Galen, London, England

Deborah Posted Apr 19, 2007, 6:48 pm	Galen enjoyed exploring the great outdoors but he was also very interested in peeking through people’s windows. There was one house in particular that he came to watch every day. Many small animals lived there and their lives seemed very exciting. One day Galen was spotted after his quick getaway was foiled when he was impaled in a painful place by the climbing rose he was swinging on. A bear with a very flat bottom and strange dungarees invited him in for tea. He was very generous with the fresh fruit but seemed a bit twitchy about sharing his big chocolate egg.
Deborah Posted Apr 24, 2007, 2:03 pm	Travel Ted had told Galen all about Toy Voyaging and Galen thought it would be very fine to visit foreign countries and have big adventures. He wanted to get in practice right away so he went to explore the River Thames. While taking in the sites of Tower Bridge and HMS Belfast, Canary Wharf and the Millenium Dome, he thought about all the exciting journeys that had begun on the banks of the Thames.
Deborah Posted Apr 28, 2007, 4:22 pm	Galen’s Toy Voyager training continued as he made his first long-distance trip to Norwich, where a rendezvous had been arranged with another highly experienced Voyager. He thought the train was a very civilised way to travel – much quicker and easier than swinging from tree to tree.
Deborah Posted Apr 28, 2007, 4:27 pm	Travel guru Ivor took Galen and Travel Ted on a super outing to Wroxham in the Norfolk Broads, where he imparted some tips on the importance of health, safety, and wearing pants.
Deborah Posted Apr 30, 2007, 8:02 pm	Galen had placed an advert on the message forum in the hope of finding exciting places to stay. Already he had two offers to visit Bruchsal and Munich in Germany, which was very pleasing. He wasn't quite sure where Germany was so Travel Ted showed him a guidebook. Travel Ted hadn't been to Bruchsal but he did visit Munich once. He advised Galen to try go to the Deutsches Museum as there were lots of interesting things to see, including a working model of a brick factory which was especially good!
Deborah Posted May 6, 2007, 7:59 pm	Galen visited London Zoo in the hope of finding out what kind of monkey he was. When the monkeys saw him they laughed because he had no tail and said that he wasn't a proper monkey at all, unless he was some kind of inbred mutant. This hurt Galen's feelings a great deal and caused him to cry his eyes out behind the reptile house when he thought no one was looking. Luckily some of the other animals were much nicer, but none of them could tell him what kind of creature he is.
Deborah Posted May 11, 2007, 12:54 pm	All Galen's friends gathered round to wish him luck on his big journey to Germany. He hoped that it wouldn't take too long in case his bladder let him down.
fam-united Posted May 17, 2007, 2:26 pm	Hurra, I'm here in Germany and guest what? It is raining!!!! But my hosts told me, that they are happy about it, because it was so dry during April. So I will wait for some better weather to get outside. At first I need some rest and again it was the daughter, who gave me a place in her room. She loves all toyvoyagers.
fam-united Posted May 17, 2007, 2:31 pm	Today is Ascension Day, but most people call it Father's Day in Germany, but not my hosts, although they had some small gifts for him like a selfmade cake and a selfwritten story. Then we had a very special meal for lunch: asparagus. Bruchsal is one of the biggest asparagus cultivation regions in Germany. I was really unhappy, that they forgot to take a photo with me eating asparagus, but the promissed me, that they will have some more, while I'm here.
fam-united Posted May 19, 2007, 1:35 pm	Today my host showed me their garden behind the house. There are a lot roses and other flowers like peony. Waiki kiwi and elder blossoms. I also saw some gooseberries and my host told me, that she loves to eat gooseberry cakes.
fam-united Posted May 19, 2007, 1:38 pm	Then I sniffed at a flower and got all yellow in my face. Oh God, how it tickled in my nose!!!!! But happily my host cleaned my face at once and so I feel much better again.
fam-united Posted May 19, 2007, 8:22 pm	In the afternoon I met the four budgies, which still are in their cage in the kitchen. They told me, that they are looking forward to having a cage outside soon. Don't know, if I will see them there while I'm here.
fam-united Posted May 19, 2007, 8:30 pm	In the late afternoon my host and her daughter took me on a walk "around" the house. Next to their house is a graveyard behind a beautiful baroque church. We all were happy to see, that the church door was open, so we could go inside too. I saw the baroque organ and altar and more. Later we walked through the graveyard and visited some graves of the family. I had a wonderful view over Bruchsal. When we came out of the graveyard we went to a house, which is led by women of an order. It is called Sancta Maria and is now a school for kindergarten teachers. On the top of the front side of this building I could see pictures of all catholic and evangelic churches in Bruchsal. On our way home we came through a street, were we took a photo too. It is the street, which goes along our house and it is one of the oldest parts of Bruchsal with some nice houses.
fam-united Posted May 23, 2007, 9:12 pm	Today I was on a trip to Ladenburg, a city at the Neckar in the Rhine-Neckar district in Baden-Württemberg. It has a beautiful Late-Middle-Ages historic district. It is about 11 km from Heidelberg in the southwest and Mannheim in northwest. The first settlement was between 3000  and 200 before Christ. First it was a Celtic settlement named Lokudunom ("sea castle", later the Roman city Lopodunum. In year 98 it got the rights of a city under imperator Trajan. Later it was a Franconian royal court and residence of the bishops of Worms. In the modern era it became less important between the new centres Heidelberg and Mannheim. We saw the historic part of Ladenburg, but I'm sure, I would have liked to see the car museum of Carl Benz too. It is in the factory halls, which are about 100 years old. My God, was the weather hot there. I was so happy, that we had an icecream between that walking around and later I was sitting with my host aunt - or how should I call her ??? - on a bank and watched the children play on the playground. On the photos you see me with the water tower and with the Neckar.
fam-united Posted May 24, 2007, 7:14 am	Here are some photos of Ladenburg. You see some parts of the Roman Lopodunum and some parts of the late middle age city.
