Travelog for: Baby Lican

Hi Mummy,
as I told you I stayed another two days with Katja's sister. She showed me around the garden first.











Do you also know rhubarb?



She also showed me around the district Lennep. It is a very old district with lots of pretty old houses.







Bye
Baby Lican

Hi Mummy,
Katja took me with her when she had to go to the post office during her work time. The weather was fantastic, so she could not resist to take me with her.

We walked along the pedestrian area, where you can find those large forceps as a symbol for the tool producing industry here.



I have  been here at the entrance of the shopping mall before, but today the weather is much better.



We are now coming to the central bus station.





The white building in the background is the publishing house of the local newspaper Remscheider General-Anzeiger (RGA).



This is the new entrance of the theatre.





Here you can see the city hall with the market place in front of it. The farmer's market is held on Wednesday and Saturday.



The tower of the city hall is 48 m high.



The original city hall was nearly destroyed in World War II, than rebuilt afterwards in a more modern style.

When we went home at lunch time Katja showed me the water tower. From here the inhabitants of the city centre are supplied with drinking water, which is pumped from a dam in a valley to the highest point of the city area.



Only two more minutes to walk and we reach our home.



Bye
Baby Lican

Hi Mummy,

we took a walk today in one of the oldest districts of Remscheid. It is called "Hasten" and is situated in the North of the municipal, leading into a valley. First I'll show you my current home. I am living in the attic storey. The house was built in 1904.



In a nearby park Katja showed us a pillar which is dedicated to the first town twinning of Remscheid and Quimper in France. The pillar is also showing the coat of arms of Remscheid.



We played a bit on a small playground in the park.



Katja told us that we would walk through the municipal park to get to Hasten. Here we are on our way to the municipal park.





From here we had a first look to Hasten, in the valley.



The pink coloured house is an old factory building, you can find many of them between the tenements.



We reached Hasten than, a district surrounded by woodland.



We saw a lot of old houses and really narrow streets here.











We saw a beautiful Patrician villa here, built in 1798. A museum which is showing life, furniture and so on of the last centuries is situated nowadays here, also  the German Tool Museum.





The area behind the villa belongs to the Tool Museum.



We decided to walk home than, this time uphill for some time







Bye
Baby Lican

Hi Mummy,
we visited Düsseldorf today.

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city is situated on the River Rhine, and is renowned for its many events and also for its fashion and trade fairs. We went here by train and started our trip at MediaHafen (Media Harbour), a former harbour which is now a modern business quarter.

First we saw an interesting building called "Stadttor" (city gate).



This is the old harbour, now a modern business quarter with a lot of interesting buildings.





We walked towards River Rhine than.





There is a bridge overspanning the inner harbour. From here you have a great overview.



From here you can also take a good photo of Rheinturm (Rhine Tower), a telecommunication tower with a rotating restaurant behind the windows.



Katja showed us the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, the parliament.





Finally we walked towards the old town of Düsseldorf, along River Rhine Promenade.



Close to the city the promenade is full of bars.





We saw that one of the excursion boats was just coming home. It should start its tour about 10 minutes later, so we decided to make a boat trip. The trip was supposed to last for about 90 minutes.



From here I had a look at the Altstadt (old town). The Düsseldorfer Altstadt is known as the longest bar in the world (»längste Theke der Welt«), because the small old town has more than 300 bars and discotheques.



We were off than, downstream first.









In the meantime the boat made a turn and was going upstream.









We went into town than.



This is part of the Altstadt with its many bars and pubs.



We enjoyed an Altbier here, a special beer which is only brewn in this region.



Next I will show you the old city hall, situated in the old town.



We bought some postcards and a funny fridge magnet.

This is the famous Königsallee, a shopping street where you can find exclusive clothings, jewelry,shoes and other accessoires.



We went home by train than. It was almost 8:00 p.m. the shops were closing. I was very tired, but  not too tired to write a postcard to you.

Bye
Baby Lican

Hi Mummy,

we took a long walk today in the neighbour city Solingen. We started our tour in Solingen-Unterburg, which is one of the oldest districts of Solingen. You can find many old houses here.



