sara.ringham@gmail.com
Posted Jun 25, 2008, 11:24 am
Well, today was my lucky day! I got picked up by my mentor and she didn't pay much for me at all - thinking I was worth quite a bit more than 20 cents... she took me home, cleaned me up and put me with her other toys... the other toys told me all about traveling and how they were traveling toys as well. I begged and begged and finally she agreed to send me onto a host as soon as possible. I'm going to be visiting Russia! Wow! I wonder what I'll get to see... I bet my previous owners never saw me traveling like I'm going to.
I'm very excited, but please take care of me as I'm still scared! I'm sure I'll open up soon enough but in the mean time just understand I may have a few abandonment issues... I'll talk to you soon though mom, and I promise to update as often as I can!
Love, Harold
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Jul 19, 2008, 4:15 pm
Here I'm with my new friends- Elizabeth, Smith, Hedgie, Hector (they are TVs and have come from different countries) and two teddybears -they live with Oksana-my host.
Today I stayed at home because I felt a bit tired after my trip, but tomorrow Oksana promised to take us for a walk
and show us her city. I feel very excited about it!
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Jul 26, 2008, 1:06 pm
And then Oksana took us to her favourite park. Look how many yellow leaves there! And it's only July in Novosibirsk,
but looks like it's autumn:
There are two fountains in that park, but they both didn't work
Maybe because the day was rainy..
This one-with a bear is my favourite
I'm on the fur-tree:
Do you like lilies? I like them very much! They are very beautiful!
And here is our company on the stone heart. It's a stone monument in the Pervomaysky garden. Some years ago there was a festival of stone sculptures and this heart was one of the works. At first it was clean- without these writings, but then young people wrote there their works of love
What a strange fish! It's near the cafe called "Aquarium":
I'm with a lady with a fan:
One more monument:
The building behind us is the Novosibirsk concert hall:
The old State emblem of Russia:
The sculptures of storks- the symbol of love and family:
The St. Nichola's Chapel:
Some new monument with the sables:
The Great Patriotic War's monument:
A sculpture of a girl with a cat:
The local museum:
Look I've found a palm in Novosibirsk!
The Lenin's monument on the Lenin's Square:
The House of Opera and Ballet:
We had a long a interesing stroll, so we felt very hungry and Oksana took us in the cafe
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Jul 26, 2008, 5:12 pm
This locomotive is situated near one of Novosibirsk's
universities:
Some monument:
The funny scultpure of a yard-keeper:
A funny wooden man in one of the yards:
What a lovely lady!
In fact there are 3 ladies:
Near the cinema-house:
Some old yards- rather old, dilapidated perhaps, but very cozy:
The house of Alice (from the fairy-tale):
Some monument to people who died during the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945:
The sculpture of a poet:
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Jul 30, 2008, 4:18 pm
Also some exhibition of embroidery:
I really can't imagine how people can make that beauty!
And finally we saw this wonderful old Russian town made of wood. I was impressed very much!
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 2, 2008, 4:35 am
today we've had total solar eclipse in Novosibirsk! It was great!!!
The eclipse started at 16:41, in about an hour it reached the full phase, the full phase lasted about 2 minutes. It was dark almost like at night. We could see the stars! And then the sun started to appear again.
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 2, 2008, 1:12 pm
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 8, 2008, 4:54 pm
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 12, 2008, 5:47 pm
Here I'm in the Garden near river Tom.
And here we are at the Tomsk State University- also a very old one and very beautiful too!
It is surrounded by a beautiful garden. We saw squirrels there!
And we found two stone ancient idols that were brought from Altai:
Look what a lovely sculpture of a cabbage and a baby! Small children in Russia think that they were found in a cabbage or were brought by a stork
) This sculpture stands near the maternity hospital.
The main street of Tomsk- Lenin's prospect:
On the embankment:
We saw a kite there!
And there were so-o many weddings there
The emblem of Tomsk:
The Tomsk drama theatre:
The funny monument to the famouse Russian writer- Anton Pavlovich Chechov:
We found a very old chemistry in Tomsk. It was build in the 19th century.
The monument to St. Tatiana who protects studends and helps them in their studies:
We enjoyed our trip very much! What a pitty that we had only one day in Tomsk!
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 15, 2008, 5:53 pm
This one is the sculpture of the policeman and the first traffic lights in Novosibirsk. Doesn't it look funny?
And the second sculpture - the sculpture of storks:
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 15, 2008, 6:01 pm
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 18, 2008, 5:47 pm
In the zoo we could see many animals like deers, monkeys, tigers and lions, leopards, different bears, etc. The Zoo is very big and it's situated in the pine forrest.
And this ligr was born from a tiger and a lion. It's a girl and she lives in a cage with a lion.
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 18, 2008, 6:33 pm
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 24, 2008, 1:56 pm
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Aug 24, 2008, 2:14 pm
It was a great show! We could see many planes there, helicopters and parashutists!
oksanashevtsova77@gmail.com
Posted Sep 1, 2008, 3:44 am
Bye, my friends! Hope we will meet again some day!
Posted Oct 11, 2008, 12:06 pm
Posted Oct 13, 2008, 12:40 pm
Posted Oct 18, 2008, 11:08 am
Posted Oct 30, 2008, 8:31 pm
Posted Nov 20, 2008, 8:41 pm
Posted Dec 11, 2008, 3:11 pm
Posted Dec 11, 2008, 3:17 pm
Posted Dec 26, 2008, 2:39 pm
today I arrived in Hameln. It was a long journey, but finally I'm here. I was also excited to see other toyvoyagers here and I was welcomed by Chris the Cat, Peti and Mumu.
Posted Dec 26, 2008, 2:43 pm
and here we are with our result of decorating the christmas tree:
Posted Dec 26, 2008, 3:00 pm
and later we made a walk through Wasserstraße before the Santa Clause arrived. My hosts son Fynn (who is 6 years) was so excited. The Santa Clause brought him a lot of toys and books.
Sadly we have no pics with us.
Posted Dec 26, 2008, 3:14 pm
Back in Hameln we are here we helped to put the presents under the tree:
and we also found some presents which Santa left here for some friends of my host (who'll visit them for the next week):
now we are playing with Fynn
he got a lot of playmobil and we are playing it with him:
and we played with Fridolin (a new cuddle toy of Fynn):
Posted Jan 2, 2009, 2:43 pm
yesterday we were at the "In Extremo" concert in Hannover. It was really great. But we didn't made any pics.
Yesterday also some friends of my host family arrived and we made a little trip to the castel Polle (built 1285). It is also called the castle of Cinderella. Here are we with some pics with it:
the view from the castle ruin:
it is the view on the "Weserbergland". The river is called "Weser"..
we are driving to the next castle:
Castle "Hämelschenburg".. It is a castle of the "Weserrenaissance", a stil of the buildings in this area.
theres a pyramid in the back:
the lake in front of the castle was frozen, it is very cold here in the moment.
and we also saw some geese:
Posted Jan 2, 2009, 3:25 pm
A statue of the Pied Piper:
at the right you can see me with the Museum of Hameln and left the “Stiftsherrenhaus”
The “Hochzeitshaus”, there is a police in and the register office:
a map for blind people, also with the legend on it:
The Münster (a church)
some more old buildings:
The “Rattenfängerhaus” with oldest type of the legend (of 1284) at the wall:
Posted Jan 2, 2009, 3:38 pm
we made the preperations for the party:
the raclette:
and we watched "Dinner for one", it is always shown on tv on New Years Eve in Germany:
we drank a bowle:
and at 0:00 we had sparkler:
and we also had table fireworks:
and these are we at an later hour (ups, drunken too much beer):
Posted Jan 8, 2009, 6:27 pm
You won't believe it, but in Hameln it is really cold outside. We have -15°C at night and it was -10°C at the day.. it is the coldest winter since 20 years my host mum said.. but it also snowed, so we went sledging.
it is the last day for chris here in Hameln and tomorrow he'll leave for England, but we enjoyed our day:
Posted Jan 27, 2009, 10:20 am
She wants to see rats in Hameln. It must be great to see a town full of his relatives.
Posted Jan 27, 2009, 10:27 am
Posted Jan 27, 2009, 10:44 am
Here I am with the big map and the postcrossing cards in the living in room:
I also found a card from Australia:
Then we found all the crystals which my host mum collects, they should help with different health problems:
And we didn't know what we should watch, Mumu wanted to see a Horror movie, Peti wanted to see Gilmore girls, Dottie wanted to see LotR and I wanted to see Star Trek:
so we decided to play a game, but there where so many games again, that we didn't know which we should take, it seems our host mum is board game addict:
so we looked for a book:
and the we read all our own books, I took a crime book of Minette Walters:
And later we thought of making decos, those are little booklets which are sent through the world:
This is a full booklet:
And here we are decorating one:
It was a nice weekend finally as we had a lot to do..
Posted Feb 13, 2009, 7:00 pm
I arrived at my new host's home today. I travelled with Peti so the journey was not so boring.
It's snowing here. After a warm welcome from my host Katja and many ToyVoyagers we all were sitting in the kitchen window to look outside.
In the afternoon I helped two ToyVoyagers from Australia, Womat and Elston, to bake lamingtons. They are Elston's farewell dinner, he is leaving tomorrow. So I arrived just in time!
We even made the sponge cake,
Here it is before going into the oven.
Half an hour later is was ready.
Than it had to be taken from the baking tray to cool down.
The waiting time was sweetened by a glass of sparkling wine.
Here is our sponge cake, already cut into squares.
We prepared the chocolate icing ...
... and the dessicated coconut. Then we dipped the cake squares into the icing and rolled it in the coconut.
Doesn't they look fantastic?
Now the whole kitchen is a mess but all ToyVoyagers are happy.
I hope we don't have to clean up the kitchen
Bye
Harold
Posted Feb 14, 2009, 11:24 pm
today the weather was sunny and of course we wanted to go outside. Katja wanted to meet a friend who is living in one of the other districts of Remscheid, in Luettringhausen.
Luettringhausen is a really old district, with a lot of woodland around. We went there by bus. We went to the bus station in front of the central train station. On the next photo we already reached it.
This is the bus station, in the background you can see the building site of the new central station.
The next photo is showing the town hall of Luettringhausen.
Katja's friend was already outside with the family dog, Pepe. Pepe is a four month old puppy.
We took a walk in the forrest.
When we came home we played in the garden. They have a hanging basket-chair here!
Sweetsy and Louis built a snow man! Katja got a piece of carrot from the kitchen and soon the snow man was ready.
We were chilled to the bone than and went inside. Katja and her friend already made coffee. They also had sweets for us.
Bye
Harold Giraffe
Posted Feb 16, 2009, 5:46 pm
we took a walk today to the district Hasten and to the outskirts of Remscheid. Hasten is one of the oldest districts of the town, dwellings and mostly old factories close together. This district was not destroyed in World War II, so most of the old houses remained.
What an amazing colour for a pub
Hasten is surrounded by woodland.
We saw a hedge of holly, covered with snow. I liked it very much.
We than went to pick up Katja's friend who wanted to walk with us. She is living in a district close to Hasten, it is called Rath, a housing area with mostly one-family-homes and terraced houses. From here you can see Hasten again, in the background.
From here we went into the forrest. First we had to cross a road in the valley, than we had to walk uphill again.
Katja told us that in summer many horses are grazing on these pastures. In the background you can see the hill with the town centre, unmistable the silhouette with the water tower and the tower of the town hall.
We were walking along the border of the neighbour town Wuppertal. Hidden in the forrest are a few more small hamlets like this.
We had so much fun in the snow!
On the way back it started to snow again. Can you see it?
Back home we all had to sit on the heating because our bums were wet
Bye
Harold
Posted Feb 20, 2009, 1:10 pm
we had a party tonight!
Do you know why?
Theodore is Voyager of the week, so he had a reason to celebrate. Fluffytail and Louis even made a medal for him.
We had delicious food: cheese, olives, tiny tomatoes, sweet pepper and nachos with cheese dip.
