Cute Knut, Eugene, Oregon, USA

Pandamao Posted May 7, 2007, 11:01 pm	I am Cute Knut, a little ice bear. There was so much in the news about global warming that I got very interested. In fact, I am afraid I'll never see the Arctic Ice .... and I am an ice bear, that should be my natural environment. What am I going to do? Live in a fridge? So I decided to start traveling as a toyvoyager to get to know new places and perhaps find a new home somewhere (without having to spend the rest of life in the fridge).
Pandamao Posted May 8, 2007, 11:18 pm	Today Alpina has packed and starts her trip to France. Too bad I did not have a lot of time to get to know her, but then there are still Klaus and Björn Bangsi - Björn has already traveled quite a bit and it's great when he tells stories about his adventures.
Pandamao Posted May 17, 2007, 1:34 pm	Today we (Klaus, Björn Bangsi and I) rushed out of work with Pandamao, grabbed her bike and set off to go to Bernried. First we took the S-Bahn to Tutzing, then we continued by bike to arrive finally at Kloster Bernried. That is a monastery run by Benedictine nuns.
Pandamao Posted May 17, 2007, 1:47 pm	At first I was afraid the nuns wouldn't let us in (us = Björn Bangsi, Cute Knut and Klaus .... all of us being male) but we did not get problems and were allowed to stay for one week and join Pandamao with her Qigong training course. The photo shows the view from the seminar room.
Pandamao Posted May 17, 2007, 2:04 pm	During lunch break we took the bike and headed out to the Bernrieder Park. It is a nice park right at the lake side with lots of beautiful and big trees. The sun was out and we took a nap in the sun.
Pandamao Posted May 17, 2007, 2:09 pm	After a great week we had to get back to Munich (sigh) and cycled back from Bernried to Starnberg all along the lake side of Starnberger See ("See" is the German word for lake). Isn't it a great view with the mountains in the background?
Pandamao Posted May 17, 2007, 2:24 pm	Today I got a message from aliah inviting me to her home in Malaysia. Wow, my first trip overseas! I quickly grabbed Pandamao's guidebook and started to read. It says that Malaysia's weather is generally warm, humid and sunny all year round. Pandamao told me that I'm not going to see ice .... unless I drink a lot of cocktails
Pandamao Posted May 18, 2007, 6:58 pm	Today I settled into my envelope to travel to Malaysia. It's my first trip abroad - alone - and then it's even outside Europe. What an adventure for a little ice bear. I'm looking forward meeting aliah and her toyvoyagers. Good-bye Munich!
aliah Posted May 24, 2007, 8:02 am	I have arrived in sunny Malaysia. I'm glad I didn't made from ice, if not I would be melting as soon as I arrived
aliah Posted May 31, 2007, 11:43 am	Last weekend, I followed my host's family to Terengganu for a wedding there. While I was there, I have a chance to see the Istana Hinggap (Summer Palace) for the Terengganu Royal Family.
aliah Posted May 31, 2007, 12:06 pm	I was told that in Malay custom, the bride and groom will exchange the wedding gifts. This are some gifts from the groom and I have a chance to take picture with him too. He's wearing baju melayu, the Malay traditional costume. He's so nervous for the wedding
aliah Posted May 31, 2007, 12:14 pm	Fuh....I'm glad the wedding goes well. Later in the evening, we take a walk at Sungai Terengganu (Terengganu River). The weather is good and the scenery is beautiful too
aliah Posted Jun 3, 2007, 5:57 am	Yesterday was the reception on the groom's side and I was invited again  I was accompanied by Mila.
aliah Posted Jun 3, 2007, 6:01 am	Makan time!! I am starving... nyum...nyum....
aliah Posted Jun 3, 2007, 6:08 am	I met with the bride and groom  I also met with some of Aliah's cousins. They are all so nice to me. I am glad I attended this wedding. It's been a great experience to see a Malay wedding while I'm here.
aliah Posted Jun 6, 2007, 4:42 pm	Today I followed to visit the university where Aliah's mum is studying. It is called Universiti Utara Malaysia. It is huge so I have to stay close to Aliah and her family so I won't get lost. I wish I can go to a university too when I grow up
aliah Posted Jun 6, 2007, 5:18 pm	Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad is the former Prime Minister of Malaysia. He was born in Alor Star, Kedah and I was honoured to visit the house where he was born. Back in ol' days, I was told that one has to wash his/her feet before entering the house so that's why every house has a tempayan at the staircase to store water for this purpose.
