Travelog for: Phinook

After having seen the Karlsplatz and all the buidlings that surround it, we went to the Vienniese Opera. It isn't the Opera, where the Phantom of the Opera lived, but I think it was a very impressive building nevertheless.

It was build as a part of the Vienniese Ringstrasse, which the Emperor of Austria built, because he wanted to be rembered as well as Karl IV, who built many great buildings in Prague.

We then went to the Stephansdom, Vienna's largest church. Like many other buildings in the city, the Stephansdom has a legend about why it wasn't finished.

The legend says that a young man had to prove to the father of the girl he loved that he was the best builder in the city. He could do so only by building the north tower of the Stephansdom. He then got an offer from the devil himself (he appears in many Austrian legends). The devil told him that he would help him, but he mustn't say the name of any holy person within a year. The young man agreed to do so, and the building of the north tower got on very well. When it was as high as the roof of the Stephansdom, the young man one day saw his beloved girl standing at the church entry. He called her name "Maria", so she would look up and see him. Then he fell.

The north tower hasn't been completed until today.

Fact is that it probably wasn't completed because the gothic style in which the church was built went out of fashion while it was being built(took over 100 years)- and therefore it wasn't finished.

I thought that all this was very interesting, but I got tired from walking so much, so we went back home again.

Hello Finlay! Hello to all the others!

Today is my last day in Vienna, because I'm leaving for Spain soon 

I wanted to do something special, so we did. We went to Schönbrunn which was the residence of the Austrian Emperor.

The castle or rather the whole residence (there is even a zoo included) was built to resemble Versailles. I don't know if it was successful (I haven't been to Versailles yet), but I thought that Schönbrunn was very impressive.

The only thing I cannot really imagine is that the whole building was supposed to be pink, and only isn't because the painters had made a mistake. I like it much better as it is- pink wouldn't be beautiful...

Of course we explore the whole residence - apart from the zoo, that I've already mentioned, the castle is surrounded by huge gardens, with many fountains, and statues.

The whole statues and fountains have a Roman theme, because the Austrian Empire was supposed to be based on the Roman Empire.

Well, on the pictures you can see me, posing with statues, and in the gardens. People are not allowed to step onto the greens, but as a dog I was allowed to

When we got to the Neptune fountain (the roman god of the seas) I saw many ducks swimming in it. As it was very hot, I though that it would be a good idea to join them. So I did. I was really great- so refreshing! 

The building you can see above the Neptune fountain is called Gloriette, and it was used as a dining room for the kings and queens.
Today it is a restaurant, and a great viewing point.

After my bath, I tried what it felt like being one of the guards, in the small buildings that were made especially for them.

I then met some squirrels in the rose gardens. We immediately became friends (I thought about chasing them first -as a dog it would have been my duty - but it was too hot). By the way, the rose gardens are really fascinating. If you're standing somewhere in them you are surrounded by such a beautiful smell. I really enjoyed them

Last we saw the Butterfly house which is also located in Schönbrunn. There is also a desert house, where you can see the plants and animals which live in the desert.

While I've really enjoyed my visit in Austria, I look very much forward to arriving in Spain soon (That's why I left just after we've been to Schönbrunn)

As you can see on the picture, this time I'm not able to enjoy the view from up in the air. However, I think I use the time to have a good nap, so that I am well rested when I arrive in Spain.

Hi mum, hi dad,
I arrived safely in Granada Spain. Sorry I didn't write sooner, my hosts have been a bit busy and had not given me their wifi password.

When I first arrived I was greeted by a bear and a rottweiler! I was sleepy at first


but when they told me they were also ToyVoyagers and that they were friendly


I was excited to meet them so I went out fast


Here they are, they are actually very nice, their names are Capote and Sir James


Today we took the bus to go to the city center and Susy, a new toy voyager came with us. She arrived from amazon headquarters a few days ago and she's very excited to start her journey. Any volunteers to host her?


Here's me in front of a famous hotel in the city center. 


That's the main postoffice building, I once slept there.





This is the town hall, my hosts told me that usually it has a lot of flowers but since it's so hot right now there's none.



We walked by a lot of tiny streets full of moor shops. I wanted a hat for me but they were too big!





Here's me and my friends at the Bib-Rambla square. At the back you can see one of the towers of the Cathedral.


