Travelog for: Schweinchen

Hello,
I am Schweinchen, a curious piglet. I was rescued on the flea market this weekend by my mentor Katja.

I'd love to visit a lot of people who like sweets like me. I've never seen the seaside in my life before, so I'd like to visit at least one host who is living close to the coast, somewhere in the world.

My mentor is hosting some ToyVoyagers from all over the world. They told me how great it is to be a ToyVoyager.

In Germany the four-leafed clove has the meaning of a lucky charm, a piglet also. So I hope I'll bring good luck to my hosts.



At the weekend the weather was fantastic, but today it is cloudy and even really cold. So I can't wait to start my journey.





Greetings from
Schweinchen

Hi,
I'm already on my way to Canada. I can't wait to get there.

Schweinchen

Hurray! I arrived in Canada safe and sound this afternoon! (Not that I was worried because I am a very lucky piglet!)



There was a small group of other toys eager to meet me!



They were very friendly!



I told them about my hometown with the help of my postcard. Everyone was very interested! Especially Rosalva She is the pink deer and also a Toy Voyager! My host Ren found her at the library in May!



It is pouring rain here today but it let up just long enough for Ren to give me a quick tour of her yard. The rain is making everything so green!



The forest behind me looks kind of scary here! Ren told me that it is actually quite pretty inside and there is a new path being built back there. She promises to take me on it some day when the weather is nice and it's not so muddy!



Well that is all for now! I'm going to go rest up from my long trip!

Good Night!

Schweinchen

Hello Again!

Today was the day that my host Ren was supposed to take me down to the ocean to see a famous lighthouse! I was very excited to complete one of my life missions but then when we looked out the window it was still pouring rain. =( I was sad at first but then Ren explained to me that if it was stormy and windy up in the hills where she lives then it would be even worse down by the ocean.  I decided that I want the day I complete my first life mission to be perfect so I'm happy to hold out for the nice weather now!

It was getting boring being couped up in the house again so Ren and I decided to paint our toe nails! Ren picked blue for hers and I picked my favourite colour... Pink!



I had to be very careful not to spill!



Just a few more strokes!



There all done!



Oh dear! It seems that the colour polish that I chose is the exact same colour as my fur! I guess I don't need to paint my toes my favourite colour because they already are pink! Silly me!

After we were done Ren and I went out for supper with her parents. There were so many yummy sounding items to choose from!



Finally the food arrived and Ren let me share hers. It was a Veggie Quesadilla Burger! Yum!



It wasn't long before it was all gone! I didn't think I could eat another bite!



Until dessert showed up! Yay! Apple Crumble!



When it was time to leave we were surprised to discover that it had stopped raining and the sun was out! We were able to have a nice drive home and I could see much better out the windows.







There is so much water here! Not just the ocean but lakes and ponds as well! Ren tells me that it's hard to drive anywhere without passing some!





Almost home!



I'm happy that we had a fun day afterall! Now it's time for me to go to bed, I can't wait to see what will happen tomorrow!

Good night!

Schweinchen

Hurray! Guess what! I have finally visited the seaside! I'm getting ahead of myself though. Lets start at the beginning:

After I woke up this morning I wandered outside and saw something that I haven't seen in a long time!



The sun!
I sunbathed a while on this bench while Ren got dressed. So Nice!



Then I helped Ren cut up her pineapple for breakfast!







I think more pineapple ended up in our stomachs than in the bowl!



After that Ren put me into the car and told me we were going to a surprise place! How exciting!

We drove to a very busy part of Halifax.





(Look at the old church standing beside a new office tower!)



We stopped at a place called The Public Gardens. It's a beautiful gated garden in the middle of downtown.

Here's me with one of the swans:



There was also lots and lots of ducks!



The Pigeons were too busy eating to pose with me! I enjoyed watching them though!



And I sat and talked a while with this nice lady. (See me by her feet?) She didn't talk back!



At least she posed with me!



