Pelly, Home, Wales

miapearl Posted Dec 12, 2011, 11:05 am	Mummy is doing this jigsaw puzzle. She isn't quite finished yet... Luc Zeke is leaving today. For travel, he's popped back into his egg. ...
miapearl Posted Dec 12, 2011, 12:02 pm	Mummy and us welcomed a new toyvoyager to stay. His name is KalliHH
miapearl Posted Dec 12, 2011, 12:12 pm	Mummy had put in some dried fruit for soaking in brandy the other day. Today, we will make the Christmas cake. The butter and sugar is being creamed. Eggs were added. Flour, spices, the fruit, nuts and treacle also get added. The cake will take 4 hours in the oven, after our bedtimes. Maybe we'll have a photo with it when the cake is fed some more brandy.
miapearl Posted Dec 16, 2011, 7:51 pm	Today, we went for a walk. We've come to Penrhos Country Park on Anglesey. It is a  bit windy. The coastal park also has a woodland. They have a pet cemetery. Having a rest on Tunnicliffe's seat. We saw some fungi. Not sure why this yellow bear is on the fence post. Holyhead mountain is in the distance. Near here is a geocache. The geocache was found but we didn't want to reveal the exact location of it. More fungi. Brr, it is cold.
miapearl Posted Dec 20, 2011, 10:53 am	Oh dear... There's a piece missing....
miapearl Posted Jan 12, 2012, 11:05 am	We went to grandma's for Christmas. My family started the tree without us. These lights work! We hid among the tinsels The tree is going to look good.[img][/img]
miapearl Posted Jan 12, 2012, 12:02 pm	What is behind us in the wrapping paper? Gold!
miapearl Posted Jan 12, 2012, 12:18 pm	We've come out for a New Year's Eve walk to the beach This is (old) Hunstanton beach, faces west but is on the East coast of England. There's a lot of people over there. What are they looking at? Oh dear, poor whale. According to one of the locals, it had died out at sea. The brown layer is Carrstone, a sandstone with cement. Above, there is red and white chalk. This is an old lighthouse. I like the way the sand is rippled. There isn't as much white chalk on the cliff, some had fallen down.
miapearl Posted Jan 20, 2012, 11:04 am	Tomorrow is a new year Let's celebrate with some cake
miapearl Posted Jan 26, 2012, 11:03 am	We got back home safely but haven't done much. Travelling is tiring! A package arrived Henrik came to see us! Someone new to talk to! However, Mr Wilson and KalliHH are leaving tomorrow.
miapearl Posted Mar 4, 2012, 5:54 pm	There's no snow other parts of the UK have had significant snowfall but we've had none.
miapearl Posted Mar 7, 2012, 2:13 pm	We haven't been out recently, my mum and dad have been redecorating the house slowly. Anyway, this room was recently finished and is now a workshop and jigsaw area. We decided to help my big brother do The Periodic Table jigsaw puzzle he received for Christmas. We all dived in to have a look for more pieces to put in the puzzle. Where does this go? I think it goes down here a piece of Hafnium, which is below Zirconium in the periodic table. Still a few more pieces to find!
miapearl Posted Mar 9, 2012, 9:04 pm	The postman came with a packet... I wonder who is inside. It is Squizzle Mummy is attempting a 3000 piece jigsaw of the Mappa Mundi. How long will it take if we help? Tomorrow, I am going on my first journey, yippee!
marcie08 Posted Mar 25, 2012, 9:47 am	Hi Mom! I have arrived here in Vienna! First, I showed my host the postcard you sent with me. Then I had a look around the flat and found many other postcards. And huge poppies! Bye for now!
