wolletje, Bruchsal, Germany

panienka dagmaradominicus@gmail.com Posted Dec 27, 2007, 10:40 am	Right now I am still at home, waiting for my journeys! My owner told my sister at home that I am going to be away for a veeeeeeery long time! And I'm looking forward to it! I weigh 41 grams (i was put on the kitchen scale) so in my country, I can be sent in an envelope. And I am a little over 10cm long. I travel with my notebook and I hope you will fill it completly!
Mizzery Posted Dec 31, 2007, 12:26 pm	Hi mommy! How are you? I'm really fine. Today I arrived savely in Greven and already now we are having fun! And guess what? I am invited to a new years eve party!!!! I'm sure I can take a lot of pictures! So don't worry mom my first flight was good and I am really happy to see a bit more of the world now! Take care and greetings to Wollie and Clarabella cow! Your little Wolletje
Mizzery Posted Jan 6, 2008, 4:26 pm	Hi mum! New Years Eve was really cool! Ok, already at 10 pm I was very tired... ... but then we (my host Martina, her boyfriend and a good friend of them) went outside to a little house near a small lake. I was a bit scared because of the darkness... We made a campfire! It was very cosy in front of the campfire but Martina says I look a bit scary on this picture.... Unfortunately it was very foggy so we weren't able to see the fireworks of the neighborhood at the lake... but nevertheless we had a lot of fun! First thing next morning I needed a cup of coffee... I was sooooo tired!
Mizzery Posted Jan 6, 2008, 4:33 pm	Thursday we spend some time with Martinas parents-in-law. And guess what? I've met a few sheeps!! Määääh!!! And look! Thats a big candle! (Or I am just to small...) I was still in the mood to party!
Mizzery Posted Jan 6, 2008, 4:41 pm	Today we played a little hide and seek! I think my place to hide was the best of all! Martina needed nearly half an hour to find me!!!! Hihihihi! Can you find me mommy? We played a few games and afterwards I was veeeery tired! So I spend the rest of the evening reading a good book about Vikings. Ok mommy, I have to go now, the evening meal is waiting! *yummy* Take care and greetings to all! Kiss Wolletje
Mizzery Posted Jan 16, 2008, 4:31 pm	Hello Mommy! The last week was fun! I went to work and to school with my host every day! Unfortunately I'm not allowed to take photos there but on Saturday we made a trip through the city of Münster. We went by train and that's funny. We saw a lot of churchs..... ... and my host said, thats so special about Münster... ...the people say, in Münster either the church bells are ringing or its raining! They also have a lot of art sculptures here... Yeah, finally someone my size!!!! Ok, this one is a bit taler than me.... The girl next to me is trying to look taler than me but she's cheating!!! Even if its already in the evening these people are still working.... Afterwards we visited the town library....I think this building doen't look like it... The shopping area is pretty cool... a lot of veeeery old buildings. Old buildings where ever you look... and again in the backround: a church... I already praised the architecture... but here, I think some think is missing....for example: windows, a back wall.... As my host wasn't able to show me the entire city, I explored the rest on my own! The next time, mommy, I'll show you some of my new friends I found here in Germany!! I'm sure you'll like them! Take care! Kiss, Wolletje
Mizzery Posted Feb 10, 2008, 7:05 pm	Hello mommy! Here my last update from Germany! As already said, I want to introduce my new friends to you!!! This is Svään a really nice sheep boy!! He told me that german sheeps say: Määähh And these two are Kitt and Elli, say look a little boney and creepy but they are very nice! Today we went to my hosts parents-in-law to have a nice evening meal together. I really like to go somewhere by car! And the food was very good, too. And now I am ready and prepared to make my way to Scottland! I'm already very curious to meet my new host! I miss you mommy! Take care and greetings to all the others! Wolletje
Ocean_Soul13 Posted Feb 11, 2008, 6:32 pm	Hi mum! I arrived safely in Scotland this morning, and was let out of my dark envelope ten minutes ago, when my host got back from university! It's very dark and foggy here already, and my host is at university until Thursday, so she has promised she will take me out on Friday, for a nature walk with Theodor and alfie langer who are staying here already! Hopefully she will have batteries in her camera by then...her little brother keeps stealing them for his remote controlled toy cars! Anyway we just got called through for our evening meal so I will try and update later! Miss you lots mum! Kisses!
Ocean_Soul13 Posted Mar 1, 2008, 12:43 pm	Hi mum! I have to apologise for not updating my travel log sooner, there has been so much to do around here! I made friends with the cat that lives here - she kept me warm during our afternoon naps, although she seemed to do nothing but nap so... The weather has been very very bad here recently, with a lot of strong winds and heavy rain. I nearly got blown away when I accompanied Becca to university in Edinburgh the other day, because a huge gust of wind almost blew her bag out of her hand! It was a scary experience! I hope the weather gets better soon, I'm going to stay indoors until it does, I think!
