Posted May 17, 2008, 4:55 pm
I'm glad I can start my journey so soon. I'll travel to the Netherlands first toghether with Nepomuk.
My first host is Eryah.
My iterenary:
Eryah - The Netherlands
Dandilion - The Netherlands
JaymeC - Japan
katjaintenerife - Spain
Elayoe - Germany
maelle - Belgium
Posted May 31, 2008, 7:11 pm
I'm on my way to the Netherlands now. I'm visiting Eryah with Nepomuk.
Bye
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 10, 2008, 2:47 pm
Today Nepomuk and i arrived finally in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. It's great here and pictures comes soon. I wanna show you everything
Bigs Hugs Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 10, 2008, 4:47 pm
I finally have some time to show you the pictures of my arrival.
Nepomuk and i were whaiting in the envelope and i got so scared! I heard a lot of voices and allthought they sound nice, i didn't knew who they were and what i can expected.
But Nepomuk wasn't scared at all and he jumped out of the envelope. Suddenly i was alone in it.
Nepomuk told me there was no reason to be frightened so i decided to come out. I know i can trust Nepomuk.
He was right! The other TV's were so nice to me and some of them told me they were also scared to come out so i won't haved to be ashamed for that.
Let me introduce these nice fellows to you.
This are from the left to the right:
# Summy
# Nepomuk
# Count
# Ambrosius
# Margarida
# Me
# Roberto (the monkey in front of us)
# Lumi (the little bear)
We made another groups picture for later when we are all further on our trail and we can remind this moment.
I think i'm gonna have a lot of fun here!
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 14, 2008, 1:44 pm
Today we asked Eva to tell us everything she know about Alkmaar and the Netherlands. She told us some funny stories!
Alkmaar is above all Holland's cheese town. During the season from the first Friday of April to the first Friday of September a traditional cheese market is being held here on Friday mornings between 10 and 12.30. The cheeses are sold by dealers on a clap of hands. Thereupon the 400 year old cheese porters' guild goes into action, carrying the cheese off on barrows after the lot has been weighed at the Waag (the official scales). In the Waaggebouw - in which the scales are housed - a cheese museum that tells everything about dairy farming has been established.
Cheese has been weighed in Alkmaar since 1635.
Alkmaar is historical with around 400 monuments. The Waag, dating back in its earliest form to the 14th century, the 16th century town-hall, Grote St. Laurens Church and the many courtyards, facades and canals give the town an ambience all of its own. With the past as a setting, the town has a modern stock of shops offering a wide choice. Besides the predominantly small shops in the old centre, the Noorder Arcade with large scale shopping facilities stands by the side of the Noord Holland Canal.
Alkmaar is the biggest town in the region. Relaxation can also be found in the Geestmerambacht recreational area close by.
The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland]) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean. The Netherlands is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east.
The Netherlands is often called Holland. This is formally incorrect as North and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country's twelve provinces. As a matter of fact, many Dutch people colloquially use Holland as a synecdoche, being well aware of the widespread use of this name. For more on this and other naming issues see terminology of the Netherlands.
The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying and densely populated country. It is popularly known for its traditional windmills, tulips, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), delftware and gouda pottery, for its bicycles, its dikes and surge barriers, and, on the other hand, traditional values and civil virtues such as its classic social tolerance. But primarily, the Netherlands is a modern, advanced and open society. An old parliamentary democracy, the country is more recently known for its rather liberal policies toward recreational drugs, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia. The Netherlands is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the world; its internet connection rate is 87.8%, the 2nd highest in the world.
The Netherlands has an international outlook; among other affiliations the country is a founding member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, and has signed the Kyoto protocol. Along with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands is one of three member nations of the Benelux economic union. The country is host to five international(ised) courts: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. All of these courts (except the Special Tribunal for Lebanon), as well as the EU's criminal intelligence agency (Europol), are situated in The Hague, which has led to the city being referred to as "the world's legal capital."
A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is its flatness. Hilly landscapes can be found only in the south-eastern tip of the country on the foothills of the Ardennes, the central part and where the glaciers pushed up several hilly ridges such as the Hondsrug in Drenthe, the stuwwallen (push moraines) near Arnhem and Nijmegen, Salland, Twente and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug.
Religion
Main article: Religion in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is one of the more secular countries in the Western Europe, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), although 62% are believers (but 40% of those not in the traditional sense). Fewer than 20% visit church regularly .
According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 34% of Dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".
In 1950, before the secularisation of Europe, and the large settlement of non-Europeans in the Netherlands, most Dutch citizens identified themselves as Christians. In 1950, out of a total population of almost 13 million, a total of 7,261,000 belonged to Protestant denominations, 3,703,000 belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 1,641,000 had no acknowledged religion.
However, Christian schools are still funded by the government, but the same applies for schools founded on other religions, nowadays Islam in particular. While all schools must meet strict quality criteria, from 1917 the freedom of schools is a basic principle in The Netherlands.
Three political parties in the Dutch parliament (CDA, ChristianUnion and SGP) base their policy on the Christian belief system.
Culture
Erasmus (1466–1536).The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters", such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruysdael and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century were Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. Willem de Kooning was born and trained in Rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an American artist. Han van Meegeren was an infamous Dutch art forger.
The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza. All of Descartes' major work was done in the Netherlands. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) discovered Saturn's moon Titan and invented the pendulum clock. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope.
In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flourished as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P.C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the bad treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard (van het) Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl was published after she died in The Holocaust and translated from Dutch to all major languages.
Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Huis ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China.
Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese and Delftware pottery are among the items associated with the Netherlands.
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 14, 2008, 2:04 pm
Today it was time to say goodbye to Lumi and Margarida. It's alawys hard see another TV leaving. I hope they both are gonna have a wonderfull trail. Maybe we see each other again, you never know.
Bye Lumi
Bye Margarida
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 14, 2008, 5:33 pm
Because Eva isn't able to go outside at the moment we decided to show you information and sites about Alkmaar at another way. I hope you enjoy it!
Cheesemarket:
This cheese market is open every Friday morning between 10 and 12 from the first Friday in April until the first Friday in September. Market activities are explained in Dutch, German, English and sometimes Japanese. There are four teams (vemen) of cheese-porters (kaasdragers), who can be recognised by their differently coloured straw hats: red, blue, green and yellow. Two porters bring cheese on stretchers to the weighing house (Waag) - a typical stretcher "weighs in" at about 160 kilograms. Merchants sample the cheeses and decide on a price using a barter system called handjeklap, literally clapping hands.
Ruin church in Bergen:
This picturesque ruin church in Bergen once was the biggest church in Noord-Holland. From the 16th century church there is only a ruin left now, because the Beggars started a fire here. Only the choir of the church was rebuilt, so from the original church you can now only see the ruins.
In the village Bergen in Noord-Holland there are many beautiful old houses situated around the old village church.
Big church
During building the largest medieval church in Alkmaar, the church was already called the big church, because of its size. The big church is not only the largest and highest church in Alkmaar, but also the church which trough the centuries, stood most and called the jewel of the city. Originally the church was dedicated to Saint Laurens. That’s why, for centuries, the church is called The Saint Laurenschurch.
The church was probably designed by architect Anthonius Keldermans (Belgium) (1440-1512)
Beside Anthonius Keldermans brother, also his son was involved in the disign of the church, in which 26 freestanding columns support the roof. The Saint Laurens church is a basilica,
The outside walls rest on a fundation which is just below the ground. Built in the Brabant’s gothic style, which is bigger and more massive in its form than the French gothic. The building is 35 meters high and has a cross length of 85x56 meters. The outside walls rest on a one meter broad foundation which is just below thethe ground, and gradually becomes broader to a depth of tree meters. The last resauration of in-and exterieur was accomplished in 1996.
The large saint Laurens church counts two, world famous organs: Van Covelens organ (also called choir organ) and it VanHagerbeer/Schnitger or large organ. The choir organ descends from 1511 and has been placed against the northern wall of the church. The last restoration of this old, still playable, organ in the Netherlands, was completed in the year 2000. In 1636 arose the idea for the construction of a large organ in the church. Several organ builders have worked on it, but in 1645 Jacobus Caltus van Hagerbeer completed the large organ. Jacob Van Campen devised the organ cupboard and in 1643 Caesar Van Everdingen got the task to paint the doors of the organ cupboard with the ‘triomfe van den Coninck Saul’. This painting belongs to his first large work. Above the organ the painter Romeyn de Hooghe painted in baroque striking, (‘de deugd, die de ondeugd verplettert’)" virtue crushing the vice". From 1723 up to 1725 the large organ was restored and extended by Frans Caspar Schnitger. In course of time there have been several restorations on this organ.
St. Joseph Church
This church was put in use in 1910. Designed by famous church builders and students of PJH Cuypers, the Margry brothers. The church is built in neo-gothic style, which shows by the way the towers are placed and by the arched roofs.
The church is placed beautifully and is in possession of wonderful stained glass windows. The statue of Christ has been placed in 1948, in memory of Alkmaar war-victims. Their names are placed on a memorial plaque on the churches wall.
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 17, 2008, 1:07 pm
Today we were playing in the garden and suddenly Eva had an idea. She wants to do something for us to thank us for our stay here.
Just like the tiles on Hollywood she write down our names. Take a look:
How great is that? Now she will always remember us
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 18, 2008, 6:14 pm
We had such a great party last night! We watched the football game were the Netherlands were playing against Roemenia. This was the thirth game they win and all the people in Holland were celebrate it.
The Netherlands have a strange creature that is there mascotte.
It is called a Welpie and they even have a song for it. The national color of the Netherlands is orange so he's orange too.
But dear, he can party!!!!
This morning at 6 o clock i finally go to my bed. I dance all night long.
Off course we made a picture together with the Welpie.
Big hugs Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 19, 2008, 5:16 pm
Today it was bad weather here as you can see:
We decided to each build or own dreamhouse. It was so much fun to do! Here you can see mine:
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 20, 2008, 1:16 pm
Today we said goodbye to Count and Ambrosius. First we were with so many and now suddenly one by one the others goes away. But it's also excited for them to go on. I'm glad i get to know them both.
Bye Count and Ambrosius!
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 20, 2008, 1:53 pm
Today i wanna do something about my life missions.
The one Eva also loved was taste all kinds of cheese. She is also a addict so it was very fun to do!
Each kind of the cheese was delicious hmmmmmmmmmm
After that i met the other dotted animals who live here.
Even the Teletubbies live here! How great is that?
Big hugs Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 24, 2008, 4:49 pm
Today we played in the garden.
It was a lovely weather because it was not to cold or hot.
First we found a beautifull rabbit named Mammoet. He's so sweet and invited us in his house. He shares this house with a guinea pig but he was to afraid to show himself to us.
After that we found a 'step'. You can go really fast on that! First we were a little bit scared but Mirdin helped us out and learned us how to drive on it.
We got a little bit tired of all the playing so we decided to search for a place to take a nap. And we found a lovely spot.
Big hugs Dottie mouse
Posted Jun 25, 2008, 8:30 pm
We are watching the football game Germany against Turkey right now for the Europian Championships. It's so exciting and we are shouting here for our team! Luckely for us Eva supports the German team also because the Netherlands are out the game.
Are you watching to mummy?
Bigs hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 25, 2008, 9:42 pm
WE WON!!!
Now we are gonna celebrate it mommy
Big hugs
Posted Jun 27, 2008, 7:57 pm
Do you remember we made ourself our dreamhouse?
This time we also gonna do that, but this time for real!
Eva bought some wood and now we are building it.
When the house is finished i'm gonna show you!
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 28, 2008, 5:45 pm
Woepie! We build the house.
It was a lot of work and sometimes hard to do so Eva called her ex husband for some help. Luckely he said yes.
Here he is making the roof. We couldn't do that ourselfs and Eva is afraid of hights (yes even this hight).
But after six hours this was the result:
We were not afraid of the hight at all, and wanna sit on the roof to get a tan. Look how lovely the windows are.
from the front.
We also saw a dwarf who wants to live in this house. Eva said yes, so here he is.
From the inside.
As you can see the dwarf outside wasn't the only one who wants to live here.
Now we have our own dreamhouse!
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 29, 2008, 4:05 pm
Today my host was feeling a little bit better so she wanna take a ride with us and her mom. Finally i get to see something outside!
Here we are driving pass the Noord Hollands Kanaal. It's a large channel that starts in Den Helder and ends in Alkmaar.
A lot of ships sail at this channel because in Den Helder you have a harbor for it.
We love this view. In Alkmaar you can't find many places anymore with nature because they build so much houses and stuff. But here is a little piece of it.
We also drove pass a riding school. They had some beautifull horses standing in the pasture.
Here in Holland you can find a lot of flowerbulb fields and fields with vegetables. Luckely for us we also saw some fields with vegetables in it.
We also make a little stop at one of this fields. Here they have lettuce on it. If you look closely you can see the duines at the right on this picture. Behind the duines lies the Noordzee.
And at the end: the sign that leads us back home:
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 29, 2008, 8:13 pm
We are watching the UEFA championships right now between Germany and Spain. It's so exciting!!
It's still 0-0 the moment i write this. I really hope Germany will be the Champion.
Eva told me you are watching too right now with her TV Desmond. I wish you both a lot of fun!
Big Hugs Dottie
Posted Jun 30, 2008, 7:42 pm
As you know Germany lost yesterday from the spanisch team. We cried all night so that's why i don't want Eva to take a picture of me. My eyes are very red.
I'm feeling better right now, because Eva told us it was a game and we can be very proud we end second in this championship. She's right!
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 1, 2008, 9:10 pm
Today Mirdin went to the beach.
He brought a souvenir for us with him.
Look how scary!
But Mirdin told us this crabs were allready dead when he found them.
Pfoew!!
Hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 7, 2008, 1:25 pm
A new TV arrived today. This time we didn't have to wait before he came out of the envelope. Dharma broke the envelop. Luckely he didn't hurt the TV!
This is Clem
He have the same arms as Roberto. They can both hug very good!
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 7, 2008, 1:44 pm
Today we were thinking what we can do...
Suddenly we had a great idea! We decided to play hide and seek.
Nepomuk hide in the tree:
I hide by the dwarfs:
Summy hide by the Yogi man:
Roberto hide in the lamp:
Clem hide behind the african box:
It was so much fun!
Hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 7, 2008, 1:49 pm
Today is such bad weather. It rains the whole time.
That's why we decided to watch 'Friends' on the TV. It's hilarious!
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 11, 2008, 1:58 pm
Today we said goodbye to Roberto.
He's now for almost 2 months here so it's time to go home.
Hopefully i meet hem again because he became a very good friend!
I wish you a very good travel Roberto!
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 11, 2008, 2:07 pm
Today we helped Eva clean the house.
Normally i don't like it, but know it's much more fun because we had the music very loud and sing all together.
After that we showed Clem our dreamhouse in the garden and Eva was taking pictures of him on the house.
Suddenly she begin to scream so loud that i think the actors in the movie 'Scream' can learn something from that.
We try to calm here down and after the few minutes the only she can say was 'spider'.
Suddenly we saw him too, and boy that spider was a big one!
Eva said she never saw such a big spider before.
We are lucky! First the dragonfly and now this one. We get to see a lot of strange insects around here.
Is he big or what?
Big hugs Dottie
p.s. Eva closed the doors and windows now, it's so easy to get her scared hihi
Posted Jul 12, 2008, 1:59 pm
Today we have a party woehoe!
A friend of Eva comes here and she bring champagne with her.
We also had some delicious food.
We are all a little bit drunk now hihi.
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 12, 2008, 3:26 pm
Two new TV's arrived today.
We were whaiting in front of the box for them.
First a bigger version of Nepomuk jumped out!
His name is Strider
He told us someone is travelling with him. It's HitchaRideDooey
He never travels alone, so maybe he's gonna travel with one of us to his next adres. In his log you can read all about it.
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 14, 2008, 6:32 pm
I ride on a bike today! It was scary! But i also love to do it! Fortunate for me the bike has wheels on the frame. So i kept well in balance.
Look at me mum!
When i'm home a want a bike for myself. You feel the wind and you can go fast if you want. I notice that in Holland they do not wear helmets for their safety. Everybody here rides on a bike and the people learn it to there children almost before they can walk. I looked my eyes out.
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 14, 2008, 9:38 pm
Today is my last night here in Alkmaar, the Netherlands.
I had so much fun here. They have delicious cheese here so i'm happy to here i'm going to another part of the Netherlands. Hopefully my next host also have that cheese.
I'm a little bit sad because i have to say goodbye to Nepomuk too. We both leave tomorrow and we will seperate.
I know i'm gonna have a great adventure just like Nepomuk but it's scary to be on my own. He's much braver than me, but i think i'm gonna make it. Maybe it's better this way because now i can learn to stand on my own feet.
Hopefully we will see each other agian at another host her house. You never know!
I'm gonna miss everyone here. Eva told me i can always come back if i want. That's good to know.
I'm also gonna miss my dreamhouse. It was such a nice house to live in.
Well, before i really start to cry i wanna show you the pictures of my goodbye.
Goodbye Strider!
Goodbye Dooey!
Goodbye Clem!
Goodbye Summy! Summy is also leaving tomorrow. I hope she will have a great adventure too.
For now i'm gonna say goodbye to you mommy and see you soon when i'm in Rotterdam.
Rotterdam here i come!
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 14, 2008, 9:50 pm
I love you mommy!
Now i'm really gone.
Big hugs Dottie
Posted Jul 16, 2008, 7:06 pm
log update will follow soon
Posted Jul 17, 2008, 10:42 pm
CURIOUS!!! 
Hello you guys! Im happy to be here, I am Dottie and I wanna get to know you all better!
WELCOME!!!
I am Adelina, I am a little sheep on a big adventure!
As you can see I am the biggest toy around here, not the bravest, that is for sure Squirrels, he is a pilot you know?!
They call me Veggies, cause I love them so much!
I am Squiggles, I am a squirrel pilot
Later that day...
I went with the other toys and Leonie (dandilion) to her parents for dinner.
Leonie her mother cooked: new potatoes, meatballs and green beans, It was a nice meal!
We finished eating and the leftovers were saved for the dog!
I meet with Skip the dog, border collie dog with a dot on her head!
My first 'dotted' animal I meet here!
After everyone was finished eating we all went snuggle up with Skip for a group hug, it was very comphy in her basket
The weather wasnt nice, so we decide to stay inside, well we sat outside under a tent so we stayed dry.
Leonie had some postcards to write and send out, I helped her a hand.
As I am an office mouse I like writing and also some of her writingsheets needed some organising so I helped her out there aswell.
I am quite tired of this first day in Rotterdam, Leonie told me I can relax and be as active as I would like to be! No hurry!!
Posted Jul 20, 2008, 3:06 pm
Yalara and Pebbles were very excited about us little ones helping out.
The bunch of us were chatting about playing a game whilst Pebbles was running around the livingroom.
We had the cage all to ourselves. The idea came up to play hide and seek in the straw
Veggies was it, counted and counted so we could hide away.
We hide very well! veggies couldnt find us at ol!
Pebbles also tried helping out with finding us, but all she did was running around the house!
I saw veggies hanging out of the cage, what she really think we went hiding under the cage?? lol
Oh No! We better hide further away in the straw, Veggies is soo close by!!
Gotcha!!!! oww We were found!
This was a very nice game we played and we all fell over of laughing!
hello Yalara! Im going to help out with cleaning up!
hello Pebbles! im here to help a hand!
Straw and hay for the rabbit keeps the doctor away!
Im a small mouse but a strong one!!!
As a treat I could eat as much as i liked from the rabbit food, Thanks for sharing with me Pebbles!
Lets have rest in the nice comphy hay ;-)
Oww dear Im so thirsty lets have some water
Today was fun to play with the others and to be with the rabbits.
Posted Jul 27, 2008, 7:57 pm
Workum (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)
Country Netherlands
Province Friesland
Population
- Total c. 4,000
Workum (West Frisian: Warkum) is the largest town of Nijefurd in Friesland. It received city rights in 1374. It lies within the municipality of Nijefurd. Currently has around 4000 inhabitants.
Today, Workum is probably best known for having a museum dedicated to the very popular artist Jopie Huisman. Furthermore it is one of the eleven cities of the Elfstedentocht.
Here we are enjoying the Dutch scenery view from out the train.
We set off early friday morning and arrived about 2 o clock in the afternoon. The flag was hanging outside of the room we stayed at
Friesland (taken from wikipedia)
(West Frisian: Fryslân, Dutch: Friesland) is a province in the north of the Netherlands and part of the bigger region known as Frisia. In order to distinguish it from the other Frisian regions, it is commonly specified as Westerlauwer Frisia, Westerlauwer Friesland, West Frisia or West Friesland. The latter two names may lead people to confuse the region with the neighbouring landscape called 'West-Friesland', in the North Holland province.
Up until the end of 1996, the province bore Friesland as its official name. In 1997 this Dutch name lost its official status to the Frisian endonym Fryslân.
Friesland has 643,000 inhabitants (2005) and its capital is Leeuwarden (Ljouwert), with 91,817 inhabitants, in the center of the province.
Friesland distinguishes itself from the other eleven provinces through having its own language, West Frisian, which is also spoken in a minor part of the province of Groningen, to the east. Closely related languages, East Frisian ("Seeltersk", which is different from "East Frisian (Ostfriesisch)", a collection of Low German dialects of East Frisia) and North Frisian, are spoken in the Saterland and in North Friesland areas in Germany, respectively. Friesland was a part of the German empire until 1680 when it separated and joined the Netherlands. Part of Friesland is still considered part of Germany (Ostfriesland)
The English language is also closely related to West Frisian. There is a saying about it: "As milk is to cheese, are English and Fries." Another version of this saying reads (in West Frisian): "Bûter, brea, en griene tsiis; wa't dat net sizze kin, is gjin oprjochte Fries", which in English reads: "Butter, bread, and green cheese, whoever can't say that is no upright Fries" (According to legend, the 16th century Frisian freedom fighter Pier Gerlofs Donia forced his captives to repeat this shibboleth to distinguish Frisians from Dutch and Low Germans). The saying plays on the sound differences between the Dutch and Frisian words for "butter, bread, and green cheese", which in Frisian are pronounced almost identically to their English counterparts (showing the original closeness between the two languages), while in Dutch ("Boter, brood, en groene kaas"), these words sound quite different.
Friesland is mainly an agricultural province. The famous black and white Friesian cattle and the well known black Friesian horse originated here. Tourism, mainly on the lakes in the south west of the province, and on the islands in the Wadden Sea in the north, is an important source of income, too. Technology companies such as Asset Control have also set up base in Friesland.
The province is famous for its speed skaters, with mass participation in cross-country skating when weather conditions permit. In winters that are cold enough to allow the freshwater canals to freeze hard, the province is the focus of the Elfstedentocht (Eleven cities tour), a 200 kilometers ice skating tour. In the warmer months, many Frisians practice wadlopen, the traditional art of wading across designated sections of the Wadden Sea at low tide. Another Frisian practice is fierljeppen, a sport with some similarities to pole vaulting. A jump consists of an intense sprint to the pole (polsstok), jumping and grabbing it, then climbing to the top while trying to control the pole's forward and lateral movements over a body of water and finishing with a graceful landing on a sand bed opposite to the starting point. Because of all the diverse skills required in fierljeppen, fierljeppers are considered to be very complete athletes with superbly developed strength and coordination.
Another interesting feature are the many windmills. There are 195 windmills in the province of Friesland, from a total of about 1200 in the entire country.
We rented bicycles to explore the area of Workum and the nearby places of interest. Such as Hindeloopen.
In Hindeloopen there was a sailing contest, but due to the lack of wind they just sailed around.
There was a small market with some stands, look at the delicious Friese kaas Frysian cheese
After we walked around we sat down for a short break, in the back you can see the masts of the boats in the harbour of Hindeloopen.
We cycled back and this is the map we used for the routes:
On our way back we came across only farm land, either with cattles (cows) or sheep. Also we saw horses, and only one special Frysian big horse, too bad it was too far for a picture and we were not allowed on the farms premisise.
We came back very tired so we went straight to bed:
The next day a new adventure.....
Posted Sep 19, 2008, 5:16 am
Hmm... the monkey bars were a bit big.
I did find some pretty flowers. Jayme said it had been very rainy the last few days and that was probably why they were blooming now.
And wow! I'm going to live all the way up on the 8th floor for awhile!
And here's the Shisa for this side of the building. Most buildings have them and they're always found in pairs. They're guardian dog/lions.
Write more soon!
Dottie
Posted Sep 19, 2008, 5:23 am
We did get to see lots of books though.
And even did some reading!
Write more soon,
Dottie
Posted Sep 22, 2008, 3:34 am
So we made bento boxes, these are toddler sized ones for her two children.
You can see they stack up to be carried easily.
I also had to do some that were larger for the adults.
Traditionally bentos has rice in them instead of crackers, but Jayme said we were in a bit of a hurry and she didn't have any cooked rice. Darn. But our preparations done, we were able to get on our way..
This very beautiful coast line is found at the edge of the Okinawa Peace Memorial Park.
Okinawa was caught in the middle of World War II's Battle of Okinawa. During the battle Okinawa's large civilian population could not escape. Because of this they suffered many, many casualties. As a remembrance of this battle and the loss suffered, the Peace Memorial Park was put into place. There are many smaller memorials throughout the grounds as well as a cemetary, but you are not to take pictures of Okinawan tombs without the permission of the family. We could take pictures of some of the Memorials though.
The most beautiful and sad part of the park is over this small bridge here.
In here are walls... so many rows of walls! With over 200,000 names inscribed into them of those who lost their lives during the Battle of Okinawa. Most of them were civilians, but there are also military from Japan, the United States, and Great Britain inscribed here. It is a very sad and amazingly beautiful site.
What an amazing place to visit and learn about! After our visit we headed home, but the children had been so well that we decided to stop half way to let them play a bit.
What an exhausting day... time to head home and take a little break!
