BineHH, Sülfeld, Germany

RikeH Posted Apr 27, 2009, 12:38 pm	Today I sat on the pier of Helgoland and waited for the ships to arrive. Then I saw a group of animals, taking photos and having fun. I asked them, what they are doing. They told me, that they are toyvoyagers, and what it is. I decided to be a TV, too. And joined the little group. If you want to show me your home, lakes, rivers etc, just mail to RikeH. my travellist : JaymeC  in Japan. Thanks for the nice time, Jayme ! Bloemmie29 thanks a lot for helping me with one mission!  fam-united. Had a great time here ! olgamaus. We had a lot if fun! hanachan. It was wonderful! hardway. Thanks! tricia2961. <- I am lost here - and very sad!  That is me on Helgoland :
RikeH Posted Apr 28, 2009, 10:34 am	I want to show you my island, today. This is called the Oberland - with many cliffs. The long one is called 'lange Anna'. Now we are on the 'Duene'. The seals are good friends. And I love the lighthouse. We will leave the island - the first time in my life. We will go with these catamaran. You see me in front of it - and then inside. The trip was very funny !
RikeH Posted Apr 28, 2009, 10:41 am	Now I am in Sülfeld, my new home. We had to say good-bye to Carlisle and PinkyHH. I hope, that they will find nice hosts all over the world !
RikeH Posted Apr 28, 2009, 10:58 am	In the evening we had a nice party, because I am a ToyVoyager now.
RikeH Posted Apr 29, 2009, 12:21 pm	Today I saw the first town outside from Helgoland. It is the town, where Rike went to school. We found some nice places - with water.  Behind the fountain is the townhall.
RikeH Posted Apr 29, 2009, 12:23 pm	In the afternoon a new TV arrived. He is called Murph and he really talks a lot, so we had a nice time in the evening, talking about our adventures. I am so happy, that I am a ToyVoyager now !
RikeH Posted Apr 30, 2009, 1:34 pm	Yesterday Miily left us. First she will go to her Mum, and then to her next adventure. And today I start my first trip to a new host. Because I am a little shy, I asked Polki, if I can go with him. His next host agreed, so we will go to Japan together. I am so excited. I will write more from Asia. Yours BineHH
JaymeC Posted May 26, 2009, 1:27 am	Dear Mommy, I was a bit confused when I came out of my envelope. I thought I'd be at the post office, but instead we were at the airport! I thought my travels were over for a little while! But my new host Jayme quickly explained that we were just there to see her grandfather off as he had been in town visiting.  I was a bit relieved that I'd get to see Okinawa. Here we are with Jayme's son looking down at the inside of the airport. We went down the stairs then so that Jayme's children could ride on some toys, the train was lots of fun. They also had lots of stores here in case you'd forgotten any souveniers to take home. Finally we went outside to see some planes. It was very neat. We got to watch a few take off and Jayme's children had fun running around pretending to be airplanes. On the way home we stopped by one of the playgrounds. We found another train! Here is the playground, it was nice to stretch some after being in that envelope for so long. I'm sorry it took so long to update, we've been helping Jayme a lot as she was sick, but we have another update coming soon and then hopefully we can get out (or stay in!) and do something fun! BineHH
JaymeC Posted May 27, 2009, 6:16 am	Dear Mommy, Its been very, very rainy. And a bit hectic as Jayme's boys keep wanting to play! Today the weather cleared up for a few minutes, so we headed to the pool for awhile! Here I am next to the pool. See that slide in the background? Jayme's 2 year old went down it and came out head first, it was really funny. Me and the other toys rested for awhile on the towel. Next to us is Jayme's husband being silly. And here we are by the baby pools. They're small ones for the toddlers, very nice. Hopefully we'll go do more fun stuff soon! The weather forcast says rainy, but we're all crossing our fingers it will be wrong BineHH
JaymeC Posted Jun 3, 2009, 11:01 am	Dear Mommy, We've had no end to bad luck here! First it was rainy, rainy, rainy. The sun came out and Jayme thought it was very lucky as she and her husband had a date scheduled that day to go ziplining, but then Jayme hurt her back while she was ziplining and has been trying to lay down and give it rest since.  She's still hurting a bit, but can get up and move around much more easily now.  Then the rain started again. Agh! Would we never escape the house? We did get out to go watch Night at the Museum 2, which was a very funny movie!  Unfortunately pictures don't work well in a movie theatre And then finally we woke up one day... and we could almost see the sun through the clouds! Jayme said it was as close to a sunny day as we were going to get, and the kids needed some exercise so out we went. We ended up at Kurashiki Dam. Here you can see it from the top. We went on down to get a closer look. The children liked playing in the water here, its only about knee deep on an adult so they can splash and play and its not very dangerous. They also like climbing up and down the little rock waterfall. Its a very popular place in the summer to cool down. Here we are sitting on some rocks in the water. After awhile we retreated back to the shore. Usually Jayme says they'd sit here and have a picnic, but unfortunately the clouds came back. We're all hoping the sun comes out to play for a longer time this weekend so we can do something fun! More updates soon, BineHH
JaymeC Posted Jun 11, 2009, 11:18 pm	Dear Mommy, Jayme was feeling a bit better so off to the pool we went... when she said pool I figured we were going back to the other one we'd gone to, but this one is apparently at a resort here on Okinawa. The resorts will allow you to come in and use their facilities for a day if you buy a day pass. I wondered how nice it could really be, but then when we arrived I was surprised! Of course our first stop was the locker room. From there off we went to the outdoor pool. It was lots of fun watching the kids splash and have fun. Then a surprise... there's another pool?! This one was inside, and had two water slides to boot! It was very shallow at the bottom of the slides, so mostly young kids went down. It was very funny to watch their faces when they hit the water. We went back to the outside pool and took a small break. At this point Jayme said the kids were getting hungry and it was sadly time to leave so we started making our way toward the exit. We did get to see the beach on the way, though we didn't stop there. Maybe next time? We also got to see some neat Shisas near the exit. Shisa's are the guardians of Okinawa and you can find them on most homes and businesses. In fact, even Jayme's apartment has some. This one was very neat since it was playing an eisa drum. More updates soon, BineHH
JaymeC Posted Jun 17, 2009, 6:34 am	Dear Mommy, We were so excited! We woke up and finally there was some sun, so off we went to the playground near Jayme's house. All this rain has at least been good for the flowers, aren't they pretty? We had lots of fun at the playground. We were so worn out we got home and went to rest for awhile. We were going to go back out that afternoon, but oh no... this is what we woke up to. Its really getting a bit ridiculous. All this rain! Jayme says she wishes we'd just have a typhoon or two and get the rain over with. We were all just sitting around wondering what to do when all of a sudden we heard some barking. We went to investigate and found this very loud little pup over on the DVD shelf near the X-Files dvds. Hm... He was very insistent asking what the date was and how long he'd been gone and where the aliens were. Huh?! He said he'd gone to find the aliens at Roswell, NM and been abducted and wound up on some strange planet called eBay, tagless and lost. Then a few minutes ago he'd woken up and found himself here. Silly little pup, must be hallucinating. Maybe we can have some fun around the house since there's not much to do out of it.. BineHH
JaymeC Posted Jun 17, 2009, 6:40 am	Dear Mommy, This rain just won't let up! Yesh. We decided to have some fun inside the house, since we couldn't really go out. We started calmly enough reading a book But that wasn't really energetic enough, too much energy! We need to get out soon. So we decided to go for a drive. After we ran over the 3rd little people we gave up on that though and decided another nice calm activity would be better. So we sat in and decided to try to do a puzzle. Geez these pieces are tiny. No luck... so we went investigating to find another example of a puzzle and found this finished one waiting to be hung up Much more interesting than the halfway completed one we tried.  I hope the rain lets up soon... BineHH
JaymeC Posted Jun 25, 2009, 6:40 am	Dear Mommy, We were very busy for a few days. First our host's husband had to prepare for some special training and we all were helping him pack. He had to pack up all his gear and put it into water tight packing, including extra clothes and what not. First he had to do swim qualifying with all of his gear on, that's a lot to carry while swimming!  Then he had to go into a contraption that's like the inside of a helicopter and escape blindfolded. We weren't able to go and get pictures, but our host showed us this so we knew what he was up to. Then of course he had to get out and call Jayme and tell her he was okay because she was quite worried! Since Jayme wanted a bit of a distraction we went off to the zoo for a bit. Its a very small zoo without too many animals, but it was nice to get out a bit and the weather behaved! They had a viewer here we went to check out Then we realized we didn't need one. They were having a dodgeball tournament at the zoo. How interesting! We also got to check out a few statues of animals, and I was beginning to wonder if we'd get to see any animals! Finally we got to the animals exhibits. They were very anxious, it must've been about feeding time. We got home to a surprise, Jayme's husband was home safe and sound and just a little wetter for his training. He also had a surprise. He had stopped by the mail on the way home.. and come home with a gift he'd ordered awhile ago for Jayme. Isn't it neat? Its a e-reader made by amazon. Jayme loves reading, and now she can download books whenever she wants. We had some fun checking it out. Finally, since it was Father's Day in the US we had a bit of a celebration. We had some cake And the children gave their daddy a nice little poem with their handprints and footprints. Whew! What a busy day. After that it was time to climb into my envelope, it looks like I'm headed to China next? Neat! I hope to have lots of fun there. BineHH
RikeH Posted Aug 9, 2009, 10:59 am	Help – I am lost – for weeks now. It is awful…. But – what is this – I hear a voice. Who is it – I know him – it is Dicker Kumpel. He is sitting in front of the crystal ball and is looking into it to find me. He is getting closer to it, it is hard work…. BANG – it worked. I don’t know why, but I am back in Sülfeld. That is great !!!! We are both very happy – what an amazing crystal ball. But look – it wasn’t a crystal ball, but a magic hippo. Thanks magic hippo – I am back home again!
RikeH Posted Aug 9, 2009, 3:30 pm	Hello World, ThomasHH and I came back from nowhere with the help of Dicker Kumpel and a magic hippo. We were both lost – what a bad experience. I really hope, that I never will have this experience again. I am so happy that I am back! We talked about our trips and came to the topic of cruise ships. RikeH told us about a big ship that will be in Hamburg today. It is called Queen Mary 2. We couldn’t believe how big it is. length: 1132 feet / 345 meters, Height 236 feet 2 inches / 72 meters.  Passengers: 2620 (3090 max). We think that maybe all TVs could travel on it at the same time. That would be a party. We decided to go to Hamburg – and see the QM2 in reality. But first we saw a model –it is not really big… We went to the Cruise Terminal. Wow – the QM2 is really big!!! In the afternoon we went to the port again, because we wanted to see the ship, when it was in action on the river Elbe. We waited… Then it came – it is amazing!!! I will go on a new trip on Monday. I will visit Bloemmie29 in the Netherlands. yours BineHH
Bloemmie29 Posted Aug 12, 2009, 5:14 pm	Hi Mommy I know you were afraid I might get lost again, but I was only in the envelope for two days!! I've just arrived at my new host, Bloemmie29 !! I was waiting in the mailbox for only a few hours together with some German postcards when I heared my new host opening her mailbox. It was funny to hear her voice for the first time... She said it was weird to have a soft fluffy envelope for the first time. She even pinched me a few times to feel what I was... Quickly she released me from my envelope.. as a good crab I came out sideways... I was recovering a little bit on the table when Bloemmie29 rushed away to go to the toilet, put off her shoes and put on some comfy clothes. She must have really opened my envelope in a hurry!! First I thought I was in the wrong place, because the first thing I saw was a huge mountain, Mt Everest, but then I realized it was only a picture on the wall. I was very much impressed. Then I met Bloemmie's pets, she has two bunnies: Mr. Karel Otto Nijn, (that's K.O.Nijn) nickname: Kootje and Mrs. Karina Anna Ninchen, (that's right: K.A.Ninchen) nickname Kaatje. But they were not so impressed by me.. maybe they thought I was scarry or something, but Odi was very friendly. He even let me sit on his lap, but then I got all drooled over, so now I'm sitting on Bloemmie's postcards. As you can see, I'm a little shaken up by the travel, so I feel the world a little bit upside down, but I'm sure that will change soon. I'm not sure what we will do here, as the weather is really crap this summer and my new host has told me she will not go on holidays, but I'm sure I'll have a good time. I hope to see something of the city of Oosterhout or surroundings... maybe I'll see some things of everyday normall Dutch life... we'll see.
Bloemmie29 Posted Aug 14, 2009, 11:11 pm	Today, my host Bloemmie29 took me with her to work. I can't believe how boring her job is!! She didn't even have time to take me out her bag and show me around the office. She was working all day long... If you ask me, I think she works too hard!  Later, she told me the only reason she took me to work, was, that she would go to her parents that evening and wanted to take me with her, but she didn't want to go by the house again.... I liked it in the car, I had a front row seat and I liked the music playing in the car! When we came to Bloemmie's parents, I had a little shock. I met the two English Cocker Spaniels, Billie and Taffie and Billie was a little tooo fond of me.... I like water, but I don't like drool that much. Here you can see me with Taffie, who I might have woken up from an afternoon nap and Billie, finally released from her My host, thought it might be better for me to stay 'up' the rest of the night, so I spend the night at the cubburt, next to the little train. Bloemmie said we have to go back again on Sunday, but depanding on the weather we will see where we will go then. Have a nice weekend mommy
Bloemmie29 Posted Aug 15, 2009, 6:41 pm	Hi Mommy, How are you today? I'm fine! We had some lovely nice weather here today in the Netherlands. Blue sky and sunshine all over the place! In the afternoon my host took me on a walk to the city center. She said she wanted to buy some stuff and didn't feel like going by car or by bike so we went together on foot. We passed the channel and Bloemmie29 said, we had to wave to the house of her brother. They live really close to each other. Next to the bridge we already saw many trailers and campers and caravans and Bloemmie told me, those were the houses of the Kermis people. The Kermis is in town and we passed it By then, I was already getting so hot, Bloemmie put me back into the bag and we tried to walk as much as possible in the shade. The Kermis was really big and loud and it was very crowded. We went back rather quick but I'm happy I saw something of the center. Tomorrow I hope it's not that hot, because we will only go to the forest if it's not too hot....
Bloemmie29 Posted Aug 16, 2009, 5:16 pm	Hallo Mutti today we went doggysitting. No.. not actuall sitting on the doggies, but more like baby sitting, but instead of babies we watched the doggies of Bloemmie's parents. Bloemmie's parents were away for some family thing far far away and Bloemmie took the dog's (AND ME) out for a walk. We went to the forest/ wood in Oosterhout. It was nice and cool and loads of shades, so not too hot. You can find some pictures below: And look, mommy!! Look!! I found some mushrooms! It's a little too early to find those big red ones with white dotts, but these we found! There were loads of pinetrees But also open area's with bunches of sand, looked like the beach And many srubbs with purple hay And very green ferns We even found some chestnuts, all green and small in their prickly husk It was a nice walk. I saw soo much nature already. I'm very happy to be here. Sweet crabby regards! BineHH
Bloemmie29 Posted Aug 29, 2009, 8:20 pm	Hey Mommie today we went shopping for some postcards. Bloemmie29 got some 'tips' for stores where they would sell this special brand of postcards, so off we went. It was a little bit hard to find as it was in area not familiar to my host, but we found it. Too bad, they didn't sell the wanted postcards, but we did see something else!! The Breda Balloon Fiesta! Bloemmie knew about this for 2 or 3 months and already wanted to go back then, but more or less forgot about it untill we saw the signs. So we continued shopping and found the wanted cards in another store and raced home to check the internet what time the Fiesta would start. According to the website it would start at 18.00 hours and that was within half an hour!! Jaikss So Bloemmie grabed here camera and we went back to the place where we were before! Now it was much more busy. We parked the car and walked to the area. There were already many trucks and balloons flat on the ground. Many people and children were waiting for things to happen, but we had to wait untill the wind calmed down and then, at 19.15 hours, several hot air balloons got fired up and took off. It was very exciting to see this from so close. Here you can see me with in the background 2 balloons, getting ready One is up already, the other two in the picture are still being prepared and here you can see me after the previous took of and three new ones were being prepared to take off It was very busy and every time I wanted to get in the picture with one of the balloons taking off, somebody made a step forward, blocking our view. Also many children wanted to see me and pet me and ask questions about me, so I watched the rest of the event from the backpack. In total, there were 20 balloons taking off, drifting away on the evening breeze. Also, when all the balloons had left and cleared the field. Two other balloons approached us, and 6 parachutist jumped out of the basket and landed on the area. It was very spectaculair to watch. It was an unexpected surprise and we had loads of fun!!
Bloemmie29 Posted Sep 18, 2009, 10:40 am	Hi mommy, I'm back!! Unexpected, my host Bloemmie29 had decided to send me with her parents on a holiday!! Jippie!! Last wednesday I joined them for a week holiday in Luxembourg!! We went by car to the small village of Bourscheid. I'm a little tiered now, as we came back yesterday, but I wanted to share some of the pictures already.... Here you can see me with a mushroom in Luxembourg I already saw mushrooms in the Netherlands and now in Luxembourg... only 1 more country. We also went to mail some postcards and I almost slipped in the mailbox! Hahahah The area of Bourscheid and Diekirch is famous for all the fountains, and here you see me on one It was nice sunny weather but I didn't get wet.... And the last picture for now: me with the map of the Vianden Castle. It's such a nice Castle... I'll tell you more about the trip some other time! bye bye owh and thanks to Bloemmie29s parents who took me with them and took pictures of me! It was soo cooool!
