Posted May 29, 2006, 3:32 pm
Posted Jul 15, 2006, 6:52 pm
This is not a very good shot of me, but you get the idea
Posted Jul 15, 2006, 7:05 pm
I'm glad I wasn't all alone and had Hobbes to keep me company. Sheep like to be around others, you know.
Posted Jul 16, 2006, 5:57 am
I'm sitting on the top of her computer screen so I have a perfect view.
Posted Feb 22, 2007, 2:13 am
They could have taken me to the Sydney Opera House like where another toy voyager went.
Posted Jan 7, 2010, 1:01 am
Posted Feb 14, 2010, 5:53 am
Posted Feb 14, 2010, 6:02 am
but I have decided that I will take the risk to have an adventure. I've been sitting around long enough.
Who knows, maybe I'll go more places than I ever imagined. If you would like me to visit, let Swan know and she'll see what she can arrange.
Posted Feb 18, 2010, 11:30 pm
As you can see, my traveling envelope ways "Handle with Care", so I hope I'll be treated nicely. At the post office today, when they put the "Air Mail" stamp on my envelope, it tickled my tummy.
See you soon
Posted Feb 26, 2010, 10:53 pm
after a really short journey I arrived in Germany today. When my host helped me to climb out of my envelope I was welcomed by four other ToyVoyagers. They are Cilly, Ragamuffin, Henry The Adventure Hound and BineHH.
I had a look out of the kitchen window to take a look outside. What a pity! The sun isn't shining.
My host Katja told me that they had a lot of snow during the last two months and that it is melting away now. Katja decided to bake a cake and have a coffee before.
Baking a cake is always a good idea
Soon we gathered all the ingredients which we needed for the cake, a cake with curd-filling and tangerines. That sound really good.
For the dough we need margarine, sugar, eggs and wheat flour with some baking powder. The filling is made of curd, eggs, sugar, a little bit oil and milk and vanilla sugar, and of course canned tangerines.
First we made the dough ...
... and put it into the baking pan.
For the filling we had to mix curd, egg yolk, sugar, vanilla sugar, oil, milk and finally beaten egg whites.
The tangerines were put on top of the filling.
The cake had to bake than for about 50 minutes. It was almost ready than.
Finally the cake was covered with something funny which is called "Tortenguss" in Germany. This is a white powder which has to be mixed with some sugar and than water or fruit juice. We mixed it with sugar and the tangerine juice from the can. Than this mixture had to boil up and than cool down for a minute or two. This funny guck was spread over the cake to make it look better and to prevent the tangerines from running dry on the cake surface.
Than we enjoyed the cake. It is really delicious and refreshing.
Bye for now
Wolle
Posted Feb 26, 2010, 11:01 pm
we had to go to the post office today. This was a chance to see a bit of the city centre. Unfortunately the sun isn't shining, it rather looks like rain.
A farmers market is held here on Thursday and Friday. You can buy vegetables and fruit, meat, poultry and fish, dairy products and flowers.
This is one of the churches in the city centre.
I climbed into Katja's bag than because it started to rain heavily.
Bye
Wolle
Posted Feb 28, 2010, 1:33 pm
the weather was much better today so we took a walk in the forest. Katja was picked up by her friend Kerstin, who brought her dog Pepe with her. We parked the car on a parking site for hikers at one of the outer limits of Remscheid's municipal area.
From here we crossed the district "Unterburg" which belongs to the neighbour city Solingen. It is a very old district, situated at the river Wupper.
We walked down a really steep and narrow road to reach the valley.
This church was built in the 1730's years.
A large tree was cut down recently.
Soon we reached the river Wupper. Due to snow melting it has high-water.
We followed a path along the river, uphill and downhill.
We crossed the river at t his bridge.
Close to a café we found snowdrops.
Now we followed a path on this side of the river. Again it went uphill and downhill. Here we saw high rocks.
Snow water is running down the hills everywhere.
A large bridge came in sight: Muengsten Bridge, Germany's highest railway bridge.
Finally we reached the bottom of the valley with the bridge.
Muengsten Bridge is made of steel. It is 107 m high and spans the valley of river Wupper, which is marking the border between Remscheid and the neighbour town Solingen.
The bridge is 465 m long and was completed in 1897 A.D.
A leisure park was built underneath the bridge a few years ago. You can relax on the lawns, play in the water and they have playgrounds for the kids.
I found some snow remains in front of a building!
I invited the other ToyVoyagers to play with me in the snow, but they all said that they'd be fed up with snow. They wanted no more wet feet and wet fur. What a pity!
We walked until we reached another bridge, we crossed the river here once more. In the background you can see a cute little outlook pavilion. Katja told us that we would walk along this pavilion later.
Here we are!
We rested in front of this waterfall (also snow water) for a while.
Once more we walked underneath Muengsten Bridge, this time on the slope of the valley.
When we were on our way back to the car, the sun came out.
