Travelog for: Sweetsy

Medieval Market in Oppenheim

Hi Mommy,

today, Anja and her friends went to another medieval market - this time in Oppenheim, in Rhineland-Palatinate.

The first thing we saw was a booth selling gingerbread!
I was in gingerbread man heaven!!! 





And - would you believe it - Anja bought me a whole piece of gingerbread to eat all by myself! That was sooo delicious!
Look at the smile on my face!



This was a lovely market, and we saw many nice things:

placques made of stone (Anja bought the dragon that is hanging on the wall)



knights the size of us



and many dragons




Would you believe Anja actually fed me to a dragon???? 


But thank goodness the dragon was not hungry! 

So we could go on to enjoy the sights.

Musicians




a medieval tent city where many people actually stayed the weekend



a demonstration of the weapons of the time


a lady playing the harp



a shield with nordic writing



and a suit of chainmail. Would you believe such a suit of chainmail consists of about 36.000 rings??? And it takes one person two weeks to make, if he has lots of practice.


Then we had some nice food. Stuffed pork roast with garlic sauce, a salad and a roll - and a drink called "Radler", which is a mixture of beer and Sprite. Quite tasty!



Later on, it started to rain, so we all had to stay in Anja's rucksack. This was nice and dry, but of course we could not see anything...

What a lovely day!

Hugs
Sweetsy

A Lazy Day

Hi Mommy,

today was beautiful sunshine, and we all spent the day on Anja's balcony, enjoying the lovely weather.

This is the view from the kitchen window



and this is the view from the balcony on a lovely spring day






You can see the Messeturm (exhibition tower) of the skyline of Frankfurt in the distance.



Now, can you find the Messeturm on the picture above the one taken with the zoom? Hint: you need very good eyes, and you have to remember the two tall buildings... 



Here we are enjoying a snack on the lawn chair



and poking our nose into Anja's book



Anja said she felt like a real "daughter of the sun" enjoying a rest on the lawnchair with her book. But she would not let us take any pictures of her.... 

Sunny regards

Sweetsy

A Going Away Party for Twix

Hi Mommy,

Anja said that Twix, her very first Toy Voyager guest, would soon travel to Maelle in Belgium, so we all threw a going away party for him.


Anja got us some real Hessian and Southern German specialties for the party:

Apple wine, the Hessian special drink and Laugenbrötchen (lye rolls).



OK, lye rolls sounds disgusting, and the dough is really dipped in food-grade lye, but these are really really tasty!

Lye Pretzel recipe

Source

However that may be, once the rolls or pretzels are baked, they are safe to eat, and they are delicious.




Of course, the apple wine was tasty, too 




After our dinner, we had a big surprise for Twix. We had bought him a piece of strawberry cake!



Being a nice guy, he insisted on sharing it with us



What a lovely party! 

Hugs
Sweetsy

A Trip Around the World

Hi Mommy,

today, Anja took us on a trip around the world! 

First, we took the S-Bahn (subway) from Oberursel-Stierstadt, where Anja lives.



This is a map of the public transportation system in Frankfurt. Sure looks confusing, don't you think?



We got out at the Frankfurt Hauptbahnhof (main train station).



and Anja bought a nice sandwich. Look at all this tasty food!



Then we finally got to see the train, an ICE (Inter City Express). This thing goes over 300 km (160 miles) an hour!!!  Looks like a rocket, don't you think?



It is very nice and comfortable inside



and I shared a seat with the other TVs



When the train started moving, Anja unwrapped her sandwich, and we all had chicken sandwich and coffee



This sure is a nice way to pass the time! 

We got a glance of Cologne on the way.



Finally, the train stopped, and we all got out.

What the heck was this? We were in China! 

We had come to a place called Kota Radja!



It had a very nice city wall



but it was guarded by a terrible dragon, who tried to eat me! 
(Will you please tell Anja to stop feeding me to dragons all the time!  )



Thank goodness a nice Buddha rescued me!



And he allowed me to see the city and the beautiful flowers







We even got to play with a lion!



It sure was exciting in China, but I was still a little scared of this hungry dragon, so I didn't mind it when we left.

But then we got out of the frying pan, and into the fire.

Because next we went to India, to the Temple of Rats! 

Ooooh, look at the nasty rats guarding the place!!!



They scared the living daylights out of me, but they told me they don't eat TVs. What a relief!

The other rats there were much nicer! We found a band of rats that played music for us



and finally we had fun and played games with some funny rats



What an exciting day!!! All around the world in just one day!!! 

.... Well Mommy, I must admit I told a fib: we did not go to China and India at all, but instead to Anja's friend Ratta in Hagen, where we played with Ratta's rat collection and visited a Chinese restaurant 

But it was a fun day nevertheless! 

