Travelog for: Finfin

Hi mom!

Look how nice rainbow I saw today! 

Love,
Finfin
xxx

Hello mommy!

It's time to say goodbye to all my friends here, because I'm leaving today. It's little bit sad to leave here, because I'm going to miss everyone, but in the same time I'm so exited to start travelling again.

Thank you hostmom mmm105, and thank you all in Finland!
I had a great time here!

I said goodbye to all other ToyVoyagers... (TV Mi Nam is leaving today, too).



Hostmom's cat came to say goodbye, too.



After all goodbyes, it's time to go inside my envelope.

Bye bye all!



Love,
Finfin
xxx

Oooooh, it's so dark here...

I can't see anything... But maybe now it's perfect time to get a sleep and dream about what kind of place I'm going...

LITHUANIA, here I come!!!


xxx
Finfin

Hey, mum!
I'm in Lithuania now When I came out from the envelope, I saw nature around me! That's right, I first saw Vilnius outside, not inside. And my first photo was with this gorgeous flower:



I also took a picture near the house. Look who's behind me - a white cat!



When I came to my new home, I saw my friend Porridge! I've met her earlier, when mmm105 was hosting us. She gave me a big hug





Then I saw a nice fox Húlí hútú, he also gave me a great hug and we became friends!



My new friends and my new host mum Karolina were very happy to see me. They read my letter and I showed them a postcard and chocolate bar, which came with me from Finland. Kit-Kat told me that I'll have a great time in here - she was in Lithuania before she went to Finland. I really hope to see many beautiful places in here!

Love,
Finfin

Labas, mamyte!
I said 'hello, mummy" in Lithuanian! I know some words now and Karolina said that I could learn more today. Can't wait! But at first, here is what I did yesterday:

Me, Porridge and Huli went to the mall "Panorama". It was quite early, so not many people walked around.



I was sitting on a decorated bench:



Then we went to another mall VCUP where we saw a poster with a first toy musieum in Lithuania! You can read more about it here. We've seen an exhibition of some of the toys from the museum's collection. I've seen what games and toys children used to play in the last decades of the 20th century!



With already vintage teddy bears:



Look at these nice drawings which were drawn by children!



VCUP is in the New Vilnius, so when we went outside and walked on the White Bridge, this is what I saw:



We went to the park, where I landed near the small flowers...



...and then had a walk in the Old Town. I finally saw two famous buildings in Vilnius - The Cathedral and The Bell Tower! Beautiful!!



We decided to rest for a while in a small park near The Presidential Palace. It is located in Vilnius Old Town, is the official office and eventual official residence of the President of Lithuania. The palace dates back to the 14th century and during its history it has undergone various reconstructions, supervised by prominent architects, including Laurynas Gucevičius and Vasily Stasov.



After this journey we went back home
Love,
Finfin

Hi there!
Today our host mum showed us this chocolate in the shape of Lithuania. Isn't it great? We started to explore it right away!



Then Karolina told us some lithuanian words. Did you know that AČIŪ means THANK YOU and ŽAISLAS means TOY? I wrote something:



Yep, a LADYBUG or a LADYBIRD is BORUŽĖ in Lithuania! Other friends did the same game with their names. While me and Porridge were finishing our first lithuanian words lesson, Huli thought that he could make a prank and scare us! We didn't see him at first...



Almost there to scare us...



BOO! Gosh, I really didn't expect this!



Huli said sorry for his joke, because we at first seemed to be very frightened, but we started laughing right after this. We also made a funny photo with mustaches:



That's what I did today. I guess I'm going to watch a movie or chat with my friends. I feel a bit tired now

Love,
Finfin

Hi!
Today Karolina showed us a bit of Zirmunai (in lithuanian it's Žirmūnai). It's the most populous administrative division in Vilnius. It is also a neighbourhood in the Lithuanian capital city Vilnius, encompassing the city district of the same name, built in the 1960s.



And you know what? We are living in Zirmunai! The house where I'm staying right now is in this administrative division Here I'm next to the fountain:



This poster which we saw at the bus stop is about a great poetry writer Maironis:



And this is a very old fountain which was built in Soviet times. It's not working now. Can you see us?



Here, take a closer look!



It was a short journey, but I enjoyed it. We had to go to the Old Town because our host mum had to meet her friend there, and before that we stopped to take a picture near the Pranciškonų monastery:



And that's all for today. Miss you, mummy!

Finfin

Hi!
This Sunday our host mum's aunt had her birthday. We had a picnic outside and that was very cool! We went to Swedbank terrace at first:



Then we decided to be in Zirmunai, near the Neris river. We helped with the food...



...then we were sunbathing...



...even eating sushi! It tasted really interesting to me!



In the evening we went back home and we were eating the cake. Yummy!



