Bluto, Bruchsal, Germany

missslady


Posted Sep 5, 2008, 4:07 am
Bluto is off to Brazil for 10 days with one of my good friend.

Bon Voyage

:D 
missslady


Posted Mar 4, 2010, 1:38 am
Bluto is ready to travel... in search of new places to travel.
missslady


Posted Mar 5, 2010, 4:48 pm
Missslady and I finally had some time today to PLAY!!! 
YAHOO!!!
As you can see from the photos below, lots of snow on the ground.

Oh I can't wait for Spring.


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Thanks for reading

=Bluto

:D
missslady


Posted Mar 5, 2010, 4:53 pm
What a Yummy breakfast.

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missslady


Posted Mar 11, 2010, 2:52 am
Bluto is all set - she is heading to Italy for a mini vacation. annix, please take care of Bluto.

Thanks


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annix


Posted Mar 31, 2010, 3:36 pm
Hi Mum,
I'm in Italy! The journey was quite long but now I'm here!
I've found another TV who is just arrived, Hippoda.
I'll write you again as soon as I settled.
Bye
annix


Posted Apr 4, 2010, 5:34 pm
Hi mummy,
I'm preparing for Easter dinner. I'm fine and I've found a new Italian friend.
Have a nice Easter!
annix


Posted Apr 13, 2010, 9:08 am
Hi Mom,
my host took me to the mountain, in the north of Italy, not far from Verona. We went to the Mount Baldo where we visited a monastery built on the rocks, doesn't it look beautiful?
We walked a lot and now I'm a bit tired, I think I need to go to sleep.
I'll write you again soon!
annix


Posted Apr 19, 2010, 1:51 pm
Hi Mom!
This is Sirmione, a nice place on the Lake of Garda.
My host takes me here with my friend Hippoda.
We enjoy watching the Lake and seeing swans swimming. It's also nice to go to the spa (it's called Acquaria) but it is forbidden to take photos inside so you can just see people wearing white bath robes in the background of the picture.
Around Garda there are a lot of olive trees and I like to have a rest in a grass full of daisies. Of course I can't miss a visit to the castle before the sun starts to go down!
Bye for now
annix


Posted Apr 28, 2010, 2:14 pm
Hi!
I'm walking in Milan, I want to show you some of the nicest things I've found here.
First of all there is the famous theatre called Scala and a lot of historical buildings. There are also a lot of tourists today!
The Cathedral is called Duomo and not far from it there's the Sforzesco Castle with his park.
I'm enjoying my staying in Italy and I'm fine so, mom, don't worry about me!!!
Bye
annix


Posted Apr 29, 2010, 9:59 am
Hi Mom,
in Italy people is crazy about soccer, yesterday evening there was a big match between Inter (a team of Milan) and Barcellona.
I watched it on TV with my host and Hippoda, it was exciting, I could hear a lot of people cry aloud in the streets supporting his team.
In the end Inter qualified for the final match and after peolpe finished to celebrate in the streets we could go to sleep!
Bye
annix


Posted May 6, 2010, 9:04 am
Look mom, a new TV is arrived!
His name is Frankie_Blue, he comes from Germany. He showed me a postcard with some pictures of his country, it's so nice!
annix


Posted May 9, 2010, 7:38 pm
Hi mummy,
we're celebrating Mother's day... I have a flower for you!
annix


Posted May 21, 2010, 3:02 pm
Hi mummy,
I'm learning to cook some typical Italian dish, pasta of course! Today I've prepared some "spaghetti" with breaded shrimps for me and my host, and a tuna and tomato "tagliatelle" for my friend Frankei_Blue. He seems to like it so much!
My host says I'm a very good chef!!!
annix


Posted Jun 15, 2010, 1:44 pm
Hi Mum,
today it's a lovely sunny day and I'm going for a walk in a wide park close to my host's house. I like it, it's full of flowers and little lakes with ducks!
Bye
fam-united


Posted Aug 3, 2010, 10:31 am
Hi Mum,

I arrived at Bruchsal today. We have cloudy weather, so I'm not sure, if I will go out today already. At first I will have a rest from traveling anyway.

Bye, Bluto
fam-united


Posted Aug 7, 2010, 11:45 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.

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When we turned around the next corner, we saw this sundial.

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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.

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We're still standing at the same place, but just turned around to see the Damian Gate.