Bloemmie29 Posted Sep 19, 2009, 7:01 pm	Hiya Mommy, It's me again. I rested a bit, unpacked the bags and went to check out all my pictures. Wow we did so much in that week! Everyday we went for a long walk or went sightseeing for castles or cities. I was lucky, I didn't have to walk all the time, but was carried in the handbag! We went to see so many nice things! Luxembourg is a very green and hilly country. Very green and lush. The cities are clean, small and nice and there so many nice castles... check out the pictures! This is my holding on to a branch at the small river with the stream And this is me, enjoying the view at the Bourscheid Castle And me again, having a rest at the castle walls And look: we found more mushrooms!! And here I am again, resting from the walk and enjoying the view And we also visited some cities! here you see me on a fountain in Luxembourg city and in front of the fountain in Bourscheid We also went to Germany, for Kaffee und Kuchen mhmhh jammieeeee and we visited the Castles of Bourscheid, Vianden and Echternach: So.. that was my holiday in Luxembourg. Tomorrow we're going with the whole family to Vlissingen for a long walk on the beach. I hope it's nice and sunny. Bye bye
Bloemmie29 Posted Sep 20, 2009, 6:38 pm	Hi mommy, It's me again! We had a wonderfull day at the beach of Vlissingen today! I joined Bloemmie29 and her parents, brother and his family and the two dog and we all went to the beach! When we left at 10 o'clock it was a bit foggy, so we all hoped for the best that the sun would come out. It is an hour drive to Vlissingen and it was still early when we arrived there. First we made a long walk on the beach and when the little children put their swimsuits on, a few guys came up to me and said: He! You are a crab, do you want to see more crabs?? And before I knew it... I was covered in crabs!! first one and then two! I know I'm not a small crab, but these guys where half the size of me, so pretty big!! But.... this means I've completed one of my life's mission!! How great is that??!!  But after all this excitement, we continued walking along the beach. The sun came out and we had loads of fun. Luckily for me, I did not have to walk all the time, but was getting a ride from Bloem's mommy either on her shoe or in her bag these was so much to see on the beach. I tried to dig myself in I hang around the beach I was looking at some of the nice beachhouses Catched a ride with Billie and hitchhikes with Taffie All in all, we had a great day at the beach of Vlissingen!!
Bloemmie29 Posted Oct 1, 2009, 9:03 pm	Hi mom!! It's me again... It's definatly not beach weather anymore and I usually spent my days in the flat of Bloemmie29 and just think about the nice places I'd like to go... But my host told me she had a surprise for me, and that I had to wait a little longer... And yes, what a surprise it was! I thought I would go on a travel again, when she showed me an envelope, but I did not get in the envelope, but another toy came out of the envelope!! ThomasHH came to us and Bloemmie29 wanted me to wait for that so he would feel welcome and at home with us!! Wow, what a great surprise for me. I guess we will stay up all night and talk about all our adventures...
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 9:21 am	Hi Mum I'm so sorry, that you haven't heard a word from me earlier. I had a good time here already and a lot of fun with the other toyvoyager guests. I promiss to be more online from now on. Here you see me and my friends waiting for the start of our travel to Oelsnitz, Vogtland, where we want to stay for one week.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 11:15 am	We made a rest at the DB museum in Nürnberg. I read a letter about locomotives. Then I saw many locomotives and waggons. I read about the train of Ludwig II. Here is the first locomotive from Siemens. A long time ago people sat on the bank just like we did before.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 11:49 am	Oelsnitz is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, 9 km south of Plauen. We stay in a beautiful house called Finsterbusch's Häusl.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 12:05 pm	On our way to Kingenthal we passed at the Muldenberg river dam. It provides about 100 000 people with water. The dam wall has the longest mural crown of all river dams in Saxony. It was built in 1920 - 1925. The weather was very cold and windy and it drizzled. So we hurried back to the car.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 12:20 pm	Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlovy Vary. The Aschberg ("cinder mountain") towers above the town at 936 m. The extremely elongated town, 10.5 km from end to end, is surrounded by numerous woods of firs. The town is bisected by the Döbra and Zwota rivers. These two rivers unite at the Czech-German border to form the Svatava river, which in turn flows into the Ohře river at Sokolov. Klingenthal's inhabitants number 8,996 (September 30, 2005). The town is famed for its manufacture of musical instruments and is a well-known ski resort. We visited the Vogtland-Arena, a wellknown ski jump in Germany. The first ski jump was opened in 1959, the new Vogtland-Arena was opened in 2006.  I was really impressed by the altitude of it. With this train we drove up the hill. Wow, isn't it high? I would love to meet some of those ski flyer, but unhappily there is no training today.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 1:25 pm	In the evening my host and one of her sons took as on a walk along the Pirk river dam. Maybe just enjoy the photos as we and our hosts did it in reality.
fam-united Posted Nov 23, 2009, 9:30 pm	Göltzschtalbrücke (Göltzsch valley bridge) is the largest brick bridge in the world. The railway bridge is 574m long and was built between 1846 and 1851 using more than 26 million bricks. When it was finished, it was also the highest railway bridge in the world. It is currently part of the high-speed Dresden-Plauen line, close to stop Netzschkau.wikipedia
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 7:33 am	For lunch we drove to the Kuhberg, the highest point in northern Saxony. Our lunch wasn't that great and also watching the play train wasn't fun. We only saw some crashs. We wanted to go to the top of the tower, but it was too expensive. So all in all this place was annoying.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 8:13 am	The Elstertalbrücke is the second largest brick bridge in the world after the Göltzschtalbrücke. The railway bridge is 279 m long and was built between 1846 and 1851 using more than 12 million bricks.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 8:54 am	Today we visited the Exhibition of German Astronautics   The main request of this exhibition, wich is unique in Germany, is to show to lot of people the use of space travel and space research for mankind. It starts with the history of space travel. That means visitors can get information about the knowledge and development of astronomy and the dream of mankind to leave our home planet earth. More-over, there are presented first flight and rocket experi-ments. But you can see much more; as there are first artifical probes, the first Soviet and American men in space, the programme of landing on the moon or different space stations. As you will be informed about satellites and probes which are near our planet and those which are sent to other galaxies. At the end of our exhibition you will come to documents about the space station MIR and future projects like an international space station and manned mission to mars.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 10:37 am	Today we visited a dripstone cave, but it wasn't that great.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 12:46 pm	Later we drove to Plauen to try to find a special beer glas of Sternquell brewery. Close to the brewery we saw this bridge, the Syratalviadukt.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 1:06 pm	Then we visited the St. Johannis church.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 1:40 pm	Then we visited the museum of lace from Plauen in the old city hall. For 120 years, Plauen lace has been a world famous Saxon textile product. Plauen lace and embroideries have their roots in a century-old tradition of making textiles in and around Plauen. Already in the 15th century Plauen was a centre of the clothmaking craft and cotton-weaving. The embroidery craft dates back to as early as 1780. With the invention a machine capable of making machine-embroidered forms of lace in 1880, the development was open for an economic upswing in the Vogtland, in particular in the town of Plauen. The lace known as "Plauener Spitze" was to conquer the world. At the World Exhibition in 1900 in Paris, Plauen lace was awarded the Grand Prix. Today more than 150 companies are working in this industrial sector. On national and international markets, Plauener Spitze is in demand again. The scope of supply ranges from room textiles, such as curtains and table laundry, to ladywear, lingerie and underwear.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 3:18 pm	At the Daetz-Centrum in the palais of Lichtenstein, Saxony, we saw many wooden sculptures from more than 30 countries. Its name comes from its founders Marlene and Peter Daetz. It was founded in 2001 and presents more than 550 wooden sculptures from 5 continents and represents the knowledge of wooden art and artwork from all over the world. This is a music intrument.
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2009, 8:39 am	Then we drove to Zwickau to visit the Horch museum, the place where August Horch worked for decades. Right in the heart of the former Audi plant, one of the birthplaces of automotive history from Horch to Audi and further on to the “Trabant”, you can experience legendary automotive history. Horch museum wrote: It is not only August Horch who is honored on the two floors of the exhibition area. The visitors may familiarize themselves with the manifold developments made during more than a century of automobile production in Zwickau. The highlights of Saxony’s automotive art, such as the 1911 Horch Phaeton, will fascinate you just like the DKW F1 micro car with the first standard front wheel drive ever, a sensational vehicle in its time, the elegant Horch luxury models or the Audi and Wanderer automobiles. .....
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2009, 12:09 pm	The Zum Friedefürsten church is a baroque Lutheran round church in Klingenthal. It has an octagonal floorplan and is the largest of its kind in Saxony. The church is the most important historical monument in Klingenthal and dominates the town center.
fam-united Posted Dec 6, 2009, 6:03 pm	On our way to our holiday house, we took this photo of the landscape. Then we drove to Czech Republic just to take a photo of the sign. Our car is in Czech Republic, while we are in Germany to take the photo - I think, it's a bit crazy.
fam-united Posted Dec 6, 2009, 6:32 pm	Schöneck (also: Schöneck/Vogtl.) is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated 18 km southeast of Plauen, and 35 km north of Cheb. Schöneck belongs to the so called "Musikwinkel", maybe translated music area, to which also belongs Klingenthal, Markneukirchen and Erlbach. Since 1962 it is a place for recreation and winter sports. We stopped at the neobaroque city hall. We only visited a place called "alter Söll", where you have a great view over the landscape, even with sight to Fichtelgebirge.
fam-united Posted Dec 6, 2009, 7:11 pm	So this is the last day of October, time for us to say goodbye to Oelsnitz and our beautiful house. We needed some more diesel, so we drove to Czech Republic, because we were close to the border. There diesel is cheaper than in Germany. I think, more people had this idea to buy it there, because we had to wait more than half an hour before we were at the diesel fuel pump. It had frost outside, so it was rather cold in the car too.
fam-united Posted Dec 19, 2009, 10:42 pm	Today it was time to bake a cake for my host son's 19th birthday party. It is called Hansen Jensen Cake. Her son asked her for using gooseberries for stuffing.
fam-united Posted Dec 19, 2009, 10:44 pm	Today two other toyvoyagers arrived at our place. So now there are: Galo, Little, Jennifer, Homer, Tilla Mook, Smooch, Spooky, Scotty, Pinkz, Mandy Sheep and me.
fam-united Posted Dec 19, 2009, 10:45 pm	Here you see, how the cake looks like, when you cut it. I can tell you, it tastes delicious.
fam-united Posted Dec 19, 2009, 10:46 pm	Today evening my hosts had a dinner called "Würstchen im Schlafrock" (kilted sausages). My host wanted some fresh vegetables in it, but there was only one small piece of a tomato. They also had a beer called Rauchbier, so it was a very special dinner.
fam-united Posted Dec 19, 2009, 10:46 pm	It is a time for baking cakes it seems. My hosts will meet friends today, so here we are preparing a cake called Torta di Mandorle, a cake with many almonds.
fam-united Posted Dec 19, 2009, 10:47 pm	Later we helped getting finished with decorating the house. There are so many nice little things to put up and maybe you will see more photos of everything later. This is my hosts' favorite window decoration. Here you see the advent calendar for our hosts' daughter. This year there are ships sailing on the sea. There is a really frosty decoration in front of the entrance. I like it. Finally here is the cake. It tastes great. And here you see the decoration of the kitchen window.
fam-united Posted Dec 19, 2009, 10:47 pm	It is the first day, that my host has time to bake some Christmas cookies. We were allowed to help her. Everyone had a special job to do. She put the Christmas CD into the CD player and we sang the songs together with her. We start to prepare the dough for Husarenkrapferl and Vanillekipferl (crescent-shaped pastry or roll with vanilla) and Kokosmakronen (coconut macaroons) . I think, these are really funny names.
fam-united Posted Dec 31, 2009, 12:09 pm	Today we have beautiful, but cold weather and we asked our host, if she would have time to show us some places in Bruchsal. She packed us in her rucksack. We still had about -12°C, what is rather cold in this region. Bruchsal (orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle) is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km Northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Bruchsal is the largest city in the district of Karlsruhe and is known for being Europe's largest asparagus producer and one of the economic centers of the region of Karlsruhe Bruchsal is located at the edge of the Upper Rhine River Plains and the Kraichgau along the Saalbach, which is a small tributary of the Rhine that joins it between Philippsburg and Oberhausen.                                     Ancient era and early Middle Ages Excavations and artifacts that were discovered evidence a settlement existing on the Michelsberg (Untergrombach) as early as 4000 BC during the Neolithic. In the core of Bruchsal the oldest settlement discovered was dated back to 640 AD. It is located near the present Peterskirche, where I stay right now. The first mention of Bruchsal in official documents occurred in 976 when the King came to town. And during October of the year 980, Otto II and his Court stayed at the King's palace in Bruchsal for several days 1248 was the first time Bruchsal was referred to as a city and in 1278 St. Peters Church is mentioned for the first time. After extensive damage to both, the Palace and the Peterskirch were reconstructed in 1320. The Bergfried (an outlook and defensive tower bastion) was erected in 1358 and the city wall was completed in 1452. In 1460 the first coin was pressed in Bruchsal. By April 24, 1711 Bruchsal had recovered sufficiently to play host to Prince Eugene of Savoy of the Habsburg Court in Vienna. Then in 1716 the Bishop of Speyer, Heinrich von Rollingen, moved his residence into the Bruchsal Palace. This move elevated the city's status to that of an official residence of the Diocese of Speyer. At the same time, Bruchsal became the seat of the "Vizedomamt", the most important office held by the Diocese on the West bank of the Rhine. In 1719 Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn became the new Bishop and after settling in he commissioned in (1722), among others, the new baroque château and the new Peters Church (from 1742). Both were built and, in part, designed by Balthasar Neumann. In the Bishop's honor, the Southern gate out of the château grounds is referred to as Damian's Gate to this day. In the afternoon of March 1, 1945, Bruchsal was bombed. In addition to the 1,000 lives that perished that day, the entire inner city and the baroque château were destroyed. The baroque palace was rebuilt in the 70th.     That's enough of history now. I'm not sure, whether you want to read everything, but I thought, Petra should write a bit about Bruchsal's history. She used wikipedia and you will find more history and information there. We went to see the palace. You see some small houses in front of the palace, which belong to the soon opened Christmas market. It is the back side of the palace.     The tower on the right side belongs to the catholic church St. Damian and Hugo. There's a nice pond in the park, which is frozen right now. There are statues, which show the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. And there are four statues showing the four elements water, fire, earth and wind. There are some of the most beautiful and oldest houses of Bruchsal in Franz-Bläsi-Straße.
fam-united Posted Dec 31, 2009, 12:13 pm	The Belvedere (Bruchsal) was originally designed as a Manor for fun and games, to which a shooting house was added for use in the shooting competitions often held by the Court. As time went by, the Manor was nicknamed Belvedere by the city's residents, as it enjoyed the best view of the city. The Belvedere is part of the City Gardens. view out of a window:
fam-united Posted Dec 31, 2009, 12:23 pm	Snow! How nice and beautiful, even when it is only a whiff of snow. Here is a view out of a window, where my hosts live. You see the top of the tower of the city church and next to it, you see cranes where they build a new shopping center. Looking to the other side you see this beautiful building, which is called Santa Maria. I hope, to have a closer view soon. The large building is the music school. The part of the red tower belongs to the Bergfried, the tower of the old castle, and the small small part of the tower to its left is the tower of St. Damian and Hugo. Then we closed the window, because it still is really cold outside. My hosts love to decorate the windows with paper crafts. Then we went downstairs to warm up next to the oven in the livingroom. I asked my host, whether she would like to take a photo with me and the Adventskranz (advent wreath) and she did.
fam-united Posted Dec 31, 2009, 1:50 pm	My host said, that now it would be more than urgent to bake some more cookies or we only would have four sorts. You see, that Sweetsy arrived at our home today and also Princess Sarah. Sweetsy brought some wonderful gingerbread cookies with him. But four sorts of cookies aren't enough for all of us, so we told her, that we all would help together and get some more done. Here we read the recipe for our host's favorite gingerbread recipe. Sweetsy was so happy, that at his first day he had the chance to try another gingerbread recipe: Zigeunerschnitten. The recipe is handwritten in our host's book, because it is a family recipe from her grandparents. She said, that she never found this recipe somewhere else, but maybe someone knows this recipe too? At first Pinkz helped to weigh the butter. Then I helped to add the sugar for the dough. Galo said, that if it comes to eggs, it would be his turn. We all were a bit nervous, because we didn't know, if he could stand it. Hey, Galo! What's the matter! Wake up! We knew it! It was too hard for him! After a while Galo felt better and we all went back to our places. Now Jennifer added almonds. Sweetsy added raisins. We had to have a break in preparing the dough for Zigeunerschnitten, because we forgot to buy some necessary ingredients. So we went on with preparing other cookies. Jimmy_D helped to prick out the Spitzbuben cookies. Smooch and Scotty helped to roll the dough for Zimtsterne (star-shaped cinnamon cookies). Ceryni tried to help to form Nougatkipfert. Finally one other family member bought the missing ingredients for Zigeunerschnitten and we had been able to finish the dough. Scotty added candied lemon peel and candied orange peel to the dough. Spooky used the spoon to add cacao powder to the dough. Then it was time to add the cinnamon. At last it was time to add the flour. Pinkz stirred the dough. The result is a really heavy brown dough. Smooch and Galo rolled the dough on the baking plate. It is hard work. After baking the air smelled of gingerbread, yummy. Nevertheless we still had to decorate the Zigeunerschnitten. After the Zigeunerschnitten were cold enough we cut them into smaller pieces and put them in a box. We also decorated the Nougatkipferl and Husarenkrapferl
fam-united Posted Dec 31, 2009, 1:57 pm	Here you have another view out of a window in the attic. It shows the view to the church St. Peter, which is next to the graveyard.
fam-united Posted Dec 31, 2009, 2:01 pm	Merry Christmas to everyone at home. For Holy Eve we have chicken fricassee for dinner. This is a traditional food in my hosts' family. Later after singing Christmas songs and unwrapping presents we had time to eat some Christmas cookies.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 2:54 pm	I wish you all a happy new year. There is no big party at my hosts' home, so you only see a photo with me and a part of the Christmas tree. We had raclette for dinner.