This building is the main focus of the garden. I guess that bands play in there sometimes but today it was empty.



Ooh! This looks interesting!



Another silent lady!



Unfortunately it was getting too late so we didn't get to explore all of the gardens today. Maybe I'll get to come back one day. There was time for a few more fountain pictures at the exit!





So it was back into the car again!



Hmmmm.... I wonder what this place is?



It's a historic site! In the old days when people from Europe immigrated to Canada this is where the boats arrived!



Then they boarded rail cars like this one that took them all over Canada.



I read all about it here:









(This one you can actually read!)


We went inside but there wasn't much to see. A lot of the building was locked off because there are no events happening there right now. I did see something great in there though! The view from the windows! Look! It's the ocean!



There was even a sail boat out blowing around!



And look at that! A Big One!



We left Pier 21 and drove to a nearby park so that I could have a better view of the water. Even though it was hot everywhere else, on the beach it was chilly and very windy!






By then it was about time to have something sweet again!



It's never to chilly for ice cream!



Hey! The big sailing boat is back!



Ren and I decided to run down the path to see if we could get closer.



But it always looks the same distance away!



Oh Oh. We lost it!



I sat down to catch my breath on these rocks and found an oyster shell!



Hmmmm... What's this?



It's a monument to sailors that have died. (I'm really tired from walking up the big hill!)



Let's get a better look. Hey what's that in the background?



The sail boat is back! I guess this is as close as we will get to it today!



I feel like a mermaid!



We decided to walk up into the trees to get away from the wind.



The sail boat was peeking at us from between the trees!



This is an interesting shaped tree.



These dead trees were caused by a bad hurricane that swept past a few years ago. Many of the big trees in this part were destroyed. =(



There's the sail boat again!



We have hiked very high up now.



From here you can sort of see some of the giant crates of stuff waiting to be imported and exported.



What's this? A hidden wall? This whole hill is part of an old fortress that used to protect Halifax!



I also found this hidden door! I wonder what's in it!



I'm a little afraid to go inside at first!



It's some kind of hidden look out spot!



This is the view from the other side.



I've decided that I want to protect Halifax from this place too! I even have my own hidden window! Can you see me?



No silly sail boats are going to get past me!



I'll blast them all away with my canon!



FIRE!!!



Yep! I've scared the ships away! Success!



After all that defending I was exhausted so I spent the rest of the day sleeping in Ren's bag. What an exciting day! I think that I will be dreaming of the sea side tonight!

Bye for now!

-Schweinchen

Hello again!
I was able to visit the ocean again today! That's two days in a row! I am a lucky piglet! Remember that lighthouse that I couldn't see last week because of the rain? Well it was sunny and hot again today so I got to go!

Isn't it pretty?



This is one of the most famous lighthouses in Canada because of its beautiful location. It's pictured on lots and lots of Nova Scotia Postcards.



Here are some views facing the other way:







It is fun to walk up on the rocks but also very dangerous. A lot of people have died here when they fell into the ocean.



These two pictures were taken from on top of that tall rock. (Don't worry I was very careful up there!)





And now I am down on the lower rocks right by the water. It was very windy and the waves were crashing behind me!







I had a very good view of the lighthouse from down there so I look a lot of pictures!







I found a nice calm spot so I sat there for a while to enjoy the sites and contemplate life until it was time to go.



Good Bye Lighthouse!



It was really hard to leave behind!



But I have to move on if I want to see more places!

I hope that all is well back at home!

Bye!

Schweinchen

Hello Again!

I'm a very lucky travelling piglet, but not all travellers are as lucky as I am. =( A big plane crashed off the coast of Nova Scotia 11 years ago and I went to visit the memorials.

First I went to the one in Bayswater.



It was located up in the trees at a beautiful location. This was the view from the parking lot!



And here it is. (Rosalva came too!)





The passenger's remains were buried in the roped off area.



People had left lots of flowers around.



