Monkez, Krasnogorsk, Russia

TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Aug 17, 2010, 7:00 pm	Hello everyone! I`m a little monkey who would like to see the world! Just simple Now I`m at home with Maria and my friends, but I feel that very soon I`ll start my journey! But now I must think about my life missions...
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Aug 23, 2010, 9:09 pm	Hello everyone! It is me again! I would like to show you the highest tower in Russia - Ostankino Tower is a free-standing television and radio tower in Moscow, Russia. Standing 540 metres (1,770 ft) tall! I was near it because they didn`t allow me to enter it No monkeys - they said.
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Aug 29, 2010, 6:04 pm	I like to travel by car - especially when it is old Russian car
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Sep 2, 2010, 8:30 pm	Hey guys! I had a wonderful day in Prague! Very romantic and beautiful city! I wish I could see more, but I have a feeling I`ll come back there...
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Sep 3, 2010, 4:15 pm	Some more photos from Prague - bridges views! And St.Vitus Cathedral! Quote: Saint Vitus' Cathedral  is a Roman Catholic cathedral in Prague, and the seat of the Archbishop of Prague. The full name of the cathedral is St. Vitus, St. Wenceslas and St. Adalbert Cathedral. Located within Prague Castle and containing the tombs of many Bohemian kings and Holy Roman Emperors, this cathedral is an excellent example of Gothic architecture and is the biggest and most important church in the country.
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted Sep 4, 2010, 8:57 pm	I`m on my way to Italy! Now I`m the member of WTVT and I`ll travel around the world! Envy me
annix Posted Sep 17, 2010, 10:40 am	Hi mum, I'm in Italy! My host was waiting for me and she is so glad that I'm finally here. When I arrived I was a bit hungry and it was nice to find a big pizza on the table! Since my journey was a bit tiring, immediately after dinner I needed to go to sleep. Bye
annix Posted Sep 20, 2010, 11:00 am	Hi mum, in the week end I wanted to star visiting Italy but the weather was awful, as soon as I went out my host said I'd better stay at home, so I could only have a look outside through the window. Hope it'll be sunny again very soon! Bye
annix Posted Sep 21, 2010, 11:49 am	Hi mum, today it's sunny again so I could go to the park for a long walk, this park is very close to my actual home, I like it! Bye
annix Posted Sep 23, 2010, 9:47 am	Hi mum, I have a new friend! He's a TV-monkey and his name is Barnardo. Don't you think we look nice together? Bye
annix Posted Oct 12, 2010, 9:37 am	Hi mum, this morning I'm preparing to go out. After taking a shower and washing my teeth I need a break in a bar for a good cup of "marocchino" (coffee, milk and chocolate cream). Then I'll be ready for my first working day... Bye
annix Posted Oct 12, 2010, 3:43 pm	Hi mum, my host takes me to her office, she works in a publishing house and today she needs my help. They have to finish this issue of the magazine and they're late, they'll never manage to finish it without my help! After reading all these magazines I know everything about gossip... and now it's time to upload my travelog! Bye
annix Posted Oct 16, 2010, 7:25 pm	Hi mum, I'm at the seaside in Varazze, on the Ligurian Sea. My host's brother was going to the seaside for the weekend so I asked if I could join him and he said yes! My host said I couldn't miss the opportunity to go to the sea so here I am! Now you can't bath but the beach looks great! Bye
annix Posted Oct 17, 2010, 7:05 pm	Hi mum, it seems that I am quiue lucky, today it was expected to rain but it doesn't and I am to the beach again with my host's brnther. My host called me saying that in Milan it rains...tomorrow I am in Milan again. Bye
annix Posted Oct 22, 2010, 1:37 pm	Hi mum, these are my last days in Italy, a new host is waiting for me. Before leaving I want to visit Milan so here I am, walking in the city center. Milan in the second important town in Italy, after Rome, but from an economic/financial poiut of view it's the most important one. Have a look at it! Bye
annix Posted Oct 30, 2010, 3:05 pm	Hi mum, just to tell you that I am on my way to my new host! Bye
miapearl Posted Nov 9, 2010, 10:53 am	Hi Mum, I have arrived safe and sound  Edit - my host has uploaded my welcome photo
miapearl Posted Dec 10, 2010, 5:30 pm	Hi Mum, We've come out to a garden centre for lunch. I'm a funky monkey! After lunch, we had a look around the Christmas decorations and things. Can you see me? What a lot of stuff they have here. A big snowman!