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You see, that the palace area is really big.

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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.

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Here you see a map of the whole palace area. We marked the places of things we took photos of.

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Here's the main entrance. The sun didn't shine, so the photo isn't that brilliant.


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We're now standing next to the church entrance and take a look back to places we took photos a few minutes ago.

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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.

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The church wasn't rebuilt like it was before. We saw photos of the church when it was baroque inside.


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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.

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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.:)

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There are many chestnut trees. This is an old big one.


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My host told me, that she visited this pond really often, when her kids were much younger.

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In the main way of the palace garden you find many statues. This one shows the element fire

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and here is water.

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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.

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After we've seen the four elements we're now at the statues of the four seasons spring, summer, autumn and winter.

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We'll have a closer look at two of them. Here's autum

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and here summer- not sure, why we took the photo without head.

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Here's the chestnut alley with old big trees. There is also an alley on the opposite site with younger trees.

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Maybe you remember, that we saw a small small part of the roof of the prison tower, when we were standing next to the church entrance. Here is the prison. It is called cafe octagon - Cafe Achteck - in Bruchsal, because of the way it is built.

Do you see me and my hosts arm in the mirror?
:)

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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.

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Then we drove to the Stadtgarten, because we wanted to see the Belverdere -  a former hunting lodge.


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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.

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We walked down the stairs and have a few on the house from there.

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Standing next to the little house you have a wonderful view over Bruchsal.

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Then we walked back to the Stadtgarten again and took some more photos there. Here is the Ferdinand Keller fountain.

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My host loves this lime tree and I do too.

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The house behind the fountain is called Schönborn Gymnasium. This school is more than 250 years old.

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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.

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fam-united


Posted Aug 8, 2010, 12:00 pm
It is such a beautiful day, that we decided to go on a walk to the little field chapel.

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On the way we passed the seven sorrows of Maria, the holy mother.
They started to built the chapel in 1903 and consecrated it in 1905. In year 1908 the seven stations were finished. The first four stations were destroyed by environmental impact and war and so they were recreated in 1957 and consecrated in 1958.

The Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) are events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary which are a popular devotion and are frequently depicted in art.

It is a common devotion for Catholics to say daily a Hail Mary for each.


1. The Prophecy of Simeon over the Infant Jesus. (Gospel of Luke 2:34)

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2. The Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family. (Gospel of Matthew 2:13)

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3. The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days. (Luke 2:43)

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We saw this apple tree next to the way.

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This is a stone, which reminds of priest Josef Kunz, who built these stations. He wanted to be burried here, but it wasn't allowed.

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Look back to the maize field.

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4. The Meeting of Jesus and Mary along the Way of the Cross. (Luke 23:26)

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This is the field chapel, Feldkirchle.

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We had to walk a steep way to come to the chapel.

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We didn't walk to the last two stations, because my hosts didn't feel really fine. On our way back we saw this walnut tree.


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fam-united


Posted Aug 31, 2010, 7:24 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.

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For lunch we had some Italian kind of soup and this interesting bread rolls.

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fam-united


Posted Aug 31, 2010, 7:43 am
Finally it's Thursday morning and we drove to our hotel in the Bavarian Forest. On our way there we stopped at the Railway museum in Nuremberg – Nürnberg in German. It was raining heavily, when we arrived there. Many other people had the same idea and so we had to stay in a queue outside in the rain for several minutes until it was our turn to pay the tickets. We only looked at the big trains, though, because our hosts already have seen the other rooms of exhibitions and said, that it is just too crowded today. We are sorry for the bad photos, but the light made taking photos really difficult.


King Ludwig's royal train.

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The Saxonia was the first operational locomotive built in Germany in 1838.

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Then we went to the old signal tower. We looked at some more locomotives, while it was raining even more heavily than before.

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fam-united


Posted Aug 31, 2010, 8:08 am
The Walhalla is a hall of fame  that honors laudable and distinguished Germans, famous personalities in German history — politicians, sovereigns, scientists and artists of the German tongue. The hall is housed in a neo-classical building above the Danube River, east of Regensburg, in Bavaria, Germany.

The Walhalla was conceived in 1807 by Crown Prince Ludwig, who built it upon ascending the throne of Bavaria as King Ludwig I. Construction took place between 1830 and 1842, under the supervision of architect Leo von Klenze.

