Spooky, Calgary, Canada

JaymeC Posted Aug 12, 2008, 8:16 am	Hello, My name is Spooky. I'm a little dog in search of the truth! I know its out there... I've watched all the X-Files episodes and there's definitely something going on! I'd love to visit any areas of paranormal activity, whether it be aliens, creatures, or ghosts! I need to find out which are real and which are fake. I hope I have better luck coming up with evidence than Mulder and Scully! I also would love to visit any government buildings to see if I can sniff out a conspiracy in the making! You know you can't trust them. Of course I'm still a young doggy so I'm sure it'll be okay if I take a break sometime to try out the local food or see any neat local sites. It'll all help me learn, right?
JaymeC Posted Jun 17, 2009, 6:34 am	I'm home! I don't know how exactly I got here. I remember heading towards Roswell... then its all just black. I suppose the aliens got me! I remember bright lights, and some one kept saying something about this place called eBay...then suddenly I was waking up on this shelf, near all my old DVDs. Maybe it was all just a dream? I barked and I barked until someone heard me and suddenly some other toys came over to investigate. One of them, Kari, invited me to come home with him to have a real adventure since he thought I was making up all of this. Maybe it really was a dream, but then if it was where did my tag go? Hmm... I must investigate further... But Germany seems as good a place to start investigating as anywhere! First though I need some time to stretch out at home... Spooky
JaymeC Posted Jun 17, 2009, 6:40 am	Dear Mommy, This rain just won't let up! Yesh. We decided to have some fun inside the house, since we couldn't really go out. We started calmly enough reading a book But that wasn't really energetic enough, too much energy! We need to get out soon. So we decided to go for a drive. After we ran over the 3rd little people we gave up on that though and decided another nice calm activity would be better. So we sat in and decided to try to do a puzzle. Geez these pieces are tiny. No luck... so we went investigating to find another example of a puzzle and found this finished one waiting to be hung up Much more interesting than the halfway completed one we tried. Hm.. Maybe there'll be less rain when I get to my next host. I hope so. Its time for me to get in an envelope and be on my way! Spooky
fam-united Posted Jul 9, 2009, 7:31 am	Hi Mum, I'm happy to tell you, that Kari and I arrived safely. I already met some other toyvoyagers. Petra is very busy with school, but she promisses to go to some interesting places as soon as possible. Pawshakes, Spooky
fam-united Posted Jul 11, 2009, 10:11 pm	Today is a big flea market in front of the palace of Bruchsal. Petra's husband and her son were "very happy" to take me and the other toyvoyagers with them and take photos with us
fam-united Posted Jul 11, 2009, 10:15 pm	It is raining cats and dogs and the thunder is very loud. Petra says, that the thunderstorm is just over Bruchsal. Later we read in the newspapers, that one house burnt. Thank Godness, nobody got hurt. Here you see two views out of Petra's bedroom.
fam-united Posted Jul 11, 2009, 10:20 pm	Petra's daughter is on the way to Stockholm, Sweden. It is her first flight and she is very nervous and so is Petra. She took three toyvoyager with her: Precious, Kari and Hasi. So of course we are excited too. Here I watch the flight and the airplanes arrival in Stockholm. Petra's daughter sings in a choir, which takes part at the big Pueri Cantores Festival in Stockholm. There is a very long list of choirs from all over the world.
fam-united Posted Jul 11, 2009, 10:30 pm	Ralf and Petra read in the newspapers, that there are Scottish Highland Games in Angelbachtal. Both are big Scotland fans, although they never had been there already - but they surely will go there one day, that's what they told us. So today they decided to go to the festival and watch the games and listen to the Pipes and Drums Bands. (sorry for being not in this photo, Petra said, that she has to zoom it) There were several shops and Petra bought a Scottish Teddy Bear and some hair bands and Ralf bought two Scottish flags.
fam-united Posted Aug 9, 2009, 10:48 am	Wow, I can tell you, Petra had some crazy last weeks at her school. She is so happy, that there are only 2 more days and then summer break starts. I'm sure, you aren't really surprised, that it is raining once more and very windy.
fam-united Posted Aug 9, 2009, 10:51 am	Today we visited the Unimog Museum in Gaggenau. It is located between Rastatt and Freudenstadt in the beautiful Murg River Valley. There is an exhibition of various alternating Unimog of six decades from the beginning until now, giving hints about technology, love stories between drivers and vehicles and lots of models. We also took part in off-road driving on the Unimog Museum premises, climbing various hills and tackling other obstacles on the Unimog parcours. It was so so great!
fam-united Posted Aug 9, 2009, 10:53 am	Another thunderstorm! It is unbelievable, how often we have lightning and thunder.