miapearl Posted Jan 6, 2011, 11:05 am	Hello! Today, we've come to Swallow Falls on the Afon Llugwy near Betws-Y-Coed in Snowdonia. Here I am at the top of the Falls. Here I am at the bottom of the Falls.
miapearl Posted Jan 6, 2011, 11:32 am	Hello! It has been snowing. Yesterday and today, we have come up into the hills for a walk/sledge around Moel Y Ci. Some of the pictures are from yesterday. Snow has melted from lower lying lands. Can you see the sea in the background? And how about Penrhyn Castle? This woodland has mountain-biking trails. Isn't it pretty? Perhaps my host will come this way in the summer with other toyvoyagers. Those clouds look a bit ominous. Sledging is fun!
miapearl Posted Jan 6, 2011, 6:08 pm	Hello! A number of houses on my host's estate have been adorned with Christmas lights. Here are some of them.
miapearl Posted Jan 6, 2011, 6:28 pm	We are spending Christmas with my host's mum. We have a tree. Can you find me on the tree?
miapearl Posted Jan 6, 2011, 7:04 pm	We are playing a game. Settlers of Catan with Cities & Knights and Seafarers expansions. It is quite a good game. I think my host will win this.
miapearl Posted Jan 17, 2011, 11:06 am	We are on our way back from my host's mum's to Wales, but the journey is long so we stopped off at Matlock Bath. We were just in time to visit Temple Mine before it shut for the day. Our guide had some rocks to show us from the mine. Inside the mine, we saw tracks and carts. Temple Mine was opened to mine lead ore, and was re-opened to mine fluorspar, although there is a very very small amount of gold.
miapearl Posted Jan 17, 2011, 11:07 am	We are having a party using the leftover Christmas cake my host made. Some of us are going away next week for pastures new, including me. Goodbye Charlie B., mira, Gaspode, alfie langer, Squizzle, Topple  and Orpheus.
miapearl Posted Jan 17, 2011, 11:19 am	Woo hoo, I am so excited that I am travelling again. I'm going to pastures new. Goodbye Mia, thank you for hosting me
AbbyB Posted Feb 22, 2011, 2:25 am	I have arrived at Abby's house in Canada!
AbbyB Posted Feb 22, 2011, 2:26 am	Today we went to the Raincity Chronicles, which is a night of story-telling that happens about once every two months.  The stories are from real-life, funny, and all of them are loosely based on a theme.  Tonight's theme was Arrivals and Departures. There was freshly-baked goods for sale to eat while you were listening.  I bought a cookie.
AbbyB Posted Mar 3, 2011, 6:40 am	It has been snowing, but snow never lasts long here, so we decided to make the most of it while we could. Everyone decided to make snow angels. Can you see mine?
AbbyB Posted Mar 3, 2011, 6:40 am	Abby's family recently got a new cat, so we decided to introduce ourseves and welcome Emma.
