A funnel with panes of mirror glass reflects the daylight from above into the chamber. ![]() From there I walked through the Tiergarten directly to one of the most famous sights... ![]() This is the Brandenburg Gate, one of the most well-known landmarks of Berlin and Germany. ![]() ![]() Next stop was the Gendarmenmarkt. It is a square in Berlin with 2 cathedrals and the Konzerthaus between them. During World War II, most of the buildings were badly damaged or destroyed. Today all the buildings are restored to their former state. This is the Konzerthaus: ![]() This is the French Cathedral. It is the older of the two cathedrals and was built by the Huguenot community between 1701 and 1705. The cathedral was modeled after the destroyed Huguenot church in Charenton-Saint-Maurice, France. ![]() The other church is the German Cathedral, also known as New Church. Its parish comprised the northern part of the then new quarter of Friedrichstadt, which until then belonged to the parish of the congregations of Jerusalem's Church. The Lutheran and Calvinist (in German Reformed Church) congregants used German as their native language. The church is not a cathedral in the actual sense of the word. ![]() In the nearer area I found the Rittersport Chocolate store. It's possible to create your own chocolate there, just tell them the ingredients, the kind of chocolate and wait a few minutes. I thought it would be a nice present to bring back home an original eagle chocolate! So I went in, ordered milk chocolate and my fave ingredients: fish and raw meat! The people looked very strange at me and told me they don't have these ingredients! What the...?! Sorry Dad, no eagle chocolate for you! ![]() ![]() People in Berlin are really strange! They hang their cars on the walls instead using them on the streets! On the car you can see the flag of Berlin. ![]() This is the famous Checkpoint Charlie. It was the name given by the Western Allies to the best-known Berlin Wall crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War. ![]() And this is a part of the original Berlin Wall! It was a barrier constructed by the German Democratic Republic (GDR, East Germany) starting on 13 August 1961, that completely cut off (by land) West Berlin from surrounding East Germany and from East Berlin. The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (later known as the "death strip" ) that contained anti-vehicle trenches, "fakir beds" and other defenses. The Eastern Bloc claimed that the wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elements conspiring to prevent the "will of the people" in building a socialist state in East Germany. In practice, the Wall served to prevent the massive emigration and defection that marked Germany and the communist Eastern Bloc during the post-World War II period. ![]() I met some eagles, but they didn't want to talk to me. Strange guys! ![]() Berlin has lots of love for everyone! ![]() ![]() That guy is a Buddy Bear. There are so many all over Berlin and there exist also more than 140 country bears with most of the countries of the world. And these bears are travelling around the world. They are tall toyvoyagers!!! ![]() I stopped at Potsdamer Platz (Potsdam Square). It is an important public square and traffic intersection in the centre of Berlin. It is named after the city of Potsdam, some 25 km to the south west, and marks the point where the old road from Potsdam passed through the city wall of Berlin at the Potsdam Gate. After developing within the space of little over a century from an intersection of rural thoroughfares into the most bustling traffic intersection in Europe, it was totally laid waste during World War II and then left desolate during the Cold War era when the Berlin Wall bisected its former location. Since German reunification, Potsdamer Platz has been the site of major redevelopment projects. ![]() Nice reflection of a building on another building at Potsdamer Platz. ![]() And this is the original building: ![]() The Sony Center is a Sony-sponsored building complex located at the Potsdamer Platz and opened in 2000. This roof changes its colors by night! ![]() There's a strange architecture at Potsdamer Platz! ![]() ![]() And there's a Walk of Fame! ![]() The Berliner Philharmonie is a concert hall which was constructed over the years 1960–1963. Actually a two-venue facility with connecting lobby, the Philharmonie comprises a "Großer Saal" of 2,440 seats for orchestral concerts and a chamber-music hall, the "Kammermusiksaal", of 1,180 seats. ![]() ![]() This is the main entrance of the Zoological Garden. This gate is called Elephant's Gate. With almost 1,500 different species and around 19,500 animals the zoo presents the most comprehensive collection of species in the world. ![]() Look, the Protestant Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, mostly just known as Gedächtniskirche. The original church on the site was built in the 1890s. It was badly damaged in a bombing raid in 1943. The present building, which consists of a church with an attached foyer and a separate belfry with an attached chapel, was built between 1959 and 1963. The damaged spire of the old church has been retained and its ground floor has been made into a memorial hall. At the moment you can't see the whole church because it will be refurbished. ![]() The Europa-Center is a building complex. On top of the high-rise, and visible across Berlin, is a large metal star-in-a-circle symbol, the logo of car manufacturer Mercedes-Benz. It weighs 15,000 kg, has an outer diameter of 10 metres! ![]() I also found some Canadian dollars! ![]() ![]() I'm Landroval and I'm proud to be Canadian! ![]() ![]() Your little famous and proud eagle Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 23, 2013, 9:10 pm |
Hello Dad,
we used that beautiful day to enjoy our lives close to the water. First we went to the Spandau Ship Canal. ![]() ![]() Then we went to lake Plötzensee. Sad it was too cold to swim in it. ![]() Your soon-coming-home Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 25, 2013, 11:22 pm |
Hello Daddy,
guess what! We went to the forest to find some mushrooms. Gustav thinks he knows a lot about mushrooms, because he always reads his brother's best friend Murph's blog. He's famous for his knowledge about mushrooms. We found some lovely mushrooms, but he told us not to eat them. He wasn't sure about the poison. So we just watched them. ![]() The next mushroom was so beautiful. It had the same color like lovely cakes have. So we decided that it is eatable. It was delicious! I'd really like to tell you about that mushroom, but nobody knows the name. After our meal we all started smiling like Gustav...that explains a lot ![]() ![]() Yours Laaaääändrouvääl |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 26, 2013, 8:48 pm |
Hey Dad,
do you remember my update with all the seeds? Well, the seeds grow up! Have a look!!! ![]() Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 26, 2013, 10:58 pm |
Today me and Alex talked for hours! We were talking about the past and the upcoming adventures. I told him that I have to go home tomorrow, because many more adventures are waiting for me...
Look at his lovely tiny house. But he should renovate it! Landroval |
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MA_17 Posted Oct 30, 2013, 10:19 pm |
Today I said goodbye to my friends. I'm going back home.
