UrselHH, Toulouse, France

RikeH Posted Mar 26, 2009, 10:29 am	Sadly UrselHH the first is lost - but UrselHH the second is travelling -searching for UrselHH the first. If you want to become her host, just send a PM to RikeH.  Today I decided to become a ToyVoyager. My Mum told me, that I have to be afraid of this strange thing..... Hope, that nobody has things like this at home !!!
RikeH Posted Mar 26, 2009, 2:52 pm	This afternoon we went to the postoffice. Now I have my first photo on a postbox - and I helped my Mum to sent away some postcards
RikeH Posted Mar 27, 2009, 10:37 am	Maybe you remember the postbox on my photo yesterday? Now I am IN this postbox and on my way to sara in Australia. I am very excited and hope, that my flight will be a good one  Hope to write from Australia soon !!!! Bye for now !
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 15, 2009, 2:03 am	Hi mom! I've arrived to Australia (well yesterday actually) I sat in a post office for 4 days while they had their holiday and weekend... finally glad I made it here... There was actually a sticker on my post bag put there from Aussie customs saying that the bag was torn during shipping... and they repaired it... thankfully nothing in the bag went missing (ie. me)... Sara has had one of her toys go missing in that way... really sad! So I'm finally here... finally in Australia... Not much to do lately - we're taking a rest but in the mean time we can help Sara with her daily chores, she's got a lot today since it's Andrew (her son's) first day back to daycare... write again soon... with photos I promise! ;-) Miss you!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 15, 2009, 7:59 am	Today all of us toyvoyagers decided to help Sara with some of her chores around the house. Usually Wednesday's for her are pretty busy, but this one was way busier than normal since they had so many public holidays in a row... first off Sara had to clean the mouse mansion - once she had it all clean and put new bedding in we decided to sit in it to relax... not really that comfy, but they make burrows in it... ...once that was all done we had to top up the food for the two other mice in separate cages... they're wild mice that Sara caught in her house... since they had been reliant on Sara's food she couldn't release them to their deaths... so Sara keeps them just like the other mice but in separate cages... here we are on top of the cages... The mouse cage on the left is the boy mouse, who is called Mr. Jingles, the cage on the right is a female mouse (not put together for obvious reasons) called Dorothy... Sara actually got a photo of Dorothy who came out to eat once we changed over her food and water. It was from a distance because she's scared very easily... this is what she looks like... ...very very small isn't she?... Next on the list of chores we had to finish off the mouse cage... here we are preparing to put the mice back in their mansion... ...there's four mice in there, can you see them all? Two of them are pretty old now, the large black and white one (more brown and white now) is called Moo, the white one is Charlotte, the tan colored one is Puff (her sister died just recently - she was identical but had a tiny white spot on her back side)... and the small white one with black spots is called Choc Chip... Moo and Charlotte are around 18 months old, which is pretty good... the average life span of a domestic mouse is around 24 months... Before they were put in the cage Sara thought it would be nice for me to meet up with the mice... Moo seemed most inclined to meet me... ...Choc chip hid from me (in the tube), and the other two stayed back... they all seemed very cautious of me... but Moo was very friendly and approachable... :-) Finally... the mouse mansion is complete... see the mice in there? Once that was complete, we had to get the washing baskets ready, so we had a whole heap of laundry to fold... Sara hates folding laundry so she was happy to get some help... Now that's all done, and another load of laundry is in the washing machine, time to move on... time to clean out the bird aviary... it's in the kitchen, Sara's got lots of finches but they're all very beautiful... here's me in front of the aviary... In Bree's photo one of the birds was caught mid air... here's a close up of the zebra finch flying in her photo... ...now we got to clean out the bird cage... we do it twice a week and the birds love when they're cage is all clean... here I am in front of all the stuff ready to go back into the cage... ...as for the birds, some of the birds are quite unique. Zebra finches are very common everywhere in the world. But Sara has some pretty unique ones, she's got star finches (yellow and red faced), gouldian finches (which are endangered in the wild - and extremely hard to breed), spice finches, diamond doves (which is the world's smallest dove)... and society finches which are a bird that was never found in the wild - it was a domestically bred bird, so it's very handy to have in mixed aviaries especially with breeding, as if you do it right you can have the society finches take over and raise the babies that were abandoned. Here's some photos of the finches closer up... can you figure out which bird is which?... ...Sara also has some "ground dwelling" birds at the bottom... also good in aviaries, they're called button quails they're both of the silver variety... Something exciting... is we hear some... odd sounds come out of the cage recently... Sara says two of her gouldian finches actually have had fertile eggs that have hatched. There's sadly only one baby remaining... and it's sure noisy. Sara's not sure how old it is or what it looks like since gouldian finches are extremely hard to breed since they'll easily abandon the nest. Even when Sara was taking a photo of all of us in front of the aviary one of the gouldians sent out a "warning" chirp that made all the birds freeze and Sara didn't want to bug them too much. Sara promises when the baby leaves the nest she'll get photos of the baby and us so we can see what a baby gouldian finch looks like. :-) If you can't tell Sara is an animal lover, she also has fish, and she has a dog... since they're not cleaning the dog right now there's no photos helping with that... Sara put the dog in the kennel to get the photos since she's still a puppy and in training. So here we are with her 1 year old beagle, Anni... Last but not least it's time to finish off the washing, so we all headed outside and "hung out"... ...after what seemed like forever, all the clothes were on the line... it got very very windy while we were outside but we were protected by one of the kid toys Sara's got outside for Andrew (her son)... here's all the clothes on the line... ...now it's time to rest... it's been a long long day! write again soon mom! <3
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 23, 2009, 1:22 pm	Well... we all took a road trip to Bathurst. We got a call today saying that we were going to be taking a long road trip in a few days (when we were going to go to Bathurst)... so we pushed our trip here sooner... first things first, Sara always searches for kangaroos since she knows the places that they frequent on the outskirts of the town... so... lets see if we can find any of those famous Australian animals... Next thing you know... we were there, and there were some kangaroos... just sitting on the side of the road. Sara got us in a photo before she got some close up photos. They weren't all that close to us... here I am with the kangaroo in the distance... ...and of course Sara got some close up photos of the kangaroos... there was a large male there as well, you'll notice him out of the bunch when those photos come along... But that wasn't the last stop in Bathurst... this town has a much more famous thing in it... something that all Australian's know about and it makes this country stop when it's on... let's move onto the next stop... write again soon! :-)
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 23, 2009, 1:41 pm	Next stop was the very famous Australian race track... Mount Panorama... this is the race track that holds the famous Bathurst 1000 each October. For one full weekend the city is absolutely booming, people come from all over Australia to see the races... so we got to visit the track... here's us on the way to the track... if you see in the background on the side of the mountain you can see the writing? See it mom?... I'm sure the sign was a bit hard to see, since we were still quite a distance from it... here we are at the entrance to the track... ...but before we go on the track we got to visit the new statue of Peter Brock which was introduced last year at the races. Mr Brock was famous for winning more times than anyone on the track... sadly he died in 2006, in a car crash, on a different track... very shortly after Steve Irwin died... within days. Here I am in front of his statue... Sara decided to take us up to a higher level to see the race track from above... sort of... here I am in front of the sign you might have been able to see some of earlier... it's the very famous 'Mount Panorama' sign on the side of the mountain... ...and of course we had to check out the starting gate... we had to see where we were headed... There aren't many race tracks open to the public. Nor are there many race tracks where you can drive on them, or have to drive on the track to get to your home... some people live on the track (on the inside ring of the track there's vineyards and quite a few little houses that people rent out during the races)... well... what are we waiting for, let's see what this race track has to offer... Now we have been able to see the whole track as it is, you can see the view from the top of the mountain... isn't it beautiful? Well I better get home and get some rest... Sara says we'll need it for what's coming up! Write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 23, 2009, 1:49 pm	*yawn* It's 6am, and we are already on the road... were leaving Orange now... Sara's keeping quiet of where were going... it's a big surprise to all of us, although it's mainly just a long drive for us we might get to see some fun things... well here we are, leaving Orange just as the sun is coming up... Lots more to see... write again soon! :-)
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 23, 2009, 2:05 pm	We've already been on the road for 2 hours... it's a place Sara's never even been before, a small town out West of her called Parkes... it's a town with only around 11,000 inhabitants but it's the largest town we'll see for the rest of the day... We got to see what Parkes is famous for... it's radio telescope... Can you see it? It's pretty big at 64 meters wide... but obviously it's still a bit of a distance away, you can see it slightly over the trees... you'll see it a lot better soon... ...and finally here we are... isn't it massive? I don't think the picture gives it the justice it deserves... it's amazing how huge it is... apparently this radio telescope actually helps with NASA, and helped with the Apollo 11 Moon Landing in 1969. The famous transmissions with the voice of Neil Armstrong came through here, before being transmitted to Houston... isn't that awesome? Sadly we couldn't stay long, so we just got some photos around the front area of the museum... here I am on top of the world... what toyvoyager can say they've done that? ...and here I am on a sun dial... I'm not quite sure how it works but it is cool to look at isn't it?... Well we quickly had to get back to the car and get on our way... we had another 2 hours to our first destination... I'm thinking this is going to be a long day... but a good start! I can't wait to see what else I'll get to see! Write again soon! :-)
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 23, 2009, 2:13 pm	Next stop was a small town called Condobolin... this town has around 3,500 people in it, but honestly it looked a lot smaller than that... we struggled in this town, we couldn't find a place that sold the fuel we need for the car. So we had a bit of a panic attack before finding someone that sold it... thankfully... here we are on the outskirts of Condobolin... Throughout this tiny town there was a lot of huge trees, it was actually quite pretty... very dry and warm but it was very pretty... here are a few pictures from around the town... ...and this is us when were filling up the tank... we were so happy to find fuel, we would have been lost in the middle of nowhere and that would have been even worse... and you'll see why soon... ...it's time to get back on the road... so much more to see, and the most interesting of it is coming up! I promise you'll enjoy this next bit... I know I did! :-) Write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 23, 2009, 2:53 pm	Now we were on a long stretch. Sara said this would last a while so we all got pretty comfortable and laid back... it was a nice smooth road, this was going to be nice... Just as we got confident about the ride... the road went from this wonderfully paved road... ...to this... for 100 kilometers (62.5 miles)... it was a very bumpy ride... So throughout the ride we decided to just watch out for wildlife... see if we could see anything... sadly we didn't see anything... and then... what did we see in the trees... We saw an emu! A wild emu... how cool is that? Sara had the car turned around so we could get a few photos. Sadly he was at such a distance that we couldn't really get any photos "with" him... Moving on we just watched the landscapes, if we're lucky we can see something more... I'm surprised I got to see an emu as it is... how amazing, Sara's never seen an emu in the wild before... here's the landscapes that we were driving by for the 2.5 hour drive up this road to our next destination... ...and then all of a sudden... we saw more emu's... wow this is getting crazy... this guy was on the side of the road... ...he was really really scared of the car so he stayed back and tried to get on the other side of the fence, we had to over take him in hopes he didn't hurt himself trying to get past the fence... he was fine thankfully... ...then almost just as we passed that one we saw another group of emu's... this time there was 10 of them all together... ...they all got startled quite easily and took off running farther into the paddock so Sara got some photos of that... Sara got to see two other groups of emu's with at least 10 birds in each group... Sara even got a video of the emu's if you'd like to see it check it out here it's only 15 seconds long... they're very curious birds aren't they? I think I'm starting to enjoy seeing them... they get more and more interesting as time goes on... :-) Finally we were at the end of the 2 hours on that dirt track, no more emu's... although we came into something very common in the "outback"... farmers letting their cattle out of the paddock to graze on the side of the road... we had to be very careful... Just after that we were finally coming into the next town... write again soon! That was such an interesting ride through the "outback"... we even passed by the center mark in New South Wales... it means we got exactly to the center of the state... how crazy is that?
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted Apr 23, 2009, 3:11 pm	Next stop was a town called Nyngan it's a town with only around 2,000 people but looked surprisingly bigger than the last town we were in that had another 1,500 people in it... go figure... It was only a short trip through the city so here are a few photos on the way through... Well, we're moving onto the next small town... thankfully we're almost done, we've been on the road now for 8 hours! Crazy stuff! Write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 1, 2009, 7:09 am	Next stop was Narromine a small town outside of Dubbo (around 45 minutes drive from Dubbo)... sadly we didn't have much time to spend there so we got some photos on the road... it was already a long way home and we've already been driving for so many hours today! Next stop is the last stop before going back home to Orange! Yay!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 1, 2009, 7:15 am	Finally! At our last stop before heading back home... we've ended up in a tiny tiny town called PeakHill... it has a population of only around 800 people... so a very one road town... not much to see as were driving through... ...it's finally time to head back home... we have to go through Parkes, so if you look at my map you realize we just went in a really big square type shape... amazing isn't it? Especially done in one day, we're as tired as it seems! Write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 1, 2009, 7:22 am	We're finally back home... I think it took just this long to recover from 11 hours of being on the road... it's been a crazy last week but has been relaxing for us toyvoyagers. Sara says to quickly pack our bags because we are back on the road again today... we get another visitor this time as well... Rob Dyrduck has come and visited us just in time! Write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 1, 2009, 7:40 am	We took a trip today to Wellington, which is on the Orange-side of Dubbo... around 45 minutes outside of Dubbo. Thankfully we weren't going that far... it was only 1pm and it had already been a long day... but we packed ourselves into the car and took off towards Wellington. Sadly the job in Wellington took a bit longer than expected so we didn't get any photos whilst in Wellington... fortunately there's not much to see in Wellington... So Sara decided to take us to one of the lakes in this area... there aren't many natural lakes... this is the first one she's ever been to... it's called Lake Burrendong... sadly because it was getting so late we couldn't go down to the lake... it would have cost us $8.00 to get down there. Which normally isn't a lot, but when all you're doing is taking photos... it's quite a bit of money. So in the mean time we got a photo of us next to the lake... Hopefully we'll get to stop there again sometime when the sun isn't setting behind us! Write again soon! :-)
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 14, 2009, 12:11 pm	Hi mom! I just got back from Lithgow it's a small town on the outskirts of the Blue Mountains... we had been on the road for a good two hours but we were finally here! This is close to Sydney as I'm going to get for now I think... since Sydney is literally just over these mountains... First thing Sara did was took us to the Lithgow Miner's Lamp... which is pretty iconic, it's one of the first things you see as your coming into the city... Honestly, Sara was very rushed so we couldn't see much in Lithgow, Sara had ten mystery shops to do between Bathurst and Lithgow, and be back in Orange by 3pm. It was already a feat in itself so we didn't want to push it... we saw a purple police car as we were driving through town... funny... usually they're not so brightly colored. Sara said there's one in Orange though that's a lime green color... I guess this color is quite nice... Finally were at our first stop... Coles (a supermarket) and Liqourland (obviously a liquor store) we couldn't go in since were minors, we'll just wait in the car... Sara says she'll take us one other place before we head back in the direction of home... Write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 14, 2009, 12:28 pm	It had been a long day of sitting in the car for us toyvoyagers, so Sara decided to take us to the world famous Zig Zag Railway since we were on a close knit schedule we sadly couldn't take any trains but we got to see the famous train station (which is situated just outside of Lithgow)... here we are on the way to the train station... this is what it looks like through most of the Blue Mountains... lots and lots of trees! Here I am in front of the train station... ...and here I am in front of an interesting sign, it's a station sign but it says 9 and 3/4... why? I don't know but it's kind of funny isn't it? Lastly here I am in front of what looks like a lost little caboose... I wonder why it's here but it looks stuck... maybe for museum type memories of the railway's past... it's cool anyways... Sara says that this railway is the steepest incline railway in the Southern hemisphere... sadly she's not had a chance to ride on it but she would like to in the near future... anyways just as we were about to go back to Bathurst we saw a whole bunch of railroad tracks... do you see me mom? ...here I am! There were tons of them there... I wonder what they were doing with them? Oh well... Here's a photo of a Lithgow hillside on the way back home... Oh well, it's time to head back home it's getting late! Write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 28, 2009, 11:16 am	We all took another trip to Bathurst today and we were able to spot some kangaroos... sadly we couldn't see them very well... see how far away they are? You can just see one between the tree and the bush in the photo I'm in... ...and here is a close up of the kangaroo in the above photo... obviously he didn't want to face the camera for the photos... maybe he's a bit camera shy? ...what you're missing is Sara making noise to try to get him to turn around for the photos... finally she got him to look in our direction, sadly it didn't last long... ...on the way back to the car Sara spotted two others, behind a chain link fence, so not that great of photos... but here are two others. The one on the left side is very noticeable and Sara has seen many times... he's got odd eyes... but he's quite cute isn't he? The second photo is a close up of him... Well that was that... write again soon!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 28, 2009, 11:23 am	We've been driving a lot lately going out of town... and what seems like going everywhere around New South Wales for job's and a bit extra money here and there... well today we took a road trip as far South as Yasswhich is just above of the Australian capital territory... Sara's only been to this area of New South Wales a couple times... Sadly since we were on a very tight schedule we couldn't do any sight seeing today... here are some photos of us on the main street... Finally we found what we wanted... the Westpac bank... time to go! Write again soon... at our next stop!
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 28, 2009, 11:28 am	Next stop was an even smaller town called Cootamundra... again we couldn't get any photos in the main bit of town, it was a very quick stop... even quicker than the stop at Yass but we had to get back on the road... here are some photos while in Cootamundra driving around... Write again soon! :-)
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 28, 2009, 11:41 am	Next stop we were given a bit more time to sight see... we got to see the big sign welcoming us to the town... we are now in Young! The cherry capital of Australia, hence the very large cherries you see in the photo... ...here's a better and more straight on photo of the sign... ...and here's some photos of us in the main street of the city: ...and lastly we got to pay our respects at the local war memorial... can you see us? ...how about now? ...well here's an even closer photo of us... it was very very very windy... so a few of us took flight and Sara had to catch us and put us back on there to get our photo taken... If you want to read what the plaque says here you go... ...and here are all the names... amazing isn't it? Lastly there was this really nice plaque on the ground, it was very pretty... it says Lest We Forget... Well that was it... we also made a stop off at Cowra which was our last stop before heading back home... sadly no photos were taken but here's a photo of us on the highway heading South towards Canberra... That was a big day! Write again soon! :-)
sararingham sara.ringham@gmail.com Posted May 28, 2009, 11:43 am	Well, yesterday was my last day seeing Australia! I'm on my way to Wisconsin! I wonder what adventures I'll get up to there! :-) Write again soon mom! Miss you!
Luv_Lioness Posted May 30, 2009, 12:09 am	Wow! I'm in Wisconsin. My host says that I'm in a mouse heaven since Wisconsin is considered a dairy state, so it has lots of cheese! I can't wait to taste some of it!! I even got to meet another traveler. Smooch has seen a lot and is filling me in on what I will see around here... while keeping me in suspense! We'll head out soon! Ursel
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 14, 2009, 11:57 pm	As soon as she said we'd go out, the weather got icky so we've just been hanging around her place... until today! She took me out and showed me a little bit of the area she's in. First picture is of me going up one of the typical hills that are around here. Then I got to read what the area is called and why... “The Coulee Region” Coulee is a term derived from the French verb “couler” meaning to flow. The area before you and the entire coulee region of west central Wisconsin has been dissected by water erosion into a series of narrow ridges separated by steep-sided valleys called coulees. Fertile soils are farmed on the bottom and sides of coulees. The narrow ridges, often protected by woodlands, are capped by erosion resistant dolomite bedrock which commonly overlies sandstone. During formation of the coulees, erosion cut through the dolomite and removed the underlying weaker sandstone thereby creating the valleys. To the north and south of this marker you can view several coulees and intervening ridges and note that State Highway 33 is situated on one of the dolomite-capped ridges. The Wisconsin novelist Hamlin Garland, was a native of this area and wrote about pioneer life in the coulee region. It's very pretty here. Off to see more! Next destination I saw the American flag flying briskly. Then I found out where I was! Grandad's Bluff is the most visited tourist spot since it overlooks all of  the city of La Crosse and more! Since we were high up, we had to read the signs.
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 15, 2009, 12:03 am	Looking from the south to the north. You can see the land in Iowa, and when we face the west, you can see Minnesota also! In the second picture, you can see a pathway, but unfortunately, she told me that we can't go down because there was a lot of erosion that happened a couple years back so it was not safe.
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 15, 2009, 12:11 am	We took pictures coming down from the bluff area. The roads are very tree lined and shady at times! (pictures 1 and 2) Then we got on to the main road going down the bluff. It's called "Bliss Road" but it's very twisty and we had to drive careful! It's known to have deer and also fallen rocks (mainly after rain storms). More to come... UrselHH
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 17, 2009, 1:45 am	Sit back and enjoy what all I saw in one day! I am a tired mouse now! First stop of the morning (we got up early because more rain was coming) was to see the official welcome sign for the city. It shows men playing the sport lacrosse, which is how the city got its name. She says that she doesn't know of anybody that plays it here though. The flags are the American flag, the state flag, and then the city flag. It wasn't really windy so you can't really see them. Baseball anyone? This is the big bat, which is a big log, and ball, which is really a rock, that is right outside the baseball field. This is for the city baseball team, called the La Crosse Loggers. (La Crosse used to be a big lumber mill city back when it first was started in 1850). Then we drove by the Oktoberfest grounds. We then spent a good amount of time touring this park. Riverside Park is her favorite in the city because it's beautiful and peaceful. First stop was the International Friendship Gardens. We saw a sculpted bird that was part of a display last year (there are more of those around the city now).
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 17, 2009, 1:52 am	In the International Friendship Gardens are many things that represent the cities that La Crosse is sisters with around the world. Here is the Russian gazebo. Then we found something that reminded me of home.  Peek-a-boo! Can you see me? I'm in the tree! Then I got to see goldfish in the pond. They were bigger than me!  We then saw some pretty flowers. She said I should pose with them. Who am I to argue?
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 17, 2009, 1:59 am	We then went and toured the park. First thing I saw was big. This is Hiawatha. The Native American that used to reside in this area long ago. Quack Quack! We saw some river ducks sitting and sleeping on the grass. People often bring down bread crumbs and feed them. Then I got to see the "blue bridges" that cross the Mississippi River. They go from the Wisconsin side to Minnesota. It's beautiful for a background don't you think? Another advantage of being on the Mississippi River, there are boats. This one is a paddlewheeler boat. It's not moving now but it does go on trips.
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 17, 2009, 2:07 am	We then got a history lesson. She said this was new so we stopped and learned about a ship that sank. What the board says: Wisconsin’s Maritime Trails Historic Shipwreck Sidewheel Riverboat War Eagle Type: Wooden sidewheel riverboat Built: 1854, Fulton, Ohio Sank: May 14, 1870 Length: 219’  Beam: 29’ Cargoes: Mail, package freight, passengers, troops Propulsion: paddlewheel Depth of Wreckage: 10’ Determined Eligible for the National Register of Historic Places Just up the Black River from this point lies the remains of the sidewheel riverboat War Eagle. Built in Fulton, Ohio, in 1854, she boasted 46 staterooms, fine velvet carpets, luxurious furniture, and onboard barbershops. During the Civil War, the War Eagle transported troops and supplies. Her only casualty was a stray bullet that pierced her smokestack in 1862. After the war, the War Eagle again carried passengers and freight between the bustling towns along the Mississippi River. Connections between steamships and trains made ports like La Crosse important transportation hubs for settlers moving to the western frontier. On the night of May 14, 1870, the War Eagle was docked at the Milwaukee Road Railroad Depot, just across the river from this spot. The ship’s carpenter was tightening the bands of a leaking barrel of kerosene. His lantern burst, the kerosene caught fire, and soon the ship’s deck was ablaze. The flames engulfed the dock, the depot and several warehouses and grain elevators. A nearby barge was lost, and two steamers were damaged. Seven passengers, attempting to save their worldly belongings, perished in the fire or drowned. Many artifacts have been removed from the area of the wreck site, but the hull structure of the War Eagle remains among a tangle of wood, metal, and bricks from the burned buildings. Visibility in the river is near zero. Then I got to see a big American flag flying. The statue of the American Bald Eagle. (She did assure me that it was a statue so it wouldn't eat me).  With all that I've seen so far, I had to take a drink of water! The children are also statues that are a permanent welcome to those who dock here on the river. The fountains represent the rivers that flow into the Mississippi River. (there are 7) On to our next destination...
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 17, 2009, 2:22 am	On the way home from the park she had to show me a popular watering hole... (mom, can I use that excuse?) Then we stopped at a landmark... which is right across the street from... lots of beer!! Remember the blue bridges from before? Well, I got to cross it!  I am now in Minnesota!
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 17, 2009, 2:34 am	We were going to lunch with her sister who works in Winona (pronounced Win-o-na). Smooch was joining us too. What we saw part of the way was what she calls the other season around here (as in there are two seasons, winter and road construction... haha!). Took our pictures by the signs and then the one formation that is notable in Winona. The bluff pointing out is called Sugarloaf. (She has no idea why though). Inside of her sister's workplace is a baby grand piano. Well, as a mouse, I think I'm required to run around on it, right? Then it was lunch time!
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 17, 2009, 2:42 am	We then drove back to the Wisconsin side. Even learned something (I think I'm going to be a smart mouse by the time I get home!). what the sign says: (so you can know as much as I do) The Upper Mississippi    From Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to Cairo, Illinois, the upper Mississippi River flows through America’s heartland for over 1100 miles. Its currents have borne the Indian’s canoe, the explorer’s dugout, and the trader’s packet. Jacques Marquette, Louis Jolliet, and Zebulon Pike tested its strength. Mark Twain gave it life in literature. Paddle-wheelers by the hundreds ferried lesser-known passengers over its waters during the halcyon days of steam boating in the 19th century. Into the Great River pour the St. Croix, Chippewa, Black, Wisconsin, Rock, Illinois, Missouri and Ohio. Along its banks have flourished St. Paul, Winona, La Crosse, Davenport, Keokuk, Quincy, and St. Louis. For a time diminished in importance by the railroads, the Great River came back into its own in the 20th century through dredging and damming. The present nine-foot channel and series of locks and dams allow 300-foot barges to transport coal, cement, grain, and other products vital to the region’s economic well-being. Imposing in size and beauty, violent and muddy in flood-stage, calm and serene on a summer morn, the Great River sustains life and livelihood within itself, along its banks, and upward in the hinterlands east and west. We took a look at the map to make sure we weren't lost. I wasn't too happy with her for stopping at a friend's place who had a cat! Luckily the cat was nice but was getting a little too close for comfort!  She then noticed a postbox and since I want to pose with them in my travels, she let me sit on one. I'm going to go rest now! That was a lot to see and the cat... whew! I'll write more later! UrselHH
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 22, 2009, 11:07 pm	Tonight we got a treat... a baseball game! Remember me by the baseball bat? That is where the game was played. First we ate some snacks before going in. The game program was also looked at while we munched. We had great seats! Right behind the home dugout!  In between innings, they play little games. This one was funny. They are tossing toilet seats into a plunger. It's like the game of horseshoes but with very different tools! This is when the home team (the Loggers) was up to bat. One of the team mascots ... Louie... was happy to pose with us!
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 22, 2009, 11:28 pm	Another mascot, the Logger Dog, posed with us also!  Then it started to get dark, so they turned on the lights. This way we could see the whole field. We scored a home run! He hit it way out of the field!!  She snuck a picture of us with the owner of the team. He is also a State Representative (politician). He does work during the game, throwing up packages of peanuts, popcorn and of course, cracker jacks! This is after we got home from the game... they won 7-5!! We had to pose with the ticket.
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 22, 2009, 11:49 pm	Today we rested and then traveled to her sister's place. It's a nice drive to there. We stopped and saw a historical landmark and learned more. What it says: Decorah Peak The rock-crested hill to the east was named after One-Eyed Decorah, a Winnebago chief who, according to tradition, took refuge in a cave near the peak after being wounded in a Chippewa attack on his village. He remained in hiding throughout the bloody engagement and then at nightfall made his way down the Black River to another Winnebago settlement. The next day he returned, surprised the celebrating Chippewa and routed them. With other Wisconsin chiefs Decorah signed a treaty with the United States at Prairie du Chien on August 19, 1825, establishing tribal boundaries in the hope of securing “a firm and perpetual peace.” He achieved his greatest renown after the Black Hawk War when he accompanied the defeated Black Hawk and the Prophet to Prairie du Chien, where on August 27, 1932, the two Sauk leaders surrendered. Then the picture of the hill. We then went into town... can you see me on the town square's gazebo??
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 22, 2009, 11:56 pm	Galesville is known for their apple orchards so the town square's gazebo had this as a decoration. At another stop in town, we saw a little bunny rabbit (look just left of the cover). He was munching on some grass. A very beautiful little lake!
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 23, 2009, 12:16 am	More pictures from the lake.  A picture of how warm it is here... on the bank sign. 87*F (30.5*C)! This is on the main street down the center of town. At her sister's place, we went for a walk down a small trail that is right next to their property. It was very pretty and green!
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 23, 2009, 12:23 am	Don't I look pretty on a rose mom?  Her sister is a big fan of mice. (Her nickname is 'Mouse'). You can tell by the fact that she has a mouse cookie jar! Can you find me? I'm surrounded by nice mice!! Write more soon! UrselHH :P
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 23, 2009, 12:28 am	Sitting inside staying cool  ... she's planning on going out but right now it's very hot outside. She's going to show us a lot more when it cools down. (Right now the temperature feels like 100*F/37.8*C)
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 29, 2009, 8:28 pm	Today we got out and went to a different town!    Westby is about 1/2 an hour away from her place and is only about 2000 people! Here I am at the sign going into town. They have lots of corn growing here!  Even a big one!  It's an advertisement for a company and is made out of recycled milk jugs! She unfortunately had to go to the dentist which was a little town just a ways from Westby. It has a population of about 1000. Here we are in front of the town sign with a view of the water tower. On the way to a cheese place after the dentist, we were traveling on a country road and saw an Amish buggy. The Amish don't use electricity and are devoutly religious. (It is rude to take their picture so we get the back of the buggy only).
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 29, 2009, 8:35 pm	Cheese Stop #1!  This was a place that had TV screens that showed live how cheese was made. (due to health reasons, they don't do tours anymore) I got to taste onion jack cheese.  It was different. Next flavor was colby jack. She says this is a normal cheese for the area. More next stop...
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 29, 2009, 8:43 pm	Cheese Stop #2! Lots of photo opportunities here... I'm in cheese heaven!!    This is really a can holder. Those who cheer for the football team Green Bay Packers are called "cheeseheads" and this is one example of what one is. I got to taste some pizza flavored "juusto." Very good! This place is one of the few places in the country that makes it. I liked the mural on the wall! We then left here and went to see more things on the way home.
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 29, 2009, 8:52 pm	She then took me on a twisty road to see something big. This is a world-famous ski jump!  Every February, athletes from all over the world descend on this little town and practice for the Olympics. Westby is a predominantly Norwegian town. The mascot for the schools is a Viking. This was on the edge of town. Of course, being a tourist, we had to take a picture. We took a picture of the welcome center for Westby as we were leaving. Cute building isn't it? This is on the way home now... she had to show me how they had to dig into the bluff to make way for roads.