The Walhalla displays some 65 plaques and 130 busts of persons, covering 2,000 years of history — the earliest person honored is Arminius, victor at the Battle of the Teutoburg Forest (9 CE).
(wikipedia)

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We took a photo of the Walhalla from the far too, wanted to get the whole building on it. We tried to get a closer view, but haven't been really successful.

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fam-united


Posted Aug 31, 2010, 8:25 am
Finally we arrived at our hotel and had a rest there. See the view out of our window.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 1, 2010, 9:02 am
The weather is rather bad - a lot of rain is falling down on us. So at first we had to decide, what to do with this day. Then our hosts remembered, that they wanted to visit a Bärwurzerei and that they could do so on a day like this. We drove to Bad Kötzting. Bärwurz - baldmoney- is an ornamental plant and they use it to make Schnaps - hard liquor-  out of it. Our hosts told us, that they don't like to drink it, but they wanted to buy some other Schnaps and liquor.

At first we read about the Bärwurz.


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and took a look at some other plants, which they use for Schnaps and Likör.

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The parish church Maria Himmelfahrt is the centre of the defence buildings with exterior circular wall, moat and interior ring. The church was mentioned in a pope certificate in 1179, extented in 1737/38. Inside it is baroque with a high altar from 1771 and pulpit from 1730.

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Bad Kötzting is a nice city with many beautiful houses.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 1, 2010, 9:23 am
Back in the hotel again we took a look at the things we bought. If you see this here, you could think, that our hosts are a lot into alcohol, but they told us, that it is a famous region for theses Schnaps and liquor and also for beer, which we bought on our way back to the hotel.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 4, 2010, 7:46 am
My hosts found an interesting place to visit for today: Die gläserne Scheune - the glass barn. It is a barn, which Rudolf Schmidt and his family bought to make it a really special place. The inside walls of the barn are glass and he and other family members painted on the glass. You can see different stories on the glass:
about the "Mühlhiasl"
about Saint Francis and more.
It is a really fascinating place and we can all recommend to go there, when you visit the Bavarian Forest and are close to Viechtach.


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This trunk on the ball shows the lies that weigh on the world, they make the world fall apart.

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You can see those wayside crosses very often, when you drive through the Bavarian Forest.

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This one is only painted with pencil.

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Here he tells the story of Mühlhiasl.

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another painting about Mühlhiasl.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 4, 2010, 9:59 am
We saw the Maypole of Viechtach, which is on a place next to the church of Viechtach. We were standing in front of the church to take this photo.

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The church St. Augustinus in Viechtach

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At last we visited the Kristallmuseum - crystal museum in Viechtach.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 4, 2010, 6:19 pm
Then we drove to Arnbruck to visit the Weinfurtner Glasdorf. Arnbruck is a city next to the Glasstraße - glass street - where still glassblowing is very important.
Weinfurtner has a really nice garden with glass decorations.


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fam-united


Posted Sep 4, 2010, 7:01 pm
At last we drove to Maibrunn, because we read, that you can have a good view over the landscape from the WaldWipfelWeg - treetop way. I felt a bit scared, because the way swings and made me feel dizzy. I felt so dizzy, that we forgot to take a photo of the landscape.:(


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Under the way there are stations to learn more about nature - here coats of different animals.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 4, 2010, 8:32 pm
Do you remember the Gläserne Scheune? Today we drove to see the Gläserne Wald - glass wood. It was also created by Rudi Schmid.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 4, 2010, 9:06 pm
Our real destination was to go on top of the Großer Arber - great Arber. Großer Arber (German for Great Arber, Czech: Velký Javor) is the highest peak of the Bavarian-Bohemian-mountain ridge, with an elevation of 1,456 metres (4,777 ft). Although geographically belonging to the Bohemian Forest, it is often referred to as "King of the Bavarian Forest". Just enjoy the views:)

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View to one of the Felsriegel - rock outcrops.

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Sitting on one of the rock outcrops enjoying the view:)

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We also tried to climb a bit. So you see, who fell down a bit? Brinda had a little accident, but she wasn't hurt, thank God.

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She climbed up again and sat down next to us.

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Then we all climbed down again and went on the way, which you see here, to go to the next rock outcrop.

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Here we had been able to see the Kleine Arbersee - little Arber lake.