Here you can see the whole thing:



The memorial even had a toy guardian! I talked to the bear a little bit. I thought at first that he might be sad because he has to stay in one place all the time. He told me though that he likes his job. He says he gets to meet lots of people and cheer them up.  I guess it wouldn't be so bad.





But I like to travel so I went to see the second memorial in a place called Whalesback.



This one is located right out by the ocean. Can you see that tiny little lighthouse in the background? That's the one that I recently visited!



Here there is a long winding path to take you to the memorial.



There it is!



There are lots and lots of rock boulders in this area. They were left behind when glaciers passed over the land many many years ago.



They are kind of eerie. I felt a little like I was wandering around on another planet!



Whew! Almost there!



There are toy guardians at this one too! A kitty and a bunny!



I sat with them a while.



Here is the other big stone.



We figured out that the plane went down right out there. It's hard to imagine something so bad happening in such a nice place!



I found a boulder to sit on and had a moment of silence for the passengers and crew.



It was time to go home after one last look.



I wonder where I will visit next!

Bye for now!

Schweinchen

Hello!
The weather here has been very rainy and very very humid. It's making a lot of people uncomfortable because it's also very warm. It's like being inside an indoor pool building all day long! The dreary haze did let up long enough for Ren and I to explore parts of Downtown Halifax though!

First we tried to find city hall so that I could get my picture taken there and fulfil part of a life mission. Because Ren is new to the city, it took her a bit time to find it, but it was worth the wait!

Here it is!

 

The area where it sits is called The Grand Parade. In 1749 when Halifax first became a city this space was set aside for public buildings.



Here is some information about it:



We rested on a bench and looked up at it for a while.



Directly across from city hall is this monument:



It reads: In honour of those who served, In memory of those who fell

It was unveiled in 1929 to honour the people who died and served in the military.



Behind that there is a church called St. Paul's and it's the oldest surviving structure in the city. (Built in 1750) Ren didn't know this at the time so she didn't take any better pictures!



From the Grand Parade you can also see the Province House. This is where the government people meet for the province of Nova Scotia. (The flags are flying at half mast because a Canadian soldier was killed in Afghanistan)



Ren and I walked over for a closer look. This is the building's other side:



On one side there is a statue of Governor Edward Cornwallis. He was a British military officer and considered to be the founder of Halifax. A lot of people don't like him because he ordered a bounty on the scalps of Mi’kmaq aboriginal peoples. Because of that this statue is often vandalized.



It wasn't today though.



Here is the Province House from inside the gates:



On the other side there is a statue of a man named Joseph Howe, a famous journalist and politician.



(The sun was making it very hard to take the statues pictures!)







From here you can see the art gallery building across the street.



Here is a closer look at the statue on top:



Here is the other side of the art gallery building. It was built in 1865.



There were some art pieces here. This is me pretending to be a bird!



One more!



There was also and old bank building nearby:



This building was very prominent so Ren and I decided to go to it and see what it was.



We think it's basically just an office building for government people. It was built in 1929 and was the cities first sky scraper.



My neck is a little sore from all that looking up! It's time to rest!

Bye for now!

Schweinchen 

Hello!
Today we took a drive over to Dartmouth, Halifax's sister city.







We stumbled upon a place called Fisherman's Cove. It's an old fishing village.



It is mostly tourist shops and restaurants now, but the fisherman still bring their boats here and sell their fish too!





It's a perfect place to enjoy an ice cream treat! (And conveniently there are lots of shops selling them!)



The area is sheltered from the open ocean by the two big islands behind me.



So Pretty!



Too bad I have to travel light, otherwise I would have bought a lobster trap!



There are so many plaques around here!






Further in I found a lighthouse that was just my size!



I climbed all the way to the top!



Tomorrow is Canada day and Ren is going to go visit her grandmother in New Brunswick. She says that I can come too so I'll get to see another Canadian province!

Talk to you soon!

Schweinchen

Hello!
I just got home from my trip to New Brunswick! It was raining every day that I was there but I still got to see some stuff!

