Belka, Istanbul, Turkey

TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Dec 29, 2009, 7:21 am	Hello everyone! I`m Belka! My name comes from Russian word "squirrel". I like adventures and travelings. I wish to make many friends in different countries. I hope my first friend will be from Hong Kong, if she likes me. But who can refuse to admire me?
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Dec 31, 2009, 1:05 pm	Hello everyone! How did you spend your Christmas? I was in the countryside with my TV friends! We met snowman there and had a lot of fun!
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Jan 1, 2010, 10:54 pm	Hello everyone! We celebrated New 2010 year! Russian people celebrate New year as you celebrate Christmas - give presents to each other and decorate fir. We will celebrate Christmas on 7th of January and it will be holiday only for religious people. We had New year dinner and party. Now we have 10 days of holidays and all people continue to celebrate and I`m waiting the post-office to be opened, because I`m going to Hong Kong!  Hope you had great party guys. Belka.
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Jan 5, 2010, 8:02 pm	Hey guys! I`m on my way to Hong Kong! Hope I`ll be there very soon and safe! See you soon. Belka.
candy_cherish Posted Jan 18, 2010, 1:08 pm	Hi Maria!!! I have arrived Hong Kong safely. Candy is very excited when she unpacks the box... and she loves the postcard!! Candy said she will bring me to her office tomorrow~ perhaps lunch with her colleagues! So tired after the long trip... have to rest now! Cya soon. Bye~!
candy_cherish Posted Jan 28, 2010, 12:14 am	hi maria!! sorry for not updating for long i have been busy going around with candy n recently she seems quite busy at work. anyways, we went to university of hong kong last weekend, her friends went there to take graduation photos!! ok here we go fot the pictures i took![img]null[/img]
candy_cherish Posted Feb 21, 2010, 2:19 pm	It is now chinese new year in HK!!! it's a traditional festival in china, celebrate new year and wish everyone nice year ahead!! children often recieve red pockets (lucky money) from their parents, n relatives. I have received one as well!! look!! and there are sweets and all sorts of chocolates in the box next to me. I enjoy this festival in HK=] Maria please don't worry about me, I have a gd time in HK. Just that Candy went to a trip for 2 weeks so there is no update during that time. Sorry about that and she promises me to go somewhere historical in the coming weekends! wait for my updates!
candy_cherish Posted Feb 25, 2010, 11:10 am	A week before Candy' s trip she was making some breakfast in home. I accompanied her to make that and the omelet is quite yummy! (Though I think Candy is quite messy in cooking, hahaha) 1st, we have to get some salmon pieces. 2nd, we beat the eggs. 3rd, we fried it. 4th, here we comes the product!
candy_cherish Posted Mar 2, 2010, 10:59 am	today we had some spaghetti for our lunch. The salmon caesar salad is lovely. Maria have a look at the buildings after me, these are the old buildings in Hong Kong (not quite old only 30-40 years at most I guess). Candy told me there will b an urban renewal project, n Kwun Tong will soon b very different! I am sure it will be nice after renewal! By the way, I meet candy's boyfriend and he brings a robot wif him!!! o my...the robot is very quiet, seems he does not like to talk...
candy_cherish Posted Mar 16, 2010, 3:30 am	today we went to central for a tea, we had fish & chips there! yummy! and I am so glad that I finally meet apanda! hello apanda!
candy_cherish Posted Mar 17, 2010, 3:24 pm	Today I went to Disneyland with Candy's friends! they are very friendly and even took some photos with me!
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted May 16, 2010, 2:47 pm	Hi guys!!!! Finally I`m at home. Russian post was awful and my journey lasted too much time. As I can see there are many new TVs here and even Red Navel with whom we started our journeys the same day is here. He is waiting for the end of May to travel to Canada. It might be fun to spend some time with all these guys, but olgamaus is waiting for me in Germany! I`ll sleep in my parcel. Again! So I said good bye to Red Navel, put on my tag and went on my way. See you soon! Belka!