Once more Muengsten Bridge was visible in the distance.
The sunshine does so good to me
Bye
Wolle
Posted Mar 3, 2010, 9:40 pm
we had fantastic weather today. On our way home we took a few photos. The first one was taken in the city centre, close to Katja's work place.
The next photo was taken in the vicinity of my current home. I am living in a part of the city which was not destroyedin World War II.
At the moment I am living in a pretty art-nouveau-house,built in 1904 A.D. We'll take a photo next time.
When we came home we saw that a new ToyVoyager arrived today. It is Wendy from China.
Later, when I was sitting in the living room, I met Katja's pets. She is keeping two ferret ladies. This one is Brighty.
Bye for today
Wolle
Posted Mar 4, 2010, 7:43 pm
the weather is great here at the moment - but it is cold! It was so nice at the weekend but now it is about freezing point.
Katja showed us around in her lunch break.
First I'll show you the city hall.
There is a large space in front of it, the farmer's market is here twice a week.
Here on this space you can find a pillar with a lion, the heraldic animal of Remscheid.
This is one of the entrances of the shopping mall.
Here you can see the central bus station.
This lorry is a present from Remscheid's twin city Wansbeck in England.
From this bridge I can see the bus station once more.
Here is a little park in the middle of the city.
We walked to another district than, to Hasten,which is one of the oldest districts of the municipal area. Here you can see many of the typical "Bergische Häuser" (hosues of this region). They are often covered with slate or they are also often half-timbered houses.
This is an elementary school.
This park belongs to a museum site. The Patrician villa in the background contains a museum and you can also find the "German Tool Museum" here. Im Remscheid tools are produced since middle ages.
In the garden you can find some large machines.
Remscheid is surrounded by large forests with deep valleys.
Than we had to return to work, but this time we took the bus to get back to the city centre.
Bye
Wolle
Posted Mar 6, 2010, 1:06 pm
you won't believe what I have seen when I looked out of the window in the morning.
S N O W!
Of course I want to play in the snow, but I'm sure I'll freeze to death outside. The other ToyVoyagers thought that I won't freeze because I'd be a living scarf.
A scarf? This is a great idea!
Yesterday I saw something interesting lying on the table in the living room.
Maybe this is supposed to be a scarf.
No, it seems to be a sleeping bag for me. Katja told me that this is a sock. What a pity! It is far too large for me.
Than Katja decided to teach me how to knit. First we had a look at her wool stash. The ferrets also like those bags with wool.
I like those yearns, I'll have to decide which one to take.
I'll take this one.
Two hours later ....
Knitting is rather easy!
It's not long enough yet. So I will knit until it is long enough. Katja said that I'd had a neck like an elephant.
Bye
Wolle
Posted Mar 6, 2010, 5:39 pm
Posted Mar 6, 2010, 6:02 pm
I couldn't wait to go out so we went to the municipal park in the afternoon. On the first photo you can see where I am living at the moment. Katja is living in the house on the left side, in the attic storey.
The following photos were taken on the way to the park. We had to walk less than 10 minutes to get there.
Soon we reached the park.
The observatory is situated here in the park.
This is a memorial dedicated to the dead of several wars before WW I.
I had a lot of fun playing in the snow with Wendy.
Here is a frozen pond. Turtles and ducks are living here.
The police headquarter is situated here.
A small park is located in front of the building. You can find a pillar here, showing the coat of arms of Remscheid. It is dedicated to Remscheids twin town Quimper in France.
After playing in the snow we are completely wet. We had to go home than.
Bye
Wolle
Posted Mar 9, 2010, 2:01 pm
we took a walk in the forest today. We had wonderful weather.
We parked the car in a district which is also situated on a hill, a housing area.
Here we saw a television tower.
We walked over an open field than to reach the forest. In the background you can see the outskirts of the neighbour city Wuppertal.
Later we rested in the sun for a moment.
Katja told me that three years ago a terrible storm destroyed large parts of this forest. Now you can see the A1 motorway in the background. Before this storm here were trees and the motorway was not visible.
When we went back to the car we walked along some farms.
Bye
Wolle
Posted Mar 17, 2010, 5:39 pm
after more than a week with really bad weather we took a short walk in the city centre today. During this rainy week most of the snow melted. Still at Katja's work place in a law firm, we said goodbye to BineHH. She is leaving today. She will visit her next host in Japan.
Here you can see the main entrance of the shopping mall.
This is the public library.
The slate covered house on the right side contains an art gallery.
The next photo is showing another side of the shopping mall with the tower of the city hall in the background. Underneath the large building only busses and taxis are allowed to drive through.
We went into the shopping mall to buy a few things.
The floor is decorated with real small gardens full of spring flowers.
Bye for today
Wolle
Posted Mar 17, 2010, 5:49 pm
Today the weather is really good so went out for a walk when Katja finished work. It is much warmer now - about 12°C. I don't need my scarf any longer.
We went through the shopping street than.