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 29, 2009, 9:00 pm	Back home now ... she had to stop and pick up another sampling of cheese. (We did stop where they made them but they were out!) I had to share but it was good! These are cheese curds. They are really good when left out for awhile and warmed up a bit... they squeak just like me, a mouse! We also sat down and read a book... it was about a mouse! It's a good story and I like the fact that I got a cookie and some milk.
Luv_Lioness Posted Jun 29, 2009, 9:16 pm	Just as I am about to go... another voyager shows up. We were wondering what was in the box! This is Kazys! Well, my time is up in Wisconsin. I had a lot of fun and will be thinking of all the cheese that I got to eat and all I got to see on my way to Germany. Write when I get there! Love, UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Jul 10, 2009, 5:03 pm	Hi Mummy, I was found by my new host Katja when she left the house today. One of the neighbours had taken today's mail out of the mail box and put it onto the stairs. Katja was on her way to the railway station with a suitcase. She took me out of my envelope, introduced me to seven more ToyVoyagers which were sitting in her bag and than we were off. At the railway station she told me we were going to Duesseldorf airport to fly to Barcelona. That sounds great! While we were waiting for the train we went out of Katja's bag for a bit of fresh air.
olgamaus Posted Jul 10, 2009, 5:37 pm	We are at Duessldorf International Airport now. After the check-in we spent some time having a coffee. Here you can see my new friends Nijntje and Misty Mouse. Afterwards we took a walk through the Airport. We also went to the visitor's platform. When we entered the plane I was happy that we had a window seat. So I'd be able to look out of the window. We were ready for take-off than.
olgamaus Posted Jul 10, 2009, 6:39 pm	It was late evening when we had reached Barcelona, went to our hotel by bus and went out to the promenade. We walked to the harbour and had dinner. Bye UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Jul 10, 2009, 8:49 pm	Hi Mummy, today we took a walk along the beach promenade. Our hotel is close to the coastline, so we only had to cross the street to get there. These high-rasers were built for the Olympic Village of the 1992 Summer Olympics. This is a fish fixation, created by the architekt Frank Gehry, manifested by a 35 metre x 54 metre fish made of steel lattice. The fish marks the start of the Olympic Port area and is placed at the base of the two landmark towers. You can find many artworks here at the beaches, this one for example at the beach of  Barceloneta. This is the tower of an aerial ropeway to Montjuic, a mountain in the municipal area. We went to Port Vell than, the old harbour. Here you can see the statue "El Cap de Barcelona" by the American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein. We were in Port Vell than. We also visited Ramla de Mar, a prolongation of the world famous boulevard Las Ramblas, leading to the Christopher Columbus Monument. We also walked to the newer part of the harbour. We walked to the old town to have lunch in a cava-bar. Cava is the Catalanian Champagne. You eat tapas and drink cava here. Really delicious! I tasted the local cheese of course. We went to the old town, built in medieval times with narrow lanes. This is the church Santa Maria del Mar, we wanted to have a look inside, but it was closed until afternoon. In the background you can see one of the historic markets. It is under construction at the moment, otherwise I could have bought some cheese there. Instead we visited Parc de la Ciutadella, the city's main central park. Originally here was a citadel, after it was torn in 19th century, this park was built here. It contains a pond, a fantastic fountain (which is also under construction at the moment) and the Barcelona Zoo. This is the fountain. We went to Montjuic by bus. Here you can find the Olympic arena. Montjuïc is a broad shallow hill with a relatively flat top overlooking the harbour, to the southeast of the city centre. The top of the hill (height: 173 metres) was the site of several fortifications, the latest of which (the Castell de Montjuïc) remains today. The fortress largely dates from the 17th century, with 18th century additions. We visited the remains of the fortress. This is the view across the city. Georgeous, isn'tit? From here you are also overlooking the harbour. We went downhill and reached Placa d'Espanya, one of the central squares of Barcelona. We went back to the city centre by bus, reaching Placa Catalunya. It was already dark and we took some photos with the illuminated fountains. On their way to the hotel Katja and her friend had one or two drinks in a nearby beach bar. Tomorrow we will return home, what a pity! I even learned to say "mouse" and "cheese" as well in Spanish as in Catalan, the language of this part of Spain, of Catalunya. Spanish: Mouse = ratón Cheese = queso Catalan: Mouse = ratolí Cheese = formatge Bye UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Jul 14, 2009, 10:17 am	Hi Mummy, today the weather was more like summer First we had to do some shopping. On our way to the shop Katja showed us a bit of the city. This intersection is close to my current home, the scaffolded building in the background is the local court. I saw some really pretty old houses. In the late afternoon we took a walk to the municipal park. On our way I saw those pretty hydrangea in a front garden. In the municipal park they have a pond with ducks and turtles. You can find the observatory here in the entrance area of the park. Here you can see a memorial for the dead of several earlier wars, before World War I, situated in a flower  garden. On the next photo you can see the outskirts of Remscheid and the neighbour city Wuppertal. This is one of the typical "Bergisch Houses", covered with slate, with green shutters. Bye UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Jul 16, 2009, 11:12 am	Hi Mummy, we went to Wuppertal today. Katja had to buy a few things at Hornbach, her favourite DIY-store. She had to make a new interior for her large rat cage. Afterwards we went to the Botanical Garden. Wuppertal is situated, like the name already says, at the river Wupper, along a deep valley with the city centre in the valley itself, large parts on the steep slopes of the valley. You can find the Botanical Garden on a very high point, overlooking the city centre in the valley. In 1890 it was a school garden first. Later, in 1908 a textile industrialist built his country house here, the "Eller'sche Villa". Later the Elisenturm Elisen Tower) was also built here, which is now the focal point of the garden. Since 1929 it is a municipal garden, open daily. This is the Elisenturm. First we entered the tower and enjoyed the fantastic overview. Here you can see the new greenhouses, they were built in 2006. We went to the greenhouses than. Here you can see plants from the warmer parts of the world, like palms. We went into the garden than. I saw lots of pretty flowers and interesting trees, also the former country house. Here we are sitting in front of a thistle. I also saw a plant with vast leafs. I used one of the leafs as a swing, together with Polki. Back home we helped to install the new things to the rat cage. I will show it to you soon. Bye UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Jul 25, 2009, 12:12 am	Hi Mummy, we took a walk in the outskirts of Remscheid today. It was raining in the morning, also in the early afternoon. Later the sun came out and went out to meet Katja's friend Birgit. We walked through the municipal park to the district Hasten. On our way to the park I saw something yellow ... a mailbox! I have been here before, I've already seen some of those pretty old  houses, I remember. Here you can see that a lot of green is around the town. We reached Morsbach (Morsbach creek) in the valley. Here you still can find many old factory buildings. This part of the town is called "Grund“. From here we went into the rural areas of Remscheid. Really rural In the background you can see the city centre of Remscheid, situated on a hill. You can see the tower of the city hall and the water tower. This will be mouse food soon We went home than and watched TV in the evening. Bye UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Jul 26, 2009, 10:40 am	Hi Mummy, we have baked bread today. It was really easy. All you need is 750 g wheat flour about 400 ml warm water 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt 1 1/2 packages dry yeast 1 tablespoon of olive oil Baking: 35 - 40 minutes, 220°C First we mixed flour and yeast, than we added the other ingredients and kneaded the dough for about 5 minutes. The dough was covered than with a cloth. It had to rise for about 30 minutes. We shaped two loafs of bread. The loafs of bread had to rise once more for half an hour under a cloth. While the breads were rising under the funny dish cloth, I helped Misty Mouse to raid the fridge. We found camembert. Yummy! Back to work than. We had to brush the breads with a mixture of water and olive oil. We put rosemary on one loaf of bread. They were ready for the oven than. The breads had to bake for 35 minutes. Finished! Our selfmade bread was really delicious! Bye UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Jul 28, 2009, 4:48 pm	Hi Mummy, I met Katja's pet rats today. They are sooooo cute Here you can see Nicole, she loves to sit in a box on top of the large cage. This is me inside the cage. Mäuschen is coming closer. There is another Mäuschen", they really look alike. It's dinner time. The rat girls had watermelon, sweet corn, carrots and cucuember. Yummy! Bye UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Jul 31, 2009, 10:29 pm	Hi Mummy, we took a long walk today. We went to Muengsten Bridge, Germany's highest railway bridge. We walked along a railway track for a while. We went through a small district than with pretty houses, partly old houses, partly new houses. That's looking great! We came a little bit closer than ... We walked downhill for a while and reached River Wupper. Do you know this board game? It's Nine Men's Morris, engraved into a rock. We crossed River Wupper here. We walked through a forrest again, uphill and downhill. I saw another engraved rock. Finally we reached Muengsten Bridge. Muengsten Bridge is made of steel. It is 107 m high and spans the valley of river Wupper, which is marking the border between Remscheid and the neighbour town Solingen. The bridge is 465 m long and was completed in 1897 A.D. A leisure park was built underneath the bridge a few years ago. You can relax on the lawns, play in the water and they have playgrounds for the kids. Here you can read about the visit of the German Emperor Wilhelm II, who visited the bridge in 1899. I must admit that we went home by bus. Bye UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Aug 6, 2009, 8:53 pm	Hi Mummy, Katja took me into town today when she returned to her work place after her lunch break. First I'll show you where I have been living the last three weeks. It's the house on the left side, our apartment is in the attic storey. You can find lots of those pretty old houses in the vicinity of my current home. Can you see the water tower behind those trees? Here it is! It is situated opposite of the rear side of the city hall. This is one side of the city hall ... There is a restaurant in the basement, when I read the menu I became hungry immediately ... fried camembert with dark bread ... hmmmm, delicious Here you can see the market place in front of the city hall, the pillar on the place is showing a lion, the heraldic animal of Remscheid. Here you can see the pretty front side of the city hall. Its tower is 48 m high. We had to go to Katja's work place than. First I tried to climb into the law firm's mail box, but I was too ... big. Yes, such a little mouse does not fit into the slot. When we returned home at 18:30 p.m. Katja called her friend Erika if she also wanted to take a walk. Yes, a short walk was ok for Erika. So they decided to meet on the Werkzeugtrasse (Route of Tools). I have been here before, but never in such great weather. Here are patterns of wrenches stamped into the tarmac. You can also find distance information on the ground. We met Erika than and left the Werkzeugtrasse to walk downhill into Morsbachtal (Morsbach Valley). We came along a hammock with a really funny house. It is funny because the owners painted some jokes onto the walls. This is my favourite saying: Oh, it seems to be dangerous here We reached the valley than and crossed the road here. We walked on the other side of the creek than, which already belongs to Wuppertal. You can find some engraved rocks along this special walking path. Here are two of them ... We left the valley here and walked back uphill to get home. I read about this place on an information board. From here we had to walk uphill for more than 40 minutes, but we ersted in a beer garden. So the "short walk" turned into a walk about two hours long and another hour sitting in the beer garden. Bye UrselHH
olgamaus Posted Aug 8, 2009, 4:36 pm	Hi Mummy, I'm on my way to my next host now. I've packed my things and left with Misty Mouse today. Bye UrselHH
Scootin06 Posted Aug 29, 2009, 9:47 pm	Hey Mom Today I Arrived In Megans Mailbox And Boy I Was Glad I Was Afraid That I Would Never Get Through Customs But Megan Opened Up And Found... So Then We Went Back Outside To Get The Rest Of The Mail Cause Megan Was So Excited She Forgot The Others Lol... Megans Brother Came Out This Time To Help Bring In The Mail So I Asked Him If I Could Have A Ride....It Was Fun We Went On A Bump And Then I Flew Out! Dont Worry I Fell On The Grass! Before We Got Inside I Wanted to See If I Could Ride A Bike....Maybe Next Time I Should Get A Littler Bike Until I Get Bigger :P When We Got Inside Megan Had A Welcome Gift For Me I Was So Hungry I Ate All Of The American Cheese! Then We Went To Megans Working Station Where She Sews Doll Clothes... Then She Decided To Make Me A Little Tutu (it was really a hairtie!) Next I Meet Megans Stuffed Parrot Polly :P It Wasnt Scary! But Then Megan Took Me Up To Her Room And She Had A Real Bird Named Koko Leo The Cockatiel XD I Was Scared At First But He Was Friendly.... Then Megan Took Koko Out Of The Cage And Took My Picture With Him Again Well Thats All For Today Mommie I Will Take More Pictures Tommorrow! Love Ya![img]null[/img]
RikeH Posted Jan 11, 2010, 12:07 pm	Hello out there, UrselHH is lost...the host in the USA did’t send her home or to the next host in Russia. So Dicker Kumpel tried to reach her with the help of Magic Hippo. It worked with two others, but not this time. UrselHH is my godmother – and I am named after her – so my name is UrselHH, too. I will travel through the world and try to find her. Dicker Kumpel wished me luck – and maybe I will return home someday with my godmother. Now I will start my trip to Russia! Greetings UrselHH
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Feb 19, 2010, 7:17 pm	Hello mummy! Finally I`m at Maria`s place! They sent me to another town in Moscow area that`s why my trip was so long. I met here several TVs, I think we`ll talk a little bit and than have a rest. Tomorrow we have great plans Good night mummy!
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Feb 22, 2010, 3:40 pm	Hello mummy! Today I was at the Red Square: Quote: Red Square is a city square in Moscow. The square separates the Kremlin, the former royal citadel and currently the official residence of the President of Russia, from a historic merchant quarter known as Kitai-gorod. As major streets of Moscow radiate from here in all directions, being promoted to major highways outside the city, Red Square is often considered the central square of Moscow and all of Russia. Military parade takes place on Red Square every May. Here world famous musical stars show there concerts. The weather is not the best one for having long walks, but as you can see there are many people at the Red Square. At my second photo you can see State Historical Museum At the last photo you can see me and the Kremlin Wall refers to the defense wall that surrounds the Moscow Kremlin, recognizable by the characteristic notches and its Kremlin towers.
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Feb 28, 2010, 8:57 pm	Privet mamochka (Hello mummy - in Russian)! Today I was at the post-office (I saw off some of the TVs) and made photo at the really big post box! And I want you to have a look at photos from Moscow metro (underground). It is so interesting!
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Feb 28, 2010, 9:56 pm	Hello mummy! As you can see I` in my travel bag with my TV-friends! Tomorrow we are going to Amstedam! I`ll write to you note from there! Wish me luck
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Mar 3, 2010, 9:58 am	Hello mummy! I`m on my way to Amsterdam! Thanks to KLM which helped us to reach Amsterdam!
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Mar 3, 2010, 10:17 am	Hello mummy! I`m finally in Amsterdam! Today Beaver and I had an excursion through the city. You can see me with the concert hall (red one). Quote: The main theatre building of Amsterdam is the Stadsschouwburg Amsterdam at the Leidseplein. It is the home base of the Toneelgroep Amsterdam. The current building dates from 1894. Most plays are performed in the Grote Zaal (Great Hall). There are many cute brown houses in Amsterdam, they are very nice. And I saw very luxury cinema! Theater Tuschinski! I`ve never seen such strange cinema-hall. I also enjoyed my trip to see and I saw the famous "I amsterdam". Bye mummy!
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Mar 4, 2010, 10:05 pm	Hello mummy! Today I found a typical Amsterdam post-box! And I found out how in Russian will be "mouse and cheese", but it is very difficult to pronounce. Mouse = mysh cheese = syr. But the "y" is spelled more hard than in English.
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Mar 6, 2010, 10:25 pm	Hello mummy! I`m in Barcelona!!! Today I saw the sea and drank Spanish tea from very small tea-pot. And I saw a demonstration: young people beat the drum, I don`t know what the wanted to ask or to say to the government but it was very interesting and merry, many people were dancing.  And I`ve made photo on the Barcelona post-box, it is situated on the ground, not at the wall! At the night we visited the Expiatory Church of the Holy Family by Antoni_Gaudí Quote: The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família (official Catalan name; Spanish: Templo Expiatorio de la Sagrada Familia; "Expiatory Church of the Holy Family"), often simply called the Sagrada Família, is a massive, privately-funded Roman Catholic church that has been under construction in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain since 1882 and is not expected to be complete until at least 2026. A portion of the building's interior is scheduled to open for public worship and tours by September 2010. Good night mummy! Hope you are fine mummy!
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Mar 11, 2010, 10:28 pm	Hello everybody! Today we came to Paris and my friend Beaver and I had a small excursion to Montmartre and around. We enjoyed fantastic view of Paris and saw old roundabout.
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Mar 13, 2010, 4:53 pm	Hello mummy! I`m in Paris! Today was perfect day! I used Paris metro for the first time, tasted delicious French cookies and had very pleasant walk. We went to Cite - part of Paris where Notre-Dame de Paris is situated! I was inside of cathedral (it is so great inside!!!) and then we climbed by stairs on the top (400 footsteps mummy!). There are very ugly figures there and I found even one bird. I enjoyed view of Paris from  Notre-Dame! P.S.And tomorrow we are flying to Moscow!
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Mar 27, 2010, 8:40 am	Hello mummy! Today was the shopping day! We visited two biggest shopping-centers in Moscow: "European" (the first photo) and in GUM which is situated on  Red Square where I`ve already been. Quote: Main Department Store or GUM (pronounced as goom, in full Glavnyi Universalnyi Magazin) is a modern name for the main department store in many cities of the former Soviet Union, known as State Department Store, Gosudarstvennyi Universalnyi Magazin) in the Soviet times. Similar-named stores were in the some Soviet republics and post-Soviet states. The most famous GUM is a large store in Kitai-gorod of Moscow, facing Red Square. It is actually a shopping mall. Prior to the 1920s the place was known as the Upper Trading Rows. Yours,UrselHH
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Mar 28, 2010, 8:59 am	I`m on my way to Australia! Bye Maria, bye my Russian friends!
Lillebi Posted Apr 12, 2010, 9:42 am	Today I met a bear whose name is Lillebi. He told me that it was him who picked me at the reception of B & G. He also said he is a mouse! How weird! I have been a mouse for so long but have ever see a mouse like this.
Lillebi Posted Apr 13, 2010, 6:57 pm	The first thing I did in Canberra was to eat the chocolates from the Russian friend with Li llebi.
Lillebi Posted Apr 14, 2010, 7:39 pm	Then I was treated with Lillebi's favorite cheese. (In fact, Lillebi doesn't like cheese much)
Lillebi Posted Apr 16, 2010, 5:08 pm	Then we explore B & G's Kichen. I found my flag.
Lillebi Posted Apr 18, 2010, 12:22 pm	After fulling my stomach, we explored B & G.
Lillebi Posted Apr 19, 2010, 2:43 pm	Lillebi was teaching me  "mouse" and "cheese" in Chinese.
Lillebi Posted Apr 20, 2010, 7:59 pm	After hard studying, we relaxed a bit at B&G's function room.
Lillebi Posted Apr 21, 2010, 6:50 pm	Played soccer.
Lillebi Posted Apr 24, 2010, 7:32 pm	After all the peparational stuff we have done in the fast week, our ship is finally ready to take off. Windy
Lillebi Posted Apr 26, 2010, 1:18 am	Today we visited the postbox on campus.
Lillebi Posted Apr 28, 2010, 3:24 am	Today we have visited te Australian academy of science.
Lillebi Posted Apr 29, 2010, 9:35 am	Today we traveled back in time to see the gallery at Australia National gallery, unfortunately photos were not allowed inside the exhibition. (Booked the tickets by using Lillebi's dusty macbook )
Lillebi Posted May 1, 2010, 2:45 am	Today we visited the Unilodge student residence in ANU. It is the newest on-campus accommodation. And it is the closest to civic shopping centre.
Lillebi Posted May 3, 2010, 3:18 am	Today we had stood outside the school of art for a while.
Lillebi Posted May 5, 2010, 7:57 am	Today Saint Lillebi have tested his new camcorder - the Panasonic TM700 on me. But he forgot to turn it on.
Lillebi Posted May 10, 2010, 10:40 am	Today we have visited Canberra Centre.
Lillebi Posted May 13, 2010, 5:07 pm	Today we have visited the National Portrait Gallery. But it was closed.
Lillebi Posted May 15, 2010, 12:04 pm	Today I was kissed.
Lillebi Posted May 17, 2010, 5:14 am
Lillebi Posted May 18, 2010, 11:19 pm	Today we had visited the Paliament house of Australia. We were scared, there were security guys around riding bikes.
Lillebi Posted May 21, 2010, 5:41 am	Today Saint Lillebi was saying goodbye to me. For the first time in my life, I felt something uncontrollable coming out from my eyes. Watch
Lillebi Posted Jun 12, 2010, 6:12 am	Lillebi is missing UrselHH.
fedechica Posted Jun 14, 2010, 7:57 pm	Hi!! I'm SO sorry of being so late, but Federica had some big problems here, some of them also included the breaking of the memorycard of her camera Now things are going better, so I can upload some photos I can tell you I don't like this family: when I arrived they (Sam, Tina and Tofu) asked me to help them bake a cake.. "Sure!" I answered, thinking: "Great, we'll have a party!!" so we took the eggs I whipped them I melted some Nutella (yum!) and took some flour.. we put the mixture in the pan and.. nothing!! Federica gifted the cake to some friends of her!! It's not fair!! I want caaaaaaaaaaaaake!! In the afternoon she took us to a donkey-race, and I took a photo with the most wonderful one!! Aren't we cute together? I couldn't help taking this photo, Berly looked so ridiculous while having his bath!! And here I am disturbing him while he was trying to sleep Another TV came into this house: Rocky Squirrel maybe we'll become friends!! me and the other TV (with Sam in the background) and.....
fedechica Posted Jun 14, 2010, 7:59 pm	and later that day Federica took us in a travertine quarry, where we could play hide-and-seek see? we ARE friends now!!
fedechica Posted Jun 26, 2010, 11:10 am	Hi!! Last week I found this rainbow in the sky (it rained all day) and how could I leave Italy without eating some real good pizza? Mine was with mushrooms and ham, yummy!! in a truck fair we found this nice truck and we took a photo all together!!
PingaPingviini Posted Sep 27, 2010, 9:52 pm	Today I arrived in St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada! I'm staying with Hilary and her little owl friend, Oliver. Here is his local post box, at the university, where I learned the words for "mouse" and "cheese" in another language. Now I'm going to sleep before meeting some new mice tomorrow!
PingaPingviini Posted Sep 28, 2010, 10:35 pm	Today I went to work with Hilary at Memorial University of Newfoundland, in Newfoundland's provincial capital city, St. John's. After I met some friendly local mice, I went outside to see some trees uprooted in Hurricane Igor last week. Here I am, sitting on a stump!
PingaPingviini Posted Oct 13, 2010, 12:44 am	On Thursday I drove around the Irish Loop on Newfoundland's Avalon Peninsula. Here I am in Ferryland, the site of the Colony of Avalon, founded in 1621 by Lord Baltimore.
PingaPingviini Posted Oct 13, 2010, 12:54 am	On Friday morning I went up Signal Hill to see the beautiful view. Signal Hill is where Marconi received the first transatlantic wireless transmission in 1901. The point of land in the distance is Cape Spear, the easternmost point of North America! I found a sign showing how far I was from many other places around the world. Then I looked out over Fort Amherst across the Narrows (the light station). Lastly I looked out at a lovely view of the city of St. John's and its harbour on a sunny morning.
PingaPingviini Posted Oct 13, 2010, 1:01 am	Today I went to The Rooms, which is the provincial museum of Newfoundland and Labrador, where I ran into a POLAR BEAR! The polar bear was scary, but later I got to see the most beautiful view of St. John's harbour from an upper window. A giant cruise ship passed by the harbour entrance while I watched!
PingaPingviini Posted Oct 13, 2010, 1:10 am	Today I visited Ft. Amherst, guarding the harbour entrance of St. John's. I could see Signal Hill across the Narrows (and Cabot Tower at the very top, where I visited earlier). The Ft. Amherst light station was very picturesque, and I even thought about a bit of a hike along the East Coast Trail!
PingaPingviini Posted Oct 13, 2010, 12:08 pm	Tonight I watched the sun set over Middle Cove beach on Logy Bay.
atotalnobody Posted Oct 31, 2010, 3:33 pm	Hi Momma! Guess where I am at?!?! I am in the USA!  I arrived here this morning! I was greeted by some other TV's who are already here visiting! Tealc, Leopold, & Tapio (Tapsa) (who arrived this morning as well). My host mom's name is Monica, and Tealc is her at home (for now) TV. Leo is from Oregon, and Tapsa is from Finland. It was so wonderful to be greeted by such cool friends! I think Monica is going to be a great host-mom. I am so excited because Tealc told Tapsa and I that we got here just in time to celebrate HALLOWEEN! All I know is that we get to go trick-o-treating, wearing costumes and eats LOTS OF CANDY!!!!  Monica said she will try and find Tapsa and I some costumes to wear or make us one to wear tomorrow. I don't care much about the costume, I just want the CANDY!!!! Tealc told us that his mom bought us some pre-Halloween goodies. No candy, but something to help us get in the spirit of the halloween...Take a look  Well, Momma, I am tired from the long journey.Monica says it's time to get off the computer. I will update our pictures from trick-o-treating tomorrow. I love you and miss you. with love, Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Nov 1, 2010, 5:54 pm	BOOOOO! Did I scare you mom? This is me ready to go trick-o-treating! Didn't Monica & Tealc do a good job on my costume? I am a mummy!! Tealc, Tapsa, Leo and I had so much fun trick-o-treating last night. We got lots of candy. I made sure to share mine with my new friends. Monica said we all had to share the candy with each other and not eat too much otherwise the candy would rot our teeth and hurt our bellies. I think I want to stay here in NC for a while. Monica and Tealc are such great hosts. (Host-dad, Adam is nice too!). Take a look at our costumes and all the candy we got!! Love, Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Nov 25, 2010, 2:33 am	Hi Momma- Sorry for not being able to update for some time, my host mom has been in the hospital for the last 10 days and has been very sick. She is better now and has taken us on some adventures. We were able to help another toy, Tapsa, in completing one of this missions to see a mountain! We visited Pilot Mountain, NC. It's pretty close to where my host mom and host dad live.  We spent a few hours there looking at the sights and seeing the beautiful fall scenery. Usually, our host mom told us, they would walk around the mountain and see all the sights but host dad didn't want to since they brought Teddy, the dog. Take a look at our drive up to the mountain and the beautiful views we were able to see. I am beginning to love this season of fall. It's so nice outside here.
atotalnobody Posted Nov 28, 2010, 4:21 pm	Hey Momma- Guess what we did today? We went and looked at Christmas trees! Not just any trees but specially decorated trees! They were all so very beautiful. My host-mom took us to the Festival of Trees sponsored by Brenner's Children Hospital. It was an auction and the trees were all decorated and sold to those who wanted to sponsor the hospital. They also had lots of things for kids to do and see. It was great to see all the cool trees. I didn't see any mouse trees but there was a tree with Teddy bears on it so Tealc was able to get a picture with it. There were also some reindeer that we were able to take a ride on. So much fun! (Of course they weren't real , but still cool just the same) We also saw large nutcracker and gingerbread man and my host-mom even let us play in some presents. It was a fun filled afternoon. Host-dad even came and was the photographer for us. Take a look at all the things we got to see...
atotalnobody Posted Dec 11, 2010, 6:53 pm	Hey Momma- Monica (host-mom) took us to her work last night! We had to stay up all night long, because she works the "grave-yeard shift". Basically it's all night from 11p to 7 a. How she is able to stay awake for such long periods of time I do not know. It was hard for me to even stay awake. Monica took us to work because she said they have already put the Christmas decorations out and it would be great if we could see them since they are so beautiful. Also she told us that she was awarded Employee of the Month for November so she wanted us to see the beautiful sign they had hanging on the bulletin board in her honor. Monica was right about the decorations mom! We got to see a christmas tree with presents,see some friendly snowmen, sit by the fireplace and even see SANTA!!!! How great it was to see SANTA! I didn't think he was real but now I KNOW he is!!! While at work she also told us a bit about what she does- Monica is a CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) who takes care of the elderly. She let us clock-in the time clock and even check out the lights that she has to answer when one of the old folks rings their bell. Monica gave us the grand tour. When I get old, Momma, I want to live there and have Monica take care of me! I even got to learn how to play checkers!! We need to play that game alot when I get home so I can show you how good I am and beat you. HA! I'd love to visit her work again, maybe in the daytime so I am not sooo tired. Now it's time for me to take a nap so I can recouperate from last night. Talk to you again soon!
atotalnobody Posted Dec 11, 2010, 8:00 pm	Hello Momma- HAPPY THANKSGIVING!! Today we are celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday here in the US. Basically, Monica told us, is its the one day a year that everyone uses as an excuse to eat and get fat. HA! She is off work, luckily, so she is going to be cooking for her family. Host-dad's mom and younger brothers are coming by to celebrate and enjoy this holiday with us. Monica ordered a ham and turkey loaf from honey baked ham. Ham and turkey are the traditional meats they eat for his special day. Monica told us that once when she was younger and living at home they had prime rib of beef for thanksgiving instead of the usual meat. I thought that was pretty strange, but interesting! Monica got off work last night and barely slept any because she knew she'd be busy cooking today. We helped her make some of the finger  foods and the desserts. It was messy but alot of fun. Monica is a good cook but certainly not Betty Crocker. The desserts were definitely as good as I have ever tasted. I got to use a handheld mixer and crack some eggs. I think baking and cooking is fun. Maybe when I come home we need to look at finding me a cooking class to join? I am going to finish helping Monica cook and prepare for the guests to arrive. Then we are going to eat!!! With love, Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Dec 11, 2010, 10:32 pm	Hey Mom It was so BEAUTIFUL outside today so our host-mom decided to take us outside so we can enjoy the beauty that is Fall. Monica took us outside her apt. building in the parking lot. There is a big tree there close to the roadsign/stop sign that had beautiful leaves blowing in the wind and leaves around it that had fallen. To her it was the perfect spot to sit and enjoy the outdoors. We sat outside with her for about an hour while she read under the tree. Monica even let us climb the tree for a bit as long as we didn't get too high up where she couldnt reach. I wish it was Fall all throughout the year! The leaves falling, the colors changing and the cool but nice temps... ahhh just beautiful! What a relaxing afternoon outside.. More to come... Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Dec 11, 2010, 10:40 pm	Hi Momma In prepartion for the Christmas holidays, Monica got us Santa hats! Isn't that fun? Unfortunately, she couldn't find one that fit Tapsa, but Tealc, Vahla and I got a hat. I think I look good in my green hat. Don't we look cute, Momma? Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Dec 12, 2010, 1:57 am	BRRRRR it's so cold outside! It's SNOWING!!!!! Today is the first day of snow here in NC. It is so beautiful falling to the ground. Too bad it's not enough for it to stick to the ground long enough to really play in it. Host-mom and host-dad were driving around town when it started falling. When they got home it had stopped but us toys were able to get some pictures in the snow around the apartments. I don't know what happened to the weather. Last week it was so beautiful outside and now it's froze! Yikes!!... BRRR! I don't like this cold weather. Fall, where did you go? It's too cold for me out! BRRRR! Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Dec 12, 2010, 5:50 pm	Hi Mom! Today was an exciting day! Guess what? We had another toy join our little crew today! His name is Ollie Kikabeer. He's a little orange bear. We greeted him with the warmest welcome. After he arrived we sat around and talked with him and found out that he is from Netherlands by way of Canada. Hopefully we can show him a good time here in the states. It's getting cold but if he just left Canada, it's warm here. HA! With Love, Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Dec 13, 2010, 2:52 am	sings *HAPPY BIRTHDAY to Host-Mom... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you... HAPPY BIRTHDAY dear Host-Mom... HAPPY BIRTHDAY to you...* You guessed it right, mom, today is our host-mom's birthday! Monica is turning 25 years young. She is 1/4 of a century old!! WOW! I don't think I am ever going to get that OLD... To celebrate her special day, us toys sang happy birthday to her and wished her well for the coming year. Unfortunate for her that her birthday is so close to Christmas that she doesn't get as many presents. Host-dad surprised her by sending her a beautiful boquet of flowers with red roses especially themed with a gold vase and red ribbon for the Christmas holidays. Also came a plushie snowman in a bag with a Happy Birthday mylar balloon attached. Isn't he romantic and sweet? At least he remembered her birthday! HA! Not much happened today b/c Host-dad had to work but he did take Monica out for a lovely dinner at Olive Garden. Unfortunately us toys didn't get to go because Host-dad wanted to be alone with Host-mom for a special night out. We completely understood. Happy Birthday, Monica, hope you had a blessed day and a great 25th year! xo Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Dec 13, 2010, 11:25 pm	Mommy dearest- It started SNOWING!! again tonight. Monica said it was pretty cold outside but she would take us toys out for a bit so we could enjoy the falling of the snowflakes. It was falling pretty hard, but the pictures we took do it no justice unfortunately. She sat us up on her car and let us enjoy the night air and cool temps and then after a brief time she said it was too cold and we needed to go back inside. I couldn't have agreed with her more! BRRRRR!! Once we got inside she let us sit by the window and watch the rest of the snow fall until bed time. I think the snow falling is beautiful but it is definitely too cold outside to be out for very long. Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Jan 9, 2011, 6:09 pm	Hello Mom! Guess what?!?! We went shopping at Walmart today!!! I didn't know what Walmart was, but it sure sounded interesting. Our host-mom said that it is a big mega store that sells groceries, along with clothing and other merchandise. Kind of the catch-all store. I was excited. Monica told us that she had some last minute grocery items she needed to get so that she could finish the desserts she had planned to make for the holiday parties we were going to. It was so much fun to go to Walmart. We got to play in the aisles and even got to see Santa's toyland. I didn't know he had a shop set up at Walmart!!! Take a look at all the fun we had. Do they have a Walmart by us mom? If we do, we should go more often, I think you will like it. I can't wait, Christmas is only a couple of days away. I just want to see Santa!