aliah Posted Jun 6, 2007, 5:49 pm	Later, I catch a glimpse of one of the skyscrapers in Malaysia. It is Menara (Tower) Alor Star. It is a telecommunication tower.
aliah Posted Jun 6, 2007, 6:02 pm	I also visited Masjid (mosque) Zahir. It is considered one of the largest and grandest mosques in Malaysia and was built in the Moorish style. From the square opposite the mosque, I can see Menara Alor Star from here too.
aliah Posted Jun 7, 2007, 4:13 am	I visited Balai Besar (Grand Audience Hall) too. the Balai Besar was used for the wedding ceremony for the His Royal Highness's five princes and princesses of Kedah, installation ceremonies, official ceremonies, and State Council Conferences since 1905 until 1973.
aliah Posted Jun 7, 2007, 4:15 am	Knut is visiting the AlBukhary Complex
aliah Posted Jun 7, 2007, 8:18 am	It is Wednesday, so it's pasar malam (night market) in Kangar. I tagged along with my host family to see it. It brings together a collection of stalls that usually sell goods such as fruit, vegetables, snacks, toys, clothes, movie discs and ornaments at cheap, reasonable prices. I see rambutan, manggis (mangosteen), durian and tembikai (watermelon). We bought a watermelon for the picnic tomorrow. Yummy!!
aliah Posted Jun 7, 2007, 8:33 am	Food glorious food!!! There are satay, yong tau foo, putu buluh (a Malay kueh), and many many foods.
aliah Posted Jun 7, 2007, 8:38 am	I also see people buying vegetables, anchovies, clothes and there's balloons too. weee....
aliah Posted Jun 7, 2007, 12:52 pm	Today we're going to have a picnic at Gua Kelam. yay!! I'm so excited ^___^ Along the way, I saw many rubber trees and paddy fields. It's so serene...
aliah Posted Jun 7, 2007, 1:08 pm	We have arrived at Gua Kelam and there are already many other families arrived before us. We got a very nice spot and it's time to go into the water. slowly... slowly... The water is so cold. brrr.... And the watermelon taste so delicious after "soaking" for a long time. I had so much fun!!
aliah Posted Jun 23, 2007, 5:20 am	I'm going to Kuala Lumpur today with the others. Yay!! But first thing first, we need to help watch Aliah's uncle place called Hostel Cosmopolitan for a few hours as he's going out to do some errands.
aliah Posted Jun 23, 2007, 5:23 am	Okay I'm ready to see the rest of Kuala Lumpur (KL). First stop, Malaysia Tourism Centre. Great place to get some information on KL. I got some phamplets and map of KL. This buiding used to be the admistrative office of the Colonial and Japanese.
aliah Posted Jun 23, 2007, 5:27 am	Hi Gabi, I'm at the world's tallest twin towers (452 metres), the Petronas Twin Towers. Isn't it great?!!
aliah Posted Jun 23, 2007, 5:30 am	Independence Square was the site where the Malaysian flag was hoisted on 31st August 1957 when independence was gained from the British Empire. Across the street I also can see the Sultan Abdul Samad Building which used to house the government offices back then.
aliah Posted Jun 23, 2007, 5:31 am	Central Market used to be a wet market, now turned into an arts, cultural, & handicrafts centre. Aliah said it is one of her favourite place to be in Kuala Lumpur.
ChristinaB Posted Jul 11, 2007, 8:42 am	Hello! I arrived in Vienna/Austria a few days ago and had a very warm welcome from the other toyvoyagers who were already waiting for me. There were Alfie Langer and CK the 2 crazy bears from Australia who are happy to escape from winter this year. There was Florence, the beautiful flamingo from Florida. Then Paz, the little crab from Brazil (he is an inofficial toy voyager but a very friendly one...). And Taro, a pretty shy but very nice bear from Japan. Then there is Benedikt a friendly dog who takes care about us very well (he belongs to my host's oldest son Leonhard). Well - and then I met somebody very, very special: Eisbär!!! He is my great-great cousin and we never met before but I was soooo happy to see him!!! He has been living here in Vienna all his life with Niklas, the 4-year-old son of my host and he is a really happy and loved bear. Eisbär and Niklas offered me to share their bed with them - so I really feel very comfortable here!
