Bernd The Bread, Hamburg, Germany

Myrtle Posted Mar 2, 2010, 5:43 pm	Hello you all! Again Myrtle left her computer alone... So I can send you a conspirative message! I hope that I can go on the german TV-trail soon. Until that, I am learning more english for writing my TravelLog. And I´m thinking about my luggage... Do I need a backpack? And a sleeping bag? What to dress? I don´t want to be missfit and upset somebody... And I think I will take the dictionary with me... But it could be tight for me in the box... I didn´t expect, that an outbreak needs so much planning. Mayby I need an accomplice! I´ll be back! Bernd
Myrtle Posted Apr 15, 2010, 7:39 pm	FINALLY! I got an invitation for the german trail! So I prepared my box with my towl and some sweets for the journey. The box needs a coupon... What is my first destination...? R-E-M-S-C-H-E-I-D .... I had no opportunity to look in WikiPedia, so it will be a complete surprise! My elder brother assits me with my travelbox. He also will be so kind, to post the pictures. Maybe I will miss him a littlebit.  BUT: I am on my way!!!
olgamaus Posted Apr 20, 2010, 9:29 pm	Hello Mummy, I arrived in Remscheid today. It was so wonderful quiet in my parcel until it was opened. As soon as my host Katja opened it, I was beleagured by two hyperactive characters, Snuttig and Ceryni. They pitched into the sweets that I brought with me immediately. I think I'll have to recover from this exhausting meeting for a while. Bye Bernd the Bread
olgamaus Posted Apr 20, 2010, 9:45 pm	Hello Mummy, Katja took me to her workplace today because she thought I could learn something about German law and so on. German law is so boring that I preferred staring at the wall and learning the knobs of the ingrain wallpaper by heart. That's a really fascinating activity. Staring and counting. Katja's colleage brought a ToyVoyager cow with her, Smooch. She took Smooch with her last weekend when she visited friends. Smooch had the idea of playing with the copy machine. Smooch liked the result. When you are a cow, the result is looking good. When you are a cranky bread, the copy will look like .... a bread. Katja took us out in her lunch break. Our first stop was a place in front of the city hall. There is a pillar with a lion on it. The heraldic animal of Remschied is a lion. It looks a bit cranky to me, too. When we walked along the shopping mall I thought "What a great pattern on the wall, I should stop here and count the rectangles of the fassade. This is the central bus station. I like it - the air is full of diesel smell. I found an underbridge full of graffiti. We walked back through the shopping street. I have to tell you that travelling really is exhauting. Bye Bernd the Bread
olgamaus Posted Apr 26, 2010, 7:32 pm	Hi Mummy, we are celebrating a really important commemoration day today: The Day of German Beer. Since 1984 the issuance of the "Reinheitsgebot"  (German Beer Purity Law) is celebrated by the German brewers. We also did Cheers! Bermd The Bread Bye
olgamaus Posted Apr 26, 2010, 9:50 pm	Hi Mummy, we took a walk today in the suburbs of Remscheid. We started in Remsched-Hasten, which is one of the oldest districts in the municipal area. In Hasten you can find lots of old houses (I'm sure they don't have a proper heating). This is the creek "Morsbach", this valley is named after this creek. Several creeks are running through this valley. This one is dammed to a fish pond here. Fish sounds good - for dinner. We walked uphil through a shady forest than. The shady forest changed into a sunny forest ... From here you had a good look at the city centre in the distance. Oh, the sunshine and this sapgreen is hurting my eyes. We walked along a small hamlet. That was a quite long walk, more than two hours. Bye Bernd The Bread
olgamaus Posted May 4, 2010, 9:52 pm	Hi Mum, I went with Kajta's sister last week. She had planned to introduce me to a neighbour whose name is Bernd. Bernd is collecting .... I think you can guess what Bernd is collecting. But somehow Bernd was busy so I came back at the weekend. When I had my morning coffee today something weird shocked me. I was reading in the newspaper about a guy who was born in Paderborn, it was "Mister Hallo-Erstmal", the German comedian Ruediger Hoffmann. Football, banking crisis - horror in the early morning. Suddenly ... ... and than ... Oh dear, pink ears! There must be something wrong with my coffee. A third one appeared! Another one, this time with a Santa's hat. This is too much of a good thing. Look at them - not for the life of me I would wear a red nose or bunny ears!!! I need a rest now. Bye Bernd
olgamaus Posted May 6, 2010, 8:28 pm	Hi Mum, we took a walk in the afternoon. Although the sun was shining it was rather cold. We went to the municipal park first to have a look at the ducks. I don't think that is a good idea - ducks love bread. Can you see them coming? I'd better get out of here! Here I seemed to be in a safe place. Did anyone tell Katja that I'm suffering from hay fever? My nose kept running because of all this green stuff. Pink flowers? Even worse than green leafes. Katja asked me to stay quite about this memorial for the dead of some wars earlier than World War I. Okay. I am quiet. We left the park than and walked to one of the oldest districts, to Hasten. You can find those typical old houses here, also old factories among dwellings. My nose ... *sniff* ... I was glad that we were on our way back home than. But walking home means walking uphill for ages ... If you think it couldn't get worser ... I'm looking to put my feet up. Bye Bernd