olgamaus Posted Feb 6, 2010, 10:22 am	Hi Mummy, I arrived in Remscheid today. They have lots of melting snow here. Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Feb 6, 2010, 10:36 am	Hi Mummy, we went out in the early morning to buy bread rolls and a newpaper. So the following photos were taken in the vicinity of my Katja's  home. By the way, Katja is my new host. What is looking like snow is more ice than snow. It's difficult to avoid falling on your buttom. They have lots of pretty old houses here. Later, back home, we prepared breakfast. There are three more ToyVoyagers here, but they were still asleep. Yummy, coffee! Katja's son prepared a bread roll for me with butter and cheese. Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Feb 8, 2010, 9:25 am	Hi Mummy, we went to Essen today to visit an exhibition and an art museum. Essen is a a city in the central part of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia. For the year 2010, Essen is the European Capital of Culture on behalf of the whole Ruhr Area. We went there with Katja's friend Erika. We went to Essen by train. First we went to a church in the district Frohnhausen. A friend of Erika has an exhibition here together with another artist. We had to take another train to get there. The train station is looking funny - like someone toppled the staircase. Here we are. This part of the church is a so called "Notkirche". I'm sorry but we did not find a translation for this word. We went to the city centre afterwards to have lunch, so we took a walk though the shopping streets. Here you can see the cathedral in the middle of the city centre. On a central space they have a skating rink and this downhill ramp. Here you can dash downhill with a large rubber tire. Seems to be great fun Than we took a bus to the Museum Folkwang, a major collection of 19th and 20th century art. Its new building was opened a few days ago. As almost always it was not allowed to take photos inside the museum. We have seen paintings and photographs, space installation and placards in a special exhibition. It was very interesting. Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Feb 17, 2010, 8:17 pm	Hi Mummy, we visited a friend today in another district of Remscheid, Luettringhausen, a district with a historical urban centre. On our way to the bus Katja showed me the local court. We decided to take a walk with the dog in Luettringhausen. We had to walk through the city centre first to get to a nice valley. Soon we reached the valley, with meadows and forrests. We even saw some houses in the middle of nowhere. I met some sheep here. They have several jogging paths here, each one marked with a different colour. It is still snowing. Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Feb 17, 2010, 8:23 pm	Hi Mummy, today we took another walk in one of the valley which are surrounding the municipal area. We walked along the creed "Morsbach", which is marking the border between Remscheid and the neighbour city Wuppertal. Here is a frozen pond. We came through a small hamlet. This is the creek "Morsbach". Here you can see me with my host in a road traffic safety mirror. Later the sun came out. To get home we had to walk uphill for ages. Bye BineHH
fam-united Posted Feb 20, 2010, 2:06 pm	It is snowing
fam-united Posted Feb 20, 2010, 2:08 pm	We thought we could go out today, but our host is ill. So she only took another photo out of an attic window.
fam-united Posted Feb 20, 2010, 2:14 pm	The next day I helped my hosts' daughter to write her vocabulary cards in Latin. After that work my host took me for a very short walk to the church, which we've seen, when we looked out of the attic window. It is the baroque church St. Peter. Here you have a view to a narrow street with some of the oldest houses of Bruchsal.
fam-united Posted Feb 20, 2010, 2:29 pm	Today we have sunny weather!! Such a sensation!!! So we decided to go out and have lunch at the restaurant on top of the Michaelsberg next to the Michaelskapelle (chapel), which belong to Untergrombach, one of Bruchsal's suburbs. We had such a great view over the landscape. The houses you see on the right side in the foggy background belong to Bruchsal. These houses belong to Untergrombach. You see the Rhine valley, but we are standing at the edge to the Kraichgau. The chapel is beautiful, isn't it? On our way back home we drove through Untergrombach.
fam-united Posted Feb 20, 2010, 2:32 pm	This one had to be my farewell photo. It is snowing again and my host has some more health problems again. She is so sad, that she had had no chance to go out as much as she wanted to.
olgamaus Posted Feb 27, 2010, 10:35 am	Hi Mummy, I watched the ferrets playing today. Ragamuffin is so afraid of all animals and she always thought that the ferrets might escape from their cage one day and eat her. I am not afraid of the ferrets because of my loricate. They have a wonderful fur, Katja's son alway says that they would make a warm and soft pillow Shiva turned me around but nothing happened to me. Later Ragamuffin wasn't afraid of the ferrets any longer. She recognized their soft fur and really liked it. Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Feb 27, 2010, 7:00 pm	After playing with the ferrets we helped Katja to prepare a fruit salad. First we prepared blood oranges. Than we added banana, kiwi and apples ... ... than I cracked some walnuts. I've done a great job, have a look! We mixed everything in a glass bowl, it looked fantastic. Yummy! Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Feb 27, 2010, 7:09 pm	Hi Mummy, the snow is melting away now. We took a short walk in the city. When we left Katja's workplace I've seen the city hall. Take a look at the temperature! It seems that springtime is coming. They have an exhibition here in the shopping street, energy saving, environmentally friendly heating and so on. In this pretty house a store for house decorating items is situated. Here you can see the public library. This is the company building of the local newspaper, Remscheider GeneralAnzeiger. The "Volkshochschule" (adult education center) is situated in this modern building. Here you can see the central bus station ... ... and the end of the shopping street. Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Feb 27, 2010, 7:53 pm	Hi Mummy, we baked  a delicious cake today. Baking a cake is always a good idea    Soon we gathered all the ingredients which we needed for the cake, a cake with curd-filling and tangerines. That sound really good. For the dough we need margarine, sugar, eggs and wheat flour with some baking powder. The filling is made of curd, eggs, sugar, a little bit oil and milk and vanilla sugar, and of course canned tangerines. First we made the dough ... ... and put it into the baking pan. For the filling we had to mix curd, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla sugar, oil, milk and finally beaten egg whites. The tangerines were put on top of the filling. The cake had to bake than for about 50 minutes. It was almost ready than. Finally the cake was covered with "Tortenguss" . Than we enjoyed the cake. It is really delicious and refreshing. If you would also like to try this cake you can find the full receipe here . Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Feb 28, 2010, 4:16 pm	Hi Mummy, the weather was much better today so we took a walk in the forest. Katja was picked up by her friend Kerstin, who brought her dog Pepe with her. We parked the car on a parking site for hikers at one of the outer limits of Remscheid's municipal area. From here we crossed the district "Unterburg" which belongs to the neighbour city Solingen. It is a very old district, situated at the river Wupper. We walked down a really steep and narrow road to reach the valley. A large tree was cut down recently. Soon we reached the river Wupper. Due to snow melting it has high-water. We followed a path along the river, uphill and downhill. We crossed the river at t his bridge. Close to a café we found snowdrops. Now we followed a path on this side of the river. Again it went uphill and downhill. Here we saw high rocks. Snow water is running down the hills everywhere. A large bridge came in sight: Muengsten Bridge, Germany's highest railway bridge. Finally we reached the bottom of the valley with the bridge. Muengsten Bridge is made of steel. It is 107 m high and spans the valley of river Wupper, which is marking the border between Remscheid and the neighbour town Solingen. The bridge is 465 m long and was completed in 1897 A.D. A leisure park was built underneath the bridge a few years ago. You can relax on the lawns, play in the water and they have playgrounds for the kids. Here you can also see the high-water. Wolle found some snow remains in front of a building. She wanted to play with us in the snow, but we all are completely fed up with snow. We walked until we reached another bridge, we crossed the river here once more. In the background you can see a cute little outlook pavilion. Katja told us that we would walk along this pavilion later. Here you can see the hight of Muengsten Bridge compared to other famous buildings. We reached the outlook pavilion than. We rested in front of this waterfall (also snow water) for a while. Once more we walked underneath Muengsten Bridge, this time on the slope of the valley. When we were on our way back to the car, the sun came out. The sunshine does so good to me  Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Mar 4, 2010, 8:28 pm	Hi Mummy, the weather is great here at the moment - but it is cold! It was so nice at the weekend but now it is about freezing point. Katja showed us around in her lunch break. First I'll show you the city  hall. There is a large space in front of it, the farmer's market is here twice a week. Here on this space you can find a pillar with a lion, the heraldic animal of Remscheid. This is one of the entrances of the shopping mall. Here they planted 16 trees, each for one of 16 German states. There is also a small pillar in front of each tree with the coat of arms attached to it. Katja showed me the tree which stands for Schleswig-Holstein, my home state. Here you can see the central bus station. This lorry is a present from Remscheid's twin city Wansbeck in England. From this bridge I can see the bus station once more. Here is a little park in the middle of the city. We walked to another district than, to Hasten,which is one of the oldest districts of the municipal area. Here you can see many of the typical "Bergische Häuser" (hosues of this region). They are often covered with slate or they are also often half-timbered houses. This park belongs to a museum site. The Patrician villa in the background contains a museum and you can also find the "German Tool Museum" here. Im Remscheid tools are produced since middle ages. In the garden you can find some large machines. Remscheid is surrounded by large forests with deep valleys. Than we had to return to work, but this time we took the bus to get back to the city centre. Bye BineHH
olgamaus Posted Mar 17, 2010, 4:38 pm	Hi Mummy, we have snow again! Katja was so happy that the snow melted away ... I don't care about snow or not snow -  I like it here anyway. We took a walk today in a district called "Hohenhagen". Here were many dwellings built about four years ago. Hohenhagen is situated on a hill. This TV-tower is situated on the  highest point of the municipal area, 377 m above sea level. In the background you can see the outskirts of the neighbour city Wuppertal. We rested in the sun for a while. Can you see the motorway A1 in the background? Katja told me that once here was a large forest which was nearly destroyed by a terrible storm three years ago. Before this storm the motorway was not visible. This motorway runs from Heiligenhafen to Saarbrücken. If I wanted to come home to you by car I would have to take it. Here the forest is still intact. On our way back to the car we walked along some farms. Bye for today BineHH
olgamaus Posted Mar 17, 2010, 4:42 pm	Hi Mummy, we had bad weather since our last walk in the forest. But now the snow melted again within that rainy week. I just want to let you know that I said goodbye to Wendy, Wolle and Katja. I am on my way to Japan now. I have a cold, that's why Katja packed some cough drops into my envelope. Those black ones are not really cough drops. but as a "Nordlicht" I love liquorice! See you soon! BineHH
olgamaus Posted Mar 17, 2010, 4:45 pm	Hi Mummy, have a look what happened outside ... BineHH
RikeH Posted Mar 18, 2010, 10:48 am	Hi, I am just updating for my journey map. BineHH
hanachan Posted Mar 28, 2010, 4:42 pm	Hello, Japan! Mummy, I have new friends here. Hypno-dog from Russia, and Vini from Germany. hanachan taught us "Origami", and we made these cute boxes for candies and cookies. Vini's chair is origami egg-stand. hahaha he said, it's comfortable. Oh, there are many places I want to go.
hanachan Posted Apr 1, 2010, 4:37 pm	Dear Mom, We're in Shikoku, now. It's the smallest one of Japan's 4 main islands. Mom, I can tell you all of 4 islands' name. OK? From the north to the south, Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu! Of course you already know about Okinawa where JaymeC hosted me. Okinawa is far south of Kyushu. (thank you, JaymeC, my sweet memory) Today, we're going across the Seto Ohashi Bridge and for Honshu. hanachan forgot to take picture of the train.  OK, OK... Hey, Mom, we're running over the sea now!!
hanachan Posted Apr 1, 2010, 5:11 pm	Sakura - Cherry blossom in Kurashiki, Okayama pref. It has just started to bloom.
hanachan Posted Apr 1, 2010, 6:27 pm	Mom, most Japanese are both Shintoists and Buddhists. Shinto is the native religion of Japan, originating from primitive ancestor and nature worship. It has no Bible. There are many deities around. Here I found this, a deity lives in? hanachan smiled and said, "a small stone in it, or nothing there." Mom, I think that Japanese don't care what they worship. It's all in a state of mind. Wow, they worship even "Hello, Kitty!"???
hanachan Posted Apr 8, 2010, 8:13 am	Hello, Mom! Here we came to hanachan's favorite place in Takamatsu. Ritsurin Garden is one of most beautiful and famous Gardens in Japan. The Matsudaira family, the Lord of Takamatsu (1642-1871) was very rich because they were the relatives of Shogun. This garden had been used as the Matsudaira's villa.
hanachan Posted Apr 17, 2010, 6:01 pm	Hi Mom! This is a small shrine near hanachan's house. Such a small shrine is everywhere. 2 Komainu guard the shrine. (Mom, they look like lions!!) One opens his mouth and other closes. Cherry blossoms are in full bloom and starting to fall. Japanese really love this flower.
hanachan Posted Apr 29, 2010, 3:13 am	Hi mommy! I like shopping! Of course you, too! I'm here in the shopping area in Takamatsu. People seem to enjoy watching and shopping. Let's have a break at the Cafe! I can't read Japanese. No problem! Look, this menu book has a lot of photos!! I can order my favorites, just saying "please this one!" In local city like Takamatsu, many people don't speak English. (German? hopeless!) But many restaurants and Cafes have menu book with picture and wax-work samples on the show-case. It's a great system!
hanachan Posted May 3, 2010, 7:42 am	Hi Mom! I guess that this is a very interesting photo for non-Japanese people, especially for the Westerners. This is the graveyard in Takamatsu. Japan is such a mountainous country and has very few plains. The city of Takamatsu is over there. Also you can see the mountain "Yashima" in spring haze. Its peak is flat and resembles a roof. Somewhere in the mountain I heard "Uguisu" (small bird, Japanese Bush-warbler) calling.
hanachan Posted May 8, 2010, 4:34 am	Mom, This is not a big laundry. They are carp streamers called "Koinobori". I found this interesting scene beside the mountain road in Tokushima. May 5th is the day of Children in Japan. Especially it is for boys. (The day of girls is March 3rd  ) When the day is coming, Families with boys display a helmet replica or Samurai dolls inside the house, and fly Koinobori outside. The carp is thought to be a lucky fish symbolizing success in life. These Koinobori are amazing! I wonder how it was set over the river.
hanachan Posted May 8, 2010, 4:58 am	Hi Mom! Look! This is the Pacific Ocean!! This beach in Hiwasa is very famous for turtles. Sea turtles come to this beach during the breeding season every year. There is Umigame Hakubutsukan Caretta (Hiwasa Chelonian Museum Caretta) in front of the beach. Baby turtles are hatched at the museum and released into the sea.
hanachan Posted May 8, 2010, 11:16 am	Mummy, this is today's lunch. Sanuki Udon --- it's very popular noodles and very famous food here. People enjoy to eat this with various ways. It's very hot today, so I try cold soup Udon. With tempura of the half-boiled egg!!
hanachan Posted May 15, 2010, 5:42 pm	Mummy, this is Zentsuji Temple. Here Zentsuji-city is the birthplace of the high priest Kobo Daishi also known as "Kukai", one of the most revered figures of Japanese Buddhism. He built this temple in 807.  Zentsuji is known as the 75 th of 88 temples in the Shikoku Pilgrimage.
hanachan Posted May 15, 2010, 6:15 pm	I'm moving on to a new adventure! Mummy, hanachan missed the chance to take a picture of me.  Don't worry, look, I'm here on the envelope!
Hardway 4299273@gmail.com Posted May 31, 2010, 8:48 pm	BineHH arrived in Ottawa Canada and was greeted by fellow T.V.'s Squizzel and Taus
Hardway 4299273@gmail.com Posted Aug 3, 2010, 4:55 pm	I traveled with my host Hardway's family and 2 other YoyVoys Squizzle and Taus to Halifax NS, on the East Coast of Canada. It was a very long drive, 16 hours in the car. we made many stops along the way. I saw Montreal, Quebec City., and many small towns in the Provences of: Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. It is very rugged and beautiful country. In Halifax we stayed with Hardway's parents, went to a nearby beach, from which we could see the oldest working lighthouse in North America. We went to several Pubs downtown, we stayed at a hotel that had a nice VIP room that we got to hang out in and have drinks
Hardway 4299273@gmail.com Posted Aug 12, 2010, 8:04 pm	BineHH has been sent to her next host in Ohio, USA. Farewell, It was a pleasure hosting. Cheers, Hardway
RikeH Posted Mar 27, 2011, 5:42 pm	Hi friends, I am BineHH. Maybe you know me like a big red crab. But I was so cute as a big red crab that I got lost two times. Well I made a cure, lost some weight and I am ready to travel on. You can see photos of Bine the First and Second in the Travellog - my new life will start at the 27th of March 2011. Hope to see you soon. yours BineHH my travel plan: tarepanda in the USA  kessalia in the USA  gizalba in England dragonfly in Germany beelicious Schnutenfussel agentsmith Cheshire klubwerks Mandrara WingedWolf      Susie's  <- Here I am now!