The ride there was pretty boring. Just a lot of trees.



There was one toll station that we had to pass through though and that was kind of interesting.





Then it was back to trees! This part of the highway is very high up and when the snow comes it becomes very dangerous. Because of that it is often closed in the winter but it was fine for us!



Finally we arrived in Fredericton!



We explored downtown a bit. Here are some pictures of the streets.







Hey look! Another lighthouse!



There was a statue in the middle of a big open area so we decided to check it out.



Lord Beaverbrook... it doesn't really explain just what he did!





Behind the statue were two guards looking a lot like statues themselves!



They are guarding the old museum.


Here's the side of the building:



We continued down the street and saw some more old buildings.

This one is a sports hall of fame:



And this one is the courthouse:



And here is city hall!



There are two guards standing here too! (Not a very exciting job!)



While we were taking these pictures we heard the sound of drums. Someone was coming!



It was time for the changing of the guard! The guards got together and did a little march.



Then they all marched away! I guess that the guards were done for the day!



City hall was left unguarded, but I think that it will be safe!



That's all for now!
Good Night!

-Schweinchen

Hello!
I have some more pictures from my New Brunswick trip!

It was raining again while we were getting ready to go back to Ren's house.



It was making everything nice and green though!



The river behind me is the St. John River. It is the river that the city of Fredericton was built on and Ren's Grandmother lives right on it.



While I waited for the car to be packed I chatted with some members of Ren's Grandmother's penguin collection!



Then on the way back we stopped at her family's cottage where she spent all of her summers growing up.



The yard is looking a little unkempt but it is still very pretty.



I took a ride on the rope swing!



Most of the grass is covered with wildflowers now.



A wild rose!



On the other side of the trees is the lake!



The water is very high because of all of the rain!



The sky was doing very strange things. Here you can see blue but five minutes later it was raining again!



We took shelter inside the cottage for a bit.





Then we continued on our way. We had to drop of Ren's Aunt at a car dealership in the city of Moncton.



It seemed as if we were stopped there forever! Ren and I took a walk around in the rain.



Then it was time to go so we were back on the highway.



A few hours later we needed gasoline and some food!





Then more highway!



I wonder what those flags are for?



They are marking the border! We were back in Nova Scotia!



We were getting close to home when the weather was getting really bad!



But then some sun shone through and we ended our trip with a rainbow in the sky!



Bye for now!

-Schweinchen

This morning I went into to to explore the part of Halifax that is right on the water. It's called the Historic Properties because it is pretty old. (At least for Canada)



It is very touristy now, with lots of shops and restaurants and boat tours.

 

The people on this boat were waiting to go out into the harbour. The weather wasn't very nice though!



I wonder if this is the sailboat that I saw earlier on my trip and scared away with my canon? It could be!



I went way out on a pier to take a look around.



Hey! That white boat has a pirate flag! That's probably the boat I defended against!



Now here is a boat that I know is friendly! It's Theodore Tugboat! Theodore Tugboat was the main character in a children's TV show that was set here in Halifax. This life size version of him also gives boat tours.



Further along the boats are much more modern.



There was a Canadian navy ship at port today.



Hmmm... What's this?



It's a monument to remember the French people that were sent away when Halifax became a city.



It was starting to rain so I decided to hide inside for a while.



When I came back out it was sunny and hot!



I went back to wear the old buildings were to take some more pictures.



This old building is at risk of being torn down to make room for a new one. People here are still debating over it.



I found a bench along the boardwalk and enjoyed the water for a bit. This city behind me is called Dartmouth. It is Halifax's sister city on the other side of the harbour.



There are two big toll bridges that you can take to get to Dartmouth. You can just see the older one behind me.



If you don't have to take your car there is also a people ferry that will take you. It's coming to the Halifax side now.



Here's a better picture of it:



(Yikes, it looks like the rain clouds are coming back!)