I got a big group hug. ![]() Then the others opened the window and I spread my wings and flew away. I hope I still know the right way back home! ![]() Sammino, you could already open a window for me... ![]() Landroval |
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smaug Posted Nov 24, 2013, 6:08 am |
Hi,
Today I arrived back in Canada ![]() ![]() ![]() Actually when I stopped for a short rest on my way here a little bird come talking to me explaining me that he was an eagle too ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() When I arrived, of course, the window was shut ![]() ![]() Wait, no, actually it looked like someone left it open ![]() ![]() No one was inside but I could hear loud voices ![]() ![]() ![]() As it happens they were toyvoyagers arguing about a card game ![]() ![]() ![]() Well, when they eventually noticed us, they did not seem very happy with us having that little snack ![]() ![]() Of course, that quickly changed as soon as I flashed all the presents, particularly the chocolate that my last host gave me ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Nov 24, 2013, 5:33 pm |
Hi,
Today we gathered to say goodbye and wish a safe journey to Mr. Blubber who is ready to travel back home ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 1, 2013, 11:37 pm |
Hi,
Today we had a good excuse to have some cake ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 2, 2013, 12:16 am |
Hi,
Today the weather wasn’t very good, but we were tired to be home and smaug was tired of working, so it was quite easy to convince him to go for a short hike near Calgary ![]() ![]() ![]() Despite the dark clouds it was kind of warm (Canadian warm ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() On the way a local eagle, an old friend of mine, came down to greet us ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 26, 2013, 3:57 pm |
Hi,
Since it looks like these days it is always freezing cold and snowing around the Rockies, I decided to visit sammino without waiting until Christmas ![]() ![]() ![]() Of course, we started working to open it and when we succeeded, a TV popped out, my friend Pepita coming home for the holidays ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 26, 2013, 4:13 pm |
Hi,
We are on holiday ![]() ![]() ...and today, very late at night, after an horrendously long and boring trip, we found ourselves in Italy ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 26, 2013, 4:58 pm |
Hi,
Today we went for our first trip on a small mountain next to the town ![]() ![]() Later we found a summit log ![]() ![]() That was a bit strange as we were not even remotely close to the summit, but, of course, we signed it anyway ![]() ![]() A bit further up the trail offered some nice views over Trento ![]() ![]() Then things took quite a steep turn into what appeared to be prime eagle habitat ![]() ![]() Eventually, we reached the summit. There was no summit log here ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The place was so nice that we decided to enjoy the sun a bit and rest on this bench ![]() ![]() On the way back we crossed a ridge to take a look at the valley on the opposite side of the mountain ![]() ![]() ![]() ...before ducking back under the trees on the way home, where, hopefully, a nice hot chocolate was waiting for us ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 27, 2013, 9:07 pm |
Hi,
Today we went for a ski trip on the dolomites ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Later we crossed Passo di Campolongo and entered Alta Badia. ![]() The last pass we crossed is called Passo Gardena. From there we could see the Saslong... ![]() ...and more mountains in the west ![]() ![]() We also noticed the sky was getting cloudy and sammino recommended that we made the most of every single ray of sun still visible as, according to the weather forecast, we were not likely to see any more of it for a good week ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 28, 2013, 1:59 pm |
Hi,
As the weather forecast predicted, it turned rainy and we are spending most of the time chit-chatting. But today sammino abandoned us ![]() ![]() ![]() I guess there will be even more chatting and storytelling in the next few days ![]() |
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smaug Posted Dec 28, 2013, 2:44 pm |
Merry Christmas ![]() Here in Trento we celebrate Christmas on Christmas Eve, so this evening there was a lot of fumbling with presents under the tree. Taking advantage of the fact that everybody was distracted, we decided to help ourselves with the Pandoro ahead of everybody else ![]() ![]() Getting it out was hard work. ![]() But eventually we managed to access it and ![]() ![]() ...cut a delicious slice just for us ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 12, 2014, 7:33 pm |
Hi,
After a few very relaxing days, mostly due to endless rain ![]() ![]() ![]() We also said good bye to Sigfrido, Pepita and Orpheus who will hang around a bit longer ![]() ![]() As this was the first time that we were all together with sammino and we don’t know when that will happen again, we gave ourselves a big hug and wished each other more great and safe adventures ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 12, 2014, 8:07 pm |
Hi,
This morning, a bit too early morning as far as I am concerned ![]() ![]() ![]() Since Sigfrido, Orpheus and Pepita had decided to accompany us, we had a final round of farewells before going through the security checks ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 12, 2014, 8:33 pm |
Hi,
On the way back to Canada we had a bit of a long layover in Frankfurt, so we took the chance to have a look at some of the planes... ![]() ...and, most important, to find something yummy to fill our bellies ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 12, 2014, 8:51 pm |
Hi,
We are back in Canada ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 20, 2014, 1:32 am |
Hi,
Happy new Year ![]() Today we were still a bit jet lagged and inevitably we were up very early in the morning ![]() ![]() As we gained elevation the sky got brighter and we started seeing the Rockies in the west ![]() ![]() ![]() Eventually we reached the summit where the wind was freezing cold, but the view was great ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We could almost even see Calgary. ![]() Before leaving for (hopefully) some warmer location ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 20, 2014, 1:54 am |
Hi,
Today we decided that we wanted to go outdoor ![]() ![]() ...we decided that I nice day indoor was probably a better idea ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 2, 2014, 6:43 pm |
Hi,
Today smaug was being lazy, as usual ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() At one point the view opened up a bit, but the clouds didn’t allow to take in much of the landscape. ![]() As we moved on and gained elevation, we noticed snowflakes falling around us and quickly they turned almost into a blizzard ![]() ![]() ![]() Eventually we reached the top of the trail where usually there is a wonderful view of the Rockies ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 3, 2014, 3:13 am |
Hi,
This weekend, again, temperatures were low enough to discourage smaug from engaging in any significant outdoor activity ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() So we headed out and reached a point where the river is moving too fast to freeze even with this cold ![]() ![]() ![]() Further downstream the river slows down and it was frozen solid. ![]() Even, under the Peace Bridge there was no visible sign of open water. ![]() At this point we decided that, rather than visiting downtown, it was wise to head straight home and deal with the first few signs of frostbite ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 24, 2014, 3:07 am |
Hi,
Today smaug came home with a parcel for us TVs, which got us very excited ![]() ![]() As we managed to open it a new guest popped out, Lotta, a nice sheep who travelled all the way from Australia ![]() ![]() ![]() Of course, a late night of travel chatting followed ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 31, 2014, 2:59 am |
Hi,
We are in spring ![]() Not that we really noticed, as it has been relentlessly snowing over the last few days ![]() ![]() ![]() The trees were covered with nice fresh snow... ![]() ...so we decided to stop playing into one of them ![]() ![]() Sometimes a nice viewed opened up along the trail. ![]() Eventually we reached the highest point of our hike. We were thinking to reach the top of that ridge,... ![]() ...but looking west we noticed the it was probably snowing heavy over the mountains and it looked like the storm was coming towards us ![]() ![]() ![]() With temperatures deep in the minus teens, not everybody was comfortable with having to deal with a blizzard too ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 21, 2014, 2:17 am |
Hi,
Not sure if we will ever see something resembling spring here ![]() ![]() ![]() The trail was actually very nice with the trees all covered in snow ![]() ![]() ...but the view left a bit to be desired as the snowfall was clouding everything around us. ![]() So we decided to hide in the backpack and helped ourselves with smaug’s supplies ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 22, 2014, 4:11 am |
Hi,
