Travelog for: Lucy K

Hi Mummy,
we had a canoe tour on Äsnen, a gigantic lake. I hope we don't have to paddle across the whole lake. Here are many skerries.



Soon it will be time to say good-bye to Sweden.

Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,
we took a walk to the municipal park today. We had to walk for only a few minutes to get there.

In the vicinity of my current home I saw pretty old houses. Katja told me that in this part of the city most of the old houses survived World War II. I can see this church when I'm looking out of our living room windows. It is stucked between houses and large trees, so you cannot take a photo which is showing the whole church.



In the entrance area of the municipal park there is the observatory.





It is very obvious that summer ended now.



Katja showed me this memorial for the dead of several wars before World War I.





Katja told us that on this area which is shown on the left side of the next picture there was woodland until last year. All the old trees were felled by some obscure reasons.



Two allotment gardening areas are here on the park's ground. In the background you can see the outskirts of Remscheid and Wuppertal.







We went back into town than to pick up a friend of Katja who also wanted to take a walk and do some shoppings.



Here you can see the local police station. There is a small park opposite.



Katja told me that she lived in this large three storey house on the right side with the kiosk in the ground floor until December 2005. Her friend is still living there.



We than went along the Trasse des Werkzeugs (Route Of Tools) which is a closed railway track. On this track a route for pedestrians and cyclists was built. It is about 5 km long, starting at the central station and going to the district Hasten. It was sponsored by local tool producing companies. Along the route you can find signs, information and artwork relating to the tool producing industry.





Here are some of those signs, there is also one which is displaying the coat of arms of Remscheid.









We bought some things here. Of course Katja forgot to buy the most important thing 



Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,
we took a long walk today in an area around the river Wupper which belongs partly to the municpal area of Wuppertal and those of Solingen.

We started our trip on the Wuppertal part. First we took a path that goes underneath a railway bridge.



We had to walk uphill for a while. Soon we reached an old building, called "Kaltenbacher Kotten". It propably was a grindery or a smithy once. A pond is next to the building.





We reached an area than which belongs to the largest arboretum in Germany. Since the late 1950 years foreign trees are planted here. There are special areas with trees from Asia, North America, South America and also Africa. The arboretum was founded as a forestry sience project. Here you ccan read more about this project.













We crossed the river Wupper here and reached the Solingen area.



We had to take while we walked through the forrests: Everywhere it was "raining" acorns, beechnuts and chestnuts.



On our way back to the car we had to walk underneath a large bridge, underneath a highway.





After more than three hours walking I was really tired, looking foreward to spend the evening on the sofa, doing nothing.

Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,
the weather is bad these days so we cannot take photos outside without drowning.

So we are sitting in the kitchen window, looking outside.





Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,
today we visited Katja's sister Ina and her familiy. Ina and her husband were celebrating their birthday. Before we went to their house we made a walk through the old town.

Lennep is the second largest district of the municipal area of Remscheid. As a  member of the Hanseatic League and Prussian county seat it was one of the most important cities of the region Bergisches Land for a long time. Most buildings are under monumental preservation, they were built after 1746, after the last great fire.

The old town still has a medieval structure.







Here I am on the market place with the evangelic church next to it.



We walked around the church, trying to take a good photo, but it was impossible because the houses are built really close to the church, you have only narrow lanes to walk.





I also saw a former minster, the oldest religious building of Lennep. It was built from 1677 until 1679 by Minorites. It was restored than in the 1980's years. Nowadays the minster is an arts centre, a restaurant is also situated here.









Katja showed me another famous building: The Roentgen Museum. Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, the founder of the x-rays. was born in Lennep.





Katja told me that she grew up in Lennep. She also showed me the elementary school which she visited a long, long time ago.





On our way to Ina's house we also saw the Katja's secondary school. There is a large playground on the other side of the street.







Were were now close to Ina's house.

We had coffee and delicious cake, in the early evening we had sparkling wine. I also enjoyed a glass. FoxForce came back today. She was on holidays with Katja's parents.





Later we had a lot of fun playing with the Carrerabahn (slot car racing track) of Katja's nephew.





Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,
I will go on a special trip with Katja's colleague Elke. Mister-Right and his new girl friend Elizabeth are also coming with us. I think I'll have to work as a chaperone, they are smooching the whole day long.



I'll be back on Monday.

Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,

I'm on my way to Paris with Mister_Right, his girl friend Elizabeth and Katja's colleague Elke and her husband.

We took the Thalys, the high-speed train, in Cologne. We had only four stops, at Aachen in Germany, Liège and Bruxelles in Belgium and than Paris. This is the Thalys, our train.




That's a comfortable way to travel.

When we arrived in Paris, our hotel room was not ready, so we had time to take a look at the vicinity of our hotel. We saw the Centre of Justice.



Notre Dame: This church is the geographical and  historical heart of Paris. It was built from 1163 AD until 1345 AD. It is a Gothic, Roman Catholic Cathedral.

Unfortunately we did not meet the hunchback of Notre Dame.