I shared a delicious fruit juice with Peti.
Maybe I will also become VOTW. Than I'll throw a party, too.
Bye
Posted Feb 24, 2009, 7:35 pm
we visited the carnival procession in Lennep today. Lennep is one of the oldest districts of Remscheid. Katja's partens are living here and it's the only carnival processioin in town.
It is helt for about 30 years on Carnival Monday. There were about 25 floats and marching bands.
First we went to Katja's parents. They are living in the seventh floor, the top floor, of a multi-storey building in Lennep. From here you can overlook the whole old town. Many of those old houses are older than 250 years.
The carnival procession started on a fairground and made its way through the town. It came around the street where Katja's parents are living, so we only had to go down to the street to see it.
It was a rather small procession. In other regions of Germany, in Cologne, Duesseldorf and many parts more in the south of Germany, hell is breaking loose at carnival time, from Thursday, called „Altweiber“ (insuffiently translated to Woman's Carnival Day) until Tuesday. Almost nobody is working than, schools are closed and the almost complete population is celebrating and drinking gallons of beer.
Still waiting for the procession ...
They were coming than!
This is a childrens marching band, the youngest seemed not to be older than six years.
They were throwing sweets into the crowd, that's tradition.
We collected some sweets and had a lot of fun.
Bye
Harold
Posted Feb 25, 2009, 7:26 pm
we went to the post office today to buy stamps. We walked along the shopping street, the pedestrian area, to get there.
Katja showed us a fountain in the vicinity of the post office. She told us that mostly children love this fountain because there are many funny things integrated. Some parts are rotating than with the flowing water, some parts are salivating water into different directions and there are sounds caused by the water.
From here we walked into the direction of the central train station to walk along the route of tools.
But where is the train station?
Oh dear, this building site is the central train station, or better, it will be there in about half a year.
Here we are at the entrance to the route of tools, which is a lane for pedestrians and cyclists through the town, made on a closed railway route. It was financed by many local industrial firms, most of them they produce tools. Along the lane you can find signs of those producers, also artwork made of tools or parts of them. The closer you are to the central station the more industrial areas you have, some still working, other only ruins.
Katja forgot to change the camera settings from "close" to the normal setting, so the backdrops of the following photos are a little bit blurred (while I am looking especially sharp and pretty
).
In summer you can sit here to rest for a while.
Here you can see some of the signs of the sponsoring companies.
This bench is made of the axis of an old water wheel and an original sleeper.
This is part of the former slaughterhouse. This complex is under preservation order. Nowadays these buildings are used by different companies.
Here we are close to our home again. Nom ore ruins but pretty old houses and a church.
Opposite of the church you can find a playground. Nobody is playing outside, maybe because it's lunch time.
Enough for today!
Bye
Harold
Posted Feb 25, 2009, 7:30 pm
Katja showed me the town hall today, there's a pillar in front of it, showing a lion which is the heraldic animal of Remscheid.
This picture was taken on our way home, not too far from where we are living.
Bye
Harold
Posted Mar 5, 2009, 6:39 pm
we had to walk to the post office today. Fluffytail and Kelly Bear were leaving today.
We did not walk to the post office in the town centre but to the post office in the district Hasten. So Katja could show us more
of the route of tools.
We started exactly where we left the route of tools last week.
Here are more of those rusty looking signs, this one showing the city arms.
Here you can see wrench patters, stamped into the tarmac of the lane.
This is a bench, made of a giant screw clamp.
You can also see patters showing tools on the ground.
On the right side you can see a kindergarten. It is called "Villa Kunterbunt" (Villa Villekulla). Do you know Pippi Longstocking?
We than accompanied Kelly and Fluffytail to the post office and walked back to the town centre through the muncipal park. They have several sports facilities here in the park.
The next photo was taken in the vicinity of my current home.
Bye
Harold
Posted Mar 13, 2009, 8:32 pm
since Monday we had really lousy weather. It was raining, it was foggy, simply horrible. Today ist was looking much better. Katja had to return some books to the public library, so she took off with me, Peti, Harold and her camera.
Here we are in front of the library.
From here we walked to the central bus station.
Katja decided to show us the district you can see in the left side of the next photo's background. It's situated on a hill like the town centre and is mostly adjoining woodland and green space.
On the path along this road you can find a coal tub. It was a present from Wansbeck, Remscheid's twin town in the U.K.
We reached Hohenhagen than and we took some photos. From here you can see the town centre with the tower of the town hall and the water tower.
They have one-family houses here, multi-family houses and also multistorey buildings.
You can see here that behind those houses there is nothing but grazing land and forrests.
Can you see the transmission tower in the background? Katja does not know its purpose, maybe for radio or television.
Those houses were built in the 1970s.
We rested in the late afternoon sun for a while. We are now close to the central station, or better, close to what is supposed to be the central station in about half a year. They are building a new one, like Katja told us.
You can see one of the most unattractive parts of the town here, the main traffic junction.
We than walked along the building site of the central station.
We found a dry place for another rest.
Really ugly!
We made it home even without getting too dirty.
Bye
Harold
Posted Mar 23, 2009, 1:32 pm
Posted Mar 23, 2009, 2:18 pm
we're going to Munich tomorrow!
Katja told us that Munich is a wonderful town and that I will go to my nex host, Pandamao, than.
Bye
Harold
Posted Mar 23, 2009, 2:27 pm
we are at Duesseldorf Airport now. We'll fly to Munic at 10:00 a.m.
We are sitting in the plane now.
Harold
Posted Mar 23, 2009, 2:32 pm
we reached a flying attitude of about 27.890 feet. I don't know exactly where we are the moment, somewhere high above Germany, heading to the South.
What a pity that I can only see clouds!
Bye
Harold
Posted Mar 23, 2009, 2:40 pm
we are in Munich now. I will meet my next host soon.
Here we are at Karlsplatz, also called Stachus, in the town centre.
We went to Englischer Garten to meet Pandamao. We met her in the beer garden there.
Pandamao took me and Womy with her.
Bye
Harold
Posted Apr 10, 2009, 9:37 pm
Posted Apr 10, 2009, 9:39 pm
Posted Apr 25, 2009, 10:30 am
Posted Apr 28, 2009, 11:02 pm
today, I arrived safe and sound at Anja's house in Oberursel, close to Frankfurt am Main.
While I was still in my envelope, I heard some squeaky voices shout "Who's that, Anja? Another toy voyager to keep us company? Open it up, open it up!"
"Hold your horses!" an older voice said, "I have to open the envelope gently, don't want to scare the little guy!"
Then the envelope was opened, and I was met by four other TVs - Sweetsy the gingerbread man, Twix the rat, Wusch the frog and Garry the duck:
We all got a snack of Twix bars (Twix the rat's favorite snacks)
and then we told each other stories of our travels until Anja sent us to bed. Aren't we a nice group?
I can't wait to see what adventures await me in the state of Hessen!
Hugs
Harold
Posted Apr 29, 2009, 10:49 pm
Hi Mommy,
this evening, Anja had a friend over, and they opened a bottle of wine. It was Riesling, a nice German white wine, not too dry and not too sweet, and just perfect with a meal or to drink chilled on a warm evening.
The two ladies seemed to enjoy it, so of course, we wanted a sip, too.
Ah, quite tasty!!!
Wow, Mommy, let me tell you, we toy voyagers are not used to alcohol, so when we had finished our small glass, it made us very very tipsy!
So Anja fixed us up with some Alka Seltzer and told us to stay off the booze
Well, let's see about that
After all, we've heard Anja talking about apple wine, a specialty of the German state of Hessen....
Tipsy regards
Harold
Posted May 4, 2009, 8:46 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, Anja went to visit friends for a long weekend (1st of May weekend). The friends live in Gelnhausen, approx. 40 km east of Frankfurt. Anja and her friends visited a medieval fair and market at the Ronneburg, and they took us TVs along.
| Quote: |
| Ronneburg History
Although built about 1230, the castle’s towers, battlements and walls are still intact. Situated on a hilltop, the tall tower makes a landmark seen for miles. The castle is associated with Count Zinzendorf in 1736, founder of the Moravian brotherhood, which later established religious colonies in Pennsylvania and North Carolina. |
The weather was beautiful, the rapeseed was blossoming everywhere, and soon we saw the castle Ronneburg
Anja and her friends scared us poor TVs, threatening to lock us in the stocks
, but then they took us along after all.
There were a lot of booths selling nice things
and of course there was a campfire and food and drink
A lot of people were dressed up in medieval clothes. Some of them looked scary at first, but they were all quite nice!
We wandered around, enjoying the view and the fair and the shows, and of course the ladies did some shopping
I wanted a beautiful dress, too, like many ladies were wearing, but Anja said it would not fit me
After the last show, we went home, but Anja said we would return the next day.
Wow, we were all excited! Because with all the shopping and browsing and enjoying the shows, we had not even been INSIDE the castle yet!
Hugs
Harold
Posted May 4, 2009, 9:28 pm
Hi Mommy,
like Anja promised, she and her friends took us back to the Ronneburg today, because we did so much shopping and browsing and partying yesterday that we did not even get to see the inside of the castle
Of course, we were all eager to see the inside of the castle!
But first, there were other interesting things to see.
Close to the parking lot, there were some people hanggliding. Boah, this would scare the living daylights out of me!!!
Then, in front of the entrance, there was a guy with a "quad", one of these 4-wheel recreational vehicles. This would be more my case, and that is what my furry friends said, too
Anja and her friends were also really interested!
Of course, we got to ride it, too!
Neat!!!!
But now on to the castle!!!
Excited regards
Harold
Posted May 9, 2009, 11:09 am
)
Hi Mommy,
now we finally got to see the inside of the castle! And it was really exciting!
In the castle gate, they sold swords
and tiny toys, just about the size of me
There were some really nice people, all dressed up in medieval clothes
and then we finally got to see all the historical stuff!
An old piece of armor
a smithy
and the smith's tools
a spinning wheel, where you make wool
an old cannon
a perfect fit, isn't it?
The castle yard
and another stocks
the castle kitchen
where we got to taste some spiced wine (delicious!)
some nice furniture and wall hangings
and even a picture of the count!
In the castle, there was even an apothecary's store
and a chapel
We all loved the miniatures of daily life in the middle ages!
and the miniature of the great castle fire of the 17th century
After so much history, we just needed a break!!!
So we wandered in the castle gardens, admiring a peacock
doing some more shopping
and meeting beautiful ladies in self made costumes
who even did a dance for us! Well, not for us alone... but we enjoyed it very much!
On the way back to the car, we even saw an old wooden trailer
Wow, what a day!!!
We went straight to bed when we got back! But it sure was worth it!
Hugs and kisses
Harold
Posted May 9, 2009, 11:04 pm
Posted May 9, 2009, 11:21 pm
Posted May 9, 2009, 11:29 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, Anja and her friends went to another medieval market - this time in Oppenheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate.
The first thing we saw was a booth selling gingerbread! Our little friend Sweetsy was in heaven! And - would you believe it - he ate the whole piece of gingerbread all by himself!!! Look at the smile on his face!
This was a lovely market, and we saw many nice things:
placques made of stone (Anja bought the dragon that is hanging on the wall)
knights the size of us
and many dragons
Would you believe Anja actually fed me to a dragon????
But thank goodness the dragon was not hungry!
So we could go on to enjoy the sights.
Musicians
a medieval tent city where many people actually stayed the weekend
a demonstration of the weapons of the time
a lady playing the harp
a shield with nordic writing
and a suit of chainmail. Would you believe such a suit of chainmail consists of about 36.000 rings??? And it takes one person two weeks to make, if he has lots of practice.
Then we had some nice food. Stuffed pork roast with garlic sauce, a salad and a roll - and a drink called "Radler", which is a mixture of beer and Sprite. Quite tasty!
Later on, it started to rain, so we all had to stay in Anja's rucksack. This was nice and dry, but of course we could not see anything...
What a lovely day!