olgamaus Posted May 9, 2010, 8:31 pm	Hi Mummy, we visited the neighbour city Wuppertal today. The first thing to see when you enter the city centre is the "Schwebebahn", a suspended monorail, the worldwide one and only of that kind. The Schwebebahn is built above the river Wupper. It was opened in 1901 and it is still in use as a local transport system. It travels along a route 13.3 kilometres long, about 12 metres  above the surface of the river Wupper  and about 8 m above the city streets. The Schwebebahn has 20 stations, each of it built in a different style, some in the original old-fashioned style, some in a modern style. This one is definitely one of the modern ones. Here you can see me inside the station. We wanted to take a short ride with the Schwebebahn. I am so high above street leven - I hope they have barf bags on board. We went with the Schwebebahn for three stations. They did not have barf bags on board. I am glad to be out of this rocking thing. Here you can see the train leaving into the other direction. Katja told us that we would visit the Botanical Garden than, high upon the hillside. The city of Wuppertal is situated in the valley of the river Wupper, the slopes of the valley are really steep, so in Wuppertal about 500 stairs were built  along the slopes. Most of them were built in 19th century when the housing areas grew. Here is one of them - I am completely fed up with stairs and walking uphill. I am glad that my next host is living in Northern Germany where the steepest slope is the drive-up in a car park. We reached the Botanical Garden than. It was originally built in 1890 as a school garden in the place which is now the rose garden. Between 1908-1910 it relocated to today's site, the Villa Eller'schen, a former country house of textile manufacturers named Eller, which contained a villa , orangery, residential and farm buildings, and the Elise Tower (built 1838) which provides the garden's focal point. First we had a look at the greenhouses. A real rainforest! It is  not good for a bread to stay in such a humid atmosphere - I could molder! Katja decided to climb onto the tower - does anyone ask what I want? The outlook made me seasick. On this zoomed photo you can see the city centre. Here you can see the greenhouses. This is part of the villa, in the former orangery nowadays a café is situated. We saw lots of  flowers. Of course we posed for a group photograph. It was time than to leave. Bye Bernd
olgamaus Posted May 11, 2010, 6:36 pm	Hi Mummy, I met Katja's pets today. I was already wondering about the cat.  Here is a scratching post and a scratching ton, a litter pan, but no cat. This is ferret lady Brighty. She is a furry, cheeky and hoggish thing. I'm glad that Katja told me that ferrets wouldn't like bread. They eat raw flesh from chicken, beef, turkey and other birds. YUCK! There is also another ferret, Shiva. She looks like a raccoon. She was busy hunting a plush mouse with an inserted bell. Both are  extremely playful, even worse than kitten and toddlers. They are running around, chasing each other, climbing into drawers, onto the sofa, underneath the blanket on the sofa - they are EVERYWHERE. Bye Bernd the Bread
olgamaus Posted May 15, 2010, 11:01 am	Hi Mummy, we took a walk today in the neighbour city Solingen, in the valley and hills of the river Wupper. We started our trip in Solingen-Widdert. From here we walked downhill to reach the Wupper valley. In those rural districts you can often find the traditional old houses, called "Bergische Häuser". By the way, walking downhill means trouble ... it means walking UPHILL if you ever want to return to your car. This is the river Wupper which I already saw last weekend in Wuppertal. About 20 km from here the Wupper will flow into river Rhine close to Leverkusen. We followed our path uphill until we were about 120 m above the valley. 30 m would have been more than enough for me. I'm on the brink of a heart attack! We walked through the forest, over hill and dale. Sometimes we had to cross smaller creeks. We took a group photograph ... ... at the foot of this impressive rock. We had to cross another creek. This is the bridge that was once leading across it. I knew that taking a walk with Katja would mean mortal danger. We had to balance over a few stones instead. Thankfully Katja did not drop us into the cold water. Finally we reached the river Wupper again. We walked through a hamlet with lots of old houses. One of the local farmers is selling potatoes, eggs and honey here in this booth. Nobody is watching over the goods here, you can take what you want to buy and put the money into the savings box. We bought potatoes and eggs. Bye Bernd