atotalnobody Posted Jan 9, 2011, 6:57 pm	It's almost Christmas, YAY! Today Monica and Tealc are wrapping the presents that they picked out for Monica and Adam's families. Of course us toys were able to help. We didn't do much helping; we did more playing. Either way it was fun to get to pick out gift bags and tie the ribbons on the presents. I miss you mom, and can't wait to see you soon. Lots of love, Ursel xoxo
atotalnobody Posted Jan 12, 2011, 1:36 pm	*sings* We wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS, we wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS, we wish you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a HAPPY NEW YEAR!! *sings* As you can guess Mom, its Christmas Day! I am so excited to enjoy all the activities my host mom and dad have in store for today. Also I am excited because I think Santa was here!!! The cookies Tealc put out for Santa were ALL GONE!! Can you believe it? I don't even know how Santa got in the house because they don't have a fireplace, but I guess that is one of the many miracles of the holiday season and spirit! Last night Monica made us go to bed pretty early just in case Santa came to visit their house first. She said that we better hope that we had all been good little boys and girls so that we wouldn't get a lump of coal in our stockings. Tealc read us a cute Christmas Sesame Story and off to bed we went. In the morning we woke up to find a stocking waiting for each of us! Thanks Monica, Adam and Tealc! Tealc said he helped his mom pick out the stockings- of course all of ours but his. He also said that he helped pick the goodies inside. Monica said she had to go back to the store in secret to pick out a stocking for Tealc as well. When we opened the stockings to our surprise they were filled to the brim with candies and other goodies. It was a sweet treat to receive this cold Christmas morning. Monica spent the day baking some more pies while we watched some Christmas specials on television with Adam. They had a parade on, and some cute Christmasy type of movies. After a while we got ready to go to Adam's moms house to celebrate with his mom and younger brothers. Those are whose presents we helped to wrap earlier in the week. When we got to Adam's mom's house, we saw the most beautiful Christmas tree. So many lights. Monica took a picture of us toys  just so we could show you how lovely it was. We ate some pizza for Christmas dinner, isn't that funny mom? Then we were able to eat dessert! YUM! Monica is a good baker. She made the most delicious pies I have ever tasted. You might have to ask her what her secret recipe is. HA! After a while, it was getting late and the roads were going to be slick with ice and sleet so we decided to head home. Plus all of us  including Monica and Adam were very tired from being up all day celebrating and enjoying the festivities. Miss you bunches mom and can't wait to see you after the new year!
atotalnobody Posted Jan 12, 2011, 1:59 pm	HAPPY NEW YEAR! *Blows horn* It's 2011, mom!!!! Last night Monica and Adam let us toys stay up so we could ring in the new year at midnight. We got to watch the New Year's Eve special on television and even got towatch the 'Ball Drop' in Times Square, NY. It was so cool. We all counted down... 10... 9...8...7...5... I had so much fun ringing in the new year! I wish I could always stay up until midnight! What do you think mom? Can we change my bedtime when I get home? No? *shucks* it was worth a shot to ask! Only a few more days until I my journey starts over again! I wonder where I will end up on this next trip? Love you, Ursel
atotalnobody Posted Jan 12, 2011, 2:06 pm	Goodbye NC!! It's time for me to take my leave from North  Carolina. What a pleasant visit it has been. I had lots of fun and enjoyed many holidays while I was here. Tealc has been a great friend along with the other toys I have met while I have visited here. If it wasn't as cold during the Winter season, I would tell mom to send me back here again. Maybe during the Summer I can come? I guess I can talk to mom more about that when I get home. Monica and Adam have been such wonderful host parents. I would suggest all toys come and stay with them for a time being. The definitely spoiled me rotten! Haha! Watch out mom!! I shall take my leave now to Portugal, Monica says. Goodbye NC, Tealc, Monica and Adam. Also goodbye my other TV friends. I will miss you all dearly but hope to one day soon cross paths with you again. On to my next journey back across the sea...
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 2, 2011, 10:01 pm	Hello fans! Hi mom!  I arrived today to Portugal, to a city called Laranjeiro, which is on the southern bank of river Tejo, just opposite Lisbon. Henna, my new host  and her toyvoyager  Orkku Orava were waiting for me anxiously. We were eating some delicious portugues fruit, but after the long journey I feel a bit tired and I think I’ll voluntarily go early to bed tonight.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 4, 2011, 8:42 am	The days here in Portugal are very busy. Orkku wants to show me so many things and we are running from one place to another all the time. Yesterday I was tasting wonderful portugues cheeses. Even the smell of them is able to take me to nirvana. I also learned my first word in portugues - "queijo" means cheese here. Most cheese here is made of goat- or sheep milk and that is SO much tastier than the cow milk cheese! Could we take a sheep and few goats as pets, mom? To milk them and make cheese? Please, mom! My first look over river Tejo   The old Lisbon trams are very cute!                                                                                                                     There is so much to see in Lisbon! The walls of old houses are paved with beautiful tiles, azulejos, and there is many beautiful parks and interesting historical buildings to see, but also lots of empty houses. This is a typical portuguese post box. And the trees! Orange- and lemon trees are full of fruit just now. If I was living here a longer period I would end up as a rather fatty little mouse!   ..Not to mention the hundreds pastry shops and bakeries! Oh gosh!! I also enjoy to watch the artwork of local graffiti makers - some of them are very witty things, altough the main part of course are on the basic level with the international symbols of sexual organs. We went today to see an area called Belém. There was this enormous monastery called Jerónimos from the 16th century and a beautiful garden in front of it. The monastery walls were full of carved figures, saints and monsters and whatnot. We climbed to see the funniest of them with Orkku. Cats, cats ewerywhere! We saw also Belém tower, which is about as old as the monastery. It was originally built as a fortress, but later on it has served also for example as a political prison.  I could not help having a bit gloomy feeling there. Then we went exploring the river shore next to the tower and found an old WW beetle toy car! We had to immediately make a little test driwe.. Then I spotted a sea shell colony living near the water front. I tried to communicate with them, but they weren´t very talkative. First I thought they maybe only speak local language, but they just stayed silent even when I greeted them in portuguese, saying "Olá, como està?" Donno if they were shy or just grumpy.. One hás to be in good condition to walk in Lisbon – there is very steep stairs everywhere, and Orkku is hopping and running everywhere like a maniac. I think all squirrels are a bit like that - running suddenly without warning like rockets up to tree tops to chase after pine cones or who knows what.     Here is lots of stray cats in the side alleys and parks, and I was at first a bit nervous to see them, but Henna advised me to just keep always some cat food with me like she does. I tink that is a good advise, especially if you happen to be small and delicious like I am. We have been feeding many many cats. In front of many houses there is plastic saucers put for the stray cats and dogs - people put their left overs there for them. I feel sorry for the homeless cats, even if they make me a bit nervous.     Now I have to run again after Orkku and Henna, they say we are going to visit a place called Sintra, about 30 km away. We are going to take a train there. Sintra seems to have been a holy place thousands of years ago before christianity came to Portugal. There is hills called "The mountain of Moon" and the "Mountain of Sun", and there was cult places dedicated to heavenly members already in bronze age, and propably even earlier. Later on there has been some mysterious sects having their headquarters in the area, with odd initiation rites, and nowadays there is neopagans from all over Europe sneaking into the forest at nights, to the caves. Orkku says she doesn´t know hat they do there, but they leave lots of burned candles after them, and some symbol drawings to the cave walls. Orkku tells there is wonderful forests and rocks to climb to, caves and secret passages. It sounds great! I will write more later, when I have time, now I have to run after those two! Beijinhos, Ursel (= My other portuguese word, it means "kisses")
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 10, 2011, 9:41 pm	Hello again, friends, hi mommy!  Now I am in Finland, we flew here yesterday trough Münich. But before starting to tell about Finland or about out trip here I´ll tell about my last days in Portugal. We spent them almost exclusively in the forests - the wonderful forests of Sintra, and then in Monsanto forest in Lisbon. We took a train from Lisbon Restauradores railway station. I bought a ticket, Orkku didn´t. She was hiding under the bench when the ticket controller came.   The train trip took about half an hour, and we were watching landscapes and drinking chocolate milk and trying to read aloud the names of the stations. After arriving to Sintra we peeped first inside the old station building. The walls inside were decorated with "azulejos" like most old stations are in Portugal. Then we climbed on the roof of an empty house to get a view over Sintra. Then we took the shortest possible route towards the forest. I also wanted to see the moorish castle Orkku and Henna had been telling me about. First we went trough a beautiful park "Parque da liberdade". The camelias were in bloom there and the fallen petals were forming wonderful carpet on the ground.   There was some ducks and hens living in the park. We stopped to chat with them for a moment. I was a bit worried about their wellbeing because they were inside a cage (though a big one), but they said that the main thing wasn´t to keep THEM in, but to keep the over-enthusiastic BRATS out.  That is very understandable. After coming out of the park we continued our way upwards, trough many narrow streets and demanding stairs. On our way we saw the house where Hans Christian Andersen was living some years. He fell in love with Sintra. In his book about his stay in Portugal he described Sintra as a paradise on earth, and told that though he had travelled in many European countries, he had encountered such beauty nowhere else. We were still climbing upwards, investigating trees and plants and interesting houses on our road. After more climbing and taking a narrow path only few people know and after climbing over a wall, we were inside the forest! And oh gosh what a forest! I could write a kilometer long description about that forest!  How well I understand Andersen! Those trees are really something! Huge trees of many species - wonderfully smelling eucalyptuses, many different species of oaks, redwoods, laurels, chestnuts..  ivy cirkling everywhere on their trunks, red berries of butchers brooms and hollies here and there..  I fell in love with the forest too. And Orkku went totally mad. We didn´t see her for an hour. Afterwards she told us she had just been dancing of joy on the tree tops. I love these trees!!  After spending some hours in the forests, just walking and taking everything in, we decided to climb to see the moorish castle up in one of the hills. There is an official gate and way to the castle, and rather expensive tickets to get in, but there is also another, secret way in, and that is the one we took.  There is a narrow path that leads to the bottom of the rocky hill, and then it is just climbing upwards along a bit difficult route, where we had to use all our paws. There was some rock climbers near buy, climbing using those ropes and things, but we went without. Orkku and Henna had been there  many times, so they knew all the routes and paths and tricks.  and climbed
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 11, 2011, 5:23 pm	Continuing yesterdays story!  So, after climbing upwards te rocky hillside, we at last climbed over a low wall and were inside the moorish castle!  Originally, the Castle of Sintra was built by the Moors when they were occupying the Iberian peninsula, between the 9th and 10th centuries. Later, in 12th century even the vikings were attacking the castle on their way to "Holy land". The view from the castle walls is breathtaking, I can tell!  We were sitting in the sunshine and wind on the walls admiring the landscape. There was many turists up there, but they had all come in through the official route. When we were ready to leave the castle we had to wait for a peacefull moment to climb again over the wall to our path, not to unnessessarily draw anyones attention.  There was some interesting vegetation also on the hillside.. After climbing back down to the forest we walked slowly through it and sneaked over the walls to the gardens of Pena palace. The Pena palace itself has been serving as a home of the royal family in some time of history, and it looks like a kings castle from story books.   After seeing the castle we sneaked out from the gardens through a gate  beside beautiful pools and started our way back to the Sintra railway station and Lisbon. My last day in Portugal we spend in the Monsanto forest, or "parque florestal" like it is called. It is a nice area with bad reputation. Many people don´t go there just because the reputation is scaring them away, especially the women, because in some earlier decades the only women who went there were prostitutes taking their customers in the bushes. Henna has told that some people are still staring her in a certain way or making some remarks just because they see her walking there alone. That is rather sad, I think, because Monsanto is the only forest area in Lisbon, and originally meant just for peoples refreshment.  So many people are denying the joy of forest from themselves.. But I really enjoyed my stay there!   We met some local squirrels in Monsanto, and Orkku was very excited because she found a pinha cone and wanted to take it with her to Finland as a "little snack".  We were dragging and pulling it with us then whole day.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 12, 2011, 9:12 pm	On tuesday we flew to Finland. We chanced planes In Münich, but on both planes we were lucky enough to get window seats, and so we were spending most of the time watching the season chance from summer to winter while we flew towards north. The Alps where of course covered with snow, but in the valleys there was spring - we could see the waters running freely and the pale greennes on the fields. In the southern Germany we could still see the first signs of spring, but in northern half of the country it was still winter, grey earth and leafles trees. We spent about two hours in München aeroport. They have in all german aeroports wonderful hot drink machines, where we can drink different coffees, hot chocolate or tee for free..  We were drinking a lot and then running to toilet a lot. We where watching the planes and people, trying to guess their nationality and then spying on them to hear them speaking to see if we had guessed right.  Watching the aeroport I felt very happy not to be there alone.. of course I am an adventurous little mouse, but anyway.. it suites me better to travel with hosts and other toy company than all alone! Flying still towards north, we could see a light snow cover starting to appear, and over the Baltic Sea we saw the first ice blocks appearing into the sea, then the ice got more and more solid, and at last the sea was totally in ice. The sun set, and when we arrived to Finland it was totally dark already, but there was oh so much snow everywhere, and that make it look not so dark after all. We took a bus, and then another one, and a third one..  After about two hours bus travelling we arrived in middle of forest! Nuuksion kansallispuisto is a vaste National Park, a huge forest area, and that is were Orkku and Henna live when they are in Finland. In a small small cottage just in the forests edge.  After the summer temperatures in Portugal, the -12 degrees in Finland felt really freezing, and we had to attire ourselves against the cold when we first went out.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 14, 2011, 11:20 am	Hi again everybody! Hello, mommy! Today we went skiing to the forest! Well, Henna was skiing and me and Orkku where riding in her backbag pocket. Maybe some day could get my own little skiis! How about it, mommy? There is a meters layer of snow even here in southern Finland and 20 minus degrees.  It is too cold to build a snowman now, the snow is like powder, but we are waiting a bit warmer weather to come. On our skiing trip we saw lots of snow covered spruce trees, red painted hay barns on the fields and a row of beautiful icicles hanging from a cliff.  We also saw the little Nuuksio village school, where the kids go their first six school years.   I learned that the name "Nuuksio" originally comes from the lappish (sámi) language and means "swan". Rather nice name for a place. There is some rock paintings from stone age on the brink of the biggest lake on this region, "Nuuksion Pitkäjärvi" (Long lake of Nuuksio), and I am very interested to go and see them some day! This is the Nuuksio school. After the long trip we felt a bit cold, especially our toes, and so it was fantastic to sit in Orkkus little gazebo and drink some hot tea afterwards.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 16, 2011, 5:14 pm	Hi again, mommy!  Hello everyone else! Today we were visiting Orkkus grandmother in her home on top of a tall spruce. She is a very friendly old squirrel lady, who collects art besides of pine cones. I saw lots of similarities between her and Orkku, not just their looks, but also their characters. Admiring some paintings And other art pieces There was also a cat joining our company. After some hesitation I went to introduce myself. The cat was a very civilazed old lady, called Iuku, also a granny of many granchildren. We were discussing many interesting subjects - art, time travelling, elves living under the floor.. time passed fast listening to the stories of these old grannies. I think I´m totally changing my mind on the subject of cats.  After hours of happy storytelling we went outside to lit a camp fire and roast some cheese and nuts.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 20, 2011, 5:57 pm	Hello Mommy! Greetings from this white, cold, and brilliantly sunny existence! We have been spending lots of time in open air. It is still very cold, about 20 minus degrees, but the sun shines and makes the blanket of snow to shimmer, and the icicles to shine like diamonds. It is still a long time to the spring here, but the sun makes people and animals go a bit "cuccoo" after the long and dark autumn. The birds are singing with new enthusiasm and Orkkus wild cousins are grinning in a certain way when they come to eat to the birdtable on the yard. There is lots of animals everywhere, searching for food, which can be a really hard task in these conditions. We are helping, leaving sunflower seeds and dry bread for the birds and squirrels, hay for the deers and all the catfood left over for the foxes.  There is animal footprints and tracks everywhere, and I find it very fun to try to "read" them. Here we are making "snow angels" It is very popular here to go skiing or walking on the ice of the frozen lakes or sea. We have been there too couple of times, enjoying the sun and beautiful landscapes. We could see many other walkers as black spots in the horizon. Now there is too much snow for skating on the ice. Actually, there is so much snow that I would not have guesses we are walking on ice if Orkku had not told me. I would easily have thought it to be a field or whatever. Here we are walking on the sea ice. There is lots of people skiing, as you can see from the tracks. Here and there there was also people fishing. They had sawed (or drilled) a hole trough the ice and were then luring the fishes with fishing rods. Many people believe into the healing powers of ice swimming. Usually they run into the icy water straight from sauna and only stay a minute in the water and then run back to the sauna.  I saw one of those ice swimming holes and was a moment imagining how it would feel to jump in, but no, that is not a suitable hobby for warm little mice! Brrrrr! Not very inviting! It is a bit exiting to walk over the ice from island to island. After all, it IS walking along the water! There is bridges between some of the islands, but of course it is needles to use them now. Finnish people are real open air maniacs. On weekends about everyone goes out to nature. Even very old ladies are walking or skiing very long distances just because they are enjoying it. So there is paths cirkling everywhere in the snow, following the coastline. I wanted to walk to Tarvo island to see the home atelier of a famous finnish artist Akseli Gallén-Kallela. His most known works are paintings illustrating scenes from Kalevala, the finnish national epos. This is where Akseli Gallén-Kallela lived. It is a nice view over the little bay from the yard of the atelier. Today we build a snow castle and a snow person!  The snow is actually too powderlike to build anything in these temperatures, but Henna brought first some snow inside in buckets to melt a bit so that it was in perfect condition for building! Our snow person proved to be a very friendly and talkative one.    We asked if it is true that snowpersons are able to fly at night time, but it seems to be a secret. By the way, mommy! There is something interesting to tell you. Orkkus granny came to have some coffee with us today, and she brought a photo with her to show me and ask if I have any idea who it might be in the pic. The pic is from the old album that belonged to her granny and there is some photos without any identification markings, and because she thinks there is some resemblance between me and the person in the pic, she tought it might be some relation. Here is the pic. Do you think it could be my grand auntie Drusilla who lead a bit scandalous life?
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 22, 2011, 6:10 pm	Hello again !  Today we went to Helsinki. Henna had to go to the faculty of archaeology where she studies, and me and orkku went with her. We took a bus from Nuuksio, and we where almost the only travellers in the bus! So we felt a bit like running to and fro between the seats, but the driwer told us to sit on our benches and behave. Helsinki is the capitol city of Finland, and from some peoples point of view the only city in Finland (altough Orkku told me for heavens sake not to write that here because all the people living other finnish cities, especially in Turku and Tampere are going to go mad). But the truth is, that the urbanization process in Finland is rather young, and it was not so long time ago when all people where living in little villages in middle of forest.  That´s why the relationship to the nature is still much more keen here than in the countries with longer history of urban living. Now the Helsinki city is covered with snow. There is great piles of snow in the street corners and little kids are playing on those heaps. It is very slippery on the streets! Half the time we were more sliding than walking forward!  This is the lutheran cathedral of Helsinki, "Suurkirkko" in finnish. The stairs were under so much snow that there was only a narrow passage showelled free for walking. Rest of the stairs where now used as a slide. The universitys main building and library are just next to the cathedral and the students go sliding the church stairs.  In the archaeological faculty there was lots of interesting things to be seen!  I helped the researhers in their scientifical work too! Investigating some human sculls and bones.. Orkku didn´t dare - she was hiding under a cupboard most of the time! Orkku is convinced the person to whom these bones belonged to is going to ghost to us.. I hope not! I was learning some interesting facts about the prehistory of Finland. The first inhabitants after the latest ice age came to Finland about 12 000 bp. They where hunters and came after seals and cariboes who moved northwards with the climate getting warmer and warmer. There was also some mammouths..    I really would like to meet a mammouth!  Maybe we could find a small one and take it as a pet! Huh, mommy? You could at least think about it!  This is the most known type of cheramics made in Finland during the neolithic stone age. It is called "comb cheramics" because the ornaments were done with some comb -like tool. This is a village of the stone age people who made that cheramics. Looks quite nice! Although I´m sure that guy has gone through some teeth whitening!  I also met Ötzi!  He looked quite all right for someone who has been mummyfied the past 4000 years. After the faculty we went to the university library where Henna had to find some archaeological books. This is the university main library which also is the national library, where all the old valuable documents, maps and such, are hold. We went to search for something interesting to read. I loaned two very interesting looking archaeological books!  Or maybe they are anthropological.. After leaving the library we went on walking in Helsinki, to see something of the city. Here are some pics of the things we saw: How on earth are the owners of these cars going to get rid of the snow?  I wanted to see the famous Helsinki main railway station by Eliel Saarinen. In my eyes it resembled a bit one of those radios from 30´s !  In front of the station there is every winter a very popular skating-rink. It is the place where many a turist tries real ice-skating for the first time. I went there too to try the ice a bit, but my little paws started to go to opposite directions and I came away.  We then walked towards the harbour, where there is the presidential palace and the main market square just in front of it in a homely way. There wasn´t many sellers, the freezing temperature had propably scared the main part of them away, but some brave ones were still there, trying to keep warm by clamping their hands together and stomping their feet to the ground. This is also the place from where most of the big ships going to Sweden and Estonia start their journey, as well as the ferries going to Suomenlinna and Korkeasaari islands. Now the sea of course is on so thick ice that without the help of icebreakers the ships could go nowhere.  Next we saw an old wooden church encircled by a park. Orkku told me it is a very popular park to spend time on summers, eating and drinking with friends. Now all I could see was snow and more snow.  Then I asked the name of the park and was told it is "Ruttopuisto", which means "Pestilence park".  There was a graveyard allready in mediaeval times, and on the year 1710 when there was the worst plague epidemics in Helsinki, which killed about one third of the population, the deceased ones where buried there. What an odd spot for joyous summer picnics!  Before going home we went to see a statue, which is meaningfull for Helsinki dwellers, because it is a very popular meeting point for friends going together to shopping or to see a film or something.. It is named "Kolme seppää" = "Three blacksmiths", and I must say i find it a bit odd that ANYone would go on blacksmithing naked!    I mean, all the flying sparks and so on.. and here there is three naked guys blacksmithing together! Hmm.. maybe it is some odd finnish tradition, who knows..  When we get home there was a surprise waiting for me!  A wonderful finnish cheese for me to eat all by myself!  I learned how to say "cheese" in finnish! It is "JUUSTO" !  "Haluan juustoa! Haluan paljon juustoa!!!!" = I want cheese! I want a lot of cheese!" Your Ursel *munching*
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 26, 2011, 12:39 pm	Greetings from a pile of snow!  We just came from a sleighing hill, and I still have snow everywhere, under my clothes and maybe even inside my ears! But gosh we had lots of fun!  This is the old sleigh of Orkkus uncles. We found it when we were rummaging on the attick. First I wanted to go alone with the sleigh to learn how to driwe it. It was a bit hard to get the leigh pulled on the top of the hill! It was much easier to come downwards, and it went well! Then we went together with Orkku..  ..And just look what happened!!!  And all because Orkku spotted a pinecone in the nearby tree! Squirrels!  But we were giggling a lot when we roamed out of the snow where we had landed upside down. Then we were sliding down maybe hundred times more, until the sun started to set. Orkku pulled me home.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 28, 2011, 9:17 pm	Hei äiti!  This is "Hi mother!" in finnish, I asked orkku. Hei everyone else too! Today is the day of Kalevala here in Finland. Kalevala is the finnish national epos, which´s poetry was collected from countryside people mainly in eastern Finland somewhere in 19´th century. To celebrate the day we went to Seurasaari open air museum to see how were finnish people living in bygone days. (Well.. as a matter of fact, I think Hennas and Orkkus style of living is not so very different from some of the houses we saw!..  ) So, we walked to the island over ice. Now I´m quite used to that, by the way! First we went to see a small iron age village. The buildings there are made by an archaeological society, lots of archaeology students and that kind of people.. The buildings were locked and the village was empty. I guess the temperature is keeping the students away.  Of course, in iron age they had fire burning on the fire places inside the houses, but maybe that is not allowed to do in the museum area to avoid th fire spreading.. The houses were all of course made of food, mainly they were log houses, and many of them had thatched roofs. I think that is very cute!  In summertime it was too hot to cook inside the houses, and people build this kind of huts to the yards for the cooking. Well, I think the life in iron age wasn´t so bad!  No pollution, no exhaust fumes.. just pure nature, and forest, forest everywhere!  And they were already keeping goats and sheep, so there already was CHEESE!  On the other hand.. no chocolate, no internet.. but even so! After the iron age we moved to see the newer houses. But the thing is.. they really weren´t so different up to 19´th century!  Then people started to paint their houses and make glass windows and chimneys, but there was poor people living in rather similar cottages than they lived in iron age still in  1960´s! And in summertime finnish people go to their summer cottages and they are also almost similar! No electricity, no running water..  These are huge boats finnish people build - some houses together, to go to church. In this kind of boat could fit a whole small village. This boat have had 24 people rowing. They are very similar than the viking boats, and propably part of the same tradition.  Here I´m sliding down a hill, it is easier than walking!  These are storehouses. A farm had a storehouse for all different products. One for milk products, one for clothes, one for grain.. .. there I had a shock..  .. In the door of the granary there was a small hole and I asked the meaning of that. Henna and Orkku didn´t want to answer first, but then they told me the hole was an entrance for the cat to get in - to catch the mice!  After that felt a bit creepy.. On summertime the young people moved to live in the storehouses, there was usually a big family, all packed to the main house for vinter to keep warm, so it was a relief to get a bit more room in summer.  There is not many old buildings left in Finland, because all buildings were made of wood, and there was a fire every now and then destroying every village and city.  Only some churches made of stone are left from mediaeval times. This one is though a small wooden church. Quite cute!  After seeing about everything and when our toes started to freeze a bit we left the island along the bridge, this time.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 2, 2011, 8:02 pm	Hi Mommy dear, and hi everyone else! I just peeped here to tell that we are now learning to dance!  Powered by VideoBam - Free Video Hosting