Hugs
Harold
Posted May 10, 2009, 7:50 pm
Posted May 10, 2009, 8:04 pm
Posted May 10, 2009, 8:21 pm
Posted May 15, 2009, 9:31 pm
Hi Mommy,
today was beautiful sunshine, and we all spent the day on Anja's balcony, enjoying the lovely weather.
This is the view from the kitchen window
and this is the view from the balcony on a lovely spring day
You can see the Messeturm (exhibition tower) of the skyline of Frankfurt in the distance.
Now, can you find the Messeturm on the picture above the one taken with the zoom? Hint: you need very good eyes, and you have to remember the two tall buildings...
Here we are enjoying a snack on the lawn chair
and poking our nose into Anja's book
Anja said she felt like a real "daughter of the sun" enjoying a rest on the lawnchair with her book. But she would not let us take any pictures of her....
Sunny regards
Harold
Posted May 15, 2009, 10:16 pm
Hi Mommy,
Anja said that Twix, her very first Toy Voyager guest, would soon travel to Maelle in Belgium, so we all threw a going away party for him.
Anja got us some real Hessian and Southern German specialties for the party:
Apple wine, the Hessian special drink and Laugenbrötchen (lye rolls).
OK, lye rolls sounds disgusting, and the dough is really dipped in food-grade lye, but these are really really tasty!
Lye Pretzel recipe
| Quote: |
| Two stories about the lye bath, told by Peter Mangold, have one thing in common, that the lye dunking was accidental, but the results were so good that the innovation became commonplace. One story is that the bakery's cat knocked them into a vat and there was no time to make a new batch, another story claims that the lye water was mistaken for sugar water and brushed onto the pretzels. |
Source
However that may be, once the rolls or pretzels are baked, they are safe to eat, and they are delicious.
Of course, the apple wine was tasty, too
After our dinner, we had a big surprise for Twix. We had bought him a piece of strawberry cake!
Being a nice guy, he insisted on sharing it with us
What a lovely party!
Hugs
Harold
Posted May 27, 2009, 10:21 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, a new toy voyager arrived at Anja's house: Terry the Tiger!
What a bit guy!!! We were a little scared of him at first, but he told us he does not eat other TV's.
What a relief! I did not survive the dragons to be eaten by a tiger!
Here we are all together:
myself, Wusch, Terry, Garry and Sweetsy (from left to right)
And then it was time for Garry and Wusch to leave Germany. Anja says they are going to Hong Kong next! WOW!!!!!
So we waved goodbye to them and wished them a good journey and lots of exciting adventures
Hong Kong, wow!
But I bet it won't be boring at Anja's place, either.
Hugs
Harold
Oh, Anja says she will make some updates later, because there are still some adventures to tell
Posted May 27, 2009, 10:55 pm
Hi Mommy,
tooday, Anja took us on a trip around the world!
First, we took the S-Bahn (subway) from Oberursel-Stierstadt, where Anja lives.
This is a map of the public transportation system in Frankfurt. Sure looks confusing, don't you think?
We got out at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main train station).
and Anja bought a nice sandwich. Look at all this tasty food!
Then we finally got to see the train, an ICE (Inter City Express). This thing goes over 300 km (160 miles) an hour!!!
Looks like a rocket, don't you think?
It is very nice and comfortable inside
and I shared a seat with the other TVs
When the train started moving, Anja unwrapped her sandwich, and we all had chicken sandwich and coffee
This sure is a nice way to pass the time!
We got a glance of Cologne on the way
Finally, the train stopped, and we all got out.
What the heck was this? We were in China!
We had come to a place called Kota Radja!
It had a very nice city wall
but it was guarded by a terrible dragon, who tried to eat me!
(Will you please tell Anja to stop feeding me to dragons all the time!
)
Thank goodness a nice Buddha rescued me!
And he allowed me to see the city and the beautiful flowers
We even got to play with a lion!
It sure was exciting in China, but I was still a little scared of this hungry dragon, so I didn't mind it when we left.
But then we got out of the frying pan, and into the fire.
Because next we went to India, to the Temple of Rats!
Ooooh, look at the nasty rats guarding the place!!!
They scared the living daylights out of me, but they told me they don't eat TVs. What a relief!
The other rats there were much nicer! We found a band of rats that played music for us
and finally we had fun and played games with some funny rats
What an exciting day!!! All around the world in just one day!!!
.... Well Mommy, I must admit I told a fib: we did not go to China and India at all, but instead to Anja's friend Ratta in Hagen, where we played with Ratta's rat collection and visited a Chinese restaurant
But it was a fun day nevertheless!
Hugs
Harold
Posted May 28, 2009, 9:24 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, Anja received a large package. Inside was the most beautiful castle I have ever seen!
How considerate of Anja!
After taking us to all these nice medieval markets, she buys us a castle of our own!
There was something else in the package too: a toy rat!
Ah well, we'll share our castle with him, it's big enough after all.
But what is this? A REAL rat?
He enters the castle like it's his property - and he starts sniffing us!
And here come two more rats!
My goodness, an invasion of rats!!! Take up the drawbridge and fill the moat with crocodiles!!!
Too late...
Help, the rats have taken over the castle!!!!
They are attacking! They are attacking!
Survived the dragons to be eaten by giant rats! Help!!!
Oooooh, I hear the cavallery in the distance!
And the rats are leaving!!
We are saved!!!
Hurray!!!
...............
"Cavallery, my foot!" Anja laughs.
"I just called my boys to dinner! After all, it is their new castle that you are playing with, so of course they want to take a look!"
What?
Anja keeps giant rats as pets, calls them "my boys" and buys them a castle?
This sure is a weird place you sent me to!
But exciting....
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 1, 2009, 6:26 pm
Hi Mommy,
yesterday, Anja took us to the medieval market in the castle in Kronberg.
| Quote: |
|
Kronberg's Town and Castle Kronberg lies at the foot of the Taunus, flanked in the north and southwest by forests. Also worthy of mention, besides the well preserved, compact Old Town with Kronberg Castle (or Burg Kronberg, with its keep, which is the town's oldest building) from the 13th to 16th centuries, are the Schloss Friedrichshof (a stately home built as a widow's residence for "Empress Frederick" and now home to the Schlosshotel Kronberg), the Recepturhof (Mainz Electorate's administration building), the town park, Saint John's Evangelical Church (Kirche St. Johann, 1440), the "Streitkirche" ("Dispute Church", 1758) and the "Hellhof", a noble seat built by the Kronberg Knights (first mentioned in 1424), nowadays partially converted into a gallery. Since 28 June 1966, Kronberg has been a state-recognized spa town. |
Source
First, we went to pick up Anja's friend Laura, and we smelled the wonderful roses in her garden
Then we drove to Kronberg, which has a lovely old city center with many timber houses
and we soon found signs for the medieval market at the castle Kronberg
Have you noticed Anja's new dress?
She is very proud of it, and - in addition - people in medieval dress get free or discounted access to most medieval markets and fests.
We walked up to the castle, and soon we were there
From the castle walls, you have a beautiful view
This medieval knight was nice enough to have his picture taken with us
and this is "medieval lady" Anja
who had to fix her dress now and then
Within the castle, there was music, songs and medieval dances
and we met the loveliest little princess
and her grandmother (who had made the beautiful dresses herself)
Now, I also wanted a medieval dress! And Anja was glad to oblige
We wandered around the fairground, admiring a tent with weapons of the time
and doing some shopping and window shopping (or rather stall shopping
)
After a wonderful and exciting day, we went home and slept like babies!
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 4, 2009, 9:02 pm
Hi Mommy,
when Anja came home from work today, she brought an envelope with her. Of course, we all crowded around it, from the left: myself, Sweetsy and Terry the Tiger
Inside it was Wieka, a sweet little bat
She brought a lovely picture postcard with baby foxes
Anja has some bats in the house already, so Wieka felt right at home:
Terry showed her a picture postcard of Frankfurt and said that, with two visitors from overseas (myself and Terry), Anja was sure to go into Frankfurt to show us the sights.
Ooooh, I can't wait!
But first we got a train trip coming up.
Tomorrow, Anja will take us on the ICE (Inter City Express) to Hannover, where she will visit a friend. Of course, I am a seasoned traveller on the ICE already, but Terry and Wieka are all excited.
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 10, 2009, 12:11 am
Hi Mommy,
would you believe we met the Rock band KISS and played a concert with them?
Afterwards, we all went to a big party together
I will write a better update about the great weekend we had as soon as I have recovered from all the s** and dr*** and Rock N Roll
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 10, 2009, 6:41 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, Anja took me and her other TV guests on a train trip to Hannover.
Sweetsy and I are seasoned travelers here in Germany, so we did not document the whole train ride, only the nice sandwich that we all shared with Anja
Soon, we arrived at Hannover train station, which looks like a palace
Right in front of the train station, there is a statue of King Ernst August of Hannover, on a horse
This is the favorite meeting point of the people of Hannover. They always meet "unter dem Schwanz" = under the tail (of the horse)
Let's see what adventures I will have tomorrow
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 10, 2009, 8:03 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, we got up early at Anja's friend's house and went to the train station in Hannover, where we met with a lot of nice people - all pet rat owners, like Anja is.
We all boarded a train - and Tamara, Anja's friend, took out a bag of curious snacks: marshmallow mice
Weird, but tasty...
Soon, we arrived at Hameln (Hamelin) train station
and all the rat owners got all excited. What the heck?
Hameln is a beautiful old city with many lovely old timber houses, dating from 1500 A.D. or even before. The city is just celebrating 725 years of existence.
And somehow, this place is full of rats
And funny dressed men with pipes
Look at the age of some of these houses!
Hameln even has an old city wall with towers
Surely a very nice place. But what about all the rats?
After a walk though the city, Anja sat us down to tell us all about it.
..... to be continued
Posted Jun 10, 2009, 8:40 pm
Hi Mommy,
like I said, Anja finally sat us down to tell us the story of the Pied Piper of Hameln (Hamelin):
| Quote: |
|
In 1284, while the town of Hamelin was suffering from a rat infestation, a man dressed in pied appeared, claiming to be a rat-catcher. He promised the townsmen a solution for their problem with the rats. The townsmen in turn promised to pay him for the removal of the rats. The man accepted, and thus played a musical pipe to lure the rats with a song into the Weser River, where all of them drowned. Despite his success, the people reneged on their promise and refused to pay the rat-catcher. The man left the town angrily, but returned some time later, seeking revenge. On Saint John and Paul's day while the inhabitants were in church, he played his pipe yet again, this time attracting the children of Hamelin. One hundred and thirty boys and girls followed him out of the town, where they were lured into a cave and never seen again. Depending on the version, at most two children remained behind (one of whom was lame and could not follow quickly enough, the other one was deaf and followed the other children out of curiosity) who informed the villagers of what had happened when they came out of the church. |
Source
Since that time, Hameln has been called the "Rattenfängerstadt" = literally "rat catcher city" or the city of the Pied Piper.
And references to this story are everywhere in Hameln.
In the "Hochzeitshaus" (wedding house), a lovely old building, there is even a mechanical display that shows this story several times a day.
First the Pied Piper comes out, leading the rats away
Then - after the town people refuse to pay him - he comes and leads the children away
Only the lame child and the blind child are not quick enough, so the mountain closes before they can reach it, and they return home to tell the story (in Anja's memory, it was a blind child, not a deaf child
)
After a long day of walking and seeing all these nice things, we had a surprise coming up in the train on the way home:
A small party of young ladies entered the train, one dressed as an angel and the others dressed as devils. They walked all through the train and sold little items. This was a bachelorette party. What fun!
Well, Mommy, that was Hameln and the story of the Pied Piper. I hope you liked it. I certainly did
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 10, 2009, 9:29 pm
Hi Mommy,
today was a most exciting day!!!
We started out early from Anja's friend Tamara's house in Hannover, driving our own little cars
Would you believe we went to a concert by the rock band KISS
We got to meet all the guys from KISS in person
and they even allowed us to play in concert with them!