Write more soon,
Dottie
Posted Sep 26, 2008, 6:27 am
Write more soon,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 29, 2008, 4:59 am
Inside all the streets were old stone roads.
There were many things to see. Do you see how small we are next to this whale shark?
And here's a traditional Okinawan Building.
Here's another building
The lion/dogs you saw us with at the entrance are called Shisa. They always come in a pair, male and female. The male has its mouth closed to catch any bad spirits and the female has her mouth open to let the good spirits through. There were lots and lots of neat Shisa's here.
You could even paint your own! We didn't paint, but we watched Jayme's son paint.
And on the way out we found this neat prism thing were you could take your picture.
Write more soon,
Dottie
Posted Sep 30, 2008, 11:51 pm
To that end, we headed to Comprehensive Park. Comprehensive Park is near where Jayme lives and is the biggest park on the island! There's lots to do there. Our goal today was the fish pond. Once we got there, we paid for our tickets and got into the paddle boat! They didn't have life jackets to fit us, so we had to hold on tight...
Here's a better view of the bridge from this side.
Ohh and here's a box of fish food!
The fish followed our boat all through the water.
And we got to see some ducks too!
We headed back under the bridge towards the boat docking area.
And a little turtle came to visit
Finally we docked the boat then went to the playground for a bit to run off some energy.
And then headed home! Write about our next adventure soon,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 6, 2008, 3:48 am
Then we had to go to one of the small stores on base
While we were on base, we looked up and saw a helocopter overhead!
From there we went back to a different area of Comprehensive Park.
There was a different playground here
And we played ball with the kids for awhile
There was a neat statue over near where we were playing ball
After we were done playing ball we walked over to these benches underneath some giant seashells to take a break
Jayme said the tide was out, when its in it covers all the rocks.
Write more soon!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 9, 2008, 3:20 am
Then did some Halloween Decorating
And then found out we were going to a place called the Nakamura House. It was built in the 1400's and is a traditional home from that era on Okinawa.
Here I am in front of one of the sleeping rooms. There were many sleeping rooms, and one family slept in each.
And here's the storage room
This is a family room
You can kind of see the ceiling in this photo
Here's the kitchen area
And the horse stables
As well as pigpens
This used to be a well, but it was filled up and flowers were planted
And here's some of the many stairs around
And finally here's one of a few Shisa in the home
It was a very neat, though very small for so many families!
Write more soon,
Dottie
Posted Oct 11, 2008, 11:21 pm
This is a waterfall
It was a long walk! When it was all through we stopped for lunch and a walk through the village area. They had an area where glass was being made
We also got to look down at a brewery
Finally we got to the exit and the Eisa Dancers. Eisa is a traditional dance to Okinawa. It was a very neat show to see!
You can see a video example of Eisa Dancing here: Eisa
More adventures soon!
Love,
Dottie
Posted Oct 21, 2008, 2:40 am
Here I am inside the cart
Behind me you can see tiny pineapples growing!
And here's some other plants related to pineapples.
When we were all done in the pineapple cart we went into a small seashell museum
After that we went into a store that had all sort of pineapple sweets. They even had some pineapple wine!
After leaving the store we took some wine to relax on the beach. What a fun day!
Write more soon,
Dottie
Posted Oct 22, 2008, 10:23 pm
The first thing we saw when we went in was the guard house.
Then we had to walk down a little pathway through a forest.
Where we had to pause to examine a snail.
After that we got our first view of the rest home here, it was quite large for that time in history.
Unfortunately there wasn't much to see inside besides the set up of the home, but we took a few pictures anyways.
Looking outside you could see the beautiful water, and a rock bridge.
There was also another small rest house.
This picture is quite funny in a way. Okinawa is quite a small island! However, the Ryukyu Kings did not want their adversaries to know how small it was, so when they came to visit they brought them to this place to show them the outlay of the land and how large it was. Its one of the very few spots on Okinawa where you can see no water! I haven't seen another spot on Okinawa up high where you can't see water actually.
After we were all done here I had to get bundled into my envelope for my next exciting journey! Oh I hope its somewhere fun!
Write more when I arrive,
Dottie Mouse
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Nov 15, 2008, 3:42 pm
I have arrived to Tenerife
There were 3 other ToyVoyagers welcoming me; Stuart The Lion, Purple Bun and Wieka and also my new host Katja's cat Felix.
We went to have a look around the house (well the terrace really) with Wieka because she's only been here a couple of days and hadn't really had the chance to have a look around yet.
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Nov 22, 2008, 4:19 pm
Sorry that I haven't been updating much. My host has got an extra job not long ago and she's still trying to get used to not having so much time off. Today we've been to her fulltime job. She works in a small clinic as an interpreter. Here are some photos from the clinic:
This is me and Dottie Mouse in the reception.
This is us again, still in the reception.
This is just outside the reception.
This is where the doctors attend patients
That's us on an x-ray machine.
We were thinking of having an ECG done but then we realised that we were too small for their machine...
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Nov 22, 2008, 4:26 pm
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Nov 26, 2008, 10:15 pm
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Nov 26, 2008, 10:21 pm
And then we had some desserts
I hope she'll have a great time in Malaysia
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Dec 6, 2008, 7:19 pm
I'm sorry it's taken such a long time for me to update. My host's mum has been over so she hasn't had much time for the computer.
On the 28th of November we went up to "Mirador de la Centinela"..a view place. Here are some photos from there.
There was some cross up there too.
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Dec 6, 2008, 7:23 pm
Today we've been to a Mexican restaurant...the strawberry margaritas were lovely
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Dec 6, 2008, 7:31 pm
Today we walked up Montaña Roja (the red mountain) in La Tejita. The view from the mountain was great!
This is the mountain on the background
This is the beach next to the mountain
Our host's boyfriend Dave carried us in his backbag.
Here's the mountain once more
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Dec 8, 2008, 4:27 pm
A Jesus statue
There were statue's of men outside the church
Here's a picture outside the church
And here you can get a better idea of the church and the statues.
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 2:27 pm
Can you find us?
Ok, here's a closer picture
We also decided to take a photo with the poinsettia
And a group photo too
A few days after this photo, Purple Bun had to leave to Estonia.
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 2:43 pm
First we made some English mince pies.
Then we made some Finnish Christmas pastries. They are very easy to make, you just buy a packet of ready rolled puff pastry and cut in into squares like on this photo
Then you cut each corner of each square same as on this photo and add a bit of plum or apricot jam in the centre of each of the squares
TThen you just fold in the same side of each cut corner which will form stars like these
And then you just put them in the oven for 10-15 minutes (or depending what your pastry instructions say..and the final result is this
Pretty, aren't they?
Then we also made some filled bread eventhough it's not really a xmas dish
Tomorrow we'll bake the ham
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 2:46 pm
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Dec 27, 2008, 3:02 pm
Our host was working all day yesterday so when she came home this morning she opened all her Christmas presents. She was so excited to open them that she even forgot to wait for us to help her open them.. She had a lot of things to do this morning, especially as she brought in another cat she had found at work!! So she couldn't let us help with the rest of the cooking so we could just enjoy the final result which was this
And here's us with the new cat too
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Jan 1, 2009, 1:55 pm
We spent the new year's eve at home. First we had a sauna
And then we relaxed on the terrace for a bit as we were feeling so hot!
Then we had some pizza for late dinner and then it was already 1st of January 2009 and we went out to check out the firework displays
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Jan 1, 2009, 1:56 pm
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Jan 13, 2009, 10:21 pm
We made some oatcakes for lunch.
And in the evening a couple of friends came over for some birthday tiramisu and tea
katjaintenerife@yahoo.co.uk
Posted Jan 13, 2009, 10:31 pm
Posted Jan 27, 2009, 10:14 am
today I arrived in Germany, exactly in Hameln. I cannot wait to see the town as my new host mum said, that there are a lot of rats in the town (but not many real), also if they had a plague of rats some weeks ago..
I was welcomed very nice by all the other toyvoyagers: Harold Giraffe, Mumu and Peti.
This is Peti and me:
Mumu is in the middle and Harold right:
I think I'll have a lot of fun with them.
Posted Jan 27, 2009, 10:26 am
Posted Jan 27, 2009, 10:38 am
Hey, here I am with the big map and the postcrossing cards in the living in room:
I also found a card from Germany:
Then we found all the crystals which my host mum collects:
This is the view out to the balcony:
And we didn't know what we should watch, Harold wanted to see Star Trek, Mumu wanted to see a Horror movie, Peti wanted to see Gilmore girls and I wanted to see LotR:
so we decided to play a game, but there where so many games again, that we didn't know which we should take:
so we looked for a book:
and the we read all our own books, I took: Das Geheimnis der Wanderhure by Sabine Ebert:
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 25, 2009, 1:15 pm
Posted Feb 25, 2009, 1:16 pm
she also had to wear a cow costume:
this is the door with the knobs:
and these pics her friends drawed for her in the evening:
Posted Feb 25, 2009, 1:21 pm
Loccum is near Wasserstraße (the home village of my host dad). It is not a big town, more a village, but it is famous for the abbey. There is also a pilgrimage road to Loccum which starts in Volkenroda. My host mum said, that two of her friend walked this way in September. It tooks 300 km..
Posted Feb 25, 2009, 1:35 pm
But it was too rainy to make more pics:
Posted Feb 25, 2009, 1:37 pm
my host didn't want to hold Mumu and me so high as she thought, that the band would think she want to give us to them..
but the concert was great..
Posted Feb 25, 2009, 2:11 pm
This a map for blind people:
This is the "Hochzeitshaus" (1610) and "Church St. Nikolai", in the Hochzeitshaus is the registry office and a police office:
This is the "Leisthaus" (1585), there is the museum in:
Thats the "Stiftsherrenhaus" (1556):
The Pied Piper:
This is the view on the "Osterstraße":
They are also selling bread rats here, isn't that great.. If you want one Mum, I could send you one
:
Thats the "Rattenfängerhaus" with the legend on the wall:
This is again "Church St. Nicolai" (1200)
This house was built around 1500:
Posted Feb 25, 2009, 2:22 pm
She is drawing new houses into maps and new borders. These papers she need for it:
These are old maps, older than 100 years:
this is a bit of the archive:
and here she is working with a drawprogram:
It was an interesting day at her office, sad that she didn't go out for outdoor work anymore.
Posted Mar 8, 2009, 10:51 am
Posted Mar 8, 2009, 10:59 am
The flowers left we were looking for:
Here you can see white spots, that were the flowers.. but seems it was too early to look for them:
They are only growing in March for 2-3 weeks..
It was much fog around:
and during the whole year you can try to look for all these flowers on the mountain:
Posted Mar 8, 2009, 11:07 am
and we bought some wine, which we want to taste next week or later, the left is a "prickly bear wine" and the right a "wintergreen wine"
we are looking forward to the medieval faire in Rinteln at the end of the month. Then will be hopefully better weather as it was raining a lot today.
Posted Mar 8, 2009, 11:23 am
Posted Mar 31, 2009, 3:54 pm
This is an old gravestone of somebody who died of a wild pig:
Thats the "Blutbach" (bloodcreek):
we tried to look for the spring:
thats a bench made out of a log:
here we walked, but only a short route as it was so cold:
These are places we can visit in the region:
This is a legend of this region:
Posted Mar 31, 2009, 4:02 pm
This is the river "Emmer"
and we found a lot of sheeps.. but they were not in the mood of talking, more busy with eating..
and in the lake in front of the castle were a lot of fishes:
Posted Mar 31, 2009, 4:29 pm
this is the cathedral in Minden:
a cannon:
the cityhall:
This is Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel, a german surveyor born in Minden:
and another church in Minden:
the cityhall and catherdal:
These house we liked a lot. It looks so nice:
Posted Mar 31, 2009, 4:32 pm
Posted Mar 31, 2009, 4:51 pm
the bear was sleeping in the sun:
and the wolves too:
good that it was behind this fence:
they were not afraid:
the fave animals of my host mum:
riding a wild pig:
Posted Apr 8, 2009, 7:37 pm
Our first trip was to an exhibition of the toys of the german sandman, which is shown every evening at 18:50 in the German tv. The show is send since 1959. It was nice to see that, we didn't think that the figures are so small.
we could sit in the cars..
Rammelsberg is an UNESCO World heritage site in Goslar
Kaiserpfalz in Goslar
Spring is here.. they plant these flowers everywhere in Goslar:
The Marktkirche in Goslar.. We were on the top:
another great house, doesn't it look great?
and my host mum showed me the district court in Goslar:
and in the evening we made a barbecue:
and we relaxed a bit at the pool:
and watches some fishes in an aquarium, can you see us?
Posted Apr 8, 2009, 7:52 pm
The view to Thale:
The view around:
argh, that is so high:
Then we drove to the Rappbode-Talsperre
And finally we went again on a medieval faire. This time in the city of Goslar. The Faire was really nice and we also see a band playing.
and we were eating some delicious garlic bread:
That photo we made, sad that it doesn't look so nice.. but you can see my host mum in the middle, her fiance right, her son in the middle and her best friend left in medieval clothes:
That was a nice day in the Harz. But But we were totally tired.
Posted Apr 8, 2009, 8:03 pm
and you can see, here was still snow. There were so big differences between the temperatures in these days. On the first day we had around 22°C in Goslar and here was snow:
there was an exhibition in Torfhaus and here you can see us with a wolf:
The Radau-Wasserfall in Bad Harzburg:
We had some really nice days in the Harz and hopefully we can make holidays here one day again.
We haven't seen everything.
Posted Apr 22, 2009, 12:46 pm
I met HolgiHH and Wieka,they made me visit the home and we laughed well.
I am very happy here in Belgium.
Do not worry about me mom. See you later
Posted Apr 27, 2009, 6:24 pm
today I visited the house. It was very great.
You miss me mom!
Posted Apr 29, 2009, 1:45 pm
To tomorrow mom
Posted May 2, 2009, 12:47 pm
in Belgium the weather is very beautiful, the sun shines.
We played outside with all other travelers.
Posted May 3, 2009, 3:14 pm
We got dressed with disguises. How find me kept silent mom?
Later, we ate chocolate eggs. I spent good one a the afternoon but you miss me mom.
Posted May 5, 2009, 6:28 pm
Goodbye Charlis
Posted May 10, 2009, 8:03 pm
Then, we told to aurevoir to HolgiHH because he leaves to Netherlands. He is going to miss me because now, it is my friend!
To tomorrow mom
Ps: in Belgium, today it is the Mother's Day, then good celebrate mom.
Posted May 13, 2009, 6:36 pm
I have you write a small word.
Kisses mom
Posted May 16, 2009, 7:10 pm
See you later mom
Posted May 20, 2009, 1:26 pm
It was when we made a cake for apples.
He was delicious!!
See you later mom
Posted May 22, 2009, 10:30 am
I am satisfied to have new friends.
Twix comes from Germany his journey did not last for a long time.
Pynx comes from Uk, his journey was very short.
In Belgium, the sun shines.
See you later mum
Posted May 29, 2009, 4:55 pm
She is going to miss me!!
We made last photos all together.
Look as they are beautiful.
See you later mom
Posted Jun 1, 2009, 2:47 pm
With Pynx and Twix, we sunbathed outside.
This evening we are going to look Welcome to at them of chti.
You miss me mom.
Posted Jun 12, 2009, 1:51 pm
Last week, we made some bungee jumping. It was great.
It is Twix who had least fear thus he began.
It was BRILLIANT!
Later, it was in my tour and I liked a lot. At the beginning, Pynx was afraid, he did not want to jump but we reassured him and he made it.
It was a last very good moment together.
See you later mum
Posted Jun 15, 2009, 1:13 pm
See you later mom
Posted Jun 17, 2009, 3:56 pm
I am satisfied to return just a little at home.
I arrive mom
Posted Jun 17, 2009, 4:05 pm
Posted Jun 23, 2009, 3:55 pm
Thank you, Maelle, for the pretty rucksack.
When I came home, I met Misty Mouse, a travelling mouse from England. I'll tell her all about my adventures.
Another travelling mouse, Sportie left today, to China.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for her save arrival there.
Good-bye, Sportie!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 9, 2009, 1:33 pm
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 11, 2009, 2:00 pm
It took me only two days travelling! My new host Misa helped me from the envelope...
I was quite hungry after the jurney so Misa offered some sweets my mom sent to her. It was really tasty!
Then I became very tired and I fell asleep.
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 13, 2009, 4:32 pm
Behind the house there is a view on two hills. Misa told me that the hill on the left is called Kletecna and the one on the right is called Milesovka (837 m). It is the highest mountain of Ceske Stredohori (Böhmische Mittelgebirge) and it is the most windy mountain in the Czech republic.
On the hilltop is a weather station and there can be found this strange thing. I think it is a crystal ball by which the meteorologists foretell the weather!
After that we went along a field. Here I'm posing with bales of straw...
I was wondering how many mice like me were in this field. I haven't seen any. Maybe they are all moved in people's houses where they will spend winter. Misa told she hope that no mouse from a field won't visit us at home. I have to say that I don't understand her!
About 500 m from the house is the Memorial of Premysl Orac. We visited it and it was really interesting!
According to a legend Premysl was a ploughman (in czech it is orac) and he was an ancestor of first governing dynasty called Premyslovci. They ruled in the Czech lands from 9th century.
On the memorial there are two reliefs. The first show arrival of emissaries and telling Premysl that he must go to Prague, marry duchess Libuse and rule to Czech lands....(look how I am posing mommy!)....
... and the second relief shows Premysl's arrival to castle Vysehrad and his reception by duchess Libuse.
Premysl and Libuse married and lived contentedly till death
I tried myself to operate the plough!
On the lateral side was something written also. There is information that the memorial was built in 1841.
Hugs,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 14, 2009, 5:30 pm
Today I was a little bit homesick and I told it to Misa. She is so good girl, mommy! She wanted to make me happy so we set out on a trip. Guess where we went?
...Still don't know?....
Well, I'll tell you!
We went to Dresden, Germany!
To tell truth, Misa was hoping that you have never been there because I would probably know Dresden from your story telling but I told her that I have never heard of this city so you maybe never visited it before...
Misa said I should see mostly Czech republic when she is hosting me so she showed me at least Pragerstrasse in Dresden!
What an odd sculpture was there?!
We also saw a real team of horses!
Then we went to see Frauenkirche, which is the main dominant of Dresden.
Frauenkirche was destroyed by firebombing at the end of WW2. It had been rebuilt for 13 years and completed in 2004. She black bricks in walls are the original bricks of the church.
It was also a bit moved. This is the original wall of Frauenkirche from the days before war. I don't understand how they can simply move a church!
By the way, I have seen an airship too!
On the square was a statue of Friedrich August II, the king of Saxon.
Around the church there were many coloful houses. They look like old but they are new! The houses were built in this style to fit well into vicinity. I think it is really good work and idea!
We met a lot of people dressed in unusual clothes. For example this two guys told that they are saving money for clown shool
.
We enjoyed a little bit of panorama and monuments...
We saw the river Elbe. Misa told me that she comes from a city upon Elbe too! In Czechia they call it Usti nad Labem but as she knows I am a German mouse she translated it Aussig an der Elbe. She said that this is almost the last thing she remembers from her German but I didn't believe her!
The building on the right is Museum of Saxon traditional art.
This is Hofkirche.
The afternoon in Dresden exhausted me a lot! I took a nap in a flower.
I sat beside some people. I wanted to chat with them a while but they weren't answering. I think they were kinda busy or impolite.
This was really nice house. I don't know much about it but it may show something really important.
Here are another weird people:
We took some photos of me and Dresden. Hope you enjoy them, mom!
Our trip to Dresden was a bit longer than we expected. I will post more photos later.
Hugs,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 15, 2009, 10:50 am
I promised to continue with telling about my adventures in Dresden, well, where were we...
When visiting Dresden, nobody should omit Zwinger. Here I am in front of the building.
I sat next to a boy and we both were watching pavilion with chimes. There are 40 bells made from Meissen porcelain.
Zwinger has beautiful courtyard. I enjoyed it really a lot!
Behind me you can see the Wallpavilion which is very similar to the previous one.
We made a group photo with Misa
Here I am resting in the grass
And here I get into snapshot. It shows a fountain, but the picture is really bad.
Me in front of the Kronentor...
And again the beautiful courtyard...
We met another boy. He was naked and sat next to a bees nest. I wanted only to look at him but he grabbed me and started surveying me!
It was really stressful because there were flying a lot of bees and I was scared I get a sting.
Look at him what he was doing with me!!!
Finally everything end up well. I bite the boy in finger, and he let me go. I ran into a big wooden house and stayed there until I was rescued by Misa.
After this experience I needed to calm myself down and visited a shop with cheese. Mmmmm, what a heady aroma!
Evening was closer that we decided to take some photos of sunset.
We also took some night photos and then took off for home.
This was so wonderful day! I will miss this beautiful town, really! I am really glad we saw the city and I won't be never homesick, I promise!
Will update soon.
Hugs your Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 18, 2009, 7:52 pm
Few days ago Misa told we are going to visit Prague! I am so happy about it so past few days I wished nice weather for our trip!
First we went to Ujezd street which is at foot of the hill Petrin. There is a memorial to the victims of Communistic era between 1948-1989.
It shows seven bronze figures descending a flight of stairs. The statues appear more decayed the further away they are from you - losing limbs and their bodies breaking open. It is supposed to symbolize how political prisoners were affected by Communism.
The bronze plague nearby reads:
"The memorial to the victims of communism is dedicated to all victims not only those who were jailed or executed but also those whose lives were ruined by totalitarian despotism".
There is also a bronze strip that runs along the center of the memorial, showing estimated numbers of those impacted by Communism:
205,486 arrested
170,938 forced into exile
4,500 died in prison
327 shot trying to escape
248 executed
Here I am in front of the memorial.
But as it was not a sad trip we decided to go up to the Petrin hill by cablecar. I was watching how "the drivers cockpit" looks like
When we went up from the cablecar in front of us appeared this rose garden!
And this is how the cablecar looks like. It's a little bit old but it still works perfectly!
The main dominant of Petrin hill is lookout tower Petrinska rozhledna. It's surnamed as the "Little Eiffel Tower".
We also met a clown!
We made several photos of me and Prague but they are not very good because of the bad visibility. At least you won't examine the view a lot and I am the most interesting object in the photos!
Here was Misa more successful in taking photos of me and Prague Castle.
We were approaching Prague Castle and we discovered this nice building. It's called Loreta and it's a pilgrimage site and is world famous because of the baroque bell tower and treasury with the Loreto treasure.
On the way we saw also the building of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Czech republic.
We met a statue of first Czechoslovak president Tomas Garrigue Masaryk (since 1918)....
...and the second Czechoslovak president Edvard Benes too.
Near Prague Castle is Schwarzenbersky palace.
And there were many these old cars. Your can rent them for sightseeing tours.
We made a photo with this handsome castle guard
In the courtyard of the Prague Castle there is St. Vitus Cathedral. It is really beautiful building. I wanted to look at it from all sides
There were walking some people in uniforms and they had fun from us. They behaved like they have never seen a traveling toy. Can you imagine that, mom?
We better continued...
Later we saw a really cool place!
A retirement house for old toys! As Misa told me it's a Museum of Toys in fact. I think it's a cool place anyway. I made a photo with some of the toys. When I am old I wish to move in a museum like this.
Next to the museum we saw some blacksmith's products.
There was a man dressed in a medieval clothes and doing some blacksmith work. Few minutes ago I saw him calling by a cell phone. It was very confusing. Did they use a cell phone in the middle ages, mom?
Misa tried to make another photos of me and Prague panorama but she didn't succeed again very much.
But what I can say is that I have visited a real vineyard! Below the Prague castle there is a vineyard called Svatovaclavska vinice and is one of the oldest vineyards in Bohemia. Last year in September the vineyard was made accessible for public.
My next very interesting piece of knowledge is that in the Czech republic there are really lazy pigeons!
We made several photos of Vltava river...
...and of Vltava river and the Charles Bridge.
We met a real sailor man! He was more shy than us anyway he asked me where I am from and I politely answered that I am a German traveling mouse. I suppose he was quite familiar with this fact because he said something like he knows the movie about Amelie Poulain.
Before we get to the Charles Bridge we saw a statue of the Czech king and Roman emperor from the 14th century Karel IV. (Charles IV).
And finally the Charles Bridge!
This is St. Ludmila with little Vaclav (Venceslas).
This place on the bridge shows where was St. John of Nepomuk drawned to Vltava river. John of Nepomuk is a national saint of the Czech republic and by the way a patron against the floods and patron against the calumnies.
And this is statue of St. John of Nepomuk. It is believed that if you touch the statue and make a wish the wish comes truth.
A made a wish too!
This is how look streets in the city center. They are narrow and full of people
Another old car... with a bride.
Then we continued to the Old Town Square. It is one if the most famous place in Prague.
You can see here the old astrological clock and Tynsky chram.
Orloj is old mechanical clock. The clock also shows calendar and position of some planets, moon and so on. It comes from the 15th century.
There are two small windows above the clock. Every single hour the windows open and show figures of the Apostles. There are also other moving sculptures.
Tynsky chram is the most important Old Town church.
Wohoo! Horses!
I think, this building is awesome! It is the National Gallery.
And this is a statue of Jan Hus, another important person from Czech history.
On the way from the Old Town Square we can see the Powder Gate.
Here I am at Venceslas Square.. It is the main shopping artery in Prague. Obviously full of tourists.........and pickpockets
The large building on the top is National Museum.
The last place we visited today is out from the historic center. It's Zizkov Tower which is a TV transmitter with a lookout terrace.
It's interesting because of ten plastic babies creeping on the tower.
Wow, this was really a great trip! I think I saw really a lot from Prague and I am really glad for it.
Now I am exhausted from all the writing, mom. I will end now.