Ocean_Soul13 Posted Mar 1, 2008, 12:50 pm	Hello! It seems that since it is March already I will be going on to my next host soon! Time has flown by being in Scotland, and I really have enjoyed it! This weekend, my host has time off work, so after a nice long lie this morning, we woke up to find that it was a very nice day outside! But before we could go out and play, we had lots of housework to do! We helped as much as we could, although we were a bit small for most tasks! On our way outside, we found some really nice pink stones, which our host told us were brought back from South Africa on a family holiday many years ago! They were so pretty! We found some pretty spring crocuses growing in the garden - although with all the leaves being blown about it was difficult to get a good picture! It looks like a candle holder has been blown over by the wind and broken too! We found a tree to climb, and I nearly beat Theodor to the top! Then Alfie spotted a football and suggested we played a game...but the only problem was, we couldn't decide which one to use! We were all tired out after so much excercise, so we sat in the sun and had a nice cool drink. Hopefully we will have a few more nice days before I go on to my next host! Kisses, Wolletje
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 14, 2008, 2:52 pm	Hi Mom! I arrived safely in New York this morning. It was a long bumpy ride so I'm happy to finally be on land. I'll update again later. I need to rest and explore this place. Hugs, Wolletje
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 18, 2008, 10:05 pm	I arrived in New York this morning and was surprised to see 4 TV's awaiting me! My new host helped me out of my envelope, I was thankful to be out of there. Waiting to greet me was; Angus, Hazle, JamaBanaDukLuv and Honey Bear. We sat and talked for awhile but I was really tired and wanted to take a nap.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 18, 2008, 10:15 pm	Today we all got up early because we were going to spend the day with Michele's sister Jessica. She lives 1.5 hours East of Rome in Schenectady, NY. We were tired so we cuddled together in Michele's back and slept on the way there.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 18, 2008, 10:20 pm	We arrived at Jessica's house at about 10am. She was happy to see everyone. We dropped off Michele's dog Riley and went shopping!
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 18, 2008, 10:28 pm	Our first stop was to Krause's Candy Shop! It smelled so good in the shop, it was almost like a dream. It was very busy as Easter is coming, so we didn't get out of Michele's bag. Which is probably a good thing. We helped Michele pick out some chocolate bunnies for her brother and step father. Of course we didn't leave there empty handed.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 18, 2008, 10:36 pm	Next we went to Jo-Ann Fabrics and Target. Michele and her sister were looking for yarn and thread for bracelets at Jo-Ann's. Who knows what they were looking for at Target. It was really busy and we couldn't find a good parking places. We had to keep riding around until we found one.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 18, 2008, 10:43 pm	After Jo-Ann Fabrics and Target we went to Petco. Michele was looking for some treats for Riley that she can't find where she lives. We were afraid to get out of Michele's bag, it smelled in there. And we could hear birds singing. Luckily she quickly found what she was looking for and we were out of there. Now we are headed back to Jessica's house.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 19, 2008, 11:34 pm	Once we returned to Jessica's we had some lunch and took a short nap. We were all tired from all of the running around we did. After our nap we helped dye Easter eggs! Michele said we could each have one egg to dye, we were so excited. It was fun but messy! Michele's husband Daryl had butterfingers and kept dropping his eggs.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 19, 2008, 11:38 pm	Here is what all of the eggs look like. One was thrown away because of Michele's husband. That's okay we still had 17 more eggs left.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 19, 2008, 11:44 pm	We returned to Michele's house late last night. We were all so tired so we went right to bed! This morning we woke up and were told that we were going to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. It was really busy in the store, thank goodness we had a list and knew what we were getting. On the way out we decided to ride in the shopping cart back to the car.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 27, 2008, 3:44 pm	We were bored tonight and asked Michele if we could watch a DVD.  She said of course and that she had the perfect DVD for us to watch. To our surprise it was Disney's 101 Dalmatians. We were so excited! She asked if we wanted to share a snack before the movie. Of course we do! Michele brought us two boxes of girl scout cookies, Lemon Chalets and Tagalongs. Yummy.....
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 27, 2008, 3:51 pm	After we were done eating Michele told us to go get into bed and get ready for the movie. We all rushed to the bedroom and got into her bed. She didn't know it but we were going to make this a sleepover.  Michele tucked us in and turned the movie on. Yay, we were so excited!
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 27, 2008, 4:06 pm	Today we went with Michele and her husband to get their taxes done. We were excited to get out of the house but Michele and Daryl didn't seem to be too happy. We don't know what taxes are but from what we told we were happy that we don't have to do them.  We stayed in Michele's bag so we didn't get in the way. It was VERY quite in the office, we didn't know if it was good or bad. Almost 2 hours later we returned to the car. We can only guess that things went okay in there because there was no screaming or crying.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 27, 2008, 4:18 pm	After going to H & R Block we took a trip to BJ's Warehouse Club. Michele said she had to pick up a few things before going home. This place was huge!!! This place is a little different then shopping at the grocery store. It seems as though everything comes in large quantities. WOW! We looked around the store and found what we were looking for. We checked out then headed home.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 27, 2008, 4:27 pm	We woke up this morning and found that the Easter bunny came last night! We were so excited to see that he left something for each of us.  Too bad we couldn't meet the Easter bunny! Michele was surprised to see that the Easter bunny left us stuff as well. She said that we must have been good Little TV's this year.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 27, 2008, 4:36 pm	We took a quick trip to Walmart today to pick up some travel envelopes for JamaBanaDukLuv and Angus. Both of them will be leaving in a few days to stay with a new host.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 30, 2008, 5:24 pm	Since JamaBanaDukLuv and Angus are leaving tomorrow, Michele thought it would be nice to have once last treat. Angus, Hazle and I shared some vanilla ice cream with rainbow sprinkles. It was delicious!    JamaBana shared a.........banana split with Michele's husband. It looked yummy!
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 30, 2008, 5:49 pm	Today was a sad day, JamaBanaDukLuv and Angus both left. We were sad to see them go as we had spent a lot of fun times together. They said their goodbyes and promised to keep in touch. Who knows maybe we will meet each other again someday. Have a safe trip JamaBana and Angus! We will miss you!