Wow, and what a concert that was!!!
After the concert, we were stars, and we were rich, so the first thing I did was to buy a new car
and then we drove my new car to a big party with the guys of KISS
Would you believe we actually went to the Playboy Mansion?
Wow, what a party!!!
I certainly needed some good, strong coffee after that!
Happy regards
Harold, Superstar
... Well, actually, Mommy, I told a fib:
Anja's friend Tamara is a big fan of the States, and of KISS, so all the pictures were taken at her house
But it sure was fun playing superstar...
Posted Jun 11, 2009, 9:58 pm
Hi Mommy,
today is a German holiday, so Anja and her friend Maren went to Miltenberg, Bavaria, to pick up a pet rat for Maren. Of course, we TVs went along. Bavaria, wow!
First we went to see the people who owned the rat.
They lived in a beautiful house with beautiful old furniture.
The lady and her husband painted this lovely old "Bauernschrank" (farmer's cabinet) themselves about 30 years ago
And they have a guardian angel above the door
This is the village of Grossheubach where they live
We left the pet rat with its - now former - owners for a while, because we wanted to go and see Miltenberg.
| Quote: |
| Even as far back as prehistoric and early historical times, people knew about the strategic importance of the strait at the Main “knee” between the Odenwald and the Spessart, building mighty ringwalls on the Greinberg above Miltenberg and on the Bürgstadter Berg (mountains). About AD 155, the Romans laid down the almost dead straight “Forward Limes” on the Main. Near today’s Miltenberg, the Limes came up against the Main, which from here northwards formed the Roman Empire’s natural border with Germania. Remnants of two Roman castra can be found nearby, one between Miltenberg and Bürgstadt (Kastell Miltenberg-Ost) and the other between Miltenberg and Kleinheubach (Altstadtkastell).
Under the preotection of the castle of Mildenburg (built about 1200), the town of Miltenberg took hold. It had its first documentary mention in 1237. By about 1379, the two town towers, the Mainz Gate (Mainzer Tor) and the Würzburg Gate (Würzburger Tor) framed in the west and east today’s Old Town, which grew narrow and long between the river and the steep slope. Already by the Middle Ages, Miltenberg bunter was highly sought-after, with things such as grindstones and columns being hewn in the surrounding woods. Even before 1319, the Spital St. Peter (hospital) was founded by Archbishop Peter of Aspelt. Until 1803, Miltenberg belonged to Electoral Mainz. This is yet manifested in the town’s coat of arms, which bears the Wheel of Mainz as a charge. After the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss, Miltenberg passed to the Principality of Leiningen, with which it was incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1806. After having become part of the Grand Duchy of Hesse-Darmstadt in 1810, the town finally became part of Bavaria in 1816. From Miltenberg come the so-called Heunensäulen, some special sandstone columns meant for use more than a thousand years ago when Mainz Cathedral was being built. The master builder, however, decided that they were unneeded and they never became part of the cathedral. One of them now stands in Mainz’s cathedral square, a gift to the city on the occasion of the cathedral’s thousandth anniversary in 1975. It bears an explanatory plaque. Miltenberg has an historical Old Town featuring many timber-frame houses. In 1912 and 1955, Miltenberg acquired lands over on the Main’s right bank to expand the town. |
Source
And it sure was worth the visit!
This is a patron saint. The people of Bavaria are mostly catholic, and they have Mother Mary and patron saints everywhere.
Look at the date on this lovely old timber house!
This is the pedestrian district of Miltenberg
where we had big fun riding a children's swing
and looking at the lovely toys in the shop windows
This is the restaurant and hotel "Zum Riesen" - the oldest inn in Germany!
While we were window shopping for some booze
("Wildsau-Tropfen" means "wild boar liquor"
)
it started to rain, so we went to a lovely old Bavarian restaurant
and ordered some dark Bavarian beer
and one of Germany's most beloved dishes:
Schnitzel with french fries
Ooooh, that was delicious!!!
After our meal, we admired some nice wooden statues in the restaurant
and then the rain had stopped and we continued our walk
This is the old town hall - first mentioned in records in 1379 -
also showing how high the river Main reached during the floods of 1784 and 1945
What a lovely place Miltenberg is!
We also visited a shop selling wooden statues of all kinds, such as saints and creches
and soon we reached the old market place dating from the late 13th century
One house had a picture of St. Georg and the dragon
and some of the old city wall is still standing
... to be continued...
Posted Jun 17, 2009, 11:07 pm
Hi Mommy,
after seeing the sights, we walked back to the car along the river Main.
Miltenberg is situated on the banks of the river Main, and you have a nice view of the river from the promenade on the river bank.
We saw ducks and swans on the river
and the castle Miltenburg up on the hill
(close-up)
There are also some lovely old houses up on the hill
(close-up)
On the river bank, there is a big stone column, a so called "Heunesäule" (=heune column)
Close to Miltenberg there are several of these large stone columns lying around in the forest (see here: Heunesäulen).
History says there were produced for a church but never used.
The legend goes, however, that when these colums were transported to the construction site of a big church, the waggon broke in the middle of the forest, and the big, heavy columns rolled down the hill and into the forest.
As the people had no means to pick them up, and the columns were for some church official whom nobody liked, anyway, they just left them there.
After a nice walk along the river bank
Anja drove us home on a real German Autobahn
Look at the clouds in the distance!
We sure were happy to get back to Anja's place without rain!
What a nice, exciting day!
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 21, 2009, 11:46 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, Penny Kitten arrived. Wow, she is so tiny!
Being a nice gentleman tiger, Terry immediately promised to protect her.
Here you can see Terry, Wieka the bat and myself welcoming the little lady:
She brought a lovely picture postcard with her
and Anja promised to take us all to some nice places very soon.
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 23, 2009, 11:10 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, Anja took me on another trip to see all the historical stuff she likes so much.
About an hour's drive from Frankfurt, there is the historical town of Glauburg, where people settled and lived already 8000 years ago.
| Quote: |
| On the Glauberg mountain you walk in the footsteps of our ancestors from the Neolithic period to the High Middle Ages.
The Glauberg mountain rises circa 500 feet above the surrounding meadowlands of the Wetterau region. There is a small pond on the almost flat plateau. For several thousand years this mountain with the excellent view was an ideal, secure site for settlements. You find the remains of settlements, ramparts and fortifications from 6000 B.C.E up to the 13th century. In the years around 1990 there was the most spectacular find: The graves of Celtic princes at the foot of the mountain. In the graves jewellery was discovered, household articles and - the almost completely preserved life-sized sandstone statue of a Celtic prince. Around the head the statue wears a wreath of - presumably - mistletoe leaves. Archaeologists interprete the ditches and ramparts around the grave mound as the central holy district of Early Celtic tribes. Since his discovery, the 2500 year old Celtic prince has been travelling. Up to April 2003 you could see him in the extensive archaeological exhibition in the Walter-Gropius Building in Berlin, in May he followed the exhibition to Bonn. Here you could meet him until August 24th, 2003. At the Glauberg mountain you can see a copy of the statue and photographs of the Celtic princes: The museum in the Glauburg village shows finds from the history of the settlement and a photo documentation on the excavation of the Celtic princes' graves from 1994 to 1997. Plan for at least half a day for your tour following the trail and reading the information panels describing the cultural history of the settlement. For visitor groups, the museum in Glauburg offers guided tours in the museum and on the mountain. |
source
Glauburg is a nice old town with many nice old timber houses
The big museum mentioned in the article above is closed for renovation, but inside the town there is a small museum that is housed in an old school house (earliest picture of the building as a school house dating form 1908)
Inside the museum, there is a statue of the Celtic Prince that was excavated near Glauburg
and of many Celtic items that were found during the excavations, starting from 1933 (the excavations, not the items
)
These rocks were used to grind grain into flour
This is what a Celtic city wall looked like
and there were many tools and other i household tems that were found near Glauburg
Some things did not last that long all in one piece, so models of them were reconstructed from the remnants found.
and there were also some other nice old items in the museum
Wow! We certainly felt very, very young when we considered that this place has a history of 8000 years!
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 24, 2009, 12:19 am
Hi Mommy,
when we drove home from Glauburg, we saw the most beautiful farm building!
Anja just had to stop her car and have a look around - and of course, we got to see it, too.
No, this is not a castle. This is really a farm!
Near the main building, there were two lovely old Linden trees, as big as a house
Linden trees blossom in early June, and the smell of the blossoms is unbelievably sweet and lovely
To German people, a Linden tree is the most romantic thing in the world, and this tree also plays a large role in German / Germanic folk lore.
| Quote: |
| In mythology, the linden tree is a symbol of peace, truth and justice. This connection is from Germanic mythology where the linden tree is associated with Freyja, the motherly goddess of truth and love.
According to German folklore, it was not possible to lie while standing under a linden tree. Consequently, Germans often met under linden trees not only to dance and celebrate, but also to hold their judicial proceedings. Christianity later replaced Freyja with the Madonna and rededicated the trees to Mary, the mother of God. |
source
The Linden tree also plays an important role as a symbol for love and peace during the romantic period in German literature and music in the 1800s, and through the ages - up to the time of Anja's grandmother - young people would meet under the big Linden tree in a village / town square to celebrate and dance - and to fall in love
Here is a song about a Linden tree, composed by Franz Schubert in 1827:
Am Brunnen vor dem Tore - song you can listen to
Ooooh, this place was so romantic! If you listen to the old song and look again at the pictures, then you can catch the mood of the place.
Romantic regards
Harold
Posted Jun 26, 2009, 9:30 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, Bree arrived.
Of course we were all curious what Bree would look like, so we all crowded around the envelope: Terry the Tiger, myself, Penny Kitten and Wieka
And here is Bree:
We all enjoyed the nice picture postcard of the island of Sylt that she brought with her
Another giraffe! I was so happy!
We hit it off immediately
and we shared a gummi bear giraffe that Anja had brought home
We immediately told Bree that for the very next day we and Anja plan a trip to the Hessenpark, an open air musum with old farm houses from all over the state of Hessen.
I'm so excited!
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 28, 2009, 1:33 pm
- and a genuine Hessian "Bembel"
Hi Mommy,
today, Anja took us to the Hessenpark.
| Quote: |
|
Hessenpark – founded in 1974 as the central Hessian Open-Air Museum. The Open-Air Museum Hessenpark is a reflection of rural Hesse's of the past. Over 100 buildings – a complete range of farmsteads to day laborer houses – have been reconstructed on 160 acres. As you walk through the Open-Air Museum you are guided through 400 years of Hessian history. The Museum is organized into five groups of buildings, representing the regions they have been relocated from. These groups of buildings are named after the rivers, characterizing that particular landscape. |
source
There was a pottery market in the Hessenpark today, showing and selling all kind of pottery items: traditional items for the kitchen and household and also more modern items for decoration.
This is what an old pottery workplace looks like
and this is still the way pottery is made today
The first stall sold traditional pottery, which is still used in the home by people who like traditional things
These items are.
top: a milk jug
left: a platter
right: a butter dish
and in the middle:
a genuine item that you will find only in the state of Hessen: a "Bembel"
A Bembel is a jug that is used for serving the traditional Hessian drink of apple wine. A Bembel is always grey with blue markings. As the Bembel is made of pottery, the apple wine will stay cool inside it. (And no, you never ever drop ice cubes into apple wine!
)
Traditionally - before the day of refrigerators - apple wine was kept in the cellar, to keep it cool. If you wanted to drink it, you would go to the cellar and fill a Bembel with the apple wine. The drink would then stay cool in the pottery Bembel for quite some time.
Well, if you have some thirsty Hessian people sitting around the table, a small Bemble full of apple wine won't last long, anyway.
That's why Bembels come in different sizes. The very big Bembels served in pubs for large tables full of thirsty people are put into a metal contraption that allows you to tilt the big, heavy Bembel without having to lift it
You see, Hessian people can be quite ingenious when it comes to enjoying their favorite drink
This stall sold many nice traditional things
and the sweet old lady in the stall told us that her father, her husband, her son and even her grandson were all potters.