Big hug,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 20, 2009, 11:23 pm
we had lazy weekend but I enjoyed it a lot! On Saturday arrived Misa’s parents for a short visit so we decided to go for a lunch in a near restaurant. It’s in a big park near from where Misa lives. There is a little pond with many fishes and above the pond stands the restaurant. We sat on a terrace and enjoyed looking at the pond and watching fishes.
After the lunch we went for a walk through the park. It was really nice warm day so I felt like jumping into the pond and go swimming for a while. Here I am sitting at the bank and summoning the courage for the BIG jump.
Well...errrr...what should I tell you...errrr....the courage didn’t come as I was afraid of the deep depths and who knows what everything lives at the bottom of the pond, right? I rather changed my mind and watched the water from respectful distance.
In the park there is a statue of Czech poet Jiri Wolker. Maybe you can’t see me but I am sitting on his shoe. Can you see me?
The water attracted me after all. I was curious what’s hidden in the bushes.
And there it was! A huge waterfall! Who could believe this! The waterfall was almost as huge as Niagara Falls! I am not lying, mom! Here is the proof.
After that I was watching a fountain.
At the end of the park there is a large building. It’s a new subway station which was opened about a year ago. Its name is Strizkov. It is the most modern subway station in Prague and it won an international price for its design. It’s made of steel and glass.
On Sunday evening we were watching movie when we heard a noise. We looked out of the window and saw a beautiful firework! We tried to make some photos. I love especially the second one! Of course it was me who took the photo.
Your,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 21, 2009, 11:33 pm
Today I tried to fulfill one of my life missions! I mean to taste an unknown variety of cheese.
We were hungry but didn’t have much for eating at home so we went shopping. We bought a curd cheese, in the Czech Republic called as Olomoucke tvaruzky or Olomoucke syrecky because it’s being produced near a Moravian city Olomouc. It’s a ripened soft cheese and is almost fatless! Even though it is a famous cheese here, not everyone likes it. You certainly want to know why. The reason is that Olomoucke syrecky has strong aroma and somebody doesn’t like the smell. I tried to sniff at the cheese but I didn’t smell anything. Oh well it was not unpacked yet...LOL... Here is how the cheese looks like.
Misa decided to make breaded syrecky with toasts. Of course I had to watch her if she does everything correctly.
In fact I absolutely had no idea how to make it but I wanted to look important.
And here is the result. It was really yummy!
Finally I have one more cheese in my list and now I am even closer to complete my mission (possible).
Bye,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 23, 2009, 11:27 am
today we went for a walk at riverbanks of Vltava. Misa is fond of boats of all types so she was really happy about our walk. And so do I.
First we went by tram and get off near on of the Prague islands called Strelecky ostrov.
We went along and saw these beautiful houses.
Near from Jiraskuv bridge there is so called The Dancing House. It was finished in 1996. It was the first building designed by world famous architects realised after the Velvet Revolution in 1989. The Dancing House is also called Ginger and Fred (after Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire). It is very original.
On the bridge.
And the first boat
Vltava river.
The other side of Jiraskuv most.
This is castle Vysehrad. It is the place where went Premysl Orac and duchess Libuse. Dukes of the Czech lands ruled there.
A view on Ginger and Fred from the opposite bank of Vltava.
Some other photos...
This is a building of The National Theater. It is one of the most important buildings in the Czech republic.
Then we went to Kampa. At the beginning is a park. When we were going through we saw people doing some gymnastic things. That was very interesting!
After that we found some wooden sculptures so we played hide-and-seek.
We also met a baby from the Zizkov Tower (I showed you last time). In fact there are three babies. The artist who made them, brought three babies in Kampa. Well at least I saw their real size. They are huge!
On Vltava we saw a big chair too...
... and penguins in a queue
. In the dark they work as lamps.
This is the Charles bridge. It is under reconstruction for past year and the reconstruction will last for some time so the photos are not very cool.
This is Certovka (the word is derived from "cert" which means devil in czech). Certovka is a short channel in Lesser Town next to Charles Bridge. It was digged in the middle ages because of flow regulation for water mills.
All the time I had a feeling that somebody is following us and I was right! A baloon!
I was quite disappointed when Misa told me that nobody follow us because the baloon is a touristic attraction and is secured in one place so it doesn't fly away. Maybe you can see a rope near my nose
And here we are in Lesser Town.
It was very busy day on Vltava...
There were many boats...
...boats...
... and ducks
This riverbank out from the historic center... kinda different, huh?
This is Kramarova vila. It's a residence for Prime Minister of the Czech republic but it's usually used for representative role.
Our walk is almost finishing.
And at the end we took photo of something that is not really the nicest place of Prague. There used to be a restaurant Praha Expo 58 commemorating the exhibition Expo but the restaurant became desolated. Now it is reconstructed and is a really beautiful building but this wall is such an ugly.
My little feet hurt now, mom. I am going to take a rest.
Hugs,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 25, 2009, 12:22 pm
Today I arrived with Misa to her parent's house and guess who I met there?! My old friend Wieka! What a surprise!
Now I gotta go, mom. We have much to talk about with Wieka.
Bye now,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 3, 2009, 7:37 pm
you would never believed what adventure I experienced with Wieka!
We were allowed us to go to work with Misa's father! He works as an engine driver for Czech railways and we saw how it looks like in a locomotive!
Unfortunately I don't know names of all the appliances in there but it was very interesting anyway!
We were so excited! There were so many different clocks!
We also tried the feeling of Leonardo and Kate on Titanic
It was sooooo .....
..... windy
Nevertheless we better returned into the cabin.
Wieka wanted stretch his wings so he grabbed me into his claws and soared with me! That was fantastic to look everything from high above!
Then we set out on back way.
It was such a great trip as I saw another "workplace".
Hugs,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 3, 2009, 9:14 pm
He said hello to us and introduced himself as Papelbon. He arrived from the United states.
I am happy to have a new friend!
Bye,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 6, 2009, 4:44 pm
Today we went playing badminton for a while. I was playing against Papelbon and Wieka was flying around us and was looking after the ball. Our match finished as a draw
Hugs,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 11, 2009, 12:51 pm
today we went to castle park in Cakovice which is part of Prague.
There was a statue of unidentifiable animal. We made a group photo with it.
Everywhere is visible that autumn is coming and leaves are starting to change colors.
In the park there is a pond with many friends Anas platyrhynchos
And the end of walk we rested a while at a tree...
... later we moved to a big tree stump. I wonder how old the tree was
Will update soon!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 15, 2009, 6:58 am
Misa told us yesterday that we are going on a trip today but the destination is secure! She didn't tell us where we are going to! I am so excited!
We had to get up really early! At 4:10 am!
The only she told us is that we are going to travel there by train. This time like passengers and not with an engine driver
Here we are in train at out seats. We all were curiously craning our necks.
Our starting position was Praha Main Railway Station.
Posted Oct 15, 2009, 7:12 am
I thought this was the final destination of our trip but it wasn't. The train started moving again. We better sat on the comfortable seats.
Posted Oct 15, 2009, 7:24 am
We arrived to Brno. It's the second largest city in the Czech republic.
Posted Oct 15, 2009, 7:36 am
We still had to hold on in the train as we weren't at the end of our journey yet. I can't wait!
We were in Breclav here. When we looked at a map we realized it seems like we were leaving Czech republic!
Posted Oct 16, 2009, 10:45 pm
Here I am with our train.
First place we visited was Belvedere and its garden. I guess there was a dry summer. The small lake in front of the Oberes Belvedere was completely empty!
We saw some crows. (Are they crows?) We asked them to take a group photo with them but we weren't allowed
So we have photos with them only.
The gardens around Belvedere were amazing. I think they are even nicer in spring!
There was also a fantastic fountain! Look at the crow flying over it!
Another fountain! I am keen on fountains!
Heh
Ready - Steady - Go !
We found and interesting place. It was shop selling nesting boxes. They were so cute!
Then we went to a Stephansdom (St. Stephen Cathedral) which is situated in Stephansplatz. It's one of the most important Austrian Gothic monuments and a symbol of Vienna. It was built in 12th century.
This is Vienna State Opera. It's also a beautiful and significant building.
This is interesting, there were many riding statues. Maybe it's because the famous breed of horse Lipizzan which is closely associated with the Spanish Riding Shool of Vienna. The Lipizzan breed dates back to the 16th century, when it was developed with the support of the Habsburg nobility. The Riding School belongs to the complex of Hofburg which was Habsburg winter residence.
Here we are having rest in front of Hofburg
Wow! A historic bus!
In Austria they have really beautiful building of Parliament.
[
And supposedly a great bathing! Papelbon jumped in the fountain and said the water is great but I didn't believe him!
The man was so charmed by the woman on the right that he is still spilling water from pitcher. Lubber!
A lady with laptop!
My first experience with underground in Vienna!
As we were in Vienna we had to visit famous Prater with its Riesenrad (Ferris Wheel). It stands at the entrance of the Prater (amusement park in Leopoldstadt). It is one of the most popular tourist attractions.
Later we saw this beautiful castle. Unfortunately Misa is forgetful and she doesn't remember its name. Anyway it's quite similar to one castle in the Czech republic if it helps.
And another place that we couldn't omit! The Danube!
After that we were on our way to Hundertwasserhaus. Before we got there we met a similar building. It was a Hundertwasser Museum.
And here it is... Hundertwasser House. It's an apartment house and is one of Vienna's most visited buildings so we cannot be absent
Later we met a rabbit. Someone's hands were just taking him out from a magic hat. Poor guy!
And then it was time to return back to Prague. Me, Wieka and Papelbon were so tired that we slept on our seat in train.
Good night!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 17, 2009, 12:27 pm
It was really horrible weather this week. So cold and windy! The winter arrived one month earlier than usually.
It even snowed today! I would never expect snow at the middle of October here. Misa read in newspaper today was the coldest day in last 30 years (It means the coldest 15th October in last 30 years to be specific).
I better looked out from the terrace for a while and I was glad that I didn't need to go anywhere.
Hugs,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 18, 2009, 10:33 am
As it was rainy weather we stayed home and helped Misa with jigsaw puzzle. I think she will have hard work with it because the puzzle contains 10.000 pieces. Hopefully the finishes it someday. I will keep fingers crossed
This is how it should look like when it is finished. It's a painting by Diego Velasquez called The Surrender of Breda. In final the puzzle will be much more bigger than this image.
Bye,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 21, 2009, 4:11 pm
Today we were playing a board game! It's called Cesko and we could verify our knowledge about the Czech republic in this game. Fantastic! We learned so many new things! And it was so much fun!
Guess who won?
Bye,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 22, 2009, 12:54 pm
At first I said good bye to Wieka. He was so sad that I am leaving and so did I. I hope I will meet him again one day at some other host.
Wieka was hiding from camera because he didn't want everybody see his red eyes.
Then I said good bye to Papelbon. He gave me a really big hug and when I say big I mean as big as he is. I am so tiny against him.
This everything - it was very touching. At last before I jumped into the envelope both ToyVoaygers were waving at me.
Next update will be from Britain!
Your
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 31, 2009, 7:07 pm
I have arrived in the U.K. in a place where it usually rains a lot, but today it was sunny, bit of a breeze so we went fishing with friends on the beach, the waves were big so its a good job they kept me safe.
We will be going up to Nottingham next week to see my hosts family and then to Birmingham to see a friend of my host.
They have a bunny rabbit but I am told I am very safe because he is a very shy one - his name is Napolean.
Posted Nov 15, 2009, 9:26 pm
Posted Nov 15, 2009, 9:37 pm
The pictures of a bubble building is the outside of the Bullring Centre it lights up at night, last time my host saw it when visiting friends it was green at night we saw it blue at night.
Posted Nov 15, 2009, 9:48 pm
Posted Dec 17, 2009, 7:39 pm
We then took pictures of the area called Royal Crescent but it didnt all fit in the photograph!!
Bath is known for its therapeutic spa/springs.
Roman Baths (Bath)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Roman Baths
The entrance to the Roman Baths
Shown within Somerset
Building
Town Bath
Country England
Coordinates 51°22′51″N 2°21′34″W / 51.38094°N 2.35950°W / 51.38094; -2.35950
Construction
Started Baths - Roman
Building - 1894
Completed 1897
Design team
Architect Building - John Wood, the Elder, John Wood, the Younger
For Roman baths in general, see Thermae.
The Roman Baths complex is a site of historical interest in the English city of Bath. The complex is a well-preserved Roman site for public bathing.
The Roman Baths themselves are below the modern street level. There are four main features: the Sacred Spring, the Roman Temple, the Roman Bath House and the Museum holding finds from Roman Bath. The buildings above street level date from the 19th century.
The Baths are a major tourist attraction and, together with the Grand Pump Room, receive more than one million visitors a year.[1] It was featured on the 2005 TV program Seven Natural Wonders as one of the wonders of the West Country. Visitors can see the Baths and Museum but cannot enter the water. An audio guide is available in several languages.
In 2009 a grant of £90,000 was made to Bath and North East Somerset Council to contribute towards the cost of re-developing displays and improving access to the Roman Baths, by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport/Wolfson Fund, which was established to promote improvements in Museums and Galleries in England.[2][3]
my host said that she and her hubby had tasted the spa mineral water, and as she politely put it "its an acquired tasted" yuk....
Posted Dec 17, 2009, 8:03 pm
Bath is one of the world's great cities and its listing as a UNESCO World Heritage Site confirms that its architectural beauty is amongst the very best.
The Royal Crescent was built between 1767 and 1775 to the design of John Wood the Younger, and forms a semi-ellipse of thirty Grade I listed houses arranged around a great Lawn. The famous travel writer Jan Morris once wrote about it, "It lies there in a shallow arc, its wide Lawns running away beyond the Ha-ha down the hill below, and all is suddenly space, and green, and leisure. The Crescent is architecture on a truly palatial scale and reminds many people of Versailles". (Introduction to Bath: An Architectural Guide, by Charles Robertson, 1975). Well-known architectural writer Nikolaus Pevsner wrote, “the conception of an open composition was something new in town-planning, and something very English, although the idea came perhaps from Prior Park, that is the villas of Palladio. It was here applied for the first time to a terrace of houses, and moreover the shape of the Crescent was here employed for the first time.” North Somerset and Bristol, Buildings of England series, 1958).
In 1973 the residents of the Crescent founded The Royal Crescent Society as an "unincorporated association" to "preserve and enhance the amenities of the Royal Crescent and promote the interests of its Members". It has done so ever since and the vast majority of residents are Members. You can read about the Society by clicking on the links on the left.
The Society has now generated this website for its Members and for visitors. This site is the Members’ Newsletter, plus a record of the Society’s structure, achievements & current projects. For everyone the site provides the History and guides for the Crescent & the City of Bath. It is also a record of the Crescent Lawn Company Ltd which was set up to hold title to the Lawn in front of the Crescent and manage its maintenance and its use.
The Society and the Crescent Lawn Company are committed to the preservation and restoration of this historic site. We hope that you too will join us in this and, in doing so, help to ensure that this truly historic site is enjoyed by many, for many years to come. Membership as a resident, or friend is inexpensive and all funds are used solely in pursuit of the Society's aims.
On behalf of The Royal Crescent Society, I would like to welcome you to our website and hope that you will enjoy the wealth of information, pictures and links we have provided.
Posted Jan 6, 2010, 6:21 pm
I then found somewhere to hide, in the BBQ with a gnome to keep me company. ha ha ha
Posted Jan 6, 2010, 6:40 pm
They have trees of every colour, my host decided her tree this year woulkd have the bronze theme so we bought a few baubles... I liked the pink tree myself and you can just see me hiding in it.
We drove through Ottery St Mary, and saw the shops and the beautiful church there. Its only a small rural place.
Posted Jan 6, 2010, 7:04 pm
Here you see me in Nottingham in my hosts husbands mums house, it was a very pretty white tree.
Dotties mouse tries to raid the fridge and finds Cathedral Mature Cheddar, yum yum she says.
Wow big balloons oh what fun
I tried to check the presents out, but nearly fell to the bottom of the bag.
Dottie wants to tuck into the dinner...
Posted Jan 28, 2010, 8:56 am
I'm so sorry I haven't written in a while. My new host has been really busy and a little sick. She did took some pictures of me and
Atta, the other toy voyager she is hosting, but[url=www.photobucket.com] Photobucket[/url] isn't helping much lately...
But we manage to get at least one photo for you.
This was in front of one of the school where one of the kids she takes care of goes to. The snow was just melting and it gave the sight a very early morning feeling, even though it was lunch time.
"Kusjes" to you
Posted Feb 2, 2010, 9:47 am
Me in front of the house Im staying.
Me playing the Wii with Atta
In front of the old royal house in Den Haag
I'll be back soon with more
Posted Feb 13, 2010, 4:45 pm
One of the most curious and tipically dutch things you can find here is the bakfiets!!! There is no translation for this name, but once you see what it is, you get a picure of what it was designed for...
The bakfiets is a bike, not a regular bike... It has space for you to take children in it, so for an example, you can bike your kids to school.
My host told me that once she managed to put 6 children sitting in it!!! It was heavy, but it was very funny and everyone kept looking at them.
Here is me and Atta on the bakfiets
Me with snow
See you next time
our host is going to make us a celebration of valentine's day tomorrow... though she almost forgot, since this day doensæt mean anything in Brazil, where she is from... HEHEHEH
Posted Feb 21, 2010, 7:30 pm
Saturday was another day of shopping and taking pictures in Den Haag! The sun was out and we all thought it'd be a nice idea to take a bus to the city and enjoy the nice weather!So, our host MorgenSter took us to a museum
Me in the bus
In front of the Gemeente Museum with Atta
At the museum
Picture of the famous clothing store. famous for the outside view of the shop.
We really had a fun time. Today we went back to the centrum... but it was raining so much that none of the pictures looked good. But next weekend we will go to Amsterdam together
Posted Mar 4, 2010, 8:30 pm
And here I am
Now we have a new Tv friend and her name is Regina .
Relaxing in bed
On my way to Amsterdam
'
In Amsterdam we enjoyed an amazing witches party, with lots of music and funny dressed people. But We can not find my picture with the guests...
But here is one with the Book of Shadows...
The front of the house is going through some work, we couldn't not take a picture...
Learning dutch at my host's class
Playing with Morris
And I also went to a chinese restaurant, but they didn't have much cheese for me...
Oh and I'm not the meal!!!
Our trip to Amsterdam was a little spoiled, as it was raining and windy and our host thought she was about to take flight with the wind... so we didn't get to take pics... maybe next time
Bye Bye
Posted Mar 15, 2010, 9:21 pm
And I just got back from the most delicious place ever!!! A dutch cheesecake factory
And MorgenSter had one specially for me... I almost had tears in my eyes...
Cheese!
Did I fullfil one of dream already??? Having eaten plenty of cheese through many countries?
I attended a children's hockey practice!
And I saw " The girl with the pearl earring" at Mauritshuis Museum.
The square inside where they make laws and have political meetings
See you next time
Posted Apr 18, 2010, 6:33 pm
I'm really happy to have stayed here for a while. I got the chance to meet a nice and fun host and very cool Tvs travelling around. Now it's time to say goodbye.
I'm going back to Austria, a country I really love
Here, MorgenSter threw me and Atta (who is also leaving) a Farewell party
We lighted some candles in front of the window and we said our goodbyes!
She also took a picture of herself with me... so now, you get to see the face of the girl who has been hosting me
Me and the gang
About to go into the envelope ( same one I got here with)
Bye Bye house!
ByeBye Hostie!!!!
Austria here I come!!!!
Posted Apr 27, 2010, 4:54 pm
I arrived at my new host mom's place today! There are already some other tvs here who were all very curious about me! I met a Canadian fellow - Cpl. Flapjack Jr, Fiorillo-the Koala, HappyLeopard and SandiRose.
I can't wait to explore my new home!
Bye for now!
Dottie
Posted May 3, 2010, 3:52 pm
Did you know it's just about 40 days until the football World Championship will start in South Africa? And there are special stickers that you can collect and put in an album. Our host-mom had bought such an album and some stickers and so we helped to put them in!
It was fun learning about the teams and the players!
Bye!
Posted May 9, 2010, 11:14 am
Here are the pictures from my short Vienna holiday!
We walked through Vienna's city center and visited the Stephansdom, the big cathedral! Mom told us that it is forever being renovated - when the first part is ready, they start the next, and so on...and when they are ready with the last part, they can re-start with the first!
Next to the chirch we saw the famous Fiaker, the horse coaches! You can rent a coach and take a tour through the city with it!
Near the Cathedral is a very modern building, the Haas-Haus. We walked on through the small streets of the Inner City, which is a UNESO WHS by the way.
Vienna is very famous for its coffee-culture and the many traditional Kaffeehäuser (=coffee shops). We walked by the Café Hawelka, which is a very old and traditional café with many famous guests (actors, artists, authors...).
Then we walked through the Kärntnerstraße and stopped in front of the Hotel Sacher - that's where the original Sacher cake comes from!
We then had of course a coffee and relaxed a bit in a café!
Posted May 15, 2010, 5:49 pm
We did some more sightseeing and started with the MQ today. That's short for MuseumsQuartier (museums quarter). That's a complex of museums, for example the Leopold Museum and the MUMOK. During the summer months you can sit on design couches in the MQ courtyard and relax, there are also concerts! We then left the MQ and went on to some older museums, the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistorisches Museum. The Kunsthistorisches is home of artistic treasures collected by the Habsburgs, whereas the Naturhistorisches collects for example stones, minerals, dinosaurs, fossils... Both museums are opposite of each other in a park.
From there it's just a short walk to the Hofburg, where the former Emperors had their quarters. You can take a tour through the bedrooms of Sissi and Emperor Franz if you like and the Vienna Spanish Riding School is also in the Hofburg. Today, the President of Austria has his office here.
Wow, what a walk! Our feet are hurting now, so we decide to go to a café and relax!
Posted May 16, 2010, 11:34 am
Today we went to Schönbrunn. That's not just the name of the famous castle where the Habsburgs have lived, but also the name of this huge park. It is the park where Sisi used to ride and today it is a real treat for Vienna's inhabitants to go there and relax, other like to take a run. You have alleys with huge old trees and rows of boxtrees and other hedges, in the spring you see flower beds with tulips and now you have many blooming lilac trees there in many different colors! You can see a plan of the park here.
In the park you can also find the Palm House. And that was our first destination! The Palm House was built around 1880 and in those days it was a great experience to see tropic blooms or palm trees! The House has three different climatic zones: a cold one, a temperate zone and a tropic one! You can walk between them and in some parts it's like being in the jungle.
That was great! Some of the blooms were really fragrant!
Posted May 16, 2010, 3:45 pm
So here I am with my report of my day in Schönbrunn. After visiting the Palm House, we went on to the Vienna Zoo. It is the world's oldest zoo, founded in 1752.
Some of the old houses and parts of the old walls have been conservated, but today the shelters and areas for the animals are modernized. There are always some animal babies here, at the moment they have very small penguins, freshly hatched. The giant pandas have mated again, too, but we still don't know if there will be another baby panda! The Vienna zoo was in the news with the birth of the baby panda Fu Long, who returned to China at the age of three.
We saw Koala, Giant pandas, hippos, elephants, penguins, bears, zebras...it's a beautiful zoo! We also went to the desert house, where I saw some distant relatives of mine!
Later we went through the park and to it's other end, where the beautiful castle and the Gloriette are located! What a walk!
Posted May 21, 2010, 11:00 am
Of course we could not leave without having seen the Vienna Riesenrad, the Giant Wheel! Because the weather was not really great, as you can see on the picture, we did not drive with the wheel!
Then we left Austria for UNO-territory - yes you did read it right! We went to the UN city in Vienna and when you are inside of this city, you have left Austria and are on United Nations soil! We had to pass several security checks, have been x-rayed and were finally allowed to enter the Memorial Plaza, that's where all the flagposts are! Unfortunately we did not have much time to take pictures, so I just put the picture of the flags online! We were guided through the different building there: huge auditoriums, the IAEA and in the buildings you could also find lots of art and artifacts that were given to the UN from either the artists themselves or from the UN member countries. I'm so srry that we could not make any more pictures, but you can tale a virtual tour here.
After re-entering Austrian soil, we went back to the city center of Vienna and took a tram to the Vienna Central Cemetary. This is where you can visit the graves of famous Austrian musicians, artists, actors but also politicians. You can see us in front of the "Präsidentengruft" (the Presidential Vault), that's where all the former Austrian Presidents are buried.
That was an interesting tour as our host mom told us stories about the people lying there. So it was a history lesson, too!
We then went to meet our host dad and drove back home to Graz! We had a fantastic trip to Vienna!
Posted May 30, 2010, 4:54 pm
Hi Mom!
This week there will be another big celebration. My host grandma's birthday. We will celebrate it with the family in another city of Austria, Kottingbrunn. That's near Vienna! As the other family members will organize everything, we thought of buying them a present! So we went to a big flower market and had a look!
We then decided on buying a basket of strawberries! Mmmmhhh...I love strawberries! My host-mom also picked up some flowers for her own balcony: Look, aren't they beautiful?
And we also bought a special potato-pot: You can see that the inner pot has some holes, where you can harvest the potatoes. My host mom told me that she had potatoes on the balcony last year, and that they tasted really great! I have to wait and see, I guess!
Posted Jun 1, 2010, 1:50 pm
As I told you in my last update, we have travelled to Kottingbrunn, which is a small city in Lower Austria, near Vienna. We celebrated my host grandma's birthday here. We had brilliant weather and so we took a walk around the city!
We went to the Wasserschloss first where a dog exhibition was held. But they did not let me take part, as I am a little mouse... So we decided to walk on and went to the huge park that surrounds the castle.
Later we walked along a river and came upon beautiful flowers in the cornfields. These are poppies, my host mom told me. Aren't they beautiful? But you are not supposed to pluck them, as they will loose all their patels when plucked! So we had to admire them in the fields! It is a really beautiful landscape here!
Bye!
Posted Jun 6, 2010, 10:50 am
My host mom had visitors from the US here, distant relatives! So we decided to show them around!