fam-united Posted May 26, 2007, 8:47 pm	Mmmh, I had a very good breakfast today. First I had the chance to choose between a lot of different sorts of bread rolls and then I got a piece of Sabrina's chocolade croissant. It was very hot here during the last days, always up to 30°C. Today afternoon we had some thunder and lightning, but happily no storm. I will be prepared for that and sleep in Sabrina's bed tonight, so I'm not alone.
fam-united Posted May 27, 2007, 1:46 pm	For Whitsun Sunday my hosts invited their parents to have lunch with us. Today we ate asparagus again and they really thought of taking a photo with me. It seems, that my hosts like to have asparagus as often as it is possible, because they told me, that the asparagus season is rather short and it will end in about one or two weeks. As dessert we had some icecream, yummy!!!
fam-united Posted May 27, 2007, 6:12 pm	Today is a Christian holiday called Whitsun Sunday and so my host baked a cake for the afternoon - with strawberries. Mmmh, I love them, did you know? I nearly bit in the cake, but then I got a piece of it with some whipped cream.
fam-united Posted Jun 1, 2007, 10:45 am	Today I tried to check the internet, whether I can find, what kind of ape I am, but I had no luck. Later I went on the balcony to look, whether the weather is getting better, so we can go outside and take more photos of Bruchsal and its suburbs, but I think, it's another day, that we have to stay inside. It is still raining.
fam-united Posted Jun 3, 2007, 7:47 pm	It seems like eating is one of my favourite things. Today my hosts were invited into a Greek restaurant called Poseidon. And I was allowed to with them together with my new friend, who wants to be a toyvoyager too. We ate Zaziki. Wow, what a smell!!! And I tried the salade and a little meat from the plate that the kids had ordered together. It was a plate for three persons and they were four, but still they couldn't eat it all. Later in the afternoon my male host brought some icecream from the Italian. Mmmmmh, I liked it.
fam-united Posted Jun 3, 2007, 8:21 pm	I was on a little sightseeing tour through Heidelsheim today as the weather was a little better. You see the tower of the church and some other towers and the city gate. Heidelheim is a suburb of Bruchsal since 1974 and has about 5 000 inhabitants.
fam-united Posted Jun 14, 2007, 8:29 pm	Today I saw a part of the city. I saw the citychurch called Stadtkirche or "Unsere liebe Frau" and my hosts told me, that this means "our Lady". This church is next to the big marketplace and you see a part of it. On the left side of the photo just at the margin is the cityhall of Bruchsal. I'm sorry, but you can't see it. It is the old house and the most bureaus are in a new building. Then we went shopping and the daughter bought so many books, because she had some gift coupons. On our way home I saw a rather high tower. It is the old tower of the former castle in Bruchsal. It is in the middle of the city, but unhappily it is the only rest of that castle, which still exists.
fam-united Posted Jun 14, 2007, 8:36 pm	On 5th and 6th June Martin and Sabrina, two of the children of my host family, were in Karlsruhe and took part at an event of the "Kunsthalle", which is a big arts museum. They drew with oil pastels. They thought of taking me with them, but it was too dangerous for my coat. But I was allowed to see the lovely botanic garden of Karlsuhe. That was the place, were the kids sat and draw their paintings.
fam-united Posted Jun 14, 2007, 8:40 pm	Wow, what a surprise. I'm so so happy. Today I met three other monkeys and I heard, that they will stay with me for a while. They are the Monkey Boys and I'm sure, we will have a lot of fun. The first thing, that happened today, was, that we had a little thunderstorm. Happily it wasn't so bad like from Sunday to Monday in the night, but maybe we will have more this night. I'm so happy, that they are here, because I'm not alone during the nights now.
fam-united Posted Jun 18, 2007, 7:20 pm	Today we made a short trip to Obergrombach, which is one of the suburbs of Bruchsal. My host and her son showed me the old castle of Obergrombach.
fam-united Posted Jun 18, 2007, 7:29 pm	On our way home they showed me some other places in Bruchsal. At first I saw the building of the International University of Bruchsal. Then we drove to the little chapel called "Feldkirchle". My hosts told me, that it is one of the stations of the pain of Maria, the blessed virgin. Next to that chapel I saw the cross. Around the chapel are really high trees and I would have liked to climb on them, but I wasn't allowed to do it.
fam-united Posted Jun 18, 2007, 7:34 pm	When we drove home again, we came to a very big tree. Martin made a photo from inside of the car, but then our hosts allowed us to climb in the tree. I was so so happy.  Then we came to a place, where we had a nice over a part of Bruchsal and the Rhine Valley.
fam-united Posted Jun 18, 2007, 7:37 pm	The weather was rather inconsistent and so we had a strong rain short after we arrived at home again. It was very very strange to see the rain and the sun shining at the same moment. And when we looked out of the window, we saw a double rainbow. It was the most beautiful rainbow I ever saw.
fam-united Posted Jun 18, 2007, 8:12 pm	It seems, that my hosts love to be in the wood and see trees and flowers and ladybirds and butterflies. I saw so many of this all today, when we were in Untergrombach, another suburb of Bruchsal. We drove to the Michaelsberg, a small hill, which belongs to Untergrombach. There we walked to a part of this hill, which is called Kaiserberg. The whole area belongs to a nature reserve.
fam-united Posted Jun 25, 2007, 9:50 am	After thunder and lightning we try to have fun at home. My host is a little sick, too. I was allowed to drive the car with Sabrina doll at by my side. Did you know, that they sit on the wrong side, when they drive the car? And they drive on the wrong side of the street?!?! Funny is, that they think, that is the right side. They told me, that I will travel to many countries, where they sit on the left side and drive on the right side of the street. I heard, that I will go on to the next host this week. I'm curious to see more from Germany.
fam-united Posted Jun 27, 2007, 8:55 am	Wow, my friends and I met some famous tv-stars here. But oh no, they weren't the original ones: the mouse, the elephant and the mole from a famous children tv show. Nevertheless we had a lot of fun together.
fam-united Posted Jul 6, 2007, 8:44 pm	Another walk through the garden behind my hosts house. I wanted to eat some currants.
fam-united Posted Jul 6, 2007, 8:48 pm	We drove through the streets of Bruchsal and I saw the jailhouse, the hospital, the Damianstor (an old city gate) and the area of the palace.
fam-united Posted Jul 6, 2007, 8:56 pm	Then we drove home again and I saw these streets. On the first you see the St.Paulusheim in the back and on the other you see the St.Peterskirche. Only a few meters from the house of my hosts we took a look at the house called Sancta Maria, it is a house led by nuns. Then we turned around and drove the same road back again and you see this street on the next photo. The last photo am I in front of the St. Peterskirche. It is an old baroque church and it is really lovely.
fam-united Posted Jul 11, 2007, 5:07 pm	Good bye, Galen. We had a lot of fun with you and hope you have a good time whereever you will go.