olgamaus Posted May 17, 2010, 9:38 pm	Hi Mummy, we went to Remscheid- Lennep today. Lennep is the oldest district of the municipal area, with own municipal law since the 1260's years. This district belongs to Remscheid as part of the city since 1929 A.D. Lennep still has its medieval  city core. Many of the old houses are under monument protection. Here the farmer's market is held twice a week. Some of the old lanes are really narrow. If you are not careful you will bang your head against those walls. This is the "Roentgen-Museum". Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, the founder of the x-rays, was born in Lennep in 1845 A.D. Now everybody knows what the photocopy of a loaf of bread looks like - but what about an x-ray photograph? This is the school which Katja attended until 1982. I saw a really funny sticker on a car: I'll try to translate it into English: Getaway dwarf? Häää? Katja told me that "Fluchtzwerg" is a wordplay which certainly cannot be translated into any language. Bye Bernd
olgamaus Posted May 21, 2010, 9:03 pm	Hi Mummy, we took a walk in the city in Katja's lunch break. She told us that we would know the whole surroundings of Remscheid, but not the city itself. The first photo was taken in a street close to my current home. All around are houses, built around the 1900's. Here are allotment gardens. Katja told us that you can find lots of allotment gardens here because of the city's topography. You cannot build houses everywhere, but it's great for gardens. In the background you can see Wuppertal. We reached a housing area, a former working-class quarter. Some of the houses are really small (too small to my taste). [img] [/img] All around it is green. Back in the city centre ... the city hall in the background. In 30 minutes we'll have to return to Katja's workplace. That's not half as exhausting as walking with Katja .... This is the water tower. The drinking water is pumped uphill from a dam in a valley. You can see the towers of the city hall and this water tower from everywhere around. Than let's go back to work. Bye Bernd
olgamaus Posted May 21, 2010, 9:13 pm	Hi Mummy, the sun was shining, so my friends and Katja could not wait to go out. We took a walk in the early evening, of course in the forest, far away from home, of course. The first photo was taken in Hasten, here you can also find lots of old houses. We picked up Katja's friend Erika and walked along Morsbachtal. We saw a flock of sheep, they had a lot of recently born lambs - gigot of a lamb, lamb loin, lamb chop - yummy! It seems we are at least 10 km away from home! We crossed the road which follows the valley. Soon we reached another forest. Finally we took the bus back home. We would have had to walk uphill for at least another 40 minutes, so taking the bus the best idea Katja had today. Bye Bernd
Pandamao Posted Jun 7, 2010, 10:39 am	Hellohooo! I want to get out of that parcel ... anybody hear me?
Pandamao Posted Jun 7, 2010, 10:53 am	Of course I would arrive in Munich right before the week-end .... just to get picked from the shop (that kept the parcels) only after the week-end  It was boring, I tell you, to stay inside this parcel during the week-end, nobody for talking or entertainment. Luckily there were some gummi bears to eat and something that looked like a small sausage. Before taking a bite from it I realized that it was a dog sausage! Beeeeh  I'm a bread not a dog!
Pandamao Posted Jun 7, 2010, 10:58 am	I wanted to relax and lay down on the sofa for a nap. And then this hairy monster hopped on the sofa and sat right next to me. Help! I threw the dog sausage on her to distract her .... dogs eat bread, I'm a bread .... end of the nap, I made a qick dash to reach the desk where the dog cannot reach me.
Pandamao Posted Jun 7, 2010, 11:07 am	Brrr, brrrrr, it is raining all the time and is so cold, I had to grab my towel and wrap it around to keep warm. Did I really arrive in Munich ..... or in the Arctic???
Pandamao Posted Jun 12, 2010, 8:10 pm	We went for a walk with the dog along the Isar river. But because it had rained so much all the paths along the river were under water. No way I go there! I do not return from this walk a muddy soaked bread
Pandamao Posted Jun 12, 2010, 8:13 pm	The river has still flooded the river bed. so today's walk was short, just along the German Museum.
Pandamao Posted Jun 12, 2010, 8:17 pm	Finally it was warm like summer should be and I ventured out for a longish walk in the Perlacher forest.
Pandamao Posted Jun 12, 2010, 8:23 pm	Aaaah, first the Arctic weather, now global warming ..... it was too hot to walk far. So I turned back to the apartment after a glimpse at the Opera house at Gärtnerplatz which is just around the corner. My eyes hurt, I forgot to bring sunglasses
Pandamao Posted Jun 13, 2010, 9:28 pm	Finally some sight-seeing - we went to see the Orlando house and the Hofbräuhaus, a huuuuuge beerhall and very famous, all the tourists go there.
Pandamao Posted Jun 13, 2010, 9:34 pm	Right in the neighborhood of the Hofbräuhaus you will find the Platzlgassen - nice small alley-ways in between the house blocks.
Pandamao Posted Jun 21, 2010, 10:40 pm	Daily walks along the Isar river with the dog have started again after the flooding was over .... so much walking for a little bread, sigh.
