Bavaria, Germany - 11th July 2011
By: Galileo
Hi there,
I´m TV-TV, the reporter bear.
I only finished my reporter workshop last week and now I have to travel around the world to bring some really good photos home to my TV-station. I work for the German science and entertainment show "Galileo big pictures" which is broadcastet 4 times a year. The next show will be about cool places around the world. And my job is to see many sights around the world and to be photographed in front of them. The photos will be on Television and one picture which is taken far away from my home in Germany will be the "big picture".
By the way: I´m sorry for my incorrect english. I attended most english classes but sometimes I prefered to read other Travelog updates. I hope I can see as many cool places as some other TVs here.
The only problem I have is that our editorial deadline is already by the end of August and I have to be back in the office by the first week of September. I hope some nice hosts can help me to complete my life missions within the next 7 weeks.
I´m really looking forward to seeing some other contries and to meet some of you guys.
Best wishes,
TV-TV
By the way: The photos were taken in front of my company. The weather here is very sunny at the moment.
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Posted Jul 14, 2011, 12:44 pm Last edited Aug 22, 2011, 9:54 am by Galileo
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on the way to Japan, Germany --> Japan - 15th July 2011
By: Galileo
Hi everyone,
I´m on my way to Japan now. Thanks to my first host! I´m looking forward to seeing you!!!
I´m travelling first class via a courier so I´ll be in Japan already by next week. I´m so excited...
Talk to you soon,
love,
TV-TV
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Posted Jul 15, 2011, 12:10 pm
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Ritsurin Garden, Takamatsu, Japan - 23rd July 2011
By: hanachan
Hi there,
This is Ritsurin Garden, a typical Japanese garden. It is located in the center of the city, among the modern buildings. Stepping inside it is like slipping into another world and another time.
For 228 years long since 1642, the Matsudaira family, the Lord of Takamatsu owned and maintained the garden. Today the garden is open to public.
What a wonderful world!
TV_TV from Japan
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Posted Jul 24, 2011, 4:22 pm Last edited Jul 24, 2011, 6:08 pm by hanachan
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Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong - 27th July 2011
By: vivyanhui
After staying in Japan, I am now in Hong Kong, only a few hours flight from Japan.
Summer here is hot and humid, the sun is so strong!
Behind me is the Victoria Harbour, with the view of Hong Kong Island,
where you can see a lot of skyscrapers along the coast.
On my way to the Star Ferry Pier,
I saw the egg-shaped Space Museum and Clock Tower,
which was part of the former train terminal,
it remained here when the train terminal moved, it is one of the well-known heritages here.
It is still working!
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Posted Aug 15, 2011, 3:29 am
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On the ferry, Hong Kong - 27th July 2011
By: vivyanhui
Here is the Star Ferry Pier (Tsim Sha Tsui).
If you are at Kowloon and want to go to Hong Kong Island,
you can choose either taking the underground, or buses through tunnels,
or taking ferry.
Ferry is the cheapest way as well as the most enjoyable way!
It don't take long, just around 10 mins, but you can enjoy the view and breeze!
Don't waste the chance to across the Victoria Harbour~
When I look back to the Kowloon Peninsula,
I find the Clock Tower and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre.
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Posted Aug 15, 2011, 5:50 am
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Nathan Road, Mong Kok, Hong Kong - 27th July 2011
By: vivyanhui
One place that you should not miss here is Mong Kok.
It is one of the most crowdest districts, where you can find varieties of shops and restaurants.
I took a double-deck bus at Tsim Sha Tsui to Mongkok,
from the photos you can see me on the Nathan Road.
This is the very first road of Kowloon, with 3.6km long,
should be the longest straight road in Hong Kong too.
(Note: Hong Kong is a hilly place with not many flat land,
curve road are common.)
Along the road you can also see thousands of neon light signs,
stylish street scene and my eyes are busy~
Street snacks are also very common in this district,
lots of choices on food and drinks.
I tried the egg-shaped waffle, crispy surface with chewy fillings, yummy.
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Posted Aug 15, 2011, 6:10 am
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Hung Hom, Hong Kong - 28th July 2011
By: vivyanhui
Hong Kong is a place where East meets West,
so other than modern buildings and western style buildings,
there are also some places and architectures with eastern style.
Today I visited a chinese style park, very different from those I went in the western countries.
There are turtle lakes, goldfish ponds, eastern style walkway and rock lion statues.
Here are all the reports I had in Hong Kong, my next stop will be Australia,
time to prepare my luggage and better bring more clothes~
See you in Australia!