We went to the Eggenberg Castle, a beautiful castle in Graz!
The castle is a Baroque castle and it was built with astronomical influences. There are for example 365 windows for the days of the year, 4 towers for the seasons of the year, and so on.
We also took a tour of the 24 (as in hours per day) State rooms, but we have no pictures of that! Not enough time because we had to follow our tour guide!
There is also the beautiful garden with free running peacocks! But they are nice, no worries! They just scream a lot
Bye!
Posted Jun 6, 2010, 8:37 pm
Today we went to Southern Styria, the area where they grow white wine! You can see many vineyards and there are wineries where you can have a tasting. We went there for a "Backhendl", a fried chicken which is a local speciality here. We then had a nice walk and saw the beautiful hills, flowers and the Styrian flag! We also saw the Klapotetz, which is kind of a big scarecrow - it is made of wood and when the wind catches the wood, it makes a noise to scare away the birds that eat the young grapes!
When we returned home, we had a cheese tasting as my host grandparents have just returned from Italy and brought a lot of cheese home! A great thing for a cheese-loving mouse like me
What a great day!
Posted Jun 6, 2010, 8:54 pm
We had a thunderstorm this evening, but then we saw a beautiful rainbow! A few minutes later, there was even a second one! Look, how colorful they were
Posted Jun 12, 2010, 11:02 am
I just received an invitation from China and so I packed my rucksack and said goodbye to my fellow toyvoyager friends!
China, here I come!
Bye hostmom, I had fun with you!
Dottie
Posted Jul 7, 2010, 4:56 pm
I get to China!!!
Although it is a long trip, I arrived in Eva's house in China safe and sound
I meet some friends here, they treat me well.
Eva says she will take me around the city Shanghai tomorrow.
I'm very looking forward to it
Good night Mom! I feel a little tired and I want to go to sleep
Dottie
Posted Jul 8, 2010, 1:13 pm
Today we go to Lujiazui. It is both the financial center and tourist attraction of Shanghai.
We go there by subway.
Here is a sculpure made of glass in the metro station. It is about the scenery of Lujiazui.
Now we are in Lujiazui
Mommy, do you find two tall buildings behind me? These two buildings are the tallest buildings in Shanghai, as well in Asia.One has 88 floors ,the other one has 100 floors .
Bye!
Dottie
Posted Jul 9, 2010, 4:53 pm
As a college student, today, Eva shows me around her college.
As it is very large, we travel around the college by bicycle.
The college is surrounded by greening, the air is fresh.
This is the college library.
Eva wants to find some information of law in the library. I just followed her.
It is a relaxing day
Bye Mommy!
Dottie
Posted Jul 11, 2010, 12:16 pm
We go to Xujiahui to see the night scene this evening.
The round house behind me is a shopping mall.
And we eat pizza tonight.
Bye Mom!
Dottie
Posted Jul 25, 2010, 5:42 pm
Eva is in her internship these days in a law office. She takes me to work every day and shows me nice scenery of Shanghai on her way.
We visit the People's Square this morning. The square is a large garden where the Shanghai city hall is settled here.
The brown house with a round dome over there is the Shanghai Museum which is in the middle of the People's Square. Eva says that there are great amount of doves in the square, we can have a closer look next time.
This is the Shanghai City Planning Exhibition Centre. It represents the history and development of Shanghai.
These are traditional houses of Old Shanghai.
Mom, you may find that Shanghai is a city which both have ancient houses and skyscraper buildings. Shanghai is a city which blends the east and the west
Bye Mom!
Dottie
Posted Jul 26, 2010, 5:49 pm
My host eva and I go to Chamate for dinner today.We eat hot pot and ice cream.
Then, we go window-shopping in the Zhengda Plaza.
Finally, we walk along the street to see night scenery of the Oriental Pearl Tower and other buildings.
It is a nice day!
Good night Mom!
Dottie
Posted Jul 27, 2010, 1:52 pm
eva and I are walking along the public garden.
Although Shanghai is a city of concrete jungle, the government tries to set up more green land in the city so as to improve the environment
Bye
Dottie
Posted Jul 28, 2010, 3:23 pm
Today we go to Shanghai's Town God's Temple. We take bus to get there.
Shanghai' s Town God's Temple is a place of Taoism. However nowadays more and more people are inclined to come here to see its unique traditonal archetecture and traditional Chinese culture.
These are taditional houses built in Ming Dynasty.
People are very in favor of stores around the temple.They are full of tradional culture.
These are tradional Chinese vases.
These are red paper-cuts. Chinese people prefer to paste them on the window when celebrating the New Year.
THese are dolls which dress up as princesses of Qin Dynasty
These are fans with handwork embroidery.
These are handmade seals.
Yeah,there are so many interesting stores here!
Bye Mommy!
I feel so happy and enjoy my time here
Dottie
Posted Jul 31, 2010, 3:41 pm
Today we walk along an exhibition of Old Shanghai.
This is the model of Old Shanghai alley.
Bye Mom
Dottie
Posted Aug 7, 2010, 7:47 am
Today we visit Taikang Road Association. It is also called Tianzi Fang.
You can see many old houses and lanes here. They are called Shanghai Gate Architecture and they are the most distinctive residental houses in Old Shanghai in the1970's.
Although they are settled in the noisy city center, surrounded by the high walls, you can enjoy sunshine and peaceful life here. Many people prefer to have a rest in the coffee pub or tea store here in a sunny afternoon.
This is the map of Tianzi Fang. It figures like a square.
There are many interesting stores here. Art gallerys, photography exhibitions, clothes stores , traditional toys and so on. Eva tells me that Tianzi Fang is an art street in Shanghai. It is also a paradise for Shanghai local artists. So every one may feel an artistic air here.
Bye Mommy!
DOTTIE
Posted Aug 7, 2010, 6:05 pm
Today I eat Sushi round the table with eva.
Then we go window-shopping in the Grand Gateway in XUjiahui. There is a car exhibition here.
I have a good time
Bye Mommy!
Dottie
Posted Aug 9, 2010, 3:11 pm
We go to the Jinjiang Amusement Park tonight. The weather is cool and the lights are brilliant. I feel like drop into a dream world.
There are various facilities. Some are so adventurous, others are very relaxing.
The ferris wheel is always be regarded as the symbol of romance.
The merry-go-round can always recall our memory of childhood.
This is pirate ship. I feel like I can fly in the ship. It is so dangerous but I like it!
It's sooo cool!
To tell the truth, the night scenery is more amazing than the pictures you see.
I feel very happy
.
Goodnight, Mom!
DOTTIE
Posted Aug 10, 2010, 12:42 pm
I am in the Apple flagship store now. It is settled in Lujiazui as well.
The entry door of the store is made of glass. It looks beautiful.
The atomosphere here is very relaxing. People can try every electronic thing freely here.
Then we have a rest in the Dairy Queen.
Bye Mommy!
Dottie
Posted Aug 11, 2010, 2:12 pm
We go to Tianzi Fang again.
We are walking along the street.
Bye
Dottie
Posted Aug 20, 2010, 9:04 am
Recent days are sooo hot outside. The temperature here is almost 40℃. So I am surfing on the Internet inside with the air conditioner all day along.
Posted Aug 21, 2010, 10:56 am
Guess where am I going to ???
I'm on the way to Ningbo.
Eva is planning to go to Ningbo and Hangzhou for several days.
She brings me with her.
We are now on the highway, the car speed is above 100km/h, I feel that I can fly!
The bridge behind me is Hangzhou Bay Bridge. The bridge is 36 kilometres long, which is the longest bridge spanning the sea in the world at present.
There are some hills surrounded the highway.
Oops, be careful!
We drive into the cave tunnel.
[color=blue]Then, we arrive at the first service station.
DOTTIE
Posted Aug 21, 2010, 5:35 pm
Now we arrive at the second service station.
The sky is clear and the scenery here is very beautiful.
These houses are just the imitation of old houses of ancient China.
Yellow wine and waxberry are the local specialties here.
Finally, after nearly 3 hours, we arrive at Ningbo safe and sound.We check in at the hotel first
Love
Dottie
Posted Aug 22, 2010, 1:34 pm
We sleep in till noon, so we have a good rest.
We are having lunch now.
Love
Dottie
Posted Aug 23, 2010, 12:38 pm
Today we visit a small exhibition. There are many interesting handicrafts and Chinese paintings here.
We go window-shopping around the Tianyi Plaza. The night scenery is a typical city scenery, just like Shanghai or other cities. There stand department stores, snack bars, brand chain stores and so on.
Do you notice the transparent balls floating above the water? It is a kind of recreational facility which people can go throw it and enjoy the feelings of floating along by waves.
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 4, 2010, 5:04 am
Today Eva and I visit the Tianyi Pavillion. It has settled in Ningbo at the Ming Dynasty(B.C.1561) .It is the earliest private library founded and preserved in China.
We are now on the way to the Tianyi Pavillion.
We arrive the entrance door of it.
This is the host of the Tianyi Pavillion. He is Fan Qin, who loved collecting books. He started his collection in the 9th year of jiajing. He traveled to different places for books and saved them in the Tianyi Pavillion.
Then, we are wandering in the yard.
Eva tells me that this relief sculpture is the image of “灋”，the mythical animal of the ancient legend in China. This animal is the judge, if it pushes someone in the river by its horn, that indicates that that person is guilty. So the Chinese character"灋" means law in the past.
We go upstairs to the private library.
There are many precious handwritten copies here.
We enjoy ourselves in the large garden behind the library. It is the typical classic gardens in China. You can also find these kinds of gardens in the cities such as Suzhou and Hangzhou.
This is the map of the garden
Love
Dottie
Posted Sep 4, 2010, 5:45 pm
Today we visit the Mahjong library, it is also in Tianyi Pavillion.
The ground is paved with Mahjong tiles
There are various suits of Mahjong in this library.
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 5, 2010, 2:12 am
We are on the way to Hangzhou.
In the service station, we find this local delicacy "Stinky tofu ".
The feature of this kind of tofu is that it smells stingky but tastes delicious.
Despite its strange name, strong smell and ordinary appearance, many people like it here in China.
Posted Sep 8, 2010, 4:30 pm
We arrived in Hangzhou.
Today we go to a brass exhibition. Almost all the sculptures here are made of brass
This is the model of Leifeng Pagoda in Hangzhou.
This is the model of Maitreya, the Buddha of the future.
This is one musical instrument in ancient China.
These are decorations which decorated in ancient Chinese palaces.
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 16, 2010, 1:58 pm
We visit Qinhefang Street tonight.
Qinhefang street is a street of many folk stands.
We are roaming around the street after the dinner
These pictures are embroidery handicraft.
roast green tea by hand~~~
These are clay figures.
The clay figures of Journey to West
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 16, 2010, 2:15 pm
Good morning, Mommy!
This morning Eva and I go to Chinese temple
As it is not likely to be allowed to take photos inside, I just share some photos outside the temple.
Many Chinese people come here to pray for safety and smooth life. So does Eva.
Then, we go to a tea house and have a cup of green tea.
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 17, 2010, 4:46 am
We are walking by a district people's court in Shanghai.
It is Changning district people's court.
The court house just looks like other ordinary buildings. Only the national flag and emblem call attention to us to find that it is a court.
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 17, 2010, 2:53 pm
It rains cats and dogs outside!
So, I stay in Eva's dorm for the whole day.I meet with a lot of friends here. They are so friendly
Love
Dottie
Posted Sep 18, 2010, 6:13 am
WOW~~We are now in the Shanghai expo!
The full name is Expo 2010 Shanghai China Pavillion
So many peolple rush into the expo pavillion every day. The average visitors here are above 30,000! China is a country of large population
Some people just kidding that you watch the expo, you watch people at the same time.
This is the map of the Shanghai expo.
Firstly, we go to the oil pavillion.
The most fantastic thing is the 4D movies in it! Awesome!
We wear 4D-glasses and travel across times and experience stories based on petroleum in the eight-minute films played in the modern 4D theatre. Eva is even frightened by the lively images of snakes in the movie.
After the amazing movie, we are walking by the oil exhibition to learn the knowlege of oil and the history of exploiting petroleum.
More information can be finded in this website.http://en.expo2010.cn/c/en_qy_tpl_105.htm
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 19, 2010, 6:53 am
This is the Japanese Industry Pavillion.
It looks so advanced in its appearance and it is divided into 8 main exhibition of Japanese industries. The movies inside is fantasitic! However, it is not allowed to take photos inside.
Eva regards it as an advertisement pavillion. Because we see several ads movies of Japanese corporations in the pavillion, and take a lot of small gifts of these corporation.
More information can be finded here:http://en.expo2010.cn/c/en_qy_tpl_109.htm
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 21, 2010, 7:50 am
We are walking along several pavillions. We are now in the UBPA display part of the expo. There are several city pavillions in this display part.
Pictures are as followed:
We also go to the pavillion of future, there are many people here to take photos with Haibao---the mascot of the expo. So do I
Hey Mommy, these red scupltures attract our eyes! There are a lot of red Bruce Li. Bruce Li is well known for his Kongfu. And it is funny to see "Bruce Lis" to hold buildings like the summerpalace above their feet
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 23, 2010, 10:36 am
We are now arriving at the gate of Vanke Pavillion.
It is built by the vanke corporate. It's appearance is so nice
Then, we go to the Qatar pavillion.
Bye Mommy!
Dottie
Posted Sep 23, 2010, 3:09 pm
We go to the China Pavillion.The contour design of the pavilion is based on the concept of "Oriental Crown, Splendid China, Ample Barn, and Rich People," to express the spirit and disposition of Chinese culture. The pavilion will have a core exhibition area on the top floor, an experience area on the second and a functional area on the first. China's achievements in urban development from ancient to modern times will be the core theme of the pavilion.
Now, we are inside the pavillion. Oh, it is dark here.
This is the vivid movie wall which reveals the famous ancient painting "The Qingming Festival on the River" to us.
We are arriving at the Land of Hope. It is colorful here.
So beautiful
This is the oriental footprint section.
The decoration in Chinese families is changed with history.
After that, we take the train to travel around the experience area. It looks so dreamlike
That's the end of today's trip. There are still a great amount of people lining out side the Chinese Pavillion when we leave. Because it is very popular
More information can be finded here. Everyone can experience the Chinese pavillion on the internet
http://en.expo.cn/indexn.html?id=11100001
Love
Dottie
Posted Sep 29, 2010, 3:45 pm
This evening we go to the European area of Expo.
This is Serbia pavillion. It looks unique in its colorful appearance.
This is Monaca pavillion.
Go ahead! We are now inside the Belgium Pavillion.
The diamond on the tennis bat is soo shiny!
Belgium is famous for its chocolate and I taste one. YUMMY
Then, we go to the Spanish Pavillion. It looks like a colossal nestle.
The walls of Spanish pavillion is built with hastle things and still so strong to defend rainy weather.
This is the France Pavillion.
Mommy, the Germany Pavillion is too popular with so many people, so we are failed to visit it .
That all of today. I feel very tired but excited!
Bye
Dottie
Posted Sep 29, 2010, 5:35 pm
Today Eva takes me to her new school. This year she becomes an exchange student who can choose to study in East China University of Political Science and Law. It is a red beautiful college specialized in law major.
This is the teaching building. The sculpure over there is Sun Yat-sen.
This is the school library.Two white sculptures over there are Plato and Aristoteles.
Then,I have lectures with eva inside the teacing building.
I meet with a new friend Johnny and chat with him freely. He says welcome to me.
Class is over! It is already noon. So we cross the bridge and have lunch in the student canteen together.
Ha~There is an expo volunteer information station here. You may find this kind of station at every corner of SHanghai during the expo.
In closing, I have photos with stone lion
Love
Dottie
Posted Sep 29, 2010, 6:16 pm
Eva tells me that today is the Mid-autumn Festival, a traditonal festival in China. What's more, today and the following three days are also the national holidays in China.
And today is also the moment tosay goodbye to my host Eva. I will go back to Germany tomorrow.
Eva hosts a mooncake farewell banquet for me
She says that she enjoyed the moment with me in her summer vacation and the beginning of the new semester.
She hopes me to be a mouse of happiness. Of course I will . Eva feels very happy with me
She hopes me to be a mouse of own dream, that is to strive for goals and dreams and achieve the other 3 missions.
She also tells me to invite Mommy to visit Shanghai and contact her
I taste the mooncake,it has yolk inside. Delicious!
Mooncakes are divided into traditional styles and contemporary styles.
The traditional styles incorporate Cantonese-style mooncake, Suzhou-style mooncake ,Beijing-style mooncake and so on. These traditional styles are comonly have sweet beans, Jujube paste, Lotus seed paste, Five kernel favors.
The contemporary styles are later invented by nowadays people, such as low-sugar mooncake, icecream mooncake, mocha mooncake etc.
Oops, I forget to introduce the Mid-autumn Festival.
"Zhong Qiu Jie", which is also known as the Mid-Autumn Festival, is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the lunar calendar. It is a time for family members and loved ones to congregate and enjoy the full moon - an auspicious symbol of abundance, harmony and luck. Adults will usually indulge in fragrant mooncakes of many varieties with a good cup of piping hot Chinese tea, while the little ones run around with their brightly-lit lanterns.
Mid-Autumn Day is a traditional festival in China. Almost everyone likes to eat mooncakes on that day. Most families have a dinner together to celebrate the festival. A saying goes, "The moon in your hometown is almost always the brightest and roundest". Many people who live far away from homes want to go back to have a family reunion. How happy it is to enjoy the moon cakes while watching the full moon with your family members
Therefore, I join Eva's family reunion and eat dinner together.
Bye Eva!
Mommy, I'm coming back to Germany
Posted Nov 14, 2010, 6:24 pm
She said it was not easy to knit a jumper for someone who has neither shoulders nor a neck.
My jumper was ready really soon.
Tomorrow I will buy some sweets for my new hosts and than I will be travelling again!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Nov 19, 2010, 10:23 pm
I have arrived in England. Its a good thing that you sorted me out with
a jumper as its very chilly here right now!
My host was very pleased to see me, she loved the gifts I bought with
me too and says 'Thankyou very much'
Well I better go for now as its getting late but I hope to update again
soon after Im a little bit more settled.
Til then,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Nov 21, 2010, 12:27 pm
Its me.
Im starting to settle in here a little bit more now. My host took me to Norwich
yesterday to help her and her boyfriend buy a christmas tree and decorations.
I will post a picture of the tree nearer christmas for you to see!
Today my host went for a morning swim. The pool is just a short walk away
from her house so I thought I'd go with her and get some fresh country air.
....We are planning to venture further out of the village during the week hopefully...
lets just pray for some dry weather.. we are expected to get snow soon though
which will be exciting!
Oh, before I go mum... I've made a friend... Her name is 'Huggle' ...I thought she was
a mouse too but my host said she is a Syrian Hamster. We arent very different but I
have a longer tail!
Well, I hope to update again soon.
Hope you are well,
Love Dottie x
Posted Nov 26, 2010, 10:19 am
Unfortunately my host has been unwell over the past couple of days so we didnt
venture out of the village this week as planned...we will try again over the weekend
as she seems to be feeling a little better today.
Just thought I'd share a few pictures though as the snow arrived here yesterday
evening and this morning we took a walk to get some fresh air and some snowy
pictures. It seems to be melting quite quickly but my host said it is only November
and we will probably get more snow during the next month or so..... maybe we
can make a snowman if we get lots of it!
..the trees had a little bit of snow left on them...
...as you can see Pentney is a village of lots of flat land, fields and long long
country roads...
Well mum, I hope it is a little warmer where you are!
Speak soon
Dottie x
Posted Nov 29, 2010, 11:30 am
Today my host and her boyfriend finally gave into temptation and have put there
Christmas tree up ...a bit early... but nevermind.
What do you think?
They said they still need to buy a few more decorations for it yet though...
...My host had to go to work for a little while today too. I sat on her office
desk and helped her. Then I had a little lunchbreak...
- Custard Cream
biscuits are yummy!
Well mum, I'll post again soon....
Dottie x
Posted Nov 29, 2010, 11:42 am
Its still snowing mum, its not very easy to get to places right now....
My host had to work today so I decided to brave the cold and walk to the office with
her (she works in the village next to Pentney called Narborough)
The snow is a little bit thicker but there is still not enough to make a good
snowman... oh well... maybe we will have more over the next couple of
weeks to do that.
..This is the road that my host almost slipped and fell over on!
.. It made
me giggle a bit
Speak soon Mum, hope you are well.
Dottie x
P.S Temperatures today are hitting -1°C according to the weather
report. Brr!
Posted Dec 5, 2010, 8:33 pm
Hi Mum, as my host promised we finally ventured out of the village. Alot of the
snow has melted now but Im sure it will be back again before Christmas!
Today we went to a Christmas Tree Festival at Fakenham Church.
My host said it is a free event where around 80 charities decorate a christmas
tree each and they all go up on display for the public to come and see.
Each charity tree has a donation collection box in front of it for the public to give
any money if they wish too, so before we went my host and I sorted through
some coins and made up a bag of money to share amongst the charities.
....and here we are in the church...
...A tree for our troops in afghanistan (left) and a tree for the local Boy
Scouts (right)...
...The tree on the left of the photo below is in aid of a Donkey welfare charity
(hence the carrots!)
... An owl charity decided to do something a little different from a tree (left) and
the one of the right hand side was decorated for a Parkinsons Disease charity.
..The trees werent the only pretty things in the church, check out this window..
....At the back of the church was four christmas trees that the public could decorate
called the 'Prayer' trees. We were given little star shape bits of paper to write a prayer
on and attach to the tree. My host and I wrote 'May everybody who reads this have a
wonderful christmas'.
Here are some of the prayer stars on the tree...
Well, til next time mum ...
Miss you,
Dottie x
Posted Dec 13, 2010, 11:46 am
I havent been up to too much this past week and its been quite quiet, however my
host wants to do some christmassy cooking on Wednesday evening so I hope to
help her with that... we were thinking about baking some mince pies but we'll decide
when we go food shopping tomorrow though.
This morning my host had to go to the bank so I decided to hop on the bus with her
and go too. All the snow has gone and we are left with fog and frost now so we took
a couple of pictures in the fog as we walked...
This is the church in Narborough... you cant see it too clearly in the fog but its very
pretty
Well Ill update soon and if the cooking goes well (my host said she is a terrible cook
so wish us luck!) i'll be sure to post up pictures of our baking attempt.
Love Dottie
x
Posted Dec 20, 2010, 2:41 pm
Im sorry I didnt update this week like planned, my host had some bad news in
the week and has been a little bit sad
but Im making sure Im keeping her
company and helping her prepare for Christmas. We have bought our cooking
ingredients! We are yet to cook just yet though.
However, we have put up the family christmas tree this morning and would
like your opinion, have we done a good job mum?
Here is some of the pretty baubles we had for our tree
...the lights had to go on first though..
...then the baubles...
... I thought this christmas stocking was a great size for me! Maybe I'll get a
little present in it for christmas if Im good
...et Voila!
Well, I better go for now but I'll write again soon.
Love Dottie x
Posted Dec 25, 2010, 7:15 pm
hosts bedroom window...
We also gatecrashed a nativity scene, Im sure they must've had mice coming to visit
baby Jesus too!
Speak soon,
Dottie Mouse x
Posted Dec 25, 2010, 7:35 pm
Christmas Eve - Baking Biscuits
Well as I said last week, my host had bought the ingredients for our cooking. We
decided to make Stain Glass Cookies which, for the record, my host has NEVER
attempted to cook before.
Step 1 was fairly simple, to prepare the things we needed including cutters and
sweets!
My host and I then read the instructions. We had to making some biscuit dough
and then try to smash up the boiled sweets with a rolling pin which was the tricky
AND noisy part...
...Then is was the part of cutting the shapes into the dough and making
holes in it to fill with sweets... the idea is that the sweets melt while cooking
creating the stain glass effect (thats the theory anyway!)
Cooking goes wrong!
We then baked them but unfortunately they didnt go too well and the sweets
seemed to stick to the pan more than the biscuits. We managed to just about
save this green star one!
My host did say she wasnt a very good cook - but I gave her points for trying!
Dottie x
Posted Dec 25, 2010, 7:42 pm
Hi Mum and Merry Christmas to you.
Christmas Day
We were up quite early this morning to see if Santa had been and look, he had!!
.....I had to check the stocking to see if Santa left anything for me..
mmmmmmm... Cheeeese!
I hope your day has been wonderful mum,
talk soon.
Dottie x
Posted Jan 5, 2011, 10:39 am
My host planned a little trip with her boyfriend as they got free tickets to go and
watch the TV programme Britains Got Talent being filmed at the Hammersmith
Apollo. It was all very exciting!
We decided to go down to London the day before the show and stay in a hotel.
Before checking in we had a wander around quite a few different places though.
Our first stop was Covent Garden as my hosts boyfriend wanted to visit the Apple
Store there. Look at this reindeer we saw there
From there we hopped onto the tube and went to my hosts favourite place in
London:
Camden is a place full of stalls and shops filled with colourful, wonderful pretty
things! Its also the home of the famous Camden Lock Market as well as some
yummy food stalls....we had lunch here.
After our trip there it was about time to check into our hotel, we stayed in
the Novotel London West
We didnt stay in the hotel long before we went out exploring again, it was
getting dark by then so we went to Oxford Street & Regent Street to see
the pretty christmas lights....
...The NEXT stop (phew, are you keeping up with this?
) was down a very
famous street... Carnaby Street. It was here we bought some yummy cakes
from a shop called Candy Cakes...
Our last trip out for the night was to the 02 Arena (originally the millenium
dome) for dinner at the Frankie & Bennys restaurent there.
Well, I think its safe to say we made the most of our first day in London!
Dottie x
Posted Jan 5, 2011, 12:05 pm
So today I woke up in London, we had a lovely breakfast delivered to our hotel room
and then we checked out to go and queue up for the Britains Got Talent filming at the
Hammersmith Apollo which was a five minute walk from our hotel.