Pandamao Posted Jul 18, 2010, 6:50 pm	Today I got a dose of "culture". I went to the Moderne Pinakotheken - a museum of modern art. They also have a department for design of household articles, furniture, cars and such. I did not much like the modern paintings, though - too ugly for a smart bread like me
Pandamao Posted Jul 18, 2010, 6:59 pm	Went for a stroll at Sendlinger street and saw the Asam church, some old style houses and the Alter Peter (Old Peter). The Alter Peter is a church and lots of tourist climb up the tower to have a look over Munich. Ha, ha, I did not fall into this tourist trap - what do you see on top of the tower ..... roofs, roofs and roofs ... and besides, too much climbing.
Pandamao Posted Jul 18, 2010, 7:04 pm	Finally some reasonable activity - shopping! At the Marienplatz with the Mayor's place one of the biggest shopping zones in Germany starts. Sigh, my owner unfortunately forgot to pack my purse. Perhaps I could use my host's credit card????
Pandamao Posted Jul 18, 2010, 7:13 pm	A visit to the Bavarian King's residence - I was expecting a much bigger place. And the walls are not real marble - they're painted. I've been told that it brings luck to rub the lions' noses that stand in front of the residence. I rubbed very hard until the noses were shining brightly
Pandamao Posted Jul 18, 2010, 7:18 pm	Right beside the residence there some more interesting touris places - Maximilian street (where only rich people can shop Dior, Armani and so on), the opera, Feldherrnhalle and Theatiner Church.
Pandamao Posted Jul 18, 2010, 7:25 pm	I went to a small town in North-East Bavaria - very calm.
Pandamao Posted Jul 18, 2010, 7:28 pm	Bought some veggies and stuff at Victual's market.
Pandamao Posted Sep 3, 2010, 10:00 am	Time to say good-bye! I'm continuing my travels.
RikeH Posted Sep 6, 2010, 9:13 pm	Hi Mum, I arrived in Sülfeld today. A funny bunny gave me a warm welcome.His name is Dicker Kumpel. He introduced me to some other guests here. I didn't want to talk a lot - so I went out on the balcony - and stared on some flowers. A strange frog lives here. And I found some Art. I will write more soon. yours Bernd
RikeH Posted Sep 11, 2010, 9:16 pm	Hi Mum, RikeH told me that we will go to Hamburg today. I know Hamburg, but didn't want to be a bad boy,  so I went with her. First we went by car. Then we used a new train - it looked really cool. We arrived in Hamburg - and took the first photo in front of this great house - called the Fischauktionshalle. Then we went along the River Elbe. Can you see the submarine behind me? They repair a big cruise ship - called Europa. I would love to travel on it. A warship from Brazil visited the Port. I don't know, why there were sea gulls here - we are not next to the sea. The port was full of tourists, so we decided to drive home.Maybe we will come back another day. yours Bernd
RikeH Posted Sep 16, 2010, 7:11 pm	Hi Mum, it was time to explore Sülfeld today. First I went to the nice old Church. I found this mushroom, maybe someone knows its name? Nice color! On the other side of the street is the Pharmacie. This is the old school. The mayor works here. Or maybe I am the mayor? I loved this old door. Later we went to a nice little lake. Love Bernd
RikeH Posted Sep 20, 2010, 5:42 pm	Hello again, We went to a small town called Malchow. This is the view to the Malchow Lake. We had nice sunshine. I had a nice cup of coffee and a delicious cake. This is the town's landmark - a church. And this is the view back to the city. Fortunately you cannot see much of the city - but me in all my beauty! The townhall... ... and another view of the church. Back to the hotel - we went through the garden of the hotel. You can see the hotel in the background. There is a nice small Pavillon in the garden. This is the view of the garden from our balcony. Really nice! We relaxed in the sun and talked about our adventures in Malchow. Yours Bernd
RikeH Posted Sep 22, 2010, 8:11 pm	Ahoi from the MS Stadt Malchow, We made a trip on a boat to another town, called Waren. Our trip lasted two hours. This is the Müritz - the biggest Lake of Germany, that only belongs to Germany. Far away you can see Waren. I talked with this friendly wooden guy. This is a photo of our boat. Views from the biggest place in Waren. A really wonderful church. The inner Harbour - a big ship left. We started with a wooden guy - at the end of our trip we met this colorful man - he told me great stories. What a wonderful day! Love Bernd