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In the early afternoon we drove down again, because we wanted to walk around the Große Arbersee - big Arber lake.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 5, 2010, 7:00 pm
After a few minutes drive by car we arrived at the Großer Arbersee - big Arbersee. Großer Arbersee is a lake at an elevation of 935 m, its surface area is 7.7 ha. It's about 10 000 years old. At its west side the water surface is covered by about 2 hectare swinging grass. Over thousands of years these swinging grass islands reached a thickness of between 1 and 3 meters. So much about information, now I just want to show you some photos. I really enjoyed to walk around the lake.

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Here you see the swinging grass islands.

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View to the Großer Arber and to the edge between swinging grass and water surface.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 5, 2010, 7:33 pm
Back at the hotel we all were really tired, but also much too excited. We saw a thunderstorm coming and we all had been really afraid of it, but our hosts wanted to sit on the balcony and told us to relax a bit on the balustrade. The thunderstorm wasn't that bad, but of course we had to go inside, when it began to rain.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 5, 2010, 8:10 pm
Today the weather wasn't that bad, but it was rather cold in the morning. We wanted to see some animals in the Bayerwald Tierpark Lohberg. It's a 10 hectare area with a 1,5 km long circular path. Many pictures and texts inform about lifestyle of many animals.

Here you should see a bird - I've seen it:)

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This is a compound for wolves. I've seen some young wolves under the tree, where you see the arrow.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 5, 2010, 8:32 pm
When we had been to the other places the other days, we found many interesting folders. One of it showed the Baumkronenweg - treetop path- in Neuschönau. As for today the forecast hadn't been too bad, we hoped, that we could have a good view over the landscape there. We had to drive about one hour, but we had a good chat in our Rucksack - backpack. Then we had to walk to the path. Every now and then we had to read about the trees and animals, which live there.

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At first the path wasn't that high. The path starts with the height of 8m, and ascends up to 25m. The real highlight of the path is the tree tower  with a total height of 44m.  Within the tree tower you will find three trees, so you can experience the whole life of tree, from the root to the top!
From the top of the tower you have an absolut fantastic panoramic view over the beautiful landscape of the Bavarian Forest, over the moutains and the wounderful dales.


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fam-united


Posted Sep 6, 2010, 6:46 am
It is very cold and rainy today, so we had to think about the activity a lot, because we had no chance to go outside so much. After going too our books and folders, Saphira asked us, if we could drive to Furth im Wald to visit the Erste deutsche Drachenmuseum - the first German Dragon museum. Of course we were hooked by this idea and so were our hosts. It's sad, that the museum was so crowded, that we nearly had no chance to take photos. It was a bit better in the city museum and then on the tower of the museum we were alone - nobody else did want to go outside in the rain and wind to take photos, but I think, that the photo there isn't that bad.
Furth im Wald is a town in the District of Cham, in Bavaria, Germany, near the Czech border. It is situated in the Bavarian Forest, 16 km northeast of Cham, and 17 km southwest of Domažlice.


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fam-united


Posted Sep 7, 2010, 6:55 am
After a rest at the hotel we drove to Zwiesel.

At first we bought some beer at this brewery.


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Then we drove to the Zwiesel glass shop and took a look at the big glass pyramid.

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We took all these photos from inside the car, because it was raining so heavily.
fam-united


Posted Sep 24, 2010, 3:51 pm
On our way to Engelsdorf we passed Neurandsberg again, but this time we stopped there to take a look at the Pilgrimage Church Our holy mother and at the ruin of castle Neurandsberg.
Neurandsberg is a suburb of Rattenberg just like Engelsdorf. The ruin of the castle is very small, there is only a bit left. The area is used as a place for special nature plants. You can't go inside, because everything is full of plants.
The church is late baroque, built from 1698 to 1700.


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fam-united


Posted Sep 24, 2010, 4:08 pm
We are waiting for our host's husband, who gets some money from the savings bank.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 24, 2010, 4:38 pm
It seems to be habit of Germans, that they drive to neighbour countries, if they are close to the border, just to get some more petrol or diesel for their cars. Usually it is just much cheaper there than in Germany. I thought, that we could go and see more of Austria, but the weather wasn't that great, so we decided to stay in Passau, Germany, for this day.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 24, 2010, 5:18 pm
At first we drove to Mariahilf, so called Mary help. It is a pilgrimage church and you have a nice view over Passau from this place. Here you can read more about the history.