olgamaus Posted May 27, 2010, 7:57 pm	Hi Mummy! I arrived in Remscheid today. My new host Katja picked me up at the post office. There it was so boring that I tried the sweets which were actually meant for Katja. Sorry It seems to be fun here - I am not the only ToyVoyager. I already met Bart, Squirt, Bilica, Snuttig and Roderich. I had a look out of the kitchen window. Seems to be a nice place here. Now I'm going to play with my new friends. Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted May 28, 2010, 9:00 pm	Hi Mummy, we took a  walk to the municipal park today. It is not far from here, only a few minutes to walk. First I'll show you where I am living at the moment. In the vicinity of my current home you can find lots of pretty old houses. We had a look at  a small park in front of the police headquarter. Soon we reached the municipal park. You can find a pond here with ducks and turtles living here. This is blooming hawthorn. We walked through the park and had a look everywhere. Here you can see the pond once more. We went home than. Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 3, 2010, 10:04 am	Hi Mummy, we said goodbye to Roderich today. He is traveling to Canada now. We accompanied him to the post office in the district Hasten. Hasten is one of the oldest districts of Remscheid. You can find a lot of those houses here, which are typical for this region. They are often covered with slate, you can also find many half-timbered houses here. They usually have green shutters. Katja showed us this Patrician villa. A museum is situated here, the so-called "historical centre". This building was built in 1778, In Hasten you can also find old industrial buildings close to dwellings. We walked through this very narrow lane. Of course there is a small centre point with shops, the post office and so on. Katja told me that we would have to walk only a few minutes more to reach our home. She also told me that the city centre of Remscheid was nearly destroyed in World War II, in a bomb raid in only one night. But here, although not far from the city centre, almost everything remained. Later, already home, we took a few photos from the roof lights. You can see the tower of the city hall and the water tower. Here you can see that they have a lot of green in the city. Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 6, 2010, 11:02 am	Hi Mummy, a new guest arrived today. Katja brought the parcel, inside we heard something moving. Than a tail came out of the parcel ... Hmm, this tail looks familiar to me ... My look-alike introduced himself as Tochi, a bush baby from Rüdersdorf, a small town close to Berlin. A bush baby?! Tochi brought sweets, a postcard and a book with him. I took Tochi to the window to have a look outside. Later Katja decided to make a fruit salad with banana, melon and kiwi fruit. We had a close look if she made everything right. We tried to pinch some pieces of fruit, but Katja caught us although we tried to hide. Of course we were allowed to eat fruit salad later Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 7, 2010, 9:19 pm	Hi Mummy, we had planned a trip to Muengsten Bridge, Germany's highest railway bridge, today. Outside it was so hot, that we decided to take only a shorter walk to the municipal park. We needed a first rest after a few minutes walking. This is the police station. We went to the little park in front of the police station. Beautiful flowers are blooming here. This column is dedicated to the twinning with Quimper in Brittany/France. You can see the coat of arms of Remscheid on top of it. We went to the municipal park than, to the pond first. The observatory is situated in the municipal park. Can you see that the roof is opened? We all needed a little bit refreshment. This is a memorial dedicated to the dead of several wars before World War I. We took a short walk through the city than. In this part of the city you can find a lot of pretty old houses. Katja showed us the local court, also close to my current home. This is the annex, built a few years ago. This is the main entrance with the stylized coat of arms of the German state North Rhine-Westphalia. We went home than, it was too warm for walking any longer. Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 9, 2010, 8:37 pm	Hi Mummy, did I tell you that Katja is working as a secretary in a law firm? She had to pick up a Preliminary injunction from the district court in Wuppertal today. Wuppertal is a neighbour city of Remscheid with about 420.000 inhabitants, situated on the river Wupper. Of course we went with her This is the district court, in this building they are working on private law matters. There is also a new building for criminal procedure. Here you can see the "Schwebebahn", a suspended monorail. The suspension railway travels along a route about 13 kilometres long, about 12 metres above the surface of the river Wupper and approximately 8 m above the city streets. At one point the railway even crosses the A46 motorway. The entire trip takes about 30 minutes. The Schwebabahn was completed in 1901.  Here you can see the station "Landgericht" (district court). We came here by Schwebebahn When we finished our business here at the court we walked back to the city centre. A Schwebebahn was coming. Here you can see the skywalk of one of the shopping malls, a church tower is reflected in the windows. In front of the city hall a farmer's market is taking place every day. Behind the city hall you can find another mall, the "Rathaus-Galerie". This lion statue is situated in front of it, the lion is the heraldic animal in this region, "Bergisches Land". You can also find a lion in the coat of arms in most of the cities in this region, also Wuppertal. Here you can see the city hall. We wanted to take another ride with the Schwebebahn, so we walked to a nearby station. Here you can see the station, a modern one this time. Here you can see me inside the station. A train was coming in right than. Close to the central station houses are built close to the riverbanks. That's all for today Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 15, 2010, 10:02 am	Hi Mummy, today we walked along the "Roentgenweg", a walking path which is 65 km long, following the city limits of Remscheid. Of course we only walked part of it. We had to follow the route marking showing an encircled “R”. Most of today's route was leading through a forest. We walked along a creek for some time. Can you see those mill stones which were worked into the bank reinforcement? This wall is centuries-old, it once belonged to early industrial sites, probably built in 16th or 17th century. Here you can see Schloss Burg in the background, a medieval castle, situated in Solingen-Burg. This castle was built by early reigns of this region. It was built over centuries, start of work was in 13th century. Here you can also see a zoomed photo.
