Margarida, sfdfs, sdfdfg

Penvmbra Posted Apr 19, 2008, 11:56 am	Hi everyone! I was living in a basket with a mound of other toys in a charity shop and I decided it was time to change life, travel around the world and make new friends! That's when Penvmbra appeared and I asked her to help me. She named me 'Margarida', after her mum's name. I hope you can help me in my journey. Bunny kisses, M. My first travel was to Penvmbra's house. Bye bye charity shop... This is me  A lovely bunny I am, eheh *chuac* My first meeting with ToyVoyagers. .................................................................................................................................................................................... Margarida is on her way to Kira1997's house, in Australia =) .................................................................................................................................................................................... My travel list: Kira1997 - Australia - 04/2008 Eryah - The Netherlands - 05/2008 Penvmbra - Portugal - 07/2008 Lejow - The Netherlands olgamaus - Germany
Kira1997 Posted Apr 29, 2008, 7:39 am	Finally im free from my small package. Will update photos later
Kira1997 Posted May 13, 2008, 12:06 pm	Hi Im loving it here especially the town well known playground.
Kira1997 Posted May 13, 2008, 12:23 pm	Im on a statue at the Busselton Beach
Kira1997 Posted May 13, 2008, 12:30 pm	This is another place the Famous Busselton Jetty its the longest  wooden Jetty in the southern hemisphere
Eryah Posted May 21, 2008, 1:50 pm	Hello! Today i arrived in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. I post pictures as soon as possible. First i'm gonna introduce myself to everybody here. Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted May 21, 2008, 7:44 pm	Hello! Today it was my host her birthday so i came on a great day here! When i came out of the envelope i saw two other TV's watching me. This are Davy the cat and Lumi very very small bear. After introduce ourself to each other it was time to eat the birthday pie. It was delicious! I wanna meet the other ones who live here after that. This is Luna, the black cat. She is scared of almost anything but Eva. This is my new bed..... just kidding This is Isis, a very fluffy and sweet cat. She sleeps almost the whole day because she is very old. And this is Dharma. He's a very sweet puppy but he likes to play. But when he playes he bites you so you have to watch out because of his sharp teeth. Dinner time! Eva made us pasta and creamy cheese with tomatoes and onions. It looks a little bit strange but when you taste it your in heaven! After dinner i wanna relax but the mail man came again with three envelopes. We decided to first open the one from the USA. A white bear came out and he shouted 'I'm not a TV, I'm a birthday present!' Whe decided to open the one from Africa after that. Again a lot of presents came out! Suddenly we saw a dog his head. This is Ambrosius And last but not least we opened the last box. This is Count I think i'm gonna make good friends here. But now i'm very very tired so i'm gonna sleep. Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted May 22, 2008, 5:29 pm	Hello! Again a new TV arrived today. It's getting more and more cosy here! We all were very curious who can be in it. We are allready with a cat, dog, rabbit, bear and a count so we hoped it was an other animal. And it was! It's a monkey! This is Roberto Now we are gonna chat about our goals and who we are. I'll be back soon! Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted May 24, 2008, 11:54 am	Hello! Today we asked Eva to tell us everything she know about Alkmaar and the Netherlands. She told us some funny stories! Alkmaar is above all Holland's cheese town. During the season from the first Friday of April to the first Friday of September a traditional cheese market is being held here on Friday mornings between 10 and 12.30. The cheeses are sold by dealers on a clap of hands. Thereupon the 400 year old cheese porters' guild goes into action, carrying the cheese off on barrows after the lot has been weighed at the Waag (the official scales). In the Waaggebouw - in which the scales are housed - a cheese museum that tells everything about dairy farming has been established. Cheese has been weighed in Alkmaar since 1635. Alkmaar is historical with around 400 monuments. The Waag, dating back in its earliest form to the 14th century, the 16th century town-hall, Grote St. Laurens Church and the many courtyards, facades and canals give the town an ambience all of its own. With the past as a setting, the town has a modern stock of shops offering a wide choice. Besides the predominantly small shops in the old centre, the Noorder Arcade with large scale shopping facilities stands by the side of the Noord Holland Canal. Alkmaar is the biggest town in the region. Relaxation can also be found in the Geestmerambacht recreational area close by. The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland]) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean. The Netherlands is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east. The Netherlands is often called Holland. This is formally incorrect as North and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country's twelve provinces. As a matter of fact, many Dutch people colloquially use Holland as a synecdoche, being well aware of the widespread use of this name. For more on this and other naming issues see terminology of the Netherlands. The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying and densely populated country. It is popularly known for its traditional windmills, tulips, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), delftware and gouda pottery, for its bicycles, its dikes and surge barriers, and, on the other hand, traditional values and civil virtues such as its classic social tolerance. But primarily, the Netherlands is a modern, advanced and open society. An old parliamentary democracy, the country is more recently known for its rather liberal policies toward recreational drugs, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia. The Netherlands is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the world; its internet connection rate is 87.8%, the 2nd highest in the world. The Netherlands has an international outlook; among other affiliations the country is a founding member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, and has signed the Kyoto protocol. Along with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands is one of three member nations of the Benelux economic union. The country is host to five international(ised) courts: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. All of these courts (except the Special Tribunal for Lebanon), as well as the EU's criminal intelligence agency (Europol), are situated in The Hague, which has led to the city being referred to as "the world's legal capital." A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is its flatness. Hilly landscapes can be found only in the south-eastern tip of the country on the foothills of the Ardennes, the central part and where the glaciers pushed up several hilly ridges such as the Hondsrug in Drenthe, the stuwwallen (push moraines) near Arnhem and Nijmegen, Salland, Twente and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug. Religion Main article: Religion in the Netherlands The Netherlands is one of the more secular countries in the Western Europe, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), although 62% are believers (but 40% of those not in the traditional sense). Fewer than 20% visit church regularly . According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 34% of Dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force". In 1950, before the secularisation of Europe, and the large settlement of non-Europeans in the Netherlands, most Dutch citizens identified themselves as Christians. In 1950, out of a total population of almost 13 million, a total of 7,261,000 belonged to Protestant denominations, 3,703,000 belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 1,641,000 had no acknowledged religion. However, Christian schools are still funded by the government, but the same applies for schools founded on other religions, nowadays Islam in particular. While all schools must meet strict quality criteria, from 1917 the freedom of schools is a basic principle in The Netherlands. Three political parties in the Dutch parliament (CDA, ChristianUnion and SGP) base their policy on the Christian belief system. Culture Erasmus (1466–1536).The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters", such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruysdael and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century were Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. Willem de Kooning was born and trained in Rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an American artist. Han van Meegeren was an infamous Dutch art forger. The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza. All of Descartes' major work was done in the Netherlands. