Travelog for: Captain Caramel

I was bought from a charity shop in Bangor. Within minutes of leaving the shop, I found myself on a bus. Out of the window, you can see a bit of the university.We were going to have a nice cup of tea in a supermarket cafe.


We did a bit of shopping before catching more buses to take me home.

We took the bus from Bangor to Caernarfon and had a few minutes to look around town before going home. The castle here is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. This is where Prince Charles received his title, Prince of Wales.

My mum and I went out to post a letter and some Postcrossing postcards. The weather wasn't all that great and I think I felt a spot of rain so we didn't do much else. Here is me lounging on top of a red pillar postbox.

Today, my mum, her family and I went out for the afternoon. First stop was some lunch

Look at that gorgeous cake, but we didn't have any.
My mum has had this before and says it is very nice.
I thought I would help her write some penpal letters.

After lunch, we had a quick stop at my dad's work. Please don't fold me.
I had a quick look at the computing books but I can't understand them. Dad must be clever.
Next was to check on the allotment. They wanted to plant some fruit trees, and build a cloche. Who ate a bit of this purple sprouting broccoli?

It wasn't me.
Then, it was time for afternoon tea. Not how I expected to be posed for a photograph, but what can you expect from an 8 year old boy (my human brother!)?

This was more like it, calming water features.

Then, we went shopping before going to a pub.
This is nice.

That hit the spot!

Ooops!

The last day of February, today, is a Sunday. Mummy & Daddy & big brother like going out at weekends; they like to have lunch or afternoon tea out.
So, out of the house we went and looked at the front garden. There were some spring flowers:

So, off we went in the car

Arrived at a cafe in a garden centre. The cafe also has paintings for sale by local artists. Not sure about this painting of Caernarfon Castle (not exactly a Turner).

Afterwards, we had a look at the plants on sale. Tomorrow is St. David's Day and people wear daffodils in their buttonholes.

The garden centre was also selling young plants. My mummy likes fuchsias.

Though she isn't keen on camellias

Then there were all sorts of pots and things to hold pots in or plants. My big brother wanted my to lie in a wheelbarrow

And then there is the churn

And the hanging baskets

And decorations

My brother then wanted to play at an indoor play centre. The one he likes to go to in Caernarfon is located in a church


They even have stained glass windows

And ornate carvings

Then, after the place closed at 5pm, we went for a spin before sunset, going via Y Foryd. Look at Caernarfon Castle

And Caernarfon's town walls, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

A little further round the Foryd is a picnic area. There is some snow on the mountains of Snowdonia in the background.

We went further round the Foryd to catch this beautiful sunset


And then it was time to go home.

It was another gorgeous spring/winter day; the sun was shining. Mummy and I thought it would be such a nice day to go out and about on the bus.
Mummy didn't quite know exactly where we were going; it depended on whether we missed the bus or not. First stop was Bangor where I was bought from and we just made it in time to catch the bus to Beaumaris.

This is Beaumaris Castle, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The castle is one of King Edward in Gwynedd's castles (there are 3 of his that are also UNESCO WHS - Caernarfon I've seen, Conwy and Harlech).

Another picture of the castle. There is a moat and mummy tells me that swans paddle there sometimes.

An Eisteddfod was held in Beaumaris. The Eisteddfod is a celebration of the Welsh language, with competitions for poetry, prose, music and performance. Mummy has competed at the National Eisteddfod when it was held near Bangor in 2005.

Beaumaris lies on the Menai Straits. You can see some of the hills and mountains of Snowdonia on the other side. There is still some snow.

Beaumaris has a pier (mummy says that sometimes, she sees people fishing from the pier) and an RNLI lifeboat station.
We didn't have much time otherwise we could have visited the courthouse (Charles Dickens visited a trial there), and the Gaol.

This is a view northwards from Menai bridge of the straits.

This is the view from the other side of the bridge. There is another bridge that spans the Menai Straits - Britannia Bridge and this can be seen in the photo.
We missed a bus to take us somewhere else, so instead we caught the bus back to Bangor and another one home.