After more snow yesterday, this morning the weather was gorgeous ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Later we reached a nice viewpoint where we could enjoy more views of the lake... ![]() ![]() ...and of the mountains surrounding it. ![]() ![]() As we started gaining elevation the trail was getting very snowbound, to the point that we worried we were going to have to turn back soon ![]() ![]() But, for once, smaug was prepared ![]() ![]() ![]() Eventually the snow became too soft and deep to keep going even with snowshoes ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 4, 2014, 7:33 pm |
Hi,
Happy Easter ![]() Today we were hoping to get a gigantic chocolate egg each ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 4, 2014, 7:47 pm |
Hi,
Today it was sammino’s birthday ![]() ![]() We were planning to sing Happy Birthday for him and party all day ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 19, 2014, 10:44 pm |
Hi,
Look a that! This is getting funny ![]() ![]() ![]() I guess this is going to be another boring weekend ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 20, 2014, 12:38 am |
Hi,
Today we managed to go for a short walk near Calgary. After a bit we started having a nice view over the River Elbow ![]() ![]() We were hoping to reach the top of that ridge,... ![]() ...but going through the trees the snow was getting deeper and deeper, to the point that even smaug was sinking up to his waist ![]() ![]() ...prairies and foothills to the east... ![]() ![]() ...and again the mountains around the Elbow Valley to the south and west ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jun 2, 2014, 4:30 am |
Hi,
Today we went for another short trip to the mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() ...the Prairies... ![]() ...and Kananaskis Valley. ![]() As we move further up we could see the Bow Valley heading deep into the mountains... ![]() ...and the front face of the Rockies in the north. ![]() ![]() The view of the Prairies got better too, but the sky was also getting a bit darker ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 5, 2015, 2:51 am |
Hi,
Today was a beautiful day, so we went for a bike ride in the Elbow valley and took a few pictures ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 6, 2015, 2:53 am |
Hi,
Today smaug came home with a very interesting parcel, so we all gathered to open it ![]() ![]() And guess what? A new friend came out of it, GustavHH ![]() ![]() Of course, we wanted to hear everything about his adventures, so we spent the whole night up chatting ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 11, 2015, 9:35 pm |
Hi,
today we went for a nice hike within Banff National Park ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ...before making our way up to the site of a former fire lookout, where the view was great ![]() ![]() ![]() It was also cold and windy, so we chose to quickly move down and walk a bit on the lake shore. ![]() ![]() Down there it was actually so nice that we decided to cap the day with a few hours of relax and sunbathing ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 11, 2015, 11:54 pm |
Hi,
today we went for another nice hike ![]() ![]() After a bit of walking we started having some nice view over the Rockies in the west ![]() ![]() Eventually we reached the summit, where the view was great, but the clouds looked quite bad, and the wind was blasting cold too (so much for the first day of summer ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 12, 2015, 12:28 am |
Hi,
a new friend arrived today ![]() ![]() ...and when we opened it Stoker came out ![]() ![]() Of course, we wanted to hear all about his travels, so he didn't have a chance to rest for a while ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 19, 2015, 2:42 am |
Hi,
It seems it’s time to go on holiday ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 19, 2015, 3:11 am |
Hi,
During a stopover in Frankfurt Sigfrido and Orpheus came over for a little Rendezvous ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 26, 2015, 3:12 am |
Hi,
I am back in Italy ![]() ![]() ![]() ...and then went back to sleep ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 26, 2015, 3:37 am |
Hi,
today we went for a bike ride just out of town ![]() ![]() ![]() As we moved on the other side of the mountain we could see the Brenta dolomites... ![]() ...and the Adige Valley in the distance ![]() ![]() Further on we could see another nice valley. ![]() At that point we launched ourselves downhill ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 29, 2015, 3:57 am |
Hi,
today we went for a nice hike in the Dolomites ![]() ![]() ...although it looked like we had still quite a way to go to reach the top of this valley ![]() ![]() Eventually we reached the highest point of the day, where the view was very "rocky" ![]() ![]() ![]() As it happens we managed to cross all this plateau without getting drenched... ![]() ...and later we headed into this nicely U-shaped valley that took us back to the car ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 2, 2015, 3:30 am |
Hi,
today the weather was not great, but it was warm ![]() ![]() ...and we had a glimpse of our destination: apparently we were aiming first for the peak on the right, and then we were going to follow the ridge heading left ![]() ![]() From the summit the view was great in every direction ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() After following a bit of the ridge, we could even see a bit of Trento in the distance. ![]() To give a bit of cultural tone to the trip ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 2, 2015, 4:07 am |
Hi,
We are soon heading back to Canada, so today it was time to say goodbye to Pepita and to all the other friends here in Italy ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 3, 2015, 4:00 am |
Hi,
On the way back to Canada we had another long stopover in Frankfurt, so Orpheus and Sigfrido came to spend some time with us at the airport ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 8, 2015, 9:43 pm |
Hi,
today it was World Cup final day and with Germany in the final, and our little Deutsch colony got very excited ![]() ![]() ![]() As the game was about to start the excitement grew even further... ![]() ![]() ...and it burst when Germany scored... ![]() ...and lifted the cup ![]() ![]() Of course, we decided to join in our friends' celebrations ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 8, 2015, 10:14 pm |
Hi,
today we went out for our first short hike since coming back to Canada ![]() ![]() ![]() Pressing on, we reached the summit of Midnight Peak, where the view was great in all directions ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Interesting enough, sammino explained to us that it appears to be a tradition (a rather unpleasant one ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 15, 2015, 6:17 pm |
Hi,
today we went over to the Rockies for a nice hike ![]() ![]() ...and some of the peaks surrounding us. ![]() We also were able to look for the first time at our destination, which looked a bit more snowy than we expected for this time of the year ![]() ![]() A bit later we reached a ridge just over this little lake... ![]() ...where the view opened up even more. ![]() ![]() ![]() From here the peak did not seem that far away ![]() ![]() So, with a final effort we reached the top, where the view was great in all directions ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() It was also bitter cold ![]() ![]() ![]() At least we managed to take a final nice photo before heading back home ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 23, 2015, 1:14 am |
Hi,
today we went again out to the mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() Later we headed up the narrow Nihahi Creek Valley... ![]() ...that soon became just a large gravel creek bed ![]() ![]() Pushing on, we climbed halfway on the ridge heading to Mt Fullerton... ![]() ...where we noticed some very concerning clouds speeding toward us ![]() ![]() So, instead of trying to reach the summit, we hastily performed an about turn and reached the safety of the valley bottom just before lightning started brightening up the afternoon ![]() |
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smaug Posted Feb 23, 2015, 2:14 am |
Hi,
This weekend the weather was again gorgeous, so as usual we headed to the mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() On the way we always had in sight the typical ridge used to reach Mt Allan, with the rock walls of Mt Lougheed behind it ![]() ![]() ...and of the summit of Mt Allan. ![]() Still, before getting there we had to tackle the summit of Mt Collembola... ![]() ...and the false summit too ![]() ![]() On the way we passed just over the Nakiska ski area, that hosted the alpine skiing competitions during the 1988 winter Olympics. ![]() Eventually we reached the summit of Mt Allan ![]() ![]() ...and where we took a final shot of the Bow Valley before starting to head back home. ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 1, 2015, 11:46 pm |
Hi,
Today the weather in town was quite nice ![]() ![]() By the time we reached our destination visibility was kind of limited ![]() ![]() ![]() We decided to wait a bit hoping for the fog to clear up and helped us with some of the provisions in the backpack ![]() ![]() As it happens things got even worse... ![]() ...so all we could do was pack up and go home ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 2, 2015, 1:18 am |
Hi,
today we headed again to the mountains for a short walk. After a bit, we had nice views along the Elbow River valley ![]() ![]() ![]() ...and of Powderface Ridge, where we were engulfed by fog a week ago ![]() ![]() Later we just spent the morning walking along this lovely ridge... ![]() ...all the time having a great view over the Rockies ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 8, 2015, 2:26 am |