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 30, 2008, 5:59 pm	After we dropped JamaBanaDukLuv and Angus we went with Michele to the doctors. She had never been to this doctor before, so we were all surprised to see this big airplane across the street from the office. After her appointment we went to see what it was.
Michele_one_L Posted Mar 30, 2008, 6:11 pm	We learned that it was a B52 Bomber plane (a real one). It's there because that is the home of Griffiss Air Force Base. We weren't able to check it out today but Michele said we will research it online to learn more. We got back into the car and headed for the meat market/deli. I was afraid to go in but Michele said everything would be okay.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 3, 2008, 12:37 am	We were quite surprised that two new TV's arrived today! Hazle and I thought we would be here alone for awhile. That's okay the more the merrier. In one envelope was Nicki Bear and in the other envelope was Winnie the Pooh.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 3, 2008, 12:46 am	This evening we went with Michele and her husband to take their dog Riley for a walk. On our walk we saw a cool tree that we wanted to climb. Michele helped us up and we posed for a picture. The neighborhood was boring and we didn't see much else.  Michele said we will see some interesting things later in the week.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 3, 2008, 12:51 am	After our walk we decided to rest on the steps in front of Michele's apartment building. It was nice because the sun was starting to set.  As it got darker we were told to come inside. First we needed to check the mailbox to see if Michele forgot to pick up the mail. It was empty!
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 3, 2008, 12:57 am	A new TV arrived today! It's a little puppy named Little Billy. He told us that he was just on vacation in South Africa. We were anxious to learn more about his trip.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 6, 2008, 7:33 pm	This afternoon we were looking for something to do when we saw there was a puzzle on the table. We got the box open and decided to put it together. It was harder then you would think! Winnie the Pooh, Little Billy and I decided to dig for pieces while Nicki Bear and I put it together. After hours of work all we were able to put together was the border. Michele was so happy with our hard work! She said that she will help us put the rest of the puzzle together.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 6, 2008, 7:47 pm	Michele was so happy that we put the border to her puzzle together, she decided to reward us with some ice cream!  It's called Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough by Ben & Jerry's. Too bad we have to share!
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 11, 2008, 5:23 pm	Tonight for dinner we are making calzones! Michele cheated and bought premade dough. She says it's easier and not so messy. First we had to cut the dough ball in half, then we had to flatten it out. It's not as easy as you would think it is. We got some holes in our dough but Michele said she could make it work.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 11, 2008, 5:38 pm	Next we put a layer of ricotta cheese on half of the dough. On top of the ricotta cheese we put cooked bacon. Michele told us that you can use whatever kind of toppings you want. She said some people like veggies, pineapple, ham, olives and lots of other stuff. After we put the bacon on we put a good layer of shredded mozzarella cheese. Michele said you can never have enough cheese.  The last step is to fold the dough over and "close" the seams. Daryl put the calzones on the baking pan then brushed them with a little olive oil and in the oven they went!
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 11, 2008, 5:47 pm	Boy was that good!
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 11, 2008, 5:53 pm	For dessert we all shared a mini watermelon. It was a little over ripe but it was still sweet and juicy.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 13, 2008, 7:36 pm	Today Michele took us on a drive through Rome so we could see some of it's history. Our first stop was to the Sears Service Station. Michele didn't know too much about the station so she looked it up online. She told us "The Sears Oil Company was founded in 1913 and the newly restored station was originally constructed in 1930. The gas station stopped operating and has been vacant since 1974.  In 2002, restoration began and its conversion into a museum of Sears' history began. The museum will include on display restored antique pumps and a variety of artifacts inside the building. The pumps feature glass globes on top and the reproduction of side billboards were installed to complete the project. The museum, with free admission, may appear small in size, but will highlight vast memories of a much simpler, by gone era."
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 13, 2008, 7:54 pm	Next we saw a War Memorial in the center of town. The memorial says "In loving memory of all Romans who served our country in the cause of freedom." Michele said that it was built to thank all of the men and woman from Rome who have served in the military.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 13, 2008, 8:09 pm	Across the street was a beautiful gothic church. And a sign about Rome.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 13, 2008, 8:19 pm	We visited one last monumnet before returning to Michele's house. Sadly Michele can't remember what the monument is for so she said she'll research it and tell us about it later.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 18, 2008, 10:45 pm	Today Hazle and Mister P Tom left for Germany. We said our goodbyes and wished them luck. It was great meeting both of them. Maybe we will meet again someday! Good Luck and Best Wishes!
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 20, 2008, 9:12 pm	Today a new TV arrived! We were all so happy to see someone new. It just happened to be Little Billy's half brother Dirkie.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 20, 2008, 9:30 pm	Today we went to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. It was so busy there! Michele said we had to stay in her bag because she didn't want us to get lost. We helped her look for a BBQ grill but we didn't find one today. We paid for our items then headed home for lunch.
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 20, 2008, 9:41 pm	For lunch we shared a turkey sandwich with Honey BBQ flavored potato chips. It was yummy but made me thirsty.  Nicki Bear and I shared a FuFu Berry flavored Jones soda. It was interesting!
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 20, 2008, 10:01 pm	After lunch we helped make cookies for Michele's dog Riley. You take 3 jars of meat baby food (we used Ham), 1/4 cup of dry milk and 1/4 cup of cream of wheat. Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl. Then use a small scoop to put the mix on a cookie sheet. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Let them cool and feed to your dog. Riley went crazy when we were making them, Michele says he loves these cookies!
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 21, 2008, 11:41 pm	Today was my last day in New York! I had fun here but it's time to move on. I said goodbye to all of the TV friends I met here. They wished me well and we said that we hope to meet again someday. Bye New York!
