Travelog for: Happy Leopard

So Mom, here's the last Vienna entry!

Of course we could not leave without having seen the Vienna Riesenrad, the Giant Wheel! Because the weather was not really great, as you can see on the picture, we did not drive with the wheel!

Then we left Austria for UNO-territory - yes you did read it right! We went to the UN city in Vienna and when you are inside of this city, you have left Austria and are on United Nations soil! We had to pass several security checks, have been x-rayed and were finally allowed to enter the Memorial Plaza, that's where all the flagposts are! Unfortunately we did not have much time to take pictures, so I just put the picture of the flags online! We were guided through the different building there: huge auditoriums, the IAEA and in the buildings you could also find lots of art and artifacts that were given to the UN from either the artists themselves or from the UN member countries. I'm so srry that we could not make any more pictures, but you can tale a virtual tour here.

After re-entering Austrian soil, we went back to the city center of Vienna and took a tram to the Vienna Central Cemetary. This is where you can visit the graves of famous Austrian musicians, artists, actors but also politicians. You can see us in front of the "Präsidentengruft" (the Presidential Vault), that's where all the former Austrian Presidents are buried.
That was an interesting tour as our host mom told us stories about the people lying there. So it was a history lesson, too!

We then went to meet our host dad and drove back home to Graz! We had a fantastic trip to Vienna!

Hi Mom!

This week there will be another big celebration. My host grandma's birthday. We will celebrate it with the family in another city of Austria, Kottingbrunn. That's near Vienna! As the other family members will organize everything, we thought of buying them a present! So we went to a big flower market and had a look!

We then decided on buying a basket of strawberries! Mmmmhhh...I love strawberries! My host-mom also picked up some flowers for her own balcony: Look, aren't they beautiful?
And we also bought a special potato-pot: You can see that the inner pot has some holes, where you can harvest the potatoes. My host mom told me that she had potatoes on the balcony last year, and that they tasted really great! I have to wait and see, I guess!

Hi Mom!

As I told you in my last update, we have travelled to Kottingbrunn, which is a small city in Lower Austria, near Vienna. We celebrated my host grandma's birthday here. We had brilliant weather and so we took a walk around the city!

We went to the Wasserschloss first where a dog exhibition was held. But they did not let me take part, as I am a happy leopard... So we decided to walk on and went to the huge park that surrounds the castle.

Later we walked along a river and came upon beautiful flowers in the cornfields. These are poppies, my host mom told me. Aren't they beautiful? But you are not supposed to pluck them, as they will loose all their patels when plucked! So we had to admire them in the fields! It is a really beautiful landscape here!

Hi Mom!

Today we were all watching tv the whole day long! We started in the morning with breakfast! And I can hear you asking "Why were you watching tv the whole day long?". Because there was a wedding between Swedens Crown Princess and her fiancé.

Wow, what a love story. I have to confess we all got a bit teary especially in the church and then later in the evening when the speeches followed!

And then they had a huuuuuuge cake! If I will ever marry, I want a cake as huge as that one 

Hi Mom!

We had fun in the kitchen today! We pickled small cucumbers! First we had to wash them and then make  them a bath of hot salt water. You let the cucumbers cool in the water. Then you remove the water and heat vinegar with chopped onion, dill, pepper corns, mustard seeds. While the vinegar is cooking, you put the cucumbers in glass jars and add mustard seeds, dill, onion and pepper corns. The last step is filling the jars with the hot vinegar.
You can see all these steps on the pictures! And the final one shows me sitting on the glass jars 

Hi Mom!

It was so hot lately here that we didn't do much - except drinking tons of water    And of course we ate just light snacks and so we were really happy to have Sushi one day! You can see me trying different sorts of Sushi and there was also Soy-Sauce. That was a great meal!

Hi Mom!

Yesterday was the big Finale of the FIFA World Cup and so we toyvoyagers got ready. First, we had to decide which team we wanted to support. We did a poll and then decided to cheer for Holland. Hupp, Holland, Hupp!
So we took a Dutch flag and had some Dutch beer. It almost felt like home! Can you see the blanket we sat on? It has the World Cup mascot Zakumi on it!