Hi,
guess what, today was another gorgeous day, and of course we went over to the mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() It took a bit longer to eventually see our destination. ![]() From the summit of Wind Ridge, which wasn't really that windy ![]() ![]() ...and rocky peaks all around us ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We could also see the snow covered ![]() ![]() Before leaving the summit and heading back home we took a final look at the valley that we followed in the morning ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 8, 2015, 3:04 am |
Hi,
look at that! You know what it is? Snow ![]() ![]() ![]() How cool is that ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 16, 2015, 12:00 am |
Hi,
it has been only a few days since the snow storm, so today we decided to check the conditions of the trails around Calgary. Not surprisingly everything look very white from the very start of the day ![]() ![]() ![]() As we approached the summit of Cox Hill smaug decided that he had enough of plodding through waist deep snow ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Even the prairies in the distance where completely white ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 16, 2015, 1:08 am |
Hi,
today we went for another hike, and just one week and less that 100 km away from where we went last week, conditions where a bit different ![]() ![]() Later we found this lovely sofa and decided to rest and enjoy the sun chitchatting for a while ![]() ![]() As we kept going we started seeing the southern part of the Rockwall ![]() ![]() Further on we reached the gorgeous Floe Lake with its crown of rocky walls ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() A final effort took us up to Numa Pass. From there we could see the trail we had just followed,... ![]() ..., Floe Lake and Floe Peak,... ![]() ...and on the opposite side Numa Creek Valley... ![]() ...and the Rockwall heading north ![]() ![]() What a day ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 22, 2015, 12:41 am |
Hi,
although the weather wasn't exactly great, today we headed again to the mountains and spent the day passing by lakes ![]() ![]() ![]() Things improved once we reached Arnica Lake... ![]() ![]() ...and Upper Twin Lake, tucked under Storm Mountain ![]() ![]() Finally we reached Lower Twin Lake, possibly the nicest of all the lakes with reached, although the weather did not really help in appreciating that. ![]() Later on, we reached our destination, Gibbon Pass. Obviously that plaque is quite old, since Canada has been a metric country for a few decades ![]() ![]() We took a quick look around the pass before jumping back in smaug's backpack just in time before the snow started to fall ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 22, 2015, 2:03 am |
Hi,
There's been some more snow falling on the mountains, so today we checked out how deep it is ![]() ![]() ![]() At some point we passed by this lovely creek which is not fully frozen yet ![]() ![]() Once we reached Healy Pass we had confirmation that winter is indeed here ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Time to get the snow shoes out ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 28, 2015, 10:19 pm |
Hi,
the weather is quite strange lately: most of the snow seems to be gone ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() On the other side, there was no trace of white whatsoever. ![]() ![]() Maybe winter is not ready to come after all ![]() |
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smaug Posted Mar 28, 2015, 10:49 pm |
Hi,
the snow is back ![]() ![]() ![]() On second thought, looking at the temperature, we decided that it was probably a good day to stay nice and comfortable at home ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 5, 2015, 9:23 pm |
Hi,
it' been snowing again this week, but this morning the weather seemed inclined to improve ![]() ![]() ![]() But by the time we reached the nicest viewpoint the day had turned really dark ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 5, 2015, 9:56 pm |
Hi,
guess what? We are back in Italy ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 5, 2015, 10:29 pm |
Hi,
after a few days of rest, today we went up to a nice view point on the side of the valley. The sun was warm, the sky was blue and the view was great ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() There was even a nice bench where we could sit and chat while enjoying the sun ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 6, 2015, 12:33 am |
Hi,
the weather is quite spectacular, it's almost like summer ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() And so was the ridge that we followed... ![]() ...and the valley on the other side of the mountain ![]() ![]() There was even a big metal map showing the direction of all the peaks that you can see from up here ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 11, 2015, 10:15 pm |
Hi,
today our friends Orpheus, Pepita and Sigfrido came home to celebrate Christmas ![]() ![]() Of, course, with so many TVs in one room, lot of chatting followed ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 11, 2015, 10:35 pm |
Merry Christmas ![]() Tonight, as usual we celebrated Christmas eve ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 11, 2015, 11:04 pm |
Hi,
today we spent the day travelling around the German motorways ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() And tomorrow it sounds like it's going to be the same on the way back ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 11, 2015, 11:38 pm |
Hi,
it's time to go back to Canada ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 25, 2015, 11:46 pm |
Hi,
today the weather was great ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Going further up, the view opened on the Prairies in the distance,... ![]() ...and became great over the Rockies ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() At that point the wind was picking up and it didn't really feel like summer anymore ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 26, 2015, 12:11 am |
Hi,
today we gathered to say goodbye and wish a safe journey to Lotta who is travelling back home to Germany ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 26, 2015, 12:29 am |
Hi,
today we welcomed to Calgary my friends Orpheus and Sigfrido who will stay a few days with us ![]() ![]() And they brought some delicious gifts with them ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 26, 2015, 1:16 am |
Hi,
the weather is not that good these days, so it's been a bit boring recently ![]() ![]() ![]() For whatever reason smaug was not inclined to let us go out by ourselves ![]() ![]() ![]() After the tournament, instead of giving out prizes, sammino used a box to give us a lesson about Canadian wildlife ![]() ![]() As it turned out, it was a box full of chocolate, so the day definitely finished on a high ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 26, 2015, 1:43 am |
Hi,
today we took a short walk in Calgary ![]() ![]() ![]() ...and spent some time relaxing in these lovely indoor gardens ![]() ![]() Later this evening it was time to say goodbye and wish a safe journey to Orpheus and Sigfrido who are moving on to another destination in North America ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 7, 2015, 4:21 am |
Hi,
after a few quiet days today we headed out again to the mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() ...but the weather looked great so we marched on anyway. It had snowed recently, so everything looked very white ![]() ![]() Moving on we reached a nice view spot where we enjoyed the view of a fairly frozen landscape. ![]() ![]() ![]() As it happens, not everybody in our party is used to these type of temperatures ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 11, 2015, 3:15 am |
Hi,
today it was another gorgeous day so we headed west to the mountains again ![]() ![]() But, as we gained elevation, things improved ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() When we reached the highest point of the day the wind started really picking up, so we enjoyed the view which was spectacular in pretty much every direction ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 18, 2015, 3:12 am |
Hi,
today it was really foggy ![]() ![]() ![]() But, later on, the fog started to clear and we had some lovely view of the lake... ![]() ![]() ...and Kananaskis Valley ![]() ![]() On the other side, the prairies were still covered by a thick fog. ![]() Moving further up we reached a fire lookout, which at this time of the year is closed. ![]() From there the view opened up over the Rockies to the west ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 18, 2015, 3:40 am |
Hi,
today we said goodbye and wished a safe journey to Krystal and GustavHH that are travelling to Europe ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 18, 2015, 4:05 am |
Hi,
today smaug came home saying that there was a parcel for us ![]() ![]() ![]() And, guess what, a TV came out: Batyr, a nice mouse from Russia ![]() ![]() ![]() Of course, a long night of storytelling followed ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 18, 2015, 4:20 am |
Happy Easter!
Today we celebrated with some lovely TV-sized chocolate eggs ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 18, 2015, 4:37 am |
Hi,
today I said goodbye to all my friends here in Calgary and started flying to Europe ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Before we took off, sammino gave me a big hug and wished me a safe journey ![]() ![]() Then it was time to get out of the window and fly away ![]() ![]() |