She showed us some lovely pictures of them at work, making this lovely traditional pottery
Then we went on to look at the other stalls
Look at these kitten faces! You can hang them on the wall and put things into them, like flowers or pencils
Penny thought they were so cute!
There were all kinds of nice decorative things
and - of course
- Anja's favorites again: dragons!
These dragons you can fill with lamp oil, and then they will have flames coming out of their noses
We saw so many cute things!
And then we saw a stall where we had such fun!!!!
.. to be continued....
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 28, 2009, 1:38 pm
Hi Mommy,
as I said, this pottery market had all kinds of items - traditional household items, decorations and all kinds of nice things.
But there was one stall where we had the biggest fun! And the two people working at the stall enjoyed it, too, and they came up with the nicest things for us to do!
They sold some really funny figurines that produce fragrant smoke when you put something fragrant inside.
We had a ball there!
Wheeee!!!
After all that fun, we needed a rest, so we joined this lovely lady on the lawn
By the way, Anja had a ball at the pottery market, too, playing "shop till you drop"
These are all the nice things she bought (some for herself, some as gifts)
By the way, this little guy sitting on the toilet and holding his nose can be used to put fragrance in the bathroom. Put some cotton in the pot behind him (where Penny kitten is sitting), then put a few drops of fragrant oil in it, and then he makes your bathroom smell nice
Oooh, what a lovely day!
Later, I will tell you about the Hessenpark itself and all the lovely timber houses and the nice things from German history that we saw.
But today, I am too tired...
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 29, 2009, 8:21 pm
- 400 years of German history (no, this is not boring!
)
Hi Mommy,
like I said, on Saturday Anja took us to the Hessenpark, an open air museum with original buildings from all over the state of Hessen, showing 400 years of German history, as it was lived in the state of Hessen.
No, this was not, repeat not, boring!
On the contrary, as they say on the homepage of the Hessenpark:
| Quote: |
| Enjoy your trip: You will find yourself in the midst of daily life as it was experienced by our ancestors. You can compare their working methods and lifestyles with our way of life in the 21st Century. |
source
When you get to the Hessenpark, which is located in the lovely wooded area "Taunus", about 10 miles from Frankfurt, there is a large area where you can enjoy things, shop, eat and drink without having to pay the entrance fee.
You start out with a soap shop and soap museum housed in - what else?
- a timber house
They sell homemade soaps and sachets, without any chemical additives.
Ooooh, you wouldn't believe the wonderful smell of that place!!!
Anja bought a sachet that smells like roses
and this is a really old advertisement for the detergent "Persil". The detergent still exists today
The next shop sold brushes - the good old fashioned brushes made of wood and pork bristles, not this new fangled plastic stuff
They even had some old fashioned feather dusters, like you see in really old movies
When you walk on and follow the sign
you get to the "market place"
a pharmacy
a churchbell
a building dated back to 1589, with its gate showing the date of construction
A very interesting building was the "Kolonialwarenladen" (general store). Like the general stores in the American West, these stores sold everything: from sewing needles to sausage, and from ladies' corsets to men's shoes
Advertising signs for Maggi soups. Maggi soups are still sold and eaten today. They are quite tasty, Anja said
We walked on towards the actual entrance of the park
All these things you can see without having to pay entrance fee. You can shop, look at the old buildings, eat and drink. And you have not even entered the actual Hessenpark!
By the way:
These buildings are not replicas.
Instead, they were purchased all over Hessen (many of them in ruins), dismantled, transported to the Hessenpark, and there they were rebuilt from the original parts and restored to look the way they used to look. Using the same materials and techniques that were used in the old days.
Here is a building that is not quite finished, so you can see how it is made: of a wooden frame that is filled with clay mixed with straw
As soon as we got inside the actual park, we needed a rest in another market square
Anja bought some apple wine (yes, the stuff that is traditionally served in a Bembel
)
and we all enjoyed a nice, cool drink
While we were resting, a waggon drawn by real work horses came by
... now, I will rest for a little while, too, before continuing my story...
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jun 29, 2009, 9:16 pm
Hi Mommy,
after resting and drinking the apple wine, we continued our walk inside the Hessenpark.
There were such lovely old buildings, the whole park looked like an old village
We particularly liked this old farm building from 1691 that had belonged to a wealthy farmer. The farm consisted of four buildings forming a square:a wall, the barn, the stable, and the house for the family
We also entered the house
- no, not this little house, tee hee
-
This is the kitchen
and the upper story of the house has an exhibition on making fabrics in old times
flax and hemp
and wool
This is an explanation of how to spin wool
(Sleeping Beauty stung her finger with such a hand spindle and fell into a sleep that lasted 100 years...
)
The people in the villages worked all day long - even in their "free" time they would sit and spin wool.
This is a "spinning room" of old times
The text says that there in such spinning rooms, there was conversation, music and fun. But all while doing work - even in the evenings, when the "day's work" was done.
Spinning wool at all times - along of all the other work - was so prevalent that this painting shows even Mother Mary spinning wool while Joseph and Jesus are doing carpentry work
The finished flax or wool threads were then woven into fabrik at these looms
Embroidery
Farm women worked all day long. For enjoyment and pleasure, they turned to embroidery.
Here are some traditional costumes with lovely embroidery
and more pictures of what the farmers used to look like
and some nice embroidery
Then we went on to the barn
where we saw pictures of people mowing corn
and threshing it
Wow! What a lot of work there is on a farm!!!
This house had a lovely herb garden - herbs were used for medicine before the days of chemistry
And there was also a display of making pottery in the old days
Wow! We had seen so much history that our little feet were tired, and we were hungry and thirsty!
So we all went to a nice country inn to enjoy apple wine and a German specialty: Schnitzel
This is a breaded Schnitzel with pepper sauce and Rösti (potato patties) and a salad. And let me tell you, Mommy, we sure ate it all!
Ooooh, that was so good!
I hope you enjoyed my little trip into German history as much as I did!
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jul 7, 2009, 6:57 pm
Lich, Hessen, Germany
4 and 5 July 09
Day 1 - Saturday, 4 July 2009
Warning:
If you are into Techno or Hip Hop, please do not read this.
If you are into Medieval Markets, you are going to love this
Hi Mommy,
today, Anja and two of her friends dressed up in their medieval clothes and took us to the medieval market in Lich.
First, we got something to drink, because it was a hot and sunny summer day - and we spent the "Taler" coins they had given us as change at the entrance on LICHer beer and Radler (a mixture of beer and Sprite, very tasty!)
With a Radler and a pretzel in our hands, we walked onto the festival grounds
where we found - what else? - dragons
Look! Medieval jewellery!!!
made by this lovely maiden
We did not have much time to look around the festival grounds,
because now the reeve ("Vogt" = kind of lord of the realm) was to give his speech and open the festival for the people of the realm.
He was accompanied by musicians and soldiers
who carried him in a sedan chair
to the other side of the festival grounds
where a stage had been erected for the entertainment of the people
and the merchants who sold their wares at this festival were introduced
Soon, a band began to play
and Anja and her friends visited the stalls of the brewer
the baker, and the butcher
which made them very happy
although you can sure meet some weird people at such a fair, such as this beggar
... I will now take a little rest to enjoy my beer and my food...
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jul 7, 2009, 6:57 pm
Lich, Hessen, Germany
4 and 5 July 09
Day 1 - Saturday, 4 July 2009
Part 2
Hi Mommy,
after we enjoyed our lunch, we went to look at the many kinds of entertainment offered. They sure gave the people "bread and circuses" - oh, sorry, that were the Romans
, but it was also true for this festival.
First, there were some jugglers and jesters
and then, there was jousting among the noble knights who had come from far away to impress the people
Oooh, look at this nasty and dangerous knight!!!
But he sure got his butt kicked
Wow! Now we learned what they meant by "fire and sword"!
Wow!!!
Now we wanted to be knights, too.
And Anja was glad to oblige
After all this excitement, we needed a little rest, so we wandered around the festival ground looking at all the beautiful wares that the merchants offered.
honey and mead
wool
(remember the spindles from the Hessenpark? Here they were, not only on pictures!)
little baby shoes
and all kinds of nice things to eat and drink, to dress up in, to defend yourself, and to make your home look nice
They even had some real animals - look at the horns on these sheep!
Now, Anja laid down her cloak on the meadow, and we all took a little rest - before it was time to PARTY!!!!
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jul 7, 2009, 6:58 pm
Lich, Hessen, Germany
4 and 5 July 09
Day 1 - Saturday, 4 July 2009
Part 3
Time to party!!!
Hi Mommy,
now, after a long and exciting day, the sun was setting in the sky, dusk was breaking, and we.......
Went home and to bed???? Are you crazy??????
No way! Now, it was time to party!!!!
Anja's friends took out a Shisha (water pipe) and filled it with fruit flavored tobacco and some coals. We got ourselves a beer and a small bottle of strawberry liqueur.
By the way, such a bottle is called a "Flachmann" (= "flat man" ) in German, and it fits into jacket and coat pockets, if you are so inclined...
time to fire up the shisha
aaaah, watermelon flavor!!!
(this stuff is more fruit flavoring than actual tobacco)
Good stuff!
It was a warm evening, so our beer evaporated quite quickly
So we went and got some bottles of mead.
The light mead is flavored with Linden blossom honey (remember the Linden tree on the farm? The bees make the most delicious honey from its blossoms!)
and the dark mead is flavored with cherry and elderberry juice
Soon, it got dark, and all the people gathered around the campfires.
Some on their cloaks, some on blankets and some sitting on bales of straw - and all listening to the beautiful music of the medieval bands playing and looking dreamily into the fires
which slowly burned down
while we all were sitting in the dark, warm eveing, talking softly
and listening to the music
Try listening to the music, Mommy, and looking into the fire. Then you will feel the mood of this beautiful evening.
When the fires had burned down, we all went home and slept like babies.
Hugs
Harold
P.S.
This band was not playing there, but this was the kind of music they played at the festival.
Posted Jul 7, 2009, 6:59 pm
Lich, Hessen, Germany
4 and 5 July 09
Day 2 - Sunday, 5 July 2009
Hi Mommy,
we slept in a small hotel in Lich and had a big breakfast on Sunday morning. Then we returned to the festival.
First, we walked by the tents of those who had spent the night in the festival. And they were so kind to allow us to take pictures.
Anja would always ask nicely. "Noble lord and lady" she would say, "would you permit us to make a painting of your beautiful home, for a dear friend across the big water?" - and permission was gladly granted
We met some musicians
and even little red riding hood!
and then we browsed the merchant's stalls again to admire their wares
There was also fun and games
and hitting Thor's hammer
and again, so much to see
Uhm, did I tell you that Anja likes dragons?
While we were wandering around, we met some noble lords and ladies and good citizens in wonderful dress. And they all smiled and gave us permission to make a painting.
Now I need a little rest, Mommy, before another exciting fight!
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jul 7, 2009, 7:00 pm
Lich, Hessen, Germany
4 and 5 July 09
Day 2 - Sunday, 5 July 2009
Part 2
Hi Mommy,
now, it was time for another fight.
Yesterday we had seen the knights jousting. Today, there was a joust by the knaves (who served the knights).
The game was announced by the lord of the realm
assisted by the monk Brother Rictus
Look, the two even posed, just for us!!!
The game is played as follows:
In the middle of the playing field, there is a leather ball that weighs 120 kg (approx 240 pounds), just like a knight in full armor who has fallen off his horse.
There are two teams of knaves. Each team tries to drag the ball past their own goal line, while the other team tries to prevent them from doing so. At the same time, mind you
After this game, it was time for a little snack again
(yes, there be dragons
)
The things that look like meatballs are Falafel, oriental vegetable balls. Very tasty! And we had had more than enough meat the day before...