marcie08 Posted Mar 25, 2012, 4:06 pm	Hi Mom! How exciting. My hostmom told me that we will watch the FIS Ski World Cup Finale this weekend! It's in Upper Styria at a place called Schladming, a wonderful area to ski - well, obviously my host mom told me as I did not ski there before  She told me that it will be pretty exciting, as the Austrian skiers want to win and have really good chances to do so. One even hopes for the overall worldcup win this season - so fingers crossed! Our hotel is located even higher in the mountains, in a town called Ramsau, which is located at the foot of Dachstein-Mountain! Wow, so much snow. Maybe I can try to ski? Pfiart-di (as they say here in the mountains for good-bye)
marcie08 Posted Mar 25, 2012, 4:14 pm	Hi Mom! Today we saw the exciting world cup finale! We saw one women's and one men's race, and what can I tell? It was fantastic Marcel Hirscher, an Austrian skier really won the overall world cup trophy. The atmosphere inside of the stadium was so cool, people singing and partying, waving their flags! A cheese company also gave small cowbells away  Maybe I should become a skier, too?  Pfiart-di!
marcie08 Posted Mar 25, 2012, 4:27 pm	Hi Mom! Today we went to a huge shopping center in Burgenland. Oh my, a paradise for shopping addicts... What can I say, we shopped and shopped and shopped  Oh, and I saw the easter-bunny  On the pictures I'll show you some of the things we bought! Bye!
marcie08 Posted Mar 25, 2012, 4:38 pm	Hi Mom! Today we went to the inner city of Vienna. We walked through the pedestrian area, along a street called Graben. At the end of this street, you can see St. Stephen's Cathedral. The very modern building with the mirrored windows is the so called Haas-Haus (house)...but I have no idea where the name comes from...We also saw a puppeteer! It was a really nice walk around in today's beautiful weather! Servus from Vienna!
marcie08 Posted Apr 1, 2012, 4:59 pm	Hi Mom, yesterday we went to a walk through the city. Look, there was this funny building with a huge globe on top of it. This house is near the city hall. You can see the city hall on the next pictures, with the flag flying. Then we went to a park. Part of it was an old cemetery for celebtrities like writers. Today this part is fenced off, but the rest is an area to play or relax in. Bye for  now!
marcie08 Posted Apr 9, 2012, 7:56 pm	Hi Mom! Oh my, I did a lot of eating. Do you want to know what I did this weekend? It was eating, eating, eating! So, stuffed as I am, I just wanted to say HAPPY EASTER, MOM!
marcie08 Posted Apr 10, 2012, 6:45 pm	Hi Mom! Today we went to Salzburg, Mozart's hometown  I went with a two story train and it was really cool! I had fun watching the world fly by! When we arrived at the train station, we waited for friends of Mom. We walked to the city center and saw a huge cow there - it was decorated with scenes from Sound of Music, the famous musical that is always associated with Salzburg. We walked on to Residenzplatz and had a look around. Then we made our way up to the Festung with the funicular railway. From up there we had a nice view over the city, but unfortunately the weather was not that brilliant - cloudy and rainy  We also saw a huge golden Mozartkugel. A Mozartkugel is a chocolate ball with marzipan filling. My hostmom does not like them, but I think they sound yummi! I had a wonderful day in Salzburg, and I definitely want to come back when the sun is shining!
marcie08 Posted Apr 10, 2012, 6:52 pm	Hi Mom! Today my hostmom baked a cake and I helped her! That was yummi. But you know what? I was so happy when the cake was ready that I completely forgot to take a picture from it  But let me tell you, it was delicious! Servus!
marcie08 Posted Apr 23, 2012, 7:07 pm	Hi Mom! My host mom had much work lately so she did not have time to show me around. So I went to the office with her. But that was a bit boring... So I took off and explored my surroundings: I used the telephone, and stapled, I made copies of me  I also met Miss Piggy in the office and some small figurines from Kinder surprise eggs and finally I found my host mom's secret stash of sweets  Oops...host mom just found me...
marcie08 Posted Apr 24, 2012, 5:43 pm	Hi Mom! I am on my way to the next host! I'll talk tto you soon! Servus from Vienna!