RikeH Posted Mar 27, 2011, 5:47 pm	Hi, today I start my new life as a ToyVoyager – to continue the travels of the other BineHHs... I started my life relaxing in the garden. No beach here – bad luck for me, but some nice flowers. I hope to start to a very nice host soon. Keep you fingers crossed for me – or invite me to stay with you! Greetings BineHH
RikeH Posted Mar 30, 2011, 9:13 pm	Hello World, great News - I am on my way to the USA now - Miami - sounds like beaches, sun and fun. I said goodbye to Dicker Kumpel. USA  - I am coming! Love BineHH
tarepanda Posted Apr 7, 2011, 1:57 am	Hi Mommy!  Good news!! I have safely arrived in Florida already.  I am so excited.  And bad news... my host is down w a bad cold.  So I guess I will just rest a few days at home.  Don't worry the other TVs are keeping me company.
tarepanda Posted May 6, 2011, 3:44 pm	Hi Mommy, I barely have time to unpack my stuff and settle down when we are off travelling again!  Today we arrive at the airport.  We are all so excited! Are we there yet?  Are we there yet? After we arrive, we are all very hungry.  We go to a place called Nando's Peri Peri Chicken.  It's Portuguese style African grilled chicken.  I am not sure what that means... only that it tastes delicious but a bit spicy. For dessert, we got some nata pastry.  It has egg custard in it. Then, we arrive at the Union Station train station.  Opened in 1907 it  was a very busy transportation terminal until trains ceased to be the major mode of transportation.  After some disuse, the station was reopened with shops inside and today is again one of the busiest place in Washington.  We come here to join a bus tour of the monuments. Our first stop is the Jefferson Memorial.  Thomas Jefferson is an American Founding Father and the third President of the United States. In the background you can see the Washington Monument. This is the statue of Jefferson.  On the wall are excerpts from the Declaration of Independence, written in 1776. Next we visit the Roosevelt Memorial.  Roosevelt can be said to be the most popular American president because he served president for four terms, a total of 12 years (he died 5 months after his third re-election)! Hmm, I guess Roosevelt is really popular!!  We couldn't get close to take a nice picture! We took a picture with the statue of his dog, Fala. This statue represents a man listening to Fireside Chat, a series of broadcast where the president talked to the American people, reassuring them during the war and the Great Depression. On the wall is etched part of a speech he gave during WW2: "I have seen war. I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded. I have seen men coughing out their gassed lungs. I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed. I have seen 200 limping, exhausted men come out of line—the survivors of a regiment of 1,000 that went forward 48 hours before. I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives. I hate war." Hmm, I think he sounds like a nice president. I would vote for him too! This statue is a relatively recent addition to the memorial park.  It shows Roosevelt in a wheelchair.  His disability was not publicized during his life, but after his death people put up this statue to show that a person is not limited by disability. We then visit Lincoln Memorial, built to honor the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.  The memorial has been the site of many famous speeches, including Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech. On the wall is The Gettysburg Address,  delivered by Lincoln during the American Civil War and considered one of the greatest speeches in American history.  It begins with the phrase "Four score and seven years ago." Last we visit the Vietnam War Memorial.  It's too dark to take pictures. This is the directory listing the names of those who fought in the war.
tarepanda Posted May 7, 2011, 5:47 pm	Today we go to visit Old Town Alexandria. We have to take the Metro.  Here it comes! Let's check the map to make sure we get off the right station. Old town Alexandria was first settled in 1749, and is a historic district. This is the city hall. Across the street is the Gadsby's Tavern. It was built around 1785, and is a U.S. National Historic Landmark. What's so special about this place?  George Washington, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson were among its customers.  President Andrew Jackson spent the first night of his presidency at the tavern; he sneaked out through a window of the White House because he didn't like the inaugural party, and walked to the Tavern! In front of the city hall is the Market Square.  It is believed to be one of the oldest continuously operating marketplace in the United States, (from 1753 until present day) and was once the site of the second-largest slave market in the U.S.  Today they put a large fountain in the center.  We released a BookCrossing book at the fountain.  The book is called The Fountain!  I can't say it's a pretty fountain but a fountain it is. We walked to the Founders Park.  The riverfront area was called West Point in the early 1700's, and was the first important European settlement along the waterfront, leading to the founding of the town Alexandria. Behind us is the Potomac River. We enjoy a lovely stroll along the river. We stop by this tree.  It is planted in memory of the daughter of one of host's friends.  The 10-year-old girl Becky was killed when riding a bicycle.  The Torpedo Factory Art Center is so named because it was, no kidding, the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station during the wars!  When the war ended, the building was eventually given to a group of artists to use as studio. It may be hard to believe but we came across some other TVs by chance!!  Their mommy is Swan.  We take a group picture together.
tarepanda Posted May 10, 2011, 5:39 pm	Tonight we have dinner at the hotel.  We are here in Washington DC for a special event, the 10th anniversary of BookCrossing. The organizers and the president talk about how happy we are all here.  Even the U.S. President, Obama, is here to celebrate!! This cheese platter is arranged to look like Ballycumber, BookCrossing's mascot. The participants talk about books while we try to put together the Capitol building (after accidentally taking it down like a Godzilla...)
tarepanda Posted May 18, 2011, 3:52 am	Today we visit the National Museum of the American Indian.  It's the newest addition to the National Mall Smithsonian museums. Outside the museum are some sculptures of tipis, the tents that some tribes live in.  We released a [url=www.bookcrossing.com]BookCrossing[/url] book about Native Americans there. Here is a beautiful display of figurines.  Here are some metal crafts. This is a statue of Pocahontas, I think. The first part of the exhibit is Our Universes, and introduces the creation myth and cultural philosophies of different tribes.  It examines the past 500 years of history from a Native point of view. Here is a display of ceremonial objects.  Including some corns, animal horns and gourd. These are some scary masks! But this one is almost cute! These are parkas made by Alaska Natives.  A beaded doll, boots, and a baby carrier. This part of the exhibit Our Lives, focusing on the cultural, social, linguistic and political issues of Native people and communities in the 21st century. It talks about issues they face today, such as keeping their traditions. There is also an exhibit of contemporary arts created by Native Americans. A display of eating utensils outside the restaurant.  The restuarant features a Native-inspired menu that represents five different regions of the Western Hemisphere. Entrées include fire-roasted cedar-planked salmon, buffalo burgers, Indian fry bread, tamales and other dishes Here is an exhibit of watercrafts.  This one called outrigger canoe is used in Hawaii.  The outrigger float is called the ama, and helps stabilize the boat in wavy conditions. This is a canoe made with animal skins. This boat is made with some kind of weed or grass. We sit inside this kayak. I am in a lot of boats but didn't go anywhere!  This type of totem is typical of Northwestern Native Americans.  Unfortunately we couldn't remember what is the story.  We think it's a squirrel and a coyote... We visit the gift shop.  These dreamcatchers will trap bad dreams while letting the good ones pass through. These wooden chickens are really cute! Little toys made from Pevurian gourds. Corn is a popular food of the Native Americans.  Here's some popcorn to enjoy!
tarepanda Posted May 19, 2011, 4:54 pm	We left the American Indian museum and continue on to the next one.  The Smithsonian Institution has a total of 19 museums and a zoo, all free entrance to the public.  Many of the museums are in an area called The Mall: Air and Space Museum, American Art Museum, Natural History Museum, Freer Gallery of Art,  African American History and Culture Museum, as well as American History Museum, which we are visiting next.  At both ends of the Mall you can see the Capitol building and the Washington Monument.  Continental gunboat Philadelphia is the only surviving gunboat built and manned by American Forces during the Revolutionary War.  It was built and sunk in 1776. This is a model of how the boat might look like. Next we visit some exhibits about the children of presidents.  This is a toy house built for one of the children.  A representation of the streets named after presidents.  There is an exhibition about the First Ladies' dresses.  This one was worn by Martha Washington, George Washington's wife in the early 1780s. On the left side is  white silk damask evening gown Julia Grant wore in the early 1870s.  The rose-patterned fabric was a gift from the emperor of China.  Lucy Hayes wore the gold damask and cream satin gown displayed on right to the White House New Year’s reception in 1880. These are the dresses worn by Hilary Clinton and Laura Bush at their inaugural balls. And this pretty white one was worn by Michelle Obama. Next we visit an exhibit about African American slavery.  It's very sad to read about the cruelty they endured. American buffalos used to roam the land.  Now they are very reduced in numbers.  The museum shows how people lived in the past.  It's a lot of work for small tasks, like washing clothes!! This marble statue was sculpted for the centennial of George Washington's birth.  He is considered the father of the country.  The statue was modeled after Greek God Zeus, but unfortunately when it arrived in Washington, DC in 1841, it generated controversy and criticism. Many found the sight of a half-naked Washington offensive, even ridiculous.  In the end, the people decided to just build an obelisk. There's an exhibition about pop up books.  We really like that, the books are so beautifully crafted. These open up as stars. In the exhibit about transportation, this depicts the first automobile drive across the country in 1903. Trains are very important, even today, in transporting goods, as well as people.  This is how a school bus used to look like. Finally at the basement level is an exhibit of Julia Childs.  She introduced French cooking to the Americans.  The moved her kitchen into the museum. She had many gadgets in her kitchen, from old fashion mortar and pestle to new electric blender.
tarepanda Posted May 21, 2011, 8:43 pm	Tonight we have dinner at the hotel for the BookCrossing convention.  We have the organizers explaining what the future plans are, and an author as guest speaker.  Then some members from Ireland come on stage to tell us about next year's convention in Dublin.  Wish I could be there. We take a picture with Orange and Wolle, whom we met yesterday.  Orange decides to come with us to visit Florida.  We are so excited!
tarepanda Posted May 24, 2011, 12:58 am	Today we go to the National Zoo. We get to see the Giant Panda.  It's kind of hiding behind the trees, but we are still very excited. We release a book about Giant Panda here. There are lots of pandas here in the gift shop!  We check out the small mammals.  This one is a monkey with a funny face. Can you spot the tiger in the cave?  We release a tiger book here too. We say hi to a whole family of lions.  Lenny is especially excited. Here's a cheetah, the fastest animal on earth! This is a praire dog, although it doesn't look a bit like a dog to me.  We release a book at this Praire Dog statue.  The book is titled The Blue Fox, but since that part of the exhibit is closed we release it here.  It has been caught!!
tarepanda Posted May 28, 2011, 5:56 am	Such busy days going around sight seeing, it's time to take a break.  Let's sit down for a cup of tea! We find this tea shop in Georgetown.  Founded in 1751, the city of Georgetown is much older than the establishment of the city of Washington. We enter the shop.  The decoration is very traditional Chinese.  I don't feel like I am in America at all! The shop sells a lot of tea and paraphernalia, like teapots, magazines and more. On the shelf are many jars of tea with different names: Dragon Well, Jade Cloud, Golden Needle, Monkey King, Oriental Beauty, Silver Needle, Hairy Crab, Chrysanthemum Oolong... What interesting names!! Wow look at all the different tea pots!!  They are made with a special clay from China. Let's find a place to sit! We read the menu to select our tea. Now we wait for the water to boil! We ordered a tea called Floating Lantern.  I don't see how it looks like a lantern, but my host tells me to be patient. Look!  After a few minutes, the bud blossoms.  How beautiful it is! And it tastes very good too!
tarepanda Posted May 30, 2011, 5:57 pm	Now on to more sight seeing! The Old Stone House is the oldest standing building in Washington, D.C. and the last Pre-Revolutionary Colonial building on its original foundation.  The lot was purchased in 1764 for one pound, ten shillings. The original house was only one story high but later owner added two more floors. The hearth in the kitchen is large enough to heat the whole house. The family dined in the dining room on the second floor.  The clock was built in the early 19th century by the owner of the house then. There was a dumbwaiter to transport food from the first floor kitchen to the dining room here. On the same floor is the master bedroom. We climb up the narrow stairs and reach the third floor, where the children's bedroom is.
tarepanda Posted May 31, 2011, 1:46 am	Next we visit Georgetown University.  It's a very famous university.  Found in 1791, it is the oldest Catholic university in the United States.  Among its alumni are Bill Clinton, King Abdullah II of Jordan, as well as many royalties and head of government from other countries.  The main campus is just over 104 acres (0.4 km2).  Healy Hall, built in Flemish Romanesque style from 1877 to 1879, is the architectural gem of Georgetown's campus, and is a National Historic Landmark. In the center of the campus is a bronze statue of John Carroll.  He was appointed by Pope Pius VI as the first head of the Roman Catholic Church in America, and is the founder of the university. The cherry blossoms on campus are blooming beautifully. Completed in 1933, the White-Gravenor Building houses several classrooms, the Georgetown College Dean's Office, The Office of the Undergraduate Admissions and the university registrar. Ignatius of Loyola was s Spanish knight and the founder of  the Society of Jesus (Jesuits). There is a little pond next to it with some kois inside. Let's sit down and play some chess!
tarepanda Posted Jun 7, 2011, 4:57 am	We continue on to walk around town.  The cherry blossoms are so beautiful. We walk along Pennsylvania Ave.  We reach Washington Circle, where you can see a statue of, who else, Washington on a horse. This is Renwick Gallery, another Smithsonian art museum. This is LaFayette Park, in the center is a statue is President Andrew Jackson. In the four corners are statues of foreign Revolutionary War heroes, from France, Poland, and Prussia. This is the White House Press Center. Look here's some white cherry blossoms! This tree looks interesting, like it's growing flowers on the branches! Across from Lafayette Square, on the other side of Pennsylvania Ave, lives a very important person... Yes, ... the President of United States!!  Hello Obama!! Hmm, I guess the secret agents are everywhere. This is the U.S.Treasury Department.  And here's the headquarters of the National Geographic Society. The Democratic donkey and Republican elephant.  These two animals are used to represent the two parties in U.S. government. We see this beautiful building but now cannot remember what it is!
tarepanda Posted Jun 14, 2011, 5:01 pm	On the last day of our visit, we go to the National Portrait Gallery and American Art Museum.  It's across the street from the International Spy Museum, which sounds very exciting!  Maybe we will visit next time.  This cute trolley goes around town. Downtown Heritage Trail is composed of 21 poster-sized signs that gives interesting facts which link the history of the city to the history of the nation. According to this sign, Abraham Lincoln walked right where we are standing now!  The museum used to be the Grand Hall of the Patent Office, where Lincoln’s second inaugural ball was held, and the Office was used as a hospital during civil war. The first section we visit has American folk arts.  The giraffe is made with bottle caps.  Next we visit the protrait museum where different styles of protraits, paintings and sculptures are displayed.  They are very famous American writers: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and.. mmm... we remember it as Poe but can't say for sure.  Now this one I recognize! It's Joan of Arc! And these two also!  Previous Presidents Clinton and Bush!
tarepanda Posted Jun 14, 2011, 5:12 pm	After the museum we all feel hungry.  Chinatown is just a few minutes' walk away.  At this restaurant, a lady is making dumplings.  She is breaking the dough into small pieces which she then roll flat to use as skin for wrapping the stuffing in.  We go in and order pork dumpling, BBQ with rice, and beef noodle, with a glass of soy milk.  Mocha brags that he has tasted better ones in Hong Kong but for me they are pretty good. Afterwards, we have to head to the airport.  I don't want to leave yet, but I am sure more adventure awaits me in Florida!
tarepanda Posted Jun 22, 2011, 3:12 am	Yippy!!  We are travelling again!  This time we are heading south, to a place called Key West.  The word Key actually comes from Spanish Cayo, which means a small island.  At the southern tip of Florida, there is an archipelago of 4500 islands, and Key West is the westernmost of the inhabited islands. We drive along the Seven Mile Bridge.  You can see another bridge to our side.  That's the old bridge built in 1909-1912 and destroyed by a hurricane in 1935.  This bridge has been filmed in movies like  True Lies, 2 Fast 2 Furious and the James Bond film Licence to Kill, as well as in the car show Top Gear. After 3 hours of driving, we arrive at Key West! We are here for a event called Key West Paddle Board Classic.  We will paddle 12 miles to circle around the island. A lot of people have gathered at the starting point at Smathers Beach already. Everybody looks very fit and sun tanned.  This is the third beach I've visited! This is a shop for renting stand up paddleboards. There are many different types of boats.  These two are kayak and outrigger canoe. Here are surf ski, kayak, stand up paddle board and stand up kayaks. This one is kind of like your regular rowboat, called a dory.  It's open at the end so any water entering the boat can drain away easily, and waves can go through without capsizing the boat. Our host is very excited about this outrigger canoe, because it looks like the one she has at home.  Some of her friends are on this 12-men outrigger canoe.  As for us, we are riding in this, a dragon boat!!  It can sit 20 people.  I am excited!!  I am going to take a boat trip, and in a very unusual type of boat too! Let's take a picture with the dragon! Wow, people are leaving the shore to go to the start line!!  How exciting! The trip around the island is a lot of fun.  We pass through waves and calm water, we see beaches, mangrove, and hotels.  Sadly we do not take too many photos though, because our host doesn't want to be taking pictures while other people are paddling hard.  We don't want to get thrown out of the boat.  You can see the finish line behind us.  People stand up there to cheer for the paddlers.  The fastest ones take a little two hours, the slower ones three or even four hours. Now we can sit on the beach and relax!!  I must say it's a beautiful day.  I am liking Florida!  Hey where is my margarita?
tarepanda Posted Jun 22, 2011, 5:38 am	We do a quick tour about Key West before we head home.  Key West is known as the southernmost city in the Continental United States.  A little interesting fact: In 1860 wrecking (salvaging valuables from shipwrecks) made Key West the largest and richest city in Florida and the wealthiest town per capita in the U.S. We pass by the Southernmost Hotel. And the Southernmost House. I am here at the southernmost point of Continental U.S.!  This used to be a sign but it was stolen so often that they put this big, impossible to steal monument instead.  Here in Key West is the beginning of US Route 1.  It is a major north–south U.S. Highway that runs the length of the East Coast of the United States and runs 2,377 miles (3,825 km) from Fort Kent, Maine at the Canadian border all the way south to Key West, Florida.  If I drive along this road I will go all the way up to Canada, though it will take a long, long time. We cross the street, and what do we have?  The end of US 1, ha ha. One interesting thing tourist will find is that there are lots of chicken running around Key West.  This is because of a law that prohibits killing the birds on the island, established many years ago to ban voodoo practices.  As a result, nowadays you can see chicken crossing every street around town.  We also come by the house of Earnest Hemingway.  He is a very famous author who wrote Old Man and the Sea.  He wrote several of his novels here, including For Whom the Bell Tolls and The Snows of Kilimanjaro.
tarepanda Posted Jul 3, 2011, 12:27 am	It's not easy to say goodbye, but Snuff really need to go home now, even if he doesn't want to.  His mommy is missing him awfully, he has been gone for so long...  He has stayed here for a year and a half, and has gone to a lot of places.  Today we go out for a little farewell party. We come to this Irish restaurant. It's very beautiful inside.  There are some old books to add a rustic look to it.  I like places with lots of books! We order some fish and chips.  This is an Irish dish called Bangers and Mash.  It has a funny name, I've never tried it before.  It's sausages with mashed potatoes. For dessert we have some bread pudding. Cheers to friendship!!  Travel home safely, our dear friend, we will miss you!  We hope to see you again!
tarepanda Posted Jul 27, 2011, 3:44 pm	Today we receive a package!!  Look at the pretty stamps!  I wonder what's inside?  I'd bet it's books for our host who loves to read! Sure enough, there's a book.  But there's something else too?  A rat? Turns out Genoveva is a BookCrossing toyvoyager too!    Orange and Mocha are very excited.  We give her a warm welcome. Very nice of her mommy to send us some wafers!  But I couldn't believe that rat ate half of it!!
tarepanda Posted Jul 29, 2011, 4:08 am	Today we help our host release a book for the BookCrossing Monopoly game.  Her (and Genoveva's mom's) team landed on "Square", so they have to release a book by a square.  Mommy said that she knows of a very beautiful square for the book.  This is the book we will release. The Boy Who Loved Anne Frank. We first visit the website to register the book. Since weather has been somewhat rainy we put the book in a protective bag. Off we go!  I thought we are going to a town square, but to my surprise we visit the Holocaust Memorial. At the entrance there is a statue of a mother with two children. Behind the statue is a quote from Anne Frank on the wall. There is a pond and a statue of a big hand. First we pass by a wall etched with pictures during the war.  It's horrible to look at the pictures and imagine the suffering. The hand is reflected in the water where there are some lotuses.  It's very beautiful. Oh here is the square our host talks about!!  There are slits in the wall so sunlight creates squares of light on the wall.  We leave the book in the tunnel. We hope someone will find and enjoy this book. The light also shines through an opening to throw a yellow star on the ground. We walk through the tunnel. At the end, there is an opening where the big hand statue is.  Up close, we can see that it is formed by many human figures.  They all have very sad and tortured faces.  We feel very emotional looking at them.  At the end of the memorial is a sculpture similar to the one we saw at the entrance.  Only in this one, the mother and children have died.
