Travelog for: Billy

Au revoir South Africa - I'm off to France today and I am super excited! 
This is my first travelling adventure - hopefully I'll have a comfortable journey.

Hello everyone,

I just crawled out of my package and what did I hear? German talking - I thought, they would talk French here?
Surprise:

I arrived in Germany

I heard, that I will meet many other toyvoyagers here. I only will stay for a few days. Boy, it is cold here, although my host says, that it is somehow warm, because it only has minus 6 °C. They had about minus 14 °C yesterday night. But she also told me, that it would get colder again.

And: My host already told me, that I might half fulfill one mission at her place - to play in the snow. She said, that there is a touch of snow outside. To fullfill my mission completely, it should have more snow, she said

I will talk to you later and also only allow to take a photo of me, when I feel better again. I'm a bit dizzy after my travel. Boy, they did throw me through the garden door on the cold stone floor. I still feel like a mashed potato.


Bye, Billy

Today I visited my host's school class.

These two boys really liked me and asked me to come and help them with their work.






Her pupils also worked on book presentations and created a poster for each book.




Here are more posters of book presentations and a large world map - really interesting for the pupils.





The windows are decorated with some funny clowns.

Today we met some members of our hosts' family group of their church. We walked from Bruchsal to Unteroewisheim and drink some coffee and eat cake. I think, that the landscape is really lovely.




The way leads along vineyards to the 221 m high "Eisenhut", a historic significant hill. It was named after Anton Eisenhut, who was executed after participating in the German Peasants' War in 1525. This stele reminds us of Anton Eisenhut.






Then we walked through this loess hollow-way.

Then we arrived in Unteroewisheim. After having coffee and cake we took a photo with the church. It was built in 1825. Unteroewisheim is a town in the Kraichgau.

Back in Bruchsal we took a sunset photo of the schoolyard and part of the school St. Paulusheim.




Bruchsal is located at the edge of Kraichgau to Rhine valley, so partly it is really flat and partly hilly. You see the baroque church St. Peter and the house Santa Maria in the far. We live with our hosts near to both buildings.




St. Paulusheim is a private catholic school, founded by padres of the Pallotti order.

Today we walked to a restaurant and had lunch. On our way back we took some more photos. You can see houses of Bruchsal in the far.




Here is a building of the fire brigade school.




You still can see many wayside crosses around Bruchsal.




I really didn't realize before, that we hadn't been in Bruchsal anymore, but now we are back.

Today we drove to Cologne. Petra's husband had to be there for a Trade Fair and Petra met olgamaus.

Here is some information about Cologne (wikipedia):


"Cologne (English pronunciation: /kəˈloʊn/, German: Köln [kœln], Kölsch: Kölle [ˈkœɫə]) is Germany's fourth-largest city (after Berlin, Hamburg and Munich), and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.

Cologne is located on both sides of the Rhine River. The city's famous Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is the seat of the Catholic Archbishop of Cologne. The University of Cologne (Universität zu Köln) is one of Europe's oldest and largest universities.

Cologne is a major cultural centre of the Rhineland and has a vibrant arts scene. Cologne is home to more than 30 museums and hundreds of galleries. Exhibitions range from local ancient Roman archeological sites to contemporary graphics and sculpture. The Cologne Trade Fair hosts a number of trade shows such as Art Cologne, imm Cologne, Gamescom and the Photokina."


Cologne Cathedral (German: Kölner Dom) is the city's most famous monument and the Cologne residents' most respected landmark. It is a Gothic church, started in 1248, and completed in 1880. In 1996, it was designated a World Heritage site; it houses the Shrine of the Three Kings that supposedly contains the relics of the Three Magi. Residents of Cologne sometimes refer to the cathedral as "the eternal construction site" (Dauerbaustelle).






Cologne Central Station: On an average day, about 280,000 travellers frequent the station, making it fifth busiest station in Germany.




Then we walked down to the Rhine.




We turned around and took a look back to the cathedral.




Here's the Hohenzollern Bridge.




Great St. Martin Churchis a Romanesque Catholic church. Its foundations (circa 960 AD) rest on remnants of a Roman chapel, built on what was then an island in the Rhine. The church was badly damaged in World War II, with restoration work completed in 1985.




We then walked around the Imhoff-Chocolate Museum. 



We took a look back to the Hohenzollern Bridge, cathedral and Great St. Martin.




The museum is run by the Schokoladenmuseum Köln GmbH. Since March 2006, the Swiss chocolate manufacturer Lindt & Sprüngli has been its partner in producing exhibits. Prior to that the partner was the Cologne chocolate producer Stollwerck, and the museum was formerly known as the Imhoff-Stollwerck-Museum. Sadly Petra forgot to take photos with me, while we were inside the museum.


This equestrian statue shows Frederick William III of Prussia. You can see here, who else is on the base of the statue.




The Heumarkt is beside the Alter Markt the biggest place in Cologne historic city.




There are several small breweries in Cologne. This one is located at the Heumarkt.




