Travelog for: DottyCroc

Hello everyone,

Last night was great fun. The Wotwots and I had a midnight party! We ate sweeties and played music and danced and bounced and...and.... it was really exciting! When mum came downstairs this morning we were still snoozing and we looked a mess. She was a bit grumpy and she said the music had been a bit loud in the night. Oooops. 

We all tidied up, Dotty made the pillow nice, Spotty picked up the rubbish and tidied the shoes and stuff, and I made the bed. We apologized to mum and she said she'd forgive us.

This afternoon mum brought us a little parcel all wrapped up in Christmas paper and she said it was for us to open. Inside we could hear muffled giggles as we tore open the paper. Out jumped a little bear in a green jumper. He knocked Spotty over! We all welcomed him and then we talked for a while. He is called Shamrock and he comes from Ireland originally. He explained how he came to be at the Christmas fair where mum bought him.

He'll stay with us tonight and join Mischief, Mrs Fleece and Hippity in the morning. Our bed is getting a bit crowded!

Dottycroc.

Hi,

Yesterday another package arrived on the doorstep. Mum brought it in and said it was for me. I guessed it might be another friend arriving and I was right! It's NiliHH from Germany! She is very cute and I like her a lot already. I helped her to unpack her things and then we all sat down to eat the sweets she brought. I shared one with her because we're only small. We talked for a while and then she tried on Spotty's flip flops. They really suited her and when I told her how pretty she looked in them, she blushed. Everyone told me how nice Germany is and I got very excited. Mum says I'll be on my way there in less than a week!

Bye for now
Dottycroc

Hello there,

Today I awoke to find a big tree had arrived in the living room. It is of course December now and that means Christmas is on its way! Mum said we could decorate the tree for her and she got out the decorations. There were baubles, snowmen, candy canes and more and it took quite a while to put it all on the tree. There was even a naughty naked angel for the top of the tree! NiliHH and I had to work together to get her up to the top.

It was great fun decorating the tree and mum says we'll have more Christmas fun before I head off to Germany to see what Christmas is like there. 

Bye for now,
Dottycroc

Hey there,

Today we did some more Christmas things. First we made a big paper chain for the wall. We all worked together and it was done really quick. The glue was big and heavy and mum was concerned we might all get sticky so she watched us very carefully. The paper chain is on the wall but we cannot get a photo of us with it because it will break if we all sit on it! It looks pretty anyway.

Next mum got out a nativity scene that needed to be set up. The Wotwots built the stable and I worked with NiliHH to build the crib type thingy. It went well and soon we were putting the characters in. They were arranged nicely and we took a photo. Then we took all the people out again and made up alternative stories with them which was good fun.

Dottycroc

Hello.

Today, for my last day at home, we did a dots and spots trail around the house. Starting downstairs we found a cushion and some curtains with big dots on and a giraffe with medium sized spots on. He was fun to climb on and I imagined I was riding him across a big African plain. We headed upstairs where NiliHH had things to find too. We found a purple slipper boot with white dots on and a blue green shower cap with brown spots on. The shower cap really suited the Wotwots! The trail was over too soon, I was really enjoying it.

Tomorrow is my big day and I'm very excited. I'll go to bed early tonight because I won't get much sleep whilst I'm travelling.

Dottycroc

Hi.

Today is my big day, the day I start my adventure! Mum got my envelope ready and I said my goodbyes. First I said goodbye to Mischief, Shamrock, Mrs Fleece and Hippity, my friends who are waiting to be Toy voyagers. Then I said goodbye to Dotty and Spotty Wot and to NiliHH. I am sad to have to leave so soon after my visitors arrived but I know my adventure will be fun.

Nervously I climbed into my package and mum sealed it down and took it to the post office. I'm not sure where I am right now, in my package, somewhere in the world, on my way to hostmum in Germany.

See you soon hostmum, I'm on my way!

Dottycroc

Hi Mummy,
I arrived at my first host's home today. It is so exciting! There were Kirin from Chile, Dutchy the Lion from the Netherlands and Frederik, GustavvHH and RSG Leo from Germany. My host Katja and all the travellers gave me a warm welcome.



In the afternoon we went out to take a walk on a former railway track. I will show you my photos tomorrow, I promise

Love
DottyCroc

Hi Mummy,
we took a walk in the afternoon because Katja wanted to visit her Mum in a nearby hospital. Because the weather was quiete good we went there taking a loop way. GustavHH accompanied us.

The first picture was taken close to my current home. There is a small park just in front of the housing complex.



Katja suggested that we would walk downhill towards the historic district Hasten. Not far from my current home there is a larger intersection.



Walking downhill we reached Hasten a few minutes later. Here we found beautiful older houses.



Some years ago a former track for freight trains  was built to a lane for pedestrians and cyclists, following the original track. Remscheid is an industrial city, famous for its tool producing industry and also other metalworking. The freight train track was connecting the district Hasten with its industrial companies with the central station in the city centre. The track is about 4,5 km long. It is called "Trasse des Werkzeugs" (Route of tools) because it was sponsored by local companies which are producing tools. Along the track you can find information signs and those showing the logos of the sponsoring companies, all created in a rusty-looking style.







There are still industrial complexes along the track, but also different housing areas with both apartment builidngs as well as terraced houses.



It was rather misty outside, I'm afraid you cannot see that there are large woodland areas in the background.



Someone has a souvenir from the former railway track in his garden







We found a blooming hazel bush.





Here we found more of those logo signs.





This sign is showing the coat of arms of Remscheid with a lion with a double tail and a sickle.