olgamaus Posted Jun 15, 2010, 10:10 am	When we crossed a street we left the municipal area of Remscheid. We reached Solingen-Unterburg than, which is a very old district, situated at the river Wupper and Eschbach, a creek which is running into river Wupper here. You can find nice old houses here. Bye Belka
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Jun 15, 2010, 11:01 am	Hi guys! I have a mini-anniversary : 500 views Yahoo! I`m very host-lucky squirrel
olgamaus Posted Jun 17, 2010, 6:44 pm	Hi Mummy, Katja decided to try a wine-cooler with elderberry. Tomorrow she will meet a friend and than they want to enjoy it. It has to be prepared one day earlier. First Katja went to the municipal park and plucked five elderberry umbels. The flowers will have to be put into water with sugar,  fresh mint, lemon juice and sliced lemon for about 24 hours. Everything was prepared than ... The bowl was closed than with a plate. The mixture has to rest at room temperature for 24 hours now. Tomorrow the liquid will have to be filtered and cooled for a while. Than white wine and sparkling wine will be added. I'm curious how it will taste Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 17, 2010, 7:43 pm	Hi Mummy, today Katja visited her friend Karin. They often meet in the evening, than they are knitting socks. Katja filtered the elderberry base and filled it into an empty bottle. We took it with us to Karin, who already had cooled sparkling wine and white wine. Elderberry base, wine and sparkling wine were fillled into the punch bowl. Ready! Cheers! Our elderberry drink is really delicious! Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 24, 2010, 12:00 pm	Hi Mummy, today we went out in the early evening to watch the soccer match Germany vs. Ghana in the city centre, on the space in front of the city hall. We took a short walk before, along the Route of Tools. This time we walked towards the central station. Sometimes you can find distance data on the ground. I saw dilapidated factory buildings. We had to leave the Route of Tools because even here they are working on the gas pipes. Soon we reached the station. The station was renewed, it was finished last summer. From here we walked towards the city centre. I found this  painting on the wall of a store for home decoration. Close to the city hall many people were waiting for the soccer match to begin. The space in front of the city hall was roped off for the public to watch the soccer matches of the German team on a large video screen. Not much time left for the match to begin. Here you can see the national team coach. The German team won 1 : 0 ! Now they will take part in the round of 16. It was time to go home than.   Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 28, 2010, 6:56 pm	Hi Mummy, today a visit in a ferret shelter is on our schedule. The shelter is in a region which is called "Oberbergisches Land", about 40 km from Remscheid. Katja does not have a car, we were invited to go with friends who are living in Wuppertal, the neighbour city.  Katja was afraid that we would sit only on our bums if we took the bus to Wuppertal and than drive with our friends in their car, so she decided we would take a nice long walk to Wuppertal. She told us that we would take a nice walk along a valley, not only on the streets. We had great weather, but it was only 09:30 am, it would not be too hot. We went through Hasten. Soon we reached the outskirts of Remscheid, already close to Morsbachtal (Morsbach valley). In the background you can already see the outskirts of Wuppertal. Here, where you enter the valley, you can find centuries old remains of industrial sites. They are a museum nowadays. Mostly there were smithies and grinderies, This is Steffenshammer, the histrical grindery. The water wheel is still working. While we walked along the valley we saw this funny stuff. Snow? No, many poplars are growing here. Their seeds are "packed"into this hairy, fluffy stuff. The whole valley is full of it We were on the right path, heading to Wuppertal-Elberfeld. Now we followed another valley, the "Gelpetal" (Gelpe valley). We were in the municipal area of Wuppertal than.
olgamaus Posted Jun 28, 2010, 7:19 pm	We followed this valley for some time. Here we left the valley to walk towards the city - uphill of course Civilisation came into sight. I met a wooden squirrel It was almost done Finally we reached the main street. This pub is definitely owned by a German soccer enthusiastic From here we went downhill to the city centre. Katja's friens are living close to the church which you can see in the distance.
olgamaus Posted Jun 28, 2010, 7:22 pm	We enjoyed the trip in the air-conditioned car, outside it became really hot in the meantime. We went through rural landscape and found the ferret shelter in the middle of nowhere. Katja has two ferrets from this shelter, they had their open day today. This is the playground for those ferrets who came with visitors, probably all of them were former inhabitants of this shelter. Here are more of those fur balls. We also went inside. I saw an information poster about ferrets and their anatomy. We also met several friends here and we enjoyed some drinks and some cake. Katja bought a hammock for her ferrets here with a Simpsons-print on it. We left at 04:00 pm, just in time to listen to the FIFA world cup match on the radio, the match Germany vs. England. I'll see that we'll take a photo of the ferrets in their new hammock tomorrow. Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 28, 2010, 9:20 pm	Hi Mummy, we helped to feed the ferrets today, Rafael and I. They eat raw meat from chicken, turkey and beef. This is Brighty, I think she likes me But where is Shiva? There she is! We tested the new hammock in the meanwhile. Later I asked Nathalie what I should do to get some nice souvenirs. She showed me the tube map and told me, that she also brought some delicious chocolate with her. Chocolate ... that's not a good idea - it's almost 30°C outside, even now in the late evening. So we asked Katja if she had a match box for me. Yes, she has one! And I am also allowed to keep the flower chain. I think I'll send it home to you. Katja also gave me a sheet of stickers Maybe I will travel to my next host tomorrow! Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 30, 2010, 6:11 pm	Hi Mummy, we enjoyed coffee and a muffin at Katja's desk in the law firm. Tomorrow I will have to say good-bye to my friends and travel to my next host, also in Germany. Bye Belka
olgamaus Posted Jun 30, 2010, 6:29 pm	Hi Mummy, today I had to say good-bye to Katja, to dear Tochi and all my friends. After sending a letter with some souvenirs to you I climbed into my envelope. When you are reading this, I am already traveling to my next host, to fam-united. Love Belka
fam-united Posted Jul 3, 2010, 2:05 pm	Hi Mum, I arrived at my next host's place. It is rather hot here and I still haven't seen anything. I will try to get some photos taken today. Hugs, Belka
olgamaus Posted Jul 6, 2010, 10:27 pm	Hi Mummy, we took a short walk today along the "Trasse des Werkzeugs" (Route of Tools), only a short walk because the weather was not good and we were afraid that it might have started to rain. First we picked up Katja's friend Tatjana. I had a look at her birds - budgies and two small parakeets. We had to walk a few minutes to reach the Route of Tools. We reached the Route of Tools soon. It is a closed former freight train track which can now used by pedestrians and cylists. It is a abt. 5 km long route from the central station to the district Hasten, which  had its own station years ago. The route was sponsored by local companies, mostly tool producing companies. Tools are produced here since middle ages. Along the Route of Tools you can find many factory buildings, some are already dilapidated, others are still in use nowadays, some are under monument protection. You can also find some artwork. Here we met the Route of Tools, some signs are here, the first one showing the coat of arms of Remscheid, some are showing the logos of sponsoring companies. We followed the route. Here you can see a wrench pattern pressed into the tarmac. This bench was made from a giant screw clamp. We reached the district Hasten then, one of the oldest districts ofthe municipal area. You can find many old houses here. We found more tool patterns on the ground. The Route of Tools is ending in Hasten, we walked a bit longer here. You can see the German flag everywhere at the moment Bye Belka
fam-united Posted Jul 13, 2010, 9:32 am	It's such a beautiful weather today morning, that my host took us to see the Michaelsberg and Turmberg. The Michaelsberg is belongs to Untergrombach, which is one of the surburbs of Bruchsal. Here you see the nice chapel. The houses in the far on the right side belong to Bruchsal and the quarry pond to Untergrombach. When my host was a teenager, she loved to swim there. You see, that the left side shows a flat landscape, this is the Rhine Valley. Bruchsal and Untergrombach are located at the edge of the Rhine Valley to Kraichgau hill country. You also see, that the grass is very dry. By the way: This grass is called Magerrasen, nitrogen-poor  sward/grassland or species rich sward. If it wouldn't be so misty, you could see the Palatinate Mountains at the horizon. The houses on the left side belong to Weingarten and those in the far on the left to Karlsruhe. Here's the chapel again. There are many vineyards in the Kraichgau.