That was a nice day. Karolina said that this week we can go to another country for one day. Can't wait!

Love you,
Finfin

Hello!

Today a new toy voyager arrived - it's Zed Dog! We all gave him a super big hug



We decided to see what's new outside, because Karolina felt not very good today and she stayed at home. We went to the balcony:



We played hide and seek! Zed Dog is looking for me... Hope he won't find me soon, haha!



It's cloudy outside and a bit cold, so we all decided to sleep for a while.
Hugs,
Finfin

Hi, mum!
Today we went to Latvia because Karolina with her family wanted to see some relatives. It was a great journey, though it was raining in the morning. We had so much fun in the car, too!

Here we are in our new house in Riga, Latvia:



After some time spent talking to all aunts and uncles (they're all very friendly ) we went for a walk in the city.
Riga is the capital and largest city of Latvia. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga, at the mouth of the river Daugava. Riga's historical centre is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, noted for its Art Nouveau/Jugendstil architecture and 19th century wooden architecture!
Here we are at the Bastion Hill park:



And these are wedding locks on the bridge. So romantic!..



What a great fountain!



Near the Latvian monument to Freedom (for Heroes killed in action during the Latvian War of Independence) :



Musicians of Bremen Monument, Riga. How cool is that?
Do you know that you have to make a wish and touch all of the 4 animals noses? Not many people touch the top of it, but everyone touches the donkey's nose. You can see it from the picture (unfortunatelly, I couldn't get the 4th musician rooster in the photo):



I found my sister! Haha, it's a Latvian ladybug



Black cat (and the rooster) are symbols of Riga, Latvia. Here I am with the kitten!



And here we are all in the flowers:



The Old Town...



Near the monument with my friends:



Talking about the public transport - trams are very popular in Riga!



We were in Latvia when they had their public holidays. June 23rd is Līgo, a day before Jāņi. It's a Latvian festival held in the night from 23 June to 24 June to celebrate the summer solstice (Midsummer), the shortest night and longest day of the year. Many people that day were wearing a "crown" made of leaves and flowers, and the public transport was free. So, we were inside of the trams, too!

We had to go back, so I stopped to take a picture in the park:



It was great to see another country, even if this journey was that short. I hope to visit Latvia again one day, I liked it! After we came back from our short trip to the Old Town, we went back home to Lithuania. I was a bit tired, so I took a nap.

Love,
Finfin

Hi!
Today was our host mum's BIRTHDAY!!! Yayyy!!
We all gave her a big hug and said many beautiful words. I wished her happiness

Here we are with the chocolate cake!



I also gave Karolina a pretty flower. Then we all sung "Happy birthday". Our host mum seemed very happy!



We also had a sad moment, too. Huli and Porridge had to go to other countries, so me and Zed Dog said goodbye to them. I hope they travel safely!



Love,
Finfin

Hi, mom!
Sorry for not posting anything new for a while. Now I have something to show you - on Saturday, we decided to go somewhere. Karolina showed us this little piece of paper and we decided to visit "Flea festival 2012"!



We went to Karpiškių village, near Varėna. I was looking at the plan:



Nature everywhere! Seems that it's going to be a fun day!



Here we met a lot of interesting people and animals, saw a lot of old stuff...



...ate some vegetarian food, listened to a good music...



We found a place called "Ramybės pieva" ("Quiet meadow") and went to a tea drinking ceremony. That was very interesting! We tasted different teas, such as pu erh or oolong tea.







That was a great festival! We all came back home relaxed and happy.

Hugs,
Finfin

Labas!
I said "hi" to you in lithuanian!
This evening was really nice and warm, so Karolina took us to a short trip on a bike. It was really great, though I was very tired after that - we went from our house to Karaliaus Mindaugo bridge, almost to the Old Town!



Look - there you can see Gediminas' castle!



We stopped to take a picture next to this building (in Tuskulėnai park):



We've spent only an hour to this trip, but I liked it.

Kisses,
Finfin

Hello!
Today we celebrated a big event in Lithuania - the day when Mindaugas was crowned King of Lithuania. It happened really long time ago, at the year of 1253! Mindaugas (ca. 1203 – fall 1263) was the first known Grand Duke of Lithuania and the only King of Lithuania.



We went for a walk to the beach near Neris river. It was a hot and sunny day!





Love ya!
Finfin

Bonjour!
Today is a busy day - tomorrow we are going to Nida, a sunny resort in Lithuania. It is located on the Curonian Spit. It has 1,650 residents and is the administrative center of the Neringa municipality. Nida is the westernmost point of Lithuania and the Baltic States.

Me and Zed Dog are packing our stuff:



I will not be able to update my travelog until July 13, but I hope that when I return, you'll see many beautiful photos!



Au revoir!
Finfin