kessalia Posted Aug 2, 2011, 2:50 am	Hello mom!  I have arrived in the USA and Michigan just in time for the city's big festival!  I wanted you to know that I made the trip safely.  We went to pick up Mel's nephew from the skate park.  there were a lot of children there playing!  And from the top of the hill there we could see the arrival of the big Coast Guard cutters.  They are in town for the week of the festival.  We may get to go tour them soon!
kessalia Posted Aug 14, 2011, 10:09 pm	Hello Mum!  This weekend Grand Haven hosted the Michigan Pirate Festival!  Mel dressed up and took us all!  Saturday the highlight was the kids parade and costume contest!  Mel and Madison were in it.  Weren't the kids all so cute?  Mel took second place for adults - I will tell you a secret though, there were only three ladies competing. The festival was hosted by the library, so we went inside because Madison wanted some books, so I helped her find books about pirates and the ocean!  The library was a nice place to rest after the fun of the festival. We sat and watched some shows!  These ladies danced with fire!    I would never do that! This man was a fun minstrel.  He had some good songs and also funny ones.  They were all about sailing and the ocean, so i felt at home. Look at this funny pontoon pirate ship!  Mel chatted with friends and shopped, she bought Raven a new eye patch since he lost his Saturday, and some yummy scurvy-fighting rootbeer!  These belly dancers were performing as we left.  They were very pretty! Mel says summer is almost over here in Michigan, but there is still plenty of fun things for us to do.  Yippee!
kessalia Posted Aug 26, 2011, 3:30 pm	Mel only does one or two BBQ gigs with her dad per year now, but he only calls her in when it's a BIG gig.  So we all got up way way to early and drove all the way to East Lansing, near the state capital.  We didn't get to sight see though, because we got right to work! Well, the people got to work.  We mostly just sat and watched.  There wasn't a lot to do while the smoker was warming up, but we couldn't go far because we were in charge of watching the fire to make sure it stayed hot enough, but not too hot!  We took turns watching the thermometer and called Mel if it needed more wood. The smoker is big, but there are a lot bigger ones out there. We filled it all the way up and could have used more room! We cooked baked potatoes, ribs, baked beans, chicken, and pulled pork.  Poor Einstein, Mel had forgotten to warn him!  He spent most of the day in the truck.  All of us were working so hard we didn't remember to eat anything!  Though we did snack on Mel's bag of chips while we all sat in the truck during the BIG storm that blew through!  Mel had to stay outside and keep cooking but she made sure we were safe. At the end the sun came back out and the sponsor wanted some photos, so here Mel posed with the guy who provided the sauces, and her dad.  And some of the trophies they have won for their cooking! Check out this funny one Dad just won in Texas this spring!  It looks like a TV sized outhouse!
kessalia Posted Aug 29, 2011, 5:05 pm	Hello!  This weekend Mel used her one day off to take us to a Civil War muster in Jackson, Michigan!  The American Civil War started 150 years ago.  We wandered through some shops which had historical costume supplies and other interesting things.  The boys were talking about uniforms while us girls admired the hoop skirts and hats.  We took a break at a lovely flower bed while they were admiring guns an knives.  Boys. We also saw some of the security for the event, sheriff deputies on horses, to fit with the theme! The big event of the day was a reenactment of the Battle of Bethel Church which happened in Virginia in June of 1861.  The Union troops lined up right in front of us!  Then they marched over the hill to attack the southern troops.  There were canons also, that were really loud. We missed a lot of the battle because it happened over that hill, but all of the good seats were taken.  The Union troops were attacking a fortified Rebel position with half as many men. Despite having the advantage of numbers, the Union ended up having to retreat, mostly because of confusion between units, it seems.  At one point in the real battle, some of the Union troops were shooting at each other! Here the Union is trying to regroup for one last charge, but it didn't succeed and they retreated all the way back to the city. The Rebels only lost one soldier in the fight. On the way out, Mel walked over to another part of the park to see if the big fountain was running for me, but it wasn't.    But we did find a 9-11 memorial with an actual part of one of the World Trade Center buildings.  We decided it would be a good place for group shot!
kessalia Posted Sep 2, 2011, 8:34 pm	Hello again!    Yesterday Mel was at the post office with me, she had her hand on the door, when she decided that she just could not let me leave without seeing the WORLD'S LARGEST Musical Fountain for my life goal!  So I got delayed one more day, but it was worth it.  So instead of the post office, we went to the beach.  I got to play in the sand while all of the kids played in the big waves!  I am an expert burrower, as a crab...  It was a lovely day, but windy!  Sand got EVERYWHERE!  We went to drop off the library books we'd checked out after the Pirate Festival, and then went home to kill some time waiting for it to get dark enough.  Then we all hopped into Mel's carry bag and off we went to downtown!  We found a good seat in a small gazebo and waited.  It didn't look like we were doing much at all except for watching boats go by in the river.  Then there was a voice!  It was the fountain itself, it said, and it told us hello.  Then music started, and lights came up.  It was pretty! The water shoots high in the air, and even moves around and 'dances', though you can't see that from the still photos.  The lights constantly change color, all in time to the music. Lat night was a 'best of..." night so they played a big variety - from David Bowie to a classical piece to Phantom of the Opera to Lady Gaga! I had trouble seeing at first but Vanilla offered me the best seat around, on herself. She's a good friend!  I think this is the best picture of the fountain and shows better how big it is.  But I am blurry in it.  Silly camera.  Mel says her great grandfather invented and built the original pipes for the 'peacock' in the middle, which is one of the most popular features! After a good nights sleep, Mel let me pick out my own travel envelope and off we went to the post office for real this time!  I picked a pretty pink one!  I think Gizalba and the toys with her will like it!  I hope I will see them all soon!
Gizalba Posted Sep 15, 2011, 10:51 pm	Hi Mum and Mel! I'm here! I heard some discussion going on outside of my envelope, and I heard a birdy voice say 'I recognise this writing!' I guessed that it would be Buzz, and sure enough his was one of the faces that appeared. It was rather intimidating to be stared at like that, but Buzz dragged my safety bag out and then I could introduce myself. My relative Michel is here! I jumped up to show my affection and everyone laughed that he looked like he was being attacked by a crab I also managed to create a scary crab shadow by sitting on his head. Buzz was very chuffed with the bird picture on the card, and even more impressed by the drawings! Edelweiss, Michel and Pengy were really happy that their pictures are on the card too I have included a close up so you can see it properly (technically I still feature on that photo, just I am in pencil form ) I had also brought them some nerd sweets, Edelweiss liked the packet because it had her colour on. Buzz and I found them very tasty. I can't wait to explore this new place Mum! NOTE: My new host helped me to edit the envelope pic to hide the addresses (she couldn't figure out how to 'blur'), it is a bit messy but at least you can see the pretty butterfly
Gizalba Posted Sep 20, 2011, 9:11 pm	Today I got to go on a trip! But when we got there we realised there was someone missing... Edelweiss! There was a moth whizzing around the other day and since Edel is made of wool she had crawled into her plastic bag with the cedar wood for safety. When my host scooped us all off the shelf in a rush this morning, Edel was still in her bag on the other shelf! So sad. But when we got back she said she'd had a nice rest, and was happy to see our photos It was a day of typical English whether; dull sky and the constant threat of rain. We made our way past St George's Hall (the one with all the collumns) and through St John's gardens. These are part of the Liverpool Maritime Mercantile City UNESCO world heritage site (gosh what a mouth full!), along with Pier Head and Albert Dock which we are making our way towards. We found a statue with people in chains and the words 'England expects every man to do his duty'  We didn't have time to look at what the surrounding buildings where, but perhaps it was to do with the courts... We reached Pier Head where the Royal Liver Building is. This is the main landmark in Liverpool and according to legend if the birds on top fly away, the city will no longer exist Michel, Pengy and Buzz Bluejay said they'd viewed the top of this building from the other side of the city when they visited the cathedral a few days before I arrived. We wandered along a bit more to reach Albert Dock, where The Beatles music band museum is. THEN... we saw the Yellow Duck Marine! It is a site-seeing bus/boat created due to The Beatles 'Yellow submarine' song. It tours the main sights on land, then splashes into the river and turns into a boat. We heard the driver saying in a strong scouse accent 'The louder you scream, the bigger the splash!' LOL. Buzz, Michel, Pengy and I started singing 'we all live in a yellow submarine... a yellow submarine... a yellow submarine...' Because we're cool We got so carried away singing we didn't get the big splash on camera, but I have included one of Michel's pictures he snapped just before it sailed out of site. Next we spotted some Superlambanana decendants The original one was much bigger and bright yellow, as you would imagine a bannana would be It was created for Liverpool due to its history of bananas and lambs being common cargo at the docks, and also to make a point about the dangers of genetic engineering. In 2008 125 small replicas were made, with lots of different designs and scattered throughout the city. The superlambananas you can see me with are part of a collection of 8 new ones which arrived in 2010. As you can see, my favourite is the underwater one! Can you spot me?! I went a bit overboard trying to get a picture of it from all different angles!
Gizalba Posted Oct 14, 2011, 9:33 pm	Hello mum! I'm still here Sorry I haven't updated in a while. The first pics below are of a nice island-type thing with ducks and geese and swans on, in the middle of a business park at sunset. Usually business parks are horrible to look at, but we thought using the water to attract natural wildlife was a good planning idea. This was in Cheadle, Manchester. The second pictures are of a church in the next village along from my host's home village. It was the end of a lovely hot day which felt like summer. The weather was quite strange for the beginning of October, but we weren't complaining. Can you see me waving next to the church?! There aren't many pictures as on one day the camera battery died, and on the other we were in a rush, but I hope you like the few we did take. My host forgot to take one of me and the church clock, but you can see it on Buzz Bluejay's blog if you wish. Love BineHH
Gizalba Posted Oct 15, 2011, 7:21 pm	A few weeks ago we all got packed into a bag, ready to travel to my host's term-time home in Durham, North-east England. It was very exciting!  The hills were covered in fog floating above, but it was still nice to watch the landscape through the car window. We then stopped off at a service station for a break. Unlike the rather dull motorway stations this was a friendly country one with farm animals. Just as we were leaving we looked across at the cows and then stared Buzz said 'is that a deformed cow?!' Pinky Bear exclaimed 'That cows got humps!' then I shouted 'That cow's a CAMEL!' :O Ahahaha. So funny. It was extremely windy so much so that my host had to try several times to get the camera still, but we were determined to get the random field camel on camera My host had never seen a Camel in a field before. In England we usually only see Camels in zoos! I don't think Mr Camel was aware that he was not a cow :P He was on the other side of the field though so I have added a really zoomed in pictures for you to see
Gizalba Posted Oct 15, 2011, 9:32 pm	So, on the 3rd of October (quite in the past now!), we arrived in the university Halls of residence. On another day there was a double rainbow! We rushed over to climb onto the windowsill, but sadly it was fading quickly I don't know if you can see the remains of one of them just above the roof on the opposite building? I went for a personal wander out of the room to snoop at the kitchen, and look out of a window on the staircase. The others are going to come on an exploration of the building with me on another day, maybe early morning so that other students don't wonder why there are toys climbing up and down the strairs The end pic is of our new Toyvoyager accommodation The shelf is very much like the one back at my host's home, only this one is more spacious so we can all fit on
Gizalba Posted Oct 29, 2011, 4:03 pm	Helloo mum! Every saturday now, a private tutor comes to teach my host statistics (because she really fails at understanding anything to do with numbers!). Anyway, that is rather dull, but the room where she is tutored is really pretty, so last Saturday we took some photos. It is in the building where my host lives, but all sorts of people book it. Today we couldn't go in as there was a wedding!   We had a bit of a chuckle about the bum on the wall My host said it was artistic but we just thought it was funny! I'm not sure if TVs are allowed to take photos of the room... but we didn't touch anything It was such a beautiful morning with the light beaming in through the windows.
Gizalba Posted Oct 30, 2011, 9:38 pm	Today we had a quick trip to town to get some shopping essentials. We visited the town centre with these pretty statues. The second one is Neptune I think, he looked very superior with his Trident   Due to the clocks moving back it seemed to get dark extremely quickly! On the way back along the river we took a nice picture where you can see the small crescent moon. Can you spot it?! Ten minutes later we reached my host's college, but it was so dark by this time that I kept coming out completely white when we tried using a flash! I turned into a ghost For the best effect I had to remove myself from the picture I wanted to include this pic though as we thought it looked rather eerie, the night before Halloween!
Gizalba Posted Nov 8, 2011, 5:41 pm	PARTY TIME!!!  *Disclaimer: All amazing decorations were designed and created by the corridor below, not my host!* We got an exclusive preview before the guests started arriving, to avoid getting crushed or damaged by alcohol We first entered Willy Wonka's corridor of sweets, and I tried to grab a lolly pop. There was also a Pinata who we wanted to make friends with, but we decided not to talk it because otherwise we would be too sad that it got smashed later. My host felt quite traumatized to watch this happen  The games room was next, with the notorious Jenga blocks which had dares on JUNGLE! This room was awesome, although not so fun to clean up the next morning  (my host went to help with the clean-up as the party creators had put so much effort in). There was also a Halloween room but sadly the owner of the room hadn't opened it to tourists yet and may not have been too pleased with TVs banging on the door My host said it was pretty cool with lots of cobwebs, spiders, a pumpkin and apple bobbing as punishment for those who had not arrived in fancy dress! (The dress code was tribal) P.s. Sorry that I am a bit white on some of these pictures, my host isn't great at using her camera so it's a bit hit and miss as to whether the flash makes me pale or not!
dragonfly mareen.haferkamp@emailn.de Posted Nov 8, 2011, 7:41 pm	Hi Mummy! Today I arrived at Germany! I hope I have a great time here!
dragonfly mareen.haferkamp@emailn.de Posted Nov 10, 2011, 9:05 pm	Hello! This evening me and Calliope  have cook for all!
Gizalba Posted Nov 12, 2011, 5:47 pm	Sorry these pics are late mum, but this was my departure from Durham. The night before I went to look at the evening sky through the kitchen window. Unlike last time I looked it wasn't raining so we could open it to get a better view. There is also a pic of me outside of the shower rooms further along the corridor... because showers are really interesting In the morning Boris Tonks was leaving at the same time as me, to set off on his very first adventure! I wished him luck, and I think it comforted him that I would be next to him in the bag until we reached the post-office. Then we called goodbye through the packages as we went our separate ways. I wonder if any of the humans at the postoffice were alarmed by the parcels speaking? I do hope Boris arrives in the USA okay.
dragonfly mareen.haferkamp@emailn.de Posted Dec 16, 2011, 8:25 am	Hi Mummy! Today we was in the Westfalen Park. There are in winter many lights when its go dark. It was really beautiful...
dragonfly mareen.haferkamp@emailn.de Posted Jan 1, 2012, 7:39 pm	A happy new year!
beelicious Posted Jan 12, 2012, 12:07 pm	Hello mummy! Today was an exciting day,  because I arrived in the beautiful Steigerwald! It's so beautiful here! There is a small lake in front of my new home. Perfect for a crab! I swam one lap and then warmed myself by the stove. The Christmas tree still stands! Here are three other TV's guest: Rapunel (the little honeybee from Switzerland), Boofle (the little dog) and Sir James (both from Germany). Then our host mum told us that we will go to the theater tonight! We see "Rain Main" (like the movie). That will be fun!
beelicious Posted Jan 12, 2012, 12:22 pm	Hello again! We arrived in Schweinfurt at the theater. Tonight we see on stage, "Rain Main". Even the theater is empty, but it will be fully determined yet! The theater lasted 2 hours and then we had  hunger. We went to an Indian restaurant called "Maharadscha". We ate "Sabji Pakora" (fried vegetables with mint yoghurt). For main courses there was "Palak Murgh" (chicken with spinach). The Indian spices were delicious! It was a very nice day! Love and kisses, BineHH
beelicious Posted Jan 16, 2012, 12:19 pm	Hello! Do you know what my hosts have just told me? We leave tomorrow on a trip to Cologne! There we go into the late-night-Show "Harald Schmidt Show" (a German moderator). There is also another surprise, but it will not tell us ... We even stay away overnight. We are all excited like that! Greetings, BineHH
beelicious Posted Jan 20, 2012, 8:59 am	Hello! All there? We are ready! We travel to Cologne! Was our first trip a little bit boring, but we drove past the airport of Frankfurt. He is so huge! We saw some planes land and take off.
beelicious Posted Jan 20, 2012, 9:01 am	In Siegburg (a small town near Cologne), we had a hotel room. The hotel was called "Kasserolle". There we make our fresh and then drove to Cologne for the "Harald Schmidt Show".
beelicious Posted Jan 20, 2012, 9:09 am	Here is the television station SAT 1. And here you see the entrance to the show. Unfortunately we were not allowed into the studio...  So we've done a photo with the painting by Harald Schmidt. After the show it was a little surprise. We rode in a car-cinema! We saw the German film "Offroad". The movie was quite ok. It was almost midnight when we finally were at the hotel. We slept like one too ....
beelicious Posted Jan 20, 2012, 6:45 pm	The next day... This morning was very cold! We snuggled into the warm blanket. After breakfast we drove to Cologne. Me: Where is the cathedral? Sir James: Well, over there he is! Boofle: I see I have not even .... Rapunzel: I see him, I see him. Me: Yes, I too now! Boofle: He's so big! From here I had a nice view of the Cologne Cathedral. These three buildings are very modern flats behind me. They should look like old cranes on the Rhine. Behind me is the great railway bridge over the Rhine. We wanted to take the cable car over the Rhine, but unfortunately it didn't work. Then we made our way home.
beelicious Posted Jan 20, 2012, 6:46 pm	We saw airplanes again...