AbbyB Posted Mar 7, 2011, 2:10 am	I am on my way to my new host!
smaug Posted Mar 19, 2011, 4:24 am	Hi Mum I arrived in Calgary ! I spent a few days in the mailbox as smaug wasn’t home , but, eventually, today I felt someone handling my envelope . And when I came out I met a group of TVs welcoming me in Calgary . Dottie Mouse, Pitzelpatz and Fiete are visiting from Germany while sammino is a stay at home TV. I showed to them the beautiful card that my last host gave me and they were all very impressed .
smaug Posted Mar 29, 2011, 4:22 am	Hi Mum, where have you sent me? Today is the first day of spring and we are celebrating it...with a fresh dump of snow . Well, we were not going to do anything anyway, since smaug was at home sick . So we actually had to make sure that he took the right medications. sammino suggested to give him every pill in the house to speed up his recovery , but we all agreed that we didn’t really want to take the chance of poisoning our host, so we just followed the doses suggested on the packages. Later sammino showed us some of the maps of his pre-TV travelling life ... ...and the photos from his private album. We particularly liked his photos in Greenland : maybe I'll go there too one day .
smaug Posted Apr 4, 2011, 3:35 am	Hi Mum, It seems that someone forgot to tell to Old Man Winter that we are supposed to be in spring, so the weather is “not particularly nice” and this week end we didn’t do anything more than a short walk to stretch our legs. As you can see the atmosphere is still very wintery. We walked down to the river to take a couple of photos... But when we asked if we could jump on the ice smaug told us that the river ice is not good for walking so we just headed back to the warmth of home .
smaug Posted Apr 11, 2011, 4:39 am	Hi Mum, When yesterday the weather forecast issued a snowfall warning for Calgary we noticed that it was April 1st and had a laugh about it . Well, it was no April’ fool and today we woke up under a thick snowfall ...which made the trees look very pretty. Walking around town we could barely see the buildings around us. We wanted to play a bit on the ground , but the snow was so deep that we were sinking in it ... ...so we just let smaug do the walking .
smaug Posted Apr 23, 2011, 4:14 am	Hi Mum, Not much happened here in Calgary over the last couple of weeks ...of course, we got more dumps of snow, but that’s no big news anymore . But today smaug showed up with a big envelope and told us to take good care of it...there was something moving in it . It turned out that it was a new guest arriving here in Calgary, Clifford and he brought over a lovely card and some delicious sweets . We told him that he got here with a perfect timing as we are going skiing this week , something that I guess shocked him a bit ....he’ll soon get used to Calgary “spring” .
smaug Posted Apr 25, 2011, 3:30 am	Hi Mum, Today we went skiing in Lake Louise ...where, to be honest, the morning temperatures were not really spring-like . Here we were leaving the base of the mountain on the Grizzly gondola. As we went up the view improved . Later we reached the top of a chair called “Top of the world”: very fascinating name although maybe a bit of an overstatement as there were plenty of higher peaks around . For instance that one behind me is Mt Whitehorn, from where, apparently, in the afternoon smaug decided to practice tumbling downhill in a quite disorderly fashion . Luckily by that time we had already left his backpack and were relaxing at lodge, otherwise we’d be a bunch of much thinner TVs now . Here there’s the opposite side of the valley behind me. Those seemly harmless clouds soon covered us making it almost impossible to tell the snow on the mountain from the clouds with everything turned into a milky fog . So we didn’t take any more picture on the mountain. We tried  our luck later in day at the village, but again we were pounded by a blizzard. We eventually drove over to the lake that gives the name to both the village and the ski resort and the weather decided to give us a break . This is the west side of the lake... ...while the eyesore behind me is the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise, one of the most luxurious and pricey hotel in the Rockies .
smaug Posted Apr 28, 2011, 4:56 am	Hi Mum, Happy Easter! We wondered if smaug was going to get us a giant chocolate egg , but he said that it would have been to much for such small TVs ....so we got a TV size egg each instead ! Hope you had a wonderful day !
smaug Posted Apr 29, 2011, 5:19 am	Hi Mum, Today I said goodbye to all my friends here in Calgary as tomorrow I will go to the post office and start travelling to my next host on the WTVT . sammino gave me a big hug and wished me a safe and quick trip . I wonder if spring will look more spring-like in Hong Kong .
vivyanhui Posted Jun 6, 2011, 9:46 am	It's my first dinner here in Hong kong~ What a big bowl of chicken noodle with fish soup!