We got there very early but some people were already queued up.
We then waited THREE HOURS in the cold until we could finally go in...
we got very good balcony seats though..
Todays judges were Louis Walsh, Amanda Holden and comedian Michael McIntyre
(he was very funny).
There was some very talented people auditioning but some were very strange
.... there was one middle-age man who came on stage to do some 'fitness' dancing
despite not looking overly fit and he ended up stripping to his underpants at the end of
the dance. I hid my eyes mum - I didnt come to London to see things like that!!
Well, til next time.
Dottie
x
Posted Jan 8, 2011, 5:44 pm
How are you? I have just about recovered from our London trip now and Im back
in the countryside at my hosts house.
We had another TV arrive today! His name is Fidget and he seems very friendly mum.
He liked my knitted jumper
...so he didnt get cold my host put him in a
toyvoyagers jumper she had and now we are both warm and snug!
Speak soon,
Dottie Mouse x
Posted Jan 11, 2011, 3:15 pm
like me!
This morning my host had to pop into town so Fidget and I decided to go with her
and we all got on the bus to Kings Lynn.
We decided to go for a stroll through 'The Walks' before my host had to do her
shopping. 'The Walks' is a huge park and the only surviving 18th century town
walk in the county.
My host said it is a very beautiful place to visit in the Summer months and that
sadly wet weather this time of year doesnt quite do it justice - still we enjoyed
our walk!
Look at this figure we found that was carved from a tree
This is Gannock Arch which was originally the entrance to the park many many years ago.
Through the arch is a bridge over the river and a view of just some
of the land that makes up this huge park...
Well, Im back home in the warm with Fidget now mum.
Speak to you soon, Love Dottie x
Posted Jan 14, 2011, 11:28 am
Well this is my last update from England
I am sad to go but I know more
adventures await me and I did have a lovely christmas here.
So I dont forget about my trip my host made me a necklace of white, blue and
red beads (the colours of the country flag).
Ill be on my way in the next few days...
Speak soon mum.
Dottie x
Posted Jan 31, 2011, 5:50 am
I am in Canada
! As I came out of my travelling quarters I met sammino, a stay at home TV. Both he and smaug were very impressed with the goodies I brought over from England and send many thanks to my previous host .
As sammino was very curious about my travelling, I showed him the train tickets from my trip to London
...
...and the photos of it.
As he didn’t seem properly impressed
I asked if he’d been there before, and he showed me the oyster card that he used to travel on the tube when he lived in London .
Now it was my time of getting curious, so he showed me some pictures of his private photo album from before becoming a TV.
Later I pointed out that it was quite warm here in Calgary and asked if I should take off my sweater but he suggested not to be hasty about that. Apparently I arrived on a warm record breaking day for Calgary in January, but there’s plenty of snow in the forecast and temperatures should plunge by more than 30 degrees in the next 3 days
.
Later he said that I should eat something to recover from the long trip, (what a good idea
) and he had a full piece of Parmigiano ready just for me ...I think I’m gonna have a good time here .
Posted Feb 2, 2011, 5:48 am
The forecast was right, temperatures fell in the minus teens and twenties
and it’s been snowing since yesterday evening. But with my great sweater I am not easily scared by a bit of cold weather, so I went for my first walk in town.
sammino showed me the river, which, at this time of the year, is frozen solid
.
We hardly met anyone...I wonder why
?
The trees were covered in snow
.
On the way home we stopped in this little park in the middle of the skyscrapers. Apparently in summer it is a very nice place full of people, not today though
.
I tried to warm myself up a bit by playing around with sammino, but it didn’t really work, so we headed home before I turned into a ice-mouse
.
Posted Feb 12, 2011, 6:12 am
Today it is Groundhog day, when rodents gifted with foresight
around North America announce if there’s gonna be an early spring or 6 more weeks of winter.
The local weather seer lives in Balzac (just north of Calgary) and is called Balzac Billy
. Unofortunately he predicted 6 more weeks of winter which I found very disappointing . sammino explained me that Billy is not even a real groundhog, but just a guy in a groundhog costume so his predictions are probably not very accurate....and there’s going to be at least 3 more months of winter anyway . How comforting .
To lift my mood we decided to check if there was any left of that lovely cheese that I tasted when I arrived
. So we tried to break into the fridge to find out.
It wasn’t an easy task, but after some time we managed to open the door just enough to let me in.
And I found it
! Not much left though, better planning an urgent chat with smaug about supplies .
Later we played a bit on the computer. First we played a strategy game: Civilization. Of course, I was the best
.
Later sammino decided to train me for the mountains and showed me a very, very, very old skiing game. It was fun, but I got a bit concerned when a bear came out of the trees and ate my skier
, but sammino told me that I have nothing to worry about: real bears are asleep this time of the year. I hope he's right .
Posted Feb 16, 2011, 5:36 am
Today I went skiing
! As in Calgary the weather was nice we headed to the mountains where we found out that it was slightly less nice, it was actually snowing . Of course that didn’t stop us and here I was going up on the chairlift.
Once we reached the top I got a bit concerned, were we going to go down there
?
sammino explained that not only we were going down there but that TVs can have first class seats when skiing. I tried to suggest that a beginner like me maybe should start with a couple of runs in smaug’s pocket, but he wouldn’t listen to reason. For a few long seconds I thought I was never going to come home in one piece
, but actually it was fun .
Over the rest of the day we kept hoping that the sky might clear up but, if anything the snowfall turned into a full blizzard
, so we couldn’t take any more photos. But when we went back to the car we found it covered in over an inch of fresh snow .
Hopefully next time I will see the sun too
.
Posted Feb 22, 2011, 3:06 am
Today smaug came home with a parcel and said that likely it was a new friend, so we got really curious
.
And he was right! Out of the envelope came Pitzelpatz
and he is from Germany too . He showed us the lovely card that he brought from his hometown and we spent the evening chatting .
Posted Feb 22, 2011, 3:35 am
Today smaug told us that he’s going for a few days on site and asked if we wanted to join him
. He also accidentally mentioned that temperatures at the site are well in the minus thirties ...so after a brief chat we all agreed that we would have loved to go, but we were a bit uncomfortable at the idea of going without the appropriate health and safety training , so we decided to stay home. As a gesture we offered to help in sorting his safety gear. So, it looked like the high visibility clothes were ready.
The hard hat looked in good order...
...and so did the safety glasses.
Finally we inspected his boots, that looked warm enough.
Well, everything seemed ready, so we just found a nice spot here at home
and wished smaug a safe and funny trip .
Posted Feb 25, 2011, 3:45 am
Tonight smaug came back home and not only he didn’t have any visible sign of frostbite
, but he also had an envelope with him.
It turned out that it was a new guest
, Fiete a nice cow from Germany too!
As we wanted to hear everything about his travels we spent the evening chatting
.
Posted Feb 28, 2011, 12:38 am
Today is an holiday in Alberta
, so smaug wasn’t working and took us out to breathe some fresh air. At one point we had to leave the car as the highway is closed in winter.
The trail was very snowy and mostly between the trees...
...although we could occasionally see our surroundings
.
Eventually we reached the summit of Prairie Mt., from where I could see the prairies in the east...
...and mountains everywhere else
.
Those clouds didn’t look nice...
...and the wind was freezing cold
, so I took a final photo with the summit cairn and we quickly headed back to the warmth of the car .
Posted Mar 2, 2011, 4:52 am
Today smaug took a day off and told us that we were going skiing
. As we knew that temperatures in Calgary were going to be a bit frigid , we checked how things were on the mountains....not a comforting sight .
We tried to suggest that it was maybe a good day for staying in bed with a hot chocolate
, but smaug wouldn’t listen to reason, so, to ease the shock of going outside, we decided to train a few minutes in the freezer ....cold, very cold, but not nearly as a cold as our destination.
If anything it was actually way colder than what the forecast said, so, not surprisingly, the runs were nearly empty
...
...but the views were great
.
And once my toes were so frozen that I couldn’t feel anything it was actually great fun, off we go
!!
Posted Mar 8, 2011, 4:27 am
Today we asked smaug if we were going to hit the slopes again, but he said that his toes where still a bit too frostbitten and insensitive from skiing last week
and he didn’t want to lock them in the ski boots yet...so we went for a hike around Banff instead . At the beginning of the trail we crossed this nice little canyon.
In the distance you can see Lake Minnewanka...completely frozen.
When the trees opened up a bit we could see more of the lake
.
It seems that no one has been on this trail for some time....we actually started wondering if it was a trail at all
.
Eventually we reached our destination, the shore of the lake a few km away from the parking lot. Here the landscape was very...white
.
We walked to the middle of the lake to take some photos from there
.
Eventually the wind started picking up and quickly the temperature fell down, so we decided to hide in the backpack for the rest of the day
.
Posted Mar 19, 2011, 4:02 am
Today we had a new arrival here in Calgary
.
It’s Monkez, a nice monkey travelling on the WTVT, and he brought over a lovely card from his last host
.
Posted Mar 29, 2011, 4:13 am
Today is the first day of spring and we are celebrating it...with a fresh dump of snow, of course
.
Well, we were not going to do anything anyway, since smaug was at home sick
. So we actually had to make sure that he took the right medications. sammino suggested to give him every pill in the house to speed up his recovery , but we all agreed that we didn’t really want to take the chance of poisoning our host, so we just followed the doses suggested on the packages.
Later sammino showed us some of the maps of his pre-TV travelling life
...
...and the photos from his private album. We particularly liked his photos in Greenland
: maybe I'll go there too one day .
Posted Apr 4, 2011, 3:27 am
It seems that someone forgot to tell to Old Man Winter that we are supposed to be in spring, so the weather is “not particularly nice”
and this week end we didn’t do anything more than a short walk to stretch our legs. As you can see the atmosphere is still very wintery.
We walked down to the river to take a couple of photos...
But when we asked if we could jump on the ice
smaug told us that the river ice is not good for walking so we just headed back to the warmth of home .
Posted Apr 11, 2011, 4:28 am
When yesterday the weather forecast issued a snowfall warning
for Calgary we noticed that it was April 1st and had a laugh about it . Well, it was no April’ fool and today we woke up under a thick snowfall ...which made the trees look very pretty.
Walking around town we could barely see the buildings around us.
We wanted to play a bit on the ground
, but the snow was so deep that we were sinking in it ...
...so we just let smaug do the walking
.
Posted Apr 23, 2011, 4:11 am
Not much happened here in Calgary over the last couple of weeks
...of course, we got more dumps of snow, but that’s no big news anymore . But today smaug showed up with a big envelope and told us to take good care of it...there was something moving in it .
It turned out that it was a new guest arriving here in Calgary, Clifford
and he brought over a lovely card and some delicious sweets .
We told him that he got here with a perfect timing as we are going skiing this week
, something that I guess shocked him a bit ....he’ll soon get used to Calgary “spring” .
Posted Apr 25, 2011, 3:21 am
Today we went skiing in Lake Louise
...where, to be honest, the morning temperatures were not really spring-like . Here we were leaving the base of the mountain on the Grizzly gondola.
As we went up the view improved
.
Later we reached the top of a chair called “Top of the world”: very fascinating name although maybe a bit of an overstatement as there were plenty of higher peaks around
. For instance that one behind me is Mt Whitehorn, from where, apparently, in the afternoon smaug decided to practice tumbling downhill in a quite disorderly fashion . Luckily by that time we had already left his backpack and were relaxing at lodge, otherwise we’d be a bunch of much thinner TVs now .
Here there’s the opposite side of the valley behind me. Those seemly harmless clouds soon covered us making it almost impossible to tell the snow on the mountain from the clouds with everything turned into a milky fog
.
So we didn’t take any more picture on the mountain. We tried our luck later in day at the village, but again we were pounded by a blizzard.
We eventually drove over to the lake that gives the name to both the village and the ski resort and the weather decided to give us a break
. This is the west side of the lake...
...while the eyesore
behind me is the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, one of the most luxurious and pricey hotel in the Rockies .
Posted Apr 28, 2011, 4:52 am
Happy Easter!
We wondered if smaug was going to get us a giant chocolate egg
, but he said that it would have been to much for such small TVs ....so we got a TV size egg each instead !
Hope you had a wonderful day
!
Posted Apr 29, 2011, 5:06 am
Today we said goodbye to Monkez who is travelling to his next host on the WTVT
. We wished him a safe trip and hoped that spring will look more spring-like in Hong Kong .
Posted May 3, 2011, 4:28 am
Today smaug said that he found a parcel for us TVs in the mail
. sammino explained us that that meant there was likely a new guest in that parcel, so we got very excited .
And yes
, out of the envelope came Mandy Sheep a nice (guess what ?) sheep from Germany...we start having a bit of a German colony here . She showed us the lovely card that she brought with her (that smaug forgot to include in the photo ) and then we spent the night chatting about our travels .
Posted May 4, 2011, 4:41 am
There’s been a bit of parcel traffic here in Calgary over the last few days
, and a new one arrived today .
And of course that meant a new guest, Kirin a nice giraffe from Chile
. She brought over a lovely card and some delicious sweets , so of course we spent the night chatting and eating .
Posted May 15, 2011, 10:35 pm
It’s been a bit boring here in Calgary recently. Last weekend we were stuck home as it rained all the time
(which sammino said was a very good sign of the approaching spring , as temperatures are now warm enough to get rain rather than snow ). The only excitement has been the strengthening of our troops due to a new arrival today .
It’s Frankie_Blue, another one of your TVs
, who is travelling on the WTVT.
Of course we wanted to know everything about his travels, so we spent the night up chatting
.
Posted May 16, 2011, 5:19 am
This weekend the weather seems to eventually be quite nice, so this morning we went for a short walk on the mountains
. sammino explained to us that we can’t go very high as, apart for a few places, there’s still a silly amount of snow at high altitude so we chose a low altitude trail in a valley that got relatively little snow this winter. When we arrived at the parking lot there was no one around.
After walking a bit we crossed this muddy creek and wondered if we were going to spend the whole day wading into mud
.
But the trail winding between the trees was actually quite nice and dry...
...with the occasional view of the mountains around us
.
Eventually we reached the highest point of our trip...obviously it wasn’t very high as there was no snow around
.
But the view was great
.
The trail that we took to go back was a bit less nice, actually it was very mucky, so we decided to stay in the backpack chatting and let smaug toiling his way back to the car
.
Posted May 23, 2011, 3:54 am
Today, for once, we had some nice weather over the weekend, so smaug took us to the mountains for a walk
. First we spent some time along the shores of Lake Minnewanka...which looks still pretty much frozen.
Later we headed up on the side of the mountain to the location of an abandoned fire lookout from where the view of the lake was much better
.
As the sky was blue but we kept hearing loud thunders, we asked sammino what that noise was. He explained that they were just avalanches
coming down from those mountains behind us. He also added that we were probably safe...how comforting .
On the other side of the valley the snow covering Mt. Aylmer seemed less likely to come down...or so we hoped.
Funny enough, someone put up here a makeshift swing, so we played a bit with it
.
As we were getting hungry we asked smaug if he had packed a full 3 courses meal plus dessert
. Disappointingly he didn’t planned the day properly and just handed us some energy bars .
Apparently this lookout is famous for being visited by lots of bighorn sheep but there was none around today...although there were plenty of traces of their passage here, very smelly traces that did not make for interesting photos
. Talking about smelly things, another very common and slightly less pleasant resident here is the wood tick, so smaug spent the day covered with this fairly disgusting insect repellent...which made the experience of being around him very tough on our smell sense and which also probably explains why (despite this being May long weekend) we hardly met anyone (people, TV or wildlife) the whole day .
On the way back to the car we stopped on the lake side. Very close to the shore the ice is starting to break up so the lake might be open soon
. Too bad it soon started to rain a bit, so we hid in the backpack and wondered if there was going to be a 3 courses meal with cake waiting for us at home .
Posted Jun 4, 2011, 8:30 pm
Today we all gathered together to say goodbye and wish a safe trip to Mandy Sheep
who is flying back home to join her mum for a trip to Denmark.
Posted Jun 5, 2011, 3:56 am
Today two new guests arrived here in Calgary for a short visit
: Dean, a nice horse from the USA and Krystal, another one of smaug’s TVs. They were a bit jet lagged so we welcomed them and then let them go get some sleep .
Posted Jun 5, 2011, 4:30 am
Our new guests will spend a few days in Banff for work
, so today we all accompanied them to check their accommodation . Here we started heading towards the mountains ...
...and got closer to Banff until we reached our exit from the highway.
Driving through Banff was very nice
.
At the conference centre we inspected the room: the view was nice...
And the furniture seemed comfortable enough
.
As the place looked OK
we left them here and headed back to Calgary.
Posted Jun 12, 2011, 5:03 am
Today the weather was very nice, so we all went for a short walk along the Little Elbow River
. First we took a couple a photos from almost the middle of the river.
Then we kept walking between trees, mountains and the river.
What a nice day
.
Posted Jun 30, 2011, 3:36 pm
today it was party time as it is Krystal birthday
! We got her a lovely cake and, of course, we let her have the first big slice and helped ourselves with the rest of the cake .
Today it was actually also goodbye time: Dean, Krystal and Sigfrido are all flying back to Europe tomorrow, so we all wished them a safe trip
.
Posted Jul 7, 2011, 3:52 am
This week we never saw smaug so we were getting a bit worried....because we were running short of sweets
. When we asked sammino where our host was he said that he was probably just trying not to be eaten alive by bugs on some horrible site in northern Canada....so there was nothing to worry about .
Anyway, today was Kirin’s birthday
and, despite the food shortage , we managed to organize a little party for her .
Posted Jul 7, 2011, 4:42 am
sammino told us that this week some of us will leave Calgary, so today smaug took a few detours on a site visit to show us some nice view of the Rockies
. First we stopped looking at the Bow valley.
Later on we took a look at one of the most famous views in this part of the Rockies, Peyto Lake
.
On the way back home we stopped at an even more famous view: Moraine Lake and the Valley of Ten Peaks
(no, we couldn’t get all ten of them in the photo ), which apparently used to feature on the old $20 notes.
I am sure those notes would have looked lovely if I had been on them too
.
Posted Jul 10, 2011, 11:03 pm
Today I said goodbye to all my friends here in Calgary as I will be travelling to USA tomorrow
.
sammino gave me a final piece of parmigiano to ensure I had enough energy for the trip
...and then gave me a big hug and wished me a safe trip
.
Posted Jul 13, 2011, 9:00 pm
Posted Aug 12, 2011, 6:36 pm
I'm here in California! I met Ranil and Cheerio. They're so nice and told me we're going to Lake Tahoe TOMORROW! What a whirlwind!
Love,
Dottie
P.S. Thank you, Mummy, for the card.
P.P.S. Thank you so so so much, smaug, for the amazing time in Canada. You're awesome!
Posted Aug 15, 2011, 3:11 am
We went over the Sierra Nevada Mountains to Lake Tahoe! The lake is so beautiful! Mark Twain described it as maybe "the fairest picture the whole earth affords."
Dottie
Posted Aug 15, 2011, 3:06 pm
We spent our first night on the lake. But not in California … in Nevada! It’s a deserty state in California … so why is it called snowfall? Ranil said that Nevada is Spanish for snowfall. Well, in the Sierra Nevada mountain there is a lot of nevada every winter, I guess … and here, too, at the lake. Can you see the snow on the mountains across the lake?
Isn’t Lake Tahoe pretty? It is really deep, 500 meters deep. Miss Kate says it’s the 10th deepest lake in the whole world. North-south it’s 19 kilometers long. We were told that the water is 99.9% pure … and very clear. A white dinner plate could be visible at 75 feet below the surface … though Miss Kate says that it would’ve been seen at 100 feet down 50 years ago.
Lake Tahoe is up high … we were all winded walking around because its elevation is more than 6,000 feet. Here’s a picture of us taking a break from our walk.
We spent a couple of hours in the afternoon at the casinos. They’re not legal in California – except on Indian reservations – but legal in Nevada, so we went to Harrah’s in Stateline, Nevada.
This woman could just stroll during her lunch break from Nevada to California.
So … Time to play! We decided the poker machines were a little more interesting than just the slots.
Look! We got the best hand possible! Well, almost the best hand … we won $31, but if we got the royal flush without the wild deuce, it would’ve been $1,000!
I wonder if Miss Kate would’ve sent you my share of the BIG win!
I, obviously, bring a lot of luck after all!
Love,
Dottie
Posted Aug 16, 2011, 12:33 am
Posted Aug 16, 2011, 9:53 pm
We took a morning constitutional around the park and stopped at the Capitol Building to pose for photos. It's almost as good as a court house.
Dottie
Posted Aug 22, 2011, 8:36 am
This is the Sacramento River, which runs from the top of California down by Sacramento to the San Francisco Bay Area and the Pacific Ocean.
Posted Sep 5, 2011, 5:48 am
We headed west today. Not for great adventures but because Miss Kate said it’s time for me and Ranil to get some education and culture. I thought we had enuff lernin but she thinks we could use a little more.
A pretty day in the city, no? But we had places to go, so we went on by! My first time to San Francisco was brief but beautiful.
We were getting a bit hungry as we headed south of San Francisco down the peninsula.
So we pulled over at a rest stop and shared a banana. We also discussed our vista. On the right you can see 280. That's the freeway we just left. Then there's a little blue water straight ahead. That's Crystal Springs Reservoir. Those mountains are called the Santa Cruz Mountains, which keep the ocean fog from reaching the peninsula ... usually ... at least in the afternoon, Miss Kate says.
If you can see where the reservoir is, you can see where the San Andreas fault lies, too. It does make me think about earthquakes, but this is a really pretty drive.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 5, 2011, 6:02 am
We left the highway finally. Are we going here? Miss Kate said, no, it’s the linear accelerator where things go very very fast. We’re pretty much slow pokes, and it sounds dangerous besides, all those things flying around.
Finally! We’re at Stanford University, but Miss Kate promised not to leave us here for a semester … just for an hour. Still, I can say, I went to Stanford, can’t I?
Oh, did I tell you about our new friend? She’s from a small town between Genoa and Milano in Italy. She's nice and dresses well like me.
We found interesting things on this campus from hummus chips to totem poles.
Did you see me on the beak?
More soon!
Dottie Mousel
Posted Sep 5, 2011, 7:55 am
Posted Sep 10, 2011, 4:52 am
Okay, we had a dinner date in the evening so we were in a big hurry to drive on Campus Drive and Palm Drive through Stanford, then on University Avenue through Palo Alto and then down to Saratoga in the South San Francisco Bay where we had a more satisfying meal than hummus chips!
Posted Sep 10, 2011, 5:03 am
We woke up early, had a quick dip in the hot tub and were off for some culture, as we had some education yesterday.
The culture was Scottish! We were at such a big fair! It’s called the Scottish Highland Games ,and it was in Pleasanton, California. It's the biggest highland games in the Northern Hemisphere.
We ate lunch and listened to a great band, Golden Bough.
I enjoy all types of music! I don’t discriminate based on size!
And there was lots more to see.
This is hammer tossing.
This is weight tossing.
They were practicing their bagpipes.
These girls liked watching the dancers, too.
This is the kind of dancing Miss Kate does.
We were serenaded by Mary Rose, a friend of Miss Kate’s.
I had a slightly sick feeling in my gut when we stopped to see the birds of prey. Attractive but creepy.
There were beautiful cars.
Do you think he’s a king?
Ah, this man was testing gun powder with a big pop and a puff!
We ended the day with some very mixed emotions. Miss Kate handed us to a pirate. Not cool, man. Not cool. You can see Ranil was trying to get away!
But, all in all, a great day!
We got home and played on a tea towel Miss Kate bought at the hall of souvenirs. See? Ranil was getting on the bus, and I am sitting on the window ledge on the upper deck.
Love,
Dottie
Posted Sep 10, 2011, 5:22 am
Posted Sep 10, 2011, 6:15 am
Second, Mummy, we’re going somewhere! On a plane!
Hey, everyone, did you know my name is Dottie because I have dots?
We had a good flight. We watched an episode of The Office. Then we went to the lavatory, and then we watched an episode of Suits.
Miss Kate and I shared a delicious dinner. They call it a snack box, but it was huge! We ate only half, but I ate all of the almonds.
Here is our flight attendant. Isn’t she lovely?
Just kidding! But she would make the most prepared-to-voyage toyvoyager ever!
I also found a great painting of smaug.
Oops! No, that’s not Canada! Or the Alps! It’s Colorado!
So I guess it wasn’t smaug either.
Look, Mummy! I’m an Indian!
Do you like teepees?
Well, after a long -- but fun -- wait in Denver, we went on to our mystery destination. The small plane was fun. Miss Kate put an arrow for me to show were we were sitting and which window was ours. It was super cosy, which suited me fine.
Love and hugs!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 11, 2011, 12:35 am
I'm in Arkansas, Mummy!
Posted Sep 11, 2011, 4:55 am
What a beautiful sight it is in the morning!
We went out in the country to see the house built by Miss Kate’s great grandfather. It used to be a beautiful house. He was a doctor and during tough times he would be paid with a chicken or whatever someone could afford. Two “girls” have been living in it and taking care of it for us since 1950. That seems like a long, long time! They are very good renters and even drive around on their 4-wheeler with a shot gun to scare off any poachers.
There didn't used to be doors here. There was just a "hallway" open to the air going through the middle of the house with the bedrooms on one side and the living room, kitchen and dining room on the other. I am told that was called a "dog run." Maybe it kept the house cooler before air conditioning.
Arkansas is the home of Wal-Mart. One could think about all the small towns dying out because of Wal-Mart
OR one could just enjoy one’s vacation! Especially enjoy all the interesting foods.
Miss Kate and I discussed what lemon ice box pie might be, let alone what lemon ice box pie ice cream might be.
You can't find these things in California!
I also made some spotted friends at the gift shop at DeGray Lake Resort State Park.