I went with Katja, Erika and Hugo today. I met a friend of Hugo here



We walked along River Wupper the whole time.







Next to our path you can find steep rocks.



We crossed River Wupper here.



This thing was originally used at the nearby Sengbach-Talsperre (Sengbach-dam).





This is a historic building, Balkhauser Kotten. A museum is situated here.



More rocks along our path ...



We reached a hamlet called Balkhausen. It is a rather rural district.



They have nice old timber-framed houses here.









We walked through another forrest.





We met River Wupper again.



After hours of walking (about 14 km) we reached Wipperkotten, a historical grindery which is still in use. It was open for visitors today. Visitors were allowed to take a knife with them, for the  grinder to grind it. Of course Katja brought her favourite knif with her.

Wipperkotten was built as a grindery in the early 1600's and it is the last existing twin building of formerly 26 grinding sheds at the lower river Wupper. Two undershot waterwheels are spinning between the historical buildings. This building complex is under protection of historical monuments since 1955.







Of course we had a look inside the buildings.

This is the axis of one of the waterwheels.





This is one of the historical workplaces.







This is today's workplace of the grinder.





The grinder is preparing the belt grinder machine ...





We were allowed to sit on the grind machine to have a good overview at the grinder's work.



Our knife is as sharp as a razor blade now -  thanks to the grinder

What is he going to do with the hammer?



Whow! It looks like fireworks!



It was time to start back for home than. We saw canoes here, can you see them at the opposite riverbank?





We had to walk uphill than to reach the city centre. Here I also saw some pretty old houses.





What a wonderful front door!

We went home by bus and train than.

Bye
Baby Lican

Hi Mummy,
I'm on my way to Florida now.



Bye
Baby Lican

Hey Mommy I am in Florida now!!  It's nice weather here and I get to meet some new friends, Mocha and Ebba.  They ask me where I want to go.  I tell them my mission is to visit beaches so they take me to Miami Beach, which they say are very famous.

Here we are, on the causeway towards the beach. 



We pass by the Miami port.  This is a cruise ship to the Carribeans, called Carnival Liberty.  It has 110,000 tonnes, is 932 ft long and carries 2,974 passengers.  A huge ship indeed!!  I hope one day I can get to travel in one.  My host tells me they sometimes go to Europe too.



We are now on the street of Miami Beach.  The scenery looks very different from Hong Kong and Europe indeed, with a lot of palm trees and very sunny weather.



We park our car and begin to walk along the broadwalk.





We pass by a marina, where people park their yachts when they are not using them.



All the yachts are so beautiful.  I am so happy I can smell the sea in the air!



Okay here we are, at South Point Park, which is at the southern point of Miami Beach.



Do you see the island with houses behind me?  It's called Fisher Island, and according to U.S. census is the richest place in the country. 



Okay this picture is proof that I am in the U.S.!  This is a restuarant.



It's a long walk!  I still can't see the beach yet.  We rest on the grass a bit.  I wish we have a picnic basket.



I can see something!  Is that a lighthouse?



Oh, it's a life guard tower!  And it looks like there is a wedding couple up there taking pictures.  That sure looks very romantic.



I meet some seagulls but no pelicans yet.



Behind me is the Atlantic Ocean.  Wow! On the other side of the ocean is Portugal and Germany.  When I was in Portugal I was looking at the same ocean, but on the other side.  That's so amazing.  I say a big hi to Olgamaus.  Can she hear me?

As Miami is the closest major U.S. city from Cuba, there is a substantial Cuban immigration population here, and therefore a lot of Cuban restaurants.

Today we go to a place called El Rey de Las Fritas, which means The King of Fries, to try the Cuban hamburger.  I wonder how it is different from McDonald's?  Anyway, I am in America now so I should eat some hamburger.



Let's look at the menu!



We order a guarapo, and a fruta bomba.  Guess what they are?  Sugar cane juice and papaya shake!



This is a Cuban hamburger, a Frita.  Instead of the French fries on the side, looks like they put it inside the hamburger!!  They also use paprika to make the meat looks very red.