RikeH Posted Sep 26, 2010, 5:02 pm	Hello Mum, Today we went back home and stopped in a town called Wismar. This is the centre of  the old town is the huge Market Place, the largest in Germany (10,000 square metres).  The square's focal point is the Wasserkunst, an elaborate wrought-iron fountain imported from Holland in 1602. The northern side of the square is occupied by the Town Hall, built in neoclassical style in 1817–1819. Another notable building in the square is an ancient Gothic warehouse called Alter Schwede (The Old Swede), erected around 1380. The 80 m high tower church of St Mary (Marienkirche) is the only remainder of the original Brick Gothic edifice, built in the first half of the 13th century. It suffered heavy damage in World War II, and was deliberately destroyed in 1960 under the East German Communist government. Then we went to the old port. In the background you can see the Water Gate. And here is a view of the harbour. I walked over a bridge with 4 pigs on it - I loved this funny one most. I want to show the others that I am really famous in Germany. I am a TV-Star. Back home we saw one of my shows in the TV. Love Bernd
RikeH Posted Oct 9, 2010, 9:22 pm	Hello Mum , the weather was really nice today - so we decided to make a walk around Sülfeld. I met this funny little guy - nice color! The trees start to change their colors. This is the way I walked along. RikeH loves this big tree - I don't know why. Another nice view on my way. I spent some times talking with these cows. Later we walked over a bridge. I looked into this direction... then into the other. Grass, trees and the ceiling. As you know I love flowers - I found these daisies. Back home I sat a moment in the garden - and enjoyed the sun. Love Bernd
RikeH Posted Oct 17, 2010, 11:23 pm	Hello Mum, today we went to Bad Segeberg, a nice little town near to Sülfeld. We started in front of this nice old building. This is a really funny fountain with a man on it. But the sun was in the wrong direction, so you cannot see it that good. Fortunately we were able to see it. Next to it there were beautiful flowers - I had to sit next to the flowers! Another beautiful old building. and the church. Then we walked up a hill and had a great view of the theatre where they play stories of Karl May in the summer. Some minutes later I had this view over the city and the big lake of Segeberg. Here you can see all of us. I am not far away from home - only 45 km! On the way back to our car we stopped at a small lake and met some ducks. Love Bernd
RikeH Posted Oct 31, 2010, 5:04 pm	Hello Mum, It is me - Bernd. Are you surprised to see me like that? It is Halloween!!! We all  wanted to go as ghosts - but to tell the truth, RikeH is not really good in creating costumes, although she spent hours on it. Well now I look like something between a ghost and a mummy, but I am sure, we will have fun this day. Well, we went outside and stopped at the first house we found. It seems to be winter? A funny snowman. Can you see me in my costume? The door opened and we sang a song - and recited a poem. Good luck for us - we got sweets. Well - it was a rainy day - so we decided to go back onto our armchair. We put away our costumes - well - not everybody did it. Maybe a real ghost - we all were very curious. Fortunately not - it was a new ToyVoyager here - called Hoots. We were very surprised, because we didn't know that he would come. He was invited more than 6 weeks ago... Dicker Kumpel gave him a warm welcome. RikeH told us that we should eat something normal, before eating all the candys, so we had some burgers. I shared mine with Dusel. It was yummy. We will spend the rest of the day looking out of the window - and watching the ghosts outside. Mum, I am homesick now, and asked RikeH to send me home. I miss you! I will jump into my envelope tomorrow - and hopefully be home in a few days. love Bernd
Myrtle Posted Nov 10, 2010, 6:52 am	Heeeelllooo Rike and DickerKumpel! I am home again! But now I will have a rest and soome wheaq and milk... I will write again soon!
Myrtle Posted Jan 23, 2011, 6:12 pm	Whow, January already and I didn´t write...  And something important happend: I got an invitation! From Finnland! From the internet I know, that Finnland could be a great destination for a bread like me: calm, not far away, not too hot... And it is pretty dark these days... Do they have rocks and boulder? I could stand not watching the ingrain wallpaper for a while, if I could complete my collection of smaller rocks... I have to find out how to get there!
Myrtle Posted Jan 28, 2011, 12:39 pm	Something special happend today: I confronted my human with my decision, to travel to Finland. And she said OK! I never expected that, but it seems she read my travellog already, and saw that I can behave myself and only stay at very nice hosts that keep me well. She even will support me! So we will  together prepare my box for my next journey and she will take me to the post office.  Ok, lets get starting!
Myrtle Posted Jan 31, 2011, 7:55 pm	Well, time to pack… For my first journey to Finland I choosed a light blue traveltowel, hehe! NEVER travel without a towel! In my box it will keep me warm and save. It is not so easy to climb in it! Oh NO! Get me out here! Immediately!!! And I shall never travel without my ToyVoyager-ID-badge! So, now we can try it again… I will have a nap, as long as I have to stay in the box. Well, good night to Hamburg! Good morning Helsinki!!!