Another brewery in the small streets of the historic city.




It started to rain and we walked back to the cathedral. We entered it and it was so so dark inside, that we had problems to take nice photos. So please excuse the quality.




There was a nice mosaic on the floor.




So this was the last photo of Cologne and we drove back to Bruchsal again.

Today I had a chance to have a glance on the church tower and other houses of the palace area. I have to go there, I'm sure, that Petra will show me the palace.




The house with the tower is the county court.

So this is my last update of Bruchsal. My envelope is already on the table, but Petra said, that she would like to show me the city today. The weather is sunny and the sky is all blue, so what else do we need.

Bruchsal was first named in 976, but it surely is older than that.

Here we are in a street, where you still can see some old houses. About 80% of Bruchsal was destroyed during World War II., so you can't see many really old houses.




The baroque palace of Bruchsal is one of the most beautiful baroque palaces of Germany. In the park you can find statues of the four elements fire, water, air and earth and four statues of the four seasons. Here you see summer.




It is the only episcopal Baroque residence on the Upper Rhine. The foundation stone was laid in 1722 by Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn, Prince Bishop of Speyer, who made the palace the centre of his absolutist dominion. Read more here.



After being almost completely destroyed in the final days of World War II, the main tract was painstakingly reconstructed according to the original design and work was completed in 1975, including the magnificent dome, Marble Hall and Prince's Hall. The staircase designed by Balthasar Neumann is considered to be an architectural tour-de-force and has been described as the "finest staircase in the world".

Here you see the church tower and the backside of the church St. Damian and Hugo.




From this place you have a good view to many different buildings as named on the photo.




This is the front of the palace with the main entrance. On the right is the building with the chamber music hall and on the left is the church. On this photo you can't see them.




We just turned around and took a photo of the county court and the fountain called Amalienbrunnen or Schnecklesbrunnen, how they say in Bruchsal, because there sit many snakes on the fountain edge.




Then we drove to the Andreasstaffel. You have a perfect view over Bruchsal from this place.



Sorry, that this photo is so bad, but the sun was already really low and we had no chance to get a better photo.








The Belvedere on the edge of the "Stadtgarten" was built by Leonhard Stahl in 1756 as a hunting lodge for Prince Bishop Franz Christoph von Hutten. Today, the Belvedere is used as a venue for concerts and theatre productions.

Hello world!

It´s me again!

I savely arrived at Lichtenfels and the first I did was to make a party! Not only me arrived at this day, also Dr.Kröbner and his TVs visited my hostmum and hostdad yesterday.
This was a good chance to get to know all TVs here.

So much new faces! 15 new TV faces and of cours hundred or so others  But we just had fun, had chips and had a chat with each. I posed on Dr.Kröbners knee while we chatted.

Now I am a little bit tired and will go to bed soon.

I love you!

Billy

Hey, Mummy at home!

Today we had the first real spring day in Germany! So we decided to help our hosts in the garden.

I helped as good as I could with the little blade. Garden work is a little bit hard for me because I have no arms  but I did my very best 

After we finished we found pretty crocusses in the meadow! Sooooo nice!

Then we relaxed, it was so good to feel the warm sun on my belly!

Love you and send you a kiss!

Your Billy

Mummy, Mummy, Mummy!

Believe it or not, I fullfilled my first lifemission!

I drove in a Ferrari! A real Ferrari California! The car of hostdad´s boss was broken, so he got a alternative car. Fortunately a Ferrari! I got the chance to sit in it. WOW, what a feeling!
Feel the leather under my buttom 
Feel the wind in my face!
Feel the power!
Mom, I will save all my money to buy a car like this!

Thank god hostdad´s boss got this alternative car, otherwise I had to sit in a Maserati 

Kisssssssssssssssssssssssss from Germany

Your Billy loves you

Dear Mummy! Today we had an exciting day! Hostmum, Mr.Quakedi and me traveled to Bayreuth by train. At first we learned everything about the production of easter eggs. Is was explained by the rabbits themselfes!
At first was shown how cacao beans were harvested. Then they have to dry in the sun. After that they were cracked by a hammer machine, it seems to be hard fork, poor rabbits!
The next station shows how chocolate is filled into egg molds. Last step: paint and put into a package, yeah 

After that we saw some culture. In apark there was a wonderful lady of stone, we tried to cuddle with her but she had a heart of stone 

Although there was no sun today we enjoyed the day in the park. Look at the pretty views!

Our next station was the Villa Wahnfried, that was the house of the famous composer Richard Wagner. A "must have seen" in Bayreuth

But I liked the last photo more, the funny house with the funny figures, climbing up 

Very crazy city, I hope I can come back once!

Mummy, I love you!

Yours, Billy

Hey Mummy!

Today we made a round trip through our hosts´kitchen. But not by foot, we drove by motor scooter! We found this crazy stuff on our shopping trip in Bayreuth last week. It is sooooooooooooo cool!


Just look at yourself!

Yours, Billy