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Here you see the cathedral of Passau, where we will go at next.

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The white building on top of the left hill is Veste Oberhaus, which you will see later again.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 24, 2010, 5:48 pm
St. Stephan's Cathedral, or "Dom St. Stephan" in German, is a baroque church from 1688 in Passau, Germany. It is the seat of the Catholic Bishop of Passau and the main church of his diocese. Take a look at the link, if you want to see a nice photo of the whole church:)


Over time, the Passau Cathedral has acquired the largest organ outside of the United States. It is also the largest cathedral organ in the world. The organ currently has 17,774 pipes and 233 registers, all of which can be played with the five-manual general console in the gallery.
wikipedia

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fam-united


Posted Sep 24, 2010, 6:15 pm
Veste Oberhaus is a fortress that was founded in 1219 and, for most of its time, served as the stronghold of the Bishop of Passau, Germany.
Veste Oberhaus

The building is located on the mountain crest (St.Georgsberg) between the Danube and the Ilz rivers and dominates the city of Passau.


If you see well, you maybe can see the three rivers Ilz (only a small part, but the darkest and cleanest river of them), then the Danube and at last the Inn, which is the broadest river and brown.

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Here you only see the Inn, but the Danube is behind the trees in front of us.

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On the other side you see a white building. This is the pilgrimage church Mariahilf, where we were at first.


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fam-united


Posted Sep 24, 2010, 8:43 pm
On our way home to Bruchsal we stopped at Regensburg. It is a beautiful old town, really interesting. The medieval center of Regensburg is Unesco World Cultural Heritage.
It is located at the confluence of the Danube and Regen rivers.


The first settlements in Regensburg date to the Stone Age. The Celtic name Radasbona was the oldest name given to a settlement near the present city. Around AD 90 the Romans built a small "cohort-fort" in what would now be the suburbs.


The Regensburg Cathedral (German: Kathedrale St. Peter or Regensburger Dom), dedicated to St Peter, is the most important church and landmark of the city Regensburg, Germany. It is the seat of the Catholic diocese of Regensburg. The church is the prime example of Gothic architecture in southern Germany. It is also the home of the Regensburger Domspatzen ("cathedral sparrows"), a choir rich in tradition.
wikipedia

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It was so dark in the cathedral, that we only could take a photo without me.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 25, 2010, 8:06 pm
When you walk through the medival part of Regensburg you come through very narrow streets. You hardly can see the sky and my host told me, that it is rather difficult to take nice photos there. Nevertheless it is really interesting and there are many beautiful houses.

We're not completely sure, but we think, that the white next to the light yellow house is the house where Oskar Schindler lived for about five years.


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We took a photo of the sign there.  Oskar Schindler helped to save about 1200 Jews during Nazi time. He lived in Regensburg from November 1945 to May 1950, at first in this house and later he moved to another place.

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Wealthy patrician families competed against each other to see who would be able to build the highest tower of the city. In 1260, the Goldener Turm (golden tower) was built on Wahlenstraße. In the Baumburger Turm (tower) is the Dampfnudel bakery.

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In the centre of the Old City, on the way from the Kohlenmarkt to the Haidplatz, the Rathausplatz stretches between the narrow streets. In this central market the people of Regensburg erected the building complex of today’s “Old Rathaus” from the 13th century on. In the course of the centuries it has been added to and altered again and again.

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Then we walked on to another narrow street.

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The Stone Bridge spans the Danube with 16 arches and connects the Regensburg Old Town with Stadtamhof - which is also part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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The Salt Warehouse, built from 1616 to 1620, stands in the immediate vicinity of the Stone Bridge and still bears witness today to the active salt trade. The city of Regensburg spent three years giving it an extensive restoration. The rooms with their majestic oak boards and pillars are today a popular location for the most varied events.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 25, 2010, 8:49 pm
Herpa, or Herpa Miniaturmodelle GmbH, is a German manufacturer of die-cast model aircraft under the Herpa Wings trademark and plastic car models under the Herpa Cars & Trucks  trademark. The mainstay of Herpa Wings is in the 1/500 scale, although models are also produced in the 1/400, 1/200, and 1/1000 scales as well. Herpa Cars & Trucks are mainly produced in the 1/87 scale, although 1/120 and 1/160 scales are also offered.