Michele_one_L Posted Apr 21, 2008, 11:44 pm	I'm flying First Class on the United States Postal Service to Nevada. My flight # is 0307 0020 0000 6183 8622. I hope it isn't a hot and bumpy ride! See you all in Nevada!
desertrosenv Posted May 2, 2008, 4:57 am	Hello! Hello! It has been a very busy week since I arrived.  Jennifer apologizes because her dad carried me around in his truck for quite a few days.  He was nice enough to let me look out the window, but didn't tell Jennifer that I'd arrived - not very nice of him. I have met BobtheBug who is going to be leaving for Australia in a couple of days.  He is very excited and can hardly wait. =) Jennifer says we will be adding pictures just as soon as she gets some new batteries.  It is very different in Nevada and it was so windy I thought the house was going to blow.  Thankfully, it did not. =)
desertrosenv Posted May 3, 2008, 3:39 am	Wow! What an exciting night it was! Bob and his cube mate Tabitha showed me around the backyard.  I got to see lots of different flowers and cactus.  I even climbed the grape vine and a peach tree!
desertrosenv Posted May 3, 2008, 4:04 am	I wanted to add some more pictures to show my day! I met a really nice cat named Feisty.  I was a little worried about meeting her, but Bob said she was really nice and she was! She gave me a kitty kiss!  So I made 2 new friends today! I am so lucky!
desertrosenv Posted Jun 19, 2008, 11:55 pm	Wow! It has been very crazy around here! I have been having so many great adventures ... too bad the camera that captured them all accidentally got smashed by a car =( Then the laptop that we are using went kapot along with the local internet.  We think everything is all good now, so I can let my mom know what's been going on! =) We took two recent adventures to make up for all the ones that we lost.  I got to see the Las Vegas Strip! And to make it even more fun - Mate was along for the ride so I got to make a new friend! We event went to Death Valley National Monument together - it's so much fun to share new adventures with new friends!
desertrosenv Posted Jun 20, 2008, 12:12 am	This is Mate and me outside of the Bellagio.  It's such a pretty place! It was so hot.  I wanted to jump in the water behind us, but decided after looking at all the trash in there, that maybe it wasn't such a good idea.
desertrosenv Posted Jun 20, 2008, 12:16 am	We also got to see the New York and the MGM Grand and the Paris. There were so many people all over the streets.  I was very surprised on such a hot day!
desertrosenv Posted Jun 20, 2008, 12:22 am	We also decided last week that a drive through Death Valley would be really neat! There has been so much rain that we wanted to see how everything looked.  They had a lot of flooding.  We could see big piles of dirt by the side of the road and all kinds of stuff. I thought that it was hot in Las Vegas... it was so much hotter in Death Valley.  Our car almost overheated and we had to stop to give it a break and have some lunch!  Isn't that crazy?
desertrosenv Posted Jun 20, 2008, 12:25 am	It has been so much fun seeing all these new places and making a new friend in Mate.  We heard from my mom today and I will be going somewhere new soon! I can hardly wait. I will be making more friends in a new place!
fam-united Posted Jul 17, 2010, 11:45 am	Hello, hello! You won't be able to guess, where I'm right now. I arrived in Germany after a long long travel through USA. I first arrived at Michele_one_L's old home. They forwarded me to her new address. She got in contact with my current host and asked her what to do. We all tried to get in contact with my family, but until today without success. So now I'm here for a few updates. I hope to hear from you Bye, Wolletje
fam-united Posted Jul 21, 2010, 11:51 am	Today our hosts invited us to a open air theatre in Ötigheim. They love to go there each year. This year they watched the play. Ronja Räubertochter We had luck, because it wasn't too hot weather. sorry, this one is without me, because we had to zoom
fam-united Posted Jul 21, 2010, 12:33 pm	When we were back at home, we decided to go to have dinner outside at a so called beer garden. The restaurant isn't far from our home, so we only had to walk a few minutes. We passed by at the baroque church St. Peter, which was beautiful in the evening sun. I will tell you more about this church soon. My host walked home and fetched her camera to take some photos with us. After we had a really tasty meal, we walked home again. We saw this interesting car in front of the church then and my host decided to take photos with me.
fam-united Posted Jul 21, 2010, 5:22 pm	Today we visited Bretten. Like Bruchsal this town is in the state of Baden-Württemberg and located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. There live about 28,ooo people. The centre of Bretten consists of many old half-timbered houses around a lively marketplace.Bretten was first mentioned as "villa breteheim" in the "Lorsch codex" in 767. Since 1148 Bretten had the right to mint and issue coins. In 1254 Bretten received city rights. In 1492 Bretten was granted to hold four fairs by Pfalzgraf Philipp. Philipp Melanchthon was born in Bretten in 1497.(wikipedia) the Melanchthon house marketplace a red half-timbered house with red car Stiftskirche, evangelic church Next to the church we saw this half timbered house with the flags of the states which participated at the world championship in South Africa. Statue of Philipp Melanchthon a fountain and some pink houses some shops
fam-united Posted Aug 7, 2010, 10:20 am	This evening we were invited to join our hosts, when they visited the light show at the palace of Bruchsal. It was the first time, that this event happened there and they and we were really curious. There were many people out there and we enjoyed the lights. I'm sorry, but we only took this one photo, it just was too dark to take more. And there is one photo without me. I thought, that you maybe like to see the backside of the palace like this, too.