fam-united Posted Jul 13, 2010, 9:38 am	Then we drove to Durlach, which is a city close to Karlsruhe. We drove to the Turmberg. We had a great view to the Rhine Valley, Black Forest and Kraichgau hill country. Here's what you can read: This tower is the remain of the old castle, which was built in 11th century by the count von Hohenberg, extended in 12th century and 1279 destroyed by Konrad von Lichtenberg, bishop of Strasbourg. The keep was built between 1230 and 1250. view over Durlach and Karlsruhe Kraichgau hill country
fam-united Posted Jul 13, 2010, 9:40 am	In the evening we watched the football match Germany vs. Spain. It's so sad, that Germany lost
fam-united Posted Jul 20, 2010, 9:29 pm	It is so hot here, that my host took some duvet cover to fix them behind those windows, which have no shutter.
fam-united Posted Jul 20, 2010, 9:38 pm	In the evening we walked through the house and opened all the windows to get in a bit fresh air. We took some photos out of different windows then.
fam-united Posted Jul 20, 2010, 9:41 pm	There are many thunderstorms all over Germany. It seems that one is coming here too. See the red dark clouds Here the clouds are blue and white  - orange from the sunset.
fam-united Posted Jul 20, 2010, 9:46 pm	Yesterday the thunderstorm didn't catch us, but today we watch another dark sky. I can hear the thunder already getting closer. So we decided to switch off the electricity and sit down and read a book.
fam-united Posted Jul 21, 2010, 11:39 am	Take a look at the black roof. If you look well you can see some hail on it.
fam-united Posted Jul 21, 2010, 11:53 am	Today our hosts invited us to a open air theatre in Ötigheim. They love to go there each year. This year they watched the play. Ronja Räubertochter We had luck, because it wasn't too hot weather. sorry, this one is without me, because we had to zoom
fam-united Posted Jul 21, 2010, 12:14 pm	When we were back at home, we decided to go to have dinner outside at a so called beer garden. The restaurant isn't far from our home, so we only had to walk a few minutes. We passed by at the baroque church St. Peter, which was beautiful in the evening sun. I will tell you more about this church soon. My host walked home and fetched her camera to take some photos with us. After we had a really tasty meal, we walked home again. We saw this interesting car in front of the church then and my host decided to take photos with me.
fam-united Posted Jul 21, 2010, 5:12 pm	Today we visited Bretten. Like Bruchsal this town is in the state of Baden-Württemberg and located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. There live about 28,ooo people. The centre of Bretten consists of many old half-timbered houses around a lively marketplace.Bretten was first mentioned as "villa breteheim" in the "Lorsch codex" in 767. Since 1148 Bretten had the right to mint and issue coins. In 1254 Bretten received city rights. In 1492 Bretten was granted to hold four fairs by Pfalzgraf Philipp. Philipp Melanchthon was born in Bretten in 1497.(wikipedia) the Melanchthon house marketplace a red half-timbered house with red car Stiftskirche, evangelic church Next to the church we saw this half timbered house with the flags of the states which participated at the world championship in South Africa. Statue of Philipp Melanchthon a fountain and some pink houses some shops
fam-united Posted Aug 7, 2010, 10:14 am	This evening we were invited to join our hosts, when they visited the light show at the palace of Bruchsal. It was the first time, that this event happened there and they and we were really curious. There were many people out there and we enjoyed the lights. I'm sorry, but we only took this one photo, it just was too dark to take more. And there is one photo without me. I thought, that you maybe like to see the backside of the palace like this, too.