olgamaus Posted Apr 30, 2012, 7:53 pm	Hi Mummy, I arrived in Remscheid today, at my new host Katja's home. There were already some other ToyVoyagers saying good-bye to Claire Tamias who was continuing her journey today. We decided we would take a walk later. Bye Pelly
olgamaus Posted May 2, 2012, 8:56 am	Hi Mummy, after having lunch Katja took me and Shooga out for a walk. First we helped Claire Tamias to pack her things, she had an invitation to visit Thuringia. She came with us, but already in her envelope. First we went to the municipal park, only a short walk, maybe five minutes. On our way we took some pictures in the vicinity of my current home. This is the police headquarter with a small park in front of it. Soon we reached the municipal park. There you can find a pond with ducks and some turtles living there. You can find an observatory in the park. We enjoyed the sunshine, between dandelions and cuckoo flowers. Katja showed us this memorial, dedicated to the dead of several wars before WW I. There are allotment gardens in the park. In the valley you can see the district Hasten, we went there to say good-bye to Claire Tamias. We reached Hasten than, one of the oldest districts in Remscheid. You can find a lot of old traditional houses here. This house is a good example for houses of this region - covered with slate and green shutters. You can also find many half-timbered houses here. This lovely Patrician villa is containing a museum, the house was built in late 18th century. The German Tool Museum is also situated on this estate. They have some outdoor facilities, so you can see some old machines without visiting the museum. From here we had to walk uphill at least for 30 minutes to get home. Bye Pelly
olgamaus Posted May 9, 2012, 8:44 am	Hi Mummy, today we bought food for the pets on the farmers market. My host is keeping three ferrets, they eat lots of meat, mostly poultry. We bought stomachs, a neck  and hearts from turkey and chicken wings and necks. Everything had to be hackled and packed into servings, than it was packed into the freezer. Katja told me that the ferrets liked their food raw. But they are predators, so it ok for them. Bye Pelly
olgamaus Posted May 9, 2012, 9:10 am	Hi Mummy, unexpectedly the weather became much better in the afternoon, so we took a walk around the city. My current home is not too far from the city centre, here you can see the tower of the city hall in the background. Only a few steps further the view was completey different: A large playground to my left and lovely old houses. In the background you can see the outskirts of the neighbour city Wuppertal. We  walked downhill to the district Hasten, one of the oldest districts of Remscheid. The "Route of Tools" is starting here, a former railway track which was built  to a lane for pedestrians and cyclists.  We will walk the whole lane another time, it is nearly 5 km long. Unfortunately the photos do not really show how steep those lanes are! This street is leading to the municipal park, also goint straight uphill. A few minutes later we reached our home Bye Pelly
olgamaus Posted May 15, 2012, 9:40 am	Hi Mummy, we took a walk today in a nearby valley. I met cows here, Galloway cattle. They are having the cutest baby Katja told me that it had to be only a few days old, it still had its umbilical cord under its belly. This is Mum with her baby. There are some single houses hidden in the forest. We enjoyed the sunshine Later we also met goats, here are some curious baby goats. We walked through the district "Kremenholl" with typical 1960's/1970's building density. Looking back ... allotment gardens everywhere Bye Pelly
olgamaus Posted May 16, 2012, 6:00 pm	Hi Mummy, I just want to let you know that my host's colleague invited me to accompany her to a trip to several cities in South Germany. This sounds great, so I am with Elke now. We'll be back on May 29th. Love Pelly
olgamaus Posted Jun 9, 2012, 8:08 pm	Hi Mummy, I'm at Elke's home now. It's time for her to pack the suitcases, there is still a lot to do. Tomorrow we want to leave in the early morning. Hurry up, Elke! Bye Pelly
olgamaus Posted Jun 9, 2012, 8:14 pm	Good morning, Mummy! It's 4:15 am in Remscheid - the Eschbach dam is hidden in the fog. It is not only foggy, but also extremely cold - nearly freezing point! Extremely important when you plan a longer trip ... Time schedule is fine: We had planned to be on the motorway at 6:00 am. Then we were driving and driving and ..... it was a bit boring, so I took a long nap.