fam-united Posted Aug 7, 2010, 11:46 am	Today we went on a sightseeing tour through Bruchsal. The weather still isn't too nice, but at least there is a bit sun every now and then. The palace of Bruchsal was residence of the prince bishop of Speyer. It was built on request of prince bishop Damian Hugo Philipp von Schönborn-Buchheim from 1720 on in baroque stile. It was destoyed on 1rst March 1945, when about 80% of Bruchsal was destroyed and many people lost their lives. It was reconstructed in the years around 1970, but the church part was created in modern stile There are several interesting museums in the palace: City Museum, Stone Age Museum and the      German Museum of Musical Automata We started at the backside of the palace. When we turned around the next corner, we saw this sundial. Now we see the front of the palace. My hosts go to service at this church every Sunday morning. It's about one hour, that they are there to pray and sing. We're still standing at the same place, but just turned around to see the Damian Gate. You see, that the palace area is really big. Here we are in front of the county court. There is the Amalienbrunnen, fountain, with its funny snails - the so called snail fountain I will read, what's written on the sign: This fountain was built in memory of Marchioness Amalie von Baden (1754 - 1832), spouse of margrave Karl Ludwig von Baden. She found her place in history as "mother-in-law of Europe", because she managed to marry five of her six daughters off to the most powerful prince's palaces of Europe. When she was widowedshe made Schloss Bruchsal one of her homes in the year 1806. She died there in 1832. The fountain was planned by Prof. Dr. Fritz Hirsch (1871 - 1938) in 1912. He was in charge of the redecoration of the Schloss Bruchsal in the early days of the 20th century. Here you see a map of the whole palace area. We marked the places of things we took photos of. Here's the main entrance. The sun didn't shine, so the photo isn't that brilliant. We're now standing next to the church entrance and take a look back to places we took photos a few minutes ago. We went into the church and saw photos of the palace and church after they were destroyed on 1rst March 1945. About 80% of buildings in Bruchsal were destroyed that day. The church wasn't rebuilt like it was before. We saw photos of the church when it was baroque inside. Don't ask, which station of the way of the cross this shows. This way of the cross is a bit weird, even my hosts have to think about it until they know, what it means. Now we are on our way back to the palace garden and will take more photos there. Turning around we see the church and church tower again. There are many chestnut trees. This is an old big one. My host told me, that she visited this pond really often, when her kids were much younger. In the main way of the palace garden you find many statues. This one shows the element fire and here is water. There are also the elements air and earth. Here is a photo of the rose garden, but we didn't take a photo of the playground, because too many kids played there and we didn't want to take photos of them. After we've seen the four elements we're now at the statues of the four seasons spring, summer, autumn and winter. We'll have a closer look at two of them. Here's autum and here summer- not sure, why we took the photo without head. Here's the chestnut alley with old big trees. There is also an alley on the opposite site with younger trees. Maybe you remember, that we saw a small small part of the roof of the prison tower, when we were standing next to the church entrance. Here is the prison. It is called cafe octagon - Cafe Achteck - in Bruchsal, because of the way it is built. Only a few meters from the prison is the hospital of Bruchsal. There is the old part with the nice tower and a big part of the newer hospital. We're still standing at the same parking place only moved a bit. Then we drove to the Stadtgarten, because we wanted to see the Belverdere -  a former hunting lodge. When you walk out of the Stadtgarten you see that small house on top of the stairs. We took a photo of the sign. The house was supposed to protect its owner from the rain, when he worked on his vineyard. We walked down the stairs and have a few on the house from there. Standing next to the little house you have a wonderful view over Bruchsal. Then we walked back to the Stadtgarten again and took some more photos there. Here is the Ferdinand Keller fountain. My host loves this lime tree and I do too. The house behind the fountain is called Schönborn Gymnasium. This school is more than 250 years old. The last picture today we took at the street, which leads along the St. Paulusheim, another grammar school. You have a nice view on St. Peter from there.
fam-united Posted Aug 31, 2010, 7:29 am	It's my host's birthday. We helped to prepare things for the guests, which came to have breakfast with us, but we toyvoyagers were allowed to eat first before the guests arrived. For lunch we had some Italian kind of soup and this interesting bread rolls.
fam-united Posted Sep 26, 2010, 10:52 am	Today we drove to Münzesheim to visit the Japanese Garden, which belongs to the therapy centre against alcohol and other dependencies. All buildings and works of art are made by patients of the therapy center based on antique models. The garden is about 5.000 m² large, it is open for patients and visitors. You will see a roof made of blue bottles, put into the concrete with there bottom to the outside - it's an interesting room, fascinating. Wall and floor are covered with blue tiles. Just enjoy the photos.