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 5, 2011, 5:28 pm	Hyvää päivää, everybody!    (Good day!) As you can see I´m picking finnish frases without even much noticing! I think I am naturally linquistically talented.  The days here are very variable and busy! Of course, most of our activities have something or other to do with snow, to avoid that is possible!  I have been showelling a lot of snow with a small spade, and I think I´m growing muscles onto my arms!  Soon I will be able to help in all sort of carpenter tasks and in opening the stucked jar lids! What do you think about that, mommy? Yesterday we were walking trough the village and saw a big truck that was stucked into the snow. I went to help the guys there, testing my new muscles, pushing as much as I could. Well, Orkku was helping a bit too. She is shouting that I should mention that in this log..  But the important thing is that we get the truck out from the snow! All the guys were so thankfull, they called to the newspapers to tell the humanly touching story from real life, how Super Mouse saved their day and all that..  ..but I´m a humble mouse, it is quite enough if you just call me "Ursel The Great" from this day on. I told that also to the child choir the truck company sent to sing under my window.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 6, 2011, 5:02 pm	Hei taas! = Hi again!  Today we spent whole day outside. It was a wonderfully sunny day, and guess what! - the first signs of the coming spring are here at last!  The snow is melting slowly, every day there is maybe a millimeter less and we saw the first little pussies in the willows.  Yes, okke, I know I should call them something like willow catkins.. Orkku was shouting something about words with dublicate meaning.    Here we are in the morning, ready to leave, and taking the snack with us. First we went to put more hay for the deers and elks and hares and to whomever who enjoys some dry and wonderfully smelling hay in middle of all the snow. We certainly did!  We were hopping and roaming and making tunnels into the wonderful hay! There has been lots of animals eating ! We could see so many different footprints in the snow! And some of the visitors have not yet learned to use toilet.. After we had been playing in the hay so long that we started to feel hot, we continued our trip. We saw a small ice skating rink on our way, and though it is sunday there was nobody there skating! .. so.. we used the possibility to go and try the ice without a laughing audience.  I think we did rather well for beginners. I´m afraid we both have bruises a bit here and there after the skating experiment, but it was so fun!  Then we saw some willow pussies (yes, yes..) on nearby willow bushes and wanted to go to pet them.  They are so cute and soft and fluffy! They are the first sign of the new life waking up after the long, cold winter here, and people are always happy to see them. In easter time people take some willow branches to their homes and put them into jars. There is an old custom from pagan times still alive that has to do with the willow branches too.  Kids decorate the branches with colorful ribbons and feathers and then they go from door to door ringing the doorbells. When the inhabitants come to the door, the kids start to "whip" them with those branches and at the same time they are chanting a "spell" - wishing health and happiness for the people. Of course the branches also are symbol of life and life energy, so it is thought to bring good luck for the whipped ones.  The kids then are given something - sweets or coins or sometimes colored eggs. Henna told she was doing that too as a kid every easter. The little stream running trough the Nuuksio village has breaken free from the ice cover!  There was already some water birds, enjoying the free water after a long time. After coming home we were watching the quirrels eating behind the window.  They are there every day and I like to chat with them. Orkku sometimes goes to run with them high up on the tree tops. Then we sowed easter grass seeds on a saucer. Henna said it is still seven weeks to easter but we WANTED to sow now!  Besides, Orkku has been invated to visit her first toytraveller host after maybe two weeks time, and she is not sure if they have the same tradition in Germany where she is going, and she said she doesn´t want to skip this. Henna told that in Portugal they are planting a little wheatfield on a saucer on Christmas time, and that must be the same tradition.. hmm, maybe we can search about more information in internet.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 10, 2011, 11:33 am	Kukkuu, followers! Hi, mommy!  There is awful storm outside! The wind is blowing snow up to the air, and the gusts are so strong that the poor squirrels don´t dare to climb to the trees today!  So we decided to stay in. Our easter grass is growing fast, well, maybe we should call it something else, because easter is still far away. . Our barley field? I like the idea of being a farmer! I could have couple of horses or maybe a tractor, cows and all.  Look how our little barley field in growing already! It seems to be so that if you have easter grass, the chickens are not far either!  We tried to tell the chickens that actually this is our barley farming experiment field, not an easter grass for easter chickens because easter is still weeks away, but the chickens were just saying "twiit twiit chirp!" and hopping around us and onto our laps to be petted. The chickens are very nice company! Some of them were even purring like kittens when I was cuddling them.  Then Orkku said we maybe should give som lunch for the little birdies, and we asked what they would like to have. "Oat seeds, please!" they said, and so we were giving them oat seeds. I tasted some too. They were quite tasty when peeled first. Then we went to have some lunch ourselves too, and we are still middle of it, so I will write more later! Good by!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 13, 2011, 11:43 pm	Hyvää iltaa! As you can see my finnish vocabulary is growing and growing! Oh yes, the expression I used means "Good evening!" So, good evening to everyone! It is soon midnight here and I should be in bed, but to tell the truth we were telling ghost stories with Orkku and some other toys dwelling here, and now I think it is better to spend a little time here chatting nice things before going to sleep!  Squirrels know some awful stories! Today it was a bit grey day here, and so we went for a driwe in a Hennas friends car. Mainly just to watch the landscapes and houses. Here we were driwing very carefully not to scare the two horses. never know with horses, they can be a bit bimbos sometimes if they feel like it!   We drowe trough Kirkkonummi and saw mainly snowy forest and snowy fields, little houses here and there. The roads along which we were driwing were rather small ones and in a losy condition now when the snow is melting daytime and getting in ice nighttime.. so we were driwing slowly and enjoying the views. We drowe trough a little village called Siuntio and stopped to see the mediaeval church there. It was closed, though, but we were walking on the surrounding grave yards and reading the old grave stones. Funny names the people had in bygone days!  It is the church bell tower behind us. They say there is a ghost there at nights, ringing the bells sometimes..  Oh yes, I should not think about such thing on this late hour! In eastertime, if people go at midnight to peep inside the church trough the window they can see odd things.. there is the passed by congregation sitting on the benches listening to a sermon of an also pased by priest..  of course it is vry dangerous thing to do, and people have to wearing their clothes inside out to avoid being recogniced if thse inside the church happened to see them..  oh dear, how do I get these things out from my head?  After seeing the church we peeped into a service station to get some refreshments.. We shared a blueberry bun with Orkku.  Then we drowe on, and stopped in a place called Sjundby to see a wall with interesting writings.  After the second world war parts of Finland were "rented" for Soviet Union for a decade, and Siuntio was one of those areas were the soviet troops were situated.. the area was evacuated from finnish people, and the soviet army was using their houses. Here in Sjundby some of their decorative art is left on the walls for people to see. There was also a dam, but the small rapid was still on ice, so there was not much to see. I guess the water will brake soon free, though!  We walked and watched the old mill- and stall buildings anyway.. there has been well of people living here, becase everythingis built of stone, whil normally everything here was made of wood. In the mill door there was again one of those holes made for the cats to get in to guard the flour from mice.  I´m not THAT interested into flour, I can tell!! Then we drow back home to Nuuksio and spend some time putting more seeds to grow in pots.  Then we started to tell those stories.. and now I should sleep!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 17, 2011, 12:59 am	Hihhei everybody! Greetings from Baltic sea! I have been making a ferry trip! Though only a short one - we went with Orkku and Henna to see Suomenlinna fortress today. This is the small ferry we took to the Suomenlinna island. There was many other turists too, but no other toys, just humans. Almost all the other travellers were sitting inside, but we went to the deck to see the views properly! The sea is already partly open, but there is still lots of ice, and it made a bit scaring sounds bumping against the sides of the ferry when we passed trough it. Suomenlinna was built during 18´th and 19´th centuries as a defence fortress on islands in front of Helsinki. Nowadays it is the most important turist atraction of Helsinki, but also a very cute village -like place to live. In summertime the teenagers use the islands as a place to get drunk as skunks, told Henna, and then spend the whole warm summernights there roaming around and singing and what ever. Of course, in summertime the nights in Finland are very short, and the old fortress gives lots of places where to go if it happens to rain or to be too windy to get some shelter. We were watching our ferry to part back towards Helsinki, and then we started our exploring of the Suomenlinna. I went to watch the Suomenlinna map, but orkku told she knows the islands like her own tail, because she has "spend there a great part of her wild younghood".  The people living here move by bikes everywhere on the islands, and the harbour area is full of their bikes. This bike has not been moving anywhere for some time! Trough this gate the road runs from ferry towards the inhabitet areas of the islands. There in many pleasant looking cafés and restaurants in the islands, but most of them are open only in summertime. Bridges lead us from island to island. We were watching the ice blocks floating under the bridge and Orkku suggested we could use one as a raft and go sailing a bit, but Henna said NO.   We were then just balancing ourselves on the railing of the bridge. This is one of the many entrances to the fortress buildings.. actually the whole fortress seems to be a huge collection of tunnels, walls, enbankments and cannon stations and different warehouses and cells, all shattered here and there.. Most of the time we were outside, climbing upp the banks and sliding them down again!  The winter landscapes were very beautiful in the bright march sun. These are warehouses to keep gunpowder. The snow has melted on the southern sides of the banks and the last years brown hay has been exposed. It was nice and felt warm and soft in middle of all the ice and the freezing temperatures.  It will be only in may when the new gren grass begins to grow. The winter is very long here. While we were walking Henna was telling us how the freezing, humid cells have been used as prison cells during times, last time after 1918 civil war. Many people died to the awful cells, and there is many stories about ghosts going around in the tunnels.. There is also rumours about a secret tunnel leading from the island to the mainland, propably somewhere in Kaivopuisto park. Tens of generations of brats have been searching for this tunnel. We tried to spot it too, of course!  This is so called Kings Gate, the original main gate of the fortress, where the king of Sweden anchored his ship while he came to watch the building works of the fortress. The sun started to set and we were in a hurry to get back to the ferry harbour. It is dangerous to be in the dark on the icy, slippery banks! On our way back we stopped to admire these columns made of ice.  Good bye, Suomenlinna! It would be nice to see you in summertime too! Must be very different then!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 26, 2011, 1:04 pm	Hi, dear mommy, and hi everyone else too! I´m so happy the toyvoyagers page is working again. I really enjoy this blog keeping, and I think Henna likes a lot the photographing.    And Orkku just likes to hang around and run after who knows what. The cold wintery weather still continues here, and there even was a snow storm coupple of days ago! We have been walking a bit here and there, and making short trips. Now I will tell you something more about Helsinki. We went there to see some of its architecture and some other things with Henna and Orkku. So we took first a train from Espoo station. Through weekdays the order in finnish trains is perfect.. the finns are very shy people, they don´t talk with each other, most of them hide behind their newspapers or talk to their Nokias, but in friday evenings everything changes!    It is like the finns went through some kind of transformation, and the trains are suddenly full of talking, smiling and singing people. I doupt alcohol has something to do with it..  Here we are, anyway, sitting in a silent weekday train and behaving well. After getting out of the train in Helsinki main railway station, we desided to follow other turists to see same things they were going to see!  In that way we got this "typical turists view of Helsinki". We were following a group of chinese turists, and the first thing we stopped to watch was this statue of a horse.  Yes, yes.. Henna told us it is a statue of a guy called Karl Gustaf  Mannerheim, who was an important guy during finnish Winter War, leading the finnish troops.. but who is Henna to tell which one is the more important personality there to be seen - the guy or the horse? Next thing we saw, following a group of russian travellers, was the finnish parliament house. Henna told us that the amount of the columns was a question the teachers in her school times were torturing the students with, again and again, and still she doesn´t remember how many there are.  Well, now she can easily count them from this pic!  Then we walked past some shopping streets, following a spanish couple. Nothing interesting there for us, really, mainly just clothes shops, but we saw these funny creatures on the walll of a house. I wonder who has been the model for them!  We walked towards south, to the shoreline and watched the rare boats which were left to the water for winter. Only the sturdiest boats can spend the winter in water, most of them are lift to the dry land, because the ice can squeeze and totally smash them.    This is an old lighthouse ship - kind of movable light house that was put where it was needed to guide the visiting ships. I think I have had some ship mice amongst my foreparents.. I felt the strong calling of the sea and vawes and tar smelling wooden ships.. Orkku said she just felt the call of some chocolate smelling cookies at the moment.  We saw a group of italians and following them we ended to see the Uspenski orthodox cathedral. Inside the cathedral there was lots of glistening colden and silvery surfaces, and candles burning in front of the icons presenting different saints. Henna didn´t feel comfortable to take many pics, because there was just some church service beginning and there was lots of people praying.. so we went on with our cultural sightseeing again.  Next interesting building we saw was the finnish national museum. We peeped shortly into the museum too. They have free entrance every tuesday after 17.30, and we happenend to be there just on right time!  The floors of many of the old finnish important buildings are made of chalk stone brought from Estonia, and there is many fossiles to be seen on them.  I wonder what kind of animal this one has been. There was many interesting things in the museum, but these wooden dishes shaped as water birds were my favorites.  I could go on sailing with one of them! This is a miniature showing in what kind of houses people here lived in stone age. These are some old saints taken out from churches after the reformation in 16th century. I wonder if they miss their churches.. Then we met couple of finnish pagan gods. I wonder how they get along with the saints.  Maybe they have awful mocking competitions during night time goin on, when there is no wittnesses and all museums wake up! We walked out of the national museum after cirkulating there some time, seeing something from every section, and went just to the oher side of the road to see the Finlandia house designed by the famous Alvar Aalto. By the way, Henna told us Alvar Aalto was a very good architect only in theory - his houses are nice to look at - but in practice it is awful to be living or working in them - the roofs are leaking and walls are crumbling and whatnot.  From the Finlandia house we walked to the Helsinki city museum, following a swedish couple who had some troubles with their map reading.  Henna asked us if we still have energy to go trough one museum, and Orkku said that yes, if we could go to the museum café afterwards.   There was many items picturing the living in Helsinki in earlier times. I´ll just show you here some of the most amusing items. These are stocks, a device used for public humiliation and punishment. So, if someone had for example not got to church in many years time, or got there drunk, he or she was put to sit in front of the church his/her feet put trough the holes in this device, and everyone else was mocking them and having fun. Maybe that kind of punishment would be good in some cases nowadays too! This is a doctor from the times of the great plague. He was in a hurry and didn´t stop to talk to us. He is wearing that funny mask, trying to prevent the "plague seeds" getting in trough his nose. Then we were swinging with old weighs from some shop.  The museum guardian was lookin a bit hard on us, but let us swing anyway. Ha ha, I was telling orkku she has been eating too many pine cones lately, because she weighed much more than me! This is and old LAMP! Or so they say.. a bit hard to believe!  I would not want it into my living room. This is that kind of mirror I would like to have in my bedroom, instead. Mommy? Could you ask Santa Claus about it?  There was also some old toys..  Well, not toyvoyagers, but for example very grand old dollhouses. I was chatting a bit with the inhabitants. They told me they sneak every night to the museum café and collect from there what ever they need for living. I suggested some of them could become toyvoyagers too instead of sitting in the museum. Let´s see! And miniature train!  Ooo I loved it! I want one too!!!  Wanna wanna wanna! After seeing around we went to the café to have some coffee and buns.    It tasted very njammy after the hours of sightseeing. My poor little feet were a bit tired!    But I´m becoming a very civilazed young mouse! On our way back to the railway station we walked again past the parliament house, and now there was a demonstration going on, against the nuclear power. We joined it for a moment. When we get back home there was a surprise waiting for us! A postcard from mommy!!  Thank you, dear mommy! It is so nice to hear from you! Many many kisses from your little mouse!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 29, 2011, 9:09 pm	Hello, universe! Here your little favorite mouse is again sharing her adventures! Yesterday Henna told us that it has come time for Orkku to begin her voyage, that tomorrow (today, that is) she would leave for a visit to her first host far away. Orkku get very very exited about the news and was running around like mad and was unable to stay on one place longer than two seconds.  I´m happy for her too, although it is always a bit sad to depart from friends, and she has been a great companion! Henna asked how would we like to celebrate Orkkus beginning career as a toyvoyager - and I said that I would love to overnight outside, in the nature, because that is something I have no yet done here in Finland. Orkku was immediately with me in the idea. We headed towards Inkoo, a very small town about 100 kilometers from Helsinki. We stopped for a moment to walk around to see the "sights" of Inkoo. There wasn´t very many!  The tiny library of Inkoo was rather cute, though.  Then we saw the harbour of Inkoo, which was very quiet and empty now in the winter. All the boats were spending the winter on dry land.  Exept this one, who was an exceptionally brave one, and used to cold water. Someone had left there a motor sleigh, but it had clearly not been used for some time. Then we walked to see the Inkoo mediaeval church. There was a swedish speaking congregations service going on, so we didn´t go in. Then we walked over the ice to a near by island and made a camp fire to have some coffee!  The coffee was soon ready, and we had some cookies with it too!  Then we went to investigate the surroundings, trying to find a good spot to build a hut out of branches and twigs to sleep in. We found a toilet! It could be handy to have near by.. This is the kind of toilets people here had before they started to build waterclosets inside the apartments. In the yards of blocks of flats and schools they had big ones where there was room for many people at the same time..  Nowadays they are mainly in use in sommer cottages and parks. Henna of course has one like this too. Squirrels..  There was some beacons on the shores of the islands, telling th boats where the fairway goes in summer time. Now they were working mainly as sitting places for seagul gangs. This is someons sauna, bu it doesn´t belong to this island. A strong storm has carried it here from somewhere else!  This is a birdhouse, bu it will only get inhabitants in may when the birds are laying their eggs.  Then, suddenly, we saw someone moving under the spruces very lightly. I still have no idea what it was we saw!  Orkku said it is a "männiäinen", but I don´t think there is name for such a creature in any other language than finnish. It was so eery looking being we were following it hiding behind trees and rocks, and then it suddenly dissappeared! Orkku said it had been showing us a good spot to build our hut. I was feeling a bit doubtful, bu Orkku said it would be not good to build i somewhere else than onto the spot hat had been shown to us. So we built our little hut. We put lots of spruce needles and dry hay on the bottom to keep us away from the frozen ground, and it turned out to be quite comfortable!  the sun started to set and we made a fire in front of the hut to warm us troughout the night.  We were sitting long time inside our blankets, staring at the fire and talking.. Until we just fell asleep in our cosy little nest.  It was wonderful to sleep outside on a winter night, to listen to the fire burning and the owls shouting to each other on the sky. In the morning, after the coffee we made on our fire we drowe back to Nuuksio and then it was time to say good buy to Orkku. She was so exited it was nice to see!  Bon voyage! Travel well!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Apr 1, 2011, 11:03 am	Hyvää aprillipäivää!  Good April Fools' Day! I was fooling Henna and Veronica this morning!  I went to the breakfast table wearing a false moustache and veronica was almost choking to her cookie. Henna taught me an old mocking rhyme it is a custom to sing on April fools´ day after a succesful prank: "Aprillia! Syö silliä! Juo kuravettä päälle!" , which means about : I have fooled you! Go to eat herring and drink some muddy water over it!  Veronica was then trying to fool me with all sort of things, like telling that there is a huuuuge spider roaming on my back, but those were a bit too obvious attempts.  We went to visit one of Hennas friends by two trains and two buses. The public transport in the capitol area works properly only towards centers..  to trawel inside the hinterland is rather challenging.. We also stopped to post some papers. At Hennas friends place we first met a friendly dog.  And a cunning cat! The cat told us he has some powers of clairvoyance, and volunteered to make us a reading using Tarot cards! We get rather exited! So first he asked us to pic a card to repsesent ourselves.  I got a 9 of Pentacles. Veronica got the Fool.  Then he formed some kind of cross on the table from the cards and was humming and purring to himself, examining and re-examining the table from this and that direction. At last he announced us the message of the cards: "Wash the dishes and vacuum clean!"  That wasn´t exactly what we had been expecting, but we thought it better to do as the cards told us. So we cleaned and cleaned, huh it was hard! And when we had cleaned the whole apartment, the cat was suddenly behind us, singing in very mocking tones: "Aprillia! Syö silliä! Juo kuravettä päälle!" he had fooled us to do all the cleaning because it would have been his turn that day to wash the dishes and he was feeling lazy! I get so pissed of that I hopped on his back and made him to be my steed for some time! We get again into good terms, anyway, after the cat told us he had been all the time planning to give us a big cheese as a compensation.  So we started to eat! Then I saw a dollhouse!  It was still in progress, but i´m sure it is going to be a nice little home for someone! There was a wonderful big watch in the house! I climbed to the attick, and there I saw an impeller, meant for mice! Veronica told me to try it, because "You are a mouse and it should amuse you!" So I tried it, and well, it was amusing for some time, but soon it get very boring! I´m happy I´m not living in a cage!  Then we had some tea, and after that it was time to get home. So we were saying goodbuy to the cunning cat, and he said I am a gallant little mouse! And so I am too!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Apr 3, 2011, 6:52 pm	Hello all!  Hi mommy!  Today was my last day here in Finland, tomorrow I´ll continue my voyage towards new adventures and experiences!  I´m sure I´ll meet new friends too! I´m not quite sure where I´m going, but that just makes it more interesting.  Today we were visiting Hennas mother, and when she heard this is my last day here, she immediately arranged a wonderful little party with buns and pies, cookies and ice cream.  I´m sure I weigh now a bit more than the grams  marked in my profile!  I met a rather shy cat, who was spending most of the time under the bed, but she came to greet me after some coaxing anyway.  Some of the toys residing there  were very eager to hear about my long trips around the world. Then we were playing with little boats sailing them over the carpet, which was the great great ocean.. The rest of the evening we were watching some british comedies from the telly.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Apr 4, 2011, 4:45 pm	Buy buy, Finland! I hope there is a bit warmer where I´m going next!  See you all soon again!
LittleCableCars Posted Apr 9, 2011, 12:46 am	I Mom, Henna and everyone,  I have arrived in funky California.  There was a lot of confusion and noise when I unpacked and came out of the travelope. I’m an experienced traveller but I was unprepared for what happened next.  I met  Bowtie Bear and some nice TVs: Nicky, a little rubber ducky; Camilla a small turtle who arrived in the same mail delivery as I did; Flora, a little cabbage patch kid who will be a ToyVoyager soon; Aslan, a magnificent lion, and OMG, DuDu, a small mouse guy.  DuDu said he was very very pleased to meet me and then fainted dead away.  Aslan gave him CPR, and Flora offered him flowers as smelling salts.  You see, one of DuDu’s  life missions is to marry a female ToyVoyager mouse and he thinks I’m a candidate.  Well, you know, I’ve been all over the world and I’ve seen his kind before; I think his middle name is Casanova.  I met my host, Jeanne, who assured me she will fully chaperone us.  Henna, she thinks you were a wonderful host to me and says thank you for the beautiful postcard. Then we settled down to chat about our travels. UrselHH
LittleCableCars Posted Apr 11, 2011, 7:52 pm	Hi, I’m having a wonderful time.  We went out walking with Aslan, a magnificent lion and Camilla, a brave little turtle.  We saw sure signs of spring in wisteria just coming into bloom and then went down to the bay; that is Alcatraz and a ship we later boarded in the background.  Camilla was so excited to see real water, not oases, after spending many months in the desert.  We couldn’t take many photos outside because it was too windy but here I am in the ship’s galley; it looks like dinner is walking around in there.  We got out of there fast.  Sadly, we said goodbye to Aslan after tagging along with him on his search for the spirit of Jack Kerouac in North Beach. Mom, would it be okay if I start dating?  I have met the most wonderful mouse guy.  We have so much in common, it’s almost like we are the same person, that is to say, the same mouse.  Here are photos to introduce him to you.  Could this be the work of Dicker Kumpel and Magic Hippo?  Anyway, Mom, I’m very happy. Love ya, UrselHH
LittleCableCars Posted Apr 15, 2011, 9:54 pm	Hi Mum, My host set up a dinner for some of us mouse guests:  me, DuDu and C.T. Mouse who is not a Toy Voyager but is so interesting.  We discussed things we have in common.  DuDu and I have both been transformed after going wild or getting lost.  DuDu soon excused himself to go check the internet to see if his beloved DuDette has posted an update to her travelog; if she hasn’t he will just look at old ones; that guy has it really bad, maybe his host will let him go visit DuDette.  Sorry the photos are so dark, it was a very romantic evening.  C.T. Mouse has two jobs:  detective, he is the one who talked the transformed DuDu back from the wild; his other job is as a part-time cat toy, thus his name; he is a very brave and interesting mouse.  He is sort of a male version of my godmother.  He is the one I’m dating.  I am a very happy TV!!  Love and kisses, UrselHH
LittleCableCars Posted Apr 19, 2011, 1:22 am	Hi Mommy and everyone, Lot’s happening here.  We said goodbye to Nicky.  Camilla and I went along to the Community Garden where he was released into the wild via geocache.  Then we pollinated some calla lilies.  I asked my host if C.T. Mouse and I could have an engagement party.  She said, no, it is too early for that but she set up a cheese cutting ceremony for us.  If you are not a mouse, maybe you haven’t heard of it; it symbolizes cutting ties with previous love interests.  We invited our mouse friends, DuDu and Ms. Carved Wooden Mouse (CWM for short) to witness our commitment.  After C.T. and I and our guests nibbled some of the ceremonial cheese, my host declared that now we are free to think about going steady.  Then we brought out the musical instruments and special wine to party until sunrise.  Soon we all felt very happy. Miss ya, Mommy, UrselHH
LittleCableCars Posted Apr 22, 2011, 5:22 am	Mom, guess what, In celebration of Cheerio’s arrival in Germany, my host and her friend took me to the hottest new restaurant in the neighborhood, it is always crowded and it is German!  This is the food we ate.  Glad you made it okay, Cheerio, my friend, UrselHH
LittleCableCars Posted Apr 25, 2011, 5:45 am	Hi everyone, DuDu, Camilla, Flora and I used a lot of mirrors to adjust our hats for the Easter Parade.  DuDu kept us laughing trying to balance on his nose like his sweetie, DuDette did balancing on the capitol dome.  He wants to impress her when she gets back.  They could go into the circus together.  LOL  We posed with the Easter Bonnet contestants, decorated with a lot of stuffed toys just like us, can you find us on the hats?  Here is a rose for you, mommy. Bye, Ursel
LittleCableCars Posted Apr 27, 2011, 8:09 am	Hi mom and everyone, I’m helping around the house watering the plants, these are going to be African violet flowers. Good thing Camilla and I were with DuDu when he read DuDette’s update where she signed off with, “I love you, DuDu.”  Well he fainted dead away just like when I came out of my travelop.  We remembered how Aslan gave the little mouse CPR but we are very light and it took us a long time.  Finally DuDu came to and we took him to the park for some air.  DuDu said he fainted when he saw me because he was expecting it to be DuDette.  He’s not so worried anymore, he’s just looking forward to her coming back.  I’m sure he loves DuDette, too, it is so obvious. Mom, I need some advice.  I’m having a bumpy time with C.T. Mouse, he works too much.  He’s not like us, he’s not a ToyVoyager.  You notice how he isn’t in many of the photos?  Whenever he gets a phone call, he just picks up and leaves; he’s a detective just like Sam Spade and never knows when he might have to go out on another case.  My host has released him from his part-time job as a cat toy so he will have more time with me but it isn’t very much and she over-chaperones us.  Should I invite him to travel with me? P.S. Thanks for sending the hug, mom, that was nice, here’s one for you, too. Your ever-lovin’ Ursel
LittleCableCars Posted May 4, 2011, 2:12 am	Hi Mommy and everyone, We took a walk around a near-by neighborhood.  I want to show you a variety of housing styles in just a few blocks.  My host likes the one with wisteria in bloom.  Nice weather today, we will go out looking for more blooms.  Ciao, Ursel
LittleCableCars Posted May 6, 2011, 3:50 am	Hi Mummy and everyone, We were very sad to say goodbye to Camilla and wished her joyous travels.  She is happy to be going to a new host who has lots of toys.    That is her in the puffy travelop!  Bye Bye, my water-loving friend.  She left town First Class International through the post office which is in the far left of the fourth photo.  If you look closely, you will see a U.S. Flag with Italian flags on either side because this is North Beach, the Italian section. Camilla liked that as her mentor is in Milan.   We found a geocache in Washington Square across the street from the post office.  SPOILER ALERT:  the hint was, "there will be a rodent trap near your left foot."  Well, DuDu and I survived that but.... Really, By Golly, For Pete's Sake, is that kind of violence ever necessary!!! Later at home we found these figurines in a cabinet while helping our host do some Spring cleaning.  The lion, of course, reminds us of Aslan, our magnificent lion friend and the duck symbolizes both Cheerio and Nicky and the mouse, DuDu’s girlfriend, DuDette.  BarryO is in transit, we hope he is okay.  We’ll be looking for turtles/tortoises everywhere while we miss Camilla.  Camilla is especially dear to me because we arrived in the same mail delivery.  I will stay here awhile longer because I fell in love with resident, C.T. Mouse.  Maybe he’ll quit his job as a detective to travel with me.  There are mysteries to be solved everywhere.  Psst, DuDette!:  DuDu has figured out how to get to City Hall!!   As for me, I prefer a splashier wedding back in Europe.  Bye bye for now, blissfully, Ursel
LittleCableCars Posted May 12, 2011, 4:55 am	Hi Mom, Miss Kate and everyone, A postcard arrived from DuDette!  Before DuDu was allowed to look at it he was steadied by BowTie Bear so that he would not faint.  He is so excited, DuDette is coming home!!  Our host explained what it means when a stamp is pasted on upside down:  sealed with a kiss!!  DuDu is over the moon on cloud nine practicing balancing on his nose to impress DuDette; then he excused himself to go practice his romantic violin serenades.  Miss Kitty is more interested in listening for birds outside the window.  As for me all I want to do is hang out with C.T. Mouse, my boyfriend. Livin’ in bliss, Ursel
LittleCableCars Posted May 18, 2011, 2:00 pm	Ah!!
LittleCableCars Posted May 20, 2011, 12:44 am	Hi Mom, I was overcome with wanderlust when I heard that you found a nice new host for me.  Bye Bye San Francisco, I’m on my way to England!  Thanks for everything, I had a wonderful time.      UrselHH
JemmaJ Posted May 31, 2011, 5:17 pm	Hey Mom; just arrived in England from the USA. The flight was okay. Glad to be back on the ground. I have just been greeted by my new Host Mom; Jemma and Lavender Bear; one of her TVs. I am looking forward to spending time here in Towcester. Jemma says that it is an old Roman Town...I'm all excited! I'll write again soon! UrselHH
JemmaJ Posted Jun 25, 2011, 2:24 pm	Hey mum, sorry that we have not posted for a while. Jemma said that there has been some computer issues...but all sorted now! We did some gardening when the sun was out the other day... Here is me, relaxing in the long grass...sponging up the sun! I am helping to clean out the Water Feature in the garden, the water is all clean now! Here is me tieing up the Rosemary bush; Jemma says that she does this every year! Jemma says we are going to Castle Ashby next weekend, sounds exciting! I'll keep you posted! U xx
JemmaJ Posted Jul 1, 2011, 8:46 am	Hey mum, Today Jemma and I go ready for camp; that is where we are going on friday...I am very excited! Checking that we have got all the food for the camp... Yummy.... This is Gizmo, Jemma's cat...Jemma says that she has hurt her leg and that she has to be in this cage for another three weeks. Poor Gizmo! This is the Post Office in Towcester Me!!! We are off to camp on Friday...we take loads of pictures over the weekend Bye U x
JemmaJ Posted Jul 5, 2011, 10:57 am	Hey mom, camp was amazing! It was very warm and Jemma got a little sunburnt. I stayed in a tent, I saw the sun set and the mist in the morning. It was very exciting... There were five trees that we had to water everyday; I helped Jemma with one. Sadly I was not allowed to have my picture taken with any of Jemma's Girl Scouts; as I had no permission from their moms to do so  but it was loads of fun though!! See you soon Mom Much love, U xx Jemma says we off to camp again on the 29th July...not long to go!