fam-united Posted Aug 7, 2010, 11:32 am	Today we went on a sightseeing tour through Bruchsal. The weather still isn't too nice, but at least there is a bit sun every now and then. The palace of Bruchsal was residence of the prince bishop of Speyer. It was built on request of prince bishop Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn-Buchheim from 1720 on in baroque stile. It was destoyed on 1rst March 1945, when about 80% of Bruchsal was destroyed and many people lost their lives. It was reconstructed in the years around 1970, but the church part was created in modern stile There are several interesting museums in the palace: City Museum, Stone Age Museum and the      German Museum of Musical Automata We started at the backside of the palace. When we turned around the next corner, we saw this sundial. Now we see the front of the palace. My hosts go to service at this church every Sunday morning. It's about one hour, that they are there to pray and sing. We're still standing at the same place, but just turned around to see the Damian Gate. You see, that the palace area is really big. Here we are in front of the county court. There is the Amalienbrunnen, fountain, with its funny snails - the so called snail fountain I will read, what's written on the sign: This fountain was built in memory of Marchioness Amalie von Baden (1754 - 1832), spouse of margrave Karl Ludwig von Baden. She found her place in history as "mother-in-law of Europe", because she managed to marry five of her six daughters off to the most powerful prince's palaces of Europe. When she was widowedshe made Schloss Bruchsal one of her homes in the year 1806. She died there in 1832. The fountain was planned by Prof. Dr. Fritz Hirsch (1871 - 1938) in 1912. He was in charge of the redecoration of the Schloss Bruchsal in the early days of the 20th century. Here you see a map of the whole palace area. We marked the places of things we took photos of. Here's the main entrance. The sun didn't shine, so the photo isn't that brilliant. We're now standing next to the church entrance and take a look back to places we took photos a few minutes ago. We went into the church and saw photos of the palace and church after they were destroyed on 1rst March 1945. About 80% of buildings in Bruchsal were destroyed that day. The church wasn't rebuilt like it was before. We saw photos of the church when it was baroque inside. Don't ask, which station of the way of the cross this shows. This way of the cross is a bit weird, even my hosts have to think about it until they know, what it means. Now we are on our way back to the palace garden and will take more photos there. Turning around we see the church and church tower again. There are many chestnut trees. This is an old big one. My host told me, that she visited this pond really often, when her kids were much younger. In the main way of the palace garden you find many statues. This one shows the element fire and here is water. There are also the elements air and earth. Here is a photo of the rose garden, but we didn't take a photo of the playground, because too many kids played there and we didn't want to take photos of them. After we've seen the four elements we're now at the statues of the four seasons spring, summer, autumn and winter. We'll have a closer look at two of them. Here's autum and here summer- not sure, why we took the photo without head. Here's the chestnut alley with old big trees. There is also an alley on the opposite site with younger trees. Maybe you remember, that we saw a small small part of the roof of the prison tower, when we were standing next to the church entrance. Here is the prison. It is called cafe octagon - Cafe Achteck - in Bruchsal, because of the way it is built. Do you see me and my hosts arm in the mirror? Only a few meters from the prison is the hospital of Bruchsal. There is the old part with the nice tower and a big part of the newer hospital. We're still standing at the same parking place only moved a bit. Then we drove to the Stadtgarten, because we wanted to see the Belverdere -  a former hunting lodge. When you walk out of the Stadtgarten you see that small house on top of the stairs. We took a photo of the sign. The house was supposed to protect its owner from the rain, when he worked on his vineyard. We walked down the stairs and have a few on the house from there. Standing next to the little house you have a wonderful view over Bruchsal. Then we walked back to the Stadtgarten again and took some more photos there. Here is the Ferdinand Keller fountain. My host loves this lime tree and I do too. The house behind the fountain is called Schönborn Gymnasium. This school is more than 250 years old. The last picture today we took at the street, which leads along the St. Paulusheim, another grammar school. You have a nice view on St. Peter from there.
fam-united Posted Aug 8, 2010, 11:55 am	It is such a beautiful day, that we decided to go on a walk to the little field chapel. On the way we passed the seven sorrows of Maria, the holy mother. They started to built the chapel in 1903 and consecrated it in 1905. In year 1908 the seven stations were finished. The first four stations were destroyed by environmental impact and war and so they were recreated in 1957 and consecrated in 1958. The Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) are events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary which are a popular devotion and are frequently depicted in art. It is a common devotion for Catholics to say daily a Hail Mary for each. 1. The Prophecy of Simeon over the Infant Jesus. (Gospel of Luke 2:34) 2. The Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family. (Gospel of Matthew 2:13) 3. The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days. (Luke 2:43) We saw this apple tree next to the way. This is a stone, which reminds of priest Josef Kunz, who built these stations. He wanted to be burried here, but it wasn't allowed. Look back to the maize field. 4. The Meeting of Jesus and Mary along the Way of the Cross. (Luke 23:26) This is the field chapel, Feldkirchle. We had to walk a steep way to come to the chapel. We didn't walk to the last two stations, because my hosts didn't feel really fine. On our way back we saw this walnut tree.
bruehwuerfelchen Posted Sep 8, 2010, 12:19 am	Dear Mommy, I am really sorry, I made an entry a while ago but it seems it got lost. Sometimes the internet connection is really bad. I will write soon again. Take care. See you soon, Belka
bruehwuerfelchen Posted Sep 16, 2010, 2:56 pm	Dear Mommy, I am really sorry for taking me so long for making an update to my travelog. But Jeanne has been too busy to show us around. They decided to move back to Germany very soon but now she got a nice job offer, here in Istanbul. So I, have my claws crossed for her. Sunday, we went to Eyüp, which is at the Golden Horn in Istanbul. This is inside the yard of the sultan eyüp mosque We went with  a cable car, to a hill, which is named after Pierre Loti. I drank some Turkish coffee. I hope you like the pictures. See you soon, Belka
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Jan 19, 2011, 3:53 am	Hello everyone! I`m Belka! Surprised? Yes, I`m brown duplicate of Belka, because real one is with her previous host who doesn`t contact us.  But I hope that one day Belka will come home and I`ll have my own travelog.... But now it was decided that I should continue journey. Yeeeah! It is my chance
marcie08 Posted Feb 13, 2011, 8:21 pm	Hi Mom! I have arrived here in Vienna with my new host mom. I was welcomed by two other toyvoyagers: Drilo, a dinosour and a friendly bunny. We talked about our adventures and I showed them the card I brought with me! Take care!