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HoBi Posted May 20, 2015, 5:41 pm |
Hello Dad,
Phew, the way from Canada to Bad Salzdetfurth was really long for a small eagle like me. ![]() ![]() ![]() We heard voices! It was Murph and Ole. ![]() ![]() We found a cosy place on the terrace and had to talk a lot. ![]() ![]() Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted May 26, 2015, 5:52 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we want to find morels. Hopefully we will be lucky. ![]() ![]() At the beginning we found beautiful flowers. ![]() I think that these are the most beautiful flowers in the forest! The Orchids… ![]() ![]() … and a white on – it is really rare! ![]() ...and Yellow wood anemones ![]() But where were the morels? ![]() ![]() Not here… ![]() But maybe here! We should have a closer look! ![]() Jippie! I found one. ![]() ![]() Murph and Ole came and admired my discovery. Unfortunately it was the only one. ![]() On the way back Ole and Murph showed me Bear's Garlic. ![]() Will we find more morels? We don’t believe it now… ![]() Until soon Landroval |
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HoBi Posted May 31, 2015, 4:42 pm |
Hello Dad,
today I took a look at the hometown of Murph. ![]() ![]() There are 2 big salines in the spa gardens. The people used it to produce salt in the past. ![]() ![]() This is the famous place of Murph. It is called Summstein – you sit inside of it and bumble. Then the whole body prickles. Very funny! ![]() ![]() Bad Salzdetfurth is an old miningtown. And you find memories of this time everywhere. ![]() ![]() There are many half-timbered houses in Bad Salzdetfurth. ![]() Today is a special day. There were many vintage cars in the town. ![]() This was the oldest car here. It was nearly 100 years old. ![]() We loved this car with the trailer. Many TVs could be in it. ![]() ![]() Dad, I would love to own this car. Could you buy it, please? It looked great! ![]() ![]() Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jun 3, 2015, 6:22 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we searched morels. But nothing… - no morels… Only some white flowers… ![]() ![]() …and so many orchids! ![]() ![]() We found some St. Georg’s mushrooms. It won’t enough to eat for all of us. Murph told us to smell it! ![]() Ugh, the mushrooms smelt like flour. ![]() ![]() The Bear’s garlic was blooming. ![]() However it was a wonderful day in the forest. ![]() ![]() Greetings Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jun 8, 2015, 5:42 pm |
Hello Dad,
How will it look like over there? This was a view from Murph’s new home - today we will go there and have a look. ![]() What a wonderful smell! ![]() Great, a nature reserve… ![]() ![]() This looked great- didn’t it? ![]() Here was an old weir. ![]() The Lamme flows into the Innerste here. ![]() You can see our house from this place! ![]() ![]() A beautiful fishpond. ![]() On our way back we saw these two beautiful orchids. I love these flowers. ![]() ![]() The tower that I saw from the window belongs to a church. ![]() This looks beautiful, doesn’t it? ![]() Back home at Murph’s house. These two lions are our guards. ![]() ![]() Love Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jun 15, 2015, 5:12 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today I visited a beautiful nature reserve. Didn’t it look great? ![]() ![]() There were many different wild orchids. I show you the most beautiful flowers. ![]() There were orchids with green blossoms – difficult to see in the photo. ![]() ![]() ![]() Wow – this one was big! ![]() ![]() All over the meadow there were snowdrop windflowers. ![]() This flower is really rare in Lower-Saxony. You only find it in a few nature reserves. Do you know it? It is the Lady’s Slipper Orchid. ![]() ![]() We wanted urgently a photo with this group of orchids. ![]() ![]() Until soon Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jun 20, 2015, 4:00 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we went into the forest. We wanted to collect mushrooms. ![]() ![]() This seemed to be a good place – we should find some here. ![]() ![]() Look, there were the first mushrooms. ![]() ... a lot of St.Georg’s mushrooms. ![]() ![]() Ole and me cut it. ![]() ![]() Our baskets were full. ![]() ![]() ![]() It was time to go home. ![]() ![]() Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jun 28, 2015, 3:48 pm |
Hello Dad,
today we went to a wonderful park! ![]() This park is famous for the old rhododendrons. ![]() ![]() ![]() But there were many old trees, too. ![]() ![]() ![]() We had a wonderful view to the river Weser. ![]() I didn’t like this view that much. ![]() ![]() There were many blooming scrubs at the moment. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() What do you think? It was a wonderful park! ![]() Many greetings Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jul 3, 2015, 2:13 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we went to a beautiful river. ![]() ![]() We wanted to find wonderful and rare butterflies and take photos. If you are lucky, you see them at these flowers. ![]() It was a beautiful place. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() We sat in the flowers and waited for a long time, but the butterflies wanted no photos today. ![]() ![]() Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jul 10, 2015, 3:23 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we took a long walk through this forest. ![]() Wow, can you see what we found? ![]() ![]() ![]() Let’s start the „Blütenpfad“ (Path of Blossoms)… ![]() There were many blossoms I never saw before. ![]() ![]() A small break… ![]() The emblem of Canada! ![]() ![]() It was so colorful here. Dad, do we have so many flowers at home, too? I cannot remember it…. ![]() ![]() The view was wonderful, but nothing compared to the Rocky Mountains, was it? ![]() ![]() These were the highest trees of the World, but they were small at the moment. ![]() What a wonderful trip! ![]() ![]() Until soon Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jul 14, 2015, 5:41 pm |
Hello Dad,
This looked exciting. We must have a closer look! ![]() ![]() Oh, what a friendly greeting ![]() ![]() We build towers out of many stones. ![]() ![]() Let’s see what’s coming next. ![]() We learned, how far animal can jump. ![]() Surely I was better. I am an Eagle … - I can fly…. ![]() ![]() We continued… ![]() We wanted to stay here, because it was so beautiful, but we kept moving. ![]() Normally you can see animals from this tower, but unfortunately it became overgrown. And there were no animals. ![]() We went back to our car over this shaky bridge. What a great day! ![]() ![]() Many greetings Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jul 19, 2015, 3:15 pm |
Hello Dad,
It was my birthday today! Murph lighted candles for me and sang a wonderful birthday song for me. ![]() ![]() Then I blew the candles out. ![]() Let’s start the party! ![]() ![]() ![]() Everything was very yummy! ![]() ![]() ![]() We will only drink one more glass… ![]() Upps, what happened to the bottle? ![]() ![]() It’s time to go to sleep! ![]() Good night! Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jul 26, 2015, 3:03 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we visited a great museum. ![]() We saw many old machines. ![]() And a beautiful water wheel. ![]() Even a train station was there. ![]() We took this train into the mountain – how amazing! ![]() ![]() ![]() Let‘s go here… ![]() We met these two funny guys in the mine. ![]() ![]() They told us about a treasure. You can find it with this boat. ![]() Holgi had to help us – we were too small and the boat was very shaky… ![]() ![]() Imagine this: we found a treasure chest… ![]() ![]() ... wow, so many gems! We are rich! ![]() ![]() What an adventure!!! Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Jul 31, 2015, 4:26 pm |
Hello Dad,
We took a long walk on the Laves-Trail. ![]() There is a big castle in Derneburg. ![]() In the forest was a small teahouse. ![]() So many stairs… ![]() ![]() Unbelievable – there exists a pyramid in the forest inside of Germany. ![]() ![]() I liked this house. ![]() There were small houses of fishermen next to many small ponds. ![]() It didn’t look like one – but this was one of the fish ponds. ![]() This region is really beautiful. ![]() Greetings Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Aug 4, 2015, 5:55 pm |
Hello Dad,
What a long time without mushrooms. ![]() ![]() Great – our first mushrooms! King boletes ![]() What a beautiful guy… ![]() ![]() The Lurid Bolete looked boring from this side… ![]() …but look! If you cut it, it had the same color as Murph. ![]() ![]() No friend of mushrooms likes these animals. ![]() ![]() But fortunately snails don’t like all mushrooms. ![]() ![]() The Devil’s Bolete is rare. It is poisonous and each year people were empoisoned by it. How can you eat this mushroom? It smells like carrion! ![]() ![]() We saw a lot of mushrooms Ruby Boletes… ![]() … and Rosy Brittlegills ![]() We don’t know the English name of this mushroom. But the color looks like my craws. ![]() ![]() Then we found our dinner. ![]() ![]() ![]() It was yummy – finally mushrooms again! Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Aug 22, 2015, 3:31 pm |
Hello Dad,