JemmaJ Posted Jul 20, 2011, 8:43 pm	Hey mom, Just got back from the pub! Yes a pub! Don't worry I did not drink any of it...Jemma was working and I sneaked out to see what was happening At the same time, I was wondering around the pub and saw that Jemma's work does a BookCrossing zone...that is pretty cool! See you soon! Ursel xx
JemmaJ Posted Jul 20, 2011, 8:59 pm	Hey mom, Jemma let me open some of her post today, as we are waiting on another TV to arrive; but instead of a toy we got this... Only one week to camp...I am loking forward to sleeping in Jemma's hat again! Ursel xx
maisymoo Posted Aug 13, 2011, 7:36 pm	Hello -I arrived safely here this morning! Immidiately i was given huge cuddles by lots of new faces followed by a lovely snack that included yummy cheese and crackers! The familys cat "Starsky" has taken a shine to me ! We had a little nap together.My new host said i will get to meet the other 3 cats today too! she tells me they are very friendly and unlike some cats....they dont chase mice ! There are lots of children at this new house-ive been playing all day long Just wanted to let you know im haveing a great time!
maisymoo Posted Aug 17, 2011, 12:20 pm	Today we went to a family fun day! It sure was a load of fun I got to make my own mask and everyone kept telling me what a great job i did ! Also I met another traveling friend,hes called monkey ! we are haveing so much fun and its nice to talk about all our travels together.We have so much in common! Unfortunately it has done nothing but pour down here for days! I hope it starts to get sunny soon......!! Today ive had fun with the familys pet hamster.Tommorow we are heading into the town for some shopping time just to let you know im very well and will write again soon
maisymoo Posted Aug 23, 2011, 8:05 pm	Hello! just poping in to let you know im haveing such a great time! miss you of course! My host @maisymoo has been quite poorley recently but im helping to look after her ,Im such an angel today we enjoyed a bbq in the garden soooo much yummy food! Im feeling so full up! I think i ate a little too much lol :0) Besides this i have been playing Nurse to my lovely host! Its working wounders ! (Hope its not contagious though !) I have made great friends with !starsky! (pronounced starskee!) the familys cat.We have become good friends .Ive made another Great friend too-"Cena" the familys hamster!
maisymoo Posted Sep 1, 2011, 1:14 pm	Hello just popping in to let you know all is well. Ive been enjoying the sunshine here for the last few days its been so lovely And warm Ive been doing some great sunbatheing! Of course ive been  wearing  sun lotion to be sure i dont burn ,so dont worry!! my host asked me to let you know her camera has been playing silly games ! But it looks like she might nearly have it fixed (LOL) although she says im very photogenic even on her camera phone! I just finished my lunch hmmmm-*yummy* ! im sure being fed well   Cheese straws and chessy dip! If im good i might even get some CHEESE cake ! Spent the morning playing with vintage starwars toys ! Well just to checking in to let you know im ok ! see you soon
maisymoo Posted Sep 21, 2011, 2:30 pm	hello! sorry i have been alittle quiet! just popping in to let you know im happy and well! today the sun is shineing beautifully next week my host says we are going on a short break .....she will have plenty of pictures to upload when we get back! then she will arrange for me to come home. Today i met 2 new toyvoyagers too! later we are going to have dinner in the garden (if it stays dry!) and i can get to know my new friends better takecare,and i will post again soon
maisymoo Posted Sep 22, 2011, 2:21 pm	today we walked to a village called charlestown we had lots of fun exploreing caves,seeing the tall ships and relaxing by the sea!
maisymoo Posted Oct 6, 2011, 6:18 pm	hi just checking in to let you know all is well! we went to a place called mullion (in cornwall)recently...it was lots of fun we also went to helston... i will say good bye to my hosts on monday as i will be traveling home...! they will miss me...and i will miss them!! looking forward to comeing home though untill then...bye for now!
maisymoo Posted Nov 2, 2011, 5:36 pm	I am on my way to my new host!! i will be missed VERY much ! I left on the 31st of october ...HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!!
arasmi irun4fun2005@yahoo.com Posted Nov 14, 2011, 3:32 am	Hi Mom! I finally made it to New York!  My host is on her way to meet up with some friends for dinner and she decided to take me along.  We have to get off at the Times Square stop.  Here we go!! The station is crazy full of people! out on the surface Look at all the lights! (right above my ear in the far background is the top of the Chrysler building) Hershey world Souveniers!! Here's a picture of me and my host with some New York Police! look at this statue on top of a truck! it's of a famous picture of workers building the Empire State Building In the background you can see a policeman on a horse. There was a Fire Station near by...we hoped to see some firemen but they were not out.  But we took some pictures of the station. It was getting late and my host had school in the morning.  So off on the subway we go back home. More updates soon!
arasmi irun4fun2005@yahoo.com Posted Nov 26, 2011, 5:19 pm	Hi mom! I have been on many adventures here in NY but I just haven't had the time to tell you all about them!  The other week my host and I went on a little adventure downtown.  She had to visit a store and then decided to take a walk around and see what should could find.  We start off at her school, Columbia University.  Here is what it looks like... The subway stop... Butler Library and College Walk Low Library and steps Alma Mater Another shot of Butler Library A cool monument on campus (I forgot to see who it is for...I think for a president). And here you can see the leaves changing in front of some dorms (I think that's what they are...or maybe classrooms?) Low library again...but in the far background you can see the top of a cathedral near by for Riverside Church Walkway on campus...you can see all the trees better So we got on the subway and got off to go to the store to check out film and then we walked around some. the subway stop is near Madison Square Garden... It's a big arena where games are played and concerts happen Famous New York taxis are everywhere Also nearby is the Empire State Building It's a really tall building...it's hard to get a good shot of it.  These are a bit dark because it was a cloudy day that day. Inside the lobby of the Empire State Building Oh no King Kong!! There is a model of the building in the lobby As we exit the building...look who we found! We then walked to a park and nearby found this building! It's called the flat iron building because it looks like an iron! We sat down at the park for a while until it was time to go home.  We walked past the Macy's (the world's largest) and took some pictures. It had pretty lights outside That was the end of my adventure that day.  More to come soon!
arasmi irun4fun2005@yahoo.com Posted Nov 27, 2011, 8:16 pm	Hi mom! So in America on Nov.24th is a holiday called "Thanksgiving".  It marks the day pilgrims from England traveled to the colonies and landed at Plymouth rock and had a feast with the Native Americans.  A big tradition in New York is the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  This is the 85th year it has been done!  Look at all the pictures I took! The corner where we got a spot...you can only see the little bit of people here but there are hundreds of people lined up on either side of the parade path for miles! Parade begins! First character balloon is Sonic the Hedgehog Turkey is popular food eaten on Thanksgiving Marching bands Diary of a Wimpy Kid Sesame Street float...popular children's show Policeman balloon Fireman Buzz Lightyear from ToyStory This is the singing artist Ceelo Green Aflac duck on a sled Pillsbury Doughboy...his buscuits are delicious! Doggy Kool-aid Man Spongebob Squarepants Mickey Mouse Po from Kung Fu Panda These people are lucky and live along the parade path...so they just had to look outside to watch! Julius by Paul Frank Snoopy from Peanuts There were many different marching bands from all over the country Neil Diamond (a famous singer) is on this float mmm...ice cream! Ronald McDonald...he is facing the wrong way :[ Famous children cartoon and show characters Clown Uncle Sam Spiderman Energizer bunny Pikachu from Pokemon Planters Peanuts Hello Kitty by Sanrio Smurf Santa! this means the parade is coming to an end! Virginia Kermit the Frog from The Muppets Santa's elves And here he is!! Santa! The end of the parade After the parade my host and her mom went out for Thanksgiving dinner...here is a plate with traditional foods...but made a little fancier since they were at a restaurant. (Turkey -white and dark meat, Brussel sprouts, mashed sweet potatoes, and stuffing And traditional dessert is pumpkin pie And that's it!  It was a fun day.  Off to more adventures!!
arasmi irun4fun2005@yahoo.com Posted Dec 3, 2011, 4:01 pm	Hi Mom, So a few days ago my host took me and her mom walking around.  We found Bryant Park, made famous by New York Fashion week, turn into a skating rink! There is a cool black building with gold trimming by the rink... It is called the American Radiator Building...but is now a hotel.  Here is a link to more info about it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Radiator_Building The building in the back of this picture is, I believe, the back of the New York Public Library's main branch. Close by was the Chrysler Building Then we decided to take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge! They are doing some construction so don't mind the fences...but isn't it a lovely bridge? The View on one side And on the other...you can see them building the World Trade Center tower in the background. We also took another trip back to Macy's to look for a coat and look at the Empire State Building! All lit up for Thanksgiving And here is a picture of me in front of one of the famous window displays in front of Macy's Well that is it for now! Until next time...
arasmi irun4fun2005@yahoo.com Posted Jan 8, 2012, 12:47 am	Hi Mom, Before my host left for home for break she took me around to see the famous Rockefeller tree.  Here are some pictures. Across the street were some oversized Christmas lights. And oversized ornaments... Finally the tree! It's a huge tree and so pretty. Well I'm off to more adventures! Bye mom!
Philliph O-Feld Posted Jan 12, 2012, 7:44 pm	Hi Mom, Today I have arrived. I've met two other TVs. Theire names were Eska and Karlos. I think we will get good friends. Bye UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Jan 15, 2012, 4:01 pm	Hi, Eska, Karlos and I were today in the bog. The weather was very nice. When we were home again we ate a cake. Bye UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Jan 22, 2012, 5:52 pm	Hi, it´s me again, yesterday evening we make a Wii party. We have a lot of fun. See you soon. UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Jan 25, 2012, 6:11 pm	Hello everyone! Today we had nothing to do. So decided Captain, Karlos, Eska and I play hide. Eska had to look. After she counted to ten, she began to look for the others. First, Eska found captain because he was laughing so much.. Then they went together to the search. The second they have found was Karlos. He was hiding behind a cat's scratching post. Finally, all had to search me. As a mouse I was the best at hiding. But after a long time Karlos found me. We had a lot of fun. UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Jan 26, 2012, 6:20 pm	Hello Mom, Today Eska has leave us. I hope she have a lot of fun at her next Host. See you soon. UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Jan 28, 2012, 5:24 pm	Look Mom, Look, Today it snowed. Karlos and I went outside. We have built a snowman and skating on ice. When we were back inside, my hostmum make us hot chocolate. It was a beautiful day. UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Jan 30, 2012, 6:19 pm	Hi it's me agian, Today I was at the Kiel Canal. Here it is called "Nord-Ostsee-Kanal". On the one pictures you can see the "Schwebefähre" and the Rendsburg High Bridge. Bye UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Feb 5, 2012, 7:18 pm	Hi, it´s me again, Today was the birthday of host mum's sister. I help open the gifts. See you soon. UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Feb 7, 2012, 5:25 pm	Hello to Sülfeld, because it is so cold outside (brrrrrrr, -14°C this morning) Karlos and I have decided to make something in the house. We make a picnic with some stuffed animals of her sisters. We sit in a round with a cow, a rabbit, a sheep, a dog, a cat and a poodle. I feel so small next to the big cow. We ate a fried egg, some carrots and the sheep a salad. It was very funny. Stay healthy and do not get a runny nose. UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Feb 14, 2012, 11:29 am	Hi mum, the last time I warned you to stay healthy, but now I´m ill! But Karlos helped me to getting healthy again. Now I´m not ill any more, but Karlos! UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Feb 14, 2012, 11:52 am	A good message: Karlos is not ill anymore! So we decided today, after we eaten a cake, to make a walk trough the forest. After a while it was getting dark. I was a bit scared, but Karlos could calm me. See you soon. UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Feb 14, 2012, 12:00 pm	HAPPY VALENTINES DAY!!! Karlos gave me a a "Milchmaus" (Milk Mouse?). I was so happy about that, that I gave him a kiss and decided to share it with him. I wish you a nice day. In love: UrselHH
Philliph O-Feld Posted Feb 17, 2012, 7:08 pm	Hello Mom, I left for my next trip! Hopefully i'll arrive as fast as it is possible. Bye from UrselHH and Philliph O-Feld
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Feb 22, 2012, 5:18 pm	Hi Mum! Today I arrived in Stotzheim at my new hosts! I´m fine and was greeted very nice by my hosts TV B.o.B. and another guest TV named Mr. Bean! After I said hello to my hosts, the TV´s and the guinea pigs living here my hosts gave me some very delicious cheese (Old Amsterdam, Gruyere and Bella la Holland). They also love cheese and I think I will have a very good time here! Hugs & kisses Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Mar 4, 2012, 6:36 pm	Hi Mum! We baked cheese cookies! Unfortunately we forgot to take photos while we were baking but we made a photo of me with some cookies! You have to taste them! They are delicious! Here is the recipe: 200g flour 150g butter 2 tbsp. sour cream 200g crumbled cheese (Emmentaler) a dash of salt You have to knead these ingredients together and then let the dough rest for one hour in the fridge. Then roll out the dough to 2-3mm and cut it into small pieces. At last brush the cookies with a mix of the yellow of the egg and milk and sprinkle them with sesame, poppyseed, carawayseed or whatever you like. Bake them at 180°C for approximately 10 minutes. Best wishes Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Mar 4, 2012, 7:01 pm	Hey Mum! We visited Cologne today! It was very interesting! We went there by train and started from Euskirchen. In Cologne I saw the cathedral, met a street artist who looked pretty much like Dumbledore and for lunch we went to the Hard Rock Cafe. I tasted both dishes and they were very good but I definetely loved the macaroni with cheese!♥ Afterwards we went for some shopping. Bye Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Mar 4, 2012, 7:25 pm	Hello Mum! We went for a walk through Stotzheim. My hosts told me a bit about the village. Since 1969 it belongs to the city Euskirchen. It´s the biggest autonomous district of Euskirchen and more than 4000 people live here. Originally it was founded by the romans and has a very old history. There is also a forest that belongs to Stotzheim and in the middle of it is an ancient castle, called "Hardtburg". My hosts promised me that we will visit it within the next 2 weeks! Love Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Mar 18, 2012, 9:23 am	Hi Mum! Today I met another TV from my hosts. Her name is Shooga and she just came home from Norway. We are getting along very well and made a girls´ night with Sex & the city, sweets and Hello Kitty champagne! It was a lot of fun! Greetings Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Mar 18, 2012, 10:33 am	Hello Mum! Finally we visited the Hardtwald and the Hardtburg! It was quite a long walk for a small mouse like me and so I climbed into my hostmoms hood from where I had a very good view. In the forest Shooga and I saw a interesting vehicle for transporting cut down trees. It was very big and looked impressiv! The walk around and through the castle was really fantastic. We had luck that we could still go inside the castle because soon it will be closed until fall because birds nest there. I hope you can see on the photos how high everything is! Bye Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Mar 18, 2012, 10:45 am	Hi Mum! Today I helped my hosts to prepare the breakfast for the guinea pigs. The piggys where very hungry and happy as I brought them their food! Love Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 2, 2012, 5:51 pm	Hey Mum! We visited the riding stable where my hostmom used to ride. There were a lot of young foals wich were born in the last few weeks. They are so cute! My hostmom also introduced me to Bill Hickock, the horse she used to ride. He was a bit shy but very nice. Love Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 2, 2012, 6:03 pm	Hey Mum! Something very sad happened today. One of the guinea pigs died. We are all very shocked because no one expected it. One of the other guinea pigs is very ill. I talked with her while she got some special food. I hope she will be well soon. Best wishes Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 2, 2012, 6:08 pm	Hi Mum! We went for a short shopping trip to Cologne again. We also went to Pizza Hut, but only because of the delicious desserts! Hugs Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 2, 2012, 6:30 pm	Hey! We baked some "Krapfen". A traditional sweet from the Rhineland. I asked my hosts for the recipe. Here it is: 500g Flour 500g Lowfat quark 1 Tsp. Salt 250g Sugar 15g Baking powder 15g Vanilla sugar 4 Eggs 1 splash of lemonjuice Mix all the ingeredients and then fry them at 170°C in fat. They turn around by themselves when they are ready. At last roll them in a mix of sugar and powdered sugar. Best wishes Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 9, 2012, 9:45 am	Hey Mum! I said goodbye to Shooga today. She will start a long journey. I huged her and wished her all the best. We had a great time together! Love Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 9, 2012, 9:52 am	Hi Mum! After we brought Shooga to the post office I went for some shopping with my hostmom. The guinea pigs are always hungry and needed some new vegetables. In the car I met some nice tigers sitting at the windscreen and a strange lemming. There is also a tiger living on the rear shelf he is protecting the car! On our way to the supermarket I saw some more of Stotzheim and the neighbour village Roitzheim. Love Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 9, 2012, 10:05 am	Hi Mum! We are very sad! Ruki the guinea pig that was very ill had to be euthanised today. The vet and my hosts did everything they could but there was no hope for her to get well again. Love Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 9, 2012, 10:16 am	HAPPY EASTER MUM! The Easter bunny was here too! I started searching behind the pillow on the couch and found a red egg! Then I found a green one in the hay rack from the guinea pigs. My hosts told me that there should be more so I looked on the windowsill and there was a bunny! At last I found some chocolate easter eggs between the front paws from B.o.B.´s friend tiger! I´m very happy! Love Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 10, 2012, 9:32 pm	Hi Mum! Today I joined my hostdad for a jog. He gave me a little headband so that my ears wouldn´t flap in the wind. We had wonderful weather and a lot of fun! We were jogging through the fields around Stotzheim and took a short rest in the Stadtwald (forest belonging to Euskirchen). There I saw a really wonderful fountain. To be honest, I didn´t run the whole way because my legs are just too short for that. So my hostdad carried me from time to time in his pocket. Bye Yours Ursel
Sabbel&Jenton Posted Apr 10, 2012, 9:42 pm	Hey Mum! Today I said goodbye to my hosts and the guinea pigs! I´m ready to start a new adventure! I hope my journey will be fast and the post officers are not to rough with my envelope! Bye Ursel
Clemy Posted Apr 16, 2012, 1:28 pm	Hey mom. I´m arrived at my new guest family. They all very nice . My guest mom give me first something to drink, because my mouth were so dry. It tasted really good. That´s an mixed beer with "Kölsch" (from Cologne) and named "Gaffels Fassbrause" . The pet´s from my guest mom were very sweet an they had wonderful hair. Its really softly . Picture come later because it is an problem with the computer from my guest mom. Huge Greetings your UrselHH
Clemy Posted Apr 27, 2012, 5:33 pm	Here some nice pictures with the dog´s from my guest family
Clemy Posted May 19, 2012, 7:33 pm	Hey mom and everybody, we were in the city from Iserlohn. This is an little city nor very popular. But there very nice shops to go shopping . In this week I meet the rabbit Clemens. It´s a sweet rabbit and life in my guest family. He is black and as big as then me. Pictuers follow I Love you Mom UrselHH
Clemy Posted May 24, 2012, 10:51 am	Hey mom We have baked over the weekend all together. It was delicious waffles. It has made a lot of fun with all the other TV. With this Bruno, Katie Pillar, Horscht, and Drashuven. The waffles are very tasty. Many greetings from Hagen by your UrselHH
Clemy Posted May 24, 2012, 11:14 am	So that is my last up date here in Hagen. My adventure go past. My next stop is in Hamburg. That were my last day here in Hagen with all the nice TV´s. My guest mom give some to eat from Haribo on the way. It were an really nice time here in Hagen. Many greetings from your UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 3, 2012, 3:29 pm	Hi mum, Today I arrived safely in Hamburg. My new hosts are LewisHH and Clairchen. The fireman is SammyFire. He is a guest like me. Look, what I brought with me: a postcard from New York and a lot of sweets. Thank you Clemy  My friends got a surprise: they got a postcard from Finland from their friend Erol the Pirat. Thanks to Erol, his hostmum and all his new friends. Erol has a good time in Finland. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 3, 2012, 4:36 pm	Hi mum, today we visited Scillys brother. It was a one hour train ride. See me sitting in the train. Can you see the train manager in the background? In the afternoon we enjoyed two special tartes Scilly made. This is lemon one. This one is with fruits of the forest and curd. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 3, 2012, 4:49 pm	Hi mum, Scilly was very busy this week. But today she had a very big surprise for us. We all will go to Cornwall / UK tomorrow! Yes, holidays!!! Here you see me with one photograph of St Ives, the favourite town in Cornwall of Scilly and Richy and also the home town of my friend Clairchen. And it will be my second visit to Cornwall. Tomorrow morning we will start. I'm looking forward to have a great time. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 5, 2012, 4:01 pm	Hi mum, early this morning we started our holidays. At the airport we saw how they brought our airplane to the gate. We took the 7.00 service from Hamburg to London Heathrow. See me sitting with my TV-friends and our hand luggage waiting for the flight. in London we went to Paddington station. See me in the old station hall with some trains behind me. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 5, 2012, 4:25 pm	Hi mum, from London Paddington we took the 10.06 service in the direction of Cornwall. It was a long journey to Cornwall. I used the time to get some information in the travel guide. Then I had a chat with my friends. I looked out of the window. See me enjoying the countryside. After this long journey we arrived in Bude, our home for the next few days. First we checked our bed in our B & B "The Beach at Bude". Very comfortable. Then we enjoyed the sun on our own terrace. Holidays are great! In the evening there were great fireworks in and around Bude to celebrate the Queens Diamand Jubilee. Sorry, we did not take any photographs. It was to dark. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 6, 2012, 8:30 am	Hi mum, we started this day with a cooked full english breakfast. But is this enough for me? Today we explored Bude. It is a lovely small town with some great beaches. This is Summerleaze Beach from above. There were many surfers in the water. Because at low tide the water is so far away from the town they build a sea pool in the rocks. We saw the sea pool at high tide. Then we walked along Summerleaze Beach. There were many people on the beach playing with their children and enjoying the sun. Thats me in front of an old anchor. Bude has an old canal. In former times the canal connected towns like Launcesteston with Bude and with the sea. See me in front of the canal and a boat. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 7, 2012, 9:58 pm	Hi mum, what a day! Scilly and Richy did forget their rucksack in the guesthouse - with the TV's in it. Only I accompanied them, because I jumped in Scillys pocket when they leaved :-) First we drove to Boscastle. It is a small harbour town on the north coast of Cornwall. Look, this is a nice tea room. A river leads to the harbour. See the river behind me. See me in front of the harbour with some colorful boats. We walked along the coastal path. And this is the sea view. Our next stop was Tintagel. See me in front of the old post office. The house was build in 14th century. Tintagel is very famous for its castle (it is only a ruin nowadays). There is the saying that the well known king Arthur lived in this castle. Can you the ruin in the far? We climbed a lot of steps to explore everything. Here are some impressions. I especially liked the view through the stone window. I was very happy to see it all and wanted to tell everything to my friends when we came back. But my friends were cross. They didn't speak with me :-( But then I could explain that it wasn't my fault. And I showed my friends  all the photographs we took today. Scilly and Richy promised not to leave the TV's at home anymore. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 8, 2012, 10:34 pm	Hi mum, today we went to Port Isaac, a lovely little fishing village. This is the view to the harbour from above. We found this little shop with the big ice cream. Should this be enough for me?  See me in front of the life boat station. in 618 missions they rescued 320 people since 1967. Look at the colorful boats in the harbour - very nice. We found this little cave. Then we drove to Morvenstow, also a little village on the north coast of Cornwall. Because of the stormy and rainy weather we did not want to walk through the place. So we went into a small tearoom and had a delicious afternoon tea with sandwiches, cakes and fruits. Great! All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 9, 2012, 10:39 am	Hi mum, after a stormy night in Cornwall it is time to leave Bude and go to St Ives, our next stay. We had a break at Rosemergy Barn. It is a privat garden where you can have cream teas. We decided to take a piece of chocolate cake. I's a nice garden, isn't it? Then we arrived St Ives and entered our holiday apartment "Lighthouse" for the next two weeks. The bed is big enough for 4 TV's. And we got 4 towels. One for each of us. We had a look into the fridge. But what's that? It was nearly empty  So we went to the supermarket. But I was not so happy in the supermarket. Look, what they sell in english supermarkets! But Scilly and Richy told me not to be scared. They will protect me. When we came back from the supermarket we saw Porthgwidden beach. Can you see the wedding couple on the beach? Look, we shopped a lot of things in the supermarket. Do you see me? I especially like the cheese: Cornish Yarg, Cornish Blue and a selection of typical english cheeses. I will taste it all within the next few days. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 12, 2012, 10:15 pm	Hi mum, today we walked around Godrevy point on the coastal path. Look, there is a really big beach at Godrevy point. See me standing in front of Godrevy Lighthouse. It is a shame, it is not possible to climb up the lighthouse because it is situated on a small island. Look at the amazing coastline of north Cornwall. Look at us sitting on a style of a public footpath. This sign shows we are on the coastal path. In the evening we watched Germany playing against Portugal. Look at us enjoying the match. Because we all are living in Germany we support the german team. Yes..... Goal for Germany..... Germany won the match. And we had a little party. Alle the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 12, 2012, 10:51 pm	Hi mum, today we went to Zennor. It is a small village on the north cornish coast. There is an old water mill in Zennor which is still active. See me in front of the wheel. That's very interesting! The Plague stone! When the Cholera came to Cornwall the people from Zennor gave vinegar into this stone and washed the money which they got from other people. So they could desinfect the money. Nowadays is a café and a youth hostel in the old chapel. They say that they have the best chocolate cake in Britain. I wanted to try a piece. But we had no time. So I did not doublecheck it. Zennor is famous for the pub "Tinners Arms" What a nice sign. From Zennor we walked along the coastal path. The section between Zennor and St Ives is one of the hardest parts in UK. So we only walked a short part of it. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 14, 2012, 10:46 am	Hi mum, today we joined a bus tour through the Penwith Peninsula. It is the most westerly part of Cornwall. This bus route is called the "Cornwall Expolorer" and there are special buses for this route: topless double-decker buses. It is a great fun. See us enjoying the landscape. Look at me in front of Sennen Cove. It has a big beach with a lot of space for surfers and families. Here we are at the coach park of Lands End. It is the most westerly point of mainland Britain. We will explore Lands End next week. This was funny: A german coach and the ladys prepared sandwiches, cakes and drinks while the men were exploring Lands End. Look, another route 300 bus is crossing us. On the way back we left the bus at Gunnards Head. It is a small pub with a restaurant and some guest rooms. This is a nice letterbox in the wall. We found it at Gunnards Head. That's me in the pub. We had a table in front of the fireplace. Yes, the fire was burning although it is summer (or late spring). Back at home the sun was already shining. So we decided to have a walk in the evening sun. See me on Porthmeor beach. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 14, 2012, 11:31 am	Hi mum, our first stop today was Charlestown near St Austell. And I've seen it before. When I stayed in Cornwall last year we visited Charlestown. So I could show this village to my friends. There is a small harbour in the village with some beautiful sailing ships in it.  Look, it is very nice here, isn't it? And there are many wonderful cottages in Charlestown like this one. But we only had a short stay because we are on the way to Fowey. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 14, 2012, 12:05 pm	Hi mum, from Charlestown we went to Fowey. It is also an old harbour town on the south coast of Cornwall. First we saw the nice church. In former times Fowey was famous for its smugglers. One man was called "The kind of Prussia", he was the most famous smuggler. See me in front of a hotel named after this man. On this kiosk we bought some tickets for a boat trip. See me in front of our boat. These are some impressions of Fowey harbour. Oh look, another letterbox in the wall. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 18, 2012, 9:02 pm	Hi mum, the weather is not so good at the moment. We have a lot of rain and wind. Although we walked through St Ives today. See me in front of Porthminster beach. It is popular with families. This is a statue of the famous artist Barbara Hepworth who lived in St Ives. Watch us playing on this statue. See us sitting on one of the many walls which are growing over with flowers. And then it was raining again. We decided to have a hot chocolate in Porthgwidden Café. There was a tent over the terrace, so it was possible to sit outside and have a great view over Porthgwidden beach. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 18, 2012, 9:44 pm	Hi mum, today we went to Lands End. It is the most westerly point of mainland Great Britain. There is a amusement park where we found a cornish village in miniature. Look, I found the perfect home for me. At Lands End we found The Last & First House in Great Britain. My friend and I had a picnic break at Lands End. Then we walked along the coastal path to Sennen. You have to be careful because the cliffs can be very dangerous. This is the view over the sea to Longship Lighthouse. What a big stone. With my special carate move I managed to split this stone into two parts. Watch my work  This is the view to Sennen Cove from the coastal path. In Sennen Cove we found this beautiful small harbour. Tomorrow will be another great day. We will fly with a helicopter to Tresco. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 20, 2012, 10:58 am	Hi mum, what a day! We had to stand up early because we had the 9.35 helicopter service to Tresco. See me with my boarding card. That's me in the helicopter. I enjoyed the flight very much. After 20 minutes of flight we landed on Tresco. See me in front of our helicopter, a Sikorsky S 61. The isles of Scilly are situated 45 km (28 miles) off Land End. There are 5 inhabited islands and a lot of small rocks. Tresco is one of the inhabited islands. First we walked around Tresco. This is one of the white beaches. In the background you can see St Martin. See me in front of Green Porth Bay. I'm standing on the old pier of Old Grimsby. Look at me in front of Old Grimsby and the Ravens Porth Bay. Before we flew home we had a drink on the terrace of the Ruin Beach Café in Old Grimsby. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 23, 2012, 8:42 pm	Hi mum, after this amazing sunshine yesterday we have a lot rain today. But we wanted to go for a walk. So Clairchen showed us the beaches of her home town St Ives. First we saw Porthgwidden beach. It is only a small beach and used by families. But today no families at all. See me on Bamaluz beach. It is the smallest beach and only to use at low tide. See these big houses behind Bamaluz beach. It seems that they are well equipped for every storm. This is the harbour beach. Yes, the harbour is also a beach  We had low tide and so we could walk between the boats. It seems that two of the boats fell in love with each other  Then we visited Porthminster beach. See me in front of this beach. Back at home I had a last important task: to write you a postcard  All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 23, 2012, 9:24 pm	Hi mum, one of my life missions is to taste cheese in every country I visit. And there are a lot of really good cheeses in the UK! See me with our cheese plate for the breakfast. First I tried a mild and creamy brie. This is a Wensleydale with cranberries.....very sweet and yummi.... This is a Cornish Yarg.  It has a young, fresh, slightly tangy taste and is made by hand. The rind is made by nettle leafs. The Yornish Yarg got the World Cheese Award in 2009 and some other prizes. See me tasting the Cornish Blue. It is a creamy and young blue cheese and different to other british blue cheeses. It got the World Cheese Awards in 2010 and other prizes. I think, I love british cheeses All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jun 25, 2012, 8:48 pm	Hi mum, our holidays are over. We safely arrived in Hamburg last weekend and had a lot of work: unpack the suitcases, wash the clothes, clean the flat etc. Scilly found an envelop in the letterbox today. We were very curious. And then a small head looked out of the envelop: a new Toyvoyager! We had a little chat. His name is Aurelius and he joins the Big Germany RR like SammyFire We showed Aurelius our favourit toys and played with it. Then it was time to say Good Bye to our friend SammyFire. He travels to Noisy in Hesse. We wish him a very pleasant time. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jul 4, 2012, 8:04 pm	Hi mum, This was an amazing day! My friends and I traveld to Bavaria to visit the highest mountain of Germany - the Zugspitze! With airplane and train we went to Garmisch-Partenkirchen. It is a very nice town in the south of Germany. See me in front of a typical house for this region with the so called "Lüftlmalerei"- the painting on the house wall. From Garmisch-Partenkirchen a train goes up the mountain. After one hour we arrived the Zugspitze Gletscher (ice-stream) The sun was shining and we had a fantastic view. There is a small church near the train station. Then we went to the top of the mountain. It has a high of 2.962 m. See me in front of the "Gipfelkreuz" (summit cross). This was funny: The Zugspitze has also an austrian part. You can go to the federal state Tirol on the Zugspitze  At the top of the mountain the weather became worse. We stood in the middle of a cloud. But no problem! We decided to have a hot chocolate before going down. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jul 7, 2012, 9:06 am	Hi mum, on our way home from top of Germany we had a very short stay in Munich. But we used the time to see the townhall and the surroundings. See me in front of the townhall. It is very imposing, isn't it? I also liked these two buildings. Then it was already time to go to the airport. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jul 8, 2012, 4:14 pm	Hi mum, it`s weekend and we had a plan what to do today. So we went to Blankenese - a district of Hamburg. Yes, we arrived in Blankenese. See me in front of the station square. But after 2 minutes it began to rain. And it became worser and it a thunderstorm came. Not the right time to visit Blankenese! So we decided to go back home. See me sitting in the rapid transit line while it is raining outside. Back at home my friend LewisHH had a great idea: he organized a alcohol testing. Look at me and my friends in front of the selected alcohol. First Lewis explained a banana liqueur. Quite sweet - but I'm a sweet tooth  Then a rum followed. Hmmm..... very strong! I liked the white Port. A great aperitif! Oh look, we compared two Madeira wines, one from 1987, the other from 1999. I prefered the older one. This is a 43 (cuarenta y tres) - a spanish sweet liqueur. The next one is a ten year old red port wine - strong and fruity. This was the beginning. Now we had a full glass of Aperol Spritz. No, this was a joke - I only tried a few drops. The rest was for Scilly and Richy. But now we tried this delicious austrian chocolate liqueur. But never fear! I only tried a few drops of every glass. And Lewis did organize that we drank a lot of water in between. I think I am now a expert for alcohol. What do you think? All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jul 16, 2012, 7:41 pm	Hi mum, today we visited the port of Hamburg. It is Germanys largest port. See me in front of the famous Landungsbrücken. It is a very popular place in Hamburg with some museum ships, a lot of souvenir shops, some restaurants and cafés. The ferries to other parts of Hamburg  and to the isle of Helgoland starts here. Look at the Rickmer Rickmers behind me - an old sailing ship. It was built in 1896. Nowadays it is a museum ship and also one of Hamburgs landmark. I wanted to take a boat trip. These are two typical ferries in Hamburg. We passed the old fishmarket in Altona. Look at the the dry-dock behind me! This is a place where ships can be overhauled. We saw some container boats and a lot of tower cranes. And then we saw a real royal ship: the Queen Elisabeth. Oh look, the town harbour of the Queen Elisabeth isn't Southampton in UK anymore. It is Hamilton on the isle of Bermuda. Next to the cruise center we saw this funny building! All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Jul 26, 2012, 9:22 pm	Hi mum, finally summer has arrived in Hamburg. And we visited the towncentre. See me in front of the really nice and imposing town hall. There is a lot of small canals in Hamburg. Look at the lock behind me. Here I am standing in front of another canal and the Alsterarkaden, a historic shopping lane. And just another view over a canal. Then we went to the Binnenalster - a lake in the middle of town - with the big fountain and some white passengers boats. A lot of people like to sit by the lake and enjoy the sun. There is the smaller Binnenalster and a larger Außenalster. There are many sailing boats on the Außenalster. Look, some pedaloe boats. See me in front of the Rabenstraße boat station in the middle of Außenalster. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Aug 6, 2012, 8:23 pm	Hi mum, today arrived a new guest - Miss Zoe. We gave her a warm welcome. We were busy planning a trip to Venice next weekend. So Miss Zoe helped us and we closely studied a detailed map of Venice. I'm looking forward to a beautiful trip to Venice. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Aug 6, 2012, 9:02 pm	Hi mum, this morning i enjoyed a breakfast with tea, apple juice, a brezel and a muffin on the plane from Hamburg to Venice in Italy. Thats my favourite kind of breakfast On our way to Venice this was our first pallace we saw. Thats the world famous Rialto bridge in the Grand Canal of Venice. See me standing on the Rialto bridge with the Grand Canal in the background. We visited the Rialto market with its fruit, vegetable and fish stalls. Look at the gondola behind me. It is called "Tragetto" and is used by the locals as a ferry to cross the canal. It is time to go to the hotel and have a short break. After the break we enjoyed fruits and a drink on our terrace. Do we have a nice view from our terrace? We do! In the evening we explored the surroundings from our hotel and found this old ship. I think I love Venice. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Aug 7, 2012, 7:38 pm	Hi mum, already sunshine in Venice  See me in front of the "Ponte dei Sospiri" - the bridge of Sighs. That's me in front of a typical venecian bridge. Look at me on the world famous Piazza San Marco with the Doge's Pallace and St. Marc's Basilika. See me in front of some gondolas with the view to St Georgio. In the afternoon we went to Pellestrina, an island in the laguna of Venice. We were the only tourists. Here we found a beach where the locals hang out. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Aug 10, 2012, 8:18 pm	Hi mum, today is our last day in Venice.  And we had the chance to see Venice from above: Okay, we did not see Venice from above.... this was the view in front of a poster  Look at me in front of our hotel. It is only a small hotel. This small place is situated next to the hotel. There is not much space for a garden in Venice. You just need some plant pots. See me in a typical venecian lane. At the end you can see the Giudecca canal. This is the Giudecca promenade. See me in front of the Giudecca canal. Look at the vaporetto behind me. This is the venecian public transport. I'm standing in front of a vaporetto station. It is a wobbly matter  That's me in front of Il Redentore. It was built as a votive church in thanksgiving for deliverance from a major outbreak of the plague that decimated Venice between 1575 and 1576. See me in front of a nice restaurant where we had dinner last night. Before going to the airport we found this gondola  See me with my friends sitting in the gondola. Then it was time to fly home. In Frankfurt we had to change the plane. Behind me you can see our plane to Hamburg. This was a really great weekend in Venice. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Aug 16, 2012, 9:11 pm	Hi mum, A new guest arived today. The parcel was opened and we saw a teddybear. His name is Bärnd He showed us the nice postcard he brought with him. We talked a lot. It was a nice and sunny evening in the Alsterpark. Then we decided to have fun in the playground. See me on the different obstacles and enjoying time with my friends. I have some great news to share with you. At the weekend we will visit Windsor and it's castle where the Queen lives  I'm very exited. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Aug 19, 2012, 3:41 pm	Hi mum, what a great day! Today we flew to London Heathrow and took the local bus to Windsor, a small town near London. First we saw the very nice guildhall. On the other side of the road we saw this hotel. And the name ist the first clue to the main attraction of the day: Castle Hotel. Oh look, this is Windsor Castle from the east side with a beautul view across the gardens to the part where the Queens actually lives. This is what the Queen describes as her home. This is the guard that looks after the Queens private little entrance. The guards are called beefeaters. Oh look, we just came in time to see the changing of the guards. It was a great ceremony with music. Behind me you can see a part of the castle wall and the round tower. Windsor castle is very old. First parts were built a thousand years ago. Very impressive! On the way to the moat garden we had a view to the Upper Yard, where the queens state guests are welcomed. Look at me in the moat garden with a pond and some castle buildings in the background. Before we left the castle ground we saw St George chapel. It is the chapel of the garter (Hosenbandorden). This is a last wonderful view back to Windsor castle. What a great summers day in Windsor! All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Aug 27, 2012, 8:57 pm	Hi mum, after a short but very busy week we are already on our way to Manchester airport for a weekend in Yorkshire. See me waiting at the boarding gate. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Aug 28, 2012, 8:42 pm	Hi mum, after a quiet flight we arrived in Manchester. See me in front of our train which took us to York. York is a very old town. Funny, this old tower is situated next to a red phone box. This is York art gallery. See me in front of Bootham Bar, one of the old town gates. Look at me walking on the old roman walls. Last week we visited the moat gardens of Windsor castle. This is the moat garden of York. I liked this half timbered-house. There are a lot of old and charming narrow lanes in York. Look. we found this funny rabbit shop - Clairchen was quiet surprised. York is famous for its 800 years old minster. The view of the minster was so nice we decided to take a seat and have a coffee. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Aug 29, 2012, 8:56 pm	Hi mum, today we saw the Yorkshire harbour town of Whitby. It is situated on the east coast of the UK. These are some impressions of Whitby harbour. Then we went to the seafront and saw this beach. We had lovely fish and chips but forgot to take a photograph. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Sep 2, 2012, 4:37 pm	Hi mum, we are back in Hamburg. And today we took a trip on the river Elbe, a must for every Hamburg visitor. At Landungsbrücken we boarded our ship. This is the part of Hamburg, where in former time the goods like coffee, tea and carpets were stored. It is called "Speicherstadt". See me in front of "Kehrwiederspitze" (come-back-point) In the background you can see the new Speicherstadt, where actually a new part of town is build with flats, shops, offices and a cruise ship terminal. Look mum, this ship shares the name with me: Ursula. This is one of the harbour locks. Look at this big container ship. With these cranes the container ships are loaded and unloaded. In the background you can see a dry-dock for ships. After our boat trip we had a break with a great harbour view. All the very best UrselHH
ScillyHH Posted Sep 4, 2012, 6:26 pm	Hi mum, today we went to the west of Hamburg. First we visited the Jenisch park. The Jenisch-house was build in the 19th century for the senator Jenisch. It is surrounded by a beautiful park. See me in front of the Jenisch house. Our next target was Blankenese. The steep hillside residences boast many tiny, pedestrian-only streets and 4,864 stairs. Look. what a nice house with so many flowers! I love it! From Blankenese we took a ferry to Cranz. On our way we saw this big ship on the river Elbe. In Cranz we had a walk along the river Este. All the very best UrselHH
SaSoLi Posted Sep 5, 2012, 7:52 pm	Hi mom  just want to let you know, i arrived healthy and safe at my new host-family. my host mum will upload photos tomorrow....unfortunately one of her daughters is ill....and something went wrong with the pics....they are toooooooo big it seems.... So I say good night for today and nestle down in the wonderful bed the twindaughters of host-mum made especially for me  ok  the future tv´s will sleep in it, too ...but me, i am the first one to use it!!! xoxoxo ursel
ScillyHH Posted Sep 6, 2012, 8:12 pm	Hi mum, today we visited one of the landmarks of Hamburg. Do you know which on it is? Yes you are right, it is the famous harbour church - the "Michel" (St. Michaelis church). We climbed up the 300 stairs. Look, what an amazing view over Hamburg. Some people tried to climb even higher. I wonder if they made it over the clouds.  See me in front of the Nikolai Fleet. It is an old canal through the old part of Hamburg with old storage house on either side. Then we went to the town center. That's me in the courtyard of the town hall. Someone gave a single rose to the fountain figure. On a canal near the town hall we saw these sailing boats. This was a great last adventure with my friends LewisHH and Clairchen. After 3 month I now have a new assignment. All the very best UrselHH
SaSoLi Posted Sep 7, 2012, 4:33 pm	Hejho mom Soooo...here are the first photos, there you see me arriving. The nice guy hugging me is Phineas...and he will be a tv,too...he asks me a lot of questions about my journeys... About the bed i told you already....my first night was very cosy and with nice dreams. On the last pic you see the view from our balcony here, it´s a nice and quiet living area...and as tomorrow the weather expected is very warm and sunny, we will have a bbq tonight we´re gonna go shopping for that....will tell you everything about that and the bbq on sunday! so far for today.....hope you´ll have a wonderful weekend,too!!! xoxoxo yours ursel
SaSoLi Posted Sep 14, 2012, 4:41 pm	Hi mom  finally some news!!! The last days my host mum was very busy...but now here´s what we did last weekend. On friday we went shopping, we had to buy things for our bbq on saturday...and what should i tell you....i saw "mouseheaven"  Late in the evening, we made a cake as dessert for the bbq. Saturday we had soooo wonderful weather...the girls crafted some deckchairs for Phineas and me and some sunglasses. We had lemonade and some saussages and later on some drinks....  We had a great time, laughing, chilling...partyyyyy!!! On sunday we went for a walk through Niedernhausen, we visited an old nice church which now is used for cultural events. And...have you seen??? I sat in top of a postbox There´s a little shop called "mousetooth" ...I wanted a photo in front of that immediately!!! And we went to the townhall and the fountain in front of it. At last we had a little break at a cafe near the townhall to have a drink and some icecream. Tomorrow we´re going to visit Wiesbaden, i´m excited to see the city. So far for now, mom. Wish you a wonderful weekend, greetings from my host mum and host sisters and also from Phineas... XOXOXO yours Ursel
SaSoLi Posted Sep 16, 2012, 11:15 am	Hi mom, today we visited Wiesbaden. It´s a beautiful town. In world war II fortunately Wiesbaden was not as much destroyed as other towns, so there´s the charm of all the old buildings and houses still alive. We started our walk at the spa gardens, you see me in front of a statue of emperor Wilhelm the 1st, and get on to the Hessian Statetheatre, the backside of that building is bordering to the spa gardens. Next stop was in the Theatre Arcades (on the front side) and the Spa Hotel which is directly beside. Now there´s a casino inside and the place in front of it is called "Bowling Green" there are often concerts and events in summer. Then we passed a little shop where they sell souvenirs and special thing from Black Forest and there is the worlds biggest cuckoo clock. Just around the corner there´s the "Schlossplatz" where we saw the Marketchurch and the old townhall that now is used as civil registry office. Through little alleys with beautiful little houses and shops we get to the Kochfountain with its hot water. There are natural resources of hot sulphureous water. On our way through the pedestrian area, back to the busstop, at last we passed the Roman Gate. It was a wonderful day out and as it was a lot of fresh air and walking we all enjoyed our selfmade pizza in the evening  So far for now....curious what´s coming up next A lot of hugs and kisses yours Ursel
SaSoLi Posted Sep 30, 2012, 1:05 pm	Hey Mom, we just get come back from a medieval market....you know knights and tents and things like this It was only a little market, but nice. There were a lot of old handmade things or better...things they also were made in the medieval. We saw a market stand with old creams, salves, scents and incence materials, also one with old bottles for wine and liqueurs. Everywhere bucklers and helmets and tents. Next week it´s time to return home, my guest family was sad, that i was here when most of the outdoorevents and streetparties have passed by earlier, but we hope you although enjoyed the photos we send you.... so far for now.... XOXOXO yours Ursel
RikeH Posted Oct 16, 2012, 8:57 pm	Hello friends, look - I am at home again - and Dicker Kumpel gave me a warm welcome! He introduced me to his guests. TobiHH and NiliHH are at home, too. My Mum found out that it is really difficult to find hosts for us - so we all went home. Love UrselHH
ErikaTheMouse Posted Nov 6, 2012, 8:29 pm	Hello mummy, I have arrived safely Neuss. Later there I have celebrated a very nice Halloween party.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Nov 22, 2012, 1:27 pm	After the Halloween party I had the idea to bake Makronen and my guest mummy Karin found the idea also great and we came along in it to bake. As all first one we had to hit 5 times egg white stiffly.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Nov 22, 2012, 1:30 pm	After we have hit the egg white stiffly a few more ingredients arrived (coffee, nuts etc.). These closed then were merged with the barman.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Nov 22, 2012, 1:46 pm	In the end one more arrived swallow cherry water, highly concentrated alcohol for the taste and a little bit coffee.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Nov 22, 2012, 1:52 pm	Now it was time to be formed the Makronen.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Nov 22, 2012, 1:54 pm	During the waiting period I have looked after the Makronen of the day before :-)
ErikaTheMouse Posted Nov 25, 2012, 12:57 pm	Halloween is over and now everyday life is announced again. Today I have looked around in the flat of my guest mummy. I have welcomed directly the lovely hamster :-)
ErikaTheMouse Posted Nov 25, 2012, 1:02 pm	Now one week has passed again and now I help my guest mummy in the decoration for Christmas.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Nov 25, 2012, 1:05 pm	The weather still has to make it not admitted a long walk, unfortunately, hence, it publishes only photos of the balcony.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:26 pm	Here the world famous Neusser wine tavern.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:27 pm	The Ham gate Under five main gates of the town the Ham gate was valid as the fifth wheel in the carriage. It was opened just as the low gate only on certain weekdays, apart from the harvest time where it was open of 4 o'clock in the early morning till 9 o'clock in the evening. The key was entrusted in each case with the mayors, and the castle was changed all quarters. As in all gates, own doorman who was paid partly by the town and by the neighborhood also lived in the Ham gate. In 1501 the town calculation for the Ham gate doorman as a yearly pay shows 1 Malter rye and substitute with the not received contributions of the neighbours, all together only 5 DM of 8 Albus. As a defensive work the Ham gate which is mentioned in 1298 for the first time did not take second place to the other gates. It was protected by two walls and two ditches. Moreover, it enjoyed the protection of the Krursümpfe. The short embankment between both ditches had the form of a narrow island and was called in the vernacular "Botterweck", in the prearea of the Ham gate the fallen of the Burgundian siege army and the Hessian occupying were buried. This dead person's site about which today the Christ's church rises was called young nobleman's cemetery and was furnished in 1810 by the town officially as a Protestant cemetery. Some gravestones, like that of Agnes von Schleiden late on the 12th of March, 1650, wife of the Hessian commander de Cluyt, were put up by the rear wall where they also stand even today. Hence, the low meaning of the Ham gate stirs that it lay in no important major road, but led only on narrow way to Büttgen and Glehn and connected therefore the chain of the farms of the western castle spell with the town. At the same time it served the Neusser citizen farmers as a comfortable exit for her fields before the town wall. About the meaning of the word "Ham gate" there are different views. One means, the word Ham means a circularly jumping out land piece or the external curve of a bend as hall names. Like the place Hamm on the Rhine or the "little Ham" of a pig or a horse horse collar which is also called Ham the Ham gate calls the place where the wall ring prearches like a belly farthest. Other incline to the explanation which falls back on the name exclusively used in the old documents "Hantpforte" and covers him in view of the way leading to Büttgen to "Hontschaft Büttgen" where in the southeast also even today the name Hongert, Starving, Huneder moor lives on.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:29 pm	Quirinus Münster is one of the most important Late-Romanesque churches on the Lower Rhine, if not of Germany, and landmark of the city of Neuss. It was built between 1209 and 1230 and raised in 2009 by pope Benedikt XVI in the state of a Basilica minor
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:31 pm	Here are other photos from the nice neusser city centre
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:40 pm	Today we are on the highway on the way to Aachen.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:41 pm	35 Kilometers left to arriv Aachen.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:43 pm	Now we arrive Aachen and we are at the home from my Guestgrandparents
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:45 pm	Now we are back and today we visit the Neusser Christmas fair.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:48 pm	Today morning it caught during the work in to be snowing. It was really nice and we have played super-duper in the snow
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 10, 2012, 1:49 pm	In the evening at home this went on play. I love snow, my guest parents and you mummy.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 30, 2012, 12:45 pm	Merry Christmas
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 30, 2012, 12:49 pm	And now my presents :-)
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 30, 2012, 12:50 pm	before the presents there also was tasty food
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 30, 2012, 12:54 pm	After it was eaten and the presents were distributed, I have looked around sometimes in the flat have accompanied me Twixx and Tiplitaps
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 30, 2012, 12:57 pm	On the first Christmas Day we were with the parents-in-law in Aachen. There it was really nice and there was to eat again a lot.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 30, 2012, 12:58 pm	Because it becomes cold after Christmas again, we have got as a gift a scarf.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 30, 2012, 12:59 pm	later in the afternoon I have played something with the cat :-)
ErikaTheMouse Posted Dec 30, 2012, 1:01 pm	My last minutes in Aachen
ErikaTheMouse Posted Jan 1, 2013, 3:49 pm	Hello, mummy, New Year is not far away any more and we already catch in to celebrate. We make this year a quiet evening and celebrate only with my guest parents and their TV's.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Jan 1, 2013, 3:52 pm	The tasty slat macchiato Likoör is drunk blank and now Bols must hold out. Tasty....
ErikaTheMouse Posted Jan 1, 2013, 3:54 pm	Before fireworks is put up, however, before one more moor's head is eaten.
ErikaTheMouse Posted Jan 13, 2013, 11:18 am	HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
ErikaTheMouse Posted Jan 13, 2013, 11:25 am	Happy New Year mummy. Outdoors I get after fireworks at home my own. In love your UrselHH
EuroMaus Posted Jan 23, 2013, 3:23 pm	Hi Mummy, today i arrived in Nuremberg, Germany. Oh i was so happy to see that an other TV called Vassily arrived today also. And already three other TV´s where waiting for me... As a welcome we got to eat some kind of donut with vanille cream inside....hmmm..it was so tasty...
RikeH Posted Aug 27, 2013, 6:34 pm	Hello World, I am UrselHH the THIRD. Can you imagine that Ursel the Second got lost on her search for UrselHH the First? Maybe not all hosts here are really nice, or maybe UrselHHs are the nicest toys of the world, so the hosts want to have them as their pet? I don't know it. A few days ago it was our birthday - and I had a look at the last updates of UrselHH the Second. Hopefully UrselHH the Second will have a good time with EuroMaus, or maybe EuroMaus will send her back to my Mum??? Well, I just decided that it is time for me to travel - in memory of my two relatives - and gladly RikeH found a really safe host for me. I said goodbye to Dicker Kumpel - and will update soon. Love UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Aug 29, 2013, 11:22 am	Dear mummy, today I've arrived safely in Paderborn. Crawling out of my envelope I saw three friendly TV-faces looking at me. Sargent Froggo and The WotWots welcomed me very warmly. After showing them my postcard of my hometown Sülfeld we sat together talking about the dangerous side of TV-life (I told them about UrselHH 1 und UrselHH 2  ) and about it's nice side  Hostmum said that we'll drive to grandhostmum in the evening for exploring her garden... See you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Aug 30, 2013, 12:07 pm	Dear mum, in the evening we visited grandhostmum and her nice garden. We discovered lots of flowers, a little fountain and a little pond, a birdhouse, a hotel for insects and some strange occupiers of the garden. I must admit I was wary of the owl and the crocodile  though they assured me that they were harmless... Hostmum showed us a special flower: in German 'Nachtkerze' (Oenothora biennis) that blooms in the night! Every evening some blooms open in some seconds and bloom for only one night. They looked so beautiful! After all these discoveries we had a yummy evening meal and then we lightened many Chinese laterns on the ground. That looked very nice. I think it was a good first day, now I'm very tired, love you, mummy, yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Aug 31, 2013, 5:13 pm	Dear mummy, yesterday a small parcel from Strunki arrived. It was a birthday parcel for hostmum.  Cause the birthday is today we guarded the parcel until midnight. At midnight we lightened a so called 'birthday fountain': a big flame lightened many little candles and the melody of 'happy birthday' rang out...fantastic! After this spectacle hostmum allowed us opening Strunki's parcel in which we found gifts for each of us  The party was great and so was the liqueur as you can see  Yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 1, 2013, 12:30 pm	Dear mummy, in the morning we had birthday breakfast in a café in Paderborn city. You could put a cross beside your breakfast wishes...and guess what, we agreed on it! All the best yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 3, 2013, 8:12 pm	Congratulations!!! I was so happy to read this important message of Dicker Kumpel! Hope you had a wonderful wedding and now have a good time! Love you, yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 6, 2013, 9:04 pm	Dear mummy, today Sargent Froggo and me escorted hostmum to work. She works in an old people's home as a social worker. We started in Neuenbeken, hostmum's homevillage that belongs to Paderborn, by bike. It was a very windy day as you can see on the picture with the flag in the back but we supported hostmum by spuring on  After eight kilometres we reached the old people's home from the back. First we got to know doll Greta who works together with hostmum. And then we helped hostmum with the skittle alley. The old people played skittles and we put up the skittles again and gave  back the bowls to them. It was very funny At least we helped hostmum writing something and look what I wrote for you  On the way back we stopped next to one of the many maizefields in this region. Yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 9, 2013, 7:31 pm	Dear mum, yesterday we had a very exciting day: we were visited by Strunki, her TVs Charlotte and Helmut and her guests Gozer, Laika, Hase and Elmar. And they brought Mefito home, hostmum's TV. So we had a very big TV-meeting  In the run-up to the visit we had bought some presents, chocolate and gummi bears, wrote two placards and scattered much of confetti and then we waited... Suddenly the bell rang and they arrived!! After the welcome ceremony we shared out the presents and finally we started eating sweets  and talked about ToyVoyager life... After saying goodbye to Strunki, Gozer, Hase, Laika and Elmar (Charlotte and Helmut will stay) we carried on talking the whole night. It was fantastic to get to know so many TVs! Love you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 9, 2013, 8:55 pm	Dear mum, after talking the whole night we fell asleep in the morning... Some hours later we were woken up by Charlotte: "Listen" she said, "let's make hostmum happy and clean up the kitchen before she'll come home from work." Okay we thought, good idea but Charlotte had another idea: "You'll clean up and I'll look after you..." she said. We looked at each other and agreed on this suggestion: No! So Charlotte hadn't any choice but cleaning up, too  After hard work Nick showed us a very nice card game: 'everybody wants Stinky'. You have to collect pairs of Cards (mice for example  ) and the one who has got at last the Skunk is the winner, not the looser in consideration of Mefito... Hermann won! Yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 13, 2013, 10:45 pm	Dear mummy, while hostmum and hostdad were working today we explored their flat. First we got to know the very old dog lady Trixi. Nice to meet you! Trixi was followed by a purple sheep and Brother Jacob, a kind monk. After visiting the orchids we discovered the best: a piano, a trumpet and a guitar  Of course we decided to become a septet! First each of us tried each instrument and soon the several talents came to light. And now have a look at the world's best septet !
mcdaniels Posted Sep 14, 2013, 5:58 pm	Dear mum, today morning we visited Bad Lippspringe, a spa near Paderborn. In Bad Lippspringe there are five sources: Lippe, Jordan, Arminius, Liborius and Martinus and the water you can get from some of them is very good drinking water. There are two spa gardens, an older one and a newer on. On the photo you can see a part of the older one with many old and some young trees. We visited also the ruin of a very old castle standing in the centre of Bad Lippspringe and the church St. Martin. In a bookshop we found many many plushie-postcards and I chose a nice one I'll send to you  See you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 17, 2013, 7:06 pm	Dear mummy, today morning I wrote my postcard to you. Hope it'll arrive soon! Love you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 19, 2013, 5:32 pm	Dear mummy, tomorrow we'll go on holiday to the North Sea! We'll be back next Saturday. See you, yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 29, 2013, 12:35 pm	Dear mum, today our North Sea-trip has begun! In the early morning we took our places in the car and Most of the time we drove on motorways but together with HelmutBluepant, Charlotte, *Nick*, The WotWots, Mefito and Sargent Froggo it wasn't boring at all. After a few hours we crossed Hamburg  and drove through a long tunnel underneath river Elbe. A further hour later we crossed the Kiel Canal. The typical landscape we could see outside the car showed us that we were already at our's destination. And so it was. A few minutes later we reached a nice sofa in our holiday home in Friedrichskoog  Love you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 30, 2013, 5:10 pm	Dear mum, What we did first on our first day: we borrowed a TV-suitable bike for reaching all sights and places in Friedrichskoog. Today we drove to the 'Trischendamm', a dam that streches 2 km into the North Sea. On our way to the dam we saw a sign that  confirmed us to prefer driving by bike and not by car...driving by car seems to be very dangerous in this region  On the Trischendamm we walked up to the end and stood so to speak in the middle of the North Sea. It was a windy day so we had to pay attention not to fly away... The dam is built up of many many stones. When I looked around suddenly a crab stood in front of me  But luckily nothing happened... Back at the dyke we took a rest in a nice wicker beach. On our way back home we bought some jam standing at the roadside. There were no seller but only a box to put in the money. See you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Sep 30, 2013, 9:30 pm	Dear mum, in the morning we unfolded the magic towels of Charlotte and HelmutBluepant. We had to put the little packets into water and waited some seconds...and then two very nice towels came to light  We all hoped that the sun will shine the next time so that we could use them all together...
mcdaniels Posted Oct 1, 2013, 3:26 pm	In the afternoon we wanted to visit Friedrichskoog's little lighthouse. A narrow dam leads to the lighthouse. On our way we saw a nice red fishing cutter, the typical ship in this region. After half the distance we took a rest. Cause it was high tide the dam was overflowed at it's end so we unfortunately couldn't reach the lighthouse and had to turn back. Perhaps we'll try again at low tide. Back at the dyke we found a big stone with an inscription: at this place runs the 54th northern latitude. Yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 2, 2013, 11:04 am	Dear mummy, Today morning we visited the old windmill in which hostmum and hostdad married a few years ago. If I'll marry one day perhaps I'll do it here  Yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 2, 2013, 8:23 pm	In the afternoon we took a long walk on the dyke and met a lot of sheep.
mcdaniels Posted Oct 2, 2013, 8:49 pm	Dear mum, today morning it was raining so *Nick* read a book to us. In the afternoon the weather was much better so we drove to Meldorf, a little nice town near Friedrichskoog. First we visited the great cathedral built up in the 13th century. And then hostmum showed us the market square with her favourite café, of course we went in...very good (unfortunately I'm not on the photo cause I took it  ) Somebody had an old anchor in his garden and of course we wanted to sit on it... Love you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 3, 2013, 10:31 am	Dear mummy, cause it was raining again we had time to sit in a nice café and to explore the interior furnishings after eating and drinking. There were very interesting things in plushie-size, so we played seafarer and lighthouse attendent...fantastic! And I had time to write a postcard to you  Love you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 3, 2013, 5:36 pm	Today the weather was very good, so in the morning we walked on the Trischendamm at low tide for picking shells. After picking some we took arest on the big stones. On our way back we had a great sight of the mud flats. Back at the dyke we met 'Fritze', a very big mud flats worm and then we played on a nice boat and took another rest on deck. In the afternoon we went into another nice café...hostparents love cafés as you can see...
mcdaniels Posted Oct 4, 2013, 12:19 pm	Dear mummy, today morning we tried to reach the little lighthouse again, this time at low tide. But first Charlotte wanted to visit her sister-in-law who lives here at the dyke. Charlotte's brother unfortunately is in prison (and she doesn't want to tell us why) as HelmutBluepant told a few weeks ago, you remember? And so she went alone into the rabbit burrow (Charlotte's brother had married a rabbit as you can see) and we had to wait outside while she was talking with her siste-in-law. After a while she came back, hugged HelmutBluepant but she didn't want to say anything about her visit. If you ask me it seems to be a not so pleasant part of her family... So we started to the lighthouse and reached it. Before going back we took a long rest sitting there and talking about life... Love you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 4, 2013, 1:19 pm	In the afternoon we visited the nice little fishing harbour.
mcdaniels Posted Oct 4, 2013, 6:00 pm	In the evening we had to say goodbye to the North Sea...and the North Sea said goodbye presenting us a great sunset...
mcdaniels Posted Oct 4, 2013, 7:31 pm	Dear mummy, back home we immediately had to say goodbye to Mefito who'll start to make a pilgrimage in Spain tomorrow together with hostgrandma. Be careful and see you soon, dear friend!
mcdaniels Posted Oct 6, 2013, 12:40 pm	Dear mummy, today we made a sightseeing tour through Paderborn city. We started with a great breakfast in the café of hostmum's friend. Then we visited the cathedral. The first local missionary church was built up in the year 777. The new building of the cathedral took place in 799. As it stands today, the cathedral was erected between 1215-1280. Following the destructions it suffered during the Second World War it was rebuilt to its original design with a few minor alterations. Of course we visited the 'hare window' in the inner courtyard of the cathedral: three hares with only three ears but every hare has got two ears    Foundations of the Carolingian and Ottonian-Salic imperial palaces  were exposed from 1964 until the late seventies. The Ottonian-Salic Palace was reconstructed between 1976 and 1978 in accordance with a plan made by an architect. The original building construction with its rising brickwork is clearly identifiable. Then we visited the market square with the Neptun-fountain and the townhall. After that we visited river Pader, Germany's shortest river (only 4 km) but 200 springs inside the city and a big frog At the end of the Second World War Paderborn was almost totally destroyed, only a few houses 'survived'. The photos show the oldest house (built up in 1560) and a few other half-timbered houses. Finally we went into a gummi bears shop for buying a present for Strunki and olgamaus we'll both see on Saturday  See you soon yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 6, 2013, 12:44 pm	Part of a life mission: a French postbox in Germany!!