At the end of the shopping street you find a place where a farmer's market is held twice a week. Ah, I have been here before!
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.
The first sign is showing the coat of arms of Remscheid.
We walked about half of this route. Next time we will take the second half
We went home than.
Bye
Wolle
Posted Mar 18, 2010, 6:17 pm
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.
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.
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.
This is where we ended our walk yesterday.
Bye
Wolle
Posted Mar 24, 2010, 8:51 pm
once more we took a walk in Katja's lunch break. Winter seems to be gone now, it is about 15°C outside. 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
Work calls!
Bye
Wolle
Posted Mar 27, 2010, 9:20 pm
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).
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
Wolle
Posted Apr 1, 2010, 9:42 am
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
Wolle
Posted Apr 1, 2010, 11:20 am
we tasted the pretzels today. They are really delicious.
I also want to tell you that I am going to visit wolljule in the neighbour city Wuppertal. Katja told me that I could learn something interesting there ...
Bye
Wolle
Posted Apr 3, 2010, 11:28 pm
today I arrived in Wuppertal at Wolljule´s home.
I had a good journey but was set in the envelope a long time. When wolljule opened the envelope, I saw Growan. He is a teddybear and lives here.
Growan had so many questions and I had to explain him all about my journeys. We talked a lot, but now I´m tired and want to go to bed.
Tomorrow we will visit wolljule´s parents, hope they are as nice as wolljule and Growan.
Bye Mummy, good night - uuuuaaaahhhhh, I hab´ve to go to bed.....
Posted Apr 5, 2010, 9:19 pm
yesterday we went to Christa´s parents who live in a small village near Wuppertal.
The whole family met there and we had lot of fun.
Here you can see some of the coloured eggs and an easter bunny made of chocolat - I found it without any help.
Then we had a lot of cakes and sweets - it was delicious.
But it rained all the day so we couldn´t play in the garden or playground.
When we cama home late in the evening, Christa spun a bit on her spinning wheel. It´s funny to watch it........... she has selfdyed wool and makes pretty yarn. She promised me to try it one of the next days. Hurray - I´ll learn to spin.
Posted Apr 5, 2010, 9:55 pm
today the sun was shining and Christa took me out for a walk. She wanted to show me the "Schwebebahn", it´s a train don´t driving on trails. The "Schwebebahn" suspence above the town. Bad luck, it doesn´t work at the moment because it must be repaired. I hope it will start working during my stay in Wuppertal. I think it would be great going by Schwebebahn.
Bye mummy
Posted Apr 6, 2010, 10:00 pm
we had a warm and sunny springtime day today.
In the morning Christa had to go to the library and took some books to read. I met a sheep made of cardboard. It allowed me to ride on his neck and told me about his life as a book-sheep.
Later we met Christa´s sister and a little nephew named Milan. We went out for a walk in Hilden, a small town near Wuppertal. Milan wants to eat an icecream and let me lick. Hhhhmmmmmm icecream - I liked it.
Milan played on a playground with other kids and me and Growan enjoyed sitting in the sun.
Of course Christa and her sister wanted to go shopping again - it is sooooooo boring to see them pulling t-shirts and other clothes on and out. Fortunately both found some clothes, so we could go in a café. Growan and me had a tasty donut and a cold cherry juice.
Ooooh we were sooooo full - and coul´dn´t eat anything for dinner.
Tomorrow we plan to go in the zoo, so I´ll go to bed now.
Bye mummy
Posted May 25, 2010, 11:06 pm
I hope wolljule who was my previous host will make more travel updates telling about my adventures learning to spin wool and more, too.
Posted Jan 29, 2011, 10:52 pm
Posted Jan 29, 2011, 10:59 pm
But today something interesting happened.
Swan introduced me to a brand new ToyVoyager named Orange. While I'm sticking around, Orange is going to be traveling to other hosts. Since Orange hasn't been out yet, I've been taking her on her first little trip today. We wen to the post office. She'll start her travels there once she gets her itinerary. We checked out the post office box and there was some mail in there. Then we put a postcard to be sent out in the mail slot.
I'm glad that on the way to and from the post office we stuck in the bag, I had seen that the weather was cold and wet and outside.
Posted Feb 4, 2011, 4:36 pm
I should have brought my scarf!
Posted Feb 4, 2011, 5:12 pm
Posted Feb 4, 2011, 5:43 pm
Posted May 24, 2014, 5:39 am
But now for today. We came back to Pasadena two years ago. But now I'm in Sunnyvale, California for just a little while. This city doesn't seem so interesting, but we have a look around anyway since we are here. There is this looong stretched out park, called a Greenbelt, with one path through it. It looks kind of nice on the first picture, doesn't it? Although I wish there were more trees or something, there isn't much shade. But then there are places like this power distribution place where they forgot to plant things, even far away from the power lines!
Posted May 24, 2014, 5:45 am
After we had eaten, we went shopping.