beelicious Posted Jan 20, 2012, 6:47 pm	On the way home I thought to myself: It was really a very nice trip! Our hosts told us that we go away again next week for a few days ... I'm curious where we go! Bye, BineHH
beelicious Posted Jan 28, 2012, 4:51 pm	Hello! Today we were in Wuerzburg again and  we had a little more time to take pictures. This is the UNESCO World Heritage Site, the baroque residence and Franconiafountain. It was built from 1719 - 1744. Here I am on the Main. Behind me is the "Old Crane". This is the fortress 'Marienberg'. It was built around 1200. This is the church "Kaeppele" (Chapel). She was built vom 1748 - 1750 from Balthasar Neumann. This is the "Alte Mainbrücke" (Old Main Bridge). A lion from the Ludwigs-Bridge. A view over Wuerzburg. Greetins, BineHH
beelicious Posted Jan 29, 2012, 2:03 pm	Hello! Today we packed our bags! But my hosts did't tell me where we go .... I see nothing! Too much fog ... Here is a little snow. Where could we be? And here is more snow yet! We are in the beautiful Upper-Bavaria! This is our home for the next few days - the hotel "Alter Hof"  in Vaterstetten near Munich. We  have a bed for us alone! In the afternoon we visited relatives of my host mother in Munich: Aunt Gerda is a 86 year old lady and Uncle Bruno and his wife Gerlinde. Tomorrow we take a trip to the mountains! Bye, BineHH
beelicious Posted Jan 29, 2012, 3:04 pm	Winter-Wonderland-Tour Without words - so beautiful! Then we drove to  "Starnberger See". This house is in Irschenhausen. It is known, because it is in the German crime series "Der Bulle von Toelz" (The cop from Toelz). A typical Bavarian  house. Here I'm at the "Tegernsee". Do you see the colorful balloons? And this is the "Schliersee". Behind me is the peak of the mountain "Wendelstein". He is 1838 meters high. Isn't that a beautiful winter landscape? Behind me you see the mountain "Wilder Kaiser" and the "Kaiser Mountains" in Austria. Here I'm at the "Chiemsee",  also called the "Bavarian Sea". The gull is hopefully nice to us... On the way home we see children go sleigh. We are all very tired after this long day ... But we still enjoy the setting sun. Love, BineHH
beelicious Posted Jan 29, 2012, 3:19 pm	Today, we are unfortunately already gone back home ... We stopped briefly in Munich. It was very cold and there was freezing rain ... This is the "Chinese Tower" in the English Garden. The television tower. And the Olympic Stadium in 1972. The Soccer Station "Allianz Arena".
beelicious Posted Jan 29, 2012, 3:44 pm	Puuh! After 3 hours of driving we were back at home ... We just back as the postwoman came. And what she brought us? An envelope. Whether this is probably a new TV? You see a littlebit of blue ... Look! It is Blou Beer from South Africa! We all welcome him warmly! He has traveled very far. Nearly 16,000 km! He  shows us on the PC where he comes from. Bye, BineHH
beelicious Posted Jan 30, 2012, 1:21 pm	Hi mum! Last night it snowed a lot! The other TV's and I played in the snow. Together we built a snowman. Bye, BineHH
beelicious Posted Feb 1, 2012, 9:05 am	Hi! Today is a sad day ... Sir James is leaving us. We tell him  "goodbye" and wish him a good journey. Bye, BineHH
beelicious Posted Feb 4, 2012, 6:36 pm	Hello Mom! Brrrr! Here it's very cold ... Also with you? You draw warm enough? The small lake across our house is frozen. The children do iceskating! Then we've played together Monopoly. Bye, BineHH
beelicious Posted Feb 4, 2012, 6:54 pm	Hi! Today we were in the "Brot & Spiele" (Bread & Games) This is a very nice game-pub in Schweinfurt. The owner Steffen is a good friend of my host-mother. So many games! Do you see us ? For me, it got a "Platzverweis" (place reference). This is a very delicious non-alcoholic cocktail with cherry-juice, lime and crushed ice. We played "Mow," a game with cards. It was a little bit boring ... Than we played "Wer hat die Kokosnuss geklaut?" (Who stole the cconut?). The title is a children song. It is also a game for kids. Then we played "Deutschlandreise" (Germany travel). I show Blou Beer where the Tegernsee  is because we were there last week. Blou Beer and I snuggle a little. It was a very cosy evening! Many greetings, BineHH
beelicious Posted Feb 6, 2012, 4:12 pm	Hello family and friends! Today: Cooking! There are: Salmon-Couscous-Parcels with lemon and orange. Blou Beer want to eat a salmon once in his life - now it's time! The name "Couscous" is derived from Berber "seksu" (meaning well rolled, well formed, rounded). First the couscous in a bowl. Moreover vegetable broth and cinnamon. Blou Beer give  boiling water. Then you have sources of couscous. In the meantime, I peel a carrot. In the bowl of an  lemon and  orange (organic, not waxed) rubbed. Then place the salmon on it and rub it back lemon and orange. On the salmon now comes a little olive oil, pepper.... and some orange juice. Blou Beer  and I cut a green onion. Done! Now we have cut the orange and lemon slices. The couscous is now on parchment paper. Then, the salmon is placed with the carrots. Even orange and lemon slices on top to give. The paper closed as a candy. Throw it in the oven! By the time the food is ready, we are helping to dispel the dishwasher. The salmon is finished? Of course, we help to set the table! After half an hour it's done! Please to the table! Does not that look delicious? Bon appétit! Whoa ..... We are soooo full :-D! But the selfmade chocolate ice cream we do not say no! So to me it has excellent taste :-)! Yours, BineHH
beelicious Posted Feb 6, 2012, 5:00 pm	Hello! Today we made a trip to Bamberg. Some information about Bamberg: Bamberg is a city in Bavaria, Germany, located in Upper Franconia on the river close to its confluence with Regnitz the river Main. Its historic city center is a UNESCO listed world heritage site.   In 1973, the town celebrated the 1000th anniversary of its founding. Bamberg extends over seven hills, each crowned by a beautiful church. This has led to Bamberg being called the "Franconian Rome" - a running joke among Bamberg Although's tour guides is to refer instead to Rome as the "Italian Bamberg". Bamberg prides itself with being on seven hills, as it symbolizes similarity to Rome. The hills are Cathedral Hill, Michael Berg, Kaulberg / Upper Parish, Stefan Berg, Jacob Berg, Altenburg Hill and Abtsberg. First, we are the "Altenburg" from up there. The old castle is located at the highest of Bamberg's seven hills. It was mentioned for the first time in 1109th. Between 1251 and 1553 it was the residence of Bamberg's bishops. In 1801 doctor AF Marcus bought the castle and it completely repaired. His friend, the famous German writer E.T.A. Hoffmann, who was very impressed by the building, lived there for a while. An old cannon. A beautiful view of Bamberg. This is the Cathedral of Bamberg. The cathedral is a late Romanesque building with four grand towers. It was founded in 1004 by the emperor Henry II, finished in 1012 and consecrated on May 6, 1012th. The cathedral is 94 m (ft 308) long, 28 m (ft92) broad, 26 m (85 ft) high, and the four towers are each about 81 m (ft 266) high. In addition, with the tombs of emperor Henry II and Pope Clement II. This is the "Neue Residenz". The Neue Residenz (New Palace, 1698-1704) was initially occupied by the prince-bishops, and from 1864 to 1867 by the deposed King Otto of Greece. Klein-Venedig ("Little Venice" ), a colony of picturesque fishermen's houses from the 19th century along one side of the river Regnitz. Beautiful housefascade from  "Altes Rathaus" (Old town hall). (The informations are from wikipedia.com  and Yosemite  )
beelicious Posted Feb 6, 2012, 5:48 pm	When we came back from Bamberg, a small yellow package was in the postbox. What is inside? It is Leopoldi, Boofles adopt-brother! Welcome Leopoldi! Boofle travel to Dortmund. I wish him a good journey and good luck. Best regards, BineHH
beelicious Posted Feb 8, 2012, 10:31 am	Hello! This morning it was very cold again! And what you need when it's so cold? Exactly! Slightly sweet! We bake a cake, an  Orange-Eggnog-Cake. For this we broke butter. Sugar and then .... eggs. Stir all. Flour and .... Baking powder. Stir again. There is rum and .... orangejuice into it. Put the mixture into a mold and bake. In the meantime, we make the filling. We need milk, eggnog and... Vanilla puddingpowder. Mix everything. And put it in the micowave. We see whether the cake is ready. He is finished! Now the cake has to cool down. In the meantime, we rub off the peel of one unwaxed orange and ... cut them into pieces. When the cake is cold we can cut him. Now half of the cream on the cake and ... to give the orange pieces on it. Another half on it and ... give the rest of the cream on the cake. To decorate with the grated orange peel and grate dark chocolate on the cake. Done! Now for a few hours in the refrigerator. The eggnog is empty ... hicks ! Yummy! Now we have so much energy from the delicious cake that we go a round ice-skating. This is fun! Bye, BineHH
beelicious Posted Feb 8, 2012, 4:28 pm	Hello again! Today it was an envelope in the post again. Maybe an another TV? Look! It is Khaled from Seesen (Lower Saxony, Germany)! He is a very sweet camel. And what a great name! He told us that his name means "eternity". Nice .... I was allowed to ride it once very briefly. He was tired from the long journey. It greets you, BineHH
beelicious Posted Feb 14, 2012, 9:19 am	Hi! Today it' s called "Time to Say Goodbye". I have an invitation to a ski-trip! I look on the PC where the journey goes. I say goodbye to my TV-friends. See you soon, BineHH
Schnutenfussel Posted Feb 23, 2012, 4:29 pm	meet Schnutenfussel
Schnutenfussel Posted Mar 5, 2012, 5:11 pm	Piz Boè up to 2600m
Schnutenfussel Posted Mar 5, 2012, 5:14 pm	Marmolada the highest place in Dolomites!! 3364m
Schnutenfussel Posted Mar 5, 2012, 5:21 pm	near Pordoi on the Board!!
agentsmith Posted Mar 24, 2012, 11:28 am	Heeeeey! I've arrived in Eisingen at my new host! Lui, the monkey, the vampire Frederick and LittleLuzi gave me a warm welcome then, Hase arrived! he's also a tv and will stay at my host, too! for dessert, we hade some fried bananas! it was super yummi! in the afternoon, we made a walk through Eisingen, where my host lives! look at these beautiful flowers! a view over Eisingen! in the back, there are the vineyards in the evening, there was a documentary about crabs in the television! I hope you can see me and the crab in the TV, because it was very dark in the room :/ until now, my host didn't have a lot of time for us because she had her Abitur tests. but now the tests are over! your BineHH
agentsmith Posted Mar 25, 2012, 10:49 am	we made a caaaaake! a french chocolate tarte it was soo yummi, believe me! your BineHH
agentsmith Posted Mar 25, 2012, 5:25 pm	this afternoon we made soap bubbles! your BineHH
agentsmith Posted Mar 27, 2012, 6:24 pm	hey everybody at home! today we were in Pforzheim, the "Goldtown". look at what we saw: these are tools for making jewelry wooooow look at that! a reaaaaaaal gold porsche! puuuh.. now we're in the Goldrausch on the 23. february, Pforzheim got destroyed in the Second Wolrd War and then we met a rabbit, hihi ! this was on top of the Schlössle Galerie, a shopping center then we went to a bridge where the rivers Enz, Nagold and Würm flow together. i wanted to hop in the water, but my host said no applause for us! we had a great day your BineHH
agentsmith Posted Mar 29, 2012, 2:26 pm	hey mum! this is how Hase and I woke up yesterday: the flowers also were already awake then, we had a delicious breakfast at Café Maier's in Königsbach-Stein! LittleLuzi went with us after that, Hase and I thought about what to do now we decided to go outside and pick a bunch of flowers then I had to refresh myself in the water we put it in a vase.. what do you think? beautiful, right? in the evening, the flowers were tired and went to sleep.. ..so we also went to bed your BineHH
agentsmith Posted Mar 31, 2012, 4:09 pm	hey everybody! today we decorated the house because the easter holidays are near! first, we painted some eggs and then hung them on an easter bouquet! on monday we are going to Heidelberg, I can't wait! your BineHH
agentsmith Posted Apr 3, 2012, 12:01 pm	heeeelloooooo! yesterday we had a beautiful day in Heidelberg! We went to the castle (303 steps high!) and the city center! we had so much fun we all agreed that we love being toyvoyagers! we had a mexican lunch I love water! again, I wasn't allowed to hop in then we went home again. one last picture of the castle! was a great day! your BineHH
agentsmith Posted Apr 6, 2012, 6:53 pm	helloooo everybody! yesterday we went to Weissenburg in France! We drove there by car, first first saw the "Deutsches Weintor", went to a french supermarket and for dinner had some Tartes Flambées! three flags! the european one, the german one and the french one there are there because the German Weintor is at the border of Germany and France then we left Germany! We drove through Baden-Württemberg, Rheinland-Pfalz and France! Wow! finally arrived in Wissembourg! we bought cheese, salami and wine unbelievable, those french men eat frogs legs, crazy.... then we went to a bar and had a Campari Orange huuuuungry.. finally we went to the restaurant hihi in the end we had one sweet Flammkuchen for dessert.. oh my god it's burning! do we have to call the firefighters?  nooo.. our hosts told us that the Flammkuchen is burning because there was Calvados put over it, they light it up, the alcohol is burning and the taste rests! suuuuper good! this was a nice day! I decided to like France from now on your BineHH
agentsmith Posted Apr 8, 2012, 6:50 pm	happy easter!!! Hase and I went in the garden to look for eggs aaaaand: we found two! and then... we found another egg.. a very mysterious one..  we went into the house to open it, there were sound coming from inside... then it broke up! first, we were paralyzed because of what we saw! then we were shocked! Frederick the vampire hid himself in the egg and suddenly came out! but he's a nice guy and said sorry because he frightened us  BineHH
agentsmith Posted Apr 10, 2012, 4:35 pm	yesterday I went into the bathroom and met Cleo, who gives soap to my hosts! she's very nice! then I saw a frog in the water having a bath because I love water, it only took me a few seconds to hop in BineHH
agentsmith Posted Apr 17, 2012, 2:08 pm	I really enjoyed my time here in Eisingen but..... I'm on my way to my next hoooooost! CANADA here I come! I can't wait....