Then we had some mocha from an oriental booth
and just took it easy today, after all the walking around and partying yesterday
All the adult were lazy, while the children were playing in the straw.
We did take a leasurely walk, however, lazily looking at the stalls and making a purchase here and there.
Look at those gargoyles!
They are sure to scare off evil spirits!
At this booth, Anja "fell in love" - but you'll see
And in case you are wondering, Mommy:
Yes, the people who attend the festival purchase these lovely things - to complete their costume, to use them or to decorate their homes.
Finally, we got tired, and we rode home on a horse
When we got home, Anja unpacked all the lovely things she had bought
remember the dragon with the helmet from yesterday morning?
Well, it has found a new home!
And, like I said, Anja fell in love at the festival - with the most beautiful jewellery you can imagine!
Oh wow, I wish I were a lady, so I could wear this!
Dear Mommy, I hope you enjoyed my tale as much as I enjoyed this wonderful weekend!
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jul 7, 2009, 7:01 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, Wieka left.
She is going to Missouri, to visit Steph.
We all waved goodbye to Wieka, who is all excited about her new adventures.
Hugs
Harold
Posted Jul 17, 2009, 7:29 pm
Hi Mommy,
today, I left for my next host.
I stamped my little feet, because Anja has not even done the update for the medieval market in Büdingen on the last weekend yet, but she said that she has been extremely busy, and she will do this in about a week.
I'm so excited, I am going to Croatia!
Hugs
Penny
Posted Jul 25, 2009, 8:31 pm
This is me sitting in the mail box so I could rest for a while.
This is a tram in Zagreb, Vanja took me for a ride and I liked it! Do you see how the streets are empty, it is very hot and everybody are on holidays.
Then we went back to the house and there I met her dog who was very nice to me. I hope that we will play together every day while I am here!
I was very tired from the trip so I went to sleep very early. Vanja put me in the bed and tucked me in. I was sleeping after 5 minutes
Good night Mom!
Sorry for no writing more because I was very tired. See you soon! Hug!
Posted Aug 2, 2009, 4:05 pm
Today we went for a walk in the city. It was early morning and it wasn't so hot yet.
I love the smell of roses in the morning
This is the main square in Zagreb, it's called Ban Jelacic Square. The square features a large statue of ban Josip Jelačić on a horse, created by Austrian sculptor Anton Dominik Fernkorn. The statue was originally installed on October 19, 1866 by Austrian authorities, despite protests from Zagreb councilmen. It was oriented towards the north, with his sword raised against Hungary, to commemorate his battle against Hungary in the Hungarian Revolution of 1848.
The statue was removed in 1947. as the new Communist government of Yugoslavia denounced Jelačić as an Austrian collaborator.
In 1990, during the break up of Yugoslavia and after 1990. elections in Croatia, and Jelačić's historic role has again been considered positive and the statue was returned to the square but on the north portion facing the south. The name of the square has again been changed to his second name, after Josip Jelačić.
It is called after this statue - Ban Jelacic statue:
Then we took a walk to Zagreb Cathedral on Kaptol, which is probably the most famous building in Zagreb.
My new TV friend Tobbi and I rest for a while on a fountain near the Cathedral.
Look at these beautiful flowers! I wanted to take a nap on them
On the way home, we went to buy some flowers near the main market on the Ban Jelacic square:
At home we eat some cold and yummi watermelon, it was so refreshing because it was so hot.
It wasn't enough for us, so we took some chocolate pudding too. Now we are stuffed.
I want you to know that I'm OK, and that I am having a good time with my friend Tobbi.
Love you mom!
Posted Sep 20, 2009, 11:28 am
We didn't went to the Adriatic sea, instead we went to house in the country. We were there for two weeks. It is near Marija Bistrica in Zagorje.
First when we came we went to see where we would be sleeping:
Then we watched the movie He's Just Not That Into You
Every day we watched Curb your enthusiasm and Larry David. He is a genius! We watched every episode from the season one. It was great!
In the morning when we woke up we met some new friends who live there! A little sheep and the bear... they are so cute!
Then we went in the yard and had a little sunbath.
We watched the plants in the yard...
One day we went for a walk to see how much the neighbor's corn has grown.
And this is a vineyard from our neighbors:
Then we bought new wood for the winter and we had to put them inside so it doesn't get wet. It was a lot of work but we did it! Can't wait to sit in front of the fireplace and watching movies under the blanket!
I had to climb to the bird house to see if any bird is inside. It was empty
We couldn't just rest, we had some work to do too... but we did it in the yard and it wasn't so hard that way!
My friend Tobbi was working with me too!
Then we calculated how much money do we have for the summer and how much we had spent...
Posted Sep 20, 2009, 12:06 pm
We on the way there:
They have chicken that are running around like crazy
And they have a sunflowers! I love them!
They have at least 10 cats and one of them came to meet me:
I wanted to stay here when I saw this beautiful flowers... and sleep on them...
Then we went to Marija Bistrica. Marija Bistrica is municipality in Krapina-Zagorje County in central Croatia, located on the slopes of the Medvednica mountain in Hrvatsko Zagorje, not far away from Zagreb.
Pope John Paul II. proclaimed Cardinal Aloysius Stepinac blessed, 3 October 1998. in Marija Bistrica, when the shrine for the occasion especially regulated and rebuilt.
MARIJA BISTRICA - Pope John Paul II
If you mention the name of Marija Bistrica everybody will first think on the pilgrimages to the miraculous Mother of God in Bistrica. About 800 000 pilgrims come to Marija Bistrica evey year. They all come to seek a spiritual guidance, to make their vows to the Mother of God, to thank her for their granted prayers or just to pay their respect to the Queen of Croats. The sanctuary of the Mother of God in Bistrica has through all the epochs an important central place in the religious life of the Croatian people.
Last day in the country... we said goodbye to the house
Posted Dec 16, 2009, 8:13 pm
today I arrived in Hameln. I swear when I was laying in the post office ... it felt familiar. I have been here 2 times already and spent my last christmas here as well. Funny isnt it? But I feel good here ... its a bit known at least. I think I am ready to settle for Christmas here.
Luckily I have a friend here, Little, she was right there when I crawled off the envelope. Vanja put a postcard for Annika into the envelope. Very nice :-)
As it was Annis birthday on Sunday she got a parcel from her friend in Austria and Little and I got to help to unwrap it.
As I was pretty tired from the journey I just decided to sit on the sofa for the rest of the evening. Anni already told me and Little that we are going shopping on Saturday. And then we go to the christmas market and walk around town a bit. I know some areas in Hameln already but Little has never been here. So I guess I can show off with my knowledge
Anni got a telescope for her birthday and I had to check it out. I was tired and wanted to sit on the sofa but then I saw this thing and was curious so I had to check the stars ...
SO NICE!
But now I am off to my couch bed,
ttyl mum,
Harold
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Posted Dec 19, 2009, 5:19 pm
it is mad cold here in Hameln. We had -20°C at night and during the day it was still -13°C sooooo cold.
I had to walk around outside a lot today and my feet are still kinda frozen. Here is what we did:
First when we got up we watched the snow outside ... amazingly beautiful!
Then we went to the river Weser to have a look there.
Then Anni took Little and me to the christmas market to eat some German Bratwurst. That was good ... and we had some Glühwein as well. That is hot red wine
Then we went to the new shopping center in town to get warm again. It was not so busy there as the cold kept many people from going out today.
On our way home we stopped at the river again and took some more pics!
And now we are finally back upstairs in the WARM appartment! Yesterday Anni and Mario decorated their tree. Here I had a look:
Haha and you know what I just did .... walked out on the balcony to have a lil snow fight with Little. She is used to the snow though as she is from Russia. We made snow angels
Can ya see?
I'll catch you later mummy, we are going to chill in the warmth ( haha) now!
yours,
Harold
Posted Dec 22, 2009, 8:30 pm
today we were building a little snowman. That was buckets of fun. It was one of my new friends Littles life missions and I was happy to help her achieving it. Here, have a look at the lovely little snowman
hopefully he will survive for a little longer as the snow starts melting here.
After playing in the snow we went back in and played Mariokart on the Wii. That was also loads of fun. However though Little beat me alllll the time in every race. I gotta practice more I guess.
Tomorrow we are doing the last christmas shopping. I am sure it will be very very very very busy. I am not looking forward to that much. Anni said she has an appointment with the hairdressers tomorrow ..... maybe I can come with her instead of going round town like a zombie in search for xmas presents. I mean .... I dont even have Euros lol ...
TTYL,
love Harold
Posted Dec 27, 2009, 12:17 pm
I hope you had a merry christmas? I did
I had so much fun here let me tell you about all the things that we did during the last days.
On Christmas Day in the morning we were bcking a cake. Anni said it is chocolate cake with cherries and almonds and what not. I helped her baking and so did little. Obviously I was a better helper as I am bigger. So Anni was probbaly glad to have me along hehe.
Here I am fetching the eggs for the cake. And in the back you can say what the result shall look like
And here I am with the blender - LOADSA fun
Et voilá here it is
- oh and Harold helped too ;-)
In the evening we went to open presents. Whilst anni and her family were in church Little and I checked the presents
That was so much fun as there were so many pretty wrapped things under the tree.
On the next day we went to Annis parents and had coffee and cake there. But honestly .... I was so full I couldnt really eat anymore. I was so stuffed with the good food.
Then we got to meet Santa. LoL Little still believe this was the real Santa. She is so small and I did not want to crush her belief. But I am 98% sure this was not santa ... he was very stiff. Maybe cos he is of porcellaine .... but then again ... I kept hearing those reindeer sleighbells in the night ... so umm I dunno. I wanted to take a picture with him nontheless. You never know .... you meet a celeb and then you miss out on a pic ..... naaaah!
And in the eve we played cards. That was fun. Little and I had no clue of the game though. It is called Rommeé do you know that mum? Seems to be fun though!
As you can see I enjoyed the past days and Anni promised to take me and Little out in the woods or whereever during the next days as she wants to take pictures with her new camera. That should be fun. especially as we heard the weather would improve a bit here.
Much love,
yours Harold
Posted Jan 1, 2010, 1:54 pm
I watched tv and saw when the new year came in Sydney and thought of you. That was 14:00 our time here and we still had 10 hrs to go. I helped to prepare Anni and Mario for the big party. we shopped some snacks and then I played around with new years eve decorations. Anni and Mario went to a big party of their friends but we couldnt come along as they thought we might get too dirty or lost or stuck in the snow. So they let us stay here in the warmth by ourselves. That was cool too as we partied a lot with the other stuffed animals.
You know what? we have tons and tons and tons of snow here. It has been snowing since 2 days ... with no pause. And it is lovely to be inside and watch the snow fall.
Posted Jan 3, 2010, 8:22 pm
we are snowed in - that is so cool. We have so much snow on the balcony that I cannot even look out without Anni picking me up!
Look:
We also said goodbye to Hanno who is now on his way to YOU :-)
Tomorrow we will hopefully go out into the snow again!!!!
Talk to you soon mummy!
Yours,
Little
Posted Jan 4, 2010, 1:33 pm
woahhh I swear this was one of the coolest things here. This morning the sun was shining and Anni and Mario said that we should go on a hike. So we drove a while until we reached a place called "Pappmühle" - a restaurant in the middle of now´here. From there on we started our 3 hrs hike to the Hohenstein.
Here are some Wikipedia infos for you about it:
| Quote: |
|
The Hohenstein belongs to the western mountains of the Süntel. It is 341m high. It is a Plateau which ís up to 40m steep - going straight down. You can see those cliffs from far away already as they are fairly high and steep. |
I translated that so it might not be as correct as an english wikipedia would have made it sound. but unfortunately it is only in the german wikipedia.
Anyways have a look at the pictures of me and Little on our hike:
It was a lovelymorning up there and we had buckets of snow!
Hope your day was as good :-)
Love,
Harold
Posted Jan 7, 2010, 6:58 pm
today was Annis first day back at work. She was so nervous - as she is not so good with new things.
