Travelog for: Twix

Hello to everyone,
I'm Twix, a hoggish rat.



I'd like to visit you if you have time to feed me with local delicacies.

Despite of my potbelly I'm a lightweight. I'd like to start my journey soon because I raided my host's sweets yesterday. So I hope to get my first invitation soon.



My itinerary:

AnjaM, Germany
maelle, Belgium
Delenna, Finland
RikeH, Germany
Luv Lioness, USA

Bye
Twix

Today I went to town with Katja. The sun was shining. We went to the shopping centre to buy some sweets.

This is the town hall,



and this is the main entrance of the shopping mall.



These giant forceps are a symbol for the tool producing industry which made Remscheid famous.



We are back home now. We've bought some really good sweets.





I'm helping Katja to prepare my envelope. Anja from Frankfurt is already waiting for me.



I want to take all the sweets with me, but Katja says that this is too much. A few sweets must do, she says.

The jelly bears?



No, they do not fit into the envelope.

Than maybe the package of twix bars?



Too much, too. Katja says I can take TWO twix bars with me, one for Anja and one for me.



Okay, I'm ready now.

Anja, I'm coming!

Bye
Twix

Hi Mommy,

I have arrived safe and sound in Anja's house today and Anja was glad to welcome me and the nice things I brought with me:



I think I will like it there! Anja has so many nice ratty things:

rat sofa cushions


rat cups


a rat bowl


all kinds of ratty nicknacks


and even a rat candle!


After she showed me all these nice things, we had a little snack


Would you believe Anja actually ate the second Twix bar???
Ok, ok, you packed it for her, but I thought she might give it to me. Fat chance! If you look closely at the picture, you can see that she actually ate it!

Now it is time to go to sleep, Anja said, but she also said that pretty soon I will meet "the boys". I really wonder who the boys are....

Hugs
Twix

..... yawn... stretch... uaaaaaaaaa..yawn....

Hi folks,

I just woke up, it's 12:30 noon now - just a nice time to wake up.
I've had such an exciting day yesterday!!! No wonder I slept in this morning!
I hope that Anja will give me access to the PC again tonight, so that I can tell you all about it!

Tired regards
Twix

A Day at the Office

Hi Mommy,

now I will tell you about the exciting day I had yesterday.

Yesterday, on the 1st of April, Anja woke me up early.
"Rise and shine, little Twix," she said to me, "we're going to the office. You will have to work for a living while you're staying at my house!"

Work?    Bleah, I have never worked a day in my life, and I don't intend to start now!

But Anja bundled me into her car, and off we went. This woman sure likes rats, she even has rats in her car:



While Anja was driving, she told me how she had prepared a little desk, a little chair and even a little PC, so that I could work at the office to earn my keep  .

Yuck, work! So when we got to the office, I jumped out of Anja's arms and hid in a potted plant



Anja burst out laughing. "April Fool's, little Twix!" she hollered. "Of course you don't have to work, you're my guest! I only took you to the office to show you around!"

Wow, was I relieved!!!  I had completely forgotten that it was the 1st of April, April Fools Day!

So I came out of the potted plant


and I met Anja's colleague Julia




who showed me a map of Germany



and where I am right now



At noon, Anja shared her lunch with me (a kind of goulash)



and introduced me to Nicole and Arzu at the Reception



What nice ladies! I could cuddle with them all day long! 

Then we took a little walk around the office building
(this is Anja, by the way, all dressed up for work)











It was such a lovely, sunny spring day!



After lunch, a nice colleague came by with a present for Anja



and then Anja introduced me to "her colleague, the witch with her crystal ball"  , whom she always consults when somebody expects her to read his mind 



In the afternoon, there was even a birthday party at the office, with lots of nice sweets





and I got to eat a whole piece of apple cake all by myself!



Finally, it was quitting time, and as we went to Anja's car in the underground parking garage, we admired some of the nice cars that people drive





Finally we got back home.

Boy, was I tired after that exciting day!!!
But before I went to sleep, Anja gave me the money that I earned during my day at the office



So, Mommy, now I am rich, and when I get back home, I'll take you out to dinner! 

Hugs and kisses
Twix
the hardworking millionaire

Hi Mommy,

this morning, Anja took me to the Rathaus (city hall) of Oberursel, to have me registered as a legal resident.







This Rathaus is nice: they even have an old English phone booth in there!



They welcomed me as a new resident of Oberursel and gave me a nice brochure and a map:





This is what Oberursel looks like on a signpost:



What am I doing in Oberursel, you ask?