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) discovered Saturn's moon Titan and invented the pendulum clock. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope. In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flourished as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P.C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the bad treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard (van het) Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl was published after she died in The Holocaust and translated from Dutch to all major languages. Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Huis ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China. Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese and Delftware pottery are among the items associated with the Netherlands. Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted May 25, 2008, 4:34 pm	Hello! Today was such a rainy day that we all get very bored. We watched the rain outside the window. Before we all get depressed we decided to take a good look in Eva her house. You never know what you can find... Count, Roberto and I found some gnomes and asked them what we can do here.... Lumi found a very strange creature. He asked her the same after she gave him a very wet kiss with her strange lips... Ambrosius asked it too to a very beautifull but mysterious girl... They all pointed to a closet full of books. We had no idea what they mean with that but we decided to take a look in the closet. We found some very old books. Eva told us she get this books from her father. You can't buy them in the shop anymore. Even the pages in the books felt old. We read the books and they were so great! Appie has a lot of adventures with his friends. Before we know we were in a other world: the world of Appie. Time really flies when you read and especially when you read about adventures. Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted May 27, 2008, 7:16 pm	Hello! Today we went to Eva her ex husband his house. He lives on the camping and we found some real nice things! First we found a very beautifull car and you can imagine we have to drive in it. Suddenly a woman called us. She said she have to show us something. Look how sweet!!! Bug hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted May 29, 2008, 2:42 pm	Hello! Today it was time to say goodbye to Davy. Tomorrow he is going to his next host. He is very emotional at the moment, so that's why he decided to do it today. I'm gonna miss him a lot! Allthought we just met, we became good friends. Hopefully i see him again in our journey! Goodbye sweet Davy and i wish you a lot of fun! Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted May 31, 2008, 5:08 pm	Hello! Today the mail man brought a magazine called Yes. It's a magazine for girls and we were all very curious what they write in it. Suddenly we saw Eva in it! We called her and she explained us that she had an interview a couple weeks ago about her divorce. Now we understand why Eva is sitting in a white dress next to a boy on the picture in the magazine. She also told us she was pregnant on that picture. Good to know because we thought she had a big belly because she is addicted to the Mac Donalds. Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 1, 2008, 6:56 pm	Hello! Today we watched a practice game football between the Netherlands and Wales. It was for the Europian Championchips. It was very exciting and the Netherland won the game with 2-0. To support the dutch team we wear orange stuff just like the other supporters. Eva made us a dutch snack to eat while we were watching the game. It were kroketten, aardappelkrokektjes and a kaassoufle. It was very delicious! We really wanna know some dutch words. so Eva tought us some. Hello= Hallo Bye= Doeg or Doei Hugs= Knuffel I love you= Ik hou van jou Sweet= Lief Food= Eten How are you= Hoe gaat het met je What's your name= Hoe heet je Stuffed animal= Knuffel Thanks= Bedankt Rabbit= Konijn Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 2, 2008, 4:51 pm	Hello! It's very hot here today. Look at this picture and you know what i mean. When it's hot like this in the Netherlands it's very muggy. I sweat my pants off today, and i don't even wear pants... We want to find something cool here. In the garden we found a cage that is standing in the shadow. Suddenly a big rabbit came to me and ask me what i was doing in his cage. First i was a little bit afraid of him, but he told me that it wasn't necessary to be scared. When i told him about the hot weather he said i was welcome in his house. Pfieuw!!! Later this afternoon i saw Eva lives by the water. Water= refreshment so i decided to take a look there. It was so cool because a bird was swimming there with her children. Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 4, 2008, 9:07 pm	Hello! Today we went with Eva her mom to Callantsoog. Callantsoog is a town in the Dutch province of North Holland. It is a part of the municipality of Zijpe, and lies about 13 km south of Den Helder. Until 1990, Callantsoog was a municipality; its area is now part of the municipalities of Zijpe, Den Helder, and Anna Paulowna. Callantsoog has the oldest official nude beach of the country, dating from 1973. It is a sandy beach 1.5 km to the south. Callantsoog was a separate municipality until 1990, when it was merged with Zijpe. In 2001, the town of Callantsoog had 1956 inhabitants. The built-up area of the town was 0.58 km², and contained 899 residences. The wider statistical area "Callantsoog" has a population of around 2580. This includes also the village of Groote Keeten and the hamlet of Abbestede north of Callantsoog itself. You can imagine it isn't a big town. Here we are sitting on the car and watch the dunes. You can also see them behind us. The dunes. On our way back we saw this dutch mill! On our righthand you see the dunes again. On out left hand we had the Noordholland Kanaal. The Groot Noordhollandsch Kanaal (Great North-Holland Canal), now known simply as Noordhollandsch Kanaal, is a canal in the Dutch province of North-Holland. The canal stretches about 75 kilometres, from Den Helder in the north to Amsterdam in the south, passing the cities of Alkmaar and Purmerend. The Noordhollandsch Kanaal was dug in the 1820s to shorten the sea route to Amsterdam. Also, the city's harbour was becoming inaccessible to sea-faring ships due to the increasing number of shoals and shallows in the Zuiderzee. Construction of the canal was begun in 1820 and completed in 1824. It was part of King Willem I's efforts to revitalize the country's once-flourishing trade and industry. The canal connected a number of existing waterways, including various canals and the small Rekere river. At either end of the canal, sluice gates were built: the Willem I-sluis at the Amsterdam end and the Koopvaardersschutsluis at the Den Helder end. The canal soon proved inadequate due the growing size of ships, the many bridges and sluice gates and the many curves and turns in the canal. Also, the canal froze in winter. It was therefore decided to dig a new canal, the Noordzeekanaal, between Amsterdam and IJmuiden. Completed in 1876, it made the Noordhollandsch Kanaal largely obsolete. Though still used for commercial shipping, the Noordhollandsch Kanaal's main functions today are recreation and water management. A unique element of the canal are the floating bridges, so-called vlotbruggen ("raft bridges"). These bridges were constructed because engineers in the 1820s were not able to build bridges long enough to span the canal. The bridges opened by sliding the floating middle sections underneath the fixed end sections. Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 7, 2008, 1:28 pm	Hello! A new tv arrived today! We were wondering wo could be in that envelope. We told the TV in the envelope he could come out because it's fun here! This is Summy I think we gonna be great friends! Hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 7, 2008, 1:35 pm	Hello! I ride on a bike today! It was scary! But i also love to do it! Fortunate for me the bike has wheels on the frame. So i kept well in balance. Look at me mum! When i'm home a want a bike for myself. You feel the wind and you can go fast if you want. I notice that in Holland they do not wear helmets for their safety. Everybody here rides on a bike and the people learn it to there children almost before they can walk. I looked my eyes out. Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 9, 2008, 4:07 pm	Hello! Today we saw such a beautifull insect. Eva never saw such thing before here in the Netherlands, so she made a picture of it. Off course i wanna share it with you mommy. Because of the sunlight his wings look gold. Eva searched on the internet and we found out that you call this a Libel in dutch. Hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 9, 2008, 4:32 pm	Hello! Every evening Eva read us a bedtime story. I really wanna share this story with you because i'm a little bit flabbergasted they call this a story for children... Egg drop Egg was young. He didn't know that much. We try to tell him, but he wouldn't listen. If he only had whaited. This is a story about the egg that wants to fly. Egg loves to look to the blue sky. There he saw the birds, baloons, plains and insects, helicopters, bats and clouds. Egg wants to fly with them. He dreamt about ways to fly. But egg was young. He didn't know much about flying. The only thing egg knew was that he had to go up. On a hill there was a high tower. Inside the tower there were 538 steps. Egg climbed to the top. Egg was in the clouds. A bird fly near him. Egg closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, and stepped into the space. He heared the wind. Egg opened his eyes. He saw his friends in the sky. 'Woehoe,' he shouted. 'I'm flying!' But egg wasn't flying. He dropped. It took a while to clean up the mess. We tried to fix egg. But it didn't worked. Egg shelves doesn't heal. Egg was young. He wouldn't listen. If he only just had whaited. Luckely egg didn't get lost. I hope you enjoyed the story just as much as i am. Hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 10, 2008, 4:55 pm	Hello! Today it was envelope time again! We were again very curious about our new friends. It's always fun when new tv's arrive. A black head popped out of the envelope. He was very excited about this adventure and he really wanna get out of the envelope. Suddenly he began to talk to the envelope. We all looked to each other and thought he was a little bit crazy. Maybe because of the temprature in the envelope or something. So it was a big shock to see a second head coming out of the envelope! The black one his name is Nepomuk. The mouse his name is Dottie mouse. They both are very nice! Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 14, 2008, 1:52 pm	Hello! Sadly it's my last day here in Alkmaar, the Netherlands. I had so much fun here but it's time for me to go further on my trail. I'm gonna miss everybody a lot! Bye little Lumi! Bye Count! Bye Ambrosius! Bye Roberto! Bye Dottie! Bye Nepomuk! Bye Summy! I heard i'm going to you mommy! Hopefully i see you soon. I missed you so much. Big hugs Margarida
Eryah Posted Jun 14, 2008, 5:26 pm	Hello! Because Eva isn't able to go outside at the moment we decided to show you information and sites about Alkmaar at another way. I hope you enjoy it! Cheesemarket: This cheese market is open every Friday morning between 10 and 12 from the first Friday in April until the first Friday in September. Market activities are explained in Dutch, German, English and sometimes Japanese. There are four teams (vemen) of cheese-porters (kaasdragers), who can be recognised by their differently coloured straw hats: red, blue, green and yellow. Two porters bring cheese on stretchers to the weighing house (Waag) - a typical stretcher "weighs in" at about 160 kilograms. Merchants sample the cheeses and decide on a price using a barter system called handjeklap, literally clapping hands. Ruin church in Bergen: This picturesque ruin church in Bergen once was the biggest church in Noord-Holland. From the 16th century church there is only a ruin left now, because the Beggars started a fire here. Only the choir of the church was rebuilt, so from the original church you can now only see the ruins. In the village Bergen in Noord-Holland there are many beautiful old houses situated around the old village church. Big church During building the largest medieval church in Alkmaar, the church was already called the big church, because of its size. The big church is not only the largest and highest church in Alkmaar, but also the church which trough the centuries, stood most and called the jewel of the city. Originally the church was dedicated to Saint Laurens. That’s why, for centuries, the church is called The Saint Laurenschurch. The church was probably designed by architect Anthonius Keldermans (Belgium) (1440-1512) Beside Anthonius Keldermans brother, also his son was involved in the disign of the church, in which 26 freestanding columns support the roof. The Saint Laurens church is a basilica, The outside walls rest on a fundation which is just below the ground. Built in the Brabant’s gothic style, which is bigger and more massive in its form than the French gothic. The building is 35 meters high and has a cross length of 85x56 meters. The outside walls rest on a one meter broad foundation which is just below thethe ground, and gradually becomes broader to a depth of tree meters. The last resauration of in-and exterieur was accomplished in 1996. The large saint Laurens church counts two, world famous organs: Van Covelens organ (also called choir organ) and it VanHagerbeer/Schnitger or large organ. The choir organ descends from 1511 and has been placed against the northern wall of the church. The last restoration of this old, still playable, organ in the Netherlands, was completed in the year 2000. In 1636 arose the idea for the construction of a large organ in the church. Several organ builders have worked on it, but in 1645 Jacobus Caltus van Hagerbeer completed the large organ. Jacob Van Campen devised the organ cupboard and in 1643  Caesar Van Everdingen got the task to paint the doors of the organ cupboard with the ‘triomfe van den Coninck Saul’. This painting belongs to his first large work. Above the organ the painter Romeyn de Hooghe painted in baroque striking, (‘de deugd, die de ondeugd verplettert’)" virtue crushing the vice". From 1723 up to 1725 the large organ was restored and extended by Frans Caspar Schnitger. In course of time there have been several restorations on this organ. St. Joseph Church This church was put in use in 1910. Designed by famous church builders and students of PJH Cuypers, the Margry brothers. The church is built in neo-gothic style, which shows by the way the towers are placed and by the arched roofs. The church is placed beautifully and is in possession of wonderful stained glass windows. The statue of Christ has been placed in 1948, in memory of Alkmaar war-victims. Their names are placed on a memorial plaque on the churches wall. Big hugs Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jun 19, 2008, 3:17 pm	Hello everyone! Today I arrives safely in Portugal where I'll stay for a while in holidays with my mum I met Lucky Duck who is staying with her as well and my 'sister' Gui with his cat Migui (Migui+Gui). With me I brought a small present from Eryah which my mum loved, it'll stay at Penvmbra's mother fridge The present is an icon from The Netherlands, a Clog. I'll be posting soon! Now I'm gonna rest with my mates Kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 3, 2008, 9:20 am	'Olá!' It's been hot as hell in Lisbon, so today I decided to stay home and visit the baby rats that are already grown (for a dwarf rat). They're soooo cute But I thing they moved in from a cemitery or so because of their furniture! They invited me to seat on the top of a skull  Their mum wasn't that happy with the visit, though  And the skeleton would be strugling to breathe, if he had any breath in him  Migui loves the rats!As you can see he even licks his lips only to look at them  I hope you liked my 'ratty' visit, ihih Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 4, 2008, 1:17 pm	Hello! Today my mum took me to go out at night and I loved it!  I went with Migui+Gui and Lucky Duck and we only drunk orange juice, eheh First we went to an Irish Club where 3 irish guys were playing celtic music. After that we went to a gothic club called  Transmission and guess what: there was a huge teddy bear there  Hugs, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 8, 2008, 2:29 pm	Hello! Today we went to Peniche, a small town by the sea, to spend 2 days in. We stayed in a nice hotel: Me, Lucky Duck and Migui+Gui went to the pool: Then we had a nice meal in a restaurant nearby: There you have the flag of Portugal: In the restaurant there was this guy hanging in the wall...he didn't seem very happy  Kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 10, 2008, 1:02 pm	Hello people! Today I went for a fantastic trip to Sintra, this time to the famous Quinta da Regaleira! You really should read more about this amazing place!  Penvmbra couldn't park her car near the Regaleira so me, Lucky Duck and Migui+Gui had a nice walk to there and found some interesting things on the way  Sintra is a fresh place and it's awsome to breathe the air coming from the trees around us! And it's also refreshing to run away from the 'hell' of Lisbon...I got tan on my fur already!  