mcdaniels Posted Oct 7, 2013, 7:08 pm	Dear Mummy, in the morning we started to Strunki in Remscheid. *Nick* will stay there with HelmutBluepant and Charlotte. We were welcomed very warmly by Gozer, Elmar, Hase and Laika and of course by Strunki. And we weren't the only guests: olgamaus came as well with her TV-guests, it was fantastic!!! So I got to know KoalaMimi, Rocky Raccoon, OleOrangescarf, Kirin, Tsukumo, nosyblue and Lamikins It was fantastic!!! Hase came with presents for each of us, yummy chocolate, a candle, a lolly and a scarf  After eating the yummy meal Strunki and her guests had cooked for us we went into a garden and built up the greatest ToyVoyager-polonaise you've ever seen  Before we started the world's best party we visited the nice garden. And then the party began... Hours later mum had to drive home again so we had to say goodbye to Nick, Helmut, Charlotte and all the others. Hope to see you again! Then we jumped into the bag again together with OleOrangescarf who acoompanied us to Paderborn  Back home we sat together talking and drinking some more Killepitsch... It was a great day yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 13, 2013, 8:28 am	Hi mum, after writing a nice postcard to you that shows our great TV-meeting in Remscheid we drove to Paderborn city in the evening for watching the international soccer game Germany:Ireland together with grandhostdad. Well prepared we sat in front of the television... Germany won 3:0 as you can see  Yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 15, 2013, 11:48 am	Dear mum, today we had a sunny day so we went on a autumn-cycling tour. We met some late bees and saw the harvested maize fields. The trees look very nice now, some leafs get brown, some get yellow, some get red or orange... We found some big yellow mushrooms...or toadstools? Nobody knew and nobody wanted to try out  And look the red rose hips! On the sign you can see the route we drove. After a while we reached our destination, a 300-year-old half-timbered house in the middle of a forest in which a friend of hostmum lives. Love you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 17, 2013, 9:25 pm	Mefito is back from his pilgrimage in Spain  We all hugged him and than we sat together round an indoor campfire and listened to his adventures...
mcdaniels Posted Oct 22, 2013, 10:07 pm	Dear mum, today we made a trip to Reelkirchen, not the paradise  , but a very nice little village that belongs to the Egge mountains. We visited the old church and a very old lime tree. There were very many half-timbered houses, some more than 300 years old. On the way back we saw the colourful forest...great! Yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 27, 2013, 3:16 pm	Dear mummy, today we went to an autumn-fair in Paderborn city. First we had a look from the top of the multi-storey we had parked. Then we went to the fairground. We admired the ghost train, an old merry-go round, stands with lots of sweets  and the Ferris wheel. Hostmum asked us whether we wanted to drive with the Ferris wheel...without question we wanted  It was great!!! I love you yours UrselHH
mcdaniels Posted Oct 29, 2013, 4:30 pm	Time to say goodbye again... Today I set off to Strunki. So yesterday evening we had a farewell party sitting round an indoor campfire and talking about our common adventures... Goodbye my dear friends Sargent Froggo, Mefito, OleOrangescarf and The WotWots and goodbye mcdaniels...it's been a great time! Perhaps we'll meet again... yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Oct 31, 2013, 9:37 pm	Hi mum, today I arrived at strunkis home and suprised HelmutBluepant, Charlotte and their guests *Nick* with Hase while they were reading the newest "Asterix" from the back I threw the magic towels onto Helmut and Lotte and it was a big surprise for all of them to see me How lovely to see You again after the weeks I´ve been here taking part in the big tv-meeting Lotte was sooo happy to get back her magic towel she had forgotten in mcdaniels home Helmut also was very glad to get his special pig-towel again so now he´s able to take a bath again (under us... he neeeds a bath urgently).... Here *Nick* hugs me, he´s glad to see me again Hase embraced me with her long ears Then I showed my gifts, a huge bag full of yummy licorice And the funny postcard with the dog who´s not allowed anything he does After such a nice welcome we all sat together and continued reading the comic Hase and Lotte love my arrival, they think, I´ve been from heaven sent, now the boys-rules come to an end That´s for today, my dear mum love and hug You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 1, 2013, 7:40 am	Hi mum, today I informed me about strunkis work at her office One of her longest collegues, a snake called "Bong" I met there He´s friendly, but often totally in another world.... A lot of funny postcards I saw on the wall And a nice picture of a joung dog See me studying a large map of the Dolomites And us having a meeting with other important clerks here Then it was noon, time for lunch And having a little chill-out-break inbetween the old Christmas cactus [Schlumbergera] But at work, especially in an office, You are not allowed to be lazy  See me creating the newest sports: Office-punch-jumping Perfect: My landing in the famous ear-stand My next task: checking the copier... Yes, functions satisfying... Woow, now it´s home time! Working at the office is very thrilling, exciting and I love it That´s it from the office, now lets hurry up home for the most incredible halloween-party the plushie world has ever seen Love You, Mum Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 2, 2013, 12:56 pm	Hi Mum, in the evening we were invited by olgamaus and her guest to take part in a spooky Halloween party Here we are with Dutchy the Lion, Kirin, Rocky Raccoon, Nosyblue, Tsukumo, KoalaMimi and Frederik They welcomed us very warmly I´ve choosen the flying-spider-web-ghost-costume And look, how much nasty looking meals they have prepared for us fly agaric made out of tomatoes and little mozzarella balls Eyeballs in matterpudding... yuck See us all around the horrible fruit-brain-salad And here we have the terrible hot chillie-devils What do You think about the mice with their brains next to them? I love them The ilumination was soo nice terrible Best costume of this Halloween eve: Frederik, the living skull What a spooky party the pure horror Really nobody, not even Helmut, had a sensible declaration for this.... Spooky halloween...
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 12, 2013, 7:36 pm	Hello Mum, today we made a short trip around  Burg Castle again, because Helmut wanted to test his new cam, so thats the reason why he isn´t seen on the most pictures actually and why we don´t have so many photos as usually, because he didn´t manage the cam very well I´ve been there already some time ago And I remember that I liked it Look, the statue of Count Engelbert Really huge and impressive, the complete Castle We all like the ropeway very much And the view on the landscape We continue our walk around the castle And reach our main aim for today, a small nice temple-formed viewpoint What a view from there outside and inside, look at the ceiling, where You see a lot of city coat of arms from Bergisch-Land-towns Some blue sky, but it became darker A last nice view on Unterburg And a last farewell to the proud castle of Schloss Burg Love Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 12, 2013, 8:25 pm	Hi Mum, today we did a great new fun with our friends: having a bath And we all need a bath, look at my dirty tail... Everybody of us gets his personal own bathingtowel But first we have to undress... Oooops, I feel naked without my tag Ready for the bathtube with my nice bathingtowel So now boys, fill the tube with warm water, please Ladies first, of course Whopp, me the brave, enjoy at first A great experience, even to see, how Hase falls into the bathtube And now lt´s start the shower See us clean and happy girls That´s for today, my dear mum love and hug You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 17, 2013, 6:03 pm	Hi Mum, today was a great event at the pond: Störte, the good old pirate, has landed and he survived a long, long and dangerous sailing trip (so he told us) Lotte found him first and we plushies supported him to reach the pond banks So we pulled and pulled Then, after a while, we did it: His first steps on the ground "Hi, I am UrselHH and I´m very pleased to meet You, great corsar Can I become a member of Your crew?" He laughed and asked back if I would prefer to be the smutje or if I want to be the ship mouse Welcome Störte Helmut also was happy to meet him And Lotte? You can imagine how she melted... a rose, clever, Störte... Lotte returned the favour immediately Here´s her fur for wintertime And something more to heat him up: A honeydrink We think, he likes it That was it for today, mum, see You soon and love You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 18, 2013, 8:18 pm	Hello Mum, today it was almost sunny in the morning so we decided to drive to Wuppertal and visited the "Northern Park" Nordpark there The foothpaths are very comfortable there Before we went into the forest, we enjoyed the view on Barmen And found a nice monument, used as a spring in the summer Look at the carved stone, a frog perhaps? We also passed a popular restaurant destination, but the renovations take some years, strunki told us O.K., instead of having a stop there, we discovered the forest and found nice autum colours Along our way we saw lots of beeches and yews And found some nice treestumps where we played a little bit See me coming on top At last, who else? Lotte... I like playing in the trees so we continued our walk and wanted to visit the fallow deer in the game enclosure We had to go deeper into the forest And found first? some last blooming daisy Will we watch the deer from here? Yes, here they are What a nice sunday noon walk That was is for today Love and kisses for You Mum Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 24, 2013, 7:48 pm	Dear Mum, today we made a short trip to the Wuppervorsperre But before we came to the water, we had to walk trough a forest Some last fruits we saw, perhaps red elderberry [Sambucus racemosa]? Look at the wonderful autum colours A woodshelter formed as a fungus, that´s nice An alley of larch [Larix] Even the ground is yellow because the larch is the only coniferous species that looses its needle-leafs in autum See us having a rest and playing between the nice coloured leafs Finally, we reached the river banks See me here with Hase But finally it was a very nice trip with our friends That´s it for today, dear mum Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 24, 2013, 10:21 pm	Sunday: Störte challenged Hase, Charlotte and me for backgammon His pool was very lousy so he offered himself that we are allowed to do what we want with him in case of loosing the game And the game ran even more lousy for him... astonishing calmy he reacted, when the dices didn´t bring him luck... His last word: Cheers... perhaps he planned to loose the game?? O.K. Störte... sleep well and don´t wonder how You look when you wake up and we have finish our work... Our revenge was terrible Welcome, Captain "Jack" Störte Sparrow...
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 29, 2013, 7:43 pm	Hello Mum, today we went into the city and enjoyed the Festival of Lights in the Hindenburgstreet We saw a lot of lightchains and flames in the street, all looked very comfortable und welcoming Look at the wonderful star of the Hutterites And the shops in this street are a refreshing alternative to the overloaded malls and shopping centers Here is a hatterer-shop with handcrafted hats An antique shop And an organic grocery store Then we found a nice place where we enjoyed deep fried almond pastry for us and a spiked hot orange punch for our eternal thirsty Störte That´s all for today, see and love You, Mum until soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Nov 30, 2013, 6:33 pm	Hi Mum, today we did something for our feathered friends, the birds staying  outside in wintertime See *Nick* with the raisins, HelmutBluepant and Charlotte with the vegetable fat, me with the oat flakes, Hase and Störte with the grain feed These are old plantingpots with a stick in the middle and we want to melt the fat and mix all our ingriediences together to fill them. So let´s start with Helmut and Lotte melting the fat in a huge panpot That takes some time to heat the fat, but see how disciplined I am Mum, I don´t nibble my oat flakes Even Störte doesn´t destillate it for some brandy or so After a while the fat began to melt See Helmut stiring in the pot When the fat is melted, Hase and Störte add the seeds Hard work to stir it, so Störte helped Hase After this I add the oat flakes Nick and Lotte supervise my stiring I´m a tough mouse girl and I don´t need any support Yeah After mixing the seed, the oat flakes and the raisins, and stiring the mixture by *Nick*, the feeding is ready for the old little pots See me filling the pot Ready When the fat cools out and becomes hard, You can turn around the pots and hang them into the trees so the birds can pick out the seeds, the oat flakes and the raisins in wintertime That´s it for today Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 3, 2013, 6:10 pm	Hello Mum, today we went to the Botanical Garden Solingen Altough the autum is almost all over and only a few plants are still blooming, we had some nice views on the scenery there Here we are in the Alpinum Have You ever seen such a huge butterfly? Some last blooming rosebushes And a lot of impressive trees are here, too Here we are at the lake that is situated in the lower part of the botanical Garden This is a bookcrossing board situated in the middle of the garden: Some people bring their old books there and let them free and some other interested take them for reading From here You have a wonderful view onto the lower part of the garden Then we left the park for a while and followed the Korkenziehertrasse that´s a combined foot- and cyclepath that connects the parts of the city besides the streets mainly used by cars Uuuhh, this tunnel was a little bit spooky Then it was time to turn around and walk back trough the garden. When we left, we saw the huge sign with lots of donators helping that the botanical garden in Solingen can be still open
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 3, 2013, 6:32 pm	Later we passed the nice oldtown of Solingen-Gräfrath and enjoyed the Christmas-lights at the market place Have a nice first Advent Love Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 7, 2013, 11:54 am	Hello Mum, *Snow * Snow * Snow* But first we congratulated *Nick* to his birthday today (Sorry that big fat Charlotte covered me, mum  ) Suddenly St. Nicholas came to us and all of us got a present because we behaved well this year Look what I got Even störte got a present Then we gave *Nick* his present and sung our happy-birthday-song for him A golden bear exclusive for him See us having fun in the snow What a nice day See You soon, Mum Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 8, 2013, 5:35 pm	Dear Mum, Happy second sunday in Advent wish You UrselHH and friends We have a lot of fun swinging in the Advent wreath Yours Ursel
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 12, 2013, 7:06 am	Hello Mum, today were a lot of surprises waiting for us:-) At first an envelope from Dr. Kröbner arrived Hase was totally upset and crawled into the envelope.... After a looong while we only saw a red cap... Tadaaahhh Oh, her Mum, sent her pullover and the nice winter-cap she got from jasper in Switzerland, what a nice idea We all admired the nice postcard Dr. Kröbner wrote and love the angel that was sent by The next happy surprise was the nice postcard OleOrangescarf sent us Look at the iluminated windmill standing in the open-air-museum in Detmold, thanks a lot, dear Ole At last a huge parcel from You, Mum What would be in there?? See Charlotte and Störte creating a new sports: Parceldiving... Wooow, a present for me... but I will be brave enough and wait until christmas? I promise, I will Thanks a lot, dear Rike-Mum But what about the envelope?? Lotte isn´t able to wait any longer, she MUST open anything NOW.... What a suprise... it´s Soeren Lotte passes out I give Soeren a warm welcome Hase is very happy to welcome him as well Störte and Soeren: family members reunited What an eventful evening
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 15, 2013, 5:06 pm	Hello Mum, today is the day we will meet mcdaniels in Dortmund, Soeren is sooo happy spending the last days here and had a great time together with störte, HelmutBluepant, *Nick*, Hase, Charlotte and me And now I´m totally upset and we are ready to start having a nice time togther at the christmas fair in Dortmund Here we are in Dortmund now in front of the supposedly biggest christmas tree of the world: built from about 1.500 single conifers See little Mefito and me ..O.K., he´s a little bit bigger than me, but he´s still a little boy and sooo cute After this first Hello we went into a café and welcomed the other plushies each other From the left: Your GustavHH, Charlotte, Hase, HelmutBluepant, Kirin, OleOrangescarf, DottyCroc, Dutchy the Lion, Mefito, Soeren, Josie, me, Your SunnyHH, störte,Sargent Froggo and*Nick* And here we are together with our best friends, talking about our latest adventures Who else with who else?? Then, when it became darker, we started our trip around the christmas market Nice and wonderful iluminations everywhere This shop with the paper stars and buildings we loved most What a wonderful day in Dortmund with our friends Love You Mum and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 19, 2013, 2:34 pm	Hello Mum, Hello Mum, this afternoon we went on the little christmas market in Barmen störte and me liked this train a lot, but we didn´t find nice gifts there Strunki told us not to worry about, there a a few days left and so we played in the colourful little christmas tree in her office In the evening we went to a christmas party of the aquarist society gatw Wuppertal Lots of yummy eating we had there Here we check the winnings donated by the members for the tombola Next to us the members have already bought their lottery tickets The rules are easy and very fair: There are two identical sheet calendars, one sheet for each day. From the one calendar You buy day-sheets, each one costs one EUR. From the second calender the same days You bought were sampled in the lottery wheel. That means that there aren´t any blanks and each lottery ticket has the chance to win. the first winner is allowed to chose one of the winnings on the table what he wants to have and so on until all prizes are raffled And guess what? We won something! Look , the 8th of June was taken out of the lottery wheel and we have this sheet The next winnings came a few moments later Hmmm, blackberry liqueur And we won a third time: home made elderberry jelly What a nice and lucky evening, we have a lot of fun there That´s all for today, See and love You, Mum Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 20, 2013, 1:46 pm	Hi Mum, today we celebrate Charlotte´s birthday and had a lot of fun See me congratulating her All of us have a lot of fun with Lotte ...but now she misses her presents... You stand on them, look under the red cloth and under the bowl You sit on... Hihi, we hided them... My present for her was a bar of her favourite chocolate Then it was time to drink some sparkling elderberry secco and eat some yummy homemade birthday cakes togehter But before we started drinking and eating I reminded Lotte on the birthday card sent by You, Mum And now lets start having fun with eating and drinking Hase has fun Uppsaa, me, too  Very yummy this sparkling elderberry secco... What a party That´s all for today Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 22, 2013, 5:46 pm	Hello Mum, today we made a short trip around the Müngsten Bridge again, because the weather ist quite open and the temperatures are still o.k. We start at the confluence of the stream Morsbach and the river Wupper from the right You see the Morsbach and behind me the bigger one is the Wupper From the bridge over the Wupper You have a first view to the so called Diederichstemple This place we want to visit first But first we wanted to ask the puddle-oracle O.K., the oracle says that it isn´t frosty, not dry, but not too wet for a little hiking trip So we started hiking. It was a little bit tedious uphill, but we did it See me starting After a while we came to this nice Siepen and rested there a few minutes Then we arrived our first target: The DiederichstempleDiederichstemple Look at this huge Müngsten Brigde from there After a while hiking downhill, we came to this strange sculptures... And we asked us, what this could be? Some of us voted for some birdhouses and some think, it could be a special ToyVoyager playground... Finally, we decided, that it must be a playground Then we passed a little river-island in the Wupper And learned some interesting details about the fauna and flora in and around the Wupper here Finally we reached our last target: The Müngsten Brigde And here our tour ended Love You, Mum, Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 25, 2013, 7:15 pm	Hello Mum, today is Christmas Eve and we wait for Father Christmas. But before, we have to decorate the christmastree. Strunki gave us a huge box Let´s have a look inside It´s full of christmastreedecoration Look, Mum, what nice figurines I found Two funny bears riding on a sleigh I´ll hang it into the tree Here´s the next one A small bunny hanging in a balloon I love it And I found another one for the tree Look, a mouse with a washing trough Here´s the next one two bears sitting on a sleigh Finally a purple bow of ribbon for the top of the tree Now our christmastree is fully decorated and we have to be patient and wait for Father Christmas bringing the presents for us this night What will we get? A few hours later, when we woke up, the sensation happened: I got a present for christmas!!! What can it be?? Look Mummy some bars of yummy chocolate, thanks a lot dear mum There is one last present still to be opened, it is from RikeH for strunki and she allowed us alltogether to open it for her Look at the wonderful christmas card I read it to strunki and all the other plushies All of us, especially strunki, are very moved by the warm and friendly christmas greetings of You, Mum So, let´s open the box, what is inside? We open the box alltogether and the first we see is Kleine Fee with Charlotte Wooow, it is a mug with two pictures on the other picture shows Dicker Kumpel with HelmutBluepant What a wonderful idea, the nicest christmas present at all strunki said What a nice handing out of presents We all are sooo happy with the wonderful gifts this eve Now let us have our christmas dinner Yummy homemade cookies And for good old störte a bottle full of jubilee-akvavit To all of You Merry Christmas Love You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Dec 30, 2013, 8:34 pm	Hello Mum, the last days we were very verly lazy, enjoyed the christmas mood, hanged around, ate too much and so on But this sunday afternoon the weather was already good enough meeting olgamaus and her crew to show them some nice views on Wuppertal Here we stand on the south side and have a view over Barmen to the North And here I am again in the Nordpark, wich we have visited a few weeks ago Very happy, that the sun already shines for a moment And here we have the view over Barmen from the other side to the south hills It is not as clear as it seems to be At least we had a rest on this fresh logged beech, perhaps it felt down by the last storm here a fortnight ago? A very huge tree this was before it fell down... That was it for today, I am looking forward of the last day of the year when we want to celebrate a sylvester-party Love Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 1, 2014, 11:58 am	Hello Mum, today we made a little trip to the part of the Eschbachtal, where the Lobach confluences into the Eschbach The area is called Hammertal , because a lot of old hammer mills were placed at this streams Here You see the Lobach After crossing the street we are now at the entrace to this part of the Eschbachtal, situated between Lobach and Ehringhauser Bach In the last days a lot of water floated into the streams and rivers, look Here the Eschbach is placed about 10 to 15 metres below our path Look at this old bridge over the stream, unfortunately is´s not allowed to cross it, because its in danger of collapsing Here we see an old hammermillbuilding, it is the Johanneskotten And there You can see a hibernation shelter for bats After passing it, we reach the official [url=Barbecue area Altenhammer] http://www.remscheid.de/leben/umwelt-und-natur/wald/Grillplatz_Altenhammer.php[/url] . But before You light a fire, You have to get the permission first There we played a while and had some fun at the stream If it would be summer, we could hang our feet into it... ...or my tail, perhaps? Behind and over this place the is an old small lake On our way back to the point we started, we admired this colourful tree fungus That´s our tour of today, tomorrow we want to celebrate Sylvester, the lst day of the Year 2013 Love You UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 1, 2014, 5:10 pm	Hi Mum, today it is Sylvester, the very last day of the year. A reason to have a plushie-party the world never ever seen So let´s watch the clock: only one hour left for the year 2013 Time enough for our special-sylvester-plushie-meal: chocolate hearts  Look, I´m very disciplined in the difficult balloon-balance-dance Then we have our next game: fishing for fortune cookies What for a paper slip-sentence will I fish? Can You read it, Mum? "You have to be admired. You get everything you want" O.K., lets watch the clock again Uiii, almost time for a sparkling plushie wine *HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL* LOVE AND PEACE FOR EVERYONE So let´s go on the roof and watch the fireworks See You soon and love You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 4, 2014, 11:22 pm	Hi Mum, today we visited Benrath Palace in Düsseldorf Here is a scheme, how the buildings are situated First we had a view above the big lake in front of the palace And like to watch the waterbirds there Some swans, a lot of ducks and crowds of seagulls Let´s have a view to the front of the main building It looks as it would be made only for us girls, I think... In front of the main palace two impressive lions are placed They were gentle enough to allow us playing on them We walked upstairs to have a look inside... Woow, very nice inside Even a large swimming pool it has What a nice place That´s our tour of today, love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 9, 2014, 7:56 pm	Hello Mum, today we made a very long trip on the Sambatrasse almost 10 Kilometers long. After a short while walking we reach a point, where a bridge leads over the tiger-area in the zoo Look at the funny sign there We had luck with the weather and enjoyed our walk Here we pass the point where Burgholztunnel starts, the tunnel connects the west of Wuppertal with the south and is almost 1.900 Meters long Here Hase, Charlotte and me learned about the history of the Burgholz The way further on we passed the point in the near of the Kaisereiche , but we didn´t visit the oak, because later in the afternoon the light became darker and our way was still long See me and störte studying the sign about the place And here finally we pass the small old trainstop Burgholz, now there is a little tavern That was only a part of our tour today, but the later the afternoon was, the darker it became and we were glad to reach the car again See You soon and love You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 13, 2014, 12:54 am	Hi Mum, today we visited the Flora and Botanical Garden in Cologne The weather was very sunny and fine there, with temperatures almost usual in springtime Look at the nice terrace-spring, but in wintertime there´s no water floating The German emperess Augusta was patroness of the Flora First I found a huge solitaire sequoia tree Next we talked to this nice, friendly lady and her deer Then I saw a first suprise: a blooming tree at middle january! It´s a snowball-tree (viburnum) And here a nice example for a small garden and a still smaller garden house There we played for some time enjoying the warm sun And see me here in front of the pampas grass in the near of a nice lake Here another two impressions of the park-landscape of the Botanical Garden This is very unique in Germany An allèe only with palms This was the second suprise for us See me with a nice christmas rose (helleborus niger) But this was the main reason for us visiting the Flora in this January The camellia-show in one warmhouse Some of the early camellia (Camellia japonica) are blooming yet This nice statue we like, but it has a sad name: dying amazone It remembers us, that all beauty has to go sometime... And more beautiful blossoms, but sorry Mum, I wasn´t able to remember them all in detail Inbetween all this camellia-blossoms I found a very interesting other plant that I hope to meet in a few weeks on Tenerife Can You read the sign? It is the Canary (Island) bellflower Here we made a first rest and enjoyed the beautiful varieties of the camellia flowers But we also found other nice flowers See me with Charlotte and Hase And see the giant groundsel (Senecio grandiflorus) And here we have the Chilean bellflower (Lapageria rosea) Another nice station with other camellia-varieties What a wonderful place This blossom I like most And even outside the warmhouse we find some blooming and frostresistant camellias What a wonderful nice day we had See and Love You all Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 18, 2014, 9:18 pm	Hi Mum, today the weather was so fine and sunny altough it is mid-january, we decided to play a little bit in the garden We started in the flower box and enjoyed the purple primeroses See me with *Nick* and Charlotte After a while I wanted to see what´s going on in the garden Well, the garden looks very messy... So I decided to help strunki a little bit with cleaning up the most with old leafs covered spots that the earth gets more light and is able to respire much better First I cut down the old faded twigs from the last year with the gardenshears Next step was raking the foliage Really hard work but it must be when You want to have it tidy And look what grows under all these leafs: first stems of snowbells and the first little rosettes of the sedum Finally I had to put the foliage into the barrel for bringing it to the composter ... had to be a peaceful, silent and harmonic afternoon until we heard a yell... of course... who else?? Lotte fell into the barrel... graceful she shins up to the edge What a nice and funny end of the afternoon That´s all for today See and love You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 19, 2014, 10:01 pm	Hello Mum, because last week we felt so nice in Cologne , we wanted to come back to the city again for visiting the huge Dome today. See the imposant skyline from the other side of the rhine So we started and went over the Hohenzollernbridge In the middle of the bridge a huge rhine-freighter passed under us On the fence that separates the footpath from the railway I found a lot of padlocks, fixed by couples who carved their names on it, close it and throw the key into the river hoping of everlasting love Here, from the end of the bridge, we have a first close look on the huge Cologne Cathedral Such an impressive building See the two migthy towers and the huge main portals the bronce lions are estimated some hundered years old and could tell lots of interesting stories And they invited us to have a look inside Just now a liturgy service was celebrated there, so we didn´t want to disturbe the attendants and stayed only a short moment Before we left the cathredral, we admired the colourful crib, wich is part of the "cologne route of cribs" Some last impressions of the Cathedral from outside In the near we found this nice spring, it is the so called Heinzelmännchenbrunnen Here we are in the oldtown now and see one of the Roman Churches of Cologne This is Great St. Martin And here we see St. Kunibert Here is an old tower inbetween modern buildings On our way by foot to the Flora we pass the Cologne Sculpture Park This sculpture I like most And here we reach the main entrance of the Flora You already know from the last week ago We know the place but I wanted to visit the tropical greenhouses we weren´t able to visit last week Here we hve fun between the cacti in the Succulent house And this is a flower we are very happy to see today, the nice yellow winter aconite [Eranthis hyemalis] This was our great walk in Cologne See and love You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 25, 2014, 7:27 pm	Hi Mum, do You remember the map HelmutBluepant and *Nick* gave störte as a birthday present some months ago? today störte needs our help, he said... "Until now I wasn´t able to find out yet, wich island this map shows", he told us So would You help me to identify an island that has got the same shape or silhouette? On the first map we didn´t find any island that comes into question... The second one was also a failure... This third one was a similar triangle shape, but it wasn´t störtes island... But suddenly, after a mount of maps... THIS was the island we are looking for Hey, that is tenerife, the island we will travel to in a few days, oh what luck we have So let´s pack our things we need there to go on holiday and for the treasure hunt what a lot of stuff... I will take the sunmilk and a pair of flip-flops So we pack our bunch and are glad that our great adventure will start Tenerife, we are coming ...tbc
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 27, 2014, 10:56 pm	Hi Mum, today too early in the morning, at three o´clock we started our big tour to Tenerife Here we are at the departure gate and discover the area while we waiting that the boarding will start First palm impressions And we met the camel, Charlotte told the others about a few days ago This is our jumbo that will bring us to the island. The flight will take about four and a half hour Boarding completed After a hour the stewardesses served us a small breakfast The beginning of the sunrising after one and half our in the air ...Who else needed "the bag"?? Poor Lotte... Time went fast by watching the latest smurf-movie We had very nice weather for the flight And then, suddenly, after four hours, the first impressions from the island of tenerife ...tbc
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 27, 2014, 11:19 pm	And here we reach our hotel A first meeting with the big sleeping-Orca ad the Manatee, the had to travel as cargo-luggage... And first views from the balcony That was our first day here on tenerife and a lot more nice days will follow Love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 28, 2014, 9:38 pm	Hello Mum, today we visited the oldtown of La Orotava Here we start with a view over the oldtown from the top of the Gardens of Marquesado de la Quinta Roja Here a view over this nice terraced garden This building was planned being a tomb, but it never used to be one When we went the steps down, we found this nice huge vase Some blooming orange daylilies [hemerocallis] The view on the garden from the base A first coffee with milk, in spain we order "una café con leche, por favour" After this small break we went on and visited the small but fine botanical garden of La Orotava, a dependance of the bigger Botanical Garden of Puerto de la Cruz The first very huge "tree" we see is a Canarian dragontree, [dracaena draco], it is the typical plant, but not a real tree, it belongs to the botanical familiy of Asparagaceae This is a Abyssinian or red banana [Ensete ventricosum], it looks nice with its red leafstalk, but it doesn´t have any fruit And here we have a bird of paradise [Strelitzia reginae] An anthuria A final view into the park before we leave this peaceful green place in the middle of this buzzy town Our next point of interest is the church Nuestra Senora de la Concepcion with its nice orange dome and two imposant towers Let´s have a short view inside Our final visit in La Orotava belonged to the houses with typical canarian wooden balconies, the so called "Casas del los balcones" The balconies there are carved in a very nice manner The patio of one house we were able to visit What a nice and full day in La Orotava This was it for today, love and see you soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 29, 2014, 9:40 pm	Hi Mum, today we visited the beautyful smalltown of Garachico in the North-West of Tenerife Here the views from the top And here we are in front of the oldtown Some first impressions of the oldtown Inbetween a very small park the old gate of the haven is situated now. It´s called "Puerta de las tierras", that means "gate of earth" Some nice hibiscus there The next sight is the curch of Santa Ana with its typical tower And here we are in the centre of the oldtown, even the typial canarian balconies we found there Let´s have a break with a short very sweet coffee, called "cortado leche leche". A shot of very sweet condensated milk is added in Because of the rough sea, the natural swimming pools are closed, what a pity Finally we saw Castillo de San Miguel and störte inspected the cannon there with a lot of interest That was our tour of today and we hope that many nice days will follow Love You UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 30, 2014, 9:26 pm	Hello Mum, today we drove to Santa Cruz de Tenerife Here You see a very imposant building, it is the Auditorio de Tenerife , a Congress-and Concerthall, planned by the famous architect Santiago Calatrava And the tower there is from the church Nuestra Señora de la Conception This nice building is called Fábrica „La Lucha", it was a formerly tobaccofactory And here we are at the "Plaza del Príncipe de Asturias" Me in front of the fish-statue and a drago tree at the "Plaza del Chicharro" Over this impressive bridge we walked and came to the famous market "Mercado Nuestra Señora de Africa" Let´s go inside and see what groceries we will find there Woow, soo much sorts of potatoes A variety of a more than fifty different sorts So we discussed at the central spring what we wanted to buy here The decision fell on the cookies Delicious with a good cup of coffee After this short break we left the market and met these friendly guys with their fishingboat Our last visitors highlight for today in Santa Cruz was the Parque García Sanabria Look at the nice pink bougainvilla Mum, I wish, PinkyHH would see this On these park benches we watched some scenes on ceramic tiles A bamboo avenue So nice views there This nice lady is the darling of the citizens here So that was our tour of today Love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Jan 31, 2014, 10:56 pm	Hola Mum, today the weather was fine enough to start our Tour to the Teide-Mountain. But before, we visited Mirador Humboldt to have a beautiful view over the valley of Orotava Look at this impressive scenery Teide, we are coming ...tbc
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 1, 2014, 12:02 am	From there we drove higher and nearer to the Pico del Teide, the highest Mountain of Spain The higher we came, the more the vegetation changes We drove through laurel forest and later the trees changed into Canary pine [Pinus canariensis] On our way to the Canadas, we found this so called \"Rose of stone\" Here we are on an altitude of about 2.100 m over Sea Level and there were no trees anymore, but only small bushes can survive there From this point I had the nearest view on the Pico When we drove high, we mostly have a look to the snowy northern side, but from here You see the south side of the mountain always free from snow Here we are at the so called Roques del García And here the views into the giant caldera Nice are the various colours of the different volcanic stones A very impressive plant here is the Red Mount Teide bugloss [Echium wildpretii], but it only has full flowers in Summer and all we saw were the faded pedicels (Please click on the link above to get an impression how beautiful the flower of this plant can be) We had a great day here and hope to come back for seeing more That was our trip of today Love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 1, 2014, 8:03 pm	Back to the Hotel, störte became ill and wasn´t able to celebrate his daily spirituals test... So he asked us to substitute him and taste the drink of today for him This is a bananaliqueur and I like it Good night and sleep well
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 1, 2014, 8:58 pm	Hi Mum, today on saturday we visited the nice farmersmarket with local products So many delicious groceries, what should we buy for our plushie-picknick? I decided to buy some cheese and remember to fulfill one of my life-missions: to taste cheese in every country I visit  AND to learn the word cheese in 10  different languages So this is a special cheese: A fresh white goat cheese, in spain it is called "Queso de cabra" In the afternoon we will hold our plushie-picknick
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 1, 2014, 9:33 pm	our next stop we made at Punta de Hidalgo with an impressive view on the mountains of anaga Unfortunately the weather was not very nice, it rained and so we decided not to hold our plushie-picknick at the beach of Bajamar instead of we visited the very nice Café Melita and had a delicious "Tarta de Manzana" (Applepie) and a coffee with milk Afterwards we made a little walk and found HelmutBluepants favourite flowers, the Plumerias
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 1, 2014, 10:04 pm	Back to our hotel in the afternoon we packed out our groceries we bought on the market at Tacoronte in the morning Here is the piece of canarian goat-cheese I bought Everything is ready for our plushie-picknick Mum, here I am fulfilling one of my life-missions ¡Buen provecho!