vivyanhui Posted Jun 6, 2011, 9:51 am	Udon as dinner this time~ Outside the shop, there's a big window that you can look inside the kitchen, that's cool! Can you see the freshly made udon?
vivyanhui Posted Jun 25, 2011, 10:44 am	Japanese dinner~ so yummy~ After the earthquake, people are afraid to have japanese food, but actually most of the japanese are not having food from Japan.
vivyanhui Posted Jun 25, 2011, 10:50 am	Afte dinner, we head off to the dessert shop. The red one is watermelon juice with sago, green one is green bean soup with seaweed, the white one is yuba (bean curd skin) soup with egg. All these can be served in both cold and hot, all seems very yummy, I don't know which one to choose!  Finally I choose the green one~
BlackCat Posted Jul 19, 2011, 12:29 pm	Hello ! Just wanted to say that I arrived finally at my next host ! Will update with photos later. Just wanted to let you know now! Love, Monkez
vivyanhui Posted Jul 26, 2011, 10:55 am	I had a typical breakfast at the local restaurant, people here called them "cha charn ten". I chose noodles with pork and salted vegetables, even had a hot almond drink! Yummy~ (By the way, I really like the drawings on the cup!)
vivyanhui Posted Jul 26, 2011, 11:09 am	Behind me is the Star Ferry Pier at Central, you can see there are many commercial buildings here in this district. The red transport is called "taxi", the fee is counted based on the miles. Red ones can be found in everywhere, while green ones only in New Territories, there are even blue ones, there are little of them since they are found on Lantau Island only. Besides me is the 2nd tallest building here, IFC (International Finance Centre), don't you think I look like King Kong? Roar~~~~~~~~~~~
vivyanhui Posted Jul 26, 2011, 11:16 am	Guess what I found in the kitchen? Hee hee! A lovely yummy banana!  What a hardly resist yellow thing! Here people called it 香蕉, sounds as "heung-jiu", or can simply called it "jiu", since "heung" is a word that describes the good smelling, "jiu" is banana, so it is good smelling banana. "heung" is also the name of Hong Kong, it means "good smelling harbour".
vivyanhui Posted Jul 26, 2011, 11:23 am	I think here's the nearest place that I can get to see the Tsing Ma Bridge. This bridge was built to connect the new international airport at Lantau Island. The upper part is for all kind of transportations, the lower part is for the train/subway/tube, but people are not allowed to walk on the bridge.  I also met an intelligent grey parrot called "siu ying"~
vivyanhui Posted Jul 26, 2011, 11:29 am	Glad that I went to this chinese calligraphy and painting exhibition. It funny to see the tigers coloured in red, and a goddess holding a huge piece of gold in hand. Don't you think it's pretty to see the words in square shapes? Ver different from English. The word that I learnt today is "me/I" sounds as "ng-o".