Look, Mom, we also met a Dutch supporter: Beesie. My host mom got it from a Dutch friend! But I guess you know Beesie, as they were given away at a Dutch supermarket - Beesie is cute and it was a lot of fun with her!

As you know, the evening did not end good for Holland 
The next day, we looked at a poster of the winning team!

Mom, I really liked the World Cup, but I'm happy that I don't have to listen to vuvuzelas any more 

Hi Mom!

It's a coming and going here around   

First we had to say Goodbye to Mandysheep and Fiorillo! They will travel on to new adventures!
But we also met a new TV, Dusel. He is from the European Toyvoyager-Trail!
He told us about his adventures!

Hi Mom!

We toyvoyagers are soooo excited! We will go on holiday tomorrow! Our host mom will go to Helsinki and Tallinn, and we will go with her! Yay!
We will be back on August 13, so you won't hear from me until then. But please don't worry, I will have a great time! 

In preparation for the holiday we studied some travel books and looked at the city plans!

Talk to you soon!

Hi Mom!

I'm super excited! We travelled to Vienna today and then to the airport! We checked the luggage in and then went for a small snack! Finally it was time for boarding! We travelled to Riga first where we had to change planes and then took our second flight to Helsinki!
Late in the afternoon we arrived in Helsinki and took the airport bus to the city center. From there it was only a short walk to our hotel!
After this journey we were pretty tired and decided to go to bed early! 

Hi Mom and welcome to Helsinki, Finland's capital!

To get a first impression of the Finnish Capital, we took a "Hop on, Hop off" bus! It was a great tour, around the city center and then down to the harbour. These tours are great! You get some headphones and then they tell you a lot of interesting stories. We stopped our tour at Helsinki's Cathedral. It is a beautiful white building and you can see this Cathedral from many different points of Helsinki!
That was a great first day in Helsinki!

Hi Mom!

Today we took the boat to the city of Porvoo! It was a long trip, three and a half hours. It was also a really hot day and we enjoyed the wind on the boat.
In Porvoo we had lunch first in a nice restaurant near the sea. Then we went on to explore the city. It is a cute little town, with small wooden houses, restaurants and a few shops. The streets are all lined with cobblestones!
We went up on this little hill, with the church on top. But we were not allowed to visit the church as there was a wedding!
We enjoyed the view from up there.
Because it was so hot, we then relaxed in a park and ate some berries. There are stands that sell berries everywhere in Finland!

Soon it was time to travel back! Unfortunately the weather on the way back got a little ugly and it started to rain.
Wow, we are exhausted now!

Hi Mom!

Today we went to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Suomenlinna! You have to take a boat there, but it is just a few minutes trip. You can see me on the boat on one picture - So I was able to complete a life mission, hooray!
We went through the city to the harbour. We also visited the famous Stockmann store. Down at the pier we also visited the market, where you could buy lots of delicious food.

Then we travelled to Suomenlinna and wandered around this old fortress. We saw the canons and explored everything. All this exploring was really exciting but we were also happy when we were finally sitting in a nice cafe for lunch!

Bye!

Hi Mom!

Today we left Helsinki and took a speed boat to Estonia's capital Tallinn. We first deposited our luggage at the hotel and then went on exploring!
To get a first impression of the city, we took a tour with the classical hopp on, hopp off bus. We learned a lot about the city. Then we strolled a bit through the old town.
That's all for today! Tomorrow we have to get up early as we want to explore the old town properly!

Hi Mom!

Today we visited Toompea, the old town. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can find so many old buildings here, all beautifully renovated. There is so much history to explore here. We also saw this beautiful orthodox church, which was even more beautiful on the inside, but we weren't allowed to take pictures there. You can also see me in front of a touret of Toompeas castle, it's the one with the Estonian flag flying, which is the seat of the Parliament!
In the evening we went to the highly recommended Oude Hanse, a really great restaurant in the style of Medieval times. We had a huge dinner there, with bear and elg sausages, honey beer and some schnapps.
What an exciting day!