Hmmm...  it's actually tastier than it sounds!



After the meal, we finish with a cup of cordadito.  It's espresso coffee with milk and sugar.



After lunch, we go by to our host's friend's place.  She is having a garage sale.  Which means putting everything she doesn't need out in the front yard for people to stop by and buy.  It's a popular way to get ride of unwanted stuff, and there are professionals who go around to hunt for good bargains. 





We see some toys and go over to say hi.  Our host wants to adopt some to be a TV but she decides they are too big to travel.  I do wish they can find a good home nonetheless.  Good luck!

Our host received some Harry Potter coloring book through a BookCrossing, where she is a member.  It's a bookring, which means that the book goes around to different members, who read it and pass it on, till the last participant sends it back to the person who started the ring.  For this coloring book ring, instead of reading a book, we pick a few pages to color.  Of course we are happy to help our host.



Hmm, it's hard to decide which pages to color.



Yuck! Who wants to color Umbridge?  She is EVIL!!!  BAD!!  I want to tear out the page or smear her face but I decide it's not a polite thing to do.



We vote to color this page.  I will color the pumpkins a lovely orange.





We also want to color Dumbledore and Snape, because they are two greatest headmasters of Hogswart.



That's a lot of trees to color! Let's each grab a green pastel.



Phew, it takes a long time but we feel pretty proud of ourselves.



I like to color the girls too, and give them pretty clothes.

Today we go to the Miami International Wine Fair. 



It is one of the largest wine tradeshows in America, featuring over 85,000 sqft (~8,000 m2) of exhibit space with nearly 500 producers showcasing more than 1,500 wines from 20 countries.  I wonder if anyone can drink all that???



There are a lot of booths and many people.



We try out some Portuguese wine.  Which reminds me of the good time I spent in Portugal.



Wine from Florida!  But Florida is too hot to grow grapes so the wine are made from other fruits, such as mango and lychee.





We also attend some wine classes.  This one is my favorite, sushi and sake!

Today is the Mid Autumn Festival in China.  It is a night when the moon is supposedly the roundest in the year, and a day for families to gather together and celebrate.  Indeed there are a lot of poems written about wanderers looking at the moon and thinking about the birthplaces and families they left behind.

There is also a saying that overseas the moon is rounder and bigger.  Hmm... I don't know about that.  It looks the same to me. But seeing the moon does make me miss my mommy back in Hong Kong very much.



Seeing I am homesick, to cheer me up, my host offers us a little moon cake party.  First we pick the tea, for mooncake goes very well with a cup of hot tea.  I am happy to see all the moon cakes!



This mooncake is made with lotus seed.  All the mooncakes have an egg yolk in it, the round yolk representing the moon.  They say that during the Mongolian invasion, rebels hid messages inside the cakes and passed them around, thus succeeding in overthrowing the Mongolian rulers.


 
Yum yum... Hi Mommy did you eat some mooncake too?

Guess what kind of restaurant we go to today?



You are right!  It's Korean!

First we order some nice Korean beer.



As typical in Korean restaurants, the waitress bring us a lot of small appertizer dishes, called banchan.  There are various kinds of kim chee and pickles, some tofu cake, bean sprout, salad and more.



This is an appertizer dish ddeokbokki, made with some rice cake, clear noodles, vegetables and other ingredients. It's rather spicy.



Next comes the grilled meat.  This place uses authentic charcoal instead of gas stove.  We put the meat on top and make sure it's grilled nicely.



With all the spicy and hot food we need some cold dessert!  This is a big bowl of shaved ice, with beans, rice cakes, fruits, ice cream and whipped cream.

Mommy, I am so excited today!!  My host tells me that we are going somewhere vey special.  I wonder what it is? 

We are going to Pelican Harbor! Wow.  I wonder if there may be any pelicans there?  I ask my host but she just smiles and tells me to be patient. 



The sign says that they have a bird sanctuary here.  I want to go visit!!



Next we spot a van with a picture of a pelican.  The Seabird Station is a non profit group to rescue and rehabilate animals, especially sea birds.  Oh, I wonder if they have pelicans here???  I am getting so excited!!!