Well, Anja told a fib!  She does not live in Frankfurt at all, but in the small town of Oberursel, about 10 miles north of Frankfurt.
But nobody know Oberursel, Anja says, and everybody knows Frankfurt, so she always says she lives in Frankfurt.

On a clear day, you can see the skyline of Frankfurt from Anja's balcony, including the pointy tip of the Messeturm (exhibition tower)





Speaking of balcony:
As it is a beautiful spring day today, Anja and I relaxed on the balcony in the sun when she came home from work








Relaxed regards
Twix
new resident of Oberursel

A Lazy Day with Good Food

Hi Mommy,

today is Saturday, so Anja did not have to go to work, and we stayed home and had a nice, lazy day with some good food.

We slept long, and then we had a nice breakfast of cinnamon rolls and cappucino with hazelnut sirup. And with milk foam from a can! The things people come up with! But it tasted quite good.





I ate all my breakfast and drank all my coffee. Ah, that was good!



Later, after lying in the sun on the balcony in Anja's new lawnchairs, we had a nice snack: Korean Cup of Noodles Soup. Anja said it doesn't taste much different from normal Cop of Noodles soup, just with a little of Asian flavoring.

I liked it!





Have you noticed? Anja has set aside a little cup, a little plate and a little bowl for me, to use while I am her guest.

As these things are just about half as big as I am, and she always fills them up, I certainly get well fed here!

Content regards
Twix

P.S.
If you wonder about the syringe in the background: so did I.
But Anja assured me that she does not use it herself. Instead it is for the boys, she said.
I really wonder about these boys!

The Boys!

Hi Mommy,

today I finally got to meet the mysterious "boys".
And do you know what they turned out to be? Pet rats, just like I am!

But the boys are much bigger than I am!

First I got to meet Athos, a big huge Siamese rat:



He challenged me to a wrestling match, and I lost



Then I got to meet his brother Aramis, another Siamese rat.



He also challenged me to a wrestling match, and I lost



Then Athos AND Aramis wrestled me together



Needless to say: I lost 



What rough, tough boys!!! All they do is wrestle me to the ground!!! 

I liked their friend Porthos, the husky rat, much more, he was more gentle



Then I met Anja's other two boys, the elderly black hooded rats Hawkey and Dick. They were really nice!



Hawkey was particularly friendly, he even gave me a kiss on the head when he welcomed me to the house and to the family




Well, now I know why Anja has so many ratty things. It's because she likes rats! And I thought it was all to welcome me...

Ah well, I think I like the boys. Unless, of course, they invite me to another wrestling match...

Best regards
Twix

Hi Mommy,

today Anja's friend Dirk invited her over, and I tagged along.

Dirk has a nice garden




and a parakeet called Piddy



and he just bought a mini donut maker




which we wanted to try out.

First we made a batter of flour, milk, oil, baking powder, eggs and sugar



and then we filled it into the holes in the mini donut maker



After a few minutes, the mini donuts were ready



and we could enjoy them



Ah, they were so good!!!

Mommy, you did right to send me to Anja's house! This is heaven for a rat who likes to eat!

Well-fed regards
Twix

Hi Mommy,

just a short update today:

On Friday, Anja and I are going on vacation!!!
We are going to visit a friend of Anja's in Gütersloh, which is close to Bielefeld. Wow, I've never been on vacation before!!!

And we will take a train, an ICE (Inter City Express, a really fast train that goes up to 320 kilometers - about 200 miles - an hour!).

Anja has a car, but she does not like driving such long distances. It's about 300 km - 187 miles - but complicated driving, not just along one autobahn (highway).

Wow, I'm  so excited! I get to ride a train!!!

Excited regards
Twix

Train trip on the ICE

Hi Mommy,

now Anja and I have returned home, and I finally find the time to tell you all about our vacation and our trip to Gütersloh on the ICE (Inter City Express train).

And I mean Express! But you will see, Mommy 

Friday, 10 April 09 was a German holiday (Good Friday), so Anja and I slept in, packed our suitcase and then set off to the train station.

Anja lives close to the S-Bahn (subway train that goes underground in the city of Frankfurt and above ground outside the city), so we took the S-Bahn to Frankfurt train station.

It was a beautiful sunny day, and we admired the lovely flowers and plants







You have to walk down this street



full of nice old houses



and at the end of the street, there is the S-Bahn stop





Here comes our S-Bahn



This is a plan of the Frankfurt S-Bahn and U-Bahn trains. Holy Maloney, Mommy, I certainly find this confusing!!! 