BlackCat Posted Aug 20, 2011, 9:37 am	Hello ! Today I arrived at my new host BlackCat. When I was lying in my opened envelope, I suddenly heard a voice saying: "Hello friend, come out!" It wasn't really easy to get out, so the little one helped me. He told me his name is Ceryni and that he is another guest of BlackCat. I hope we'll have a lot of fun here. Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 20, 2011, 9:41 am	Hello, today we went on a geocaching tour with BlackCat and her boyfriend. And we saw some nice churches, which I want to share with you. It was a nice day ! Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 20, 2011, 9:47 am	Hello ! Today we visited the Margarethenhöhe, which is a part of Essen. Here you have some infos that wikipedia has: Founded by Margarethe Krupp in 1906, the garden city with its 3092 units in 935 buildings on an area of 115 ha (284.2 acres) (of which 50 ha are woodland) is considered the first of its kind in Germany. All buildings follow the same stylistic concept, with slight variations for each one. Although originally designed as an area for the lower classes with quite small flats, the old part Margarethenhöhe I has developed into a middle class residential area and housing space has become highly sought after. A new part, Margarehenhöhe II, was built in the 1960s and 1970s but is architecturally inferior and especially the multi-storey buildings are still considered social hot spots. BlackCats boyfriend is working in a company which is located in the Margarethenhöhe, so he knows some nice places where the tourists normally don't go. But see yourself, we made a lot photos this time. It was a long walk, but we had a lot of fun! Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 21, 2011, 10:23 am	Hello ! Today we had a long and stressful day, but we made a lot of photos and I want to show them to you. Our first stop today was the zoo in Gelsenkirchen. It is called Zoom. The zoo has 3 parts - Alaska, Africa and Asia. We saw a lot animals, but see yourself: That's Antonia. She is NO baby polar bear, she is vertically challenged. She is really old already. And she has to life alone, as the other polar bears would kill her... We had a lot of fun in the zoo! Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 21, 2011, 10:43 am	Hello again, later that day we had a walk in Hattingen Blankenstein. It is a part of Hattingen, where you can see a castle and such. It is really old and I loved it a lot. Hopefully you like the photos as well. After that walk, we went home and just went to bed. We were so tired. Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 21, 2011, 10:56 am	Hello everyone, today we made a walk through Haltern (am See). Why do I write (am See)? It is because it was just added for tourists. The city is still called Haltern everywhere, but the signs say Haltern am See and such. It is just for tourists. Funny, or? Changing a city name for tourists... We had a nice time in the old town of Haltern. But see yourself, we made some photos. It was a nice day. Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 21, 2011, 11:14 am	Hey, today we had a short walk to the "Langenberger Sender". There are two big antenna towers. You can see them from nearly everywhere in Velbert. So it was nice to see them so close. Nice over there, hmm? Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 21, 2011, 11:30 am	Hello ! Today we visited the Baldeneysee (Lake Baldeney). It is a lake in Essen. We really enjoyed our time there! Isn't it nice there? Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 21, 2011, 11:33 am	Hello, today we had a nice and sunny walk through the fields in Essen-Kettwig. It was nice there. Wonderful nature. Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 21, 2011, 11:45 am	Hello everyone, today BlackCat visited a pen pal who is living not so far away from her home. We went with her and had a lot of fun in Viersen. You will see on the pictures. It was a nice day. Hope we can visit other nice places soon, too. Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 21, 2011, 12:00 pm	Hey, today we had a walk in the forest near BlackCats home. It was a really nice walk and we made some photos to show you. It was really nice there. So calm and warm. Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 23, 2011, 12:44 am	Hello ! Today we were allowed to join BlackCat while she was working in the youth centre. There was a teenager disco (for kids from 13-17) today and we were really excited. BlackCat decided that we will be a good decoration and made us ready for our "work". It was a lot of fun and we laughed a lot. I really hope we can go to another teenager disco together again. Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 23, 2011, 12:54 am	Hello, today we visited the zoo of Bochum, which isn’t a big one. There are no really special animals, only 2 sharks. But we weren’t able to make photos there, as the light was so bad. But we made some other photos with the animals outside and with a fountain where you can drink water from (like in America, BlackCat said). Looks nice and we all tried and had fun. Hope you’ll enjoy the photos as well. I am sorry for not so much photos, but most of the animals were behind glass windows, which made it impossible to make good photos...sorry. It was a nice day ! Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 23, 2011, 1:23 am	Hello, today we made a walk through the fields of Essen-Kupferdreh. It was a really long walk, but we really enjoyed it. Hopefully we will make more walks like this in the next weeks. Here you can see lake Baldeney in the middle of the photo (between the trees). And the black points in front of that are cows ! It was a nice walk ! Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Aug 30, 2011, 12:35 pm	Hello I am on my way home now. Will hopefully have a short travel. Looking forward to see you again, mum. Love, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Sep 18, 2011, 7:30 pm	Hey, today we had a short walk in the fields in Essen. It was a really nice day and we had a lot of nice views. Will show them to you now. Greetings, Monkez
BlackCat Posted Sep 18, 2011, 7:34 pm	Hey ! This walk gets an own entry. We walked through the forest when we found an old house. It was a lost place. Just a ruin in the middle of the forest. It was so wonderful. BlackCat found out that it is a part of a coal mine which was active until 1968. We were all excited, walked around and made a lot photos. Hope you'll like them. What a wonderful place. It was really nice there. Love, Monkez
iloveletters Posted Nov 5, 2011, 6:24 pm	Hello mom! I am in Germany again! Today I arrived in Mechterstädt. Wow, that was a long journey but luckily I could come out of the dark box today. I was welcomed by 2 other TVs living here at the moment: Aurelius von Hippo and Harold Giraffe. As you can see am fine and looking forward to more adventures.