Pandamao Posted Jul 19, 2007, 10:16 pm	The trip was very short, just a few days .... so I did not have to squeeze too long into that little parcel. And wow - so many toyvoyagers to welcome me in Munich!
Pandamao Posted Jul 26, 2007, 10:15 pm	On Monday our host took us on a business trip. As she could not get group travel rates (we were 10 including Pandamao) we had to squeeze hard into the suitcase. Luckily no broken seams or bones! Later in the evening we went for a walk in the city center. There is lots of water ..... also from above, it was raining all evening. But we still managed to see from far the Kungliga Slottet (Royal Castle), Gamla Stan (Old City) and walked to Skeppsholmen Island where a lot of museums are located. The strange creatures in the photo must belong to the Modern Art Museum! We walked for quite a while until it was getting dark.
Pandamao Posted Jul 26, 2007, 10:46 pm	When it was dark we took the T-Bane back to the hotel. The Kungsträdgarden station is extra-ordinary, just look at the painted ceiling. Finally we all went to bed after a long day.
Pandamao Posted Jul 27, 2007, 6:10 pm	Today the weather was much better so we all went out for a stroll in Gamla Stan (Old City). We saw the Royal Castle, walked through the small streets and enjoyed ourselves a lot.
Pandamao Posted Jul 27, 2007, 7:04 pm	Who says business trips are fun? After a long day in the office (we waited crammed into the trolley again) we took off to Warsaw. When we finally arrived in the hotel we immediately fell asleep.
Pandamao Posted Jul 29, 2007, 7:24 pm	Just before the flight back to Munich we had a few minutes to rush through Warsaw's old city center.
Pandamao Posted Aug 12, 2007, 7:44 pm	After long days of rain it finally was sunny again. So we went out to see Nymphenburg Castle, a summer residence with a large park. Today lots of people use it for a walk or jogging, and there are always a lot of tourists.
Pandamao Posted Aug 13, 2007, 8:00 pm	I also visited Amalienburg, a beautiful rococo building in the park of Nymphenburg castle.
Pandamao Posted Sep 22, 2007, 7:50 pm	the past weeks have been a bit slow, my host was very busy. Today we have a new TV here to visit - Florence who has arrived from Prague, just in time for the Oktoberfest. Oktoberfest started today and there were already lots of people dressed in traditional clothes in the subway.
Pandamao Posted Sep 30, 2007, 9:35 pm	Today I went for a walk as it was sunny. I passed by the German Museum (Science and Technology Museum). Outside there are several exhibits - like this huge turbine.
Pandamao Posted Sep 30, 2007, 9:54 pm	Then I went swimming in the Müller'sches Volksbad. The Volksbad is a beautiful Art Nouveau building and is still in use as an indoor swimming-pool.
Pandamao Posted Sep 30, 2007, 10:12 pm	On the way back home I walked along the Isar river. I saw a fountain at the Isar riverside - and wonder why it's name is "Father Rhine"? And I also saw the Isartor (Isar gate) which in former times was one of the old town gates.
Pandamao Posted Oct 5, 2007, 7:22 pm	Before leaving for the Halloween Party at Buntraveler's I wanted to see the Oktoberfest. So today I went to Oktoberfest. First I had to take the subway to get there. And it was so crowded already ..... there are masses of people going there. Then - the real thing. It is so huge, you cannot imagine. I got some photos outside of the Oktoberfest. Inside the tents everybody has fun, drinking a lot of beer, singing, dancing on the benches .... can you believe that one tent can hold several thousand persons?
Pandamao Posted Oct 7, 2007, 6:24 pm	It's time to leave ... I do not want to miss the Halloween Party! Good-bye Munich.
The Sparkle Posted Dec 27, 2007, 11:15 pm	Some weeks ago Galen arreived at a verry bad time at my home. My father inlaw died arround that time and we where verry sad. But now everything is a little bit working again and i will make some updates for Galen soon when he traveled with me.
The Sparkle Posted Dec 27, 2007, 11:34 pm	Together with Muki I visit the school where our host is working in a class with 4 till 6 year olds. We visit on the day that they have their own christmasdinner. We climed in the christmastree to see how they enjoyed their dinner. The childeren coloured their own christmaslights and they looked wonderfull when they dimmed all they other lights. A Happy Christmas and a realy good year for everybody.
The Sparkle Posted Dec 30, 2007, 9:21 pm	Today me and Muki did some geocachings with our host and her boyfriend. They love geocaching because your are outside and can walk with a goal or can take a ride to a place and find a hidden treasure. The first place we visit today is a geocache on a special place. This place is a memorable place. In oct 1943 a Englisch plain on his way back from bombing Leipzig (D) crash here. This wing of this monument is a gift from the Britisch Airforce to give the monument his look as it looks today. Our host her boyfriend found this first cache for today. We take a look what was inside the treasure. We love all the nice goodies. This is the second cache off today. Muki has to stay in the car so i can have some time for me alone and have some different pictures. I love this woody place. As a true monkey i was hanging in a tree. This was the las cache we did today also on a memoral place. because of the evening it was a bite spooky and also because what was happend here. a month befor the end of WOII the Germann Army killed 10 people here. I love this day and i hope we will do some other geocachings before i leave my host.