I looked out of the window (can you find the Messeturm, Mommy?  )



until the S-Bahn finally went underground, and we had to get off at the main train station (Hauptbahnhof, in short: Hbf)



The first thing Anja did was buy some food (did I tell you I love this lady?  )



and I got to meet some German train station attendants



Then I finally got to see a real ICE approaching!!!



Wow!!! Looks like a space rocket, don't you think?
(and Anja told me these things are almost as fast, too )



Now it was time to go onto the platform



and to board our train



Soon the train started moving



and soon everything was flying by



When we got bored looking out of the window, we shared the sandwich that Anja had bought



and when we had to change trains, Anja had a cigarette in the designated smoking area on the platform



Then we had to change trains in Bielefeld again



and it was already getting dusk, so Anja could not take any pictures of Gütersloh when we arrived there.

Finally we arrived at Katja's and Jens' house, where we were greeted with a nice snack



and a very tasty dark German beer



What an exciting day!!!

I was dog ... uhm .. rat tired, and I went to sleep soon after our snack. But I will write again very soon to tell you about all the nice food I had and all the nice things I saw in Gütersloh!

Hugs
Twix

Hi Mom,

Anja and I have arrived well in Gütersloh to visit Anja's friends Katja and Jens.

I'll tell you more about our journey soon.

For today, I'd like to wish you Happy Easter!



Hugs
Twix

A Day in the City -  and my new friends

Hi Mommy,

well, you know what happened in Gütersloh?

I told Wusch the frog and Garry the duck of my adventures as a toy voyager, and now they are toy voyagers, too, and they travel with me and Anja! 

And we did not only eat and drink in Gütersloh, we also went shopping and saw something of the city.

First we went to a place called Hornbach, a home improvement store.




They have everything for the house - building materials, bathroom fixtures, paint etc. and even plants. This is what we came for: plants for the balcony. They have such lovely plants, we felt as if we were in a beautiful park.










They even had T-Shirts, but they were not in our size, unfortunately




After the home improvement store, we went downtown



and Anja took a good swig from a bottle of lemonade, it was a very warm day



We got to see some nice houses










That day, it was market day, so we went to the market.
They had everything - fruit, vegetables, German asparagus (German people eat the white version), dried fruit, nuts, and even socks and household goods.














When we got home, we unpacked all our purchases







and then we had a nice dinner of Wurstebrei (also called Stippgrütze, a Gütersloh specialty made of ground meat, spices and a kind of grain. It is usually eaten with potatoes)



First I was not so sure about that stuff, but it is actually quite delicious!



Oh, and Anja bought a new purse, big enough to hold us toy voyagers!!!  It was on sale in the city, and we find it very comfortable!





What an exciting day!

And what nice new friends!
Garry and Wusch are now travelling with me and Anja! 

Hugs
Twix

Handkäs mit Musik

Hi Mommy,

today, Anja introduced me and the two other toy voyagers staying here to a real specialty from the state of Hessen: Handkäs mit Musik! 

This literally translates into "hand cheese with music". Weird, but you'll see...

Anja was too lazy to make it herself, so she bought it packaged:



When you unpack it, you find three big slices of a cheese that smells like ... sorry ... old socks  and a small cup of vinegar and oil dressing with onions




You pour the dressing and the onions onto the cheese



and then you eat it all, usually with bread and butter



and you drink apple wine or beer with it.

Looks weird, but it is quite tasty! 

And "hand cheese with music" means:
the cheese is so small you can take it in your hand... and after you eat all the onions, you will "make some music" sooner or later.

Hessian regards
Twix

A new guest: Sweetsy!

Hi Mommy,

today, a small padded envelope arrived, and Anja got all excited. "Here comes a new Toy Voyager, a new guest in my house!" she said to us, "his name is Sweetsy and he is soo cute!"

Sweetsy? Hm... I always like sweets! So I sniffed the envelope, and Garry and Wusch crowded around it, too.



Anja opened up the envelope, and out came Sweetsy!



He really is cute, so we gave him a warm welcome. He shared with us the goodies that he brought, and we treated him to some Twix bars.



He also brought a nice picture postcard of a railroad bridge close to Remscheid, where his former host Katja lives, and a "warning" from Katja that he will help us decimate the baking ingredients in the house 





What a nice guy! I think we'll have lots of fun! 

By the way, Mommy, I finally got proof that I fulfilled a part of my missions: I ate a Twix bar in 1 country - Germany, Frankfurt (or rather Oberursel  ) at Anja's house!



Happy regards
Twix