That's all for today. Tomorrow we will visit more interesting places.

Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,

today we visited one of the most important touristic highlights, Eiffel Tower.

The Eiffel Tower is the tallest building in Paris. The tower was built as the entrance arch for the 1889 World's Fair. It is 324 m high. The tower has become the most prominent symbol of both Paris and France.





From the top of the tower you have a fantastic overview. Can you see the hill in the distance? It's Montmartre with the Sacré-Coeur Basilica. Montmarte means "mountain of martyr". When you climbed all the stairs which are leading to Montmarte, you know what this means



You can look across the River Seine ...



... and you can see beautiful parks.



This is the famous Arc de Triomphe, part of the historic axis  — a sequence of monuments and grand thoroughfares on a route which goes from the courtyard of the Louvre Palace to the outskirts of Paris.



We were looking foreward to our hotel room than ...

Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,

This is an impressive view into the streets of Paris.



We also visited the deceased of Paris, we went to the cemetary Père-Lachaise. It was really impressive. We were glad that we were here in daylight with many other visitors. It was a bit spooky with the croak of the crows.



This is Sacré-Coeur Basilica from a calm viewpoint.



Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,

here we are on the forecourt of the Louvre Museum. Behind the glass pyramide it's going down to the entrance of the Louvre Museum. You can see Mona Lisa here.



Maybe I'm going on Mister_Right's nerves, I think he would like to be alone with Elizabeth.



With the Louvre Museum in our back we can see the Place de la Concorde, from here Champs-Elysées leading to Arc de Triomphe.



Later that day, Mister_Right had some trouble with Elizabeth. She decided to stay with a French bear she had just met here in Paris, in a café. Mister_Right is in a really sorry state.

By the way, this is our hotel.



Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,

it's our last day in Paris. Elke ordered a real English survival breakfast (for Mister_Right, who survived heartsickness). Of course we all liked it.



We went to the train station than. Mister_Right still hopes that Elizabeth will come back. The train will leave in a few minutes and she is still not here ...



I talked to Mister_Right, hoping he will overcome his heartsickness.



We left than at 12:25 AM and arrived in Cologne at 3:15 PM.

That was a wonderful trip. Thank you, Elke!

Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,
in Katja's lunch break we took a walk in the city centre. The first photo was taken close to my current home.





Here we are above alotment gardens, which are situated in the municipal park. In the background you can see the neighbour city, Wuppertal.







They really have pretty old houses here.



We had to return to Katja's workplace than.
Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,
we went to Wermelskirchen, a small town in the neighbourhood, to take a walk. It's a rural area. We parked the car next to a restaurant. It is a "Kartoffelhaus".



We walked through the forrest for a while ...



... had a talk with sheep ...



... walked along some houses ...



... and enjoyed the nice landscape.





We came along a creek.



We posed for a group photograph.



The path we were following than is part of a pilgrimage trail, which is leading to "Altenberger Dom", about 10 km from here.



When we reached this old barn it was time to return to the car.



Bye
Lucy K.

Hi Mummy,
we took a walk today to a medieval castle.
We parked the car close to the River Wupper.



From here you have to choose: Walking uphill to visit the castle or taking the chair lift?



Murph was arguing with Katja, he seems to be an idle skitter. He wanted to take the chair lift, but then he would not have been able to enjoy the beautiful landscape.



An outlook pavilion! That means a little rest.



Like Katja promised, the overview was great.







The ceiling of the pavilion is decorated with the city arms of the surrounding towns, so here is also the city arms of Remscheid.



We reached the castle than.



In the castle courtyard you can find souvenir shops and shops whose owners are doing an "old" handcraft. For example someone makes soap, another makes brushes, then you can buy things that were used by knights for the kids, like swords and helmets.





Schloss Burg was built in 1133 by Count Adolf I von Berg on a hill above the river Wupper.That's why this region is called "Bergisches Land". Many people believe that it's name refers to the landscape with hills and valleys. (For those who do not speak German: The German word for mountain or hill is "Berg", so many people think that the name "Bergisches Land" means "land with many hills" )

About a hundred years later it was enlarged by Count Engelberg II von Berg. This is the guy on the horse in the courtyard.

In Thirty Years War (17th century) many parts of the castle were destroyed. It was rebuilt then, but it was used for industrial purposes for many years. In the end of the 19th century they began to rebuild it as it appears today.



This memorial is showing Count Adolf I vom Berg.















This is the powder tower.



Some artwork ...



One more nice place for a rest.



We left the castle than and walked back to the car, again we walked along meadows with horses, along farms ...







... and through another forrest.



On a hill on the left side you can see the city centre of Remscheid, far away in the distance. You can see the towers of the city hall and the water tower.



They even have a school in the forrest, a "Waldschule".



Those blossoms feel like they were made of wax.



We walked along River Wupper than, a really beautiful landscape.





In the background you can see the castle, situated on this hill.



Soon we reached the place where we parked the car.



Close to the car we saw an information board with a map of the vicinity.



Bye
Lucy K.