Don't I look cute?


Finally when we came home we helped our host mommy to make a birthday cake for a friend. I should also mention that our host daddy helped a little bit too.





We had a lot of fun, but we fell sleep while the cake was in the oven and so they took it for the birthday without taking a picture.



It was a great day! Granada's really nice! 
Love,
Phinook

Hello mum and dad,
Today I joined my host parents to run some errands and on our way back we stopped in a few nice places. Here's the local Plaza de Toros (bullfighting ring).


There are many pretty buildings in Granada, here's a government building in the center.

Love,
Phinook

Hi everyone!,
This weekend we went on a trip to the countryside, we spent the weekend on a countryhouse with some friends. The view was beautiful, here you can see the small town of Otívar:

Like many Andalucian towns all the houses are painted white and it looks very pretty.


We had a barbecue made in this rustic oven:


and we got to play in the well. We also threw in coins and made wishes.


Cheers,
Phinook

Hi!
Today we spent the day walking through the city center, here's me in a nice Andalucian style building:




The medieval door that you see behind me used to be the entrance to Granada during the 12th century. It's called the Puerta de Elvira:


Then we took a bus, the building you can see here was an old jail and is now the current hall of justice for Andalucía:


We arrived to the famous "Mirador de San Nicolás", a very nice lookout out point to see the Alhambra and the whole city of Granada:


The Alhambra was a fortified city built by the moors with several palaces inside.

Here's part of the old fortified wall that used to surround Granada.


After all that walking I had some really good paella and a refreshing soda.


Then we went down to the city center walking through the Albaycín, which was the old Moorish neighborhood. The Albaycín has very small streets and it's very easy to get lost.



On our way down we found a very nice cat.




Here's another view of the Alhambra:


Finally when we got down we found a very pretty ice cream shop:


I shared a vanilla ice cream with Susy.


We visited some arab shops and I finally found a hat for me!. Here's me with my cordobian hat:


In one store they had a nice fountain with big fishes in it:


What a nice walk we had today!
Love,
Phinook

Hello Mom,
Today we made a very special cake, it was extremely chocolaty, very colorful and pretty.
We wanted to make a nice pattern with M&M candies, so first we practiced on a plate, and after trying several ideas we went with one we found online:


Then, when we felt we were ready, we all helped put in the candies on a chocolate cake we had made earlier. Our hosts shared the cake with some friends and everybody was impressed by our work .



Buen Provecho!
Phinook

Today we went to the Zoo!
We traveled to Madrid and while there our hosts decided to have a nice afternoon seeing the many pretty animals of the Madrid Zoo.

We saw so many I can't even remember what was the name of this animal!


The zoo was very big and fun, and had many shows including one with dolphins! Here I am in front of a dolphin spinning on the ground!


Here you can see monkeys and it was a lot of fun because there were some animals to which you could give food sold by the zoo, and the monkeys were very good at catching it!


Here's a nice camel, he was very friendly and would come nearby to say hi


And here we all are with giraffes, a zebra and an ostrich:


Look at the cute little penguins


And although they were too busy playing in the background behind the trees, here I am with the famous pandas that were born here two years ago, Po and De De. You can also see mommy panda eating with her back to the public:


Finally here I am with my good friend Sir James and a flamingo!


It was a lot of fun seeing so many animals from so many places,
Cheers,
Phinook

Hello from glamorous Marbella!

It is a very pretty city, but we didn't take many pictures, we tried to just relax.

Here's a view of the dawn from our room:


You can see a bit of the mediterranean sea on the left of the first picture.



Love,
Phinook

Hello mom, hello master,
Today I'm going back home, after this great trip I'm glad I'll see you again soon. Granada said goodbye to me with a really nice rainbow (although you can't see it very clearly in the picture):


Also the Sierra Nevada mountain range, which is visible from Granada, got snowed just in time for me to see it before leaving.

It's very pretty.

My friends joined me one last time to say goodbye.


So I got in the box


had to take off my Cordobian hat so that I could fit


And suddenly, Susy decided to join me!

I'm really glad to have someone to talk to along the way, and she seems very happy to start her journey.

So Sir James and Capote helped close the box


And here we are ready to go to the post office.

I'm very eager to see my master again

Love,
Phinook