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Posted Aug 15, 2011, 6:21 am
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Sydney, Australia - 12th August 2011
By: becka_kate
I have arrived safely in Australia and I am looking forward to seeing the sights of the harbour city on Sunday. I will report back soon!
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Posted Aug 12, 2011, 11:07 am
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Sydney CBD, Australia - 14th August 2011
By: becka_kate
Today was the day we had decided on for my sightseeing trip around the city of Sydney. Despite the disappointment of waking to find the rain bucketing down we knew we had to persevere as my tight travelling schedule meant that this was my only chance. Luckily though, by the time we made it to the train station for the trip into the city the rain had stopped and the sun was trying to shine through, so it looked as though luck was on our side!
Our first stop was in Hyde Park, named after the one in London, and also the home of the Archibald Fountain. The fountain was built following the First World War to commemorate the relationship between Australia and France. It is a popular meeting place in the city and during the hot, summer months you will apparently see people cooling off in it.
Across the road from Hyde Park is St Mary's Cathedral, the seat of the Catholic Church in Australia. The blue boxes getting in the way of the view are Portaloo's (which is Australian for 'portable toilet') which were put here as the City to Surf Marathon was run in Sydney this morning and the starting line was near by.
Here is a much better view of this beautiful building, which is also the largest church in Australia.
Australia's first saint was cannonised last year. Mary MacKillop is now known as Saint Mary of the Cross.
From outside the Cathedral you have a great view of the famous Sydney Tower. I would have liked to have taken a bird's eye view of the city from its observation deck, but my host told me all about the long queues which would have taken up valuable sightseeing time, so I had to give it a miss.
Heading towards the harbour we turned into Macquarie Street, which is home to the first permanent buildings in the colony of Sydney.
The first building we stopped to look at was the Hyde Park Barracks. It was built in 1819 to house convict men and boys and has many different usages since then. It is now a museum teaching about Australia's convict heritage.
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Next to the Barracks is the Sydney Mint, which is the oldest public building in the Sydney CBD. It is no longer a mint that prints money. Now it is home to various government offices.
The next building along the road is the Sydney Hospital, which is the oldest hospital in Australia. As the contractors employed to build a permanent hospital in the colony to replace the tents being used up to that time were payed in rum rather than money it became known as the "Rum Hospital".
Outside the hospital is a statue of Il Porcellino, a bronze copy of the Florentine boar. Donating money to the research done at the hospital while rubbing his nose is supposed to bring you luck, so that is what we did.
We finally reached the last of the notable buildings on Macquarie Street - New South Wales' parliament house; the seat of the state's government, and also the oldest public building in Australia.
One last photo of my tour of Macquarie Street, something that my host found most unusual. Remember at the beginning of this post when I mentioned the City to Surf marathon? Well, besides the odd sight of hundreds of portaloo's outside the Cathedral, it also caused the closure of many city streets, including Macquarie Street, making it almost take on ghost town like properties!
IMG_7883 by becka_kate, on Flickr
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Posted Aug 20, 2011, 6:21 am Last edited Aug 20, 2011, 7:00 am by becka_kate
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Royal Botanical Gardens, Sydney, Australia - 14th August 2011
By: becka_kate
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Posted Aug 20, 2011, 6:42 am Last edited Aug 20, 2011, 8:30 am by becka_kate
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Farm Cove, Sydney, Australia - 14th August 2011
By: becka_kate
After a stop for coffee and lunch I got to continue my walk through the Gardens on our way to see the world famous Sydney Opera House!
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Posted Aug 20, 2011, 6:46 am
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Sydney Opera House, Australia - 14th August 2011
By: becka_kate
Finally the moment I had been waiting anxiously for had arrived - I was going to get a close up view of the Sydney Opera House (or Oprah House as it was known as for a few days last year) The Opera House was opened in 1973 and is now listed as one of UNESCO's World Heritage Buildings.
IMG_7908 by becka_kate, on Flickr
Unfortunately the Opera House steps are currently undergoing renovation, which made it hard to get the best photos of the famous sails, but we worked with what we could and hoped they would come out alright.
IMG_7911 by becka_kate, on Flickr
Did you know that the building is so famous and popular that people will fly in to Sydney from overseas just to see a performance and then fly home again on the same day? Pretty amazing when you consider just how long it takes to fly to Australia from most other countries!
IMG_7915 by becka_kate, on Flickr
From the Opera House forecourt you can get some great views of Sydney's Circular Quay, which is where you can catch a ferry to many points around the Harbour or up the river to Parramatta.
IMG_7913 by becka_kate, on Flickr
The Opera House steps also provide a great spot to sit, rest your weary feet and enjoy the views, which is what we did for a minute or two.