The Sparkle Posted Jan 13, 2008, 4:36 pm	On the last day off the year we also maked a walk to do a geocache. It is my host her 50th when she found it. here you can see Muki and Me together with our host. A picture of the groun with someone ?????? Me hanging in the tree with at the background the fog that wass rolling in verry fast so the pictures did not have a sharp background. A picture the sky at the Fochterloer Veen that we visit. It is a realy beautiful aeria. On this picture you can see some gooses that fly over. Sorry their are no pictures of the new years firework becaus off the fog. You can only see one meter.
The Sparkle Posted Jan 19, 2008, 11:20 am	Today I'm going to travel in a old chocolatebox, the chocolates are eaten, to my next host. I hope i will Arreive soon.
Tine1969 Posted Jan 28, 2008, 9:57 am	Hi Everybody - some days ago I arrived in Bedburg, visiting my next host Tine and her family. I landed safely with my plane. The two dogs loved me from the first moment. One dog had a surgery last Wednesday, therefore we have to stay at the house at the moment. But I am not alone - Gulliver is also here. And I help my host knitting socks - she loves it ! Bye for now, Galen
Tine1969 Posted Feb 2, 2008, 4:48 pm	Hi - today I visited Bedburg Castle and Park together with Gulliver. The weather was fine and it was really sunny. I really like the castle and after my host told me that there are many flats in the castle, I tried to find somebody who wanted to rent such a flat for me, but I didn't find anybody - What a pity! Bye, Galen
Tine1969 Posted Feb 20, 2008, 6:47 pm	Some days ago I went on a walk with my host. It was great to be in the nature. Galen
Tine1969 Posted Feb 20, 2008, 6:50 pm	Hi - here I am again. I went to Düsseldorf together with my host Tine and Gulliver - we took some photos at a quarter called Media Habour - I love the TV-Tower, the parliament of Northrhine-Westphalia and the Geary-Buildings. Galen
Tine1969 Posted Feb 20, 2008, 6:55 pm	Hi - after Gulliver left I felt a bit alone, but soon another toyvoyager arrived - he is called Snape. We had a short but great time together. Our host went to the playground with us. On the way we met a special tree with some kind of owls inside. After that trip I had been told that it was time to leave Bedburg and travel to another host called Ghobi. Bye, Galen
deleted_member Posted Feb 20, 2008, 8:08 pm	Hi there! Today (it's very grey outside,brrr) I arrived safely in Freiburg at my new host Sarah. I was a little bit shy first, but than she shared her chocolate (hmm with pudding inside) with me, that's very friendly. After a while a big, black and white mouth and big eyes looked out off the blanket next to me, aaaah! A big whale, but a really friendly one, I know after a time, puh, what a luck! I talked a little bit with her, that was very nice. So I'm settle in today, had a look around Sarah's room (pictures  are following) and I'm sure having a great time here (hopefully the weather is getting better)! CU, Galen Oh!I forgot,  Sarah means I am a kind of Gibbon we'll see if we can find out.
deleted_member Posted Feb 21, 2008, 12:04 pm	Here are some photos from my turning and hiking around in my host's room yesterday. climbing at a corb of Sarah's airbed, up to the top of her wardrobe Peekaboo! here I am! nearly home sweet home , sitting in the bamboo me on the wall decoration! Later on Sarah takes me to her hosting dog Polly. Luckily I know from Snape (s' travellog) that she is very friendly, even she's black. And after that we go to another appointment!
deleted_member Posted Feb 24, 2008, 6:39 pm	Hi! I had a really nice weekend- on saturday I went with Sarah to her dog Polly again. We had really nice weather and after the teaching lesson for Polly (luckily not for me, hihihi) we both relaxed in the sun, had a nice orange drink. On the way back, my host showed me a little bit around, f.e. there was a huge red hosepipe in the middle of a park and lots of coloured and also huge trams. And my host means maybe we can make a longer drive with them  She made some pictures badly something is wrong with her digital camera,when we put it on in the evening the screen is totally chaos *gosh* all the pictures of me!! Let's keep the finger's crossed that it can be repared. Today on sunday, it was totaly warm and really nice sunshine! We went per car with my host's parents on a sunday trip to a small village called Ihringen.  Ihringen lays in the low mountain range "Kaiserstuhl" with famous wine area. There Sarah shared her yummy chocolate cake with me, hmm! I just passed with the coffee ;-) After that, we walked from the Coffee house to the village cementary, where they visited some graves. When my host's dad met an old chap of Ihringen, my host and I get bored after a time, because the dialect was (especially for me hard to understand). So we walked around, the view from high there was fantastic!Viewed some graves and worked out how old the people had been. Than we drove home, and will have a relaxed evening at home - Maybe playing a Game called "Rummy Cub" and have a look what's the sunday TV programm says. So CU, Galen PS: Because I don't know where to put them, I mix it in here some photos (before the camera broke down) from my walk with Sarah and Labrador dog Polly I'm ready in the dogbag- can we start now?? Polly and I oh look at this huge hosepipe!! and a lot of huge trams are here also (the red number one is those, we need to drive with)
deleted_member Posted Mar 1, 2008, 2:45 pm	Hi! Wow, we had a very busy and loong day Tuesday. On Monday I've been at home, because of the weather and Sarah walked with Polly. What a luck, I had a nice day with orca, and someone else meets us, the Giraffe. On Tuesday the alarm clock rang at 5.40 am, I couldn't believe it. I had a rest,because I don't need to get ready We started on half past seven, when Sarah's dad drove us to the station. Badly we  were without a camera, Sarah really loved to documend the jorney. Anyway,we drove from Freiburg to Frankfurt (Main), which is the area  called "Hessen" she told me. From there we dadle across Bavaria to Bad K. First we joined beeing there, it's a nice smaller town, very touristic,  because of the much rehab houses. But finding the right way was very hard, I wished I could heAlp here. But I'm not good in German. After going the complete wrong way back we're in a huge park, I looked around, there were really nice small light purple and  yellow flowers everywhere. While Sarah'S appointment, I had a rest from the stressy morning. Later on, she waked me up, and we where showed around. The walk back to the station was funny, because so short. Sarah shared her dinner with me, because we had 1,5 hour to wait. After a driving about 10h  with really slowly trains, we arrived at  00:40 in Offenburg,where we're picked up from Sarah's dad again. Oh what a journey!!! My host has to get up after a short sleep again to two appointments(talking). Normaly I should join her, because the 3rd date is Flamenco dancing,but because of be overtired she cancelt,and I can have a really good sleep. Spring is coming up, (even if South Germany had a stormy warning for this weekend). The garden and trees are getting very nice. So let's see what we will do on weekend! I'm ready for everything! -Galen-
