Travelog for: _PAULI_

Mr. P said it would be okay that Protea takes us out for dinner. So here we are sitting in the car heading towards Pothong Gate which belongs to the Historical Remains in Pyongyang. Those are inscribed in the tentative list of the UNESCO WHS.

the next day all of us tried to figure out Mr. P's chinese washing machine. Good that Zottel was born in China and could help

Protea got bored at home, so Mr. P. took her out for a ride and we were allowed as well

We couldn't see much due to heavy rain

It didn't take too long and we reached our destination, The Pyongyang Stamp and Postcard store. Wow.

Back home was a little "paint attack" by Zottel, but Protea doesn't want you to worry mum, so she will skip this little incident. Here we are helping her with the postcards.

Soon Zottel and me had other things on our minds. Yeah this is much more fun.

protea took me to a nice place in the middle of lots of heath - and I met lots of other tv ...



But then I left without her, traveling far ...

Hi there!

The past weeks have been really exciting! The last thing I remember is attending a postcrossing meet-up in the Lüneburger Heide in Northern Germany, then someone put me into a purse and here I am now, somewhere in the United States – with sannah!

Since it has been either gray or too hot in the past days (or weeks), we stayed at home a lot. I found a new friend, PieksiHH who is about my size. Together we mostly sit at the window which overlooks the Zumbro River. And there always is something to see: people are fishing or walking/biking/jogging by … on closer look, some of the stones in the river actually are ducks, swimming against the stream!



But today, sannah took me with her for a walk through downtown Rochester. Rochester is well known as the home of the Mayo Clinic, therefore most buildings are somehow used by them: for treatments, administration, research … You name it! Skywalks (and subways) connect the buildings and are especially useful in the winter when it is freezing cold outside! Have a look at some of the buildings arouns the Peace Plaza - the closest thing Rochester has to an pedestrian zone.





The last one is the Plummer Building, erected in the late 1920s. sannah loves its style – here you can see the top even better. I took that picture from sannah-man’s office on the 6th floor.



Just one block away, the style of buildings changes. This is the Chateau – formerly a movie theater, nowadays a bookstore.



These buildings are much more typical for small and mid size towns in the US: shops downstairs, living quarters or offices upstairs. That is the traditional housing style, mostly inspired by Germans.



And finally, this is the Old City Hall of Rochester. It also has another purpose nowadays, offering housing as a loft style apartment building.



Now I got an impression of where I currently live.

Miss you, Mom!
All the best, Pauli

Hi there!
Especially from the main highway, you can see a modern monastery rising high above the city of Rochester: It is Assisi Heights, home of the sisters of St Francis. Have a look for more information and an aerial view when you click here.

Today, they opened up their gates to the public – and we took the opportunity! We were asked to refrain from taking photos inside, but took photos from the outside.




And also in the courtyard!




The small statue shows St Francis of Assisi. I liked the calm atmosphere in this garden.

Bye, Pauli

Hi Mom!
Today Pieksi and I sneaked into sannah’s purse. She was going on a trip to a place about an hour southeast of Rochester to the Eagle Bluff Environmental Learning Center – somewhere in the middle of nowhere in rural Fillmore County about an hour from Rochester. Students of the junior high school where she works were staying there for three days – she joined them of just one day with two activities. We stayed in the car during that part of the day.[/url].

Then, on the way back, we surprised her and sannah took a photo to prove we really where in the middle of nowhere on a dirt road.



See the clouds? Local thunderstorms – according to the weather forecast. But we were lucky, a few drops and grumbling was all we got apart from a sky changing every five minutes.

A few miles back on the way to Rochester, sannah stopped at a wayside rest with access to the Root River. Isn’t that a beautiful piece of nature?




Afterwards, we did not want to return to sannah’s purse again but watch the road instead. This is the center of Chatfield, a village halfway back to Rochester. Very typical for all small towns in the Midwest.



And this a typical highway – Hwy 52N, to be more precise.



As you can see, the sky was already blue again. What a weird day! The leaves on the trees are slowly starting to turn colors – fall is coming!

Bye, Pauli

Hi Mom!

The weather was (again) so great today – sannah took us all for a hike. We first had to drive by car, but then we found some trails leading in all different directions at Great River Bluffs State Park.



And the best thing: I was overlooking the Great River – the Mississippi!




On the other side of the river there is Wisconsin – the Mississippi is the natural border.



The hills in the distance are called Prairie Bluffs.



And those bluffs in Wisconsin are about six miles away.



I had just an amazing day! Hope you are fine, too, Mom!
Bye, Pauli

Hi Mom!
Yesterday was a surprise day! On one hand, the weather turned fall-ish very fast, on the other, we went on a trip. sannah did not really have shopping plans, but took us to see the Mall of America – the (second) largest mall of the world. A shopper’s paradise.

Well, it is so large that shopping is not the only option. What about riding a rollercoaster? Yes, the hallways with shops on three floors circle a little amusement park in the middle. Can you see Spongebob Squarepants having fun there?



You can buy all kinds of stuff in the stores. Books, candy, clothes, toys  – you name it. Some of them I have already seen back in Europe!  And what attracted me the most was the decoration of the LEGO store, all made up of those tiny little bricks! Amazing, isn’t it? I love LEGO!



Wow, the back of a huge robot!



And his front!



And just to give you, Mom, an impression of how large the mall is … This is just one small corner near the east entrance. And since it was late (9:00pm), there weren’t that many people left, but still …



It was so huge! I felt even smaller in there …

I am still overwhelmed by the amount of shopping possibilities.
Bye for now, Pauli

Hi Mom!

Today was another beautiful, yet windy day – golden October, if you want to say so. Ideal conditions for another road trip leading us west this time.



As you could see in very small letters above my head, our destination was New Ulm, founded by German settlers more than 150 years ago. Nowadays, this small city celebrates its German heritage for example by hosting the annual Oktoberfest.

And they also have a copy of something else “typical German” – the monument of Hermann, der Cherusker, also known as Arminius. Over here, he is called Herman the German.





We did not climb the top, but the view was already great from the bottom of the monument. But there were more typical German things in town. For example this huge Glockenspiel though I did not hear it play.



I read on a postcard that this former postal office, now a museum, was designed after a similar building in Ulm, Germany. But I have not been there, therefore I don’t know if it is true. Maybe only the architecture is alike.



Adjacent to the city is the Flandrau State Park. We enjoyed the afternoon sun at the Cottonwood River.




The fall colors were beautiful, but the sun was nice, too. So I took a sun bath.



The peak for fall colors is coming close, soon it will be winter here. But so far, we just enjoy the nice weather.



Bye for now, Pauli

Hi Mom!

Autumn is here! The temperatures have really crushed down in the past week. And the leaves continue to change color, well, most have already started to fall. When the sun is out, it is warm enough, though.



We went to a small park area close to sannah’s place.



The Zumbro River was very calm.



Altogether, we played a little hopscotch.



Aren't maple leaves the prettiest!?



Embrace the fall colors back in Germany, too!

Colorful greetings,
Pauli