olgamaus Posted Jun 9, 2012, 8:25 pm	At noon we arrived in Bamberg. Bamberg is a university town in Bavaria, Upper Franconia. Since 1993 the city is an UNESCO world heritage site. About 70.000 inhabitants are living here. Bamberg is famous for its breweries - Bamberg is home of eight breweries! Here you can see me enjoying a "Kellerbier" (cellar beer). Here you can see the left river channel arm of river Regnitz, which is about 60 lm long, a feeder of river Main. After having the beer for dinner I also tried grilled fish - yummy! Bye Pelly
olgamaus Posted Jun 9, 2012, 8:44 pm	Hi Mummy, my beer lessons were going on today We visited Schlenkerla, the oldest brewery in Bamberg. It exists for more than 600 years now. ... and this is the brewery's delicay: smoked beer. It is tasting good when you one get used to it's very special flavour. With eyes closed you would think a smoked sausage would be in front of you Although we were in Bamberg, this part of the city was called "Little Venice". Here is a special home for special people (hopefully not for those who had too much beer) - a prison. We had a local delicay than: "Bamberger Zwiebel". This dish contains mashed potatoes, a large onion filled with minced meat, decorated with bacon. Of course there had to be a gondola in Venice (Can you see it? It's almost hidden under the trees on the right side). Did I mention that I am away with the "Ravens", a ... ehhhmmmm .... Senior Football Team - always hungry and they can hold their liquor. Bye Pelly
olgamaus Posted Jun 9, 2012, 8:49 pm	Hi Mummy, I helped to write some postcards (and to empty the first beer, although it was not yet 10:00 am). At Bamberg station I hoped to see an Intercity Express (a German high speed train), unfortunately it did not come while I was waiting here. Bye Pelly
olgamaus Posted Jun 10, 2012, 10:16 am	Hi Mummy, instead of eating and drinking today it was time for some cultural ecudacatioin. We visited Schloss Seehof, the former summer residence of the Bamberg prince-bishops. Construction works were going back to 15th century, in its nowadays appearance the castle was built in late 17th century, using the original structure of the old buildings. This is the main entrace, the "Memmelsdorf gate". Inside the courtyard ... There were wonderful historic door locks. I took a sunbath and heard frogs croaking. FROGS?! I think I might be a bit hungry ... There are fish ponds like this, they are used for breeding carps. Life can be wonderful ... Hush .... I'm sneaking towards the frog ... Did I promise too much? My hunger crisis was over than Love Pelly
olgamaus Posted Jun 10, 2012, 10:34 am	Hi Mummy, we were about an hour drive to the East now, in Konnersreuth. Therese Neumann, called Resl von Konnersreuth, was a German Catholic mystic and stigmatic, who lived here from 1898 till 1962.  Her grave is still the destination of pilgrims. The car made a strange sound, so we decided to drive to a garage. Thankfully it was nothing serious - just something with the tyre.
olgamaus Posted Jun 10, 2012, 10:59 am	Next we drove to Waldsassen, cultural centre of Upper Palatinate, Bavaria, bordering the Czech Republic. Here you can see a traditional maypole. This is the Papal basilica, built in Baroque style. There are coins in the fountain in front of the basilica. Throwing coins into a fountain should bring you luck. Inside the basilica ... Next to the basilica you can find the abbey of the cistercans. Have a look: I found old friends (or lunch?) in the abbey garden. Friends ... lunch .... it's all the same Another lovely pond with frogs, fish and dragonflies. This is the replication of an historic baking oven. I needed refreshing before travelling on, the water was a bit flavourless after the fantastic beer in Bamberg, but also ok. What a lovely place. We climbed uphill to a outlook point, but the view wasn't that great. Here you can learn about the fragrants of nature. Let's go snooping! Another refreshment. We reached the pilgrimage church of Kappl close to Waldsassen. Construction works took four years. Here were also wonderful doors and door locks. What you see in the backgrond belongs to the Czech Republic. Tomorrow we will have to drive home. This was a really wonderful trip - thanks to Elke! Love Pelly
olgamaus Posted Jun 18, 2012, 9:48 pm	Hi Mummy, it was time to pack my things here in Germany to travel to France. My host reminded me that I had to learn a bit German, Orkku Orava was also eager to learn German. Katja thought it would be a good idea to learn caounting first. Let's go! One = Eins Two - Zwei (oh dear, it is so hard to pronounce) Three - Drei Four - Vier Five - Fünf (even worse, a real tongue twister!) Six - Sechs Seven - Sieben Eight - Acht Nine - Neun Ten - Zehn On my way to France I will repeat those difficult word. I'm pretty sure this will be a rather short trip Bye Pelly
Krtecek Posted Jul 29, 2012, 6:54 pm	Dear mummy, I have been found. There has been some problems with my host. She has moved from Paris to Prague so I was given to the neighbour, Georges, who was supposed to send me to Prague. He has forgotten about me and left for holidays. Luckily upon his return from holidays he sent me to Prague where I arrived Friday afternoon. I needed the weekend to recover and my host promised me to show me a lot of things around this lovely city in the next few days. Will update some photos soon. Pelly
Krtecek Posted Aug 23, 2012, 7:58 pm	I have finally reached our final destination. My new home is Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. Today we visited the area around the river Vltava, we saw the panorama of Prague Castle and also the National theatre with the golden roof and at night we could admire the Dancing house all lit up. Did you know it was inspired by Fred Astair and Ginger Roberts?