deleted_member Posted Mar 7, 2008, 4:20 pm	Hi! I couldn't believe, but I saw it myself, when I looked out of the window, the winter came back, brrrr So we stayed most time inside, on a warm place and played hide and seek I helped holding a postcard,which is for Postcrossing Yesterday?(I think so) I went with my host and Tux first to Polly Sarah's dad has to drove anyway because the trams and buses were striking.So we could drive with them. After that we went to a loong appointment at the Federal Employment Office. Tux and I talked after a while in Sarah's bag , till they are talking about jobs  and we hold our paws crossed. When we walked back, we end up at main railstation, as the trains are still working so we jumped in. Badly has we want have a short seat at first class places the camera batteries broke down. That's the view out of train
deleted_member Posted Mar 7, 2008, 4:56 pm	Hi! Today, because my host has "Polly free" made a small trip in her area. Start was by bicyle, I like more to climp up (as you can see the bush is green, his normal colour again) biking monkey Galen that's our destination it's a wateworks as a small castle called "Wasserschlößle" up the house hill of Freiburg, the "Sternwald" on our way up the hill, there were lots of tree and things to climb up arrived!!!Can you see us???=) the white coat of arms with the red cross is a Symbol of Freiburg and  often to find it's the eblem of the city patron St.Georg we had a great view over Freiburg and some hills The Gag was, when we joined the view, a funny happy dog came and jumped around us. Sarah couldn't believe but it really was Polly. Tux and I was happy to see her. And it was hard if we want leave, because she follows us, silly dog. ;-) Next to the hill there were a nice wood playground, but we had to fail, because of very loud shooting.surprisly and said also hello. Anyway a nice trip- we will go on another nice playground, so my host and maybe having a small pickick there. Greetings to you all!! Galen
deleted_member Posted Mar 15, 2008, 10:36 pm	Hi! Today I was with Tux and our host on the way in the city center. one of the old famous watch and entrance towers from Freiburg in Mediaeval time called "Martinstor" Statue of St.Bertold, the name patron of city center middle Wow, they all were so busy! First we went to a shoe shop, boah, I was surprised at this loots of shoes  Were in the hell needs this lots of shoes??? ;-) We take a seat, and Sarah tryed some shoes, while she gets some other shoes we watched after the current one and her stuff. On our way we had a stop on market place with famous cathedral When we came closer to it. But my host means it looks more than a head  impressions of the cathedral: the entrance area: the entrance door-aren't the paintings and the figures beautifull? this is the historical store, the first kommunal store for thing change and duane duties a typical market stand with products from the area et al. like things from Black Forrest. Or closer around Freiburg. On our way back we saw a nice building and a met a water monster *uaaa* ;-) As you can see on the building pictures below is here in the street also, the city of arms from Freiburg. Which is from the buckler of city patron of St.Georg Oh I forgot, on our way back Sarah bought two balls of icream *yummi* especially the Mango was delicous.
deleted_member Posted Apr 5, 2008, 7:48 am	Hi! So here is the last stand and picture as we climed up the cathedral tower after went to work with Sarah. The first time we fail, because some stupid parked his car with a part on the tracks, so the tram had to wait and we had to run to "Bertoldsbrunnen" town center were the right connecting tram as already left*ggrrr* So we were late in time and had to time for pictures. But now here we go: with Sarah at work: our trip up the tower, let's start climbing up first 229 steps meeting someone spooky, joke it's just a gargoyle =) on the  first floor, were the (for the moment silent) bell is: and some old relicts: up and up again: first view outside: don't look down ;-) (that's the libary by the way) yeah!!!!we did it! old canon place another view point across the area my host live and here original church side ship od the cathedral here it is badly stop normaly the tower has 3 stages,but they need to be repaired, so we just could walk around 1st floor. But it was great!!Thanks for climbing up!
deleted_member Posted Apr 5, 2008, 11:17 pm	Here we helped our host baking an yeast easter chaplet, hmm! Luckily I can stay this time here: waiting for the dough having a snack in this time, listening to the radio and sharing some chocolate nearly before baking, doesn't it look good?? ;-) and the completed one, so delicious!!!! celebrating easter: So, this was my last time and pictures here, after the official holidays I will leave Freiburg and travel on to my next host. I'm excited what I will do and see there! Bye, Freiburg! -Galen-
Mizzery Posted Apr 6, 2008, 6:12 pm	Hey, hello! Here I'm back again! When I arrived at my new hosts home the weather was perfectly fine so we spent the entire day outside doing some gardening. We had to plant some flowers! Unfortunately, due to the season the fountain doesn't work. But it's still nice to sit next to the water. I tried very hard to see any fish but my host told me there aren't any in.  The sun is shining all day, but it's still very cold! I climed up this huge tower on my own! I'm a very talented monkey! Ok, I have to admit this one was a little bit harder to climb... Hey, that's a strange bird! I've never met someone like him ever before! All flowers we've planted have so wonderful colours! I really like that. And they smell that good... I can tell, spring is coming here in Germany! That's weird... another really strange bird here. But I was able to ride him! I can't believe how these huge birds shall fit into this this tiny little house... It's nearly to small for me! That's really cosy here. I could lie here all day but there's a lot of more work to do... As you can see, we did a really great job in planting the flowers! It looks wonderful!