fam-united Posted Oct 10, 2010, 9:32 am	Today we have lovely weather. So my host decided to show me some nice places in Bruchsal. Some other toyvoyager friends joined us. At first we walked through the Bürgerpark - citizens park- , which was created at the end of the 1980s. It is home to three monuments, which are dedicated to Bruchsal's twin towns and to victims of the Second World War and the Nazi regime. Here you see the medival keep of the old castle. It's the only building of this time in Bruchsal. Then we walked to the "new" palace of Bruchsal. Schloss Bruchsal is one of the most beautiful Baroque palaces in Germany and the only episcopal Baroque residence on the Upper Rhine. The foundation stone was laid in 1722 by Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn, Prince Bishop of Speyer, who made the palace the centre of his absolutist dominion. Read more here: Schloss Bruchsal. Here you see the tower of the church St. Damian and Hugo, where my hosts usually go to service on Sundays. The left building is the church, so you see the the tower is at another place. The church inside was also baroque, but the most part of the palace and so the church were destroyed during the Second World War. The rebuilt it in the 1970s, but not the church inside. It is modern style now - to disappointment to most visiters. The palace garden: Today, the palace garden continues to provide an atmospheric setting for open-air concerts and the Bruchsal Summer Festival of Music and Drama. At first we went to the pond, where usually are many ducks. Today it was so crowdy, that we stayed away a bit just to take nicer photos. Here is the rose garden. It was a bit difficult to take photos here, because of the sun This is a chestnut avenue with really old trees. It was also such an old avenue on the other side of the park, but they say, that the trees were too old. So the planted new trees, which are still a lot smaller. I collected some chestnuts for a nice photo. I hope you like it. Here is a photo of the back side of the palace main building. This is the front side of the palace main building. This building houses the the magnificent dome, Marble Hall and Prince's Hall. The staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann is considered to be an architectural tour-de-force and has been described as the "finest staircase in the world". There also is the German Museum of Musical Automata, which thanks to its acquisition of more than 100 valuable instruments from the Carlson collection of Königslutter, is now among the largest such collections in the world. I read a long long text about the palace, much too long for writing it here. That's the left wing of the main building. There is the chamber music hall. We walked to the Damian Gate now. Today, the local art society "Das Damianstor" stages various exhibitions of contemporary art in the sections of the building directly above the gate arch. We took a look at the long Schönborn street, which leads through a part of the palace area. We walked to the Amalienbrunnen, so called Schneckenbrunnen (snail fountain), which is in front of the county court. To be true, I didn't read the whole text here. Here you see me with one snail. Next to the fountain we took a look back to the main building and the wing with the chamber music hall. Now we had to walk some stairs up and a street up to come to the Stadtgarten - city garden. It's the third large park besides the Bürgerpark and palace garden. I saw a nice old house. I'm sorry, but the light was a bit difficult for taking photos. I love this lime tree This fountain is called Ferdinand Keller Brunnen. It was built in 1912 and is dedicated to the Bruchsal innkeeper Ferdinand Keller. The building behind it belongs to a grammar school. The Belvedere is on the edge of the Stadtgarten. It was built by Leonhard Stahl in 1756 as a hunting lodge for Prince Bishop Franz Christoph von Hutten. The location was chosen so that the lodge would command an unspoiled view of the palace, town and Rhine rift valley beyond. Today the Belvedere is used as a venue for concerts and theatre productions. Next to the Stadtgarten is a place, from which we had a wonderful view over Bruchsal. Do you see the church with the two towers? It is a baroque church St. Peter, which is close to the place where I live right now. The place were we stood was next to that Wingerthäusle - vineyard house. We tried to take a photo of the sign with me, but it was too dark to read it. So we just took a photo with hand and camera, but nevertheless you will see the house as white dot above the stairs of the Andreasstaffel Here you can read about the stairway, if you want to. The Huttenstraße is one of those streets with really old buildings. Many many buildings were destroyed during Second World War, so you don't see many old buildings in Bruchsal. Behind my back you see a part of the older people's house and the building with the little tower belongs to another grammar school, the Paulusheim. After a long walk I'm nearly back home again. Here are some other older houses and the baroque church St. Peter.
fam-united Posted Nov 6, 2010, 1:37 pm	Today we visited my families aunt and uncle in Mannheim. It is a beautiful city, but we haven't seen a lot of the sightseeings. We were at the garden of aunt and uncle and ate some cake and enjoyed the lovely flowers.
fam-united Posted Nov 6, 2010, 2:42 pm	In the early evening we enjoyed the lights of the sunset.
fam-united Posted Nov 6, 2010, 3:28 pm	I visited the school were my host teaches pupils of grade 3. She didn't want to take photos while the kids were there, so you only can see the chairs and tables and a pumpkin decoration for the window. On the table you see the worksheets for a plan for the week.
fam-united Posted Nov 6, 2010, 3:30 pm	Yesterday was my hosts son's 20th birthday and today we had a big cake for afternoon coffee. This cake is called "Schaffeltorte", which means something like washtub cake, because it has so many different colours like the colours of mixed laundry and white foam on the top.
fam-united Posted Nov 6, 2010, 7:53 pm	Today we packed bags and sat in the car to drive to a place called St. Peter in the south part of the Black Forest. Partly we drove on the autobahn and partly on roads, which led us through towns.
fam-united Posted Nov 7, 2010, 10:39 am	Finally we arrived at our holiday flat. It is really nice with kitchen, bedroom and bathroom. At first we all fell in the bed to have a rest. Do you know, who had no place for a rest? Yes, was our host, because we were in her bed Sankt Peter is a town in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. There is a beautiful cloister church, which we wanted to see at first. Then we walked through the town and found this funny fountain. Back at the flat again we enjoyed the wonderful view out of our bedroom.
