Hi Mummy,
we went to Essen today to join a ToyVoyager- and Postcrossing-Meeting there. Essen is a city in the central part of the Ruhr Area in North Rhine-Westphalia, one of 16 German states. Remscheid is also situated in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Essen was appointed European Capital of Culture for 2010 on behalf of the whole Ruhr Area. Essen is also well known for its fantastic Christmas illumination.
Eleven woman joined the meeting, ToyVoyagers was represented by Apperveilchen, BlackCat and olgamaus. We met on the Christmas market close to the central station.
Of course we had to wait until it was getting dark to see the beauty of the Christmas Illumination. Until than we wrote lots of postcards in a restaurant.
Here you can see all the ToyVoyagers which are travelling with Katja at the moment. They are Nala, Wieka, Murph and Sweetsy, who visited Katja already this year.
Than the TVs hosted by Apperveilchen joined us ...
and finally those hosted by BlackCat.
We took a walk through the city than. BlackCat showed us a carillon.
They even have a nostalgic Ferris wheel on the Christmas market.
We decided to take a ride on the Ferris wheel. It is 56 m high, I was a little afraid, I must admit.
We went high and higher ...
We had a fantastic overview across the city.
After we reached the ground safe and sound we decided to have a look at the nearby cathedral. Essen Cathedral (Essener Münster) is the seat of the Roman Catholic Bishop of Essen. The cathedral was formerly the collegiate church of Essen Abbey, founded in about 845.
First we had a look at the atrium with a graveyard.
In the cathedral itself there was a choir practice, so we decided to take no photos to avoid disturbing the singers.
In the meantime is was getting dark outside and we were able to enjoy the Christmas illumination.
We also saw a crib with life-sized figures and real sheep.
Now the Ferris wheel was illuminated!
It was time to travel home than.
Bye
Cyryl