Mizzery Posted Apr 6, 2008, 6:24 pm	Today we went to the gym... That was fun! Unfortunately, the machines were a little to huge for a little monkey like me... or my arms are just a little to short.... But I tried my best... I have to stay in shape to keep postage cheap... [img]null[/img] I also tried to lift weights... I started with really heavy ones... But also with the lighter ones it was still hard work. I liked best those activities in which I can climb! Thats why I invented activities myself... Afterwards, I was soooo tired... so I spend the rest of the day sleeping...
Mizzery Posted Apr 6, 2008, 6:43 pm	My host had to work all day so I took the chance and sneaked through the house....hihi.... First of all, I turned on the music to have some fun. Hopefully, I'll have the chance to see one of these in real! That would be interesting! Uuuuh, that's a real big mouse! It seems that all animals here are really huge! Or I am just that tiny??? Look! I'm a real globe trotter! Hihi... I think the dog on this photo looks kind of scary, but I've met him and he's a nice guy.... Wow, I have a good view from the back of the elephant! It's good that I'm a monkey so I'm not afraid of high places.... I love it! So many high places I can climb up to!!!! And I'm good in hiding... can you find me on that photo?? What a huge selection of books... I think, when I have nothing else to do, I'll lay down and read a good book to improve my german... Ahhhhh, help me!!!! They also have those huge birds IN the house!!! We've done so much garden work outside... I'm glad we don't have to make it inside also... Hey, finally someone MY size... Even the butterflys are huge here... I wanted to play with these two little ones... but now I'm to big for them... That's weird... Annnnd: Believe it or not I've met a celebrity in the bathroom!!!! Patrick Star from the Spongebob Squarepants show!!!!
Mizzery Posted Apr 13, 2008, 6:22 pm	Hello again! Today we wanted to cook together.  But unfortunately the fridge was pretty empty. Well, so we started by going shopping to buy everything we need. We stored everything and looked for what we could eat. I don't know why but there are hands hanging on the wall in the kitchen... that's creepy. That's not surprising... here are so many sharp knives.... hopefully I don't hurt myself while helping to prepar the evening meal... My first task in the kitchen was to protect the cookies that the kids don't take them. I did a quite good job! :-) But I'm not that big into cookies today. Maybe I should eat an apple or two... Yeah! I finally know what I want! Grapes! Yummi Yummi!!!!
Mizzery Posted Apr 13, 2008, 6:32 pm	Today we wanted to repair some of the kitchen chairs. That was quite a hard work! I don't know all of these machines and so I got in some quite difficult situations! As a monkey you know I'm very good in climbing. I was a great help buy climbing up the shelves and hand down everything we needed. But sometimes I was quite confused by what is what and didn't know what they mean... Don't worry! I'm taking great care when I'm working with those heavy machines! From here, I have a good point of view to see everything. Now I know how to repair a chair! This bird is very  nice. I was allowed to ride on him!! I also asked him if he wanted to become a toyvoyager but he says he prefers to stay at home to hang out a little. Next week we are going to explore the city of Münster! I'm really looking forward to that! I'm sure it will be fun!
Mizzery Posted Apr 20, 2008, 5:31 pm	Hello! Today my host and I went to the City. That was fun even though it rained all day and we only had little time to make some photos. Münster has a lot of churches! You wouldn't believe how many! There is a saying: In Münster, either the church bells are ringing or its raining and when both happens at the same time it's sunday. What I experienced here, that saying is perfectly true. We've seen so many churches but my host told me there are many many more. This fountain is pretty famous. There were actually several movies that were filmed at this fountain! Remarquable about Münster is also that there are very old and brand new architecture next to each other. This is the shopping street of Münster... Münster has a huge university and as most students travel by bike they have nearly more bikes than inhabitants here! In the middle of the photo you can see the townhall of Münster! And this is the museum. Also the architecture of the museum is pretty mixed. Again we have found a church... this is the church garden. Even if it's in the middle of the city its really calm here.
Mizzery Posted May 4, 2008, 3:31 pm	Hello all together! Woohooo, we've been to a fair here in Emsdetten! Emsdetten is a little town near Münster. Here, they have churches, too but not as many as in Münster.... hihi... that's quite easy I think.... On the fair they have all kinds of different food. But unfortunately no bananas.... but I tasted pizza and hot dogs! They have all kinds of merry-go-arounds here, that real fun! They are all different and I think I tried at least 20!!!!! At first, I was a little afraid, that I might get sick by all the round  and round and round and round but it was just cool!! Here they have little cars to drive with, but unfortunately still the small cars were to huge for me so I wasn't able to drive on my own. This one is something like bungee jumping for little kids where they can jump real high! This one is a hall of mirrors! It was really hard to find the way out again but I managed it! At the end of our afternoon I've seen something real scary! I'm sure you won't believe it but here, they have boxes with lots of stuffed animals and you can grab them with a maschine!!! That's scary! But as my host is very nice, they helped a little teddy out of the box. Maybe he'll become a toyvoyager, too. As you can tell from the photos I had a real cooll afternoon here on this fair!
Mizzery Posted May 4, 2008, 3:57 pm	We went hiking in the "mountains" of the Teutoburger Wald. Its more a hill than a mountain but still we had a lot of fun on our tour! Our tour was very long as we chose the longest of these tours. I love the forest! So many trees to climb on! Look! How high I can climb in these trees! Here is a historial place! The sign tells that on may 15, 1929 Robert Kronfeld startet from here to the first long distance flight over more than 100 km. But I consider it as quite difficult to start a flight from here with all these trees.... Take a close look to the backround!!! We were not alone in the forest! Here lives a goat! This is my new friend, Neil! We saved him from this cruel maschine on the fair last week! This point is not the top of the hill... but from here, you have the best point of view! In the evening I was so tired you wouldn't believe it! But I had a very good night dreaming of trees and climbing.
ChristinaB Posted May 23, 2008, 12:50 pm	Galen arrived safely in Vienna/Austria today. He needs a little rest after his journey but will start sightseeing soon!