fam-united Posted Nov 7, 2010, 10:48 am	Today we drove to the highest mountain of Baden-Württemberg and also our Germany outside the Alps, the Feldberg. The Feldberg has an elevation of 1,493 metres. For the most part the Feldberg area contents a nature reserve due to its subalpine vegetation. This reserve is the oldest and biggest one in Baden-Württemberg and is in charge of a full-time ranger since 1989. Since 2001 it's the responsibility of the Conservation Centre Südschwarzwald to look after the reserve. Within the Haus der Natur ("House of Nature") there's a permanent exhibition of nature conservation. It offers an extensive program with events in the reserve. Since 2005 there's also a new nature trail. The Feldberg offers one of the most extensive panoramas of Germany - especially in winter at weather situations of inversion. In the west, on the other side of the Upper Rhine Graben you can see the entire Vosges Mountains from the Ballon d'Alsace up to Mont Donon and Mont Sainte-Odile. Beyond that you can also look up to the southern Palatinate Forest occasionally. In the north one can see the Hornisgrinde; in the north-east there's the entire range of the Swabian Alb including the Lemberg mountain, up to the left there's the Hegau volcano region. In the south one can see the Alps from Alpspitze and Zugspitze in the east up to the Allgäu Alps, Verwall Alps, Silvretta, Säntis, Glarus Alps, Urner Alps, Bernese Alps and Mont Blanc in the west. Besides there are the Jura Mountains on the right next to the Alps. There is a deep valley in north-eastern direction which contains the Feldsee, a lake of glacial origin at about 1,000 m altitude. This is the Bismarck-Denkmal, an old monument in honour of the famous 19th century chancellor of the German Empire. At the top of the mountain (where the weather has been measured since 1915) is a weather observatory that has been in operation since 1937 and carried on by the German meteorological service (WMO code number: 10908). Next to the observatory there is a weather radar.
fam-united Posted Nov 7, 2010, 1:51 pm	Then we drove to the Schluchsee, which is a reservoir lake in the district of Breisgau-Hochschwarzwald, southeast of the Titisee. The Schluchsee, with its height of 930 metres above sea level, is the highest reservoir in Germany and also the largest lake in the Black Forest.
fam-united Posted Nov 7, 2010, 5:14 pm	Back at our flat again, we had some tea and cake. Then we went on a walk around the town. This time we walked up to the opposite site, which we could see from our bedroom. We really enjoyed to walk a bit after driving a lot. If we remember well, this field is called Lehrerfeld, what means teacher fields. If it has something to do with our host's work? We read the signs and saw, that St.Peter was about 1,2 km away in both directions. All together we walked a bit more than that, we think about 3 km - not really a lot.
fam-united Posted Nov 8, 2010, 4:12 pm	Today we heard, that the weather will be not so fine in St. Peter. So we thought about the activity for the day a lot, before we decided to drive about one and a half hour to Schaffhausen and go to the Rhine Falls. The Rhine Falls (Rheinfall in German) are the largest plain waterfalls in Europe. THey are located on the High Rhine between the municipalities of Neuhausen am Rheinfall and Laufen-Uhwiesen, near the town of Schaffhausen in northern Switzerland, between the cantons of Schaffhausen and Zürich. They are 150 m (450 ft) wide and 23 m (75 ft) high. In the winter months, the average water flow is 250 m³/s, while in the summer, the average water flow is 700 m³/s. Now just enjoy the photos
fam-united Posted Nov 8, 2010, 5:46 pm	On our way to Donaueschingen we came through Zollhaus again. We had seen before, that there was a nice old steam locomotive and decided to have a short stop there to take photos. We read the text about the locomotive and started to laugh, because we all thought, that the name of the locomotive sounds really funny: Sauschwänzle - pig's little tail. Later we read on wikipedia, that because of the twisting route of its central section, it is popularly known as the Sauschwänzlebahn (pigtail line)
fam-united Posted Nov 8, 2010, 6:30 pm	It seems to be a "river" day today, first Rhine and now Donau - Danube. Donaueschingen is about 30 km far from Schaffhausen. The city lies in the Baar basin in the southern Black Forest at the confluence of the Brigach and Breg rivers— the two source tributaries of the Danube— from which the town gets its name. At school we all learnt, that the confluence of Brigach and Breg is the Donau (Danube), but there is also the source of the brook Donau, which is called Donauquelle, located next to the garden of the palace of the Princes of Fürstenberg. Donaueschingen was first mentioned as "Donaueschingen" in 889[citation needed]. In 1283, Rudolph von Habsburg granted the countship of Baar and Donaueschingen to Heinrich von Fürstenberg. The right to brew beer was also connected with this grant. This is the source of the Royal Fürstenberg Brewery. Though the Princes of Fürstenberg were nominally mediatised and dispossed as absolute ruler of the principality, they still own huge property in their former lands, including their palace with the surrounding parks and gardens. The Schlosspark (palace gardens) which used to be public and the only park accessible to the citizens of the town since 1806 recently became off-limits again. The Princes of Fürstenberg were also the owners of the only extant manuscript of the Nibelungenlied until they sold it in 2001. The ancestral brewery has been sold as well. Next to the brewery we found this beautiful half-timbered house. Here you see the catholic church St. Johann again. It is a baroque church, built between 1724 and 1747. The two towers are considered as landmark of the town. The altar was built in 1751. You maybe remember the photo that we took next to the Donauquelle looking up at the church? Now we look down at the Donauquelle, palace and palace garden.
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2010, 6:24 am	Back at St. Peter I wrote a postcard to you. Back in St. Peter we had some tea and cake again, before we went on another walk. This time only my host and her son went with us. We walked to the pilgrimage church Maria Lindenberg, which is about 3km from St. Peter, if you walk. It was about 4pm when we went away and we came back at 6.15pm. It was really dark then and we were very hungry and thirsty then. Here's a photo back to St. Peter, this time from the other side of the town. This sign says, that here is the home of genetically unmodified Black Forest milk. We walked the way of the cross on our way to the pilgrimage church. You see, that it is already getting darker under the trees. We arrived at the church when there was a service called vespers. So we didn't want to go inside. I was a bit sad about it. The church is built on a ridge of hills (720 meters). Unique is the eucharistic adoration since 1955. From January to December men pray day and night without interruption in front of the holy of holies for piece and regeneration of church through Holy Spirit. Since 1497 it is a place for pilgrimage.