IMG_7917 by becka_kate, on Flickr
Another view of the Opera House - not the easiest thing to photograph on an overcast day!
IMG_7920 by becka_kate, on Flickr
IMG_7927 by becka_kate, on Flickr
Ahh, the other famous Sydney Harbour sight the Harbour Bridge, otherwise known as the Coat Hanger! It was opened in 1932 and took six years to build. Now more than one hundred and sixty thousand vehicles cross the bridge every single day! And the reason it was painted grey? When they got to the painting stage of the construction work, that was the only colour they could find in the quantity they needed.
IMG_7919 by becka_kate, on Flickr
IMG_7930 by becka_kate, on Flickr
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Posted Aug 20, 2011, 7:16 am Last edited Aug 20, 2011, 7:33 am by becka_kate
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The Rocks, Sydney, Australia - 14th August 2011
By: becka_kate
Now for our final destination on our whirlwind Sydney sightseeing trip - The Rocks, where the white settlement / invasion of Australia started in 1788. It soon became a slum and a rather dangerous place to live or visit. Many men were shanghaied or pressed into service on the ships that came to into port while drinking at one of the hundreds of pubs that serviced the area (that is, they were drugged or hit over the head while drinking and woke to find themselves on a sailing ship out at sea!)
IMG_7953 by becka_kate, on Flickr
IMG_7955 by becka_kate, on Flickr
It is also the home of the Fortune of War - the oldest pub in Australia!
IMG_7952 by becka_kate, on Flickr
Many of the original buildings of The Rocks have been demolished to make way for the building of the Harbour Bridge, expressways and other symbols of progress. Other parts were demolished as a part of public health measures during breakouts of the Bubonic Plague in the early 20th Century. Luckily, when developers tried to destroy the rest in the early 1970's public protests meant that the area was saved and preservation works started instead, meaning that The Rocks still includes lots of tiny little streets and alley ways full of beautiful old buildings and interesting little parks, rather than skyscrapers.
IMG_7942 by becka_kate, on Flickr
IMG_7944 by becka_kate, on Flickr
IMG_7947 by becka_kate, on Flickr
We were particularly fascinated by this little area formed by the foundations of some of the old houses that would have stood here a hundred or so years ago. We're not sure if its a park, or a part of one of the nearby restaurants, but it is certainly very cool!
IMG_7948 by becka_kate, on Flickr
IMG_7950 by becka_kate, on Flickr
IMG_7951 by becka_kate, on Flickr
It being a Sunday, we also did a little window shopping in the stalls of the Rocks Markets, where you will find art, books, food, clothes... pretty much anything is sold here every weekend.
IMG_7941 by becka_kate, on Flickr
So there you have it - the highlights of Sydney in one day! One very tired bear and one host with rather sore feet. Now to steal myself for the long trip to California.
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Posted Aug 20, 2011, 7:58 am
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Sacramento, California, USA - 19th August 2011
By: kcrawfish
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Posted Aug 21, 2011, 12:29 am Last edited Aug 21, 2011, 4:02 pm by kcrawfish
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Old Sacramento, California, USA - 19th August 2011
By: kcrawfish
TV-TV reporter bear reporting again ... this time from Old Sacramento. This is a historical area, where
Sacramento was first built, along the Sacramento River. The Gold Rush of 1848 built Sacramento. This is a
neighborhood similar to The Rocks of Sydney. In its day, Old Sacramento must have been teeming with
miners and traders and merchants. Now with tourists, of course.
I saw pubs in The Rocks and saloons here in Old Sac.
A bear reporter's life isn't all business. I enjoyed a short ride on a carriage.
My host and I walked down the Sacramento River along the waterfront so that we could look back at
an unusual pyramid-shaped building and the Tower Bridge, a lovely golden vertical lift bridge.
My host says she doesn't mind when she has to wait for a ship to pass because it's pleasant just to
sit in her car and look at the bridge, the boats and the water.
The Sacramento River is the longest in California, 610 kilometers. It runs from where it begins in the
Klamath Mountains down the valley between the Coast Range and the Sierra Nevada by many
cities built along it, most due to the gold rush, and eventually into the San Francisco Bay and the
Pacific Ocean. If I had a boat, I could continue my voyage to San Francisco that way.
Surprise! We turned around and happened to see the same carriage I had ridden in in Old Sacramento!
Perhaps I could thumb a ride to San Francisco on the Pony Express.
All along the waterfront, there are plaques with interesting historical paintings, photographs
and information.
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Posted Aug 21, 2011, 1:13 am Last edited Aug 21, 2011, 6:42 pm by kcrawfish
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