But when she came back in the eve she said it was okay ...
It is so so so so cold outside and we now have like 40cm snow on the balcony.
Little and I were just chilling and read a book. Then we cuddled up on the sofa and now are watching a soap called "Gute Zeiten Schlechte Zeiten".
We are awaiting a blizzard here in Germany .... how crazy is that? Mario and I Anni already cancled all their appointments for the weekend and just plan to stay inside when the storm hits. I am curious about it
Love,
Harold
Posted Jan 9, 2010, 9:10 am
We just got up and look what we found the balcony to look like this morning:
more to come :-)
Love,
Harold
Posted Jan 12, 2010, 7:10 pm
its me Harold. I just wanted to inform you that I am doing good and that there is a lack of photos at the moment cos Anni is working full time again in a new job and she has so much to do and is pretty tired in the evening.
There will be pictures again on Friday / Sat and Sun ... just so that you do not worry about me. I am doing fine and spending my day watching tv and drinking warm chocolate. It is very cold here again ... like below 10°C.
Love,
Harold
Posted Jan 16, 2010, 7:47 pm
we went swimming today. That was loads of fun. Annis parents live in a house with a rather big pool and we had the chanceto swim there as well (haha no worries I did not get wet). We just lazed around in the deck chairs there and watched Anni swim.
Here we got dressed
Took a shower
tadaa the pool
Here I am with Little and we are chillin'
And finally we had to blow dry the fur and then went back home.
The forecast said that we get bunches of snow again tomorrow. I wonder if that happens. Tomorrow btw Anni said that she is making typical Wienerschnitzel. YUM and Little and I will have to help!
Ill keep you updated.
Love,
Harold
Posted Jan 21, 2010, 7:08 pm
today we did a surprise goodbye party for Little. She is leaving for Portugal tomorrow afternoon. She was so happy to see the bubbly champagne and the candy we got for her.
group pic
Look at her lol
we shared a last drink together
The candy
It was actually pretty hard saying goodbye to her as we became good friends over the past weeks. We hugged and then she went into her envelope and will leave for Portugal tomorrow.
I am already curious what adventures I will experience at the weekend. I know that next weekend there is a trip to IKEA planned. IKEAAAA mum how cool is that?
Love,
Harold
Posted Jan 31, 2010, 1:11 pm
unfortunately Anni is sick and therefore no big updates. It snowed again .... loads of snow ..... we took some pics outside the window.
We also made something nice for Anni and Marios table. That took quite a while and I helped creating it. I think it turned out pretty :-) What do you think?
Posted Feb 20, 2010, 8:39 am
first of all Anni wants to apologize that she hasnt been able to update!!! Its not of a bad thought or so .. she was just so busy with her new job department and stuff. And last week she was ill and the doc sent her home to bed. It was the stomache flu.
During this time I watched a lot of the Olympic Games. They are on here at night mostly and in the evening! So here is me watching a ton of sports.
Here I am before a long Olympics Night
Biathlon
Figure Ice Skating
Ice Dancing!
Guess what thought - IF I am allowed to stay a lil longer here .... Anni and Mario are going on a short trip to the Netherlands in March! And they said I could come a long ...
;-) ehh cool huh?
What do you think mum?
Love,
Harold
Posted Mar 24, 2010, 7:13 pm
I know you haven't heard of me in a long time. But I am still alive and kicking. I am even picking up the German language. I went on a mini break to the Netherlands with Anni and Mario. That was fun. Here are pictures of our journey. Enjoy:
This is at home before we set off. I am making sure that I come along so I thought to sit on Annis bag.
Here I am with the hotel confirmation. 4 stars baby
The Netherlands are such a flat country you can view for miles and miles and miles.
The typical windmills
Unfortunately it was raining a bit so we spend some time in the shops and had a look at all the cool stuff they had there.
We went to have dinner in one of those restaurants. Very yummy Pizza.
And here are some pictures of the hotel. It was really cosy and comfy and very stylish as well. I loved it there.
They even had this flat telly on which you could view a webcam programme from the inner city
I liked that a lot
And here we are on our way back. Such a nice sunny weather and lovely landscape.
It was a lovely trip overall that I enjoyed a lot
Talk to you soon mum!!!!
Love,
Harold
Posted Apr 3, 2010, 4:56 pm
HAPPY EASTER or as they say here Frohe Ostern!
We were colouring eggs today and I was able to help. The day started off beautiful here, have a look at how it went:
First of I took a look outside of the kitchen window when I just got up
And here I am with my rabbit companion
Then Anni boiled the eggs - 13 in total!
in the meantime i checked the internet
Then we started to get the colours ready
Look how nice they came out
Have a good easter and enjoy the days off :-)
Talk to you soon mummy,
love,
Harold
Posted Apr 22, 2010, 7:48 pm
Today we went to Trieste. Trieste is in Friuli-Venezia Giulia region in Italy. Trieste is situated on the extreme limit of the Italian northeast, near the border with the Slovenia, in the more northern part of high Adriatic and lies on the Gulf of Trieste.
We went to the train station there because we needed to wait for someone who was coming with the train from Venezia.
These is me standing on the entrance of the train station.
This is in the park in front of the station:
Then we went to see when will the train from Venezia arrive:
We called the person we were waiting for to see if he's late or not. I dialled the numbers!
Inside of the train station in Trieste:
I liked these two adds so I had to take pictures in front of them
While we were waiting we went to the bookstore and we bought some books and posters. Too bad that we didn't have more time, I could be inside for hours!
Tobbi was with me on this short trip
Then we played lotto. Sadly, we didn't win anything
Then we got tired from all this and had to rest for a while. I was so glad that Tobbi is with me and was keeping me company.
Finally! The train arrived, look how happy I am!!
It is a pity that we didn't have more time to explore the city. We had to go...
Posted Apr 22, 2010, 8:27 pm
Today we went to visit the cutest baby boy in the world!!!
While he was sleeping we had the chance to meet his friends and play with many toys. It was fun!
We met one giant caterpillar. She was very nice and we wasn't affraid of her (because of her size).
We met a lot of friends that afternoon!
When we had to say goodbye they all huged me and squeezed me so hard
I'm so glad that I met them all!
You see how many new friends I have Mom? I hope that you are happy like I am!
Bye, Harold
Posted Oct 29, 2011, 7:03 am
i am so sorry for not updating forever. I have been with Anni and her bf the whole time though and it was good. I enjoyed summer and lately autumn has been kicking in and I am always under my duvet chilling
Today I will start a journey to a part more east of Germany. My friends here in Hameln threw a goodbye party for me and I had to say my bye byes to my very best friend TEDDY. As you will see from the pic.
I hope you will hear from me very soon and travelling in Germany usually dont take long as I dont like sitting in an envelope forever.
Talk soon mummy
Posted Nov 1, 2011, 4:57 pm
Yes, I arrived quickly at my new host, since the journey was only through Germany.
I was welcomed by Aurelius von Hippo, a TV living here with his TV mom.
As you can see, I am fine!
There are also 2 nice cats (Bonnie and Clyde) around which wanted to meet me, too.
I am sure there is lots more to discover and you will hear from me again soo!
Posted Nov 3, 2011, 1:39 pm
Done!
Posted Nov 5, 2011, 6:26 pm
Posted Nov 7, 2011, 5:20 pm
Posted Nov 7, 2011, 5:26 pm
Let's see where to go.
Are we in the USA?! That's what I thought when we came along this Ranch 'Dark Mountain'. Dark in German means Finster and Mountain is Berg, so it is a play of words. Dark Mountain = Finsterbergen.
And there are dark woods here.
Posted Nov 13, 2011, 8:01 am
Here we are on the motorway, passing castles.
Erfurt is a beautiful town with old buildings.
We went along the 'Kramerbruecke'.
The buildings were built over water on this bridge
and are mainly shops. 'Kraemer' means chandler.
We took a stroll along the river Gera.
Look , who we saw: Kapitän Blaubär and Hain Blöd!
They are 2 characters from a kid's television show.
This is the townhall and market place with old buildings.
And last but not least we went to the cathedral square.
Here they already prepare the Xmas Market, hence the sign 'Erfurter Weihnachtsmarkt'.
Maybe we will visit it in December.
It was a beautiful sunny day!
Byebye.
Posted Nov 15, 2011, 4:42 pm
Unfortunately it is forbidden to enter the castle so we just saw it from the outside.
Posted Nov 15, 2011, 4:44 pm
Let's see what's in the package....
It is Taru from Germany!
Posted Nov 18, 2011, 4:37 pm
The school and the building is already over 200 years old. It was refurbished about 5 years ago.
In the school park there are busts of the founder and a famous teacher.
And then we went to my host's classroom and waited for the pupils to come.
I waited at the window and had a nice view at the school ground and the pond.
On the teacher's desk I met these two guys: Ella and Don. They are two mascotts from the US. I told them about my journey and they thought it was a cool idea for them to do this one day, too.
Posted Nov 22, 2011, 1:14 pm
Monkez and Taru came along and we went on the motorway.
A view of the town:
At the parents' house I met this cutie.
In the evening we took a stroll through the little town.
The market square and town hall.
Old houses
And there is even a small cinema.
And... Amerika is not faraway as this sign shows.
Posted Nov 26, 2011, 9:17 pm
We, Monkez, Taru and Harold helped our host to bake cookies.
There were tons of ingredients on the table,which we might need.
But first we had to read the recipes.
We decided to make different kinds of bakery product and
started with the Quarkstollen.
Eggs, flower, raisins, curd cheese, sugar....
Then we mixed the dough.
And into the oven.
While the Stollen was baking, we prepared the dough for the other cookies.
We made snowballs with coconut.
And some of the other doughs had to go into the freezer for some time....
before we cut the cookies.
On top we put cut dates.
We took out the Stollen after about 30 minutes. Mh, what a great smell.
And the date cockies go into the oven.
The final result:
There were also chocolate cookies ....
and forgotten cookies. They are called like that because you put
them into the oven turn it off and leave them inside overnight.
Puh, what a lot of work. But after 4 hours it's done!
Posted Dec 6, 2011, 8:30 am
Monkez and Taru helped, too.
These little fellows told me that usually live in a box in the attic they are only allowed to come into the living room for Christmas. Poor them. I rather like to be a TV and travel the world!
Posted Dec 6, 2011, 8:32 am
Posted Dec 6, 2011, 8:33 am
Well not that much but still.... I don't think it will last long though, it is not that cold outside.
Posted Dec 10, 2011, 10:12 am
We visted the market square there, with the town hall and the church.
Posted Dec 13, 2011, 4:53 pm
It took place on an old property in the countryside.
A lot of people were visiting the booths.
Back home. Monkez came along too.
Posted Dec 18, 2011, 12:36 pm
So we spent our time inside reading updates on the Toyvoyagers Site ...
We were writing Xmas cards...
And Monkez climbed on the palm for some work out. I stayed at the bottom and watched because I don't want to risk my life!
Hugs, Harold.
Posted Dec 29, 2011, 11:42 am
and spent 3 days in Saxony.
We sat under der Christmas tree.
And enjoyed a warm rest at the fireplace, the big one ...
... and the small one, just for us TVs! Aurelius and Monkez were there too.
For dinner we had a special meal my host's dad always prepares
only for Xmas. It is a Sauerkraut pot with meat balls and rice.
So delicious!
After dinner , we got our presents. I was so curious to open them!
And when we had opened the first present, there they were:
Moe and Chester - 2 amigurumi ghosts! We made friends
straight away.
I told them about my adventures and they liked the idea of
becoming a TV one day too.
Posted Jan 2, 2012, 11:22 am
We took a short trip over New Year's Eve and went to Göttingen.
It is not far away, only about a 90 minutes drive.
First we went to the Lokhalle, an event hall, to watch the festival
of acrobatics.
Here is the programme:
Unfortunately we could not take any photos during the show
but it surely was amazing!
When we returned to the hotel I was very tired. I only took
something to drink from the minibar and then straight into the bed.
The next day we visited the city.