Ahhh, we're almost there! A bit closer... And finally there! eheh This park has: Beautifull flowers Grottos A chapel... ...with an altar. Beetles (this one was huge!) Pagan figures (lots of it) Archs  A nice lake... An Initiation Well A Lion we domesticated (cof cof) Beautiful lights Inside the palace we found a miniature of the chapel: And a bust of the epic poet Luís de Camões I loved this day, but now I'm tired! It's time to go back to Lisbon. Kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 13, 2008, 12:04 pm	Hello, hello! Today I had a very funny day! Me, Migui+Gui and Lucky Duck met with Mocke and Sunshine because Penvmbra and Luthien (and her boyfriend) went together to Sintra to walk with us all. First we went to a celtic bar called Torque to drink natural juices. And then to the Sintra National Palace And that's all for today  Kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 13, 2008, 12:24 pm	Hey! Penvmbra edited her first book, it is called Sonets of Penvmbra She had to translate the poems for me because they're written in portuguese, eheh Kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 23, 2008, 8:15 pm	Hello everyone! Today me and Migui+Gui went for a walk on the old streets of Lisbon. First we catched an electric tram. Penvmbra's mum helped us in this picture  Inside the tram with two french tourists  We found a panda bear in a terrace and waved at him  And then we went for a tea in a very original bar: Kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 24, 2008, 1:52 pm	Hi there! Today I went to a Rock Club called Art Rock in Loures, a place near Lisbon. Here we are, me and Migui+Gui: Rock on guys, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 25, 2008, 3:14 pm	Hello people! Today me and Migui+Gui went to Óbidos for a Medieval Fair =) This nice girl was selling flower crowns but none for my size :/ I borrowed Gui her cloak because I felt a bit naked with no medieval attire. Kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Jul 26, 2008, 12:57 pm	Hello! I don't know if you noticed on my last pictures, but my fur was darkened by the dust I catched on my voyages, so Penvmbra gave me my first bath Ahhh, it was so relaxing... I even played with the bubbles, eheh And then I went to the terrace to have some sun and dry my fur. Now I smell good and my fur is white again  Bunny kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Aug 8, 2008, 12:52 pm	'Hola'! Today I left Lisbon in early night to go to a very small town named Casanxo, placed in A Cañiza, a municipality in Galicia, in the province of Pontevedra. There wasn't much to see there, but there was a small graveyard I visited: Then a cat arrived. Look at him with my mum Penvmbra: The houses are all in stone: And there was this little fountain with very fresh and clean water: After this short visit we moved to Vigo as I'll show you in my next log See you soon, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Aug 9, 2008, 4:09 pm	We arrived in Vigo finally! Here we are: myself, Migui+Gui and Vladimir in a park by the sea: There was happening a fair near the beach and we went there to take a look: And then we visited a small cemetery in Vigo: See you later, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Sep 11, 2008, 5:06 pm	Hello, hello! I haven't updated my travel log for quite a longe time, but now I'm back with new photos This time I went to Azores, a portuguese archipelago of 9 beautifil islands. I went to the Santa Maria Island, one of the smallest in the archipelago. With me there was Mumu,Migui+Gui and Vladimir: We studied a little about the place: But to stay at home was a pity with one of the best beaches in the world by our side: The beaches aren't too big, but the sand is like velvet, the water is very clean and the air very pure One day we went to Maia, a small place by the sea, and we found these ducks living there freely: This baby is soooo cute  The outskirts of the place: Hm...we were offered grapes from the region The typical boat: The sunset: Those are typical tools used in the ancient times: the mill wheels and the jars to store food and drink: In this place Cristopher Colombus stoped on his way to Europe, after discovering America: In these islands there is a tradition of serving a special soap in honor of the Holy Spirit. The soap is served for free to anyone who wants to come in and is made like in the ancient times, with home made bread and meat from the cows of the people there: The queue for the soaps: Inside the chapel: Eating the soap: Mumu introduced us some member of her family. They live happy and in peace in this islands It is amazing to feel surrounded by sea: Look ate the color of the sand there: And this is Faneco, the sweetest dog I ever met, eheh I may say I loved this travel Bunny kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Sep 22, 2008, 11:15 pm	Today I went to the Castle of Almourol and with me was Vladimir, Fridolin and Migui+Gui. Before going to the castle we went to a medieval bar for a drink: The bar was really nice, it felt good to be there. Look at Penvmbra at the entrance: And then we went to the castle: The view at the top of the castle: The castle is amazing, you should read about it in the website. It is placed in the middle of the Tagus river. Kisses, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Sep 26, 2008, 8:59 am	A view over the 25th of April Bridge, in Lisbon.
Penvmbra Posted Sep 30, 2008, 6:58 pm	Hello! Today I had to say goodbye to Fridolin and Migui+Gui because we're going to Germany, where olgamaus waits for me. See you soon guys, Margarida
Penvmbra Posted Sep 30, 2008, 7:04 pm	Today is a warm day and I took the opportunity to go to a calm place, 2 hours from Lisbon, to relax and enjoy the Nature. The place is called Barrage of Vale dos Gaios. There was no one there, so I mounted my tend and spend the whole day enjoying the place, hearing the birds and bathing. When the moon rose, I went back home. Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 4, 2008, 10:31 am	Hi Mummy, I arrived in Remscheid today! Everything is fine with me. I crashed into my new host's breakfast when I arrived. I was welcomed by Moley and Katja. Katja has to prepare a cage now. A cage?! Am I supposed to live in a cage here? But no, Katja told me that two rats will arrive in the afternoon. They will be brought from a friend who picks them up at an animal shelter. One of them is a really old rat, about 2 1/2 years old and a young one that was found outside a few days ago. I'll tell you more about it later. Now I'll have a look at the breakfast table. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 4, 2008, 1:38 pm	Hi Mummy, we helped to prepare the cage and it's ready for it's new residents. Have a look! There's even a cool hammock. The rats arrived already. Here you can see them. This is the old rat girl, we now have to find a name for her. Can you imagine that the former owners brought her to the animal shelter without telling her name? I think that's sad. Now the old lady not only has to accustom to a new home but also to a new name. This is Bella. We will now leave them alone until evening, so they can choose a house to have a nap or to eat. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 6, 2008, 10:43 pm	Hi Mummy, we took a walk today after we had rain every day since I arrived here. The weather was not too good but at least it did not rain any more. Even with bad weather you can see the colours of autumn. Katja took the fastest way through the muncipal park to meet a friend. A circus is in town, on the place where the fun fair usually us taking place. We met Katja's friend and walked along the "Route of tools" (Trasse des Werkzeugs) which was built on a closed railway track. It is a lane for pedestrians and cyclists, about 5 km long. It was sponsored by local companies, mostly they produce tools. You can find artwork along the route as well as large signs with the emblems of the sponsors, here is one of them. On the next sign you can see the crest of Remscheid with a lion and a sickle. In the following section of the route you can see some abandoned factory old buildings. This work of art is made of the remains of cutted cranked shafts. The parts were welded and  rivetted and then coloured by children. Can you see us? Here we have many old houses close to the lane. In the past the trains must have been rolling almost through the living rooms of those houses. This sign marks the entrance (or the end) of the route of tools, you can also read some explanations here. We went home through the town centre. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 8, 2008, 7:48 pm	Hi Mummy, the weather is really bad here. In the afternoon we want to take a walk with Katja's Dad. For lunch we cooked a fantastic soup - a carrot soup! We needed the following ingredients for 4 portions: 600 g carrots 2 onions 150 ml orange juice 2 tbls soy sauce 800 ml vegetable stock chili , black pepper, salt, paprika 4 tbls sour cream 1 tbls chopped ginger First you peel carrots and onions, cut them into slices. Heat some oil and braise onions and carrots lightly, than add orange juice, soy sauce and vegetable stocking. Cook until the carrots are cooked. Then you have to puree the soup. First everything looked good ... But then ... ... I heard Moley cry "Margarida! Where are you?!" An accident had happened. The soup looked and smelled  so good that I leaned forewart too much. I fell into the pot! Luckily I did not  hurt, I only got dirty. The soup had to wait a moment while I took a bath. Katja helped me to nestle into a blanket. Moley was also there to console me. The soup is ready now. Before serving you put a spoonful sour cream with ginger into it. Doesn't it look good? To avoid another accident Katja's daughter found a safe place for me.