iloveletters Posted Nov 7, 2011, 5:29 pm	We had a lovely warm and sunny Sunday and decided to go for a walk in the countryside. Let's see where to go. Are we in the USA?! That's what I thought when we came along this Ranch 'Dark Mountain'. Dark in German means Finster and Mountain is Berg, so it is a play of words. Dark Mountain = Finsterbergen. Let's take a rest.
iloveletters Posted Nov 7, 2011, 5:30 pm	After a long day we relaxed in the sauna.
iloveletters Posted Nov 9, 2011, 5:41 pm	Today I met the 2 house cats: Bonnie and Clyde
iloveletters Posted Nov 13, 2011, 8:13 am	We went to Erfurt, the state capital of Thuringia. Harold Giraffe joined us. Here we are on the motorway, passing castles. Erfurt is a beautiful town with old buildings. We went along the 'Kramerbruecke'. The buildings were built over water on this bridge and are mainly shops. 'Kraemer' means chandler. We took a stroll along the river Gera. Look , who  we saw: Kapitän Blaubär and Hain Blöd! They are 2 characters from a kid's television show. This is the townhall and market place with old buildings. And last but not least we went to the cathedral square. Here they already prepare the Xmas Market, hence the sign 'Erfurter Weihnachtsmarkt'. Maybe we will visit it in December. It was a beautiful sunny day! Byebye.
iloveletters Posted Nov 15, 2011, 4:36 pm	We visited castle Friedrichswerth today and took a stroll around the castle. Unfortunately it is forbidden to enter the building, so we could only see it from the outside. It was a nice evening outside, thought it is cold here with -4°C.
iloveletters Posted Nov 15, 2011, 4:39 pm	Today we welcomed a new TV here in the house. Let's see what is in the package.... It is Taru from Germany! Welcome in our group!
iloveletters Posted Nov 18, 2011, 4:33 pm	My host was busy this week with her job. She is a teacher and today she took us with her to school. The school and the building is already over 200 years old. It was refurbished about 5 years ago. In the school park there are busts of the founder and a famous teacher. And then we went to my host's classroom and waited for the pupils to come. I waited at the window and had a nice view at the school ground and the pond. On the teacher's desk I met these two guys: Ella and Don. They are two mascotts from the US. I told them about my journey and they thought it was a cool idea for them to do this one day, too.
iloveletters Posted Nov 26, 2011, 9:28 pm	Time to bake Christmas cookies! We, Monkez, Taru and Harold helped our host to bake cookies. There were tons of ingredients on the table,which we might need. But first we had to read the recipes. We decided to make different kinds of bakery product and started with the Quarkstollen. Eggs, flower, raisins, curd cheese, sugar.... Then we mixed the dough. And into the oven. While the Stollen was baking, we prepared the dough for the other cookies. Next we made snowballs with coconut. You have to beat the eggwhites and add sugar. And some of the other doughs had to go into the freezer for some time.... before we cut the cookies. On top we put cut dates. We took out the Stollen after about 30 minutes. Mh, what a great smell. And the date cockies go into the oven. The final result: There were also chocolate cookies .... and forgotten cookies. They are called like that because you put them into the oven turn it off and leave them inside overnight. Puh, what a lot of work. But after 4 hours it's done!