ChristinaB Posted Jul 11, 2007, 8:46 am	The weather hasn't been very friendly here in Austria so far. But nevertheless we already did a bit of sightseeing. So my host showed me the famous Big Wheel, the Danube tower, the building of the UNO here in Vienna and the colourful house created by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. Beautiful, isn't it? We also went up a hill where we had an impressing view over the city. As I said it is a bit cold and rainy at the moment so some of the photos are a bit dark - sorry for that
ChristinaB Posted Jul 13, 2007, 12:06 pm	Oh, what alot of sightseeing I did during the past days here in Vienna! Our host really took me and the other toyvoyagers everywhere. Look where we have been: First we vistited the City Hall. In front of it a film festival takes place during summer and there were tons of different little restaurants. Yummy... Just opposite there is the old imperial theatre and next to it we visited the rosarium. We really had great fun there playing "hide and seek" in the roses. I really found the best place to hide and the others almost didn't find me again, ha, ha! We also saw the Hofburg which was the residence of the emperors. Nowadays it hosts the Austrian national library, some museums and the president's office. Everywhere in the city we saw these horses with their carriages. They are called "Fiaker" and are just a tourist attraction, but in former times they were really used by the people to get around.
ChristinaB Posted Jul 13, 2007, 12:11 pm	We also saw St.Stephen's cathedral with its colourful roof and the famous opera house. Then we had a little rest in the park next to the museum for historical arts with the ball-shaped bushes and we passed by the parliament. We only saw tourists there since all the politicians are already on summer holidays.
ChristinaB Posted Jul 13, 2007, 12:18 pm	I spent the last day in Vienna today because this evening my hosts will go on holiday to an area in Upper austria called "Salzkammergut". I was told that the scenery is very beautiful there and since they asked me whether II'd like to join them I of course agreed. So I'll spend a few more days there and then continue my journey. My hosts will show you my photos here after their return, but it will take a while and I'll probably already be at my next host's then.
ChristinaB Posted Jul 24, 2007, 7:36 pm	I'm spending a wonderful time here in Upper Austria. My hosts took me to lake Attersee where their grandparents have a flat and since it is really hot here at the moment it's the best place I can imagine to be right now. The lake is really beautiful with clear blue water and it is located very close to the mountains, so it's an absolutely nice place. One day I went up a real mountain with my hosts. It was called "Hochlecken" and it was about 1.600 m high. Puhh, how exhausting - but the view from up there to several lakes was really amazing and the food we had up there in the hut tasted better than anywhere else. On the first picture you can see Hochlecken in the background and the lake in the front on the last picture it's just the opposite!
ChristinaB Posted Aug 17, 2007, 11:38 pm	I also visited another lake - Traunsee. It's not far from the place we are staying but even a bit closer to the mountains. Imagine, they have a castle there IN the lake, situated on a very small island. I also listened to the bells at the city hall which play a melody every hour - how nice. And I saw a very old ship: a paddle-steamer called "Gisela" - more than 100 years old. Even the swans which see it every day are always impressed by it
ChristinaB Posted Aug 17, 2007, 11:58 pm	On a pretty cold day my host decided to go to Linz with the kids. In the cellar of an old church there is something called "Grottenbahn" which is pretty exciting (at least for little kids and polar bears...). There is a kind of "home of dwarfs". To visit them you have to do a ride on a dragon and during this ride you can see all of them lightened in different colours. And after this ride we went a floor down where they built various scenes of Grimm's fairy tales (unfortunately the pictures taken inside the building didn't come out but you can see me together with the dwarf near the entrance). Pretty exciting was also the way how we got there: since the church is on a hill called "Pöstlingberg" we had to go up there with a special "hill tram" - also about 100 years old.
ChristinaB Posted Aug 18, 2007, 12:15 am	Another lake today - Wolfgangsee! In my opinion it was the most beautiful lake I saw here in Austria. First we took a cable railway up to a mountain called "Zwölferhorn". From there we had an amazing view over Wolfgangsee and some other beautiful lakes and of course also to many other mountains. We walked all the way down to the lake again (my host had pain in her legs for the next 3 days then. To be honest, I didn't suffer at all I must say...). Afterwards we really felt like having a swim so we went to a place where a stream called "Zinkenbach" leads to the lake. The water was pretty cold (excactly the right temperature for me but the others claimed a bit...) which was just opposite St.Wolfgang. Do you see the nice church on the photo? We stayed there until evening and watched the sunset - it was sooo beautiful!
ChristinaB Posted Aug 18, 2007, 12:22 am	There were quite a lot of rainy days during our stay in Upper Austria so we spent the time visiting many different places. One day we went to a park called "Agrarium" in Steinerkirchen. The main aim of the park is to show various plants to the visitors, trees, flowers and whatever. But they also have some animals there like these Austria-Hungarian donkeys which are really rare. I was told that there are only between 50 and 80 of them in the whole world - and I saw 3 of them - great, hm? But at the moment they also have some even rarer creatures there - dinosaurus! Have a look how close I was to them!! I can't say that they were cosy, but also not very frightening!!