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 2, 2014, 9:53 pm	Hello Mum, today for the first time the weather was fine enough to spend the day on the beach and so we drove to the West, to Los Silos, where a very wild beach expected us What´s there in the background?? A whale skeleton? Lotte told us that this whale stranded here some years ago and the people decided to prepare the bones of this impressive marine mammal And störte informed us that he found an advice on his treasure map What adventures will we find at this wild and lonely beach?? The landscape here is incredible But the path is so heavy that only 4X4-Cars can drive there, so we had to hike... ...through deep canyons... and we had to climb up high and rough hills After a while we came to a strange place Here is a whole in the stones and when some heavy waves breake here, You hear (and sometimes see) a fountain coming out. A noise like from hell Lotte was sooo afraid here that we had to hold her Later we found nice yellow flowers blooming and Lotte remembered that she saw them last year as well Here was the place they spent many nice hours and Helmut hided here something useful, Lotte remembers as well... But first we took out our clothes and opened the naturist-beach-season 2014 here After this first recreatable chilling, *Nick* found something in a deep cave Woow, the boats of HelmutBluepant from the last year Since here the treasure map is all right ...tbc That was our adventure for today and we hope that many nice experiences will follow See You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 3, 2014, 11:41 pm	Hello Mum, today we went to the southside of Tenerife, where we found some mysterious pyramids. Yes, You read right, they even have pyramids here in Güimar . Not as huge as in Egypt or as well known as the ancient buildings in South-America, but here are some monuments that You can identify as pyramids. We were welcomed by two impressive figureheads formerly ornated two vessels of the Olsen shipping company, that has sponsored this museum in cooperation with the norwegian anthropologist Thor Heyerdahl who rediscovered the pyramids here in the 80ties störte said, the people here have so much luck that we found Helmuts boats yesterday, otherwise he had to enter this ship here, a replica in perfect plushie-size of the "Santa Maria", one of the three ships Christopher Columbus discovered the New World... The next impressive exhibition piece was a huge long drum shaped as a crocodile from Papua-New Guinea Then we went into the first building and found at the entrance a rebuilded relief stele of "Kon-Tiki" a god of the Inkas and eponym for T. Heyerdahls first raft in 1947 This nice guy is a rebuilded statue of a south-indian native who is fishing Look at this fierce Moche-man Here we have a scene, how the native canarians, the Guanches looked In this room we learned where in the world reedboats are used And here we learned where in the world pyramids were built The ancient canarians built pyramids as well... Here we met huge, but friendly wooden Komodo dragons The landscape to the seaside is also very nice And some more views on pyramids again And other nice scenes again We are sooo astonished about this secret place In another area of the museum we learned something about the canarian flora Here is the sweet tabaiba (Euphorbia balsamifera) And here Echium decaisnei Euphorbia canarensis I found here This plant also was nice but I forgot the name... sorry In this bush we played a little bit And here we see a blooming Aloe vera Not very often You see the aeonium blooming This tree we already know from the Canadas del Teide The opuntia is an emigrant from america but very common here because until last century the conchenille louse was breeded on this plant for cropping the red karmesin pigment Sugarcane, a very important ingriedience for störtes fave holiday drink A violet nymphea And what do the canaries produce today? And here we have another last good reason for enjoying the stay in this magnificent museum: To test Thor´s rafts and boats Kon Tiki Ra and Tigris-Boats Woow, what a full and nice day, but now we are tired enough to fall in sleep Good night and sleep as well Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 4, 2014, 11:50 pm	Hi Mum, today we went to the famous Loro Parque in Puerto de la Cruz. The entrance is a rebuilt Thai-Village First we saw a nice waterfall and went into the Aquarium meeting a shark and some little lionfish A huge tank with a school of fish We went on and saw Gorillas. The group here is very special: males only from other Zoos, where boys were born in captivity, because without some females the bachellors are peaceful among themselves. And they had to be taken out their gropus when they grow up, because the main male wouldn´t accept them any longer. A view into the palmgarden Then we came to "Planet Penguine" Again we found Helmuts favourite flowers, today in pink. Helmut knows this tree here very well from last year and we know that he loves it One of the oldest buildings in the park in moorish architecture, where the Loro Show takes place We wanted to visit the Dolphin Show, but the dolphin pools are under construction at the moment so the show is cancelled for a few months... Instead of the Dolphins we had fun to see the Otters And enjoyed the hibiscus Next station: Giant turtles Now we are in the area called "Orchids Paradise" See the flamingoes And now we are entering the "Katandra TreeTops",  a giant voliere where birds are able to fly almos free At the next station we saw white tigers At the gambia market we ate a chocolate banana in memory of Helmut The last highlight was the Orca Ocean That was a very full day with lots of impressions Love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 5, 2014, 10:29 pm	Holá Mum, today we spent a lazy day at the coast, enjoying the cloudless blue heaven and the warm sun with a beautiful view on Mount Pico del Teide See us naturist-style-tanning in the sun on our nice plushie-towels The day was sunny, but the sea is still very, very heavy, so we decided to postpone our plushie-boat trip But in addition to that we found some very nice plushie-surf-boards How cool is that?? Instead of going surfing we built a column of friendship Everybody of us found a stone and we stacked up stone on stone together That´s for today, Love and see You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 5, 2014, 10:55 pm	Holá Mum, this is Your UrselHH again for today I learned the word for "mouse" in spanish language Look, it´s ratón Love You Mum Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 7, 2014, 10:08 pm	Holá Mum, today we visited our "hometown" for this holiday, Puerto de la Cruz and I want to show You the Promenade, the Old Town with some nice historical buildings and some places here Let´s start our tour at the small old harbour Here we met a nice lady, a fishseller The next building was a formely tradinghouse and now You find the Tourist Office there The street along I found a banana-shrub with fruits on the one and a blossom on the other plant Remember, we are in a town Now we are on Plaza Europa and in the backround You see the old walls of the harbour From there You have a first view on the complete seaside and the promenades The white fountain You see in the backround is the Fountain of Lago Martianez A nice old red building with a typical canarian balcony And here we are at the promenade San Telmo with a little old hermitage From there we walk along and come to the next promenade Martianez Here You see the fountain again Let´s have a first rest and take some cocktails Now we are at the beach of Martianez This was the outest point and now we walk back on the promenade Now we see some nice buildings of the old town of Puerto de la Cruz Hotel Monopol, the oldest Hotel here in town in typical canarian style The church Nuestra Señora de la Peña de Francia on the Plaza de la Iglesia with a nice swan in the middle of the fountain there And finally we come to Plaza del Charco (Place of the puddle) where we found a playground and a second rest with a huge cup of ice cream What a nice but long walk for us plushies, now we are happy and the ice-cream was delicious That´s for the day, love and see You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 7, 2014, 11:08 pm	Hello Mum, today the weather wasn´t as good as yesterday in the north so we decided to drive to the south again for trying out Helmuts boats in the small harbour of Güimar But first we wanted to have some lunch and chose typical canarian dish: in saltwater boild potatoes with green and red canarian sauce "Papas arrugadas con mojo" and "camarones", some boild crabs After our meal everybody of us held a short rest and strunki used this time to test some different optical system on the cam So, let´s go to the beach now And here we are live reporting from the canarian plushie boat regatta 2014 Next discipline was to test our surf board Yeah, that´s great, I like it But at the end we all had great fun at the beach here That´s all for today, love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 8, 2014, 8:28 pm	Holá Mum, today in the morning we visited San Cristóbal de La Laguna, a very old town with a long history. Here we see the "Leal Theatre" La Laguna has a lot of historic buildings, but the streets in the pedestrian zone are quite narrow and photos with us plushies are not so easy Here we come to the "Iglesia Cathedral" or "Iglesia Santa María de los Remedios" And here are some last impressions of the town But the weather was too fine for wasting the complete day in town and so we decided to drive into the mountains of Anaga
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 8, 2014, 9:23 pm	we left La Laguna and made a short stop at Las Mercedes to have a first impression of the Mountain range of Anaga in the very north-east of the island Our next stop we had at a point called "La Jardinera" (the garden) Look, now we are more than 900m high The view from here at "Cruz del Carmen" is almost similar, but not even less stunningly beautiful The last stop we made at the "Mirador Pico del Ingles" Only from this point You have the chance to see left on Santa Cruz in the south and right the complete northern coast
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 8, 2014, 10:20 pm	After so much mountains we decided to spent the afternoon at the wild coast of Bajamar enjoying the warm sun Everybody of us has fun at the coast here That was also a full day Love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 9, 2014, 10:03 pm	Holá Mum, today we made a big trip to the Northern West Mountains called "Teno" But first we visited Mirador "El Lance" in Realejos, from wich You have a wonderful view onto the the Valley of Orotava from the North-West. ... And Charlotte highly recommended the Mirador as unmissable especially for us girls, hihi Then we came to the entrance of the Teno-Mountains and are estimated about 900m over Sea-Level Even in this altitude Oranges grow here But have You ever seen a sunflower blooming in February?? Our next stop we held in Santiago del Teide From there we made a short trip to the direction to Masca, but on the saddle on est. 1.100 m it was too windy and the narrow street was too full, so we turned around and drove further to the south coast But again we had free sight on the great looking Mount Teide On our way to Puerto de Santiago we found a valley where the almond trees were blooming just at this time from end of January until estimated end of February A wonderful landscape with nice flowers like the common asphodel [Asphodelus aestivus] The next attraction of today were the cliffs of Los Gigantes and the view on the neighbour island La Gomera The table promised that You sometimes can watch whales there But what we found in the harbour of Puerto de Santiago let störtes heart beaten higher A pirate ship What a pity that time was too short to sail with this nice ship Before we went back to our hotel, we had the chance to see the famous dragon tree of Icod de los Vinos What a full day this was love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 10, 2014, 10:03 pm	Holá Mum, today we made only a short trip and visited the Taoro Park in Puerto de la Cruz. A few years ago they renovated this park and now a lot of citizens use it in the afternoon to go jogging A lot of different palms we found here And also nice flowers Some lizards between the vulcanic stones White strelitzia nicolai with flowers And violet lavender A very lovely place to spend some quiet hours That´s for today, love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 11, 2014, 8:39 pm	Holá Mum, today we spent a wonderful sunny day at the beach of San Marcos. This is a village near by Icod de los Vinos. But before I was able to lay in the sun, Charlotte had to put on some lotion on me See us enjoying the wonderful canarian sun the whole day But at 6 o´clock we left the beach when the sun went down behind the cliffs And the best: Nobody of us got a sunburn That´s for today, love and see You soon, Mum Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 12, 2014, 10:22 pm	Holá Mum, today I want to show You our nice "home-beach" called "Playa Jardin" here in Puerto de la Cruz Before we come to the black lava beach, we make a small trip through the nice looking garden part All sorts of tropical green plants we find here Will we reach the beach soon? Yeah, must be coming nearer I hear the sea all the time and finally now I can see the first black sand Yes! Here we want to stay for this day, playing and sailing and laying in the warm sun Sailing?? Did I say something about sailing? Wooow, strunkis husband handcrafted a very handsome sailingboat only for us plushies See me sailing with gallant störte and lovely Hase Here we landed at unknown shores... störte estimates, that here is the place, where the treasure perhaps is buried... No treasure hunting without a shovel Digging Digging deeper Suddenly.. a red cloth in the sandhole Good ol störte needs our help to pull Ooooouuups The hoard is yielded!!! What will be in the treasure chest?? YES, STRIKE!!!! Pearls, Diamonds and all the classic treasure stuff Who is that?? "Hello, I am Ali Gator and You set me free when You found the treasure I was captivated in" "Welcome, Ali Gator, we are ToyVoyager-Plushies, would You accompany störte and us from now on?" Our hottest holiday adventure Love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 13, 2014, 11:56 pm	Holá Mum, today is our last full day here on Tenerife and because the weather was still fine enough, we drove to Playa las Teresitas , wich is the only white sandbeach on Tenerife. Usually all the beaches here are black because of the lavasand, but here the people carried fine white sand from the Sahara and wanted to have a white beach. Unfortnatuly strunkis cam didn´t make one single picture today and so we only have this one photo of us plushies made by strunkis husband We all are very sad about this, because we had a lot of fun here, even with the boats, but now we are not able to show You all the fun we had. So sorry UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 15, 2014, 7:44 pm	Holá Mum, so this is our very last day here on Tenerife and we decided to celebrate a little farewell-party and enjoying the sundown And we remembered, laughed and had fun when we talked about our adentures on this lovely island Goodbye Tenerife amabile And even the moon waved a goodbye to us Love and see You Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 16, 2014, 9:18 pm	Hello Mum, we are back in Germany and visited the greenhouses of the Botanical Garden Solingen , because today they are open for a few hours Let´s start at the tropical greenhouse with lots of plants we saw only a few days ago outside on Tenerife Strelizia and Bananaplants Some nice orchids You find there Here we are in the succulent-hall and see many cacti And here we have a short look into the hall of bromeliads Worth to see this small greenhouses and a nice memory to what we enjoyed a few days ago And even outside we found some very early flowers: small crocuses And Mum, look: I met my brother SunnyHH and was soo happy to see him  That was our sunday-tour Love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Feb 17, 2014, 10:25 pm	Hello Mum, today Charlotte and me will leave Remscheid for travelling home to You and Hase will travel home to Dr. Kröbner Hase, best friends forever, I hope, we will meet again Have a nice journey home Goodbye You ToyVoyagers, see the World and enjoy Your adventures, we will see us again, someday, somtime Love and see You soon Yours UrselHH
RikeH Posted Feb 20, 2014, 7:56 pm	Hello friends, Charlotte and I arrived in Sülfeld. Dicker Kumpel gave us a warm welcome. Then we said hello to his other guests. I showed my wonderful new shoes. We brought some chocolate and other interesting things with us. Thanks strunki for the wonderful time – but it is nice to be at home again, too. Love UrselHH
RikeH Posted Mar 3, 2014, 9:35 am	Hello friends, You didn’t see it up to now, but I am on the Cruise with my Mum. I spent most of the time in the kid’s club together with my sisters and brothers, but today we were in the cabin, when we reached Lissabon. It was a nice view from our balcony. There was a big bridge over the river. Tomorrow there will be a big TV-meeting! I am so excited! Love UrselHH
RikeH Posted Mar 16, 2014, 12:20 pm	Hello friends, Today was an exciting day – we had a TV-meeting. It was great to sit together and talk! Poschti came on the Cruise with us so we had a welcome party this evening. We had chocolate and fruits. I had my own bottles of Coke. Then we all took one piece of fruit and one piece of chocolate. It was a nice party, but then we were tired and went into our TV-bed. Good Night! UrselHH
Strunki strunki1259@web.de Posted Mar 22, 2014, 8:55 am	Hello Mum, You remember this terrible 13th in February, when strunki thought, she had extinguished all our nice pictures made at the Beach of Playa las Teresitas? Now Helmut found exactly this files deep in his camera space and so we are able to show You our fun there  First we thought of a second visit of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, but the weather was too cloudy and so we decided to drive a few miles more spending the day at the one and only white beach on Tenerife See my footprints in the sand So what funny things can we start next? Shall we sail with our boats again? See us racing against the other Team I "organized" the paddles from the boat of my first crew and changed to Charlotte and *Nick* störte and Hase tried to win with hoisting their sail After the boat race we had fun by doing sanddiving Finally, everybody dived into the sand ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the evening we celebrated one of the hottest plushie partys Tenerife ever has seen (and survived) We had a great time here Yours UrselHH
RikeH Posted Apr 28, 2014, 6:32 pm	Hello friends, Today was Easter – and I met the Easter Bunny! I got some chocolate – this was nice! I visited my grandma. Look, there were funny bunnies. And wonderful flowers. I met these hens – I think they worked hard for Easter. Maybe these were the children of the hens? Happy Easter to all of you! Yours UrselHH
MA_17 Posted May 22, 2014, 10:10 pm	Hey Mommy, Poschti and me finally arrived. It was a long journey! We were welcomed by Alex and Snow White We hope to have a lot of fun together!
MA_17 Posted Jan 20, 2015, 8:41 pm	Hey Mommy, I made it to Erfurt. But we didn't do a sightseeing tour, we visited the EGA park. It's like a Botanic Garden. They had some glass houses with beautiful plants and there was a Chinese garden. What a nice day! Your little Ursel
MA_17 Posted Jan 20, 2015, 8:45 pm	Hello Mom, most of the rest of the summer I spent lots of time for hiking tours in the German Harz mountains. It was so much fun! We saw beautiful landscapes, lakes, mountains and wild animals. Sometimes it wasn't easy to climb to the top with my little feet, but then the others helped me! Your Ursel
RikeH Posted Mar 24, 2015, 4:29 pm	Hello friends, The weather was nice and I am on Amrum Island – so it was time to visit the beach of Norddorf. On a sign I read the distances to some interesting places. Some people enjoyed some time in beach chairs. I preferred playing on this perch. But there were more places for me to sit on. The beach was very long – but it was a nice walk in the sunshine. Finally Dicker Kumpel and I went on the swings. Yours UrselHH
RikeH Posted Dec 9, 2015, 6:09 am	Hello friends, I am on holidays with my Mum! We went to the Oasis-Town Al Ain. We visited an old fortress. Inside it was beautiful, too. I really liked this palm tree. Then we drove to the place, where a sheik lived in the Past. This was the family tree. I liked the buildings – and we were surprised, that the grass was so green. Later we visited a museum – you could see Bedouins in the desert there. This was the museum from the outside - it looked like the fortress. Next to the museum was an Oasis with date palms. I love palms. This was the system for watering the plants. I would have loved to see more of the Oasis, but we had to drive back to the ship. On the way back we drove through the desert. They grew plants next to the street, so the sand cannot go over the streets. Love UrselHH
RikeH Posted Jan 2, 2016, 7:42 pm	Hello friends, Together with my brothers and sisters I am on a Cruise Ship. And what are you doing on a Ship? Yes, relaxing. But what is more important – we wanted to have a party! We knew, where the good drinks were! There! But they were high above us, what shall we do? Good news – HelgaHH can fly, so she flew to the drinks… …threw it to us and jumped back to us. We brought it back to our place and everybody chose his or her famous drink. Look, what I chose. And I took some delicious chocolate! Well – it was fun – I shouldn’t say more. Yours UrselHH
RikeH Posted Apr 20, 2016, 8:12 pm	Hello friends, I was in Norway. We had a wonderful holiday home – with great views and a lot of snow! My siblings and I enjoyed the sunshine. One day we went to another Fjord today – the way to it was beautiful. What a wonderful place. Behind the curve was the Grotfjord. A really nice place! Back home we sat at the fireplace! Yours UrselHH
RikeH Posted Apr 30, 2016, 11:51 am	Hello friends, I am so excited – my sister HelgaHH and I will fly into the USA and visit Linda there. My siblings gave us a big hug and wished us a safe journey. Love UrselHH
JelloPuddin Posted May 1, 2016, 5:46 pm	I have traveled many miles over the ocean with my friend HelgaHH, and then we landed in Oregon USA  We are here now in Oregon and as soon as we got out of our travel case then we were in a photo shoot.  Goodness---we barely had time to stretch our little legs    We brought with us candies for our host "JelloPuddin" and we hope she will share them with us too.  They are mini gummy bears and sweets along with some of those little creepy crawly gummy sour worms.  Yikes!  Our host can eat those
JelloPuddin Posted May 1, 2016, 5:58 pm	When I arrived I did notice that there were many wood toys sitting all around a big room.  I then learned that our host makes small pine wood toys for little animals like myself, to chew on.  Although I travel a lot and eat many different types of food, I need small things to chew on to keep my teeth short and looking good   These little wood toys are made for pet mice like myself.  She also makes them for rats, guinea pigs and chinchillas. My host made me a cute little "cake pop" to chew on and a "mini do-nut".  It's just my size.  YUM!
JelloPuddin Posted May 1, 2016, 6:07 pm	I shared the exciting news with my friend HelgaHH but she said  "silly mouse---ladybugs don't chew on wood" Oh---I got so excited --- I forgot! When she saw the mini ice cream bars and the little hamsters, she said,  "YIKES"  only a mouse would want to chew on such a thing.
JelloPuddin Posted May 1, 2016, 6:21 pm	On my second day to visit my host in Oregon, I got to travel to a secret place where there is a GeoCache.  It is where humans hide small toys in a hidden container.  Anyone, that is a member of this geocaching group, can go find it in the forest.  You must use a GPS to find the location.  I could not see where it was hidden, deep in the back of this hole in a very old tree, until my host showed me where it was.  My friend HelgaHH went with me to see this area.  It was very pretty there with trees all about.  We then added a bunch of new toys to this cache so that others can trade something when they find the cache.  It was exhausting walking there but I had fun when I got to help find the cache. We traveled to a beautiful little area that is called Siuslaw Falls.  It is very small falls because it is set just for the fish to travel up steam.  http://www.mysouthlane.com/2013/siuslaw-falls/
JelloPuddin Posted May 1, 2016, 7:53 pm	Happy May Day everyone!  Today I have my choice of cheeses I would like to munch on for the day.  You know how much a mouse loves cheeses?  So,  I have chosen all three of these lovely cheeses to eat.  Goat Cheese, Cheddar Cheese made here in Tillamook, Oregon, and a Swiss cheese.  All quite tasty.
RikeH Posted Oct 25, 2016, 6:54 pm	Hello friends, unfortunately I only had a short time in the USA. Now I am on holidays with my Mum and Grandma. Today we were in Barcelona. It’s my Grandma’s birthday and she wanted to visit the Park Guell. The houses looked funny! Finally we were in the park – many other visitors were there, too.    This were the famous stairs… …with the beautiful saurian. There was a room with big columns at the upper end of the stairs. And this was the famous view of the park. Surely we sat on the famous bench.   You can see this big sandy place from the bench.   Then we continued our walk – it was very hot today. Can you see us? Here we were. More colorful houses. And beautiful flowers. Then we went into the public part of the park. Mainly we saw arches like these. Yours UrselHH
RikeH Posted Dec 12, 2016, 6:58 pm	Hello friends, I am in Australia. We stopped at a view point and saw the beautiful salt lake – Lake Lefroy. This was our car. The lake looked beautiful – and I liked the scrubs. We drank a delicious Ginger-Ale. We visited a museum village in Esperance – but there were only old houses with stores in it. We thought that this was a church. Water lilies are so beautiful. This should be art, I think. Look a beach in the town. I loved the whale fin! Surely palm trees belong to a holiday in the South. Yours UrselHH
RikeH Posted Apr 23, 2017, 10:47 am	Hello friends,    I am on the Amrum Island at the moment. Today I took a walk  - this was the promenade. I leant about the Eiderente – the emblem-bird of Amrum. I like it to be on this island. I wanted to show you the fog. It was great to see it. We rested from the long way. Then I continued the walk. We arrived at Dicker Kumpel's famous lake - in the Dunes. A great place to enjoy the sunshine. The lake is so beautiful. There were Dunes next to it. Actually we wanted to the Aussichtsdüne – a dune with an outlook. But it was misty. Maybe we will come back, when the weather and the view will be better. Love UrselHH
RikeH Posted May 18, 2018, 1:22 pm	Hello friends, I am so excited - I will travel to France. So I said goodbye to Dicker Kumpel - and jumped into my envelope. See you soon from my new host. Yours UrselHH
Natalina Posted May 30, 2018, 5:05 pm	Hi Mom, After a slightly stressful trip (you know I don't like being enclosed in envelopes!), I finally arrived in Toulouse. At first, I was a little intimidated, but Natalina made me feel real welcome. I also met little Theo, a nice Bavarian lion who quickly became fond of me. I'm sure we'll be good friends (if he doesn't eat me... I'm joking, of course, he seems so sweet). Well, now I need to rest a little, but don't worry, you will hear from me very soon... Hugs UrselHH 🐀
Natalina Posted Jun 1, 2018, 6:00 pm	Hello Mom, I celebrated my arrival in France with a little vodka and, as you can imagine, generous portions of cheese. I tasted Gruyère and Bleu d'Auvergne. And in Toulouse, they've got violet sugar. That's really to die for! With Theo, we visited an exhibition on Italian immigration that interested us a lot. Mamma mia, it makes me think that I must test the mascarpone gorgonzola 😉 I learnt the words "mouse" and "cheese" in Italian. That's : "Topo" and "Formaggio" (in French : "Souris" et "Fromage", as I read in the book Ratatouille). Then, we participated in a picnic made of organic products. I really liked the vegetable spring roll (probably because of mozzarella too). I hope you're fine, as well as Dick Kumpel and Little Monty. Kisses and hugs UrselHH 🧀🐀
Natalina Posted Jun 7, 2018, 9:43 pm	Hello Mum, On this Sunday, we took advantage of a short lull in the rain, to go for a walk in the city. First, a little immersion in nature, in the garden of the former cloister of the Chatreux (in ruins, but soon in restoration). It is next to the University of Social Sciences... Look, I even made tree climbing in fig trees. In the street, there is a giant photo of singer Claude Nougaro, you know, the one who sings "Ohooooo Toulouuuuuuse" (he was born here). Then, with Theo, we strolled on the banks of the Garonne river and the Quai de la Daurade. Finally, we visited the church of Jacobins, where there was a  nice exhibition on the paths of Saint Jacques de Compostela. We went back home for tea time, very tired. But Natalina offered us nonnettes (gingerbread cookies with orange marmalade inside). I loved that! Lots of kisses Your UrselHH 🐀
Natalina Posted Jun 13, 2018, 9:49 pm	Hi Mom, This week-end in Toulouse, we've been lucky to have an acceptable weather. I visited the famous Basilica of St. Sernin, which is the largest Romanesque church in Europe and the Capitole which houses the town hall. The wedding hall is beautiful. There are sculptures and paintings everywhere... Toulouse is definitely a beautiful city, full of treasures to discover ... Lots of love UrselHH 🐀
Natalina Posted Jun 21, 2018, 9:17 pm	Hi Mom, Today, in France, it was Father's Day. We paid a little visit to Gigi, Natalina's dad. Violette, my new friend, accompanied us. We drank a Kir Royal (it's champagne with crème de cassis). Wow, it was delicious! I also took a bath of lavender flowers and became friend with the owls of the house. It was still raining, but I really had a good time... Love Little Urselhh 🐀
Natalina Posted Jun 21, 2018, 9:57 pm	Dear Mum, On that first day of summer, the weather was finally on our side. In order to find a bit of freshness, I went to the Japonese Garden, which is a real haven of peace in this big city. First, I saw the monument in honour of Carlos Gardel, the king of the tango who was born in the street which borders the park. Then, I met the Zen Master, Taisen Deshimaru and visited the Tea-house. Oh, I really love this place! And on the way home, I took a merry-go-round ride. What a wonderful afternoon! Lots of love Urselhh 🐀
Natalina Posted Jun 26, 2018, 1:27 pm	Hello Mum, Today, I went through the streets of the historic center. I saw several examples of regional architecture. Did you know that Toulouse is also called Pink City (la ville rose), because of the color of its building bricks? In Rue Saint-Rome, stands the old tower and private mansion (1533) of Pierre Serta, who was a Capitoul, one of the city’s masters. During the Renaissance, Toulouse enjoyed great economic prosperity, especially thanks to pastel culture (Isatis tinctoria) and the prosperous pastel merchants displayed their power and prestige in building magnificent town houses. We've got a fine exemple of this affluence with the Hotel d'Assézat (1555) who houses nowadays the Bemberg fondation (a nice museum). You can also find here all kinds of products made from the pastel plant. On the way back, I passed by the church of the Jacobins and the tower of the former college of Foix, which was in the 13th century the belfry of the convent of the Cordeliers. What a city full of What a city rich in history! And the advantage of being a little mouse is that you can sneak all over. ..😉 Lots of love UrselHH 🐀❤️
Natalina Posted Jul 9, 2018, 1:50 pm	Hello Mum, The sun shines on Toulouse (and it's very strong, I must be careful not to get sunburned...), so I took the opportunity to visit the city illuminated by this wonderful summer light. I walked past the St Etienne's Cathedral, the tower of St Augustin Museum and quench my thirst at the different fountains. My favourite is the Goudouli's one... Then, I bought "La Dépêche", the daily newspaper of the region, to inform me about the entertainment program and I decided to see an outdoor movie. But it was to soon, so I hanged around the Cinémathèque, got a merry-go-round- ride and took a trip on the tourist train. That was so exciting ! I have so much fun here... These bunches of violets are for you, Mommy dearest. Lots of love ❤️ Your little Urselhh 🐀

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