We also ordered dinner at their nice restaurant with a beautiful view of DeGray Lake. Miss Kate ordered the catfish with all the fixin’s, country beans, coleslaw and hushpuppies, but I was more interested in the deep-fried dill pickles – typical southern or soul food. And we all agreed they were the best! Miss Kate said that was something very new to her and very southern.
Miss Kate said we would get to see this lovely courthouse tomorrow. I was so excited!
Love,
Dottie
Posted Sep 14, 2011, 6:38 am
Yes! The courthouse!
It was heavily damaged by a tornado in 1997, and many wanted to tear it down. I'm so glad it was fixed up instead. There are blocks here with no houses ... just rubble ... that haven't been rebuilt since the tornado. Frightening! Arkansas gets both tornadoes and sometimes hurricanes!
Well, then I heard the museum had all the furniture from the courthouse in the olden days, so we went there, too.
The museum is in the old train depot. A lot of trains pass by here still. We have been seeing them across the river. I like the sounds of their horns. They're different. The trains rarely stop, but I could, if I wanted to, go online and order an Amtrak ticket, and that train would stop then. But I am told people rarely do.
There were other nice things to see, too.
Do you recognize this house from yesterday?? Yes, I’ve been inside it! Miss Kate's' grandfather was a boy in that house, and it’s 110 years old!
Wow, Mummy, this country living is not so bad. Maybe I'm just a country mouse at heart.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 16, 2011, 5:16 am
We drove around and saw some more of the Arkansas countryside.
Across the river from the house, there are pecan trees.
This is the Ouachita River. and the trees are buzzing, buzzing. So loud! This pretty bridge is a block from the house.
There are woods everywhere.
A friend of the family owned this house many many years ago. Now it's a B&B, the Captain Henderson House.
On our way home, we checked out an Arkadelphia specialty.
And we grabbed some chicken and dumplings to go.
There were a lot of snacks to admire while we waited for our order. Can you find me in the photo??
And then back at the house I took a rest to watch some turtles.
Bye for now!
Dottie
Posted Sep 17, 2011, 4:46 pm
Here I am at the Clinton Presidential Library!
This is a duplicate of the Cabinet Room at the Clinton White House.
How beautiful the tables at the White House!
This is also an exact duplicate of the Oval Office.
The President and Mrs. Clinton playing ping-pong.
Here's the whole family in the White House kitchen.
Then we drove over to the Presidential Clinton library store.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 7, 2011, 4:38 am
Sorry I've been so quiet. Miss Kate and I have been recovering from our Arkansas trip. Too much soul food maybe? Now we're back to more raw veggies and fruit and feeling STRONG!
We had a pleasant surprise today ... an envelope ... a visitor ... a frog! Her name's Tuli. She is so pretty.
Dottie
Posted Oct 8, 2011, 1:57 am
Still too warm to put my sweater on! But the perfect warmness for a morning dog walk with Beans the dog.
Love,
Dottie
Posted Oct 10, 2011, 2:10 am
I am still hanging out with Miss Kate and Tuli here in Sacramento, but these days the weather is cooling down a bit ... just a little bit ... from hot to warm. It's really nice, so no sweater yet ... but soon!
So we took a walk around the Capitol.
See you later, alligator!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 10, 2011, 11:05 pm
Tuli is very focused on completing her life missions. Ah youth!!
So we went down to a big park to walk in a demonstration, but it wasn't really so impressive. Oh well! It was a nice excuse to get out on a pretty morning.
Love,
Dottie
Posted Oct 17, 2011, 3:46 am
Aslan, Tuli and I joined Zarafeh and Miss Kate for a drive to a very special occasion this morning. Actually, two very special occasions, the 2nd Toyvoyager Meetup and the 3rd Postcrossing Meetup in San Francisco, California. Yipee!
More photos to come!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 21, 2011, 10:33 am
We had so much fun! I wish you could’ve been there.
Here is the lovely old-fashioned Italian restaurant we went to in San Francisco.
Miss Kate explained to us that this was a postcrossing meetup. Well, and because LittleCableCars was there, too, it was a toyvoyaging meetup, too! I got to meet new humans AND new toyvoys. I met Robby and Airi and Orkku Orava.
I had a good long chat with Robby, who is also German. We have a lot in common.
The postcrossers were really nice and showed us some of their beautiful cards. I think we may have brought a new member or two to the toyvoyager site. I hope so!
We ate lunch while we worked on writing postcards to our mentors as well as to the hosts of Miss Kate’s toyvoys all over the world.
After a few hours of chatting and signing, it was time to say goodbye. Orkku Orava came over to squeak a last goodbye to Aslan, Tuli and me before going in the travel purse.
The drive home was much faster than the drive there. Isn’t that how it always is?
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 22, 2011, 9:38 pm
Posted Oct 24, 2011, 1:00 am
I'm coming home! I had such a fine time here and met some really nice toyvoys. I am bringing with me a few small things I collected from the coast, Nevada, Arkansas and Colorado. Tuli, Aslan, Peach the Pooch, Cherry Lola, and the big bears gathered to wish me a bon voyage!
Tuli gave me a most kind goodbye hug, asking me to say hi to Europe for her.
And Aslan gave me a big bear lion hug.
I'll see you soon, Mummy!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Nov 8, 2011, 1:33 pm
I brought some delicious sweets with me, also lovely postcards, a pencil and lots of information about the great places I have visited in California and on my vacation trips.
Thank you thank you thank you kcrawfish!
Krystal also arrived today, she came from France. She also brought souvenirs with her. Here you can see us presenting our sweets:
I am happy to be back home, but I will soon leave again, travelling to BlackCat
Dottie Mouse
Posted Apr 16, 2012, 6:58 pm
Today I packed my things and some chocolate for my new host. My travelling envelope was ready, so was I
Good-bye Mummy!
Love
Dottie Mouse
Posted Apr 18, 2012, 8:31 pm
Here I am, in Lithuania, and only after 2 days! Wow, that was a fast journey!
I was very happy to see a little teddy bear looking at me when I came out. His name is Virgo and he is Lithuanian. Virgo gave me a big friendly hug and showed me the room where I'm going to stay for a few weeks.
We read a card and ate two chocolates which came here with me. Virgo told me more about his country and I shared memories from my trips. Virgo lent me his red little camera to take pictures of Lithuania and put them here. We both made one too!
Though it was a short journey, I felt really tired. Virgo made me a bed and we soon fell asleep. Good night, mum, I'm sure I'm going to like it here!
Posted Apr 22, 2012, 5:21 pm
Yesterday me, Kit-Kat and Virgo had a lot of fun. I've seen my host mum's school and helped her to decorate it! It was something for "Art Week 2012" and we all came up with an idea to draw an animal. Kit-Kat suggested to paint a cat... Brr! It was scary, I thought it was real! But I was brave enough to take a picture with him...
After that, we all went to a mall called "Panorama". There was a bike's expo and we saw it all!
Here I'm resting on one of colorful decorated benches...
The day wasn't over yet and we went outside. Woo hoo! It was quite warm, so I didn't need my sweater for a while. Spring in Lithuania is very mild and sunny
We helped our mummy to wash the car. Phew, what a big job!
Today it's raining outside and we're having our last day with Virgo. He told me and Kit-Kat that he's going to visit our homeland Germany. I was happy for him and gave him a big hug
I can't wait to see Vilnius Old Town!!
Love you, mommy :*
Posted Apr 24, 2012, 6:57 pm
This day was not very good - it was raining outside and also cloudy. So me and Kit-Kat decided to create a cozy place for us both to live. Look at our precious new "room"!
I also decided to take a bath and stay fresh and clean.
After this, we both started to talk about girly things and sing. Kit-Kat plays guitar very well, and I sing good mice songs too!
A few moments later my host-mum told us that she's going to Czech Republic for 5 days and she's taking us together. GREAT! I'm going to see two countries at one time! So don't worry if you won't hear from me for a while - when I'll come back, I'll tell and show you everything.
Good night, mum, I miss you!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Apr 26, 2012, 3:47 pm
Busy busy day, I'm packing some cheese and my little red camera to a tiny bag, very excited about going to Czech Republic for 5 days!! Don't worry, mummy, I'm going to be okay and when I'll come back, you'll see many pictures from there!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 1, 2012, 1:18 pm
After travelling all day through Poland, we finally reached Czech Republic. We stayed in a small town called Mala Skala and our first stop was Krkonose mountains. We climbed to the Snezka mountain and took a picture there.
We also had some free time to see the town or to buy souvenirs. We saw a nice church there and a cat, but I didn't have time to be afraid of her - she ran away first
I still have some pictures to show, but now I'm a bit tired. See you soon!
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 2, 2012, 3:46 pm
Our next day in Czech Republic started with delicious cheese and a trip by bus. We visited one cstle and took a picture near the map (next to the castle).
After that, we visited BIG Ardspach rocks. Phew, it was really hard to climb to the top through all those little roads, but we reached 5 most popular places and saw beautiful view from it. Too bad that the photo camera didn't work so well, so I didn't have a chance to get a photo with the rocks, but here is one with snow!
We had another day seeing rocks and then eating traditional food in one restaurant. That was a very short journey, but I'm hoping to see Vilnius more and show it to you!
Kisses,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 4, 2012, 9:30 pm
I'm back at home
I had a great time in Czech Republic and here is what we brought from there:
A place where we lived is called Mala Skala. Me and Kit-Kat are pointing at it with our noses:
And here I am with a cartoon hero Krtek!
It's hot and sunny in Vilnius, but weather forecasts says that it's going to be cold this weekend. Hope not, because I don't want to have winter in the "almost summer"!
Hope you're okay, love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 5, 2012, 10:16 pm
This Friday was amazing - me and Kit-Kat with our host mum Karolina had a great time! We went to the Old Town and saw that it was "European countries days 2012"! People had a chance to taste traditional foods from every country:
We found Germany! It's "Vokietija" in Lithuanian:
And look what Spain gives... "Pelytės" means "Mice" in Lithuanian! But don't worry, mum, they're not selling my relatives - it's just a name of something from vegetables
Here I am next to The Cathedral and The Bell Tower:
And here I am next to the National Drama Theatre doors, posing in front of the famous "Three Ladies":
We went to the cafe to eat something delicious. YO YO looked great - it opened today, so there were a lot of persons and balloons! We took some frozen yogurt and it tasted like ice cream! Mmmm...
That's how I spent my day. How are you, mummy? I miss you!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 6, 2012, 9:45 am
today is Mother's day and it's a bit sad that I can't be with you right now, but I'm sending you this card with a lot of tulips and hugs
I love you to the moon (cheese land) and back!! Thank you for letting me see the world, you're the best!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 8, 2012, 6:10 pm
Brrr... I'm cold again! But I don't want to put my sweater on because it's the end of the spring, it supposed to be warm...
Me, my host mum Karolina and Kit-Kat decided to play some games to warm up. Here are our "Cupcake races" - I look like I'm in a tutu!
I'm hiding, because we play "Hide and Seek". Shhh, don't tell anyone!
Look how high I am! Like a princess in her tower
Mmmm, salad...
What a great pink orchid!!
Guess what? This Sunday, if the sun shows up, I might be going to a flea market! How cool is that - many people, old stuff, nice talks, etc. Sounds like fun!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 12, 2012, 8:59 pm
It was rainy outside, but I wasn't sad! Today I've spent my day in one of the biggest malls in Lithuania - "Akropolis". It's so huge, full of interesting stores and other places to go!
Here you can see talented artists painting a 3D picture. I think it's going to be amazing!
We were a bit hungry, so we went to a restaurant. We ate traditional Lithuanian food - cepelinai! It's made of potatoes and meat inside. It may look not very yummy, but it's actually very delicious!
No cheese for a dessert, but a pie was very good too!
I'm in the "flower field". Almost, haha - I'm in the flowers shop!
What a big hand, right? It's a "print" of a famous basketball player Arvydas Sabonis. Well, I guess my hand is a little bit smaller...
Candies!! Famous Lithuanian sweets by "Rūta" candy store.
And here you can see another traditional food - šakotis. It's like a pie, but different. Looks like a Christmas tree to me!
Of course, we also went shopping (what all girls like to do
). Now I'm tired and going to sleep. Good night, mummy!
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 14, 2012, 1:39 pm
This Sunday I was walking down the White Bridge. It's quite long, Neris river is under it and when you look up, you can see a bit of the "New Town" or "New Vilnius". Take a look:
As I was saying earlier, today we also went to the flea market. While Karolina was selling her handmade things and old books, I looked around. WOW, how many people!!
After that, we went to a milkshake bar "Pink Milkshake". It was very... pink in there
And also delicious!
I tried to read a magazine in Lithuanian language, but I couldn't understand a word... Only that "Labas" is "Hello", "Ačiū" is "Thank you" and "Pelė" is "Mouse":
And this part of the magazine is about adventures in Africa!
Well, I guess my journey in Lithuania is coming to an end, it's quite sad
But I still have this week to have fun in Vilnius!
Love you, mommy,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 14, 2012, 1:57 pm
Look who arrived today - Porridge! We gave him a big friendly hug and also read a postcard with him. After that, we ate a delicious candy which arrived with him
. Don't worry, we'll take good care of him!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 20, 2012, 7:46 am
This week was very strange - it was raining all the time, sometimes with thunders. Only on Saturday the sun appeared. We went for a walk in the city, because it was GATVĖS MUZIKOS DIENA. It means "STREET'S MUSIC DAY", so you can see what we did - we listened to all kind of music and had a great time!
First, we went to the post and sent some postcards:
We went to the Old Town through one of the oldests streets in Vilnius - Pilies Street. There we found this church! It's Vilniaus Šv. kankinės Paraskevos cerkvė, the church for orthodox.
Phew, that was a hot day! We all went to the fountain because we wanted to refresh.
Here we stopped and listened to alternative music. Look how many people were in the Old Town that day!:
This is the City Hall of Vilnius. It looks similar to The Cathedral, but still very beautiful!
Look what I found! A poster showing an exposition with Germany older architecture in the Contemporary Art Centre. Too bad it's already closed
This is a small part of St. Annes gothic church. The whole view is very stunning!
Well, that's how I spent my weekend! Now I feel tired...
Bye!
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 22, 2012, 6:10 pm
Today was a HOT HOT HOT day! I almost melted...
And I also met a new friend, who came here in Lithuania - Húlí hútú from USA! This fox is way bigger than me, but I'm not afraid - it's a friendly voyager!
We decided to go for a walk near the house. There was Neris river near us (2nd biggest river in Lithuania), so we went there for refreshment. We found a small bench on the beach and enjoyed the sun. The water wasn't very warm, but some people already swam in it!
Feeling like a hippie, woo hoo!
Now I'm at home, sitting in the balcony, writting my travelog, having fun with other TV's and just dreaming. What will be the next country that I visit?
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 26, 2012, 8:11 pm
Today was my last day in Lithuania. It's a bit sad to leave this country, because I've seen a lot of nice places in here and met some wonderful TV's, was hosted by a lovely host and had a great time
But there are other places that I have to see and now I'm travelling back to GERMANY!
Kit-Kat was travelling to other country too, so we gave Huli and Porridge a big hug and went to our envelopes to make comfortable places. Hope the journey won't take too long
Bye, Vilnius! Bye, Lithuania! Thank you for being great friends - Porridge, Kit-Kat, Huli and Virgo! Thank you for hosting me, Karolina!
I'm going to miss you all!
Kisses,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 30, 2012, 10:39 am
I arrived in Dortmund today!! Dortmund belongs to the state of North Rhine-Westphalia and is the 8th biggest city in Germany.
My travel was shorter than I thought and I'm glad that I got out of this envelope.
I brought some presents for my new host Kate, she really likes them!! Kate absolutely loves Moomin
I spent some time on the balcony and met another TV there, his name is Billy
It's a very warm and sunny day so I decided to take off my jumper
Now I'm just gonna relax and enjoy the rest of the day in the sun
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 2, 2012, 6:10 pm
Today was my very first day here in Bochum. You might wonder why I am in Bochum right now. Well, my host lives here in Bochum and in Dortmund, which is next to Bochum.
It was a very rainy day, so I couldn't spend much time outdoors. I really tried to but I ended up at the balcony, it was just too wet to do anything else
Look, sooo much rain
Well, it is the birthday of my host's mum today so we went for a meal at noon. The restaurant is called "El Rancho", it's like a steakhouse. Kate had some Cordon Bleu with croquettes, peas and carrots. That's not really typical to eat when you are at a steakhouse, but Kate doesn't really like steak
Afterwards we had some ice cream with a funny colorfull palm in it
That's it for today. Read you next time
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 4, 2012, 8:42 pm
how are you today? I have been at the local university today. It's called TU Dortmund (TU = technical university). It exists since 1968 and has 2 campuses. The northern campus is bigger than the southern campus, but the southern one is more familiar.
At the northern campus are the natural sciences, the humane discipline and everything related to music. At the southern campus is the whole constructing stuff, like architecture, spatial planning and civil engineering.
I just visited the southern campus today, because my hosts studies spatial planning there.
Here you can see some of the buildings of the southern campus and above me are some tracks of the H-Bahn (Hochbahn or Hängebahn). The H-Bahn is an overhead track which connects the campuses.
And this is the H-Bahn
This small beaten path leads to a small forest
Well, Kate had two lectures today and both of them were in the same lecture hall. I couldn't take a picture inside the hall but hopefully I will be able to next time.
That's it for today
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 5, 2012, 5:35 pm
my host showed me some great places today. We started at the german mining museum ("Deutsches Bergbau Museum" ). It is one of the most important museums about mining worldwide. Aside from the normal museum you can go on the shaft tower and there's a recreated adit in in a depth of 20 meters which you can explore. The length of the tunnel is about 2,5km.
Bochum and the whole Ruhr Area were famous for mining and industry. In the past, there were lots of collieries and steel productions in the Ruhr Area. Most of the collieries doesn't exist anymore.
This is me in front of the museum and a shaft tower:
This is a sculpture which is placed next to the museum. It shows a mine horse at work.
Hehehe, can you find me?
Afterwards Kate showed me the football stadium of the local football team "VFL Bochum". Earlier the stadium was called "Ruhrstadion" but since 2006 it is called "Rewirpowerstadion". Most of the footballfans still call it by its old name, it's kinda traditional
The VFL Bochum is currently playing in the German second league. They've been much better in the past, Kate has no idea what happened to the club that they became worse...
Here you can see the divisions of the stadium. The ones on the right side, (N, O, P and Q) are standing areas and for the fans of the VFL Bochum. Most of the other divisions have seats. "E2" (bottom left) is for the fans of the opposing team.
In this building, which is connected with the stadium itself, are the management, a fanshop and a bar. Between the building and the stadium is the VIP box, called "Rewirpower Lounge", it connects both places. People with lots of money watch the football games from this place, it has an own bar and restaurant and special seats in the stadium which are separated from the other "normal" seats. But you can also hire it for special events, my host celebrated her graduation party there. I'll go there on 22th June for the graduation party of some friends of my host. Maybe I can show you everything then, but I'm not quite sure at the moment.
This is the "Rundsporthalle". It's a veeery old sports hall next to the stadium.
Well, this is a very expensive hotel, called "Renaissance Hotel". I think it doesn't really look so expensive...
The last place that I visited today was an old church. It's called "Lutherkirche" and was built in 1911/1912. You know, almost every building in Bochum got destroyed in World War II and this church is one of the few buildings that remained and reminds of the history before World War II. It looks nice, doesn't it?
And finally this is what I saw when I turned around
I don't have anything more to tell right now, but I think these are enough informations for today
Hugs and kisses,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 8, 2012, 8:08 pm
How are you today?
Today was the first day of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship (short: UEFA Euro 2012 or just Euro 2012). I watched the official opening and the first match on TV. The first match was Poland vs. Greece with the final result Poland 1 - 1 Greece. Many guys (actually 7 guys) of the polish national team are under contract to teams in Germany. Jakub Blaszczykowski, Robert Lewandowski and Lukas Piszczek are under contract to the BVB Borussia Dortmund and all of them became german champions with this club this year and also last year. That's the reason why we watched the match. Guess what, Lewandowski actually scored a goal!! Whoop whoop
And Blaszczykowski (most people call him just "Kuba" because his last name is hard to get everyone's tongues round, hahaha ) is the team leader of the polish national team, so every BVB fan is very proud of these guys
But well, here are some impressions of the opening:
This is Robert Lewandowski giving an interview:
And finally here you can see the march-in of the national teams of Poland and Greece. Kuba is the one at the very front with the number "16" on his jersey
Well, that's it for now. The first match of the german national team will be tomorrow and I'm gonna watch it with my host and a few friends of her. Can't wait!!
Love,
Dottie-Mouse
Posted Jun 10, 2012, 12:40 am
I have been to Herne today to visit a friend of my host. Herne is a more or less small city and is next to Bochum.
Well, I came here to see the football match Germany vs. Portugal with my host and a few friends of her. I had so much fun there!! There was another host, Tiffy, and the brought her TV's as well
Alright, but let's start at the beginning... At home, Kate and me prepared for the match and got a jersey of the german team out of the wardrobe. It's an old one, guess it's from 2006. The number 16 and the name "Lahm" are printed on it. Philipp Lahm was my host's favourite footballer when she was younger. Back then , when the jersey was bought, he was the youngest footballer in his team, now he is the leader of the team! Times are changing..
The 3 stars symbolize that the german team has been european champion 3 times (1972, 1980, 1996). Or maybe it means that it has been world champion 3 times (1954, 1974 and 1990). My host isn't quite sure when she got the jersey and if it's from the European Championship or the World Championship, but she thinks it's from the World Championship.
In Herne I met the other TV's, Sterni and NiliHH. I really like them
We had so much fun watching the match!!
This picture was taken during the match, here you can see Lukas Podolski and another scene.
The guy who lives in the house where we watched the match is a student of medicine and he got a skeleton from my host and the others for his birthday this year. This skeleton watched the game with us and it was decorated!! Hilarious!!
Germany won the match with 1 goal, scored by Mario Gomez. Portugal couldn't score a goal...
Alright, time for bed now!! Sleep well
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 16, 2012, 10:25 pm
it rained cats and dogs all week!! It's unbelievable... Strange weather, it's summer and I want to have sunshine
However, even though it rained almost the whole day, I went for a walk at noon. I passed a meadow
As I moved on, I saw a terrific car
Somehow I really like it, I can't explain why..
Near the car was an underpass with roadworks:
Afterwards I passed a small cemetry which belongs to the district where I live here in Bochum.
This way leads to the cemetry:
Back at home I ate some delicious noodle salad
Yummy!
Well, let's come to the more or less boring part of my day... I helped my host to do some stuff for university... Here you can see me with the Federal Building Code:
Now let me introduce you a lovely dog called "Lady". She is a Jack Russell terrier and more than 12 years old. She's the dog of my host. She really liked me
haha
Alright, that was my day!! I hope you had a nice day
Wish you a nice weekend.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 19, 2012, 6:20 pm
How are you? Hope you're fine!!
It's my host's birthday today and I took some really nice pictures, unfortunately the memory card doesn't work anymore so I can't show you the pictures!!!
I have no idea if it'll work in the next days... In other ways my host will get another memory card on saturday but our last taken pictures will be lost then
So I just want you to know that I'm sooo sorry that I can't show you some pictures this week
Lots of Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 19, 2012, 8:09 pm
my host was lucky enough to be able to recover some of the files, so I can show you some of the pictures now
yay!!
We started our morning in Bochum at Kate's parents
Mhhh yummy cheese cake!!
At noon we went to university and we just came home to Dortmund about 6pm
At home Kate got some presents from her friends. A wonderful chest with british theme
It was full of presents
And a lovely birthday card
Yeah, that's it for today...
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 25, 2012, 6:30 pm
how's life treating you? Hope you're fine!!
I have been to Datteln today, it's a small city near Dortmund. I went to a small theatre there, named "KatiElli Theater". It's a former motion-picture theatre but now it's a real theatre since one or two years, guess it only has about 140 seats. I really like it there, everything's quite familiar there. The owner is a musical perfomer and takes part in every single show that is shown there. Tonight's show was called "Et Lisbeth", it's a musical comedy. It was great!!!
On our way to Datteln we passed another small city, called "Castrop-Rauxel". I took some pictures out of the car for you, couldn't stop there because we were very late.. whoops
I love this old church!!!
Here you can see the theatre from the outside and the inside
Alright, that's it for today
I'm gonna watch the musical "Starlight Express" in Bochum tomorrow, I'm quite excited!!!!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 25, 2012, 6:52 pm
I've been to the theatre again. This time I watched the musical "Starlight Express" by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. The musical is about the world championship of the trains, where many different engines want to win the races. Besides it's about finding self-confidence and true love. The male maincharacters are Greaseball - the Diesel engine, Electra - the electric engine and Rusty - the steam engine.
My host told me that the theatre was built from 1986 til 1988 especially for this show, with skating rinks which show rails through the audium, different levels and a great technology. The show opened in 1988 and is still shown today without any interruptions. A special thing about this show is, that every actor wears roller skates because they play trains.
There's a world record for the most visitors to a musical in a single theatre. I think this is very impressive.
Today was a special day, one of the performers - Adam Sheffield - had is first show as the character Greaseball today. Normally he plays Ruhrgold, the german ICE. Adam is part of the Starlight Express for a few years now so it is very special for him to be allowed to play Greaseball from time to time from now on.
Well, me and the other TV's supported him during the show, it was great fun and he did an awesome job!
However, I couldn't take a picture of the theatre from the outside today because it was heavy rain, but I have some indoor pictures
On the following pictures you can see the foyer. Some of the characters are drawn on the wall and there's a castboard which shows the names of the performers of today's show.
And this is the audium and the stage. The barrier in the middle of the stage is just during the break so that the audience doesn't walk on the stage.
Billy and me:
We met some other TV's there, Sterni and NiliHH which are currently hosted by Tiffy.