olgamaus Posted Oct 8, 2008, 8:16 pm	In the afternoon we took a walk in Solingen, one of the neighbour towns of Remscheid. In Solingen knifes, scissors and swords are made for centuries. They also have an ice rink here. It is coloured with graffitti on the outside walls. We took a walk on the "Korkenziehertrasse" (Corcscrew Route). It was also built on a closed railway track like the Route of Tools in Remscheid. This one in Solingen is about 11 km long, passing some districts of Solingen. It's name does not have anything to do with products of this town but with the course of this route. It's meandering through the town, maybe you can see it on the sign at the start, the former central station, at the depot. Along the route you have industrial regions, housing areas and sometimes just forrest. A really long and dark tunnel lies ahead. Can you see anything in the photo that seem to be .... a little bit wrong? No? The driver of this car parked it in a really funny way. The tunnel was illuminated but although a little bit spooky. At the rear end we found great graffitti. You can have a look into the botanical garden from the lane. We took the bus to get back to car where we started our walk. I'll sleep on the heating this night to become really dry. Katja said I'd better make a trip in the washing machine because there still seem to be a light yellow shade around my ears, but not today. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 9, 2008, 6:50 pm	Hi Mummy, the sun finally found its way to Remscheid today! I could not wait to go outside and see more than rain and orange coloured soup. We were ready to go outside in the afternoon when the door bell rang. A package arrived with Hurley inside. Of course Hurley had to come with us. We had to go to the next letterbox because Katja had written a few postcards to postcrossing members. We started our trip at the muncipal park, we only had to walk a few minutes to get there. There is a pond in the park. Katja showed us the observatory then an a bit of the park. We then reached a district called "Hasten", one of the oldest districts of Remscheid. You can see many old houses here. Typical for this region are houses covered with schist, haf-timbered houses, both usually with green shutters. Normally they are more than 100 years old. You can see that there is a lot of woodland in the town. Here you can see the outskirts of the neighbour town Wuppertal in the background. On the next photos I will show you a beautiful patrician house, built in 1778 A.D. A museum is situated in this house. Katja said we would visit the museum when the weather will be as worse as last week. To be honest, I don't want to relive such horrible weather again like we had last week here. I just can't get enough of sunshine and those beautiful autumn colours. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 10, 2008, 3:30 pm	Hi Mummy, Katja showed us the town hall today. The town hall was built in 1906 A.D., nearly destroyed in World War II and rebuilt afterwards in a more modern style. In front of the town hall the farmer's market is taking place twice a week, there is also a pillar with a lion, the heraldic animal of Remscheid. Here you can see the water tower for the water supply of the city centre. This is the shopping mall. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 11, 2008, 11:53 pm	Hi Mummy, yesterday Theodore, a chipmunk from the USA, arrived. He was very hungry. The only food we found for him were some pecans. We took a fantastic long walk today, about 14 kilometres. Katja has bought a book with 20 hiking routes in the environment of Remscheid. She met a friend and we went to Solingen-Unterburg by bus to follow one of the described routes. Burg is one of the oldest districts of this Solingen, situated at the river Wupper and famous for Schloss Burg, a medieval castle. I will show you this castle later. Here you can see some of the old houses in Solingen-Burg. We had to walk straight uphill then for a while. After a few minutes walking we already were high above the river Wupper. Here you can see a bothy for walkers. We reached Sengbachtalsperre, a water reservoir dam. We were taking a rest on the dam. Now you can see more of the dam. We saw large piles of trunks. Katja told us that they had a terrible storm last year which destroyed large parts of the forrests. There are still many trunks that are waiting to be taken away. We were playing with the falling leafes. I tried to catch them with my feet. We had another rest here. We left the forrest here and walked through a district with farms. I saw goats here. Our next destination was Schloss Burg. We could see it while we walked towards it. Doesn't it look great? The castle was built in early 12th century on a mountain over the river Wupper. It was enlarged later, sometimes destroyed in wars and also fires. It was reconstructed in 1925 A.D. This is the gate, facing the street. We walked through the inner courtyards and reached the main part of the castle ground. You can find some shops here where different arts and crafts are sold. This equorial monument is showing Count Engelbert II vom Berg, one of the early souvereign of this region. We walked downhill then. Here you can see a chair lift crossing the lane. We also saw many beautiful old houses. When we reached the starting point we had coffee and wafers with cream in a cafe. We also bought some Burger Pretzels, a local delicacy, here. We will eat them tomorrow. After 14 kilometres walking I only want to sleep. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 12, 2008, 6:52 pm	Hi Mummy, we tasted the pretzels that we have bought yesterday. They are really good, but larger than me. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 15, 2008, 9:38 pm	Hi Mummy, we made an apple cake today. The weather is bad so we did not went out. Yesterday Weasley arrived, a cool alien from Florida. He helped us. I had to wear a headscarf in case I should plop into the dough. So at least my ears were protected. We started with weighing ourselfes instead of our ingredients. We also teased Weasley - but only a little bit! We finally sat down so Katja could start making the dough. For our cake we needed 125 g butter 125 g sugar 1 vanilla sugar 3 eggs 200 g flour 3 tsp baking powder 3 soup spoons cream 50 ml light rum 4 apples, peeled and cut into quarters 200 g sour cream 75 g sugar 2 eggs 1 p vanilla sauce powder salt In the meantime I tasted Katja's coffee - Ugh! Now the cake had to stay in the oven for 12 minutes. In the meantime Katja tried to make the cake topping but somehow the beaters were missing ... Of course she found them! We put the topping onto the pre-baked cake and than it had to stay in the oven for another 50 minutes. The cake was ready then. And as you can see we already tried it. It's really good. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 19, 2008, 1:06 pm	Hi Mummy, we visited Venlo in the Netherlands today! We met BlackCat with six more ToyVoyagers and went to Venlo by train. Venlo is situated close to the German border. Many peple from Germany like going shopping in Venlo because you can buy some food much cheaper there than in Germany, due to lower taxes. Venlo's history goes back to Roman times. It developed into an important trade post on the river Meuse. Look, here we are with BlackCat's guests. There were also Odette and Titch, they did not want to come out of BlackCats bag - they were a little bit shy. This is the post office, decorated with the national coat of arms of the Netherlands. We walked through the old town then. You can see typical dutch houses here, made of bricks with gables showing to the street side. This is the town hall of Venlo. We went to the market then. Here you can see a cheese stand. We took a walk to the river Meuse then. We wrote a postcard to another ToyVoyagers host. We hope she will like the card. Back in the old town ... Many people use their bikes in the Netherlands. The land is flat and you have cycle tracks next to almost every road, that makes it easer. You also have parking lots für the bikes. These funny pink bunnies were the decoration of a a lingerie store. A fountain in the old town ... This is a store for home decoration. The store itself is decorated like a halloween party. We saw a store which had a soap  bubbles machine installed at the front door. Soap bubbles without an end! Then it was already time to go back to the station. In Wuppertal we left the train and went home by bus. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Oct 21, 2008, 7:25 pm	Hi Mummy, today the weather was still fantastic and we took a walk in the forrest. We started our trip in Remscheid-Hasten, one of the oldest districts of Remscheid. Soon we reached the border of the muncipal area. We planned to walk to Wuppertal-Cronenberg. Wuppertal is the neighbour town of Remscheid. To get there we had to cross a valley and walk up steep uphill through the forrest. We rested on a bench and enjoyed the sun. The next rest took place on a barrier. This little house is even situated alone in the middle of the forrest, like a whitchhouse in a fairy tale. Later we had to cross a creek, there was no bridge, we had to climb and jump over stones.
olgamaus Posted Oct 21, 2008, 7:29 pm	When we reached Wuppertal-Cronenberg we saw lots of nice old houses and a church, built in 1767 A.D. We we walked back home it already began tp get dark. We were all very tired afterwards. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Nov 3, 2008, 12:38 pm	Hi Mummy, today we took a walk in Wuppertal-Beyenburg. Wuppertal is one of the neighbour towns of Remscheid. Beyenburg is a very old district, located at the river Wupper. In former times they had many dye works and weaving mills in Wuppertal along the river Wupper. First we wallked through the forrest. Here you can see a papermill, also located at the river Wupper. They are producing wall papers here. Can you see the weir? Later we saw this fly agaric in the forrest. I also want to show you the "Schwebebahn" of Wuppertal. Schwebebahn is a suspended monorail, travelling about 12 metres above the surface of the river Wupper, about 8 metres above the streets. At one point the railway crosses a motorway. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Nov 4, 2008, 1:08 pm	Hi Mummy, we took a walk through the town centre in Katja's lunch break. When we leave our apartment in the morning to go to work is still dark, when we return home in the evening is already dark. We have very good weather today. Here you can see the public library. This is one of the churches in the town centre. A small farmers market is taking place here on Tuesday and Friday. In this beautiful house a music school is located. In this modern building some areas of the municipality are located. This coal lorry is a present of Remscheid's twin town Wansbeck in Northumberland, England. From a bridge you can see another district of Remscheid which is located on the highest hill. From there you have a fantastic view. This little park belongs to the music school I showed you before. From the bridge you can also look across the central bus station to the tower of the town hall. Here we are back close to the town hall where Katja is working. We bought something delicious for lunch. Even a bunny loves it. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Nov 4, 2008, 1:20 pm	Hi Mummy, Katja is knitting socks. It rather looks like a sleeping bag for little bunnies. Margarida
olgamaus Posted Nov 6, 2008, 8:18 am	Hi Mummy, Katja knitted a pair of socks and a scarf for me! She said that my feet would be really dirty from holding me for taking photos. She called me a piggy. That's why I took a look at the inside of the washing machine. Now I'm clean and fragrant. Have a look at my new socks. Bye Margarida
olgamaus Posted Nov 6, 2008, 8:19 am	Hi Mummy, I'm on my way to BlackCat now. I think I will arrive there tomorrow. Bye Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 8, 2008, 7:53 pm	Hey, I arrived at my new host in Essen today. Here were some other TVs waiting. Tilda and Dieuwerke which I already knew from Venlo are there, too. I will meet other TVs later, maybe. But now we are 3 TVs. Have a nice day, Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 14, 2008, 2:11 am	Hello mummy, today we went into the forest. It was a nice and a long walk. We just had to walk a little bit faster at the end, because it was getting dark and we didn't want to be in the forest when it is dark. We saw a lot nice things and I have made some photos for you. Hopefully you like them, Margarida Me, sitting on big mushrooms ! That's a lorry of the former coal mine Katharina. The coal mine was closed in 1972 - as you can read on the lorry. No single building of the coal mine is left. But this lorry reminds us of it.