Herpa also produces magazines for car & truck enthusiasts and model aircraft enthusiasts, known as Der Maßstab and WingsWorld respectively.


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fam-united


Posted Sep 25, 2010, 9:54 pm
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.


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fam-united


Posted Nov 6, 2010, 1:24 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.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 6, 2010, 2:26 pm
In the early evening we enjoyed the lights of the sunset.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 6, 2010, 3:02 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.

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On the table you see the worksheets for a plan for the week.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 6, 2010, 3:04 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.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 6, 2010, 4:24 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.

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If you have good eyes, you maybe can read St. Peter on the sign.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 9:50 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:)

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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.

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Then we walked through the town and found this funny fountain.

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Back at the flat again we enjoyed the wonderful view out of our bedroom.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 11:21 am
On our way to the mountain called Feldberg we saw the Titisee. It is a lake in the southern Black Forest and it is said it got its name from Roman Emperor Titus. It covers an area of 1.3 km² and has an average depth of 20 m. It think, it is really nice and I would have liked to go there too to have a closer view and get my feet in the water.

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Then we passed this station.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 12:19 pm
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.

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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.


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There is a deep valley in north-eastern direction which contains the Feldsee, a lake of glacial origin at about 1,000 m altitude.


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This is the Bismarck-Denkmal, an old monument in honour of the famous 19th century chancellor of the German Empire.

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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.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 1:06 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.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 4:05 pm
On our way back to St. Peter we had a short stop at this nice chapel.

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It was a bit difficult to take a photo with me, because there was a gate and my host's arm wasn't long enough to get me and the background focussed.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 7, 2010, 4:30 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.

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If we remember well, this field is called Lehrerfeld, what means teacher fields. If it has something to do with our host's work?

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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.

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fam-united


Posted Nov 8, 2010, 1:41 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
:)

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fam-united


Posted Nov 8, 2010, 4:29 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)

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fam-united


Posted Nov 8, 2010, 6:18 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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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The altar was built in 1751.

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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.


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fam-united


Posted Nov 9, 2010, 6:23 pm
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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.

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This sign says, that here is the home of genetically unmodified Black Forest milk.

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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.

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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.



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fam-united


Posted Dec 4, 2010, 7:09 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.

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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.


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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.

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fam-united


Posted Dec 4, 2010, 10:07 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.

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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:)

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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.


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fam-united


Posted Dec 4, 2010, 10:40 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.

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fam-united


Posted Dec 4, 2010, 2:57 pm
The puppy Christmas started in this house, so it is getting rather uncomfortable for a cat like me. I will travel home now, I can't wait to meet you. 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.


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Chuckle shows you, how the finished star looks like. He is as proud as if he would have created it all alone.

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fam-united


Posted Dec 5, 2010, 7:46 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
:)

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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.

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Our star also found a place at this kitchen window.

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fam-united


Posted Dec 5, 2010, 9:34 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.


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fam-united


Posted Dec 5, 2010, 9:47 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.

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fam-united


Posted Dec 18, 2010, 10:33 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.

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fam-united


Posted Dec 18, 2010, 12:41 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.

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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?


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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.


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He was a bit too small, so he asked me and Scotty to help him, but we still weren't tall enough.

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Hypno-Dog came to help us now. He climbed on our head and Chuckle on his, but you see, we still didn't reach the lock.


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Hypno-Dog called for Travelling Tuffy, who then climbed over our head and sat down on Hypno-Dog's head and Chuckle sat on his head then. It was really heavy already.

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Because we still were too small to reach the lock, Domino asked us, if he could help. Of course we let him climb over our head and Chuckle sat on his head then. You see, that we still had no luck.

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Chuckle called for Schnuffi to help us.

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And then Kari came and also Mustang Monkey asked, if he should help me and Scotty to carry all these other toyvoyagers on our heads.

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We were really close to the lock now, but then it happened....! Oh God! I hope, nobody got hurt.


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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.

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You see we had a different order now and we were building more a pyramid than a tower.

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We didn't feel anything of the cold weather now. We really sweat already.

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And yes, with Brinda's help Chuckle reached the lock finally.

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He turned the key and then....

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What we didn't think of was, that we all will fall down - except Chuckle, Scotty and me. 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.


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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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