Huppu68 Posted Feb 10, 2011, 10:15 pm	Hi Mom, I arrived here in Helsinki yesterday. The mailman did his job well and brought my travelbox to my new host so I didn't have to wait in the post office. The trip to Finland was longer than I had thought and it was good that I had my traveltowel with me. My new host Kirsi opened my box and soon I noticed there were some strange animals staring at me. (Pictures 1 and 2) My host told me that they were all just curious and wanted to see what was inside of the box. I went to sit on the couch and stared them back, I still had my towel around me. (Picture 3) Those toys didn't look so bad so finally I put my towel back to my box and and gave the candies and the card of Hamburg to the others. (Picture 4) (Sorry that photo is really small, but the file was just too large so my had to make it smaller) They were all happy about the candies and Michel surprised me by speaking perfect German - he is also from Hamburg. (Picture 5) There were also Manu the Rubber Duck, Blinchick who is originally from Russia and a small moose called Kerttu, who wants to become to a TV soon. They wanted to hear all about me and chat a lot, but I wasn't ready for that - I was just too hungry. My host took me to kitchen and gave me some delicious soup. No pictures of that - it's not nice when someone takes pictures when you're eating. My host told me that it was a special afternoon for her - she was going to work as an assistant for a few hours at shooting for a TV (Not ToyVoyager, this time this means television) serie and she had already promised to take the other toys there with her. There was -10 C and hard wind outside, but she said that her bag was nice and warm - we would have to be quiet there and we couldn't come out at the shooting. Well, I wasn't hungry anymore and that sounded interesting so I was ready to go with her and the others. She was right, her bag was really warm and we were all a bit excited about going to TV studious so we were quiet there for the trip too. We were at the studio for 3 hours and we heard everything what was happening, that was really interesting. After the shooting on our way back home we took a nap in the bag. Oh, it was not allowed to take any pictures at the studios so my host didn't have her camera there with her. In the evening I wanted to be alone so my host gave a big muffin and a cup of hot chocolate for a snack. (Picture 6) The others had their snack later. After the muffin I felt myself quite tired and wanted to go to sleep. My host showed me some sleeping places and I chose a bread basket. I went to sleep there with a Finnish carrot bread (Picture 7) and so my first day in Finland was over. Today my host went to meet her friends in the city. There was still really cold outside and I had seen there was a lot of snow too so I wanted to stay in her bag until we would have reached our destination. We went to a small tearoom and there were only four tables there. We had tea and croissants with jam. Hot tea felt nice after the cold weather and the croissants were really tasty. (Pictures 8-10) We stayed there a few hours and it was quite interesting to hear how my host and her friends spoke Finnish - I didn't understand a word of it. I hope it will be a bit warmer tomorrow, I need some fresh air and I'd like to see some views here too. Now it's time for me to go to sleep. Until later. Yours, Bernd
Huppu68 Posted Feb 14, 2011, 7:51 pm	Hi Mom, Happy Valentine's Day Oh yes, it's Valentine's Day or Friend's Day as they call it here in Finland. We had a big photo shooting by my host today. She said this day is all about friends, love, hearts, pink, red, chocolate, kisses, etc. As you know those things are just the way I am - NOT! Well, don't worry Mom, I was polite and you don't have to be embarrassed for me. I know that my host and the others liked to take those photos and I played with them. I got chocolates and a doughnut later - heart shaped of course. Well, are you ready to see how I spent my Valentine's Day? Here we go, remember I warned you... Love and kisses, Bernd <3 (Oh no, the spirit of The Valentine's Day found me!!!)
Huppu68 Posted Mar 2, 2011, 9:59 pm	Hi Mom, Wow, so much has happened since the last time I wrote here. I don't quite know where should I start now, hmmm, from the beginning I think. Well, at first I looked outside just from my host's balcony (pictures 1-4) or from the windows (pictures 5 and 6). There were so much snow everywhere and it looked really cold out there, but finally my host took me out with the other guys - and Kerttu, the moose girl. We played out for a while and my host took pictures of us. Snow was cold, bit it didn't feel so bad as it looked at first. (pictures 7-9) One day I went to the city with my host and the others stayed at home. Kirsi told me that she takes all the TVs for a private tour sometimes and spends a day with just one toy. Well, at first she showed me the most important building of Helsinki - the main post office. (picture 10) My host is addicted to Postcrossing and sends many postcards so maybe that has something to do with the post office too... We went to the post office and it looked great. (picture 11) I got to sit on a mail box too, they are orange and blue here in Finland and the orange one looked so cheerful I almost smiled. (picture 12) I also saw the Contemporary art museum called Kiasma (picture 13) and the Parliamet house of Finland. (picture 14) Wind was really cold so we went back home and had big cups of hot chocolate.