Krtecek Posted Aug 23, 2012, 8:00 pm	Our steps today led us to Vysehrad where once used to be a castle and a fort. Today there are only the fortified walls with a magnificient view and also the neo-gothic church dating to the end of the 19th century.  The oldest part of the area is the rotonde of saint Longin that dates to the 11th or 1ěth century.
Krtecek Posted Aug 23, 2012, 8:01 pm	To keep fit we decided to go for a biking trip. We took the bikes and rode through the woods where we also got some food to have the strength to continue. We also saw a historical mill and also the castle and parc of Lany, the summer residence of the Czech president.  As a reward we got to eat the real Czech food in a real Czech pub.
Krtecek Posted Aug 23, 2012, 8:03 pm	Today we went to visit the Czech countryside. The rocktown of Prachovske skaly is very famous geographical and natural reservation. We had to walk quite a few kilometres up and down the rocks but the views were definitely worth it. All of the rock statues and deep valleys. A real jewel. And in the middle of all of it we saw the castle Kost (the Bone).
Krtecek Posted Aug 23, 2012, 8:05 pm	To get a break from all the nature and hiking we decided to visit Cesky Krumlov, a town in the south of the Czech republic that is protected by UNESCO as a world heritage. It was beatiful. The medieval town is surrounded by the river Vltava that meanders around it. The streets are narrow and the houses are more than 500 years old. Alla long the river, there are fish restaurants with fresh fish and traditional Czech drink – pivo (beer).
Krtecek Posted Aug 23, 2012, 8:06 pm	Above the city of Cesky Krumlov there is a large castle that is visible from all over the city with its colourful tower. Also the inside walls of the castle are full of colours dating to the period of rennaissance. And the view….What a beauty. Behing the castle there is a French style garden with fountains and statues.
iloveletters Posted Oct 25, 2012, 3:24 pm	Dear mommy! I arrived in Germany and in a village called Mechterstädt. I was welcomed by 2 other TVs: Mandy Sheep a guest TV and Aurelius, a hippo that lives here.
iloveletters Posted Oct 30, 2012, 12:34 pm	This weekend we went on a short trip to Dublin! Before our flight we spent some time on the airport in Frankfurt. And I used the time to look at the big 'birds'. After we  had arrived in Dublin we started sightseeing straight away and went to  Trinity College, the oldest university in Ireland. We went to see the exhibition in the old library, photos were not allowed inside When I looked around the campus I found this sign and thought: what a strange language. But you have to know that in Ireland all the signs are  written in two languages: English and Gaelic, like here: But of course you know that mommy, since you live in Wales and your second language is Welsh too.
iloveletters Posted Oct 30, 2012, 12:40 pm	Today we took a city tour by bus and by foot in the morning. We walked along the river Liffey and  went to St.Patrick's Church. In the afternoon we went to the Guiness Store House to learn and see how the famous beer is made. Of course I also tried a pint myself! And I had a great view over Dublin from the Gravity Bar on top.
iloveletters Posted Oct 30, 2012, 12:49 pm	Unfortuately it was very foggy and rainy when we went into the country today. South  of Dublin you can find the Wicklow Mountains with a beautiful landscape... I guess...  if you can see the mountains in the sun. First stop was Glendalough, the valley of two lakes. After visiting the old monastery we went on to Powerscourt House and Gardens. Don't you think the autumn coloured trees look great? We had a good time here though the weather was bad.