BlackCat Posted Nov 14, 2008, 2:29 am	Hello, today Sunshine, a tv of BlackCat, arrived back at home. We all welcomed her very warm. Do you remember? I have seen her in Portugal some months ago ! Now she is back home and I am here as a visitor ! We talked a lot and then we get tired and went to bed. Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 16, 2008, 3:12 am	Hello ! Today we watched Domino Day. Domino Day is a world record attempt for the highest number of falling domino stones, organised each year by Endemol Netherlands. Together with Robin Paul Weijers, also known as Mr. Domino, parties team up to set a new world record. They have made pictures with the domino stones and it looked really good. The photos aren't so good. I am really sorry ! Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 20, 2008, 7:08 pm	Hello everybody, today was our washing day. BlackCat but all the dirty clothes in a big laundry basket and we sat us on it. We had a nice view when she took us to the washing machine. When we arrived, we looked at the washing machine. I saw the empty washer drum. Nothing was inside. BlackCat said, we should put the washing powder inside. We looked where and we found the box for the washing powder at the machine. Then she put the clothes inside and started the machine. We looked how long it will need and then went back into the living room. When BlackCat put the clothes into the dryer, we weren't allowed to go with her. She said, that she had put one toy in the dryer without washing it before and we didn't want to go with her, anymore. It was a lot work, but it was nice. Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 20, 2008, 7:40 pm	Hello ! Today we had to help BlackCat making some things ready for her birthday tomorrow ! It was nice to help her in the kitchen. She wanted to make a marble cake and muffins. We helped her with the muffins and with the dough for the marble cake. When she was ready with the marble cake, we were really tired and slept. So she didn't make photos of us with it. Just with the muffins. We started with the muffins. We put the dough into paper muffin cups. They were put on a baking dish. We put it into the oven. When they came out, they were ready. And they smelled so nice. Then we started to make the dough for the marble cake. My challenge were the eggs. I put it into the dish. Tilda and Dieuwerke added their ingredients and BlackCat mixed them. It was really nice ! Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 20, 2008, 8:18 pm	Hello ! Before celebrating her birthday BlackCat went to Steele with us. We visited the christmas market (which was closed while we were there - it was too early). But we have photos for you because you can't close this piece of the christmas market ! I like this sheep. A donkey. Its a girl - called Dalari. She was so sweet. A funny comic with a seagull. Isn't it nice? When we waited at the bus stop we saw this police car. When the police men were away, we made some photos quickly. BlackCat said, that we aren't allowed to make a photo of a police man. Then we went back home. Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 20, 2008, 8:24 pm	Hello ! Before the guests arrived, we made a photo with the birthday table. You can see the marble cake, the muffins and some cookies of BlackCats grandmother (but you have to look really near). Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 20, 2008, 8:33 pm	Hello ! Today we had a boring day. But we helped BlackCat making some postcards ready for postcrossing. We choosed them. What do you think?! Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 21, 2008, 3:39 pm	Hello ! It is snowing outside. We looked outside the window and it was snowing. It was so nice. Now it isn't snowing anymore, but they said in the weather forecast, that there will be more snow tomorrow! Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 22, 2008, 12:53 am	Hello ! When we saw that it was still snowing outside, we asked BlackCat to go outside with us. We were really happy, when she said Okay. So we went outside, while it was dark already. We built a little snowman and sat down on a stump. It was really nice sitting in the cold snow. Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 24, 2008, 9:28 am	Today I was allowed to sit on the breakfast table of BlackCat and her boyfriend. I was not alone, Tilda and Dieuwerke were with me. We sat there and we were allowed to eat a little bit of the bread rolls. They were really nice. We talked about our plans for the next week and about what we all have seen already. It was so nice. Margarida
BlackCat Posted Nov 24, 2008, 9:51 am	BlackCat was away all the day long and we had a lot fun being alone in the flat. When she came back, she helped us in her bag and we went out in the garden of her mum. She wanted to show us something. When we arrived there was a lot snow and some nice things we were able to see and make photos with! Margarida That's the birdhouse of her mum. Really nice ! My size - but too cold. That's a reindeer decorated with a chain of lights. But they weren't on. A terracotta snowman. Isn't he nice?
BlackCat Posted Nov 26, 2008, 6:20 pm	It was snowing the whole day, but BlackCat wanted to go outside. So she put us in a warm bag and we drove to Burgaltendorf. That's a part of Essen, where a castle ruin can be found. We went there and we had a lot of fun making photos in the snow ! A field in front of the castle ruin.
BlackCat Posted Nov 26, 2008, 6:27 pm	Today we went shopping with BlackCat. In the centre we found this nice deco. We have just one picture, as it was too dark for more. I am really sorry.
BlackCat Posted Nov 26, 2008, 6:37 pm	Hello, today a big envelope arrived. We all sat around it and looked at it carefully. BlackCat said, it could be a new ToyVoyager. So I listen, if I could hear something. And there was someone speaking with me: "Help me off, please!" The voice said. Everyone gets afraid of the envelope, but BlackCat opened it a little bit and Dieuwerke took a look inside...it was dark...but then... Dieuwerke saw someone. It was Berkeley. Dieuwerke asked him to come outside. So, Welcome Berkeley!
BlackCat Posted Dec 16, 2008, 10:44 pm	Today we said Goodbye to our dear Dieuwerke. We hugged her and were really sad. She is such a nice girl and I really like her. Hopefully we will see us again, soon. Goodbye Dieuwerke, have a good travel, Margarida
BlackCat Posted Dec 16, 2008, 11:09 pm	Today is the first advent, so we had one burning candle on the advent wreath. After that we drove to Manderscheid for a "Burgenweihnacht" (a christmas market at a castle). We made some photos for you =)!
BlackCat Posted Dec 27, 2008, 10:23 pm	Today we visited Wittlich. Wittlich is a nice small city with a lot nice old houses and so much pig statues. We saw some and I will show you pictures of it. It was so nice there. Some old houses in the city. A nice overview. I really like it ! Some pigs... ...and more pigs.
BlackCat Posted Dec 27, 2008, 11:15 pm	Today is the second Advent. We decorate the living room together with BlackCat. She took her nativity scene out of the package and we looked at it. A really nice thing, don't you think? I like it. Then we all sat at the advent wreath and enjoyed it.
BlackCat Posted Dec 27, 2008, 11:22 pm	Today we went on the christmas market in the city. First we saw the wonderful christmas tree in front of the main station. It was not so much decorated like the years before BlackCat told us, but we liked it. After that we saw the statue of William I.! When we turned around we saw the big wheel on the christmas market. It looked so great. When we turned left a little bit we saw the cathedral and the town hall in the background of it. It was a nice view, so we made a photo of it. After that we went to the live nativity scene. The animals were living, all the other things where statues.
BlackCat Posted Dec 27, 2008, 11:31 pm	Today is the 3rd Advent and we sat around the advent wreath and thought about our christmas wishes. It was a nice and relaxing day.
BlackCat Posted Dec 27, 2008, 11:35 pm	Today BlackCat need to go to the bank and we went with her. It is in the city, so we saw some other things than the christmas market today. We found a carillon in the city. It was built 1928 on the Limbecker Street. In the second world war the owner concealed the bells so that they weren't melt down for weapons. The house where the carillon was built was destroyed in the war. 1949 it was rebuilt on the Kettwiger Street. The owner company took the bells back to Essen and now we stood in front of it. Next to the bank we met a christmas bear. He asked us, what we are wishing for christmas and we told him our wishes. What a nice bear.
BlackCat Posted Dec 28, 2008, 12:28 am	Today is the 4th advent. We decorated the tree today and then spend some nice time in front of the advent wreath. You can see it on the photos. We tried to make a photo with both on it, I hope you can see it !
BlackCat Posted Dec 28, 2008, 12:37 am	Today is Christmas Eve. It is the evening where some german children already get some presents. BlackCat was visited by her parents and her brother today. We spent a nice evening together. All presents that BlackCat got. Wow, or? Me sitting on the christmas tree. =) Selfmade marzipan potatoes. Wow, they were so nice. Muffins, gingerbread and cookies - jummie ! Me with my little present. Santa Claus didn't forget me. Jippie. What's inside? Oh, a pin with the emblem of Essen. Thanks Santa! Everybody got one ! Mummy, can you please send BlackCat your address? I don't want to take it on my travel. I will send it home to you !