And our TV group grew bigger... Batgirl and Marawarpina joined us as well, they are hosted by Lizzy at the moment.
Next time I'll take some pictures of the theatre and the forecourt when the weather gets better
Lots of Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 29, 2012, 6:26 pm
Guess where I've been today!! I've been at the German Sea for a day today. It's about 4 hours by car from Bochum to the North Sea. The weather was okay. It rained outward bound but it stopped raining as we arrived there what a timing!!
Well, it was a bit foggy at the beginning, but anyways.
But let me start at the beginning. I had to get up early in the morning, the departure was about 8am. After a while we stopped at a motorway service area because my host's dog had to walk, eat and drink something. So I had time to discover the area.
About 12am we arrived in:
Norddeich
We took a walk along the dike and the beach. It was a bit foggy but it didn't rain, so it was okay for me. There were only a few people there, well... it's not holiday time at the moment.
Billy and me on a beach chair:
Here you can see us on a big anchor:
Peek-a-boo
Unfortunatly it was low tide when we were there, but well. They have a swimming pool near the beach. I wonder why people pay money to go swimming in a pool when they can go to the beach..
Alright, afterwards we went to:
Nessmersiel
It's a very very very small town. Well, actually it is just a dirstrict of the municipal area "Dornum", Dornum belongs to the administrative district of "Aurich".
Most of the houses in Nessmersiel are holiday houses, so out of summer season there's almost noone there.
The beach of Nessmersiel is just very small. My host told me that it once has been bigger than now, but I have no idea what happened...
This is an old mill in Nessmersiel, but it's closed now, that's why there are some typical things missing:
Here you can see an old sluice gate:
This is another old sluice gate:
And finally, this is the beach of Nessmersiel.
And last but not least we visited:
Neuharlingersiel
Neuharlingersiel is a district of the city "Esens", which belongs to the administrative district of "Wittmund". Neuharlingersiel is much bigger than Nessmersiel and it has a beautiful harbour!! God, I love it there.
On our way back home we passed another old mill. It's 200 years old, it's from 1812!!
Well yeah, that was my trip to the German Sea. It was very exhaustively but it was a nice day and I saw many nice places today
Lots of Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jul 5, 2012, 10:12 am
I've been to Oberhausen today to do some shopping
It takes about 20 or 25 minutes by car from Bochum to Oberhausen, so it isn't that far away. There's a big shopping mall called "CentrO". There are many shops and a big food concourse. Next to the mall is a stream with a promenade. It's lovely to sit in one of the cafés or restaurants along the promenade.
The weather was absolutely lovely today!!
Well, this is the food concourse in the mall:
Have a look at the mall, it is very long and there are 2 floors.
And this is the promenade outdoors.
The awesome Irish Pub:
And last but not least there's a theatre, called "Metronom Theater". Musicals like "Wicked", "Dance of the Vampires" and "Beauty and the Beast" have been shown there, but currently there's a musical called "Dirty Dancing". Bet you know the movie, Mum. But my host told me that it's not worth watching the musical.
Alright, that's it about my day here in Oberhausen. I had much fun and enjoyed sitting at the promenade and watching the people go by.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jul 15, 2012, 11:49 am
long time no type, I'm so sorry!! How is moving house going? Hope you're not too stressed! Feel hugged!!
My host has been very busy and still is, so I couldn't visit so many places. But what could I do... It's raining all week, it's kinda depressing
Well, today I visited a furniture shop called "zurbrüggen" in Herne, a city next to Bochum. I just needed to flee from the rain!!
A special thing is that there are no stairs, there's just a huge ascent in the middle of the building which rises like a spiral to the highest floor. (Okay, and there's an elevator
As you know, Billy stays with me here at our host and he's from South Africa. We found some furniture that reminded us of South Africa, with the elephants, giraffes and all that stuff.
Alright, that's it for now.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jul 15, 2012, 6:44 pm
good news, no rain today!! Even though there were some really dark clouds, but in the end it didn't rain.
I visited the "Phoenix See" in Dortmund today. It's a new project in a district called "Hörde" with an artificially produced lake and new homes, offices, gastronomy and an insomnia clinic around the lake. There are still many construction zones because some things are still not ready. The lake area was permitted to the public in 2010, so as you can see everything's very new.
Besides, there are remains of an old castle near the lake, called "Hörder Burg". The remaining building was refurnished and looks quite new now.
The castle was built some time between the years 1100 and 1200, so it's very old!! Here you can see some original foundations of the castle near the building:
In the past, the area of the lake was an industrial area with furnaces and all that stuff. Among other things there was a converter that refined crude iron into crude steel.
This is the old converter, called "Thomas Konverter". I took a picture of a sign with informations for you
I hope it isn't too small and you can read it!!
Here you can see the lake itself from different angles.
This is a creek called "Emscher" which flows from Holzwickede (next to Dortmund) to Dinslaken and has a length of 83,1 kilometers!! It flows along the Phoenix See. Do you see the cranes in the background? It's the construction areas of the new insomnia clinic.
And the other direction:
And finally this is an old industrial building next to the Emscher and near the lake. It is protected as a historic monument so it can't get demolished. It gets completely refurbished and the building is expected to have some nice flats. Can't really imagine, but who knows.... maybe it's gonna be a real beauty.
That's it for today
I love you, Mum!!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jul 22, 2012, 9:36 am
I am very busy at the moment with helping Kate doing some stuff for university. We study very hard because there's an exam about economics in August. Urgh! The tables in Kate's flat were too small for all the things that we needed, so we had to sit on the floor, not the best position to study...
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jul 22, 2012, 9:50 am
guess what, I'm going to Vienna with my host!! We'll stay there from monday morning until thursday evening, I can't wait!!!
We had to pack the suitcase in Dortmund today because we'll spend the weekend in Bochum and won't come back to Dortmund until next weekend. I really can't wait
Monday will be pretty hard for me.. The plane departs about 6am so we have to be at the airport about 4am. That means that we have to leave the house about 3am!! Jesus, I'll be tired as hell and I won't sleep that night because Kate and her friend Tiffy decided to pull an all-nighter in a bar.
Tiffy takes 2 TV's called Frosty and Marawarpina with her, I don't know Frosty yet but I think he's gonna be a nice guy. Marawarpina stayed with my host a few months ago and I already met her at the Starlight Express theatre. Nice to see her again.
I'll tell you everything about my holiday in Vienna when I'm back.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jul 27, 2012, 7:52 pm
I'm sending you many greetings from Vienna, the capital of Austria!! Today was our first day here and the weather was beautiful!!!
Departure was about 6am, so I had to get up very early.
We started our sightseeing tour at the Stephansdom (St. Stephen's Cathedral). It's the most important religious building in Vienna and is in the heart of the city. There are many horse-drawn carriages around the cathedral and people can take a ride through the city with it.
Here you can see the Staatsoper (Vienna State Opera), well at least the profile. It's near the cathedral and it was built from 1861 until 1869. Most of it was destroyed by war in 1945 and this is the reconstruction. But there are still some old remaining in the building and it looks stunning!!!
We continued our sightseeing and passed the Franz-von-Assisi-Kirche, an emperor-jubilee-church which was built from 1898 until 1910. This church is located near the Reichsbrücke (Empire Bridge) which crossed the Danube River. This bridge was built from 1872–1876 and was originally called Kronprinz-Rudolph-Brücke (Crown Prince Rudolph Bridge) until 1919.
We took a boat trip that started under the bridge. It was very nice to sail down the Danube River and I enjoyed sitting on deck with the sun shining down on me. We also passed a ship lock.
Then we headed to the Donauturm (Danube Tower). It's the tallest free-standing structure in Austria and has a height of 252 metres. The view is stunning!!!
That was the last thing that we did today... It was a quite long day without any sleep and we all were very happy to be at the hotel and finally find some rest.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jul 29, 2012, 9:31 am
it's our third day in Vienna and we visited the Wiener Prater, it's an amusement park. The best known thing there is the Wiener Riesenrad (Vienesse giant wheel). It symbolises the city for many people all over the world, so it's very popular. It's very old, it was built in 1897!!
We took a ride with this very historic wheel
Another popular thing in the park is the "Madame Tussauds" wax museum, I guess you know it
There are many celebrities shown, it's awesome!! Well, we decided to visit the museum and we had lots of fun there!!
Here you can see us with George Clooney!!! What a beauty!
Robbie Williams:
Leonardo DiCaprio:
And finally Audrey Hepburn:
Afterwards we went to the hotel to take a little rest. At evening we headed to the townhall.
In July and August there's the "Vienna Film Festival". There's a big screen in front of the townhall and every evening there's another opera, recording of a performance with classical music, concert, musical or ballet shown. There are about 6000 seats for the audience!!
Imagine how great it is to be a part of that. The atmosphere is just stunning!! This evening the opera "Carmen" was shown, we sat down very early that's why the auditorium looks so uncrowded.
We all were very knackered at the end of the day so we were happy to go back to the hotel later this night.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
P.S. I couldn't make an update for the second day yet because the pictures were taken with another camera but I guess I'll get them in the next days.
Posted Jul 30, 2012, 6:03 pm
it's already our last day in Vienna today. It was damned hot and the sun was burning this morning, I almost melted!!
Anyways, we visited the "Tiergarten Schönbrunn" today. It's located in the huge palace garden of Schloss Schönbrunn (Schönbrunn Palace) and is a World Cultural Heritage. My host told me that it's the oldest zoo in the world and that it was founded in 1752. Originally it was only for the imperial family, but after the end of the reign of Maria Theresia (died in 1780) it was also opened for "normal" people. Pretty impressing, isn't it? It hosts giant pandas, only a few zoos in the world are hosting pandas and I got to see some of them
Unfortunately the pandas were asleep when we were there
Can you spot them lying there?
This is the "Kaiserpavillon", it was the imperial breakfast-pavillon of the empresses and emperors but now it's a restaurant / café for the visitors of the zoo. I think it looks very nice!! Mum... Imagine the empress Maria Theresia sitting there with a beautiful dress and some court ladies walking around.
As I already mentioned the zoo is located in the palace garden. We took a little stroll through the park after visiting the zoo and passed the palm house / greenhouse, it is among the largest botanical exhibits of its kind in the world. It was opened in 1882 and most of it got destroyed in 1945. It was reopened in 1953.
It looks awesome, doesn't it??
Afterwards we headed to the "Schatzkammer" (treasure chamber) where the crowns and all that stuff are coffered. It was very interesting.
Well, at evening we went to the airport to get back home, but some big problems came up!!! We couldn't fly from Vienna to Düsseldorf as we actually booked. The flight was overbooked and our airline AirBerlin changed our booking to a flight to Berlin and from Berlin to Düsseldorf. Well, the flight to Berlin had a delay, so as we arrived in Berlin we missed the flight to Düsseldorf. AirBerlin didn't want to pay for a hotel for us so we had to sleep on the floor of a small air terminal and take a flight the next morning!!!
It was horrible, I couldn't sleep a single minute that night Bad end of a beautiful holiday...
Alright, that's it so far.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jul 31, 2012, 8:20 pm
it's our second day here in Vienna and the weather is awesome! Bright sunshine and no rain
We visited many things and walked soooo much that my feet hurt!! Well, almost our whole day was under the theme of "Sisi". Sisi is the nickname of Elisabeth, the empress of Austria and queen of Hungary. I'll tell you some facts about her life now before I start showing you some pictures.
Elisabeth was born in 1837 and got killed in 1898 by the italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni. Her husband was Franz Joseph I, emperor of Austria and king of several countries. They were cousins and Sisi was very young when they got married, she was only 16 years old!! The couple had 4 children; 3 daughters and 1 son. Her daughter Sophie died at the age of 2. Rudolph, the only son and successor to the throne, committed suicide at the age of 30. Sisi had a quite tragical life, she hated everything about her life in the Schönbrunn Palace and the "Hofburg", she had eating disorders and depressions. That's why she went on many journeys through the whole world for many months and sometimes a few years. Her death was a tragedy for Franz Joseph, he loved and adored his wife so much.
Oh god, imagine you were Franz Joseph and you would have lost 2 children, a brother, your wife, your nephew (Franz Ferdinand, the successor to the throne after Rudolph's death, got killed) and the wife of your nephew. Poor guy, he had so much to cope with
Anyways... This is "Hofburg Palace". It was the imperial winter residence. Nowadays there are museums and the national library. It looks nice, doesn't it?
And this is Schönbrunn Palace, the imperial summer residence. It's a huge Palace and the the garden behind the palace is much bigger than the garden of the Hofburg. Actually, the garden here is a huge park, with a huge zoo, a labyrinth and things like that. It must take many hours to walk through the park...
Unfortunately it wasn't allowed to take pictures inside of the Hofburg and Schönbrunn Palace
After visiting these buildings we headed to the "Kaisergruft" (Imperial Crypt), it's underneath the Capuchin Church and is therefore called Capuchins' Crypt. Here are the bodies (of course in coffins) of every emperor and every empress and some other important members of the imperial family.
Here you can see the coffins of Elisabeth (on the left), Franz Joseph I (in the middle) and Rudolph (on the right). I can't describe what I felt when I looked at these coffins, knowing that the people in there are so important people for the european history, it gave me the shivers
Well, at evening we walked through the city and passed a theatre, called "Ronacher". Normally the musical "Sister Act" is shown there, but in Austria the theatres have a summer break in July and August and during this time there's no play, musical or opera shown in Vienna.
Alright, I think this were enough history lessons for you today, Mum
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Aug 8, 2012, 10:28 am
long time no speak, I'm really sorry!! There's not much happening here in Dortmund the last days because Kate has to study for an exam.
So as she sat in front of her books I enjoyed the evening on the balcony, watching the sun go down.
Later this night I went to bed and read a few pages of a book called "Ghost Hunting". It's written by Jason Hawes and Grant Wilson. They are paranormal investigators, working for TAPS (The Atlantic Paranormal Society) and they search for paranormal activities. In this book they describe some experiences that they made during their huntings. They have a famous reality television series in the USA called "Ghost Hunters".
Maybe it's not a good idea to read something about ghosts before going to bed... I shivered!!
Well, that's it for today.
Love and miss you, Mummy!!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Aug 15, 2012, 9:12 am
It's just another ordinary day and it's not much happening around here because Kate is still busy with studying for her exam next week.
But somehow it's like a short holiday for me, there's not much stress for me, I can sleep very long and do whatever I want. This morning was a very relaxing one.
The sun woke me up after a deep and good sleep.
Then I went to the bathroom to have a wash. I was completely awake afterwards!!
Afterwards I wanted to put my clothes on, but my head was stuck in the hole of the pullover!! Help!!
Oh thank god I managed to put it on in the end. Then I just needed to put on my necklace.
And Ta-da! Ready for the day
I was very hungry, so I had breakfast. I sat down with the newspaper and ate some bread with Nutella and drank a mug of milk. Yummy!!
Afterwards I decided to go and get some fresh air on the balcony.
Yes, that's it about my morning here in Bochum. Hopefully I will be able to tell you much more exciting things in the following days.
I love you!!
Dottie Mouse
Posted Aug 19, 2012, 7:27 pm
Today is the hottest day of the year here in Germany, as you know. We almost had 35 degrees!!
A bit too hot in my opinion.
In the morning I spent some time on the balcony. But I didn't sit in a chair, I sat near a small fountain. Oooh I loved the cooling!! The water felt so good!!
The sun burned too much at noon so I stayed inside with some delicious grapes and ice. Yummy
At evening it cooled a bit down so I could go out again. This time I didn't go out alone, a friend of mine who lives here came with me. I took a water pistol with me and my friend didn't know that.
Muhahaha!! I shot him, hihi.
Well, I didn't do so much today because it was way too hot. I hope you had a nice day and could enjoy the weather
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Aug 27, 2012, 10:34 pm
long time no speak, I'm so sorry!! My host has been very busy...
Well, today was my last full day here with my host as I'm moving on to Sülfeld tomorrow morning to visit RikeH. Kate told me that she's very nice and that I'll have a great time with her.
I heard that we'll go on holiday, I really can't wait!!!
I spent my last full day with Kate at university until evening...
Afterwards I watched some episodes of "Ghost Hunters" before bedtime. I think I already told you about the series. It's a reality television series about paranormal investigators who investigate places that are reported to be haunted. The main crew consists of Grant Wilson, Jason Hawes, Steve Gonsalves, Dave Tango, Amy Bruni and Kris Williams, but sometimes there are other investigators. On one of the episodes that I watched today was "Meatloaf" as a special guest!! Such a cool guy, Kate told me that he appeared in another episode before as well.
It wasn't probably the best idea to watch it before going to bed. I hope I can sleep tonight because I have to be fit and well for my travel.
Well, I'll let you know when I start my travel tomorrow early in the morning.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Aug 28, 2012, 9:06 am
just want you to know that I'm on my way to Sülfeld now. I really enjoyed my time here and I'm kinda sad to leave, but I'm sooo looking forward to arrive in Sülfeld and visit many nice places
Bye-bye!!
Dottie
Posted Sep 4, 2012, 9:06 pm
I arrived in Sülfeld. Dicker Kumpel - a friendly bunny – gave me a warm welcome.
He introduced me to his other guests – there are many at the moment – but three of them will leave soon.
I showed my postcard and told about my last adventures in Dortmund.
Later we made a walk through Sülfeld. This is the old church.
On the other side of the street is the old pharmacy.
Here you can see the emblem of Sülfeld.
Do you understand the words on this big rock?
Behind the rock there is the old school.
Many greetings
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 12, 2012, 5:49 pm
We went to Poland – and I had a look out of the window of the plane.
We left Warsaw and I saw this funny building.
Then we went to a region called Masuria. We took a trip on a river called Krutynia.
We had wonderful weather!
Later we stopped at another place and had a great view.
I loved the wooden houses here. You can see me with my friends in front of this house.
Love
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 15, 2012, 8:51 pm
Today we visited a nice church – called Mariä Verkündigung in Swieta Lipka.
We had a nice time in the church and listened to an organ recital.
In front of the church I saw this nice harvest crown.
Can you see this nice Castle – unfortunately it was a ruin.
We had a nice stop at the port of Mikolajki.
Near to our hotel I had fun in this boat.
I had a great view from a hill there.
Around the hotel there were some funny guys.
And there was a nice fountain in front of our hotel.
Love
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 16, 2012, 11:45 am
We took a boat trip today – but it was a special trip. On this water channel the ships drove some parts without water – this was strange. On this postcard you can see how it works.
This was our boat.
This photo should show the nice nature – but maybe it was more important to see me!
Behind me you can see our way over the hill.
Our ship was on a wagon like this behind me.
Here you see the moment, when we went onto the wagon.
With the help of water and these wheels they moved the wagons.
Here you can see the machine room.
After this interesting trip with a boat we went to Frambork and visited the big cathedral there.
Yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 17, 2012, 7:29 pm
We started our day with another big red building. But this one was bigger. It is the Castle Malbork/Marienburg. It is the biggest medieval fortress in Europe.
It looked great!
We went into the Castle and saw this nice altar or whatever it should be – I am not that good in religious things.
This was another nice room.
In the castle courtyard we met these 4 guys. They were important for the Malbork!
After our visit we went to the other side of the river and had a wonderful view.
Enough for the Castle – it was time for the seaside. We went to a place called Sopot. They have a very long pier there.
Maybe I will be a pirate someday?
It was a hot and sunny day – so the people spent their time on the beach and in the water.
Next to the beach there was a really big hotel - I would have loved to stay in it.
yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 20, 2012, 8:23 pm
Normally we had good weather here in Poland – but today it was not so good – fortunately we had no rain. Our city for today was Gdansk. Behind me you can see one of the town's landmark - the medieval port crane.
We had a nice view over the river.
There were many gates in Gdansk – I liked this one.
This was inside the old city – this house is called Artus' Court with the Neptune Fountain in front of it.
Next to it there was the town hall.
Our lunch was very delicious.
Back on the road I saw another Gate.
And this was the armory.
yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 23, 2012, 12:41 pm
We visited this nice castle from the family Krockow
I saw some nice rooms in the castle.
Later we went to a big wandering dune.
It was really big – and I loved the view from here.
Later we went to the beach.
After the walk we relaxed in a small dune.
Our next stop was the little town Leba. I liked the boats there.
In the evening we saw some folk dances.
Love
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 26, 2012, 3:56 pm
It was our last day in Poland – and we spent in in Gdansk again. Because the weather was much better, I wanted to have new photos of course.
This time we crossed the River and had a nice view. The medieval port crane looked much better in the sunshine.
We took a walk through the old city.
It was a nice and sunny day – then we had to fly home. I really hope that you like the photos of our holiday in Poland.
yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 28, 2012, 12:00 pm
We are back in Germany.
I had so much fun today. Dicker Kumpel came to us – and wore a funny dotted cape.
He told me that he invited some dotted animals and ToyVoyagers, because my life mission is to meet other dotted animals.
He introduced me to the other dotted guys.
I was so surprised – so many guests only for me!
There were Clairchen with her dotted dress – and Murph. He has dots all over his body and he wore a wonderful dotted bow tie.
Dicker Kumpel introduced me to long hippo – with his wonderful white dots – Kah, the snake had black dots and two heads – this is strange. There was a friendly ladybird – with dotted wings.
The last guest was a big Diddl-Maus, who has dotted feet! Look, his feet were bigger than me!
We started our party with delicious cakes! Can you see our dots?
Dicker Kumpel had to go, because he is not dotted. He went away to his other guests – maybe they will have their own party?
But look what happened. An hour later Dicker Kumpel and the others came – and they had dots all over their bodies.
They asked me whether they were allowed to join the party – of course they were!
Fortunately RikeH had more things to eat, so we all started our party together.
Later Dicker Kumpel and Murph had a surprise for me – a wonderful firework.
We decided that Murph started it – together with the help of a part of HoBi.
If you have a closer look – you can see some blue parts in the air above us.
This was fun!
Back home on our party-table, we ate the rest of our dinner. Unfortunately we ate everything.
Everything was empty – what should we do?
Well – I am in the home of Dicker Kumpel – and he knows how to party. We drank a delicious cocktail.
It was yummy – Mum.
Can you see all the dots around me?
Some hours later – no comment…
I loved my meeting with other dotted animals!
Yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 12, 2012, 8:47 pm
We went to Usedom this week. Behind me you can see our home here.
We stayed in a town called Heringsdorf. They have a long pier there – and we walked on it. We had a nice view from the pier.
Look – this was a part of the pier.
And RikeH thought that this part of the photo looked great – me and the bird.
There were many people on the beach. And you can see the place where Oliver Kahn and a woman talked about soccer during the European Championship.
Later I listened to music with many other people.
Love
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 13, 2012, 2:04 pm
Today we went to another little town called Ahlbeck. They have a very old clock there.
And another pier.
I loved this place – far behind me you can see the pier of Heringsdorf.
We went to the end of the pier and had this nice view.
It was a little windy.
We found a nice place at the beach.
We should travel to this place together – and stay in this hotel, Mum!
yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 14, 2012, 11:58 am
We had bad weather – and I hung around in the room. The apartment had the name Provence.
Have you ever been to Pisa?
This lamp was really funny.
Some nice flowers for you!
Love
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 16, 2012, 8:52 pm
It was time to leave Usedom. We found a really big beach chair.
We drove over Usedom and found this great place. We were able to see 7 lakes from a tower.
Then we stopped at this wonderful mill.
We took a rest next to the mill.
Then we went to another mill – it was nice, too.
We had lunch in this castle.
I met this nice angle in the park.
Our last stop was at a small harbor.
We had a nice time on Usedom.
Yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 19, 2012, 11:43 am
We took a trip to Lübeck – a really nice town. On the photo you see one of the typical backyards there.
This is the famous town hall.
Here you see it from the other side.
This building is called Holstentor. It is really famous in Germany – and had been on a money note in the Past.
Can you see me?
Here – in the flower!
It was a nice trip!
Love
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 28, 2012, 6:10 pm
The weather was nice outside so we took a walk around Sülfeld. Behind me you can see the tree that Dicker Kumpel loves most.
Look – we had sunshine – and talked a lot on this bench.
The trees looked so wonderful and colorful.
I thought about taking a bath – but didn’t do it, because the water was not so clean.
Back home we walked through this forest.
What a nice house!
yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 30, 2012, 8:15 pm
I went to a small town near to Sülfeld. Look – there was a wonderful water wheel.
Can you see me?. Behind me you see the church of Bad Oldesloe.
Here I sat together with Dicker Kumpel and JUMP – you can see the water wheel again.
There were some nice houses.
I wanted to send you this flower – but maybe a photo is enough, too.
This is the town hall and a nice fountain.
And another nice house – the Stadthaus.
There is a river in Bad Oldseloe.
On our way back to the car we met these ducks. They were friendly and we talked some minutes.
Yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 31, 2012, 10:09 pm
I am so excited, because I will travel to Australia now.
I said goodbye to Dicker Kumpel - we had a lot of fun together.
Until soon from Down Under.
Yours
Dottie Mouse
Posted Nov 9, 2012, 8:28 am
I have arrived!!
All the way to Australia!!!
Photos soon Mum.
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xx00xx
Posted Nov 15, 2012, 6:40 am
Today Sue went to Water Gardens (a shopping centre) but saw the naturopath - we didn't get out of the travel bag
but on the way home rode up the front of the car!!
Later we went to the park
More soon Mum
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Nov 18, 2012, 9:41 am
Today we took Tupai to the park for a walk
things are still green because there has been lots of rain, and not a lot of hot weather yet!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Nov 22, 2012, 6:41 am
Today we drove across town for a bookcrossing meet up.
we had a look at the book for swapping
and had a chat with some very nice owls
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Nov 22, 2012, 6:56 am
Today we had a look at the old court house in Gisborne - only the outside because we couldn't get inside!
this is the old goal out the back of the court house - sadly it is closed but we may get back there another day!
We had a look at the War Memorial and the flowers that were put there for November the 11th
In the evening we went to book club at the pub!!