iloveletters Posted Dec 6, 2011, 8:37 am	We decorated the house for Christmas today. Harold Giraffe and Taru helped, too. These little fellows told me that they usually live in a box in the attic. They are only allowed to come to the living room during Xmas time. Poor them! I'd rather like to be a TV and travel the world.
iloveletters Posted Dec 6, 2011, 8:38 am	There are already Xmas parties going on and we wrapped the first presents today.
iloveletters Posted Dec 6, 2011, 8:39 am	When we got up this morning there was a surprise: Snow  - for the first time this winter! Well, not that much, but still... I don't think it will stay long since it is not too cold outside.
iloveletters Posted Dec 10, 2011, 10:10 am	The town my host works at is called Waltershausen. We visted the market square with the townhall and the church.
iloveletters Posted Dec 13, 2011, 4:49 pm	Even though it really does not feel or look like winter and the Xmas feeling won't come, we went to a Christmas Market in Holzhausen, near Herleshausen. It took place on an old property in the countryside. A lot of people were visiting the booths. There was a crazy guy with a chain saw and he made Christmas trees out of logs. Very interesting but also noisy!
iloveletters Posted Dec 18, 2011, 12:43 pm	There is nothing really going on here at the moment. We can't or don't want to go outside because it is always rainy and windy. So we spent time inside reading updates on the Toyvoyager Site... Writing Xmas cards.... And I did some work out climbing on the palm tree! Harold stayed at the bottom and just watched. He said he didn't want to risk his life. And these Xmas lights are just right for me  little monkey, too! Hugs, Monkez.
iloveletters Posted Dec 29, 2011, 11:49 am	For Christmas we went to my host's parents and spent 3 days in Saxony. We sat under der Christmas tree. And enjoyed a warm rest at the fireplace, the big one ... ... and the small one, just for us TVs! Aurelius and Harold Giraffe were there too. For dinner we had a special meal my host's dad always prepares only for Xmas. It is a Sauerkraut pot with meat balls and rice. So delicious! After dinner, we got our presents. I was so curious to open them! And when we had opened the first present, there they were: Moe and Chester - 2 amigurumi ghosts!  We made friends straight away. I told them about my adventures and they liked the idea of becoming a TV one day too. The next day we took a stroll in the countryside. It is a pity that there was no snow but it was rather rainy. And we played cards. Everybody was relaxed and lazy
iloveletters Posted Jan 2, 2012, 11:36 am	Dear mommy! We took a short trip over New Year's Eve and went to Göttingen. It is not far away, only about  a 90 minutes drive. First we went to the Lokhalle, an event hall, to watch the festival of acrobatics. Here is the programme: Unfortunately we could not take any photos during the show but it surely was amazing! When we returned to the hotel I was very tired. I only took something to drink from the minibar and then straight into the bed. The next day we visited the city. We started at the train station and you must know that Göttingen is an university town. So there are  a lot of students with a lot of bicycles. Unbelievable! And in the middle of all this we found the statue of the oldest hawker in the world. Göttingen is a pretty nice town, with old half-timbered houses. Here is the townhall and the well with the 'Gänseliesel' -  the town's landmark since 1901. Well, this is not the original but it was replaced by a copy in 1990, and the 'old girl'  can be found in the museum now. And last but not least we followed the planet path, which shows the position of the sun and planets in scale. So you see I had a good time on the last days of 2011 and I also started well into 2012. Wishing you all the best for 2012 and a Happy New Year! Yours Monkez
iloveletters Posted Jan 4, 2012, 1:12 pm	Today we went to Eisenach, a town near the village Mechterstädt. Eisenach is famous for Wartburg Castle ( an UNESCO world heritage site), Luther and Bach, who lived here. Here is a map of the town. Let's see.... We went to the Luther House, but did not visit it. We only read the info plate on the house. Then it was already getting dark and the market square with the church was lit.