Huppu68 Posted Mar 2, 2011, 10:58 pm	It was really cold here for two weeks (-24C or even -27C) so we mostly stayed inside. We read a lot (picture 1) and I lerned to like Moomin stories very much.  Manu the Rubber Duck has his own photo book and here you can see him together with Finland's ex Prime Minister. Manu sure knows many important and famous people. (picture 2) We watched movies like Shrek 3 and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. I really liked them both and the other movies too. You can't just watch Charlie and Chocolate Factory without any chocolate (picture 3) and we had some hot chocolate with chocolate biscuits Sometimes we played hide and seek. There were many great hiding places at Kirsi's place and I always found the best ones. (pictures 4 and 5). We also had nice talks with some other toys. Here's Little Hunger and Helppi with us. (picture 6) Helppi was a bit too cheerful, but I soon became friends with Little Hunger - he is mostly in the same mood with me. (picture 7) I got to taste some typical Finnish sweets called salmiakki, salty liquorice. Michel tasted them too, but Manu and Blinchick didn't. (picture 8) I tried to write my name with the salmiakki alphabet, but there were not all the letters. (picture 9) Sometimes I jus looked at all the wonderful postcards my host has - there are lots of empty cards ready to be sent and many boxes of received cards at her place. (picture 10) I don't want you to think that I didn't eat anything else than chocolate, candies and cakes here Mom, but my host just didn't take any pictures of me eating. Well, here you can see I've had one of my favourite meals - meatloaf and mashed potatoes (picture 11)
Huppu68 Posted Apr 25, 2011, 8:27 pm	Hi Mom, Yes, I'm fine and still here in Helsinki. My host had had huge problems with her computer (and she still does) so we haven't been able to update my travelog. Hmmmmm, so much has happenend since I last wrote here. Maybe I should let all the photos speak for themselves. Well, short explaining at first. Many TVs has left and many has arrived. I've got some great new friends and I'd like to believe I can meet them again someday somewhere... I've travelled a lot here by busses and trams with my host and with other TVs. Manu the Duck had a birthday party and he is 3 years old now I've met Moomins and and seen the Lutheran Cathedral of Helsinki. I've been in many postcrossing meetings and written lots of postcards. I've had fun and I've learned to like Finnish coffee, especially latte. OK, now I'll show "some" photos to you dear Mom
Huppu68 Posted Jun 2, 2011, 9:19 pm	Hello Mom, Here I am again. My host's health and computer problems are now over, we sure hope so, and now we can update by travelog again We had a great Easter here. We were hunting eggs and we found lots of chocolate eggs. (Picture 1-5) Finnish chocolate is really delicious A week from Easter it was the MayDay, the First of May or Vappu as they call it here in Finland. It's a big celebration for students and most of the people. It's almost like a Finnish carneval. We had a peaceful Vappu at home. We ate some doughnuts and had balloons. It was a nice day and it also means that now spring is here. (Picture 6) In the sunny days we like to sit out in the balcony and have some latte or ice latte. It's just nice to sunbathe sitting in a chair with friends (Pictures 7 and 8) We have also watched some movies when it has been rainy or too cold to go out. We´ve always had pop corn too
Huppu68 Posted Nov 27, 2011, 9:45 pm	Hello Mom, OMG, I had no idea it has been almost six months since I last updated my travelog. I'm really sorry and my host is really sorry too. My host has had problems after problems, but I'm OK and I've had a great time here with my friends. Summer was really hot and sunny. I don't like the hot weather so much as you know Mom. We spent a lot of time in the shadows and we didn't burned our skins. Well, pictures tell more than words so here you can see summer pictures of me and my friends.
Huppu68 Posted Nov 27, 2011, 10:19 pm	We spent two weeks at my host's childhood home in the Central Finland. Her mother still lives there and it is a beautiful place. It felt like we were in the countryside after the the busy city of Helsinki, but actually the place called Lievestuore is quite near (24 km) from the nearest city Jyväskylä. It was green everywhere, lots of flowers and we spent lots of time by the lake. Manu the Duck and my host loved to swim there, but we others just sat at the boardwalk watching them. I'm not so interested in going to water... We visited a small amusement park and we went to a boat ride and I got to ride a horse there too Oh btw, I think I've became a bit softer and kinder here. Sometimes I might even smile a little. It makes me worry - what happens if I start to laugh? Should I be worried Mom? This is not normal for me... Well, after two weeks it was time for us to pack our things and travel back to Helsinki. Kirsi's mother made a big strawberry cake for us in the last day. It was delicious After that trip we haven't taken any new photos, but we'll do it soon. Bye Mom - I miss you a lot! Yours, Bernd <3
Huppu68 Posted Mar 3, 2015, 7:46 pm	Hi Mom, Do you still remember me? I'm Bernd and I'm still alive and here in Finland  I've been here in Helsinki most of the time, but I've also travelled all aroud Finland and even visited Estonia once. I love Finnish chocolate and candies - and I've learned to love coffee too, like a normal Finn. My host told me good news today - I'll leave Finland tomorrow and come back home. It's exciting and sad too; I'll miss my Finnish friends, but I'll got to see you again. I'm quite sure I won't be sleeping much this night... Ok, I'll tel you everything about my long trip when we'll meet again. Here are some photos so you'll remember who I am
Huppu68 Posted Mar 3, 2015, 8:13 pm	Last summer we went to Tallinn for a day. It was a warm, sunny day and we travelled to Estonia by a huge ship. I was a bit scared there and remembered the movie Titanic so my host took me to the deck and showed me the life boats. I also saw that there were no icebergs so I got relaxed. In Tallinn we walked around the Old Town and it was beautiful. We sat down for a coffee and Manu the Duck and I shared a bowl of ice cream. In the evening we travelled back to Helsinki by that same ship again. I was so tired after a long day that I totally forgot to be affraid of the icebergs. I'm sure you would love Tallinn too Mom.