We are on holiday and the weather is really hot. Nevertheless we went on excursion. We visited the Botanical garden of Tübingen. A wonderful garden! ![]() A small vineyard – but not enough for a good harvest. ![]() Oups, we didn’t sit comfortable. ![]() ![]() We saw lemons. ![]() And beautiful flowers. ![]() It was so hot outside, that it was no problem to go into the greenhouses. ![]() It looked like a jungle. ![]() ![]() Outside there was a bridge through a bamboo-forest. What will be on the other side? ![]() Wow, they were beautiful! ![]() ![]() A wonderful garden! ![]() We didn’t had to pay an entry fee, so we decided to give a donation. A place like this should be conserved! ![]() ![]() On our way back to the car we saw a lot of these funny umbrellas. Should it be art? ![]() ![]() It was a great day. Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Aug 29, 2015, 5:08 pm |
Hello Dad,
Another hot day! We will visit this beautiful castle today. ![]() Let’s have a look at it. ![]() It had high and wide walls. ![]() This is the emblem of the owners. ![]() Another gate… ![]() ![]() How many gates will we find? ![]() ![]() Ah, we did it. It is really beautiful! ![]() This is the builder of the Castle. ![]() Cool, a big cannon. ![]() It is a wonderful castle! ![]() We need something cold to drink. This garden looked beautiful. ![]() ![]() I like a holiday like this one! ![]() ![]() Until soon Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Sep 4, 2015, 4:51 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we went to Tübingen. The old city is very nice – this is the town hall. ![]() All lanterns were decorated with flowers. This looked great! ![]() ![]() It was too hot for us in the town– we had 32 degrees Celsius. ![]() ![]() ![]() This poet is a famous man in Tübingen. ![]() The Castle of Tübingen ![]() From the alley we had a beautiful view over the old city. ![]() These wooden boats are called „Stocherkähne“. You can use it in very flat waters. ![]() The small yellow tower is the „Hölderlinturm“. The poet Hölderlin lived here. ![]() We didn’t know why the bags were here – the water was really low. ![]() ![]() Tübingen is a really beautiful town! ![]() Many Greetings Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Sep 9, 2015, 5:18 pm |
Hello Dad,
How exciting! We will go into a flowstone cave! Hopefully it won’t be to dark, because we want to take photos! ![]() These stones were very impressive. ![]() I especially loved this hall. It looks so mystic. ![]() ![]() Another wonderful stone! ![]() This was the biggest flowstone of the cave. It’s height was 5 meters. Unfortunately it was sawed, because someone wanted to decorate his castle with it. ![]() ![]() We didn’t have many photos, but the Cave was amazing. And it was a great refreshment to have 9 degrees in contrast to more than 30 degrees outside. ![]() Love Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Sep 13, 2015, 2:20 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we wanted to see a fall. It should be near to Bad Urach. ![]() We walked along this beautiful river. ![]() Will this be the fall? ![]() ![]() There was the fall! We wanted to go near to it. ![]() On our way to it we saw these great roots of a tree. ![]() ![]() ![]() We found the fall! ![]() ![]() It was so beautiful! ![]() ![]() Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Sep 18, 2015, 4:54 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we visited a famous zoo – the „Wilhelma“ in Stuttgart. Surely it was hot again ![]() ![]() The fishes were not fussed about the heat. ![]() The zoo is famous for its plants, too. ![]() This greenhouse was full of fuchsias – and all bloomed. ![]() The garden was beautiful, too. ![]() There was a big pond with water lilies. ![]() This bear loved to be in the water. He was a big brother of Ole. ![]() ![]() These guys didn’t have problems with the heat, too. ![]() And then this! They remember me of Stoker! What a pity that he is not with us at the moment. They looked marvellous! ![]() ![]() What a wonderful day! Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Sep 20, 2015, 3:15 pm |
Hello Dad,
…another hot day – and for a change – another castle… ![]() ![]() It looked beautiful! ![]() This castle had only one gate. ![]() ![]() The houses in the courtyard looked great! ![]() ![]() This was the tower of the Castle. ![]() There were some small buildings in the wall. ![]() ![]() This Castle could be out of a fairy tale. ![]() ![]() I would love to live here – it suited me – didn’t it? ![]() ![]() Until soon Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Sep 25, 2015, 4:30 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we visited a nice small town. The market place was very beautiful. ![]() There were half-framed houses everywhere. ![]() ![]() This church is famous. It is called the „Glucke vom Gäu“ and it slides every year 1 mm in direction to the market place. ![]() ![]() A beautiful church… ![]() ![]() … with a beautiful sundial. ![]() In the church was a museum for church bells. This was the biggest bell with a weight of more than 6 tons. ![]() ![]() On the way back we met this funny bird. ![]() ![]() A really nice small town! Greetings Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Sep 27, 2015, 4:35 pm |
Hello Dad,
Unbelievable. It rained ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The small graveyard of the abbey. ![]() The steeple of the abbey – really beautiful, too… ![]() The courtyard of the abbey: ![]() A wonderful well ![]() …and the “Green Tower” – it is called green tower, because its roof is green. But you cannot see it on the photo that good. ![]() Unfortunately we weren’t allowed to visit this beautiful garden. ![]() ![]() Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Oct 2, 2015, 3:18 pm |
Hello Dad,
Our last trip of our holiday. ![]() ![]() Unfortunately this church was closed, but we liked the courtyard. ![]() We needed a photo with this friendly man. ![]() I loved this old wooden bridge. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The Danube valley is really beautiful. ![]() What a wonderful view! ![]() ![]() ![]() On our way back we visited the Castle Sigmaringen. ![]() There were no photos allowed from this point. What a pity! ![]() ![]() It was a wonderful holiday. Unfortunately we have to go home tomorrow… Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Oct 11, 2015, 5:10 pm |
Hello Dad,
It was time to say good-bye to Ole. We had a great time together. We drank a yummy farewell-beer. ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Very delicious! ![]() ![]() Then it was the moment to leave. ![]() ![]() We wish him a fast and safe trip. ![]() Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Oct 13, 2015, 5:40 pm |
Hello Dad,
Will we find mushrooms today? It was very dry. ![]() ![]() Look at this – someone cut these wonderful Rooting Boletes and let it in the forest. What a shame – and they didn’t look like King Boletes. ![]() ![]() Then we found a King Bolete – but a really small one… ![]() These mushrooms were eatable, but we had our baskets at home. ![]() Unbelievable, another small King Bolete – we should have taken our baskets with us! ![]() ![]() Wow, this was tall! ![]() ![]() This mushroom is very rare: A Tiered Tooth Fungus ![]() It smells like anise! ![]() There exist mushrooms, which look like flowers. Beautiful! ![]() And another King bolete. Fortunately Holgi brought the mushrooms home for us! ![]() ![]() There were many of it!! ![]() All were dried! ![]() Until soon Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Oct 18, 2015, 1:30 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we didn’t want to pick mushrooms in the forest. But we want to show you rare, funny and poisonous mushrooms. ![]() ![]() This mushroom is very rare in Germany. Unfortunately I didn’t know the English name. ![]() This one is very very poisonous. 4 people in Lower-Saxony died of it this year. ![]() ![]() And look at these! Weren’t they beautiful? They look like corals in the sea – and this is their name. ![]() ![]() Ok, these animals cannot be dangerous for us TVs. ![]() ![]() And have a look at these mushrooms. They look funny, don’t they? Black Trumpets ![]() Another poisonous mushroom – but fortunately it is rare ![]() ![]() Beautiful, too! These Hedgehog mushrooms have stings on the bottom side. Can you see it? ![]() These mushrooms are very small. But they will be 20 cm high. Their name is „Herkuleskeulen” (Pestle-shaped Corals) – funny name, isn’t it? ![]() And we found stars in the forest. I love these mushrooms! ![]() ![]() This is my famous mushroom – when it is raining. ![]() ![]() Hopefully you liked the mushrooms. I love the different shapes and colours. Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Oct 23, 2015, 4:00 pm |
Hello Dad,
It was Murph’s birthday today. Stoker and I sang a wonderful song for him. ![]() ![]() He blew out the candles. ![]() Our present for Murph ! Perfume! ![]() ![]() ![]() It smelt well! ![]() Now it is time for party. With delicious Pizza and Wine. Surely Pilzmurphy celebrated with us! ![]() ![]() It is yummy! We laughed a lot, ate and drank. ![]() ![]() ![]() Oups, the glasses were empty! ![]() ![]() But we had more! ![]() What a wonderful party! ![]() ![]() But now it was time to go into the bed. Good night! ![]() ![]() Yours Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Oct 24, 2015, 3:36 pm |
Hello Dad,
Today we took a trip to a great lake! ![]() It looked wonderful! ![]() ![]() ![]() Certainly we found mushrooms. ![]() ![]() ![]() There were many beautiful places here. ![]() Everybody knows this mushroom. ![]() ![]() The leaves went colourful. ![]() More mushrooms… ![]() ![]() At the end I sat on the beach and relaxed. ![]() ![]() What a wonderful day at the lake! ![]() ![]() Greetings Landroval |
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HoBi Posted Oct 24, 2015, 3:41 pm |