There is another interesting tour boat that I was lucky enough to spot. It's called the harbour hopper. This is a boat that also has wheels so it can drive out of the water and around downtown to show tourists around.



Well, that's all for now!
Bye!

Schweinchen

Hello!

Today Ren and I drove into Halifax so she could show me a special cemetery and big surprise... she got lost! After driving in circles for a while she gave up and decided to take me to a different cemetery. It was okay though because I still got to see something interesting!

Here I am at the entrance:



Hmmm... It looked like just an ordinary graveyard to me...



Then I saw this sign:



Hey! I've heard of that boat! We followed the path.



Almost there!



Here it is! The site was tucked away in a corner and looking a little neglected. Probably because it is much smaller than the other Titanic site in Halifax. Ren told me that that one is where all the tourists visit.



Many of the graves do not have names on them because the people didn't have anything with them that could be used for identification. This stone is for a 3rd class girl beleived to be about 15.



This sign needs to be washed!



(The bottom of the sign)





The simple gravestones were comissioned by the ship company.



There were very intimidating signs everywhere demanding that we stayed off the grass today. Ren had to lean over very far to take this picture!



When we got home we looked up the names on those four stones.  From nearest to furthest they were:

Wenzel Linhard, 3rd class passenger from Austria, aged 32.
Thomas Morgan, Fireman from England, aged 26.
Maurice E Debreucq, Waiter's assistant from France, aged 18.
Batiste Bernardi, Waiter's assistand from Italy, aged 22.

When we were done we walked to the other side of the cemetery to see the statues there.





That's all for now!

Good Night!

-Schweinchen

Hello!

I have exciting news! I found out that I'll be moving on to my next host real soon! I am going to be visiting Germany! To celebrate my last days in Halifax Ren took me to the Tall Ship festival that's happening downtown.



There are tall ships here from all over the world. I wonder if there is one from Germany who could give me a ride?



Not this big one, it's going to France.



All of the ships are decorated with many colourful flags.



Many of them are offering tours today.



Hey! There is Theodore Tugboat again! Maybe I can follow him to the German Ship.



Nope! This isn't it either!



The Unicorn is a Tall Ship that is only for females. I would be allowed on, but they are going to the USA, not Germany.



There are lots and lots of people crowded around this one!



It is the Bluenose! Canada's most famous tall ship!



It was built in Lunenburg which is only an hour away from here.



This poor Mountie got stuck in front of it because people kept wanting to take his picture. (So of course I took his picture too!)



This eagle told me that there are more ships at the other end of the harbour. Maybe one of those is the German one!



Here is a cute little Viking Ship. I don't think I'd like sailing across the ocean on that though!




So. Many. Ships...



They are getting bigger!



Are you going to Germany?



Nope! This one is from Portugal.



What pretty sails! This one is from Uruguay.



I wonder if I will ever visit Uruguay?



There is lots of music coming from this ship. It didn't sound very German!



I was right! This one is from Brazil!



The Brazil ship even had a live band!



This next ship is so big it's impossible to get it all in one photo!



It's from Russia.



Wow!



Yikes! I sure don't want to be on this one!



Double Yikes! A Giant Pirate! I'd better get out of here!



I must have missed the German ship. But I just know it's out there somewhere!



The lady on the front of this ship told me she had seen a German flag!



Look! Here is the German boat's sign! But where is the ship?



There it is! It's hiding behind the ship from The Netherlands!



I called out to the people on board but they didn't hear me!



It looks as though I am going to have to travel to Germany the old fashioned way... in a package. Oh well!

Visiting Nova Scotia has been lots of fun, but I can't wait to find out what kind of adventure will happen next!



Goodbye Halifax!

-Schweinchen

Wow, this was a looooong trip back home to Germany. It is nice to out of the envelope again. Here is another TV called Big Bird who told me that I will go out and see nice things sometime in August, but he didn't want to tell me more. I decided to tell him about my adventures in Canada and about the ship on the postcard which I've seen during my last days there.