ChristinaB Posted Jul 2, 2008, 10:16 am	We spent a wonderful afternoon at Schönbrunn castle today. The castle was the former summer residence of the Habsburg family and it is situated in a very big park. We had a looong walk there and even went up a little hill where we reached "Gloriette" (the point of view). It was very pretty to look over all the city of Vienna! We also saw the palm house - a very special construction! Imagine what we did after our long walk! We went to the zoo there!! Unfortunately the battery of the camera finished there so I can only show you this picture of a rhinozeros! But believe me: There were tons of interesting animals to see there (even some kinds of monkeys - but none of them was as beautiful as I am  )
ChristinaB Posted Jul 2, 2008, 11:02 pm	From June 7th to June 29th the European Soccer Championship takes place in Austria and Switzerland. All the people here are very much into soccer at the moment and of course I also cought the "soccer spirit". One day our host took me and my Toyvoyager friends and brought us to the "fan zone" in the city centre. It was great fun to be there (Russia played against Sweden this day) and I felt like a real fan than
ChristinaB Posted Jul 14, 2008, 9:46 am	I am in Upper Austria now in a little place called Gmunden which is situated in an area called "Salzkammergut". My friends and I went there on holiday because our host's family lives close there. It's a very beautiful place situated within the Alps. The landscape is wonderful with the lake and the mountains and all the forests around and Gmunden itself is a pretty romantic little city.
ChristinaB Posted Jul 14, 2008, 10:24 am	Today we discovered Vienna's beautiful Rosarium. It is located almost in the city centre and has thousands of roses in all colours you can think of. It smelled wonderful there and Dottie Grace, Little Tex, Ted, Cekelat, Pien and I had a really great time there!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:24 am	Today the holidays of my host family started. I was told that we would go abroad for almost 4 weeks and then I would continue my journey on my own. We packed all our stuff and went to Italy today. Oh, what a beautiful country!! We stayed at a place called Lignano. It is situated in the northern part of the country, not far from Venice and Austrians love to spend their holidays there. You know, Austria doesn't have an access to the sea so the fastest way to reach the sea is to go down to Italy. Austrians are usually very welcome in Lignano since they are bringing alot of money down there, so everybody tries to speak a bit of German there to make them feel a bit like at home. To be honest, we didn't see anything else except Lignano and we spent almost all the time at the beach which was really relaxing. I had a great time with my friends there! Fortunately elephants don't get sunburnt too easily so I was able to stay in the sun for a long time!!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:27 am	I'm a very helpful monkey and pretty good in architecture. The Dad of my host family and the kids built a sand castle every day and I helped alot which was sandy but really funny. We also made a marble track and played with it then. Oh, time passed by so quickly!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:29 am	On our way back from Italy we had to go through Styria. There in a little village called Piber the famous Lipizzaner horses always spend their summer holidays. My host likes them alot so we decided to visit them and say "Hello". Unfortunately we were a bit too late so we couldn't watch their training lessons but we saw them on the meadow and watched all the exhibitions about them. I couldn't really ride on them but I had a try on this little white sculpture - and I think this counts for fullfilling my first mission, doesn't it?? I'm very proud about that!!! Did you know that Lippizzaner horses are dark when they are born and get their white fur after some years due to a genetic deficit? Interesting, isn't it?
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:32 am	We returned from Italy yesterday, washed all our clothes during the night and left again today. The grand-parents of my host family have a flat at lake Attersee in Upper Austria and my hosts intend to spend the following 3 weeks there. It is a very beautiful place there. The flat is located directly at the beach and the view from the balcony towards the lake is sooo nice. We went down to the lake then and had a swim there. Wonderful, I must say. The water was refreshing but very clear and it was fascinating to watch all the sailing ships there. Can you see the mountains on the last photo? Look how big they are! I will tell you more about them during the next days!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:34 am	I told you to have a look at the mountains on the lake-picture in my last update, remember? Well, today we went up there! But not by cable car as you might think, no, on foot! To be honest, I was carried as well as the other TV which caused almost a crises between my host and her husband (the husband had to carry us up there in his backpack but my host only told him when we were at the top and he was pretty angry about that. First we thought he was angry about US but fortunately we found out then that it was our host he was argueing with. Sometimes humans are really difficult to understand...) Dear Alexander, it was worth to take us up there all the 1.600 meters!! The view was simply breathtaking, I enjoyed it soooo much! It was the first mountain I ever went up - or was carried up - and I will never forget this adventure!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:35 am	Imagine what we did today! We went to Germany!! It was a clowdy day so my hosts decided to take the kids (and me and the other TV of course) and go to Bavaria. There we visited a kind of amusement park. There weren't any carrousells but they built many sceneries of various fairy tales - oh, I have been visiting a park full of fairy tales for the second time now!! All the figures there were able to speak and the fairy tales were told there, so it was really beautiful. Unfortunately it started to rain heavily then so we had to leave quite early.
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:36 am	I didn't see much of Bavaria since we went back immideately after we visited the park, but what I saw was beautiful. I specially liked these beautifully painted houses - have a look!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:38 am	Another adventure took place today. My host's father had his 60th birthday a while ago and as a present he got a balloon flight which was today. We all went there to watch him in the air and it was really fascinating to see the start of such a big, big balloon. Everybody was so busy watching it that we almost forgot to take photos...
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:39 am	It was pretty cold today so we couldn't go swimming. Therefor my hosts decided to go hiking. We didn't climb a mountain today but went to a small lake called "Gosausee" which was beautifully located on the foot of Upper Austria's highest mountain "Dachstein". But when we arrived there it was so clowdy that we couldn't see it.
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:41 am	We picked some blueberries which we found during our walk and we were really astonished about all the ducks we saw there. They weren't shy at all and even took some bread from the people's hands. And finally - after quite a long walk - the clowds went away and we were able to see at least some parts of Dachstein then.
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:45 am	We did alot of sightseeing  in Vienna yesterday. My host took me and the other toyvoyagers to Grinzing. That's a part of Vienna situated on a little hill where many wineyards can be found. The wine produced there is sold a a special kind of restaurants called "Heurigen" that only open a couple of weeks a year. People know that they are open when they have this little bushes in front of their door. All the wine producers get a certain certificate and they are very proud about it. Did you know that Vienna is Austria's largest wine producing city?