marcie08 Posted Feb 13, 2011, 8:28 pm	Hi Mom! This weekend we went to Graz and had a look at the town's landmark, the clock tower. Later we were invited to a delicious breakfast! That was fun!
marcie08 Posted Feb 24, 2011, 7:57 pm	Hi Mom! It was Valentine's Day last week, so we went and bought some flowers. Look, aren't they beautiful? I love those tulips, they really brighten the day! We also bought some chocolates: Candied cherries in chocolate  Hope you also had a fantastic Valentine's Day! Servus!
miapearl Posted Mar 25, 2011, 10:29 pm	Hi Mum, I have arrived safely in Wales. I arrived with another toyvoyager.. Rendolph came home
miapearl Posted Mar 30, 2011, 10:50 pm	Today, we have come to Conwy. We stopped off at the Royal National Lifeboat Institute station in Conwy, and made a donation. Here we are on the wall by the River Conwy. Conwy is a Walled town. We are going to walk along the wall.  Along we go. We are very high up here! Conwy Castle is in the background. Look what we found! A small geocache! That was the tower we were high up. The castle was built for King Edward in Gwynedd and is listed, along with the town walls as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. We didn't have time to go around the castle, though we did go to the other side of the River Conwy to the site of another castle, though not much remains of Deganwy Castle. It's another geocache. It has been a good day.
miapearl Posted Mar 31, 2011, 9:13 pm	Hi Mum, It is a nice quiet Sunday. We didn't do much until the afternoon when we went to Parc Dudley for a walk. There was also treasure to be found! A geocache!
miapearl Posted Mar 31, 2011, 9:27 pm	Some of the toys are going away on their travels tomorrow, so we thought we'd have a game of Cluedo playing in teams However, we spent far too much time chatting instead of concentrating on the game and we all drew the 8th clock leaving the crime unsolved.
miapearl Posted Apr 6, 2011, 5:10 pm	Today, we went out GeoCaching. We found a couple of caches a couple of miles away and relatively near each other. The second cache took us on a walk up a lane.
miapearl Posted Apr 6, 2011, 8:00 pm	Today, we went out GeoCaching. The first two we found are part of a series. This is exciting stuff, looking for the treasure. Which stump/tree is it hiding under? Then, after a nice afternoon cuppa, we found a third. My host isn't putting in latitude and longitude co-ordinates for this as these caches we found are scattered around.
miapearl Posted Apr 20, 2011, 11:54 am	Today, we went to the allotment I thought I should inspect the blossom on this fruit tree. It was tiring work so I went for a lie down in the sun on this rhubarb leaf.
miapearl Posted Apr 28, 2011, 3:26 pm	After the allotment, we went Geocaching We found this one in Aberdesach.
miapearl Posted Apr 28, 2011, 3:31 pm	Today, we are going on the train. This is first class. Here, we are at Dinas station. When the Welsh Highland Railway was being rebuilt, Dinas was the HQ. There are work trains and carriages, and engines in need of repair. The railway meets the River Gwyrfai several times along its route. There's quite a bit of water in the river. There are fields alongside the railway, this one has horses. We are coming into Betws Garmon. Can you see the bell in the church tower? It is a long train. Can you see the steam engine at the other end? This is Cwellyn, a reservoir supplying water to parts of north Wales. We've arrived at a half-way station, Rhyd Ddu. This is our engine. We had to wait for the train coming in the other direction to stop at Rhyd Ddu before we could continue. The train is also steam-hauled. They've got a first class carriage, but the one we're in was unveiled by the Queen in 2010 after refurbishment. The carriage is called Glaslyn, after another river this railway meets. We are off for the second half of the journey. This section was opened last year, and then not all the way to Porthmadog. There's the River Glaslyn. Here we are coming into Porthmadog. The river is the Glaslyn here too, the estuary. The river is the Glaslyn here too The Glaslyn estuary. And now, we have arrived in Porthmadog. It is time to run for the bus to take us back home before school closes for the day.
miapearl Posted Apr 28, 2011, 7:40 pm	We are having a nice game of Settlers of Catan.
miapearl Posted Apr 28, 2011, 7:41 pm	A nice day for an afternoon out at Hunstanton. There's a crazy golf course. There's The Wash Monster, an amphibious vehicle that now takes people on tours of the coast and seal island. The promenade was busy. We grabbed a nice cuppa in the cafe in the sea-life centre.
miapearl Posted Apr 28, 2011, 7:42 pm	Ooo, look at all these Easter Eggs and bunnies.
miapearl Posted Apr 28, 2011, 7:43 pm	We've come to Gullivers Kingdom in Matlock Bath. My host didn't go on this rollercoaster. But she did go on this ship ride earlier.
miapearl Posted Apr 28, 2011, 7:45 pm	Hello Mummy, I am now on my way to the next host on the trail. I am excited. Hope you are well.
Delenna Posted May 6, 2011, 11:30 am	I have arrived in Finland! I'll start my adventures soon
Delenna Posted May 9, 2011, 7:36 am	My host lives by the Baltic Sea! The open sea view is behind all this archipelago though. Nearby is also the island where the creator of Moomin (a woman called Tove Jansson) spent her summers.