Today was another nice day. Daddy decided it was a nice afternoon for a walk in Snowdonia.

This is Tryfan and reaches over 3000ft above sealevel. We did not climb this!
We started the walk from Ogwen Cottage (there is a Youth Hostel nearby). We followed a stone path up.

Bits of snow still remained.

We walked as far as this lake, Llyn Idwal in Cwm Idwal. The mountain ridge on the other side of the lake is Glyder Fawr, and is even higher than Tryfan!
We passed several groups of people that had climbed up higher, as well as others just going as far as the lake.
On the way down, mummy saw some mountain goats but they were too quick to allow mummy to take a picture of me with them.

Another beautiful day and this time, a trip to Colwyn Bay's Welsh Mountain Zoo.
Some animals were still in hibernation/asleep in their little homes and out of sight of prying eyes. Still, we were able to see a number of different animals.

Aww, doesn't this sleeping cat look all warm and snuggly? There was another snow leopard sleeping in the sunshine too.

Some chimps enjoying the sunshine too.

The flamingos have some mirrors to look in.

Some penguins having a little swim.
There were also tigers, various birds, alligators, other reptiles, mountain goats, ..... there too.

Goodbye Mummy, I will miss you. I will be fine in Germany, the nice people on the German Trail will look after me and show me the sights.

Hi Mummy,
I arrived in Remscheid today. I am so tired that the first photos will follow tomorrow.

Bye
Captain Caramel

Hi Mummy,
Katja took me, Wendy and Wolle with her in the morning when she went to her workplace. She told me that she is working in a law firm. Today the weather is really good so went out for a walk when Katja finished work.

This is the city hall. Its tower is 48 m high.



We went through the shopping street than. Here you can see the main entrance of the shopping mall.



At the end of the shopping street you find a place where a farmer's market is held twice a week.







Close to the central station you can find many industrial plants.





Katja showed us a special path for pedestrians and cyclists: The Route of Tools. This is a path built on a closed railway track. It is about 5 km long and it is connecting the central station with the district Hasten. You can walk along this path with getting into contact with too much traffic. Of course you have to cross some streets.



This path was sponsored by local tool producing companies, that's why it is called "Route of Tools". Tools are produced here in Remscheid since middle ages.

Here you can see signs with the logos of some of the sponsoring companies.







Here you can see the former slaughterhouse. This building complex is under monument protection nowadays.



All along the route you can find industrial buildings. Some are still used, others are dilapidated.



We had to cross the street here.



Here are more logo signs.



Katja showed me this special pelican crossing. The green man is the one which was used in the former German Democratic Republic. This is the only traffic light in the city showing this special green man.



We went home than.

Bye
Captain Caramel

Hi Mummy,

we enjoyed the midday sun in the open kitchen window.



In the afternoon we took a walk to the  municipal park. Katja wanted to show us the second half of the Route of Tools. To get there we went through the park.

The first photo was taken in the vicinity of my current home.



On the right side of the next picture you can see the police headquarter.



Soon we reached the park. The observatory is situated here.





At the slope of this hill you can see the district where the  Route of Tools is ending.



Lots of allotment gardens belong to this park.



Remscheid is an industrial town. You can often find old factory buildings close to dwellings.



The Route of Tools is ending here. This time we'll walk it into the other direction.



You can find artwork of a local artist here.



We found large "tools" stamped into the tarmac.



We rested on this bench which was made of a giant screw clamp.







Here are distance data painted to the ground. From here you have to walk 3 km to the central station.





This is where we ended our walk yesterday.



It seems to be exhausting here when we take a walk every day 

Bye
Captain Caramel

Hi Mummy,
once more we took a walk in Katja's lunch break. Winter seems to be gone now, it is about 15°C outside.

First I will show you the water tower. From here the inhabitants of the city centre are supplied with drinking water. The water is pumped to the top of this hill from a dam in a nearby valley.





We went downhill to a district called "Steinberg".



In the background you can already see the rural outskirts.