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2010, 8:23 am	It's time to go home to Bruchsal again, but first we wanted to see the Rothaus brewery in Grafenhausen. Grafenhausen is a town in the district of Waldshut in Baden-Württemberg, located 1000m (3300 ft.) above sea level and was founded in 1791. After lunch we drove to the "huesli", the house where Dr. Brinkmann lived while working in the "Schwarzwaldklinik" a rather famous tv-serie. We only had been able to take photos from outside, because it was closed. The house is a small museum. Then we drove home again through the "Höllental". "Hölle" is the German word for "hell". In the narrow, dark valley, travellers almost felt like moving underground.
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2010, 10:13 am	My host told us, that it is time to write a list of cookies, we want to bake. It seems, that she plans to bake a lot. As she is ill right now, it might take some time to get things started. There are many more toyvoyagers here, who all want to help us baking the cookies. You can't imagine, how loud it can be with so many tvs around Oh, what's that sound. It is so loud outside, that we can hear it over our babbling. It's big ready-mix truck in nice colours.
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2010, 10:47 am	It is Saturday before 1rst of Advent and we decided to start decorating the house. This is a Christmas Crib Scene for windows, which our host regularly sellotapes to the window of their dining room each year.
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2010, 3:05 pm	The puppy Christmas started in this house, so it is getting a bit uncomfortable for me. Thank God, there are so many other friendly toyvoyagers around me, who take care for me. So you can be sure, that I'm safe - I think. Today the puppies cut and glued a wonderful star together. They invited all the other toyvoyagers at our place to join them and see the star grow. Chuckle shows you, how the finished star looks like. He is as proud as if he would have created it all alone.
fam-united Posted Dec 5, 2010, 7:59 am	Yesterday it was 1rst Advent and today we have a nice meeting with pastry and tea. Our host's singing teacher came to join us. It was her last singing lesson with this nice teacher, so she and her son invited her to visit them at home. She was also her son's and daughter's singing teacher. We lighted the first candle and sat down in the middle of the table - our host was very delighted This is a few out of the kitchen window. You see the snow? It's a pity, that our host still isn't well enough to go outside with us. Our star also found a place at this kitchen window.
fam-united Posted Dec 5, 2010, 9:54 am	Stars are really fascinating - so here comes star number three. This time all toyvoyager worked together, although on the photo it seems, that only one dog did the work.
fam-united Posted Dec 5, 2010, 10:03 am	Maybe you know, that my host works as a teacher. Right now she is class teacher of 3rd graders. She loves her job and she loves her class. She always talks about her kids and she doesn't only mean her own children, but her pupils. A few days ago she went to a book shop in the inner city and stayed there for hours. We all wondered, why she didn't come back home again. Today she showed us, what she had done. She went there to search for books for the Advent Calendar for her pupils. She didn't buy the books from her own money, but recieved the money from their parents. But she bought the books and before she bought them, she thought and thought, which book would be good enough for which child. She and the female book seller really enjoyed it - that's what she said. Take a look at all the books. There are 19 books for her 19 pupils.
fam-united Posted Dec 18, 2010, 10:41 am	The next day we had everything done, the packages were wrapped in Christmas papers and the pupils' names were in the little sacks. So our host could take the Advent calendar with her to the school. She told us, that she reads an Advent story each morning in the first school hour. At first they light the candles of the advent wreath. At last she asks one pupil to go to the Advent calendar and open the number for the day. The pupil, whose name was told there, gets up and draws out one of the packages out of the covered basket. The name on the package tells then, who will recieve it. This way three pupils have to do something each day.
fam-united Posted Dec 18, 2010, 1:26 pm	It's the fourth of December already. Today we found a lot of snow outside, so we ran to play in it and have a walk. At first we found a trail in the snow in front of the front door. Somehow my host forgot to take pictures of me on the walk. But when we came back, we found some more trails in the snow next to the trail we've seen at first. Who might this have been? It was so cold, that we didn't want to stay outside any longer, but our host said, that she first has to clean the way in front of the house again. We asked Chuckle to open the door. He was a bit too small, so he asked Bluto and Scotty to help him, but they still weren't tall enough. Hypno-Dog came to help them now. He climbed on their heads and Chuckle on his, but you see, they still didn't reach the lock. Hypno-Dog called for Travelling Tuffy, who then climbed over their heads and sat down on Hypno-Dog's head and Chuckle sat on his head then. It was really heavy already. Because they still were too small to reach the lock, Domino asked them, if he could help. Of course they let him climb over their heads and Chuckle sat on his head then. You see, that they still had no luck. Chuckle called for Schnuffi to help them. And then Kari came and also Mustang Monkey asked, if he should help Bluto and Scotty to carry all these other toyvoyagers on our heads. We were really close to the lock now, but then it happened....! Oh God! I hope, nobody got hurt. Thank God! Nothing bad happened to us toyvoyagers. Now we knew a bit better how to do it. So we were a bit faster in building the toyvoyager tower. You see we had a different order now and we were building more a pyramid than a tower. We didn't feel anything of the cold weather now. We really sweat already. And yes, with Brinda's help Chuckle reached the lock finally. He turned the key and then.... What we didn't think of was, that we all will fall down - except Chuckle, Scotty and Bluto. But we all were happy, that we had been successful. Maybe we can go on walks without our host every now and then from now on. P.S. My host read this and she told me to tell you, that she will keep her key at a safe place from now on. You might feel better to know this, but we all still will try - oh, no eehmmm, I think, we won't try it again

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