Hugs
Sweetsy

My Home is My Castle

Hi Mommy,

today, Anja received a large package. Inside was the most beautiful castle I have ever seen!

How considerate of Anja!
After taking us to all these nice medieval markets, she buys us a castle of our own! 



There was something else in the package too: a toy rat!
Ah well, we'll share our castle with him, it's big enough after all. 



But what is this? A REAL rat? 



He enters the castle like it's his property - and he starts sniffing us! 



And here come two more rats!



My goodness, an invasion of rats!!! Take up the drawbridge and fill the moat with crocodiles!!! 



Too late...









Help, the rats have taken over the castle!!!! 

They are attacking! They are attacking!
Survived the dragons to be eaten by giant rats! Help!!!





Oooooh, I hear the cavallery in the distance!
And the rats are leaving!!



We are saved!!! 



Hurray!!! 

...............

"Cavallery, my foot!" Anja laughs.
"I just called my boys to dinner! After all, it is their new castle that you are playing with, so of course they want to take a look!" 



What?
Anja keeps giant rats as pets, calls them "my boys" and buys them a castle? 

This sure is a weird place you sent me to! 
But exciting....

Hugs
Sweetsy

Terry is coming - and Garry and Wusch are leaving

Hi Mommy,

today, a new toy voyager arrived at Anja's house: Terry the Tiger!

What a bit guy!!! We were a little scared of him at first, but he told us he does not eat other TV's.  What a relief! I did not survive the dragons to be eaten by a tiger! 

Here we are all together:

Harold, Wusch, Terry, Garry and myself (from left to right)



And then it was time for Garry and Wusch to leave Germany. Anja says they are going to Hong Kong next! WOW!!!!!

So we waved goodbye to them and wished them a good journey and lots of exciting adventures



Hong Kong, wow! 

But I bet it won't be boring at Anja's place, either. 

Hugs
Sweetsy

Oh, Anja says she will make some updates later, because there are still some adventures to tell 

Medieval Market in Kronberg

Hi Mommy,

yesterday, Anja took us to the medieval market in the castle in Kronberg.

Source

First, we went to pick up Anja's friend Laura, and we smelled the wonderful roses in her garden



Then we drove to Kronberg, which has a lovely old city center with many timber houses



and we soon found signs for the medieval market at the castle Kronberg



Have you noticed Anja's new dress? 
She is very proud of it, and - in addition - people in medieval dress get free or discounted access to most medieval markets and fests.

We walked up to the castle, and soon we were there






From the castle walls, you have a beautiful view






This medieval knight was nice enough to have his picture taken with us



and this is "medieval lady" Anja



who had to fix her dress now and then 



Within the castle, there was music, songs and medieval dances










and we met the loveliest little princess



and her grandmother (who had made the beautiful dresses herself)



Now, I also wanted a medieval dress! And Anja was glad to oblige 



We wandered around the fairground, admiring a tent with weapons of the time



and doing some shopping and window shopping (or rather stall shopping  )







After a wonderful and exciting day, we went home and slept like babies!

Hugs
Sweetsy

Wieka arrives!

Hi Mommy,

when Anja came home from work today, she brought an envelope with her. Of course, we all crowded around it, from the left: Harold Giraffe, myself and Terry the Tiger



Inside it was Wieka, a sweet little bat



She brought a lovely picture postcard with baby foxes



Anja has some bats in the house already, so Wieka felt right at home:





Terry showed her a picture postcard of Frankfurt and said that, with two visitors from overseas (Harold and Terry), Anja was sure to go into Frankfurt to show us the sights.



Ooooh, I can't wait!

But first we got a train trip coming up.
Tomorrow, Anja will take us on the ICE (Inter City Express) to Hannover, where she will visit a friend. Of course, I am a seasoned traveller on the ICE already, but Terry and Wieka are all excited. 

Hugs
Sweetsy

A Trip to Hannover

Hi Mommy,

today, Anja took me and her other TV guests on a train trip to Hannover.

Harold and I are seasoned travelers here in Germany, so we did not document the whole train ride, only the nice sandwich that we all shared with Anja



Soon, we arrived at Hannover train station, which looks like a palace



Right in front of the train station, there is a statue of King Ernst August of Hannover, on a horse




This is the favorite meeting point of the people of Hannover. They always meet "unter dem Schwanz" = under the tail (of the horse) 

Let's see what adventures I will have tomorrow 

Hugs
Sweetsy

Hameln (Hamelin) - A lovely old City - with a Story!

Hi Mommy,

today, we got up early at Anja's friend's house and went to the train station in Hannover, where we met with a lot of nice people - all pet rat owners, like Anja is.

We all boarded a train - and Tamara, Anja's friend, took out a bag of curious snacks: marshmallow mice  Weird, but tasty.