iloveletters Posted Jan 4, 2012, 3:21 pm	Today a new toyvoyager arrived here. We, Haold Giraffe and me, were so excited when the postman brought a package. On top it read 'Tiplitaps inside'. We couldn't wait to open it but we first had to get a pair of scissors to cut the adhesive tape.  Puh, that was hard work for me. And then there he was:  Tiplitaps  -  a little turtle. We welcomed him and said hello. Then he told us that he is a TV taking part in the Big German RR and that Mechterstädt and Thuringia are his first stop in the RR.  One of his missions is to visit all federal states of Germany.  I showed him on the map where we are. Tiplitaps even has got a passport with some pieces of information  about him and his hometown, which we read together. Hope you have a great time here, Tiplitaps!
iloveletters Posted Jan 7, 2012, 4:23 pm	What a terrible day today. All morning long there was storm and rain and hail. Look at that! Well, I would have loved to go outside, but on the other hand side I was happy to stay inside and warm.
iloveletters Posted Jan 7, 2012, 4:25 pm	Today we said Goodbye to Harold Giraffe. He is travelling to Norway to stay with a new host. Hope you have a safe journey and a great time in Norway!
iloveletters Posted Jan 15, 2012, 2:41 pm	Since Tiplitaps is with us at the moment and his aim is to visit all German states,  he also has to collect some info about the places he is staying at. So I also learned a little about Thuringia while Tiplitaps was colouring the coat of arms of Thuringia. Well, nice job you did there Tiplitaps! My host mom also showed me on the map where Mechterstädt is. It is situated right in the middle between Gotha and Eisenach. See, here I am right now:
iloveletters Posted Jan 20, 2012, 9:45 am	Dear Mommy! Today is the day: I am going to my next host in Austria! ByeBye Germany!
Katatonia Posted Jan 29, 2012, 8:45 pm	Hi !!! I arrived in Vienna, Austria!  On my first weekend in Vienna, my new host took me to the most famous fun fair in the middle of the city called "PRATER". There we saw a big wheel the "Riesenrad", it's a Ferris wheel, which moves in slow motion. The weather was beautiful, the sky was blue, but it was very, very cold, so I was happy to get back into the rucksack. After a nice litte walk in the Prater we had lunch at a Japanese restaurant called "ASIA WOK" where I could choose from meat, fish and lots of vegetables, which was cocked next to the guests and served warm and fresh right to their tables. It was delicious!  On our way home we passed the St. Charles's Church. It's a baroque-rococo church situated on the south side of "Karlsplatz". There's a small park next to it, with some nice little benches to sit on. On the last picture you can see me in front of St. Charles's Church, and how much I enjoyed my first weekend in Vienna!
Katatonia Posted Feb 11, 2012, 10:07 am	This week my host took me to her workplace for a day. She works at an archive for theatre and cultural studies in the middle of Vienna. See all those old books on the picture? There were even more and more piles of even older books and scores and original handwritings. I learned that the research of the archive focuses on the 17th and 18th century and especially the works of a man called DaPonte, he wrote the lyrics for "Don Giovanni" (or in German he is the famous "DonJuan") together with Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, who wrote the music. In the room we worked in, there was a big painting of Mozart on the wall. See me sitting on that pile of old original theatre plays? It was like a time travel back into the old Austrian monarchy! In the afternoon we digitalized some books and I was curious how I would look if I'd use the scanning machine. Look! Monkeeez digitalizeeed!
Katatonia Posted Feb 12, 2012, 11:38 am	Hello!  It is monkeeeeez freeeezing cold outside -13°C. BRRRRRR!!! That's why we play some board games today! First: A game called "SKIP BO" - a card game, where we had to build card stacks from 1-12. And then: "Elder Sign" - a mystery game, where we play as a group, to defeat a monster in a spooky house, by rolling our dices. That was monkey-cool!
TaisAfinskaia maria.forletters@gmail.com Posted May 5, 2013, 5:48 pm	Sorry, in fact I`m at home for a long time already. Thank you for all my hosts! Think I will not travel again very soon.

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