Hello Dad,
We went into the forest really early today. We searched a beautiful launch pad. ![]() Freya and I will fly to our next hosts. This place looked great! ![]() A last hug! ![]() Let’s go! ![]() Hopefully we will arrive fast and safe! Sigfrido, I'm coming! ![]() Landroval |
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smaug Posted Nov 3, 2015, 3:24 am |
Hi,
Today I landed back in Bonn ![]() ![]() Since no one seemed to be around I called out and my friend Sigfrido came around too see what was happening with some of his friends. ![]() He gave me a big hug to welcome me back ![]() ![]() He was very impressed when I flashed the presents that I carried with me ![]() ![]() I was curious as to why he was wearing a scarf on such a lovely day (Finn moose are not known to be easily prone to sore throats or cold ![]() ![]() ![]() We decided that there was too much to talk about to do that on an empty stomach ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 5, 2016, 9:59 pm |
Hi,
This week I went with Sigfrido to Lyon for work ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Anyway, unfazed by the risk of getting rained on ![]() ![]() ![]() We soon reached the city centre, where we got a glimpse of the Opéra Nouvel… ![]() …and of the Hotel de Ville ![]() ![]() Alas, it was soon time to go to the airport where, at least, we got some refreshments ![]() ![]() …before boarding the plane… ![]() …and enjoying a nice view of the sunset in the air ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 6, 2016, 3:41 am |
Hi,
Today Sigfrido announced that it was, at last, time to get some holidays ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 18, 2016, 2:30 am |
Hi,
Merry Christmas ![]() Tonight we are celebrating Christmas Eve ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 18, 2016, 2:40 am |
Hi,
Today we are heading to the airport to fly to Canada, so this morning we said goodbye to Tatanka and Sigfrido who will stay in Europe ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 18, 2016, 3:01 am |
Hi,
We have quite a long connection in Frankfurt, but luckily we managed to convince smaug to get a few supplies that will help making the wait less boring ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 24, 2016, 1:11 am |
Hi,
Happy New Year ![]() We are a still bit too tired and jet-lagged to engage in big celebrations, but at least we still have some of the tasty supplies we grabbed yesterday at the airport ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 24, 2016, 1:33 am |
Hi,
After a few days of "funny" weather, today it was beautifully sunny, so we headed to the mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Nevertheless, smaug said that we were all going to be fine. So after a bit walking we found a nice spot to peek at the landscape from between the trees. ![]() Later we found an even nicer viewpoint ![]() ![]() ![]() At that point the cold related distress in our little gang of guests reached its limit so we headed back to the car and eventually home where they could thaw out ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 24, 2016, 2:06 am |
Hi,
Today it was time to say goodbye to all my friends here in Calgary and get ready to travel to a new host ![]() ![]() ![]() As always, before I left sammino gave me a big hug and wished me a safe journey ![]() ![]() |
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cocoaby Posted Jan 30, 2016, 12:48 pm |
Konnichiwa!(Hello!)
I have arrived in Japan! It's getting late. See you soon. ![]() |
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cocoaby Posted Feb 13, 2016, 11:51 pm |
Hello!
It's sunny day! We went to Tokyo. It takes about an hour from Yokosuka to Tokyo by train. Tokyo is Japan's capital, It is also one of Japan's 47 prefectures. The population of Tokyo Metropolitan is the largest in the nation and it's about 13,000,000 people. We visit to Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building. It's free observation decks. You can see good panoramic views of Tokyo,It's height of 202 meters. ![]() |
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cocoaby Posted Feb 27, 2016, 5:58 am |
Hi!
It is cloudy. I went to the Miura to see early flowering cherry blossoms called "Kawazu zakura" and nanohana (rape blossoms), it takes 30 minute by train. ![]() |
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cocoaby Posted Mar 19, 2016, 5:38 am |
Hi!
I went to the Jogashima Island park surrounded by the sea. The sea were shining as if it welcome me. You can see habitat of Japanese cormorant, and Jogashima lighthouse. ![]() |
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cocoaby Posted Apr 3, 2016, 12:58 am |
Hi! It's cloudy and cold and little windy.
I visited to Kinugasa shrine in Kinugasa Yama park. Cherry blossoms are now in full bloom here in Yokosuka. ![]() |
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cocoaby Posted May 3, 2016, 10:29 am |
Hi! I took a walk. It's a pleasant today.
![]() |
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cocoaby Posted May 22, 2016, 10:52 am |
Hi!
Today is Constitution Day in Japan. It is national holiday. I went to Mikasa park. |
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cocoaby Posted May 22, 2016, 11:31 am |
Hello!
I went to Hokokuji temple in Kamakura. Kamakura is called historical town. Hokokuji Temple is known for the beautiful small bamboo grove. I like this garden, called Karesansui (dry landscape) which uses no water, but imitates water flow with stones, sand are also designed. And It was so wonderful bamboo forest and drinking Matcha. I had a great time! ![]() |
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cocoaby Posted Jul 10, 2016, 7:05 am |
Hi! We had sushi for lunch. ![]() |
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cocoaby Posted Jul 16, 2016, 8:25 am |
Hi!
Today I have to say goodbye to everyone in Japan. They gave me a big hug and wishing me a safe journey. ![]() |
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cocoaby Posted Jul 16, 2016, 8:26 am |
I have ready back home.
See you soon. Landroval |
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smaug Posted Aug 15, 2016, 3:21 am |
Hi,
It was a long flight, but I have arrived back home in my mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Today, while I was resting a bit and wondering if I should go straight to smaug’s place to see who is around, a couple of friends came down from the sky to greet me ![]() ![]() Catching up with all the news about the Rockies might take some time ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 22, 2016, 2:06 am |
Hi,
Today I decided to eventually go visiting smaug and sammino and was pleased to see that the window was open, obviously I was expected ![]() ![]() There were strange noises coming from the living room ![]() ![]() ![]() Eventually they noticed me and gave me a warm welcome ![]() ![]() ![]() Of course, there was a lot of chatting and storytelling in the evening ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 22, 2016, 3:09 am |
Hi,
Today smaug decided to take us to a lovely trip to the mountains ![]() ![]() ![]() For the first part of the morning we aimed for that lovely grassy col ![]() ![]() …and when we reached it the view improved further. ![]() ![]() Sadly, it looked like the trail was not going to be nice and grassy for much longer ![]() ![]() …and soon we were in the middle of a fairly lunar landscape ![]() ![]() Our destination looked deceiviously close… ![]() …but it was quite some time before smaug eventually carried us to the top, where the view was spectacular ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Of course, true to the summit name, the weather was far from ideal, so smaug decided to quickly retreat down to an elevation where the odds of being smitten be lightning were a bit less discomforting ![]() |
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smaug Posted Sep 5, 2016, 2:12 am |
Hi,
Today we had another day of decent weather so smaug took us again up to the mountains ![]() ![]() On the other hand, we had a lovely view over Kananaskis Valley ![]() ![]() …and we could see the highway getting smaller and smaller beneath us. ![]() When we reached the ridge we were aiming for... ![]() ...the view over the valley improved ![]() ![]() …and we could also see Kananaskis Lakes in the distance… ![]() …and Mount Evan-Thomas and Mount Packenham right in front of us ![]() ![]() We also found a summit log and we all signed it. Of course you write way more interesting things while getting some sugars in the belly ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Sep 12, 2016, 12:27 am |
Hi,
Today we took advantage of the fair weather and went for a short and quick hike ![]() ![]() …but by the time we reached our destination it was a beautiful sunny morning ![]() ![]() ![]() Recently smaug has been less forgetful than usual about our sugar needs ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Sep 12, 2016, 12:44 am |
Hi,
Today we gathered to say goodbye and wish a safe journey to Arn, who is travelling to Norway ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Oct 13, 2016, 8:52 am |
Hi,
Today I said goodbye to my friends here in Calgary and flew out of the window to my new host ![]() ![]() I quickly checked with sammino the shorter route to my destination which seems to pass almost directly through the North Pole ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Before I left, he gave me a big hug and wished me a safe journey ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Vunder Posted Oct 14, 2016, 2:41 pm |
Hello Dad!