ChristinaB Posted Aug 18, 2007, 12:27 am	2 days afterwards we did a pretty different but not less exciting thing: We visited a "Tree crown pathway" - the longest one that exists in the whole world. It was completely made of wood, about 1 km long and it took us up to a hight of 22 m - so we were really walking "face to face" with the tree crowns. Luckily no-one of us felt dizzy so we all enjoyed this adventure.
ChristinaB Posted Aug 18, 2007, 12:35 am	I was back home today!!!!!!!! My hosts did a trip to my great, great, great hometown and I was sooooo happy about that!! We only stayed there a couple of hours but it was wonderful to breath some Munich air and listen to some Bavarian dialect again. And of course I had a little bit of real Bavarian beer, ate a "Weißwurst" in the morning at Viktualienmarkt and enjoyed a "Schweinsbraten" in the evening. We visited an exhibition in the new "Pinakothek", had a walk in the Englisch garden and then went to the center just to have a look if everything was like it should be. Oh, it was really hard to leave Munich again but I'm an adventurous little polar bear...
ChristinaB Posted Aug 18, 2007, 12:45 am	Back to Austria I quickly forgot about my homesickness because my hosts took me to a perfect place (for polar bears!). We went up Austria's highest mountain Grossglockner (3.892 m)! There is the "Hochalpenstrasse" which allows to go up to 2.500 m by car, they highest point that can be reached by car in Austria. The views during the way up were really breathtaking at the highest point called "Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Höhe" were directly at the glacier "Pasterze". I'm not sure if any of my relatives ever went up there - at least they should because it is almost perfect for polar bears!!! Unfortunately the glacier is melting quickly (we saw some pictures how it looked like about 50 years ago and there was a BIG difference) but it was still very impressing.
ChristinaB Posted Aug 18, 2007, 12:48 am	I left Austria yesterday and I'm on the way back to Malaysia now. There will be a big Teddy bear picknick in September which I don't want to miss so I decided to go back to somebody I already know quite well: Aliah. Good bye, Austria!!!
aliah Posted Aug 26, 2007, 4:45 am	I have arrived safely at Aliah's place. It seems like Yul is not home at the moment because he is visiting imajica so I step-in in become the host until he gets back.
aliah Posted Sep 9, 2007, 3:43 am	We're at National Monument which was built to pay tribute to valiant Malaysian soldiers who gave their lives defending the country during Communist Insurgensy in the 1950s. It is one of the largest freestanding sculptures in the world.
aliah Posted Sep 9, 2007, 5:18 am	We're at one of the sculptures at the ASEAN Sculpture Garden.
aliah Posted Sep 9, 2007, 5:49 am	We're at Tun Abdul Razak Memorial, Malaysia's second Prime Minister. The memorial used to be his residence & now it exhibits documents, mementos, souvenirs & his personal belongings.
aliah Posted Sep 9, 2007, 6:17 am	We're at Rumah Penghulu Abu Seman, a fine example of a traditional Malay house. We love the beautiful carvings of the house as well as its beautiful grounds.
aliah Posted Sep 25, 2007, 3:38 am	I am at the Teddy Bear party and enjoying myself!
drakie Posted Jan 28, 2008, 3:20 pm	Arrived a few days ago to the lovely wet countryside of England, rained and it rained and it rained.  My host took quite a while to updae her computer, she had a big operation and couldnt walk and problems with her computer, and she isnt too technical either.... lol....  Anyway, I arrived and I am going again to Turkey, where I can lie in the sun and sip pina coladas, well Turkish tea anyway.