We were good we looked at the book not the booze!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Nov 22, 2012, 7:12 am
Today I went to work at the library with Sue!
I met the luck cat - folded with paper by the Japanese teacher
I stuck date dues in the new books
Had a cup of tea - very important
looked at the shelves
tried out the comfy seat! (Was ok!!
)
sorted the daily newspapers - had a busy day Mum!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Nov 22, 2012, 7:23 am
Today we said goodbye to Arthur - he is off to America on his travels
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Nov 25, 2012, 6:33 am
Today we went to Ballan to a shop called Mill Rose Cottage - it has over 3000 bolts of patchwork fabric!!!!!
Sue was going there for a sewing day with some friends, but when we got there guess what we found!! Something you would like!!
It is nearly the same name as you Mum!!
Nice colours here Mum!
On with some sewing now!
we found some beautiful roses out in the car park!
Then we found this old house that is now an Op Shop )Charity shop) - it used to be owned by a lady who did mosaics - lots have gone Sue told us but we still got to see lots too!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 2, 2012, 6:26 am
We went to the beach this morning - good beach weather
Was a lovely day Mum!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 2, 2012, 6:54 am
We forgot to show you the kiwi fruit vines - they have flowers! These plants had fruit last year Sue was telling me which was very strange, cos they need a girl vine and a boy vine to have fruit
and there is only one vine here, the other one died in the drought .....but we think there must be another vine somewhere near by.
Pretty good balancing here Mum!!
Here we all are in the sunshine.
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 11, 2012, 7:06 am
We took the dog to the park today - we have to watch for magpie birds- they have babies at present and swoop when you walk by!
Luckily we got past the trees they live in without a problem!
On the park bench!
this is the map of the park and shows us the walking tracks and playing fields
this is the old part of the park with the big oak trees
heading back to the creek
would you believe it - there is a creek under all those plants!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 11, 2012, 7:32 am
Today I am in the garden - I had a chat with a lovely dancing frog
Here I am in the front garden
Now we are around the side of the house - Tupai is looking for rabbits!!
here is where I am staying Mum,
more yard and trees
A lovely rose Mum for you Mum!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 11, 2012, 8:49 am
Look what we found on the kitchen bench!!!!
YUM!!!
Yours in heaven!
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 14, 2012, 6:56 am
Today we went to work with Sue and had a look at some of the Year 12 students art work
Now I am off to the kitchen for the cheese!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xx00xx
Posted Dec 14, 2012, 7:23 am
We had a little look at the city today
Melbourne town hall
this is Flinders Street train station - the main city train station
Saint Pauls cathedral - has lovely stained glass windows Mum
the Yarra River (known as the up side down river because it is always brown!!)
the concert hall
and look at what we found in a lane way Mum!! Wow! I could have fun in that window!!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 14, 2012, 7:47 am
Today we went for a BBQ up Mount Macedon at a place called Days Picnic Ground. we had a walk thru the bush to Lake Sanatorium. There used to be a hospital up here many years ago.
Waiting for the BBQ to be cooked - and you know what?? Sue forgot to take a photo of the BBQ food!!
Boy!!
tourists in a gum tree here Mum
lovely reflections here Mum
found a lovely soft mossy log to rest in Mum!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 14, 2012, 10:52 pm
Today we had a surprise - Sue's son went off to work but then came back holding a tortoise! He had found it sitting in the middle of the road just looking around! We had very heavy rain last night so we think it might have been washed out of a dam somewhere nearby. We took it to the local vet and they were going to find it a good home!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 14, 2012, 10:53 pm
Look what we found on the kitchen bench once again - think I might hang out here more often!!!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 14, 2012, 11:15 pm
Today we went to work and helped with some cutting and pasting!!
Then after work we had a fun thing to do - we had a go at glass slumping! We stuck two pieces of glass together (after we had cleaned it) and then decorated on top.
Was a good day Mum.
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 15, 2012, 6:27 am
Another fun activity after school at work - we got to decorate a ginger bread house!
Mixing the icing
Mmmmm...not sure Sue knows how to do the icing here, night have to take over soon!!
nearly done
Finished.
And Mum did you know, Sue's son had it eaten in 3 days!!! Couldn't even wait for Christmas!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 15, 2012, 6:41 am
Another fun after school activity - but no photos until we got home (someone forgot to get us out of the bag at the class!!!!)
tree decorations
a decoration for the Christmas table.
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 15, 2012, 6:56 am
Home sewing day today , two quilts have to be finished by next weekend
We did get to sit out in the sun for a while
I had a chat to Tica
Nice outside today Mum
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 23, 2012, 7:55 am
We are here to have lunch - wood fired pizza - and for the unveiling of quilts that some ladies in the group have made!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 25, 2012, 2:36 am
We had a look in the city for Christmas decorations today
Flinders Street Station looks good
crossing over the Yarra river
an interesting mosaic on South Bank
this is me in the dark looking at the decorations in the casino
back out by the Yarra and the tour boats
we had a sit by the Yarra and watched the rowers and looked over at the city buildings
at Federation Square we found a forest of Christmas trees
in Federation Square with St Pauls Cathedral in the background
the main entrance of Flinders Street station over the road
outside Melbourne Town Hall
it looks like a big present Mum!
heading home on the train now Mum
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 25, 2012, 2:52 am
Happy Christmas from Australia!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Dec 25, 2012, 2:59 am
Special day today - I had to take off my jumper because it was 31 degrees and I was too hot, so today Sue made me a summer dress!!!!
Don't I look beautiful!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 7:16 am
Today we said goodbye to LinaLou - she is off on her travels.
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 7:23 am
Today we went 15 mins up the freeway to Woodend to a place called Campaspe House for High Tea!! I went with the Wednesday quilting group - we had a look out the back
Saw some nice decorations inside
had some nice food!!
Couldn't find any cheese though Mum!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 7:26 am
We are here today for a BBQ!
Hope there is enough food for us!
Yum!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 7:32 am
Today we are on the way to Bacchus Marsh
getting dry here now
Guess where we are shopping Mum?
On the way home we stopped by the Lerderderg Gorge to have a look at the river
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 7:46 am
Today we are heading across the city to celebrate Christmas Eve with family, we had to drive lots on the freeway
See what I mean????
past the edge of Melbourne City
through the tunnel under the Yarra River
heading up into the Dandenong Hills now
a little bit greener here
In Sherbrooke forest now
I met Hector the goat - but he wasn't very friendly when he found out he couldn't eat me!!
this is the back yard of where we are having dinner
Yay!! Dinner!!
Happy Christmas Eve Mum!!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 9:47 pm
We have arrived at the beach late in the day - my first view of the sea
More soon
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 9:51 pm
Today we are heading off for a walk along the beach
It is a bit grey and overcast today but quite warm
part of the walking track.
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 9:56 pm
Today we went into Geelong, Sue had to do some messages and on the way home we stopped at the Botanic Gardens to show you the bollards there - the bollards are around the beach at Geelong and tell the history of the area.
This is the man who established the Botanic Garden here back in the 1800's
this lady had picked a flower
to put in her flower press and was hiding it behind her back!
we found this unusual plant in the gardens.
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 10:03 pm
Today we are off on a bike ride to have a little look around
heading out the drive
past the boat launching ramp
looks better in focus doesn't it!!!
past the little lagoon
we found some interesting paintings on the pubic toilet building near the playground!
Off home for a rest now Mum!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 10:08 pm
Another beach walk today
lots of sea weed growing here!
Rest time!
we are walking a long way!
we made it to the big seat! Phew!
after a rest we start the long walk back
some interesting wood pieces and tree roots to rest on
Now I need a rest Mum,
More soon
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 10:17 pm
here I am looking from the jetty back to the beach
some boats near the end of the jetty
Mmmm....not sure I want to swim today!!
Happy New Year Mum
Can you see me in the dark??
there was fireworks in the background but it is heard to see in the photo
Tired now Mum...off to bed!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 10:20 pm
Time at the beach today - sitting watching the world go by!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 10:25 pm
Another walk on the beach today
the flag is flying because people are in the holiday house
near the Yacht Club now
and some relaxing at the beach in the afternoon
we are in the shade because it is very hot this afternoon!
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 10:31 pm
My last day at the beach today - tomorrow we head back to Gisborne. It is very hot today 40 degrees so we sat in the house trying to keep cool for most of the day!
We are avoiding getting sunburnt!
But late afternoon about 5pm we went to the beach
and sat in the shade
and watched the water - it was much cooler by the water!
It is still hot in the sun!
Much better in the shade
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 5, 2013, 10:33 pm
My last walk here and I found some nice gum trees flowers
Love and hugs
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 7, 2013, 7:59 am
Today I am saying goodbye to Kali and Tica and hello goodbye to Mr Shaun, who has arrived from Germany today!
Auf Wiedersehen!!
Dottie Mouse
xxooxx
Posted Jan 20, 2013, 1:12 pm
I am back in Germany – and it was a fast trip.
Do you know who welcomed me? Murph and Sofia! I know them from my dot party with Dicker Kumpel and RikeH.
I showed both my gifts from Australia. HoBi said thanks to fleursmum.
Murph gave a litte party because we met again. He got a delicious tart at Christmas from his best friend Dicker Kumpel.
It looked yummy!
And we got a cocktail!
We told a lot – and laughed, ate and drank.
Maybe we had one cocktail more than it was good for us?
What a reunion.
Many greetings
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jan 23, 2013, 5:20 pm
today it was very cold again, but we wanted to leave the house. We went to Seesen. It is a city with many windows. You can see the famous places of the city when you look through the windows. We saw the Castle Sehusa through the first window.
Then we met this nice guy. It is Wilhelm Busch – he wrote many famous stories.
All over the city you meet these funny boys. Their names are Max and Moritz.
Through this window you see an old courtyard.
We found an English telephone box – in Germany.
Here you see the church of Seesen.
Look – Max and Moritz from the back side.
The ducks hadn’t much room in the lake anymore.
This museum was really beautiful, wasn’t it?
I loved Max and Moritz as Rockers most.
Seesen is a really beautiful city.
Until soon
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 4:58 pm
Today I saw Murph’s famous gate.
This boat stands in front of it.
The nice guy is the owner of the gate and the family park.
There were many funny characters on the gate. I will show you some of it.
This is the postbox and the bell of the park.
Don’t be afraid – this shark was not as dangerous as he looked like.
I loved these two animals. Which one do you like more, Mum?
What a wonderful gate!
Many greetings
Dottie Mouse
Posted Feb 4, 2013, 5:03 pm
The weather was awful today.
Nevertheless we went into the forest and searched mushrooms. Even Murph didn’t see this mushroom before. The orange mock oyster.
Everybody knows this mushroom – the yelly ears. Chinese restaurants often use it in their meals.
Actually there was ice on this lake.
Weren’t theses mushrooms beautiful? The color is great. I love these scarlett elf cups.
Didn’t this looked like a liana in the jungle?
What a beautiful forest.
Finally we found this small mushroom. It looked funny, didn’t it?
Many greetings
Dottie Mouse
Posted Feb 10, 2013, 11:30 am
Today we took a long hike. First we saw the miniature golf place of Bad Salzdetfurth.
This is the house where Bine works. It is not really beautiful, is it?
I don’t know where this column is for.
What a beautiful landscape.
There was still some snow!
This house was really nice. It was a witch’s house. The witch wasn’t at home.
Behind me there is the glider airfield of Bad Salzdetfurth. But there weren’t gliders in the wintertime.
Down there I saw the flat of HoBi. Finally – what a long hike!
Until soon
Dottie Mouse
Posted Feb 17, 2013, 3:44 pm
today I took a look at the hometown of Murph.
It is only a small town, but it has a big church.
The golden ball in front of the ‚Kurmittelhaus‘ is the sun
All over the town you find planets in the right distance and in the right dimension. This is the earth.
There are many half-timbered houses in Bad Salzdetfurth.
This river flew through the whole city. Maybe I will show you the spring in the next weeks.
There are 2 big salines in the spa gardens. The people used it to produce salt in the past.
This is the famous place of Murph. It is called Summstein – you sit inside of it and bumble. Then the whole body prickles. Very funny!
Next to the Summstein you see the colorful pigeonry, but I didn’t see pigeons.
This is an outdoor swimming pool. It is used in the wintertime, too.
Bad Salzdetfurth is an old miningtown. And you find memories of this time everywhere.
It is a nice town.
Greetings
Dottie Mouse
Posted Feb 23, 2013, 1:16 pm
It was very foggy today.
It wasn’t very nice in the forest – so we visited the Park of the Abbey Lamspringe. The Lamme starts here – the river that I saw in Bad Salzdetfurth.
This is the church of the abbey. Really big!
Criminals got this ring around their neck in the past – and were in the pillory.
In this mill they produced mill for the abbey many years ago.
What a wonderful park!
I found the first flowers this year. Snowdrops! Maybe the spring starts now?
Until soon
Dottie Mouse
Posted Mar 1, 2013, 3:59 pm
the winter is back. It snows all day long. Nevertheless we took a walk.
There is a big castle in Derneburg.
In the forest was a small teahouse.
So many stairs and so much snow – puh…
Unbelievable – there exists a pyramid in the forest inside of Germany.
It is the grave of the former owner of the castle.
There were small houses of fishermen next to many small ponds.
It didn’t look like one – but this was one of the fish ponds.
I liked this house.
This region is really beautiful.
Here you can see how far I walked through the snow.
At home we searched a warm place, because we had to get dry again.
Where is the spring time?
Greetings
Dottie Mouse
Posted Mar 10, 2013, 11:59 am
Eventually we had sunshine! We drove to the Bodensteiner cliffs and wanted to search the spring. We found a little of it.
There was still a lot of snow in the forest. During the summer you see water coming out here.
These cliffs were beautiful, weren’t they?
We saw a lot of holes in the cliffs. Where are they for?
I absolutely wanted to have one more photo with the cliffs.
On the way back we walked along this small river.
The river flows into this lake. We searched a beautiful place and enjoyed the sunshine.
I don’t like the snow anymore. Hopefully it will be warmer soon.
Until soon
Dottie Mouse
Posted Mar 15, 2013, 2:58 pm
today I visited Alfeld - a small city in Lower Saxony.
This old tower is totally covered. How will it look like in the summertime.
This sculpture is so funny!
This beautiful house is at the market place.
Under the market place a little river is flowing.
This house I liked most.
The ‚heilige Franziskus‘ and the big bell stood next to the church.
Alfeld is a beautiful small town.
Until soon
Dottie Mouse
Posted Mar 23, 2013, 3:25 pm
today we went to a holy spring. Many people take water from it. It should help against sicknesses.
This was the main spring.
The water was so bright!
Here you see 2 other springs – coming directly out of the hill.
There was a small altar next to the spring. People sacrifices things here, and hope that the spring never stops.
The water from the spring feed this river.
Hopefully it will be warmer soon, because we want to search mushrooms.
Greetings
Dottie mouse
Posted Mar 31, 2013, 12:29 pm
it is so frustrating. I don’t want to leave the house. There is snow everywhere. I don’t want to see snow anymore!
Where are the orchids? Where are the morels?
Look here! No bear’s garlic! Only snow!
OK – at least this small spring has a beautiful story.
There should be a small church in the past. One night all bells rang at midnight and the church sank. The next day there was this lake at this place.
We really thought about the truth of this story for a long time. But who knows it?
Well – I will go back home now. And I won’t come out of the house before the winter is over and the snow is away!
Until then
Dottie Mouse
Posted Apr 3, 2013, 5:30 pm
today it is Easter. Murph wanted to go with us into the forest, where the Easter bunny lives. But look – snow everywhere.
What should we do? Will the Easter bunny put the eggs into the snow?
We decided to ask Bine, what to do? But look what we found at the door!
There were baskets – and they were empty.
Maybe we can find Easter eggs here? Let’s have a look. Keep your fingers crossed. Wow – an Easter egg.
We found the first eggs. There should be more!
Sofia called!
Wow, our baskets were almost full.
Uiii! What a nice smell!!!
So many Eastereggs!
Murph called! He saw something bright. What will it be?
Sofia threw everything into our baskets.
Now all baskets were full. It will be yummy!
Greetings
Dottie Mouse
Posted Apr 9, 2013, 5:09 pm
there was still snow outside. I didn’t want to go out. But Bine told us that fresh air is good for our health. So I was back in the snow. Near to the parking lot I said hello to this snowman.
Can you see, how much snow we have?
Okay, the lake was really beautiful.
It is already frozen.
On the pier we took a short break.
There was snow on the ice!
We still found Easter eggs. But the chocolate eggs were much better!
Actually they still exist!
Many greetings
Dottie Mouse
Posted Apr 14, 2013, 3:06 pm
Finally we saw the sun again. In the forest there was still snow. So we didn’t want to go there. We went to a big lake.
There were some people with water skis on it. Can you see the man behind me?
During our walk around the lake we saw this small pyramid.
On the other side there was a big sandy beach. I wanted to go there!
Eventually we found flowers. Weren’t they beautiful?
What will this be?
What a wonderful beach – in the middle of Lower Saxony. Unfortunately it was too cold to take a sunbath here.
But we took a longer rest here. Coltsfoot at the beach – cool.
Finally it is spring. Soon we will go into the forest and find mushrooms!
Until soon
Dottie Mouse
Posted Apr 18, 2013, 4:56 pm
Finally the spring started! Last weekend there was snow in the forest. And today we found many flowers. This was amazing! But look: spring snowflakes.
kidneywort
The orchids didn't bloom yet.
What a beautiful cave in this tree.
Another flower: daphne mezereum
And so many kidneyworts. We urgently wanted to have a photo.
We even found the first mushrooms.
Oh no! What an awful view. Murph was so angry. He hates these machines. They are monsters!
They destroy the whole forest.
At home we said goodbye to Josie. We wished her a safe journey home.
Until soon
Dottie Mouse
Posted Apr 24, 2013, 5:08 pm
Certainly we went into the forest again. First of all we visited the elfcups. Do you remember the beautiful red mushrooms? They were really big now.
There were flowers everywhere – all were blooming! Great!
Beautiful cowslips.
Lesser celandine everywhere.
It looked so great!
There was another spring flower : the hollowroot – birthwort. You can see the reason for our walk on the photo, too.
We wanted to collect bear’s garlic. What a wonderful view – bear's garlic – as far as you can see.
We took our basket.
Where should we start?
Here!
Murph cut the bear's garlic and put it into the basket.
Our basket was full.
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This is the bear's garlic paradise!!!
It was time to say goodbye to the others. I had a great time here, but now I wanted to travel on.
Until soon
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 6, 2013, 7:03 pm
I arrived safely at my new destination. As soon as I crawled out of my envelope, I was greeted by Fido, Lamikins and Teddy. They were very excited to see me. I am the first Toy Voyager to visit with my host family. I got a tour of the house and the yard. Fido and I climbed the dogwood tree. Dogwoods are his favorite. It is sunny and warm here, and the spring trees are all in bloom.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 27, 2013, 8:58 pm
I hope you are not worried, since I didn't post any news for a while. I've been having some adventures with my host family's toys. So here are the pictures. The first ones are showing my trip to Dowling College on May 7. I went with my new friend Fido, and tasted the cheese empanadas and some brownies. Fido liked the meat filled ones. The students are raising money for their club. The little flags are from countries where the students are from. I asked if they had a flag for Germany, but they didn't. I will post more pictures later today.
Posted May 27, 2013, 9:06 pm
Today I played Scrabble with my friends. They are Fido (the dog), Painter Bear, and Eduardo. Painter bear is many colors. Eduardo has a necktie. As you can see, I had a great word to put on the board! But I don't know what to do with the other two letters I have left.
I hope everyone is fine at home. I miss you.
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 27, 2013, 9:22 pm
It is so much fun to cuddle with these big toys! The biggest is "Obama Bear." He is named after the President of the USA. I took my sweater off, since it is quite warm here. Fido thought my sweater would fit on his foot for a sock! He's very silly. You can see me looking at the paintings in my host's house, and looking out of the window at the neighborhood. We will take a walk later.
Posted May 29, 2013, 10:26 pm
I don't feel like I'm on an island. I don't see the water around it. This area is very suburban, with many houses and yards on quiet streets. Grandma lives at the end of a narrow lane. First we walk to the end. We pass a playground, and we take a look at the poison ivy that is growing along the lane. Then we turn towards the lake, and walk on a sidewalk. Here we see more cars. We are walking downhill.
Finally we get to the lake. The lake is 0.65 miles (1.05 km) across. There is a dock with some people fishing. This is a freshwater lake, and it is stocked with bass. Some children are swimming, and there are some others sunbathing. We walked to the geese but they left when we came near. I am quacking at the baby geese (goslings) but they don't hear me!
Posted May 31, 2013, 4:15 am
Today I had a great treat -- I went to a restaurant for sushi! I remember having sushi once before, but this time I also learned to use chop sticks. They are not so easy for a little mouse like me, but with some help I managed to balance them under my armpits, and get the food moved close enough to the edge of the plate to get closer to my mouth. My hosts were infinitely patient, but the waitress appeared to be afraid of me. Maybe she is afraid of mice. She walked rapidly away from us as soon as she spotted me on the table.
Soon you will have a visit from Lamikins. She finally got into her envelope for the long trip, and Grandma took her to the post office. I think she was afraid, since it is her first trip. I reassured her that it is perfectly safe. She says to tell you she is looking forward to meeting you.
I think I will be ready to come home soon. But first my hosts will take me to see a courthouse!
Love and kisses,
Dottie mouse
Posted Jun 5, 2013, 7:13 pm
It is a beautiful spring season here in Ronkonkoma. The flowers are blooming, so I took a walk around to smell the wonderful spring fragrance and see the bright colors. I love sitting on the fence in the sunlight. The Rhododendron bush is behind me.
Afterwards, I enjoyed a treat with my friends. We had Cabot Cheddar Cheese with rye bread. Mmmmm, smells so good! This cheese is made in the state of Vermont, about four hours to the north of us here in Ronkonkoma. It is a natural aged cheese with a strong taste, but very pleasant and has a smooth texture. So delicious!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 9, 2013, 2:06 am
Today my host took me to see a quilt show and a courthouse. We drove about 30 miles to the County Center of Suffolk County on Long Island. This small town is called Riverhead, because it is situated at the head of a river. As County Center, the town has a courthouse, so I got my picture taken in front of part of it. Since it is being renovated, we could only see a small part of the courthouse. This was built in 1929, after a fire destroyed the old one. I'm glad I got to complete part of my mission, to see courthouses! I also got to participate in a class at the quilt show. I learned how to embroider with silk ribbons. You can see my sampler in the picture. I saw many beautiful quilts, and admired the prize winners.
Miss you,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 13, 2013, 9:02 pm
I just found out that I will be going to Finland! First I need to repair my summer dress, since it has lost some of its stitches. I need to do this right away, so I am ready to travel. Here you can see me sewing, and I think the sewing box is such a nice place for a little mouse like me, that I find myself compelled to jump right in.
Posted Jun 13, 2013, 9:13 pm
My host family toys gave me a going away party this afternoon. I got two cakes, and we shared them with Bootsie the cat. She is a good cat, and doesn't chase mice, so I'm not afraid. I will miss all my friends in Ronkonkoma, especially Fido the dog, and Teddy the bear, since they are close to my size and they went on adventures with me. I am whispering in Fido's ear. Should I tell you what I said? I won't tell, it's a secret!
Love, Dottie Mouse
Posted Jun 13, 2013, 9:22 pm
Now it is time to get in my envelope. I was going to wear my sweater, but my host says it is warm and I might be too hot while traveling, so I took it off and put it in the envelope. Then I jumped in, and Fido put the postcard in with me. Now I am on my way to Finland! Hurray!
Love you,
Dottie
Posted Jul 6, 2013, 3:51 pm
I'm safely in Finland now!
I met my hostmommy, who promised to take good care of me while my visit with her.
I met also some other toyvoyagers: Kurnau, Nyankororin, Phillip, Nayeli, Santa Bear and Ronya. They all said welcome to me.
I showed them the nice postcard, it was written by my last host, and she wrote it to my new host.
Everyone liked the postcard, and then they all gave me a grouphug as a welcome.
And mommy, I want to introduce Kurnau cat. He is my host here. Even though I am a mouse, and he is a cat, we became friends imediately, so you don't need to be worry about me at all, mom!
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 24, 2013, 4:50 pm
Hostmommy has a meetup with some of her friends in the place Toivolan Vanha Piha.
Hostmommy took me with her.
Look, there's many old buildings in that place.
And I had great time there with other toys...
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 24, 2013, 5:27 pm
Today I visited very interesting place. I was in Helsinki, the capital city of Finland, and I visited in Suomenlinna.
Mommy, Suomenlinna is in the UNESCO World Heritage List!
More info about this place you can find here: http://www.suomenlinna.fi/fortress
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Sep 24, 2013, 5:44 pm
Today I had very exiting day!
Mommy, I met other toyvoyagers, and we had a TOYVOYAGER MEETING!
At first, we went to eat. Yummy!
Aaaah, I'm sooooo full!
After eating, we went to outside and wrote some postcards...
Then we found some weird things: those wooden things with different numbers on them.
What are those things?
Traveling-Teddy told us, that it's a Finnish game named Mölkky.
He promised to teach us how to play it...
more info about Mölkky: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%B6lkky
...and we play it. It was fun!
After playing we calculated our scores...
It was exiting!
...And the winner is...
(hih, it's a secret!)
Love,
Dottie Mouse
Posted Oct 17, 2013, 5:36 pm
SNOW!!! We got snow today!!! Look! It's amazing!!!
Posted Mar 24, 2014, 2:38 pm
I'm already travelling.
See you soon!
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 5, 2014, 9:20 pm
SunnyHH told me that California sounds great
California, I'm coming soon!!!
Dottie Mouse
Posted May 18, 2014, 12:22 am
missing you already. This guy - Stewart Big - is going to keep me a company for the mean time.
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