Cheshire Posted Apr 25, 2012, 10:07 pm	Hello mommy! I arrived in Canada today! My host is also hosting two other TVs, Mr. Furrington and Viper, who also arrived today! They worked together to open the envelope. Can you see me? Here I am!! I gave hugs to Mr. Furrington and Viper. I was so happy to see them! I'm glad to finally be in Canada! Viper brought some candies with him, so we shared them! Do you want some mommy? I'm sure I will have lots of fun with my new friends here in Canada! I hope you are doing well too mom! Love, Bine
Cheshire Posted Apr 29, 2012, 9:50 pm	Hey mom! This morning we decided we should do some activities outside today... but then we looked out the window and saw that the sky was covered in dark grey clouds! We waited a bit to see if it would rain... and it started snowing! So we decided to go out anyway! It was a little bit cold but not too much (I was lucky to have a pretty scarf to keep me warm! ), so we went to the park.  We decided to go play! I think this is a pig... It looks weird though! This one is weird too... Oh look! There was a tic tac toe game! Mr. Furrington accepted to play with me. It was a draw... Oh well, it was fun! It was really fun today! I hope we can come play again soon... perhaps on a warmer day! Love, Bine xxx
Cheshire Posted May 10, 2012, 8:21 pm	Hello mommy! The weather hasn't been very nice lately, it's raining all the time. But today it was sunny and warm so we thought it would be nice to go outside! Host mom said we should go downtown Saint-Hyacinthe to visit. It's an older part of the city, so there are a lot of small boutiques and restaurants and old-looking buildings! We invited one of my host mom's friends and took the bus! And we got off the bus to go walk downtown. First we decided to go to the library to look at the books. There were a lot of books! We even met a friend who lives in the library! Then we decided to go to the market, so we continued walking down the streets. And finally we saw the market! In the summer there are farmers who come here to sell all sorts of fruits and vegetables, but for now the weather is still too cold. So we went inside to see the other sellers. Look! We saw other crabs in the market! It made us sad though, because people buy them to eat them. We stopped at the bakery... Everything looks so yummy! Look at all the cool cupcakes! We didn't want to eat anything though because it was almost dinner time, but we took a hot chocolate with Belgian chocolate! We sat at a table to rest for a while. We went back outside and saw a small fountain! Then we decided to go somewhere for dinner. We didn't want to go somewhere too expensive so we went to a small fast-food restaurant and host mom ordered a French-Canadian dish, called "poutine". It's simply french fries and cheese with brown gravy. After dinner we continued to walk around for a while. Then we decided to stop at a bistro to have a smoothie for desert! It was really yummy but now I'm full! The view from the terrace was nice! After that we went to a small park. And we found this memorial for the people who lost their lives during the war... It says "In memory of our glorious who disappeared during the wars". There was also the City Hall beside the park! The sky was getting cloudy again and we were tired so we decided to start walking back to the bus stop to head back home. And we took the bus again! I had a lot of fun today! My host mom said next week-end we should be able to go to Montreal, a big city here in Quebec... I'm looking forward to it! Love, Bine xxx
Cheshire Posted May 18, 2012, 10:36 pm	Hey mommy! Guess what! We visited a new city today! We went to Montreal, a big metropolis here in Quebec. I was excited to visit a new, bigger city. We were supposed to go earlier, but sadly we had to wait a few more days... But we visited a lot of places and took a lot of pictures! We were lucky because it was sunny and warm today... It's been raining a lot lately. We had to take the bus first to go to Longueuil, which is a city located on the South Shore, close to Montreal. Finally, after about an hour long ride, the bus arrived at Longueuil, so we got off and walked through the station to go to the subway station. We went down the stairs to wait for the subway. And finally it arrived! So we got in. We got off two stations later, at the Berri-UQAM station in Montreal. Here is a map of the subway stations. The subway line we had taken is the yellow one. And here is a map of Montreal! As you can see, it's a big island. We had to take another subway to get to our location, so we went up the escalators and followed the signs to the next subway we had to take. We got off at Peel station. And finally we went outside! We went to a library to look at the books and then we went to an underground shopping center. We were a bit thirsty so we stopped at Starbucks to get a frappucino. It was really yummy! The shopping center was bigger than it looked! There was a big fountain on the first floor! Then we walked through the Eaton Center... which is another shopping center! There was an old-looking telephone booth. The Eaton Center is quite big too! Then we decided to take the subway again to get to another part of the city. We got off at the Place-des-Arts station. The "Place des Arts" is a place where there are a lot of shows and plays, so there was a long corridor with posters of all the upcoming shows and events! And there was another corridor with animations displayed on the walls. It was pretty! Then we walked through the Desjardins Complex... Which is ALSO a shopping center! We got a little lost because we couldn't find the signs that indicated where the subway station was... But fortunately we found a map! And we found our way! We didn't take the subway yet though, we decided to go outside first to walk around and visit more than just shopping centers and subways. :P So we go out from the station, which is beside the Montreal Congress Center. The trees we full of flowers, it was beautiful and it smelled good! And we met some pigeons... There are a lot of them in Montreal! We continued walking. And suddenly I noticed there were signs with Chinese writtings everywhere... So I ask my host mom, had we been walking so long that we were now China?? She said we were actually in Montreal's Chinatown! Which shouldn't really be called "Chinatown", because not all the restaurants and boutiques are Chinese, some are Japanese, Taiwanese, Korean, etc. There was a cute graffiti! There are gates like this with foo lions on most of the streets you can take to enter Chinatown. As soon as you cross the gate you get back to the "normal" town... It's strange but it's fun! We walked back to the subway station to meet with some of my host mom's friends. We got off at Berri-UQAM again to wait for them. Then we decided to go to the "Quartier Latin" (literally translated it would be "Latin Neighbourhood" ) to find a restaurant for dinner. This is the "UQAM", which is the University of Quebec in Montreal. There were all kinds of boutiques and restaurants. Then we saw a really big statue! We finally decided to go to a restaurant called "La Bulle au Carré". It's a French restaurant. There were comic books and games on the tables to read an play while we waited! We looked at the menu. It was hard to choose! There were mostly hamburgers and crepes but they all sounded so good! We decided to play Connect Four while we were waiting for our orders to be ready. Mr. Furrington agreed to play with me! And I won!! We still had to wait a little bit though. And finally our plates arrived! Dont you think it looks yummy? Well, it was! Then we ordered a crepe to share for desert. It's not really visible on the picture, but the waitor set the crepe on fire after he put it on our table! My host mom told me it was a "crêpe flambée", so it's normal... that reassured me! It was good but now I was really full! After dinner we walked again a bit, and stopped in a park. And finally we got to our final destination: the "Café Campus"! It is a small showbar, and we were going to see a humorists show! We took pictures during the show, but unfortunately they were all dark and blurry because we weren't allowed to use flashs. The show was funny though! It ended late, so we walked back to my host mom's friend's car and went back home to get some rest. I had a really fun day overall! It was nice to visit a new city and we were tired from walking so much but it was worth it! Maybe we can try to go to Montreal again soon... My host mom says there are a lot of other places to visit since it's so big! She also said we will most likely be going on a trip to Gatineau, a city near Ottawa, the capital of Canada, next week-end... It would be fun! I hope you are doing well, Bine
Cheshire Posted May 18, 2012, 11:33 pm	Hello mom! Today we found a big envelope in the mailbox! We decided to open it together... It was Shooga, another TV travelling to Canada! We gave her a group hug! She had brought candies with her so we shared them. Then we played with Gaby, one of my host mom's cats! I'm sure we'll have fun with our new friend! Love, Bine
Cheshire Posted May 18, 2012, 11:49 pm	Hello mommy! Today we visited one of my host mom's friends! And I made some new friends, look! I had a really fun time with them! I hope you had a good day too! Love, Bine
Cheshire Posted May 31, 2012, 7:47 am	Hello mom! The weather was warm and sunny today so we decided to go outside! We went to Mount Saint-Hilaire, which is about 30 minutes from my host mom's house. There are a few trails that go to the top of the mountain. We chose to take the "Rocky" trail, which is the longest. It is 4.8km long! After a while we saw some water... it was a lake! It's called the "Hertel" lake. I didn't think there would be a lake on a mountain! It was nice. And I got to lie on the beach! We decided to rest a little. I wanted to stay longer but we had to leave if we wanted to get to the top! Hiking up a mountain is tiring! We had to take a few breaks to be able to keep going. Only 0.5km left! And here we are! Isn't it nice? It's so high! We can see the Yamaska rivers and all the houses and fields from up here! It looks like we're closer to the clouds! We rested a bit because we were tired... And decided to make our way down. ...And we were finally back down the mountain! It was a lot faster to go down than up. Time to go back home now! I was glad to get back home and rest though, I was so tired! And we had a lot of fun. Love, Bine
Cheshire Posted Jun 13, 2012, 3:43 pm	Hello mommy! My host mom told me it is time for me to travel to my next host! We did a group hug, and I left for the post office. I'm excited to visit another country, I hope I will get to go on a lot of fun adventures there! Love, Bine
klubwerks Posted Jun 16, 2012, 5:30 am	I went to Soonercon! It's a scifi/comic convention in Oklahoma City where my host lives. They were selling nerf mods (toy nerf guns that are modified to look really cool) and a bunch of toys! The picture with the guy in white is my hosts husband. He was in his costume for his evil character Conner Asthea - it's for a Steampunk live action game. He's really a nice guy in real life! There were several books and things related to horror - like the zombie and werewolf. There's supposed to be a Zombie Walk tomorrow too! I also got to meet the Oklahoma Ghostbusters. I was nice and took had a photo taken with me in his hand. A lot of people really liked me and couldn't resist hugging and holding me. It was very flattering! I told them I was from Germany and they seemed very interested... and amused. There were these really cute wooden rings that were red and reddish-orange that are so cute! My host let me pick out my favorite one and she got it for me as a gift. It fit great around my claw as a ring, and around my wrist like a bracelet. I love it! People were selling all kinds of stuff at the convention and there were a bunch of people walking around in superhero costumes - like the blonde lady in blue, a fantastic four heroine. There was The Tick stuff, which is a really funny cartoon from the 1990's. There was a lot of tv series merchandise and horror movie merchandise... lots of neat things. I was hanging out on Bishop's hat, who is a friend of my hosts who was selling a lot of nerf mods! I hung out with Toki (the bunny). Then when we got home, me and some of the house guests (who are here for the convention weekend) were being silly! And that's my host in the red! I had a lot a fun and we plan to have more fun tomorrow!
klubwerks Posted Jun 30, 2012, 7:12 pm	There's a Vietnamese restaurant across the street from where my host lives. They have a lot of noodle soups and seafoods. It was very tasty.
klubwerks Posted Jun 30, 2012, 7:22 pm	OKay, so these photos are not that great because of the lighting and fog used for the show. We went to a Ringlings Brothers circus! It was a great show with clowns, acrobatics, tigers, elephants, horses, and more! It was my hosts first circus.
klubwerks Posted Jun 30, 2012, 7:46 pm	We ate at a cajun restaurant called Cajun King. They have a bunch of southern food like gumbo, etouffee, redbeans and rice, beignets, fried catfish, frog legs.... lots of yummies!
klubwerks Posted Jul 27, 2012, 11:36 pm	I went to Ama-con in Amarillo Texas. It was their first comic convention and it was only one day. My hosts were there as Airship Horizons, a steampunk crew, selling handmade toys, modified nerf guns, and some leather stuff. They sold a lot of merchandise! It was a lot of fun!
klubwerks Posted Aug 2, 2012, 1:16 am	I helped make little polymer clay octopus charms!
klubwerks Posted Aug 5, 2012, 7:40 pm	I had a nice time visiting my host, and now I'm on my way to my next host. Hope to see you soon!
Mandrara Posted Aug 24, 2012, 1:57 pm	Hallo Mum after a long travel i arrived safe here in Witten. I was told to meet one dragon whos colour matches to mine. Can you imagine how i was surprised when i saw two dragons at the first time? But let me start at the beginning. Imodra became the envelope from Mandrara as she told me. And she opened it very carefully so that I would not be afraid when i see her. She and her man Feru were really lovely and i wasn't afraid and so i went to them to hug them. While I cuddled with them Imodra called for her oldest son Thorin and the other TV's to welcome me. Thorin was the first who introduced himself to me and gave me a warm welcome. This is Drashuven the Dragonfly from the UK who is snuggling me with his wings. Suomi-girl comes from Finnland Rosalind comes from the UK aswell and karlos comes from Langenhagen/Germany. Then all came and we snuggled together. Meanwhile Mandrara brought some fresh baked cake and popcorn so that we could have a little welcome party. During our picknick we decided to play a game and Thorin went to the board where Mandraras kids have their games and he brought "Looping Louie". Its funny. You need to safe chickencoins from a roatating plane. After a few minutes we smaller TV's thought about taking a ride at "Louie" and so we did! Here you can see me. It was so cool. Everyone here is so nice and i think we will have a great time. Hugs and kisses mum Yours BineHH
Mandrara Posted Sep 16, 2012, 10:37 pm	Hallo Mum Today happend something wonderfull. “Little Dragon” the youngest son of Imodra and Feru came home from his trip to the USA. We were playing a board game and we had a lots of fun. As he was guided in from Flocke one of the family cats, Thorin jumped down the table to welcome him. Then he went to Imodra and Feru. After that he came to us and we gave him a welcome hug. We all decided to pick up the game and listen to his stories! It was a  great afternoon! Love and kisses see you soon mum! Yours BineHH
Mandrara Posted Sep 16, 2012, 10:42 pm	Hi again, today Little invited us to see photos of his trip! It was great, because for us it was also yam yam. He visited with Shilo a M&Ms Shop in Las Vegas and as a present he got some M&Ms in his skincolour.  And we eat them!!! But the picture he showed were fantastic. Greetings  Yours BineHH
Mandrara Posted Sep 16, 2012, 10:50 pm	What a day. Hallo mum, today Mandrara decided to visit the „Wittener Streichelzoo“ in englisch it’s called petting zoo. After collecting her kids from the kindergarden we went there. It was nice we saw goats, guinea pigs, little rabbits, Deers and wild boars. We feed them, the guinea pigs, little rabbits goats and deers I meen. The wild goars were a little bit scary to me! And then we found something strange. There was a “Schnullerbaum” near by a Kindergarden. There the kids leave their comforter if they don’t need them anymore. At the end it got a little bit windy and cold and we all were happy to stay at home again. Greetings
Mandrara Posted Sep 16, 2012, 10:57 pm	It’s a rainy and sad day mum. Today we listened to Imodra who read for us the fairytail puss in boots and we had sweets while she was reading. Then Mandrara came with an envelope and told us that Little has to move again. He is going to visit Vienna and we all huged him and waved our hands as he went into his envelope filled with sweet proviant for his trip. See you soon mum. Love you BineHH
Mandrara Posted Sep 16, 2012, 11:04 pm	Hallo mum, the next farewell came. Rosalind has to leave. Mandrara made a fresh chocolate cake for her that we could have a last tea time togheter. Then we helped her to pack the envelope. We snuggled all with her and wished her a save and fast travel. Hugs and kisses Yours BineHH
Mandrara Posted Sep 28, 2012, 11:29 am	Hallo Mum, It’s windy and rainy outside again and I think autumn is coming. We decided to stay in and play cards. It was Funny one of us tried to cheat ;-) but it wasn’t me I promise. And then Mandrara came and again she holds an envelope in her hands. But we didn’t get new company. Some of us had to leave and this time it was Karlos, his journey through Germany goes on. Mandrara brought him some sweets for his travel and we all helped him to bring it into the envelope. After that we all hugged him and wished him the best for his future and maybe one day we meet again. Then he went to Imodra and Feru and snuggled with them. They love us like they love their own kids and so for them every goodbye is hard. But they also wished him only the best and then we helped him to climb into the envelope. For a last time we all waved our hands for him. Hugs and kisses mum Yours BineHH
Mandrara Posted Oct 13, 2012, 11:01 am	Hallo Mum Karlos left but we got new company. After Mandrara went to the post station to bring Karlos on his way she came back with a new envelope and gave it to Imodra and Feru. They opened it very carefully and out came another dragon, called Taja. She is form Vienna, Austria and after we welcomed her she showed us postcards she took with her. She explained to us that in the castle, showed on the postcard, empress Sissi lived. It was very interested. Also she showed us her passport. There all host will sign in where and how long she stays at one place. Nice idea we all thougt. Then we all played together. Love you Mum Yours BineHH
Mandrara Posted Oct 13, 2012, 1:11 pm	Hi Mum This weekend Mandrara had to work on a Medieval market in Essen and she took us with her. There she offers jewelery in silver and bronze in a celtic style. It was very exiting for us. Here you can see us watching after her goods. As we looked out of her tent we could see a bakery producing bread in a way it was traditional in the medieval. As time goes by she went with us to Petra, she offers soaps she made!!! I think this is WOW Then first we went back to Mandrara and after some times we went to another  hawker. They offered oriental Parfum and stones with healing scills, so they told us at least. It was wonderfull to see such work but ist was very difficult too and we all were very happy to stay at home again in the evening! Love you mum. Yours
Mandrara Posted Oct 13, 2012, 1:39 pm	Hi Mum, Today Mandrara her kids, her husband and friends went to bowling. and she took us with her. After they finished we all were allowed to do it like them! Mum I didn’t know how heavy those balls are. Each one of us got his own one and Mandrara explained the rules to us! it was very funny! See you soon mum Yours BineHH
RikeH Posted Oct 31, 2012, 10:18 pm	Hello friends, I am back home again. Dicker Kumpel gave me a warm welcome. It was so nice to see my brothers and sisters again. We shared my sweets. Thanks to all my hosts over the last years! yours BineHH
RikeH Posted Dec 23, 2012, 9:24 pm	Hello friends, Christmas is coming – and today PieksiHH and I helped decorating the Christmas tree. We started with the Christmas baubles.     These two baubles were so funny!     We had more decorations for the tree.         We loved this funny guy most! Yours BineHH
RikeH Posted Jan 17, 2013, 7:56 pm	Hello friends,  I love Christmas! My brothers, my sisters and I sat in front of Rudolph and Snowy  - two close friends of Santa Claus.         We all had fun and sung a Christmas Song for both.     We must have been great, because we received a lot of chocolate.     Merry Christmas!     Yours BineHH
RikeH Posted Apr 17, 2013, 7:49 pm	Happy Easter! I celebrated Easter with my sisters and brothers. PieksiHH and I found a lot of chocolate. Yours BineHH
RikeH Posted May 29, 2013, 9:15 pm	Hello, Today Murph and GustavHH came and visited Dicker Kumpel and us. PieksiHH, TobiHH and I decided to prepare a party for all of us! Batida should be good for us! This looks great! Then we wait for the others! When they arrived we told them about the party! They jumped onto the table and loved our idea. I found a great place between TobiHH and Manganinnnie. Cheers! Then it was time to eat. I had a yummy muffin. Later this evening we all had fun and sang wonderful ToyVoyager-songs It was a wonderful evening! BineHH
RikeH Posted Jun 25, 2013, 6:58 pm	Hello friends, It was Dicker Kumpel’s birthday today. He got a blindfold. Then he was allowed to look. We all sat in front of and sang a birthday song for him. Look – Dicker Kumpel received a present from his friend Murph. All he need for a Candlelight Dinner with Kleine Fee. This was a great idea! Birthdays are nice! Then we had a party with coke, fruits and burgers. It was a wonderful birthday party! Love BineHH
RikeH Posted Aug 3, 2013, 12:03 pm	Hello friends,    Today some TVs came and visited us. It was so nice to see them! Then we had some delicious cakes. Can you see how hot it was? The chocolate melted. We ate a lot – it was yummy! Then Dicker Kumpel got a present by Helmut. Delicious drinks. We spent the afternoon relaxing in the sunshine and of course we talked a lot! Then it was time to say goodbye to our friends. Cuddling is great – so we had a big cuddle. Yours BineHH
RikeH Posted Aug 12, 2013, 7:25 pm	Hello friends, I am so excited - I will travel again. Dicker Kumpel said goodbye to me. I will write soon. Love BineHH
Susie's Posted Aug 13, 2013, 7:30 pm	Good evening my dear Moooooooommmmmmmy,  yesterday I arrived at Susie's Office. Of course she freed me from my envelope immedately. I gave her the colorful lollipop and the postcard I brought with me  (hostmum says thank you). And now I'm at a new place and can't wait to see what all will happen.  XOXO
Susie's Posted Aug 13, 2013, 7:47 pm	Today I explored my new Hosts home. I met some interesting fellows (some of them have even wings) and saw some super nice paintings. I think I like that place. kiss Kiss Yours BineHH
Susie's Posted Aug 16, 2013, 8:20 pm	Good evening Mami, I am with my new host for only three days and Susie's already took me out last night. To the so called Bahnhofsviertelnacht (you could translate it with night of open doors in the central Station district). There are a whole lot of interesting places to see, lots of Music and people everywhere. We started with dinner at the night market.  The first place we went to see was a mosque. Very nice and colorful place. Next we headed to a Christian church (also colorful), then went to a Disco(not much going on there) and than ended the evening with a stroll trought the red light district.  That was a interesting evening Sending you hugs and kisses Yours BineHH
Susie's Posted Aug 18, 2013, 8:49 pm	Hi Mom, the weather wasn't the best today but we went out anyway.  The plan was just a short trip to Frankfurt/Main. But we ended up to spent half the day there. And additionally I came one step closer to fullfill one of my lifemissions. You'll see...  In the morning hostmum and me took the Train to the Central Station. And to our pleasent surprise there was an Exhibition with historic Trains. and inside the Trains there was even another Exhibition. To be continued....
Susie's Posted Aug 20, 2013, 8:10 pm	....from there we hopped on the subway to our actual Destination for that day. The main cemetery of Frankfurt. Hostmum saw a Report about it on TV and wanted to go. It is huge. So huge that it even has street signs so you don't get lost. Besides that it is very peaceful and lies underneath tall and old trees. Some of the tombstones are almost art. XOXO Yours Bine PS to be continued....
Susie's Posted Aug 21, 2013, 8:41 pm	.... and here comes the part with my life Mission.  Since it was still early when we were done with walking around the cemetery Susie's decided to do a bit of Sightseeing. So we went to to the old opera. Which is a very nice building. In front of the building there is a square and on that square there is a....... ....a fountain!  Yes a fountain. It is called Lucae Brunnen.  Named after the architect of the old opera. Next sight to see was to building of the stock market and it's Symbol Bull&Bear. Frankfurt seems to be a great City. And so far  I like it.