iloveletters Posted Nov 1, 2012, 10:03 am	Hello mommy, We are back home and look what happened: Snow! for the first time this winter. Well, autumn....
iloveletters Posted Nov 1, 2012, 10:06 am	Today I want to show you a little of the village that I am visiting right now. It is called Mechterstädt and there live about 1000 people. They have 2 twin cities, one in France and one in Ireland. Otherwise the village is really small with only a little square in the center and a church.
iloveletters Posted Nov 1, 2012, 10:08 am	Went for a walk in the autumn forest today and came to this lake and camping site. As you see the snow has already melted and the trees look colourful in the sun.
iloveletters Posted Nov 22, 2012, 9:01 pm	Dear mommy, I know it has been a long time since I updated last. My host is quite busy and when she is back from work it is already too dark to go outside or take good pictures. We mainly spend our evenings at home and do crafty things. I help with scrapbooking, e.g. trimming the paper and we also already prepare for Xmas and do some crafts like these stars. So you see I am not bored!
iloveletters Posted Nov 23, 2012, 4:10 pm	Today we went into the town of Waltershausen, where my host works. We walked along the market square with the church and the nice town hall. Then we went to the library to borrow some books.
iloveletters Posted Dec 3, 2012, 8:16 pm	Mandy Sheep and I helped our host to bake Xmas cookies. We made 3 different recipes: almond cookies, walnut cookies and shortbread hearts.
iloveletters Posted Dec 9, 2012, 2:27 pm	We visited the Christmas Market in Gotha and even though it is small it was nice with the lights and snow.
iloveletters Posted Dec 17, 2012, 7:15 am	Look, mommy, we had lots of new snow the other night!
iloveletters Posted Dec 26, 2012, 12:59 pm	Merry Christmas, Mommy! For the holidays we went to my host's parents in Saxony and the little town Penig. When we arrived in the morning of December 24th we went to the city center and the town hall with the large pyramide. At home I had a look at all the Xmas decorations in the living room and of course there also was a Christmas tree. And in the evening Santa Claus brought a lot of present. See me on the huge pile?
iloveletters Posted Jan 1, 2013, 8:28 pm	Dear mommy, Over new year we went on a short trip to the Taunus Mountains in Hessen. We stayed in a little town called Schlangenbad - Snake Bath. The name derives from the Aesculap snakes that supposedly exsisted here. I found all the explanation on this board. The town is an old spa town whose times of prosperity are over. Nothing really happening here anymore, the new slogan is ' the town with time'. Yes, everything is slow and quiet here so we enjoyed a good time. On the first day we took a walk in the area. There is the old spa hotel in the spa park.... In the arcades you can drink from the natural fountain, and I tried the water. You can also sit here and enjoy a book from the open library. Then we went through the woods along the little stream. Nice beech tree alleys were there. In former times the trees were tied together or to the ground to protect the fields. This was called 'Gebueck'. I found one old tree that dates back to these times of the 13 to 18th century. Would you be able to tell from the bark which tree it is? There was a game in the woods to see how well one knows the tree barks. I was not very good in guessing. And finally we reached the top of the hill and we had a nice view over the valley and the village.
iloveletters Posted Jan 4, 2013, 2:12 pm	Today we made a trip to Wiesbaden, the state capital of Hesse. There are many nice old buildings in the streets and even remains from Roman times. Wiesbaden used to be an important spa town and the arcades are said to be the longest in the world. Today they host the theatre and a casino in the spa buildings. And look at this: trees with knitted scarves! What a funny idea in the cold winter days.
iloveletters Posted Jan 4, 2013, 2:14 pm	From Wiesbaden it was only a 30minutes trip to Ruedesheim and the  Niederwalddenkmal. The view over the river Rhein was beautiful. So much water. I think the level is over the normal. The Germania monument is impressive! It is  about 18m high and has a wight of 75 tons. It was built 1877 - 1883  to commemorate the foundation of the German Empire after the end of Franco-Prussian War. Since 2002 it has been part of the UNESCO site Niederwald landscape park.
iloveletters Posted Jan 4, 2013, 2:15 pm	Mommy, I wish you a happy new year!
miapearl Posted Mar 8, 2013, 10:00 pm	Hi Mummy, I'm home.

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