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:46 am	We even went to the wineyards then and had a walk there. Our host was very happy about that because we also passed by the church where she and her husband got married - Kaasgrabenkirche. The grapes weren't ready yet but it wont take too long anymore...
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:50 am	And then we went to Prater which is Vienna's big amusement park. It was wonderful!! We even saw the famous  "Giant Wheel" and tried some of the roller coasters. And have a look at the funny sculptures we saw!! We also said "Hello" to the mascot of Prater, a funny clown.
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:52 am	Today we had a long walk in the woods nearby. Autumn already started and I helped the kids to seach for chestnuts. We found tons of them, yeah!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 8:54 am	We also passed by Vienna's planetarium. It was closed but I was amazed to see that big globe in front of it!!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 9:01 am	Yesterday we went to see the house created by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. It looks really beautiful and I like it alot! There is nothing special in this house, just normal flats (next time I come to Vienna I'll try to find a host living in there  ). Everybody living there has the right to decorate the surrounding of his/her window just as he/she likes - but only as far as the arms reach. Interesting, isn't it?
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 9:04 am	Today we did some more sightseeing. We went to Karlsplatz where I saw a very special church with the 2 collumns in front of it (unfortunately the photo didn´t come out). There I also discovered one of Vienna's most beautiful subwaystations built in "Jugendstil" (it is a special style from around 1900 and very similar to art nouveau). Then we went to see the opera - and guess whom I met there! Good old Mozart himself!!!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 9:09 am	I had a great day today because my host took me to an amusementpark near lake Neusiedlersee (in the very eastern part of Austria) today. It was all about fairy tales and I really had a good time there
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 9:14 am	Since we had sooo much fun at "Fan Zone" my friends and I decided to play soccer ourselves, too. Pamplemoose, Ted, Cekelat, Dottie Grace, Galen and I were real "stars" and believe me, I made several goals!! We also explored the flat a bit and found alot of other soccer stuff, too: Flags, balls and even Panini stickers! I didn't expect that there are sooo many pretty players taking part in this championship!!!
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 9:18 am	We passed by the opera house and reached Hofburg then. Hofburg was the former residence of the Habsburg family and it nowadays hosts serveral museums, the Austrian national library and the president's office. Then we continued our walk to the Austrian parliament and finally reached the museum of historical arts (it has a twin just vis-à-vis: the historical museum of nature)
ChristinaB Posted Sep 21, 2008, 9:20 am	Vienna also has 2 impressive towers: one is Danube tower with a hight of more than 250 m and the other one is the tower of the airport which was just opened about 1 year ago.
Deborah Posted Nov 30, 2008, 8:11 pm	Galen was pleased to be visiting London again, and to catch up with his friends there after more than a year away. He certainly had lots to tell everyone about his adventures on the German Toy Voyager Trail and other excursions. He’d brought back some great souvenirs too including a new scarf, a postcard from Vienna, and a little Halloween notebook which was filled with nice messages from his various hosts. All in all, it had been a very exciting and educational year. In Bruchsal with Fam-United he had explored a beautiful garden, tried lots of delicious new foods, done some sightseeing and met more monkeys. He made even more friends while staying with Pandamao in Munich, where he visited the Deutsches Museum (as recommended by Travel Ted) and joined in the revelry at the Octoberfest. As an added bonus, Pandamao took him on trips to Stockholm and Warsaw. Before he continued his travels in Germany, he was invited to a Halloween Party in Oregon where he met lots and lots of monkeys and got to wear a special disguise with a lovely tail. (This costume was so good that it won him a Golden Bear award the following spring.) While in America he was even persuaded to try wearing pants but simply couldn’t get used to them. Back in Germany he stayed with The Sparkle in Bad Bentheim, where he went to school and learned to geocache. He also visited the Netherlands which he liked so much he resolved to return one day. In Bedburg, Tine1969 taught him to knit socks and in Freiburg he helped Ghobi with postcrossing and acquired his lovely new scarf. While staying with Mizzery in Püsselbüren he gained many new stills including gardening, baking and furniture repair. He even got to monkey around in a gym. Having completed the German Toy Voyager Trail, Galen made his way to Austria to stay with ChristinaB in Vienna. While there he went to an amusement park and learned about football. She helped him do a bit more travelling too, with trips to other parts of Austria, Germany, and Italy too. Galen was eager to share all his accomplishments with Travel Ted but his friend appeared to be more interested in borrowing his new scarf and pretending to be Rambear. Galen sighed and cast his eyes around the room in the hope of finding someone more appreciative to talk to.
Deborah Posted Dec 2, 2008, 9:49 pm	It was a great day when Pussy Galore came home. It was the first time they’d seen each other since their first meeting in Munich.
Deborah Posted Dec 2, 2008, 9:53 pm	As they exchanged stories about their travels, Galen felt a little bit sad that he hadn’t done as well on completing his missions as Pussy Galore. He had learned to ride a horse, though, and she persuaded him to demonstrate his skills. (He did feel a but silly though!)
Deborah Posted Dec 2, 2008, 9:55 pm	Despite the cold weather, Galen decided it was time to venture out. He whiled away the morning watching men put up the very big Christmas tree in Trafalgar Square.
Deborah Posted Dec 2, 2008, 9:56 pm	Today everyone welcomed a new Toy Voyager: Synapse had come to stay. Galen, Travel Ted, Pussy Galore and other English friends all did their very best to make him welcome.
Deborah Posted Feb 2, 2009, 8:38 pm	Galen wasn't sure how he felt about the snow. What he was sure about was that it was a very good thing he'd brought his nice furry scarf back from Germany.
Deborah Posted Apr 26, 2009, 8:12 pm	It was every Voyager for himself at the grand Easter egg unwrapping. After making an extremely promising start, Galen was knocked out of the running by an impressive right hook from Dottie Grace.

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