Huppu68 Posted Mar 3, 2015, 8:46 pm	Helsinki is the capital of Finland and also a beautiful seaside city. We have walked by the sea a lot. I also saw a big icebreaker My host is addicted to coffee and to geocaching too. I have been looking for some caches with her and it's a nice hobby. Do they have any geocaches there Mom? Can we go to look for them together?
Huppu68 Posted Mar 3, 2015, 9:03 pm	Do you know who Jean Sibelius is Mom? I didn't, but after we had seen his interesting monument I learned a lot about him. We also listened to music he composed and I liked it even though it wasn't rock or pop. Oh, talking about music - I have been in many concerts and festivals here in Finland. No photos, but I've been a nice bread and haven't done anything you should be ashamed of. My favourite Finnish band is Elonkerjuu and I've seen them live many times. This year we have seen many plays in different theaters. At first I thought it would be too boring, but I've actually liked all of them a lot.
Huppu68 Posted Mar 5, 2015, 8:39 pm	Hi Mom, I'm on my way back home, but I wrote this on paper so my host can update my travelog for the last time. My host had to move to a smaller place last December, because there startet a huge renovation at her building. Last fall we lived with boxes and we all packed a lot. Here at the smaller apartment we unpacked everything and now the packing is slowly beginning again. I told you this, because somewhere during this packing and unpacking my travellingbox got lost. I was almost in panic when we noticed this and thought that I couldn't travel back home without my box. My host offered me her Moomin suitcase, but I wanted a box. Finally I calmed down when she said that we can buy a new box from the post office. Yesterday we didn't make to the post office in time and I didn't want to spend the night there alone in the dark in a box so I left Finland today. Yesterday evening we had fun here with my host and my toyfriends. I had a nice big bun with coffee and so much chocolate ice-cream as I could eat. I also said goodbye to all my friends, but I don't want show those photos to you mom, because you might get upset - there was something wet coming out from my eyes and it felt weird. My host told me that they were tears, but I'm a tough guy and I don't cry so they must have been sweat. I'm going to miss all my friends here though...
Huppu68 Posted Mar 5, 2015, 8:50 pm	Ok, so this is the last update from Helsinki, Finland... This morning I didn't have my coffee, because I knew I had to travel a long way in my box and I didn't want to go to the toilet anywhere alone. We went to the tram stop and waited for the tram for the last time. Oh, now I have to stop this "last time" -thing... We travelled by tram to the post office and I got a new box for my trip. I tried it and it felt comfortable enough. We went to the airport and in the last photo you can see me there waiting for my flight back home. See you soon Mom - goodbye Finland! Yours, Bernd The Bread
Myrtle Posted Mar 14, 2015, 6:40 pm	Lasst mich hier raus!  Es war eine lange und wackelige Reise von Helsinki nach Hause... Zum Glück hat mein Bruder Bernd mir gleich aus dem Karton geholfen. Leider konnte ich mein Reisetagebuch nicht gleich auf den neuesten Stand bringen, weil meine Menschen inzwischen die Software auf den Rechnern getauscht hatten und ich mich nicht gleich zurecht fand. Dabei war ich doch nur vier Jahre fort! Und um ehrlich zu sein: Ich hatte überlegt, für immer dort zu bleiben. Zum einen war es bei Huppu wirklich sehr schön und sie hat gut für mich gesorgt. Zum zweiten hat Finnland ein prima Klima! Ich fühle mich wie frischgebacken! Und zuguter Letzt: Es ist schön ein Toyvoyager zu sein! Es kommen immer nette Freunde an! Aber ich denke, jetzt beliebe ich doch erst mal einige Zeit hier, und schaue nach dem rechten. Bis bald, Freunde! Bernd **** Get me outta here! It has been a long and shakey journey from Helsinki back home! Fortunatly my elder brother Bernd helped me out of the parcel... Unfortunatly I couldn't update my travellog immediatly because my humans changed the computer software. And I was only four years away! Frankly I considered about staying in Finland for ever. First it was , because I had a great time with Huppu, she was a great host! Second the clima in Finland was fabulous: I feel like fresh from the oven! And never the last: I love to be a toyvoyager, I alwas met nice new friends! But it is better for all that I stay here some time and care for everything. Hope to see you all soon again! Bernd
Myrtle Posted Mar 14, 2015, 6:41 pm
Myrtle Posted Mar 14, 2015, 6:42 pm

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