Oh THERE IS A REAL PELICAN!!  I go by and say hi but I am so nervous I may look a bit silly to him.  But he is very nice and welcome us and they show us around.



These pelicans are inside the cage while they recover from injuries.  Most of these injuries are caused by entanglement with fishing lines, ingestion of plastic and other manmade garbage.



Well, I hope you get well soon!



This pelican is here to visit his girlfriend.  He says he has been visiting everyday and can't wait till she gets out of the hospital. 



It's dinner time!  All the birds get very excited.



Looks like there is quite a line.



Here is a different kind of bird.  We don't know its name but it has beautiful blue eyes.



I feel so happy that I have one of my dreams fulfilled!  Goodbye my pelican friends!!



After the visit we wander around the harbor a bit.  Oh look, a pelican boat!



I want to fly over there and join the seagulls, and maybe just claim one of the posts as mine and just sit there and enjoy the harbor.



Oh look, there is mother duck with her babies!!  They are so cute!







Oh no, there are some American black vultures.  I am not sure if what they like to eat but they sure look very scary!!  Um, I think it's time to go home!!

Today we head out for Central Florida.  It's four hours drive from Miami.  Halfway through we stop by a rest area.  We find a booth selling Florida grown citrus.  Florida is famous for its oranges and grapefruits.  They have samples for us to try too!



We check out the brochures and tourist guides.



Here we are, at Downtown Disney!





This is Disney Quest, an indoor game center.



There are a lot of interesting stores to visit.



This is the Mary Poppins balloon ride that can take you up in the sky.



There is a Planet Hollywood restaurant in Downtown Disney.



There is some excitement on the water.  There is a dragon boat race going on!



Wow it's a big dinosaur!!  Or rather, it's skeleton.



It's a T Rex restaurant.  Let's go in and check it out!



You can make your own dinosaur here.



I see another dinosaur... and this one is not just bones.  It's moving around.  Very scary...



Hi Buzz, what's up!



Hello Mr Potato Head!



Let's go check out the toys!!



Wow true to its name, there are a lot of toys here!



Look, a lot of pelicans!!



You can get your own customized light sabre here.



You can also play with designing your own Mr. Potato.





Look I get fingers!!



We get to say hi to Winnie the Pooh and his friends.  He shares some honey with us.



It's Halloween coming up so there are lots of Halloween stuff.



We got lost.  Donald Duck is kind of grumpy but Donna has been very nice.



Oh wow Mommy you see this?  It's a picture of Hong Kong made with Legos!!  Mocha says that he went to Hong Kong too but there was no dragon in the water.  What a silly moose.  Anyway, I miss you, I miss Hong Kong.



We meet Blinkey, the Lego dragon.



Wow these dogs are built with Legos too!



It's amazing how they can build all these with little lego bricks!



Well, we try, but I don't think we can.



Maybe I'll go in for some Christmas shopping!



Can you find me in the picture?



We try the carousel ride which gets me my dizzy.



In the art gallery, an artist is there to do some demostration.  You can see him hiding behind the drawing board.  There is a TV screen so you can see what he is drawing.



The gallery has a lot of beautiful artworks.







This is a very huge store that sells all things Disney.  We spend a lot of time shopping there.





Let's get a little penny souvenir!

Today we are heading home already.  I am a bit disappointed that we don't get to visit more of Disney but we have to go back.  However, we will have breakfast first.



We arrive at the Animal Kingdom Lodge.  We are having an African buffet.  I have never tried African food before! 



Let's go get some food.



I get some POG (Pineapple Orange Guava) juice, some quinoa, some egg with curried meat, ham, grilled tomato and other stuff.  They also have an African fruit salad which is very delicious, and other more standard breakfast fare such as French toast, cereal, muffins, croissants and omelette. 



Even their restroom is nicely decorated with woven baskets.



This is where the guest rooms are at the lodge.





After breakfast we have a bit of time for shopping.  There are a lot of outlet malls here so we have a good time.





Oh, I want to get a postcard to send home.