Susie's Posted Aug 25, 2013, 5:58 pm	Hello my dear Mama,  yesterday I got to be part of a super, extra, special Event. A wedding!  In the afternoon we went to church for the ceremony. As a surprise a choir sang a song called "The Rose". And everyone was moved to tears. After church all the guests came to congratulate to the newlyweds. A little later we drove to a Castle for the celebration. Outside everyone wanted to take photos with the happy couple.  It soon started to rain so we had to go inside where we had a super jummy dinner (herb soupe, italian Appetizer buffet, main dish buffet and a cake buffet at the end). After we were done eating we danced the night away till two in the morning. I'm still a little exhausted. So we are just lazy today and don't do much today.  And how was your Weekend? Love you BineHH
Susie's Posted Sep 4, 2013, 8:33 pm	Good evening Mom, last sunday we've been to the small and old town of Gelnhausen. Spontaneously we took part on a guided tour in the so called "Kaiserpfalz". The building were Imperator Barbarossa lived. From there strolled around town for quite a while. On the last photo you see me infront of a very Special house. Phillip Reis was born there. You surely know who that is.... Love you
Susie's Posted Sep 8, 2013, 6:58 pm	Hey Mom, you got married I wasn't there. Made me a bit sad.  To cheer me up host mum took me to Frankfurt for lots of fun stuff.  First of all we went up to a Roof top terrace with a very nice view at the Skyline. Then off to the movie Theater just across the street. We saw "White house down". Very cool and fun. But that wasn't it yet. After the movie we spent some time at a fun fair. There are lots of rides of all kinds. But they are to scary for us.  So we just played some games. I really feel better know.  Hope you feel great too. Love you mum.
Susie's Posted Sep 21, 2013, 5:11 pm	Yo mom, how are you? I'm just fine.  Last sunday the stores were open in Frankfurt. So we took the Chance to check out the brandnew Shopping mall that just open a few weeks ago. It has a some Kind of Roof top garden with a very nice view on some of the Skyscrapers. After Lunch we had a contrast program and went to a place called "Berger Strasse". Which is a small street with unique stores and cute small cafes (of course we had to go to one of them  ). And Special about this place is, that it has some Kind of public book cabinet. Everyone can take a book from it for free. But therefore you should bring it back  or bring an other book to the cabinet. Isn't that cool? Sending you a big hug. BineHH
Susie's Posted Sep 22, 2013, 9:14 am	Morning Mummy, yesterday evening we've been out for dinner to a spanish Tapas bar. That was super yummy. We ordered: - Alijoli (mayinnaise with garlic) - Tortilla (baked potatos with eggs) - meet balls with tomato Sauce - Olives - chorizo (spanish peppersausage) - baked Dates with Bacon - spanish wine And for "Dessert" we got some Vanilla Schnaps. Hmmmmmm.....
Susie's Posted Sep 24, 2013, 8:14 pm	My dear Mom, on sunday we wanted to take Advantage of the nice weather and go out. It was nice till the Minute we left the house. But oh well! We went on our little hike anyway. To the so called Berger Hang. Which is on the outskirts of Frankfurt. Very nice area with lots of interestig plants. On the way back be wanted to take the upper trail but somehow missed it and ended up on the middle one again. Maybe next time. Love you
Susie's Posted Sep 30, 2013, 7:00 pm	Good Evening Momma, saturday we got up pretty early to go to the fleamarket in Frankfurt. Gosh it's unbelievable what Kind of stuff is for sale there. Old, broken, dusty and outworn. If it is antique, ok. But that... Since the fleamarket is right by the river Main we had the Chance to stroll along the Riverside for a bit and than cross it on the Eiserner steg Bridge. From there we had a very nice view on the Skyline.  How was your Weekend? Love you Mum
Susie's Posted Oct 5, 2013, 4:56 pm	Mommy mommy mommy guess what....!!!??? Hostmum took me on vocation! You wanna know where I am? Well you have to guess! Here are some hints: -our flight was about 12 hours - we crossed the Atlantic ocean and now are by the pacific ocean - there is this big city with some world famous sights - the region is called bay area - this place is also called "city by the bay" - and it's build on 43 hills Any idea yet? If not you have to wait till tomorrow, cause then we go sightseeing. Love you
Susie's Posted Oct 7, 2013, 4:10 am	Hello momma, today we went sightseeing for the first time in the beautiful city of San Francisco.  In the morning we took a guided tour. Meeting point was a golden fire hydrant that saved this neighborhood from burning down in a big fire that followed an even bigger earthquake in 1906. Form there we got to see a lot more of the so called Mission district. The tour ended at the Mission Dolores. Which is supposed to be the oldest building in town (it is the smaller white one on the left side). From there we walked to the nearby Castro street fair. Castro is a part of the town were many gay people life and love.  And in the last struggle of the day we climbed one of San Francisco's hills. Cause on top of that there is a small park with a breathtaking view of all of the city. And it was so hot today.... Love you and send you a hug from the other side of the world.
Susie's Posted Oct 8, 2013, 4:30 am	What a hot hot day. Unfortunately there are not to much photos of today.  Cause we couldn't do as much as we thought we would be. In the morning we picked up the rental car and had to wait for more than an hour.  Means by the time we got to Sonoma it was already noon. We went a little hike there. We expected that there would be vineyards. But instead it was a forest.  To see some vineyards at all today, we stopped at a winery on the way home. Did I mention that it was hot today?
Susie's Posted Oct 13, 2013, 4:58 pm	Gooooood Morning Mum, yesterday we came back from a 5 day round trip along the California coast. We're back at a friends house. Did I mentioned that we are staying with a friend? First stop on Tuesday morning was the Golden Gate Bridge.    We saw it from differed kinds of Vista points and all kinds of angle. We even walked underneath and drove over it. From there we took Highway 1 to Monterey. Were we went straight to the beach (of course).  To be continued XOXO Yours Bine
Susie's Posted Oct 14, 2013, 4:14 pm	Morning Mum, on Wednesday morning we strolled along the Cannery row in Monterey. Were there is lots and lots of shopping. And we saw a very famous place there. Bubba Gump shrimps.  I am sure you know it too... From there we headed on the 17 Mile Drive. Which took us right along the ocean. Very picturesque. Unfortunately there are not to many photos of me of that day.  Don't know what happened.
Susie's Posted Oct 15, 2013, 6:55 am	On Thursday we continued our journey down south. Our destination for that day was San Simenon. No place you really need to know. Just a few motels and restaurants. But on that day the motto was: the journey is the reward.  Cause on the way from Monterey to San Simenon we stopped at four State Parks and another interesting bridge. Lets see if I can remember them all and what we did where... 1. Point Lobos state park: hiking and Bird watching 2. Bixie bridge 3. Andrew Molera State park: hanging out at the beach 4. Pfeifer State park: hike underneath some Redwoods 5. Julia Pfeiffer State Park: checking out a waterfall What a day.  Oh and not to forget: we ended the day at a sea elephant beach. Wow those animals are big... They even have a webcam. Check this out: [url=http://www.elephantseal.org/][/url]
Susie's Posted Oct 16, 2013, 4:34 am	For Friday we didn't really have any plans. So we just drove around to see what there is around. And that was a good idea.  First we strolled along the Moonstone beach where we built a.... sign... And then we "found" Morro Bay/Morro Beach. Wow that was impressive. There is that giant Rock that is right by the bay. And we walk along the beach towards that rock for quite a while. There was so much to be found.  And of course we had to stay till sunset.
Susie's Posted Oct 22, 2013, 5:36 am	Hi Mumma, after we came back to our friends house from the first little round trip, we had to go and see more of beautiful San Francisco (of course).  We actually just planed on sightseeing for Sunday last week but when we got there we found that a Columbus day parade is about to start. And of course we had to watch it.  More about that day is soon to come.... XOXO Yours BineHH PS They gave away all kinds of free candy.
Susie's Posted Oct 27, 2013, 1:35 pm	After the Parade we went for more Sightseeing. I got to see Fishermens wharf, Pier 39, Chinatown and what not.
Susie's Posted Oct 27, 2013, 2:21 pm	The next day we hopped on our rental car again and drove to the Henry Cowell Redwood State Park. When we got there we saw that cute little steam Train and decided to go on a ride  through towering redwood groves and up a winding narrow-gauge grade to the summit of Bear Mountain. After the ride we took a hike along Redwood Grove Trail Loop. You have no idea how tall these trees are.And they are thousands of years old. You have to be carefull not to fall over when trying to see the top...
Susie's Posted Oct 27, 2013, 2:45 pm	A new day, a new state park. This time it is Tomales Bay. To be honest it wasn't that great and interesting. But everything else was closed to to the goverment shutdown.  We went on that hiking trail through a forest that kinda looked like a rainforest and saw that copy of shelters of the Coast Miwok Indians (they lived there). But thats about it.
Susie's Posted Nov 1, 2013, 11:01 am	On Wednesday we went to visit our friends daughter in Placerville. Which is in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the so called Gold Country. Placerville has an historic downtown and it's also called Hangtown... Guess why.
Susie's Posted Nov 1, 2013, 11:24 am	The next day we went on a scenic drive around Lake Tahoe. It is even higher up in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It has breathtaking views and the color of it is just incredible. Since the eastern shore of the Lake is in the State of Nevada, we took the chance to try our luck at a casino. And you know what? Now we are rich... Richly experienced not to waste any money at the casino.
Susie's Posted Nov 1, 2013, 11:58 am	Friday Oct. 19th we spent in Virginia City/Nevada It is one of these mining towns which had a population of 15.000 in the late 19th century. Nowadays it's population is down to 855 and they live of the tourists. We visited a museum and an old cemetery, took a tour through a mine and got to witness a walk in wedding. Hostmum even stormed in the room with the wedding (the door was open). But I think they didn't noticed.  (it is that saloon with the blue doors)
Susie's Posted Nov 1, 2013, 3:35 pm	Back in the bay area we payed San Francisco an other visit. This time we climbed up the Filbert steps to get to the coit tower. To get to the very top of it we had to take an elevator inside the tower. And from the top you have a 360° view of this beautiful City.  Back down the three of us (Hostmum, her friend and me) got to go on a cable car ride. That was sooooooo much fun.  On the way I saw this colorful sunset.
Susie's Posted Nov 3, 2013, 4:40 pm	You won't belive what we did the next day! Yes! We went to San Francisco again for more Sightseeing .  Lombard street, cable care Museum, Cupid's Span and it was topped by a spontaneous cruise on a little boat. Under the Golden Gate Bridge and around Alcatraz. This cruise showes the weird weather of San Francisco quite well. Downtown there is this clear blue sky and the Bridge is almost completely covered in fog. San Francisco is even pretty famous for all it's fog.
Susie's Posted Nov 5, 2013, 2:06 pm	This day we had the chance to visit San Francisco one last time. The weather wasn't to great that day. All foggy, and windy and just waehhhh. But of course we went on our hiking trip anyway. It started at the Sutro Bath ruins ( they were a large, privately owned swimming pool complex. It burned down in 1966) along Lands end (that's the northern shore of San Francisco and it really looks just like that) all the way to the Golden Gate Bridge (where it was that foggy that you couldn't see the top of it). We stayed in the city till it got dark and got to see the illuminated skyline at night. The bridge you see the the photos is the Bay Bridge with it's so called Bay lights which is an art project.
Susie's Posted Nov 5, 2013, 2:25 pm	We had to leave again.... It's ok for me cause I'm used to it. But hostmum was in a pretty bad mood this day. Grumpy and sad and what not...
Susie's Posted Nov 13, 2013, 11:20 am	Hey Mum, look what we did last weekend. Hostmum and me prepared two packages that will be donated for Weihnachten im Schuhkarton/Geschenke der Hoffnung, Christmas in a shoebox/presents of hope(international name: operation christmaschild). You take a shoebox (empty of course), decorate it with christmas wrapping paper, put a label on it that shows who your gift is for (boy or girl and which age) and then you fill the box with everything a child could may need or want. A pencil case already filled with all kinds of pens, warm stockings, a cap and also sweets, toys cloves and much more. Both packages are so full that we had to put rubber bands around it so the cover won't come of.  Susie's mum will take it to a collecting point where it was to be by the end of the week. Our boxes are both for a boy age 10-14. XOXO Bine
Susie's Posted Nov 13, 2013, 1:48 pm	Hi Mom, something exciting happed yesterday. A new Toyvoyager arrived.  It's Paluqtaq from Alaska. He is a brand new TV it is his very first trip at all. I have so much to tell him and he asked me all kinds of questions all night long (since I'm a very experienced traveler  ). But I heard that I will travel on soon... XOXO Your BineHH
Susie's Posted Nov 14, 2013, 10:48 am	Moin Mum, since the sun was shining for once, host mum took me and Palugtag for a walk in Bad Homburg and showed us the ruins of a roman mansion called Villa Ober Eschbach. I really enjoy spending time with another TV.  Kiss Kiss
Susie's Posted Nov 16, 2013, 2:47 pm	Hi Mum, today I had to say goodbye to Hostmum Susie's (after 3 months) and my new TV friend.  But I'm on my Way to Austria now and can't wait for all kinds of new adventueres.  Love u mom and talk to you soon. Yours BineHH
Djali Posted Nov 20, 2013, 6:07 pm	Hello Mommy! I've finally arrived in Vienna after some loooong days in the dark envelope!  After my host mum Djali/Marion got home from work I could finally get out! As soon, as I was out of my transporter I go inspected by her black cat. A bit scary, but I think we will get along quite well. And maybe I'll also meet her other furry friend: Krümel the hamster - but he is still asleep at the moment. Djali then showed me what she will do at this rainy cold evening: taking a good book and reading! Good choice I think!  So, good night for today! BineHH
Djali Posted Nov 23, 2013, 2:19 pm	Hello mum!  Today my hostmum showed me the palace and park of Schönbrunn! Wow!  This palace is really huge! At the moment they are setting up the traditional christmas market in front of the palace. It will open next week and maybe I'll go there some day too! Most of the pics are a bit blurry, but it was quite dizzy and foggy today. We didn't stay long because I started freezing... We took a walk through the large park around the palace. It's nice even in winter. My hostmum showed me one of the "curiosities" of the park: colombary with exotic doves and pidgeons. I'm quite happy that they are behind these bars!!  In the park there are several small fountains and this big one here. It's called Neptun's Fountain. I really liked it!  See you! BineHH
Djali Posted Dec 1, 2013, 10:35 am	Hello! Today I helped my host mum to make an advent calendar for a good friend of her  Even if she's all grown-up and so she still loves to do it and to make other happy. Djali made the star herself with many small beads. Finished!  Hihi! My colors fit really well with the paper and parcels! :-) CU soon, BineHH
Djali Posted Dec 8, 2013, 4:13 pm	Hello Mum! Today is the 2nd advent sunday and my hostmum finally had some time to show me around the inner city a bit!  But first we had a nice late breakfast, before going out into the cold and I was allowed to ride the cat. Well...somehow the look on her face tells me she was not that happy with it...  We took the underground to the inner city and Djali showed me the cathedral St. Stephans. We couldn't go inside, but the outside is still very impressive. It's sooo high! One of the more frightening details of the cathedral: A skull that serves as candle holder next to a door  Right next to the cathedral there are many carriages for rent. These traditional carriages are called "Fiaker" in German. All of the horses had plankets over their backs so that they don't get cold while waiting. We walked through some nice streets with different christimas trees. There are many traditional ones, but also some rather odd ones. Like the tree that was decorated with lots of bookmarks: The next sight Djali wanted to show me is the Hofburg, the old imperial appartements of the emperors and queens. It's a really huge builing complexe. Today you can visit the imperial appartements, the treasury and also the famous Spanish Riding school there. And in another aisle of the building there are the old National Library and many offices. Directly in front of the Hofburg there are some ancient ruins of some roman houses: At the end of our tour I was really lucky: We arrived by luck at the spanish riding school in time to see the famous Lippizaner horses!  Every time after the training and shows in the Riding School they are led over the streets to their stables in a sidestreet for everyone to see. The court with the stables is behing glass so that it's not too loud for the horses in the middle of the city. Before we went back home, my hostmum allowed me a quick glance on the Opera House: Now I'm really tired for today and wish you all the best! See you next time!  BineHH
Djali Posted Dec 22, 2013, 10:59 am	Hello Mum! It's only a few days till Christmas and everyone is getting really excited here!  Yesterday, my host mum and a friend of her bought a christmas tree and decorated it. My host mum told me, that it is her first christmas tree since several years, because normally she isn't home much over the holidays. But this year, some friends and realtives will come over to her place, so she wanted to get a tree.  I wish you a merry christmas, mummy!
Djali Posted Dec 29, 2013, 1:00 pm	Hello Mum! I hope, you have a nice Sunday! I enjoyed mine so far :-) This morning my hostmum, a friend of her with her little child went to the Zoo  We got to see lots of animals there, even though many of them hid away in the warm stables instead of being outside. The Zoo in Vienna is one of the oldest zoos in Europe and at the same time of of the most modern zoo. It's really big and pretty! The zoo is right next to the palace Schönbrunn. During the time of the Habsburgian emperors it was even a part of the palace park. The big rhino was the first animal we saw: The little boy child of her friend loves all big animals, so we got to see the bisons and the tiger next: When we started to get cold, we visited the rainforest house. In there it's nice warm with a really humid air. That's why the picture is so foggy Is was a bit scarred of this big snake, but as it is behind glass it was ok for me. At the end we visited two very different kinds of birds: Penguins and flamingos. I like the flamingos best because they have the same color as I do  [img][/img] In summer, a baby panda bear was born in the zoo - something that is rather extraordinary. And it's already the second panda baby they got here in Vienna! But unfortunately, the panda house was closed, so we couldn't try to get a glimpse of the baby panda. So we took a picture of the statue instead: This colorfull bike is the hero of a series of childrens detective stories written by Thomas Brezina, an austrian author. The bike is called Tom Turbo. In the stories, the headquarter of the detectives is under the zoo - that's why they got a statue here in one of the cages: Have a nice day! BineHH
Djali Posted Jan 6, 2014, 12:49 pm	I wish you a happy new year, mum!
RikeH Posted Feb 17, 2014, 8:32 pm	Hello friends, I am back home – Dicker Kumpel gave me a warm welcome. It is great to be back in the family! I showed my postcard and the chocolate! Bye BineHH
RikeH Posted Mar 3, 2014, 7:11 pm	Hello friends, You didn’t see it up to now, but I am on the Cruise with my Mum. I spent most of the time in the kid’s club together with my sisters and brothers, but today we were in the cabin, when we reached Lissabon. It was a nice view from our balcony. There was a big bridge over the river. Tomorrow there will be a big TV-meeting! I am so excited! Love BineHH
RikeH Posted Apr 8, 2014, 2:22 pm	Hello friends, Back home I decided to travel again, so I said goodbye to Dicker Kumpel. I had a last meeting with my brothers and sisters. Now I am on my way to Russia. Love BineHH

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