Delenna Posted May 9, 2011, 7:54 am	My host attended her first geocaching CITO event. They cleaned up the surroundings of a local sightseeing tower. There was quite a lot of glass... The story tells that the sightseeing tower was made by a giant: he heard that they were building a church in Porvoo and got angry (apparently giants don't like churches) and threw a stone all the way from Sipoo (where he lived, a place not too far from Porvoo). He didn't either aim it too well or his arm wasn't in good enough condition as he missed the church. The stone has been a place to gather for festives a hundred years ago. Kids were told that babies were picked up from under the stone. Around 1880 they made the stairs and it became a sightseeing tower. Nowadays kids are told that a stork brings the babies - which is weird because you very rarely see storks in Finland... I also got a closer look on the red shorehouses. They are also part of the old town - and the most wellknown attraction in Porvoo. The brochure tells this about them: The shore houses are now red, but they got their colour only in the late 18th century. Red ochre paint was used to paint the shore houses in honour of King Gustav III's arrival from Sweden. All of the houses along his route were painted, in order to make them more beautiful. The red ochre also helped protect the logs from wind and sun damage. Exotic fruits, wines and spices were brought to Porvoo, and the shore houses also served as intermediate storehouses for coffee an tobacco. Today the shore houses are used as private living quarters and storage space.
Delenna Posted May 10, 2011, 7:49 am	My host took us to the Recycling Factory in Helsinki. It's an annual one weekend event in Cable Factory. There you can learn and see about recycling, products people have made of recycled material (clothes, jewellry, toys, decoration items...), ethical food... There was a Bookcrossing table where my host took some of her bc-books - and took some with her My host also took stuff to the "free of charge" market. People left stuff and took stuff. My host took only a shirt home but left two bags of stuff. It was really interesting, people were really creative! After the Factory we walked around a bit and looked for geocaches  We found 3 and then we finally drove back home to celebrate Mother's Day
Delenna Posted May 14, 2011, 8:44 pm	We made a small trip to Castle Hill! In the 14th century here stood a wooden fortress. Now you can only see the hill and the castle moats. My host said this's a good place to play Robin Hood!  Also a famous artist (Albert Edelfelt) has painted this view. He painted other views from Porvoo as well - and tons of not-at-all-Porvoo-related paintings. After all, he spent years in Paris. The view where you can see all the bridges from here, and the Old Town is my host's favorite spot. She has taken a photo here which she made into postcards! Very cool! By the way: Porvoo  is Borgå in Swedish. Borg means Castle and Å means River. Borgå = Castle river
Delenna Posted May 27, 2011, 11:39 am	This is Helsinki, the capitol of Finland! Originally Helsinki wasn't the first capitol of Finland  it was Turku. Here's a short history of Helsinki. Nowadays there are allmost 600 000 inhabitants in Helsinki and that make sit the biggest city in the country. In the first photo you see the Parliament peeking behind the trees. Next one shows Kiasma the museum of contemporary art with the statue of riding Mannerheim (one of the former presidents) in front of it. Then there is the main post office - which is also a apopular place (there is a cafe too) for Postcrossing meetups is Helsinki Then we walked around a bit and I saw the statue of the 3 Smiths, the main railway station and an old tram! Helsinki is the only place in Finland that has trams and subways. Then I got to the Esplanad with trees and flowers - and many tourists. At the other end of the esplanad park is the Havis Amanda statue/fountain. Behind the Havis Amanda is the market square which was packed with orange tents, people selling all sorts of stuff: food, souvenirs, handicrafts, postcards... etc.  You also see the orthodox Uspenski Cathedral in the background. Before the photo with the cruiseships is the Presidential Palace. The current president of Finland is Tarja Halonen, who is the first female president in this country. Then we boarded a ferry that was going to take us to the Korkeasaari Zoo!
Delenna Posted May 27, 2011, 12:05 pm	So, we arrived to the Korkeasaari Zoo by ferry. We saw many interesting/cute/ scary animals - mostly felines like tigers and lions. While we were waiting for the ferry to go back, we checked out a castle-like building nearby. It was an old bearcage! They had polar bears there in the past (1890)! The history of the zoo can be read here. When we came back to where we left we finally saw the most wellknown sight in Helsinki up close: The Cathedral.
Delenna Posted Jun 16, 2011, 9:13 pm	My host organized her first geocaching event. It was a CITO (Cache in Trash Out) event on castle Hill in Porvoo. About 20 geocachers came to clean the area from trash and the wipe info posts, so that people could read them again. We even saw a bride&groom coming to take weddingphotos in the cleaned environment  It was a really hot day, with sunny and +34'C but people didn't complain. My host had brought ice cold water (it staeyed ice cold as it was in the freezer over night and melter only gradually) and after taking the trashes everybody walked to a place my host had reserved for 2 hours, for refresments and blueberry pie. It was really interesting and fun! I learned a lot about geocaching. My host was very happy too and got compliments. She's ready to arrange another event! After the event we went geocaching around Porvoo. We found lots of caches. We were at home around 10pm.
Delenna Posted Jun 16, 2011, 10:05 pm	2011 Nordic Orienteering Tour's tournament was held in Porvoo today. My host is not into this particular sport but they had also arranged a "treasurehunt" for kids in the Runeberg's park. She took the kids there and when they were picked up she showed me some sights  In the photos it's a lovely day but it didi rain heavily every now and then. We did see some of the competitors and even took photos, but have no idea who they are...