drakie Posted Jan 28, 2008, 3:28 pm	Well we arrived, and my host was right, it was hot, we are here for a week.  Hardly anyone in the hotel so we had the pool all to ourselves.  Now that was fun.  Well we went and had a swim as we arrived early in the day, travelled late overnight.  But the pool was lovely and cold brrr  brrr which definitely woke me up!!!  quickly... then I had a lovely turkish tea, which quickly then warmed me up.  Tomorrow we are going to one of the 7 wonders of the world, ....  wait and see for the surprise The day before we left, my hosts own bear arrived home for the journey, Eddy Bear so I had some companh
drakie Posted Jan 28, 2008, 4:57 pm	Had a relaxing day by the pool, took a little walk out and about and then settled for a lovely cold drink. At night the sunsets were lovely, so beautiful. Kusadasi is a port and lots of cruise ships come in and light up at night and they head off for exotic places first thing in the morning.  At night all the pretty lights on the boat are lit up. Tommorrow we are going to Ephasus one of the 7 Wonders of the World, also to see Marys resting place, Mary the mother of Jesus from Christian religion
drakie Posted Jan 28, 2008, 5:09 pm	Today we are going on a trip to Ephesus, please take a look at the site which will have more photos on, my host does not know how to attach link to page, as I said before she can type real fast but not technical at all..... www.ephesus.biz This is one of the 7 Wonders of the World Temple of Artemis in Ephesus Turkey The Temple of Artemis (Artemision) - Ephesus Turkey - A column and scanty fragments strewn on the ground are all that remains of the Seventh Wonder of the World. According to Strabo, the Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was destroyed at least seven times and rebuilt just as many times. Archaeological findings instead attest to at least four rebuilding of this temple, starting in the 7th century B.C. . Chersiphone and Metagene erected an Ionic dipteral temple in the 6th century B.C. and its building required was set on fire by Herostratus; the successive majestic structure, built entirely of marble, was begun in 334 and was finished in 250 B.C. : it aroused the admiration of even Alexander the Great who would have liked to have taken charge - at his own expense - of the continuation of the work. Among others, Scopas and Praxiteles worked there, while the design is attributed to Chirocratus.       The Hellenistic temple was built on a podium, to which one ascended by a plinth formed of thirteen steps. A double colonnade encircled the peristyle and the inside space (105 x 55 m) . The relief of the columns were believed to be the work of Scopas, while Praxiteles worked at the realization of the altar. The decadence marked by the Goths ( 3rd century) continued in the Christian era, when materials for the nearby Basilica of St.John and for is left of numerous works of art which at one time used to adorn it, although interesting tokens are kept at the local Museum at the British Museum in London.     The foundation of the temple was rectangular in form, similar to most temples at the time. Unlike other sanctuaries, however, the building was made of marble, with a decorated facade overlooking a spacious courtyard. There were 127 columns in total, aligned orthogonally over the whole platform area, except for the central cella or house of the goddess. Marble steps surrounding the building platform led to the high terrace which was approximately 80 m (260 ft) by 130 m (430 ft) in plan. The columns were 20 m (60 ft) high with Ionic capitals and carved circular sides.     The temple served as both a marketplace and a religious institution. For years, the sanctuary was visited by merchants, tourists, artisans, and kings who paid homage to the goddess by sharing their profits with her. Recent archeological excavations at the site revealed gifts from pilgrims including statuettes of Artemis made of gold and ivory... earrings, bracelets, and necklaces... artifacts from as far as Persia and India.       >>The Pollio Fountain >>Temple of Domitian >>Curetes Street >>Trajan Fountain >>Temple of Hadrian >>Latriana  >>Houses on the Slopes  >>The Celcus Library  >>Marble Street  >>Ephesus Theatre  >>Harbour Baths  -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Half day Ephesus tour 1 ($90)  Half day Ephesus tour 2 ($110)  Full day Ephesus tour ($130)  Full day Ephesus tour 2 ($150)  PRIENE-MILETOS-DIDYMA ($190)
drakie Posted Jan 28, 2008, 5:21 pm	Well my host has had her "new Knee", I have come back from Turkey.  And now its raining again, it always seems to rain in england.  She has not been able to walk so could not update logs. Well we were having Christmas day with friends, then mother in law got ill with Vertigo so we had a quick Christmas meal with friends then drove up to Nottingham (Robin Hood Country) to stay there for a week.  So the meal you see is boxing day, the day after the big christmas meal, but I did get to pull a cracker.!!    I hid in the Christmas tree it is very sparkly, you can just see me in the middle to the right... We went Christmas Eve to a garden centre in ottery St Mary,called Otter nurseries, it was very pretty there.  I met the two reindeer Rudi and Judi and they sang a little song.  Everything was very pretty.  I visited some artic friends whilst I was there, I asked if they knew my REAL mummy and Daddy but they said they were at the furthest Iceberg and didnt know the family... Then my last picture is me going on to my next host Bun Traveller.  My host says she knows she will look after me.  I tried to get hold of my hosts bunny, I got a picture as my host had made her pretty for Christmas but everytime we sat down with the camera Snowy ran off. My host has done a kaleidescope of me, if you look around the middle you will see little me, its from the picture of the twinkling tree my host is having trouble downloading.

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