Travelog for: Tilla Mook

My first photos are at home in San Diego, California.  I live with my mom and dad, one brother, and 2 friendly dogs (Moishe and Noodgie).  In these pictures I was playng with the dogs and celebrating Chanukah by lighting candles.  I also have a picnic with my friend Pinky, who is a stay-at-home toy for now.

I've gone to visit friends in Poway, California!  There are lots of real horses in Poway.  I hope I get to meet one!! 

Hi Mum,
I just want to let you know, that I arrived at Bruchsal, Germany. I already met some other toyvoyagers. Right now we watch Sabrina's flight to Stockholm. She goes there with her choir from Forst, Baden. There is a big meeting of choirs: Pueri cantores.
It is her first flight and she is very nervous and so is Petra. She took three toyvoyager with her: Precious, Kari and Hasi. So of course we are excited too. Here I watch the flight and the airplanes arrival in Stockholm.











There is a very long list of choirs from all over the world.

Ralf and Petra read in the newspapers, that there are Scottish Highland Games in Angelbachtal. Both are big Scotland fans, although they never had been there already - but they surely will go there one day, that's what they told us. So today they decided to go to the festival and watch the games and listen to the Pipes and Drums Bands.




(sorry for being not in this photo, Petra said, that she has to zoom it)


There were several shops and Petra bought a Scottish Teddy Bear and some hair bands and Ralf bought two Scottish flags.

Wow, I can tell you, Petra had some crazy last weeks at her school. She is so happy, that there are only 2 more days and then summer break starts.
I'm sure, you aren't really surprised, that it is raining once more and very windy.

Today we visited the Unimog Museum in Gaggenau. It is located between Rastatt and Freudenstadt in the beautiful Murg River Valley.
There is an exhibition of various alternating Unimog of six decades from the beginning until now, giving hints about technology, love stories between drivers and vehicles and lots of models.
We also took part in off-road driving on the Unimog Museum premises, climbing various hills and tackling other obstacles on the Unimog parcours. It was so so great!








I'm sorry, but there is only one photo with Spooky outside at the parcours.

Another thunderstorm! It is unbelievable, how often we have lightning and thunder.

Today we drove to the Michaelsberg in Untergrombach. Untergrombach is one of Bruchsal's suburbs with about 6000 inhabitants.
3500 to 2600 BC there were frist human signs on the Michaelsberg, which gave this culture the name "Michaelsberger Kulturkreis"
1502 AD Joss Fritz from Untergrombach planned the "Bundschuhaufstand" during the time of Peasant's Wars.











The chapel is on top of the Michaelsberg.







In the far (right side) you see some houses, which belong to Bruchsal.
   




Bruchsal and also Untergrombach are located at the edge to the Kraichgau. Here you see the Rhine Valley. If the weather is sunny, you can see the Palatinate Forest in the far.







I learned something about "Magerrasen" (neglected grassland), which is typical for the Michaelsberg. Behind the sign you see so-called "Steinriegel" (field clearance cairn), made by people working on their fields a long long time ago. They threw the big stones from their fields to the border of the neighbour's field, so that in the middle all stones were accumulated. Many animals and flowers love this gaunt places and that's why a few weeks ago, people cleaned the Steinriegel from all the earth, that came between the stone during the many many years and from all the other plants, that love to grow in earth.







The nature reserve sign, they shortly added some rules.

Then it was time for Tito, Spooky, Galo, Nanu the cub, Coco, Kari, Tasmanian Devil, Scotty and Friendship Bear and me to say good bye to Precious.






By the way: Here you see 9 toyvoyagers, 2 still have to be registered, but I think, you can count them.

Once more we are in Eichtersheim. This time there is a big medieval market and a joust.






Two zoomed photos without me:

Today we visited Bretten. Like Bruchsal this town is in the state of Baden-Württemberg and located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. There live about 28,ooo people.

At first we visited the angel museum. In a part of the museum the exhibition is changed every now and then. This time they showed drawings of places in the Heuchelberg / Stromberg area.      The park includes the Stromberg hills and the Heuchelberg mountain ridge. It is characterized by a well wooded hilly landscape. Geologically, it belongs to the Keuper mountains. The north slopes are mostly forested, the south slopes are used by viticulture.(wikipedia)









The Baden coat of arms



Then we went to see the angels. This is painted from Marc Chagall.



There are also patrons in other cultures and religions.







The centre of Bretten consists of many old half-timbered houses around a lively marketplace.Bretten was first mentioned as "villa breteheim" in the "Lorsch codex" in 767. Since 1148 Bretten had the right to mint and issue coins. In 1254 Bretten received city rights. In 1492 Bretten was granted to hold four fairs by Pfalzgraf Philipp. Philipp Melanchthon was born in Bretten in 1497.(wikipedia)

Today we drove to Enzklösterle. At first we played Adventure Golf and had a lot of fun.




Then we had lunch at a restaurant, where the Krippena is located. We saw the world largest wood carved Christmas crib and a Christmas tree.

On our way home we stopped at a field, where you can pick flowers and throw the money in a box. We bought some gladioli.

Today we went on a walk through a part of Bruchsal. Here you see the Saalbach, a small river, which flows into the Rhine.





Then we walked to the graveyard and I asked Petra to take two photos with me and the baroque church in the background.







This is one of the oldest crosses on the graveyard.





Next to the lovely baroque church St.Peter you see these lovely flowers. And yes, your're right, I'm sitting here with Tito and two other toyvoyager horses Carlisle and Penny-Bo. So I fulfilled a part of a mission now.

Later in the evening we took the car and drove to the Belvedere. It is a former hunting lodge, built in 1756, renovated in 2001 until 2003.







Here you see the grammar school St.Paulusheim and the baroque church St. Peter.






I think, I should start to count the toyvoyagers, I've met. So here are four guest, who stay at my current home together with their host olgamaus: Mister Right, Cutie, Bella Kitten and Polki. I think, I have to count the other toyvoyagers back at fam-united's home later.