We started at the train station and you must know that Göttingen
is an university town. So there are a lot of students with a lot of
bicycles. Unbelievable!
And in the middle of all this we found the statue of the oldest
hawker in the world.
Göttingen is a pretty nice town, with old half-timbered houses.
Here is the townhall and the well with the 'Gänseliesel' - the
town's landmark since 1901. Well, this is not the original but it was
replaced by a copy in 1990, and the 'old girl' can be found in the
museum now.
And last but not least we followed the planet path, which shows
the position of the sun and planets in scale.
So you see I had a good time on the last days of 2011 and I also
started well into 2012.
Wishing you all the best for 2012 and a Happy New Year!
Harold
Posted Jan 2, 2012, 11:23 am
We took a short trip over New Year's Eve and went to Göttingen.
It is not far away, only about a 90 minutes drive.
First we went to the Lokhalle, an event hall, to watch the festival
of acrobatics.
Here is the programme:
Unfortunately we could not take any photos during the show
but it surely was amazing!
When we returned to the hotel I was very tired. I only took
something to drink from the minibar and then straight into the bed.
The next day we visited the city.
We started at the train station and you must know that Göttingen
is an university town. So there are a lot of students with a lot of
bicycles. Unbelievable!
And in the middle of all this we found the statue of the oldest
hawker of the city.
Göttingen is a pretty nice town, with old half-timbered houses.
Here is the townhall and the well with the 'Gänseliesel' - the
town's landmark since 1901. Well, this is not the original but it was
replaced by a copy in 1990, and the 'old girl' can be found in the
museum now.
And last but not least we followed the planet path, which shows
the position of the sun and planets in scale.
So you see I had a good time on the last days of 2011 and I also
started well into 2012.
Wishing you all the best for 2012 and a Happy New Year!
Yours Harold
Posted Jan 4, 2012, 1:07 pm
Here is a map of Eisenach.
It was already getting dark and the market square looked nice with
the lights on.
Here we are in front of the Luther House.
But we did not go inside.
Posted Jan 4, 2012, 2:57 pm
Monkez and me, were so excited when the postman brought a
package. On top it read 'Tiplitaps inside'.
We couldn't wait to open it but we first had to get a pair of scissors
to cut the adhesive tape. Well, I actually only watched and Monkez
was doing the work.
And then there he was: Tiplitaps - a little turtle.
We welcomed him and said hello.
Then he told us that he is a TV taking part in the Big German RR and
that Mechterstädt and Thuringia are his first stop in the RR. One of
his missions is to visit all federal states of Germany. Tiplitaps even
has got a passport with some pieces of information about him and
his hometown, which we read together.
Hope you have a great time here, Tiplitaps!
Posted Jan 7, 2012, 3:56 pm
Posted Jan 7, 2012, 3:59 pm
Mommy told me that my next stop will be Norway, which is quite a
travel distance. But I feel pretty comfortable in my envelope and my
host included some sweets for the journey, too.
Monkez and Tiplitaps waved Goodbye. Well, I will miss you!
See you in Norway!
Posted Feb 6, 2012, 9:35 am
I have arrived Norway!
My hostess is sick tho, so we are stuck inside untill she gets better, but im doing well!
Harold
Posted Feb 20, 2012, 10:25 am
Today we have been outside, Ragnhild showed us the different skiis they have!
In the really old ones, you just used your own normal shoes, the bindings went around the shoes, very practical, cause you didnt need special shoes for skiing!
In the 80's they had something called the "Rat Trap", you used special shoes, with 3 holes under the front of the shoe, and those you put onto the binding where it was 3 pointy things, and then you locked the binding, and it was stuck.
Later on they got more modern, and now you just click your shoe onto the lock of the binding, the shoe has a little metal bar on the front, and that one you click onto the binding of the skii.
Very easy!
Here i am on a little trip we had with the car, its a lake behind me, and its been so cold, the ice has "grown" out of the lake, around the rocks there, hope you can see it, it was really a funny sight!
All of us together
Lots of love,
Harold
Posted Feb 20, 2012, 10:28 am
Today we have been to OSLO!
I have been to the capital of Norway!
My hostess were meeting up with a friend who were visiting from The Netherlands, and we spend the whole day in Oslo, it was lots to see!
And here are some pictures!
All of us in Ragnhilds bag, in the car, on our way to the bus!
It was 45 minutes driving to Kongsvinger, where the bus would drive us further to Oslo.
Here we are on the bus, it was a 1 1/2 hour drive by bus...
But we were looking outside, and played some games, and time went fast!
Here we are at the bus stop Rød, thats where you could change busses to go to Gardermoen airport!
We arrived Oslo at 10:30, it was raining a little all day, but not too much.
Oslo is called the tiger city, and this statue was a gift to the city, for its 1000 year cekebrating being a city!
Its right outside the train station, at the beginning of the Karl Johan street, THE shopping street in Oslo, and the street u to the royal castle.
This is us, outside the national theater!
We even found a Geocache here!
We were inside the church in Oslo, but didnt take any pictures, cause it was not allowed to use flash.
They were repeating for a concert aswell, so we didnt want to disturp.
On the walls they have a little exebition, pictures from the tragedy in Oslo 22 July 2011
Hostes started to cry, so we left again...
Inside a shopping mall, we saw this little statue, do you know it?
Its the little mermaid that they also have in Denmark, in København!
So i feel i almost been there aswell
hehe
At the end of the day, we went to the Opera house in Oslo...
Its really big, and a little weird, and it costed a lot of money aswell!
Had a great day, and hope you like the pictures!!!
Im having a good stay here in Norway, and I hope to see more exciting things and places very soon
Love,
Harold
Posted Feb 23, 2012, 9:49 am
Today we went for a little walk, it was very nice weather, and hostess needed to go to the local shop, and we could come along!
This is outside the local shop, im sitting on the "liers bench", its called that for years and years by the locals here.
This is where people come together to talk, mostly older people sit here in the summers, meet up and chat about what happened lately.
Its called the liers bench, cause they say people lie when they meet here, they talk about the fish they just caught (and it usually gets bigger than what it was) or about the big elk they almost shot in the forrest the other day...
I got really scared when i saw this one, but hostess sais the Troll is not real!
Phew!
They can't stand sunlight, cause then they turn into stone, so this one was a fake one
This is the local shop, its a really old shop, from the 1800s something.
The local people has always been the owners of this shop, they have a board that decides important things that happens to the shop, and those people are elected by the members of the shop.
When you are a member, you also keep all the reciets you get when you shop here, and at the end of the year, you get a certain % of that back.
This is the local church, its very pretty i think!
We are waiting for another TV that should come any time soon, but there was nothing in the post today either
This is where im staying at the moment!
Its an old school from 1920, and the hostess father bought it many years ago, together with a friend.
Her father lives on the 3rd floor, and on the 1st and 2nd floor, there is a museum, and a library!
Hostess is not only doing ToyVoyagers, she is an addicted GEOCACHER aswell!
Geocaching is a game, where people who play it, hide boxes (or treasures) all over the pleace, in all countries and everywhere worth a visit.
You then download that place its hidden into your GPS (handheld GPS for walking, not car) and then go treasure hunting!
It is soooo cool!
This is one of HER own geocaches, its right outside the house she lives in, and the museum.
They come in different shapes and sizes, this one is just an old film roll holder, perfect, cause it keeps dry, witch is important, cause on the inside, it has to be a piece of paper, a log roll.
If you find this cache, you must sign it with your nick name, thats the proff you have been there and has found the cache!
And after you have signed it (always be careful that no mugglers sees you,cause its secret, only for the ones doing geocaching, or else the caches can be found and maybe destroyed or thrown away) you put it back as you found it, always being careful with the nature around it ofcourse!
When you come home, you log on to www.geocaching.com and log your finds there, and after a while, you have quite a list of treasures found!
Love and greetings from Norway!
Harold
Posted Mar 12, 2012, 5:32 pm
Today we went to Finnetunet, thats an open air museum, free to visit, in the middle of the little Svullrya.
It has old houses they they have restored, and put here, these houses were build in the 1600s by the Finnish people who got banned from their own country by the swedish king, and had to come here, where he thought they would never be able to make a life.
But the finnish people made homes, build and made farms, and became very good at it!
So good that the few swedish and norwegian people already living here, got very jealous, and told all kinds of ugly things about them, that they did magic and stuff, so they got trouble.
Many people in Svullrya still has finnish blood in their bodies, this is a main house by the way.
This is used for a play they have here every year, the 2nd weekend of July they have their own Republic here, and have all kinds of things to do.
And they made a play about how it was like to come to Sweden and Norway in the 1600s, how the Finnish people got treated and how life was back then.
It was fun to have a look at this place, and i have been told its even more beautiful in the summer!
Harold
Posted Mar 25, 2012, 3:23 pm
We are planting some seeds, this will sometimes grow up to be carrots!
It was pretty easy, and fun, and we all helped, so we all will get credut for it when they grow up
Harold
Posted Mar 25, 2012, 3:25 pm
It is 10,9C outside today, and that is pretty warm here for this time of the year.
The snow is melting rapidly, and we decided to have a little picknic outside!
We had thee, fruit ind cakes, and good company!
Orkku and i shared a mandarin, it was lovely!
Harold
Posted Apr 9, 2012, 7:52 pm
This is our trip, in pictures!
We started early in the morning, it was 08:00 when we started the car, and headed for Sweden!
This picture is a little bit later, at about 10:00 in the morning, its along the 62 road in Sweden, we stopped here to find a geocache, and we found it, and a beautiful vieuw aswell!!!
This is Klaraelven, it was Trysilelva, before it enters Sweden, and becomes Klaraelven!
Just a little warning, if you want to use the river here...we didnt, and drove on...
We passed a giant with an acordion, a big sculpture made in 1987, and its now a tourist information here, places to have a rest, buy souvenirs...and ofcourse...find a geocache!
Next stop, still in Sweden, but closer to the Norwegian border, this used to be a protection against the germans in the 2nd WW, i dont think they ever got used, as Sweden was neutral, and Germany didnt enter Sweden then.
They have made a little resting place here, so if you want to have a bite to eat, or need to use the toilet, you are welcome...
Us, at one of the several well hidden shooting places, they went into these holes, and then into that "hat" and they were well protected against other shoters, but had good vieuw themselves!
The number and info about this shooting place.
It was a nice vieuw from the cache place, a little scary to look down,but everything went well, we found the cache on this historical place, and went back to the car.
Lunch time in the car, it was a little cold, so we sat inside, instead of on the picknick place...
This is the old border marker between Sweden and Norway.
And another geocache was found here!
In the background you can see the tree boarder, they keep a few meters clean, so you easy can see the boarder between Norway and Sweden
And soon, we are back in Norway again!
Plassen Church, while we were searching for this geocache, we could hear the organist playing inside the church...
We were pretty sure they were practising for that evening, it said they had a concert!
Its a very pretty church!
Kongeparken, The Park of the King, was made here in 1949, as a reminder of the King of Norway, who fled from the Germans in the beginning of the war, and took cover under theese trees, while the Germans bmoben the bus he had been in.
Every one was safe, luckily!
A little info
Left: King Olav, the father of our king Harald.
Right: King Haakon, the king who then fled from the Germans.
You can see the Trysil mountain in the background
At the end of the day, we visited Osen, and a geocache lying by TWO churches!
This church was built in 1777!!!
Old stuff
But impressive to look at, thinking about how old it is, and how many people have walked in and out these doors...
They decided to keep the old church as a memory, they saw the value of this old building, while building the new church in 1923.
They still have some celebrations in the old church, like Olsok.
We had a GREAT trip, hope you liked the pictures!
Harold
Posted Mar 6, 2013, 6:34 pm
It has been nice to see all the seasons in Norway, but home is always the best place to be.
It has been quiet here, not many pictures, but i have been safe.
I heard that i will be mailed tomorrow, looking forward to see you again, and bye bye Norway!
Ha det bra!
Harold