From the train, we could see lots of wind wheels, which create electricity



Soon, we arrived at Hameln (Hamelin) train station




and all the rat owners got all excited. What the heck? 

Hameln is a beautiful old city with many lovely old timber houses, dating from 1500 A.D. or even before. The city is just celebrating 725 years of existence.
And somehow, this place is full of rats  And funny dressed men with pipes






















Look at the age of some of these houses! 









Hameln even has an old city wall with towers






Surely a very nice place. But what about all the rats? 

After a walk though the city, Anja sat us down to tell us all about it.

..... to be continued

Hameln (Hamelin) - The Story of the Pied Piper

Hi Mommy,

like I said, Anja finally sat us down to tell us the story of the Pied Piper of Hameln (Hamelin):

Source

Since that time, Hameln has been called the "Rattenfängerstadt" = literally "rat catcher city" or the city of the Pied Piper.

And references to this story are everywhere in Hameln.











Wow, this rat is bigger than Anja 





In the "Hochzeitshaus" (wedding house), a lovely old building, there is even a mechanical display that shows this story several times a day.






First the Pied Piper comes out, leading the rats away





Then - after the town people refuse to pay him - he comes and leads the children away






Only the lame child and the blind child are not quick enough, so the mountain closes before they can reach it, and they return home to tell the story (in Anja's memory, it was a blind child, not a deaf child  )





After a long day of walking and seeing all these nice things, we had a surprise coming up in the train on the way home:

A small party of young ladies entered the train, one dressed as an angel and the others dressed as devils. They walked all through the train and sold little items. This was a bachelorette party. What fun! 



Well, Mommy, that was Hameln and the story of the Pied Piper. I hope you liked it. I certainly did 

Hugs
Sweetsy

Us and KISS in Concert!

Hi Mommy,

would you believe we met the Rock band KISS and played a concert with them?



Afterwards, we all went to a big party together



I will write a better update about the great weekend we had as soon as I have recovered from all the s** and dr*** and Rock N Roll 

Hugs
Sweetsy

KISS and us in Concert!!!

Hi Mommy,

today was a most exciting day!!!

We started out early from Anja's friend Tamara's house in Hannover, driving our own little cars



Would you believe we went to a concert by the rock band KISS



We got to meet all the guys from KISS in person



and they even allowed us to play in concert with them! 






Wow, and what a concert that was!!!







After the concert, we were stars, and we were rich, so the first thing I did was to buy a new car



and then we drove my new car to a big party with the guys of KISS



Would you believe we actually went to the Playboy Mansion? 



Wow, what a party!!!

I certainly needed some good, strong coffee after that!





Happy regards
Sweetsy, Superstar 

... Well, actually, Mommy, I told a fib:
Anja's friend Tamara is a big fan of the States, and of KISS, so all the pictures were taken at her house  But it sure was fun playing  superstar...

The lovely old historical  town of Miltenberg, Bavaria


Hi Mommy,

today is a German holiday, so Anja and her friend Maren went to Miltenberg, Bavaria, to pick up a pet rat for Maren. Of course, we TVs went along. Bavaria, wow! 

First we went to see the people who owned the rat.
They lived in a beautiful house with beautiful old furniture.

The lady and her husband painted this lovely old "Bauernschrank" (farmer's cabinet) themselves about 30 years ago





And they have a guardian angel above the door



This is the village of Grossheubach where they live



We left the pet rat with its - now former - owners for a while, because we wanted to go and see Miltenberg.

Source

And it sure was worth the visit! 





This is a patron saint. The people of Bavaria are mostly catholic, and they have Mother Mary and patron saints everywhere.





Look at the date on this lovely old timber house!



This is the pedestrian district of Miltenberg



where we had big fun riding a children's swing



and looking at the lovely toys in the shop windows



This is the restaurant and hotel "Zum Riesen" - the oldest inn in Germany!










While we were window shopping for some booze
("Wildsau-Tropfen" means "wild boar liquor"    )




it started to rain, so we went to a lovely old Bavarian restaurant



and ordered some dark Bavarian beer



and one of Germany's most beloved dishes:

Schnitzel with french fries



Ooooh, that was delicious!!! 

After our meal, we admired some nice wooden statues in the restaurant





and then the rain had stopped and we continued our walk






This is the old town hall - first mentioned in records in 1379 -



also showing how high the river Main reached during the floods of 1784 and 1945



What a lovely place Miltenberg is!



We also visited a shop selling wooden statues of all kinds, such as saints and creches






and soon we reached the old market place dating from the late 13th century












One house had a picture of St. Georg and the dragon




and some of the old city wall is still standing





... to be continued...

Smiling Statues!

Hi Mommy,

I finally found two smiling statures for my missions! 

Look here!





I am so happy!!!

Hugs
Sweetsy