I've reached my destination! ![]() ![]() Take care and keep watching ![]() Landroval ![]() ![]() |
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Vunder Posted Oct 26, 2016, 7:28 pm |
Hi Dad!
Today we went to the local oceanarium. Enjoy some of the pictures ![]() Yours, Landroval ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Vunder Posted Nov 5, 2016, 9:49 pm |
Hello Dad!
My updates go a little late, since there is no snow at these pictures ![]() Here's our walk downtown) The pedestrian Baumana street: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() The Kremlin street and the Kazan University where Galiya apa studied: ![]() ![]() ![]() And then we sat in a cafe and tried the Uzbek cuisine) There was another tv with us by the way! From the Orenburg region) ![]() ![]() I enjoyed the day! I hope you too) Cheers! Landroval |
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Vunder Posted Nov 24, 2016, 6:35 pm |
Hi Dad!
We went to an exhibition of robots this weekend! ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() And that is where we live by the way ![]() ![]() Hugs and kisses!)) Landroval |
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Vunder Posted Dec 19, 2016, 10:07 am |
Hi Dad! ![]() This update is dedicated to the Tatar theatres of Kazan ![]() G.Kamal Tatar State Academic Theatre: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() K.Tinchurin Tatar State Drama and Comedy Theatre: ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Thus, I am enlightening and having a cultural rest here ![]() Yours, Landroval |
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Vunder Posted Jan 6, 2017, 3:05 pm |
Hello Dad!
Today we went to a postcrossing meeting)) It was a big New Year meet-up with a Christmas tree, presents and many postcards of course)) Here is the report))) Started at 13.00 ![]() Met some travellers from Moscow and Arkhangelsk, had a nice chat! ![]() It's getting darker ![]() Finished! ![]() The results: ![]() Out and on our way to the post office: ![]() ![]() ![]() A nice day it was indeed!))) There are some New Year updates to come)) I know, I'm late a little, but we were out of the city and there was no Internet connection there) Take care! Landroval |
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Vunder Posted Jan 6, 2017, 3:13 pm |
Hello Dad!
Today we went to a postcrossing meeting)) It was a big New Year meet-up with a Christmas tree, presents and many postcards of course)) Here is the report ![]() Started at 13.00: ![]() Met some travellers from Moscow and Arkhangelsk, had a nice chat! ![]() It's getting darker ![]() Finished! ![]() The results: ![]() Out and on our way to the post office: ![]() ![]() ![]() A nice day it was indeed!))) ![]() There are some New Year updates to come)) I know I'm late with them, but we were very busy at first and then out of the city with almost no Internet connection there) So wait and see! ![]() Landroval |
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Vunder Posted Jan 14, 2017, 11:24 am |
Hi Dad!
Here is the promised New Year update ![]() We went to the village where Galiya apa's parents have a house) Enjoy ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Wish you all the most cheerful and magical in the New Year!^^ Yours, Landroval |
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Vunder Posted Jan 30, 2017, 8:15 pm |
Hi Dad!
Another belated update ![]() We went to the Kremlin to see a special light show, it was great! And the decorations as well)) Sorry for the bad quality, it was rather cold to make perfect pictures on the phone)) Love you! Landroval ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Vunder Posted May 6, 2017, 7:54 am |
Hi Dad!
How are you there?? ![]() Galiya apa now can't go out much since her son's asthma, it's sping time you know. But! She has found some forgotten photos from winter)) There were several New Year trees around the city with different amusements around them! This one was near the racecourse: ![]() ![]() (can you find a horse here in the upper picture? ![]() ![]() This was the only working fountain in the city! (the temperature is below zero, to remind ![]() ![]() The racecourse's small museum: ![]() ![]() And a great news!!! ![]() As I've said Galiya apa can't go out much now, but a friend of hers takes me to to Saint-Petersburg!!!! ![]() Hugs! Landroval |
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Vunder Posted May 16, 2017, 1:51 pm |
Hi Daddy!
I was in Saint Petersburg and Petergof ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() That was a great trip! Now I'm back to Kazan))) Miss you! Yours, Landroval |
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Vunder Posted May 19, 2017, 8:43 pm |
Dear Dad!
I'm returning back home!!! ![]() I liked my travel so much, I'll tell you everything when I come back!! ![]() I decided to make some of my way by the help of our dear postmen ![]() Hope to see you soon! ![]() Landroval ![]() |
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smaug Posted Aug 21, 2017, 1:06 am |
Hi,
Today we went for a short hike near Calgary ![]() ![]() ![]() …and we got the first glimpse of our destination. ![]() Much later, the view improved… ![]() …and it improved even more from the summit ![]() ![]() ![]() Still those clouds were promising rain, so we didn’t linger and quickly started moving back down the mountain ![]() |
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smaug Posted Nov 6, 2017, 1:11 am |
Hi,
Today we went for another nice trip into the mountains. As usual the approach was tree-covered, but once we reached the crest of Mist Ridge the view was great ![]() ![]() …Mist Mountain to the west… ![]() …more mountains to the east… ![]() …and the Sheep River valley with even more mountains to the north. ![]() Before heading back down into the forest I told sammino that I’m planning to spend some time in the mountains to catch up with my relatives here ![]() ![]() ...so I waved him goodbye and off I went ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 22, 2018, 3:31 am |
Hi,
Today I was scouting my hunting area near Kananaskis Valley when I recognized smaug making his way (very slowly ![]() ![]() I assumed that sammino and his guests were with him ![]() ![]() ![]() After a long wait they eventually appeared and were, of course, quite surprised to see me ![]() ![]() We spent some time and had lunch together ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 29, 2018, 1:27 am |
Hi,
Today I was taking a look around and realised that winter is coming a bit too soon, even for Rockies standards ![]() ![]() I feel it is about to go visit my friend sammino and raid smaug’s pantry ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 29, 2018, 2:13 am |
Hi,
October has been a cold one… ![]() …and I guess my friend Squab decided he is not in the mood to deal with another winter here ![]() ![]() ![]() Given that he seems to be a bit short of exercise ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jan 29, 2018, 2:44 am |
Hi,
It was a long flight but I left Squab safely in Germany and moved south until I found a familiar valley ![]() ![]() I could easily see the balcony I was looking for ![]() ![]() …and found the door open. ![]() It seems I was expected ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 9, 2018, 12:14 am |
Hi,
It seems my waiting was not as long as expected as sammino and his guests eventually arrived today. Of course I strongly stressed that I had to wait a very long time for them to arrive, without giving any specific detail ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 9, 2018, 12:20 am |
Hi,
Our numbers suddenly grew today ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 9, 2018, 12:31 am |
Merry Christmas ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 29, 2018, 2:43 am |
Hi,
Today we got ready to travel back to Canada and said goodbye to Orpheus and Sigfrido who will stay in Europe ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Apr 29, 2018, 3:00 am |
Hi,
Happy new year! We arrived back in Calgary last night, and it’s a bit cold, almost -30C ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 14, 2018, 2:10 am |
Hi,
Happy Easter! ![]() |
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smaug Posted May 28, 2018, 2:51 am |
Hi,
Today smaug came back with an envelope, a very interesting envelope ![]() ![]() As we opened it, a new guest came out, Beppe, a nice beaver from Italy ![]() ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jul 9, 2018, 1:15 am |
Hi,
Guess what? smaug has decided for once not to be lazy and took us out for a little hike ![]() ![]() ![]() …and once we reached the summit the view was great ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() Of course, such a nice day was also a bit windy, so we had no time to linger and were soon shoved back into the backpack ![]() |
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smaug Posted Jul 9, 2018, 1:33 am |
Hi,
We are going on holiday ![]() ![]() ![]() |