The closer we were walking towards the city centre the more industrial complexes were found along the track.



We found this recently made comic-graffito



We left the track than and walked to the hospital, this time uphill for some time



Bye for now
DottyCroc

Hi Mummy,
today we met another ToyVoyager member, Strunki and went to Dortmund, a large city in the Ruhr area.  Its population of about 570.000 makes it the 8th largest city in Germany. We visited the Christmas market which is one of the largest in Germany. You can find the world's tallest Christmas tree here.



Here you can see the Christmas tree!



A stage, 45 m tall, is implented with 1700 red spruce trees.



We even met another TV member here, mcdaniels with her guests. We went to a café for an hour or two.



So many ToyVoyagers were visiting Dortmund today



When we left the café is was almost dark outside.



From a booth with a balcony we had a great overview.



Here in Germany you can also find carousels on Christmas markets, like this one for kids.



We strolled around the crowded city and had lots of fun.



On another market we found fantastic illumination. These balls in the sky were changing colours!



Here we bought one of those pretty stars. It will be attached to the window in the living room.



What a great day! And it was great to meet so many ToyVoyagers.

Love
DottyCroc

Hi Mummy,

today we visited Germany's highest railway bridge, Muengsten Bridge.

Katja told me that Germany's highes railway bridge is connecting Remscheid with the neighbour city Solingen. We went there with Strunki and her guests.

This is Morsbach creek, flowing into nearby river Wupper.





Next we reached river Wupper. In the background you can see an outlook pavilion, Katja told us that we would see it again later.



This is one of the touristic highlights of this region, so you can find information boards all along the way.



On this board the height of Muengsten Bridge is compared to other well known buildings like Cologne Cathedral or Berlin Cathedral. This picture is taken from an original historic postcard.



Do you believe in oracles? Here is one and only puddle oracle! I'm afraid it told us that the ugly weather will stay for the next days and that there was no winter in sight. No snow, no cold, nothing but rain.



Walking through the forest I found a comfortable hole in a tree.



Later I found these tracks in the mud. Do you know them? Dog and deer, I would say.



Due to the rainfalls you can find lots of little waterfalls running down to the valley.



We reached the outlook pavilion than,the one we have seen when we started our trip. It was built around 1900 by a rich former citizen of Remscheid, August Diederichs. That's why it is called "Diederichstempel".





From here we had a first look to Muengsten Bridge. It is under construction works at the moment, no trains are crossing the bridge.



We found these weird things in the forest. Nobody knows what it is. They were made of something like concrete.





We all needed a little rest, I decided to sit in a tree and watch the river.



Along the path you can find several pieces of artwork, mostly engraved rocks like this one. A nine-men's morris!





Can you see this bridge in the background?  Here we crossed the river to walk back along the opposite side of the valley.



Soon we reached Muengsten Bridge.



Muengsten Bridge was built of steel, completed in 1907. It is about 480 m long and 107 m tall. There are extensive repair works going on in the last few years and they are taking place at the moment. The bridge will be closed for several months. Some years ago a leisure park was built under the bridge. You can find lawns for relaxing here, a crazy golf course and playgrounds for the kids.



This was an interesting trip

Bye
DottyCroc

Hi Mummy,
in Germany Christmas is already celebrated on December 24th. We helped to wrap the presents. Today Katja's son and daughter will visit us to have dinner. Tomorrow we will visit Katja's sister and on Thursday Katja's sister-in-law and her family.



We had a really calm evening with dinner. We had salmon with a mustard topping, potatoes and savoy cabbage. Yummy!

Bye for today
DottyCroc

Hi Mummy,
I met Katja's pets today. They are small, cute, cheeky and they have terrifying carnassial teeth.



Three ferrets are living here. These two were fighting just for fun. The third one was searching for the remote control of the TV, she loves to steal it

Look at all those Christmas cards we received from ToyVoyager members.





Love
DottyCroc

Hi Mummy,
we visited a park in the neighbour city Wuppertal today, the Nordpark. This landscape park is situated in the district Barmen. It was founded in 1895. You can find a large game reserve here, a playground, a restaurant, a soccer ground, a halfpipe for skateboarders and lots of woodland areas.

When we drove to Wuppertal, we stopped at a place with a great overview across the city. Wuppertal is loacated in and around the river Wupper valley. It is the largest city in the region Bergisches Land. Wuppertal is a major industrial centre, but also known for its steep slopes, its woods and parks, The touristic highlight is the Schwebebahn (suspension railway), unfortunately we did not see it today.



Soon we reached the park and started our trip at the playground area.



The park is situated at the slope of the valley, at this point high above the city.





We walked through the woods ...



... and we found the game reserve. About 30 fallow deer are living here. Other visitors were feeding the buck, but he seemed to be more interested in me



This common beech must have toppled and been sawn recently.





We were so happy that the sun was shining.

Bye
DottyCroc

Hi Mummy,
we went to Katja's sister-in-law's family today to celebrate the last day of the year. When we arrived, there already was everything prepared for dinner.



There were lots of cheese, sausage and cold meats, salad, smoked salmon, herring salad and different kinds of bread.



We all enjoyed German beer



Later we several board games, this one is called "Niagara". You have to collect gems of different colors while that river is really moving and it might happen that your boat is falling down the "waterfall" and your boat and the collected gems are gone.



At midnight we all had a glass of sparkling wine efore we went outside for the fireworks.



Happy New Year!

Thankfully it was not raining like it did the last two or three years.



Love
DottyCroc