Delenna Posted Jun 18, 2011, 9:16 pm	As my visit in nearly ending, I got to join my host and her kids on a trip to the local indoor playgound HopLop. It's a really fun place where you have to move (climb, slide, jump, bounce, wade...) yourself, there are no rides to just sit on  It's a maze and I nearly got lost! Everyone was really sweaty afterwards - except for my host who just sat and "guarded the bags"
Delenna Posted Jun 18, 2011, 9:19 pm	Because we were all so sweaty after the playground we went to the  Sauna. In Finland every household has a sauna - or in case of a block of flats, then there usually is one sauna for the whole highhouse. Anyway. This is my host's sauna. Sauna is a room that you heat up (there are saunas that are heated with wood and saunas that are heated with electricity), preferably 60-80 degrees Celsius (that varies, some people like it even hotter). Then you take a shower (just to get wet, it's not pleasant to be dry in a sauna) before you enter the sauna (naked!). In sauna you just sit and relax and maybe throw some water on the hot stones (to get more heat and steam). Sauna relaxes your muscles and opens your skin pores, which makes you clean from the inside  After a while (when you feel like it) you go to the shower again to get wet and re-enter the sauna. You can repeat it as many times as you want. In the end you shower to wash yourself. In summerhouses people also have saunas. There it's tradition to make (or buy) a birch whisk with which you beat yourself gently in the sauna. The whisk has the leaves on so it won't hurt. There are saunas in gyms and swimming halls but there men & women are divided in separate saunas. Otherwise, with friends and family, it's normal to go to sauna together. Finns even have a Sauna Society!
Delenna Posted Jun 18, 2011, 9:31 pm	My final look at the beautiful nature in Porvoo, Finland. This nature reserve is next to the city center. We found a birdwatching tower that gave us a good look over the area. The only birds we saw was a swan couple  They were eating something from the water - lunchtime! You can see the rooftop of the cathedral from here too! Now I have to start packing as I'm scheduled to leave on Monday...
RikeH Posted Jun 26, 2011, 8:42 pm	Hello Mum, I arrived in Germany. A friendly bunny called Dicker Kumpel gave me a warm welcome. He will be my host here. He introduced me to Aslan – his other guest here. Lucky me – I arrived in time to went to the Landesgartenschau – a place, where many nice flowers and other plants are shown. Look- so many beautiful flowers. This plant was so funny – we laughed about it. Next to the flowers there were other things – like these crazy chicken. There were storks, too… … and little pigs. We had fun on the playground. Another funny guy. And more wonderful flowers. I talked with this strange man. He had a nice house. There was a strange tree in his garden. Then we met someone who played the piano. It was a great day. Love Belka
RikeH Posted Jul 17, 2011, 7:24 pm	Hello Mum, Today I decided to explore Sülfeld. This is the centre of Sülfeld . Behind me you can see the pharmacy – but don’t worry Mum, I am fine and need nothing there. Then I saw the old church. Luckily the door was open and I went inside. It was time to see more - this is the old school. I want to show you the emblem of Sülfeld. Love Belka
RikeH Posted Jul 17, 2011, 7:28 pm	Hi Mum, RikeH went to the Gartenschau again today. I thought it is better than nothing and went with her. We heart another choir this time – but you can see, there was a lot of rain. We saw nice flowers again. I love this color! Then we went into the house with flowers. Dicker Kumpel’s grandma loves these flowers. There were many other flowers – and the good thing was – no rain inside the house! Bye Belka
RikeH Posted Jul 17, 2011, 7:30 pm	Congratulations Mum! I wish you and Dad a great day - and hope that you will spend a wonderful and happy life together. Here are some flowers for you. Love Belka
RikeH Posted Jul 30, 2011, 3:25 pm	Hi Mum, It was time for some sport - but we were lazy and only watched it. We went to a tournament in Hamburg. This is the stadium. They can close the roof, if it rains. You can see the players behind me. The game was interesting – maybe I should play tennis in some years, when I stop travelling. Here you see me with my friends on the seat. Then we changed our seat and were nearer to the player. Unfortunately you can see me better on the photo than the player. Then I helped the man who took care of the line, when the players served. Love Belka
RikeH Posted Jul 30, 2011, 3:52 pm	Hi Mum, Today we drove to Hamburg and saw the Alster – a lake in the city center. You can see the lake behind me. There is a nice fountain on it. There were some busy people in a small boat. They cleaned the lake, because there were some bottles etc. in it. We walked around the lake.  These nice boats offer trips on the Alster. I loved the next place. Behind me is the town hall of Hamburg. A nice building! The other side of the river was beautiful, too. Bye Belka
RikeH Posted Jul 30, 2011, 5:42 pm	Hi Mum, RikeH had a seminar in another town – Kiel. And we asked her to take us with her. Kiel is a nice town near to the Baltic Sea. Many ferries start in Kiel. We saw the ferry to Gothenburg. It was really big! I have no idea what this is for – but wanted a photo… We saw any nice ships in the harbor. There is a shipyard on the other side. We walked a lot and came to a small harbor with small ships. There were some seals living. They enjoyed the sunshine. I would have loved to see them swimming, but they were really lazy. This is the garden of the Castle – we relaxed next to the beautiful flowers. Then we visited a nice church. It was a great trip to Kiel. Love Belka
RikeH Posted Aug 9, 2011, 8:49 pm	Hello Mum, Last week Dicker Kumpel found a card sent by his best friend Murph. There was a ladybird between a lot of mushrooms and we had to find it. We found it! That was fun! Mum, I miss you so much, so I asked RikeH to send me home . And good luck – she told me that you just asked to send me home, too.   I said goodbye to Dicker Kumpel. He was such a nice host. Then I got a hug by the others – I will miss them. But now I am on my way home to you, Mum! Kisses  Belka
bruehwuerfelchen Posted May 10, 2014, 4:48 pm	Hello Mommy! I am not lost! I couldn't go home for a very, very long time. I would be happy to see you again. So, I am waiting for your message! With Love Belka I

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