BlackCat Posted Jan 4, 2009, 5:43 am	Hello, today we went to the next mailbox with BlackCat. Some years ago the next mailbox was just around the courner of the house. But the post office put it away and now the next mailbox is 10 minutes from here. So we went there. It was really cold outside and we could see our own breath. There was ice on the cars. It looked nice. Then we arrived at the mailbox and made some photos with it. Margarida BlackCats House from behind ice on the cars The mailbox
BlackCat Posted Jan 4, 2009, 5:57 am	Wow, the last day of 2008. We went to BlackCats parents and ate some Fondue with them. It was really funny to sit around and wait for our food. After eating we saw Angela Merkel in TV. She told everybody about her wishes for the next year and about the political situation. It was really interesting. And then the Countdown came... 10... 9... 8... 7... 6... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...
BlackCat Posted Jan 4, 2009, 6:22 am	HAPPY NEW YEAR 2009!!!!! The woman in TV was still talking while the countdown was already over and the firework behind her was starting. We watched the firework in TV, as outside it was too cold for us. We stayed inside while BlackCat and her family made some firework outside. It was funny.
BlackCat Posted Jan 4, 2009, 6:38 am	Today we helped BlackCat make some cards ready for postcrossing. She is a really active member there (her username there is Fabi) and we hope to show you some postcard she is getting soon !
BlackCat Posted Jan 4, 2009, 6:48 am	Today we sat around on the desk and watched the whole flat, when BlackCat brought us a big envelope. First we didn't know why she brought it to us, but then we heard a voice from inside. And then Thiele came outside. He said Hello to us. And then he showed us the postcard he was bringing for BlackCat. What a nice card. So, welcome Thiele. I hope you'll have some great moments here =)!
BlackCat Posted Jan 5, 2009, 6:30 am	Today we visited the Zollverein coking plant in Essen. It is one part of the World heritage Zollverein. I first would like to tell you something about it: The Zollverein coking plant in the Essen suburb of Stoppenberg was built between 1958 and 1961 as a working link with shaft 12 at the Zollverein Pit next door. The coking plant took huge amounts of coal from the pit, as well as from other collieries in the region, and processed them into coke. Soon the maximum daily production of 5000 tons of coke was insufficient to meet demand. For this reason the plant was extended in the 1970s, when it became one of the largest and most modern coking plants in Europe. The Zollverein coking plant employed 1000 persons and produced amounts of coke well in excess of 7000 tons per day. Because coke ovens should never be allowed to get cold, production continued non-stop around the clock for 365 days a year. During the 1980s and 1990s demand for coke steadily declined as a result of the crisis in the steel industry, and on the 30th June 1993 the Zollverein coking plant was finally closed down. It was really interested to see how such a coking plant looks like. I will show you the photos now and I will try to tell you, what you can see on the photos and what it was for. That's the shaft 12 at the Zollverein Pit from behind. We went through a forrest when we made this picture. That is a hoist. It can be moved on trails. It is so big, you can't believe it until you see it. You can see a part of the coke oven batteries on this picture and behind it you can see the "Sonnenrad". It is a big wheel where you can see the coking plant from above and you can drive in it with this big wheel. It wasn't opened. This photo was made in front of the ice skating parkour. It is always in front of the oven batteries in winter. It will be close again on the 11th January. There were a lot people skating. Again two photos in front of the oven batteries. I am sitting on the coping of the conveyor band. That's a machine which brought the coal into the oven batteries. It is really big for a little one like me. I hope you like the pictures and the informations about the coking plant. Maybe we will go there again and show you some other areas of it. But now we have to get warm again. Greetings, Margarida
BlackCat Posted Jan 13, 2009, 4:57 pm	Hello ! When we looked outside today we saw snow. Everywhere snow. BlackCat said that there are 10cm new snow or more. We looked the whole day outside the window and it was so nice. Margarida
BlackCat Posted Jan 15, 2009, 12:21 pm	Today we went with BlackCat into the city centre. She had to go to the doctor and we went with her. As we had not much time she just showed us the church in the city. I really like this little church !
BlackCat Posted Jan 15, 2009, 12:35 pm	Today we said Goodbye to Tilda and Thiele. I have to travel on and Berkeley will travel on, too. So we had a short Goodbye before we went in our envelopes and went to the post office. GOODBYE!
Szandra Posted Feb 7, 2009, 12:18 pm	Hello Mummy!!! I'm writing you from Hungary!! Sorry for haven't written you earlier, but we had busy days here. I have some new friends, I show you the photos that we made together! This is Ali: And the brother of Ali: Barni And... Mása... well... I have to say, I afraid of her! See her teeth!!
Szandra Posted Feb 7, 2009, 12:25 pm	I met with some other ToyVoyagers: Elsie, LiLA Bear and Louis the rat. Unfortunately I had only a few minutes to talk with Louis because he was preparing for her journey to Germany. But I promised him that I'll read his travelog!
Szandra Posted Feb 9, 2009, 9:56 pm	Szandra is studying in fashion stylist department and today she had an exam exhibition at school. She had to present her best works made in this half year. And we all wanted to help her!
Szandra Posted Feb 9, 2009, 10:29 pm	Dear Mummy, Today we made a little excursion. The weather was very cold so we didn't want to spend a lot of time outsite, but we were walking on the riverside of Danube. From there we could see the Buda Castle Palace and the Chain bridge. This mini version fits perfectly for small ToyVoyagers like us! The statu of Little Princess: We took a look at the Pesti Vigadó (Pest Concert Hall). The Vigadó is one of the city's oldest concert halls, dating to 1864 On our way back home we stopped making a photo on the Vörösmarty square. Here you can see us with the Gerbeaud House which is a world famous pastry shop on Vörösmarty square. The café was founded by Henrik Kugler in 1858 and expanded by its later owner, Emil Gerbeaud.
Szandra Posted Feb 11, 2009, 7:08 pm	Tonight we baked pancakes with banana! We were perfect assistants! And I ate numberless amout!
Szandra Posted Feb 11, 2009, 7:12 pm	Now we are all in Szandra's hometown, Miskolc. And today we went to the city center to meet with one of her friends, Zsuzsi. In the backround you can see a big white building, this is the National Theatre of Miskolc. Unfortunately this is not the best view to see how does it look like. Me and LiLA Bear with Zsuzsi
Szandra Posted Apr 15, 2009, 9:29 pm	Hello Mummy! I'm on my way to Mexico!!! Yay! I'm so excited! Szandra promised that she'll update my travelog with all the pictures that we made in the last few weeks! Hugs, Margarida
angelicabermejo angelicabermejo@hotmail.com Posted Apr 22, 2009, 10:32 pm	Hey Mommy! Today I arrived at Angelica's home, Nikki is here and we're getting ready for the trip next week, still waiting for a couple of TV's more and we are set to go.

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