Here are allotment gardens. A small path is leading downhill through those gardens.







In the valley you can see many old houses.





Katja showed us another district, "Rath" than. This is a housing area with a lot of old houses, lots of terraced houses and other one-family houses.











Here is a lot of green around





On our way back to the city centre we had a stop at a garden center.





Work calls!

Bye
Captain Caramel

Hi Mummy,
we made a trip to the region Vulkan Eifel, situated in the northwest of the state Rhineland-Palatinate, in the Eifel Mountains , that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of the Vulkan Eifel are its typical explosion crater lakes or maars, and numerous other signs of volcanic activity such as lava streams, volcanic tuffs,  and volcanic craters. We visited the Dauner Maare, a group of three maars close to each other.

A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by  an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. A maar than fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake.

When we parked the car close to one of the maars we read some information signs.







This is Weinfelder Maar, Its diameter is 525 m and it is about 51 m deep.





Soon we reached the next maar, Schalkenmehrerer Maar. Its diameter is 575 m and it is about 21 m deep.







This region is a nature protection area.





We went into this small town Schalkenmehren. Here we saw fantastic statues which made cut with a chainsaw out of tree trunks.







We walked round the maar and went back to Weinfelder Maar.



We walked uphill to have an overlook from a nearby mountain which is called "Mäuseberg" (mice mountain), 561 m high.







Even from half of the height of this mountain we had a great view at the surrounding landscape.



We reached the top of the mountain and rested here for a while.



Here on top of the hill we saw this tower. You can climb onto it.



Here you can see the third one of the Dauner Maare, Gemündener Maar, the smallest one with only 325 m diameter.



We had a look at this sign which is showing the names of the mountains you can see from here.



When we walked back downhill we saw this: a ski-lift.



This was a wonderful trip and I liked to see this fantastic landscape.

Unbelievably the sun was shining when we drove back home.



Bye
Captain Caramel

Hi Mummy,

today we took a walk in the neigbour town Solingen. Katja wanted to show me Schloss Burg, a medieval castle. We startet in Solingen-Unterburg, an old district situated at the River Wupper.

You can walk uphill to the castle or you can take a chair-lift.



Of course we walked to the castle, we had to walk through a forest for some time.



The first flowers!



We reached an outlook pavilion than. From here you can overview the valley of the River Wupper.





The castle came into sight than.





Schloss Burg was built in 1133 by Count Adolf I von Berg on a hill above the river Wupper.That's why this region is called "Bergisches Land". Many people believe that it's name refers to the landscape with hills and valleys. (For those who do not speak German: The German word for mountain or hill is "Berg", so many people think that the name "Bergisches Land" means "land with many hills" )

About a hundred years later it was enlarged by Count Engelberg II von Berg. The equestrian sculpture in the courtyard is showing him.

In Thirty Years War (17th century) many parts of the castle were destroyed. It was rebuilt then, but it was used for industrial purposes for many years. In the end of the 19th century they began to rebuild it as it appears today.

In the castle courtyard you can find souvenir shops and shops whose owners are doing an "old" handcraft. For example someone makes soap, another makes brushes, then you can buy things that were used by knights for the kids, like swords and helmets. 













I also saw this statue.



This is a very old linden tree, it is about 250 years old and it is called "Kaiserlinde".



Here is the end point of the chair-lift. From here you can see how steep this hill is.



We left the castle than and went further. We walked through a rural outskirt of Solingen, Hoehrath.



We came to another forest. In the background you can see the city centre of Remsheid high upon the hill on the right side ...



... and also Schloss Burg in the distance.



We walked downhill until we reached the River Wupper.



We followed the river to get back to the car.







We reached Unterburg than. Katja showed us this statue, showing a "Kiepenkerl". In ancient times all sorts of goods were transported by men who carried the goods in large panniers on their back. This rangy landscape was too steep for horses. Those persons were called "Kiepenkerl". This one has sweet pretzels in his pannier, a local delicacy.





Katja bought pretzels for us in a bakery. We will taste them with a coffee later.

Bye
Captain Caramel