fam-united Posted Aug 9, 2009, 11:04 am	Today we drove to the Michaelsberg in Untergrombach. Untergrombach is one of Bruchsal's suburbs with about 6000 inhabitants. 3500 to 2600 BC there were frist human signs on the Michaelsberg, which gave this culture the name "Michaelsberger Kulturkreis" 1502 AD Joss Fritz from Untergrombach planned the "Bundschuhaufstand" during the time of Peasant's Wars. The chapel is on top of the Michaelsberg. In the far (right side) you see some houses, which belong to Bruchsal. Bruchsal and also Untergrombach are located at the edge to the Kraichgau. Here you see the Rhine Valley. If the weather is sunny, you can see the Palatinate Forest in the far. I learned something about "Magerrasen" (neglected grassland), which is typical for the Michaelsberg. Behind the sign you see so-called "Steinriegel" (field clearance cairn), made by people working on their fields a long long time ago. They threw the big stones from their fields to the border of the neighbour's field, so that in the middle all stones were accumulated. Many animals and flowers love this gaunt places and that's why a few weeks ago, people cleaned the Steinriegel from all the earth, that came between the stone during the many many years and from all the other plants, that love to grow in earth. The nature reserve sign, they shortly added some rules.
fam-united Posted Aug 9, 2009, 11:06 am	Then it was time for Tito, Tilla Mook, Galo, Nanu the cub, Coco, Kari, Tasmanian Devil, Scotty and Friendship Bear and me to say good bye to Precious.
fam-united Posted Aug 9, 2009, 11:20 am	Once more we are in Eichtersheim. This time there is a big medieval market and a joust. Two zoomed photos without me:
fam-united Posted Sep 9, 2009, 10:30 am	In the early evening we took the car and drove to the Belvedere. It is a former hunting lodge, built in 1756, renovated in 2001 until 2003. Here you see the grammar school St.Paulusheim and the baroque church St. Peter.
fam-united Posted Sep 9, 2009, 10:38 am	Today we drove to Münzesheim to visit the Japanese Garden, which belongs to the therapy centre against alcohol and other dependencies. All buildings and works of art are made by patients of the therapy center based on antique models. The garden is about 5.000 m² large, it is open for patients and visitors. You will see a roof made of blue bottles, put into the concrete with the bottom to the outside - it's an interesting room, fascinating. Wall and floor are covered with blue tiles. Just enjoy the photos.
fam-united Posted Sep 9, 2009, 10:40 am	On our way home we were allowed to run over the fields next to a very small town. Thanks to olgamaus
fam-united Posted Sep 9, 2009, 12:02 pm	Then we visited Heidelsheim, which is one of the five suburbs of Bruchsal - since 1974 - and which is about 4 kilometers from Bruchsal. Heidelsheim was first named in 770 as Heidolfesheim. Since 1241 it was  a free imperial city. The fortress tower called Katzenturm (Cats tower)
fam-united Posted Sep 9, 2009, 12:11 pm	In the evening we drove to the Michaelsberg in Untergrombach. Next to the chapel is a restaurant, where we had dinner.
fam-united Posted Sep 9, 2009, 1:09 pm	Bruchsal (orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle) is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km Northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Bruchsal is the largest city in the district of Karlsruhe and is known for being Europe's largest asparagus producer and one of the economic centers of the region of Karlsruhe Bruchsal is located at the edge of the Upper Rhine River Plains and the Kraichgau along the Saalbach, which is a small tributary of the Rhine that joins it between Philippsburg and Oberhausen.                                     Ancient era and early Middle Ages Excavations and artifacts that were discovered evidence a settlement existing on the Michelsberg (Untergrombach) as early as 4000 BC during the Neolithic. In the core of Bruchsal the oldest settlement discovered was dated back to 640 AD. It is located near the present Peterskirche, where I stay right now. The first mention of Bruchsal in official documents occurred in 976 when the King came to town. And during October of the year 980, Otto II and his Court stayed at the King's palace in Bruchsal for several days 1248 was the first time Bruchsal was referred to as a city and in 1278 St. Peters Church is mentioned for the first time. After extensive damage to both, the Palace and the Peterskirch were reconstructed in 1320. The Bergfried (an outlook and defensive tower bastion) was erected in 1358 and the city wall was completed in 1452. In 1460 the first coin was pressed in Bruchsal. By April 24, 1711 Bruchsal had recovered sufficiently to play host to Prince Eugene of Savoy of the Habsburg Court in Vienna. Then in 1716 the Bishop of Speyer, Heinrich von Rollingen, moved his residence into the Bruchsal Palace. This move elevated the city's status to that of an official residence of the Diocese of Speyer. At the same time, Bruchsal became the seat of the "Vizedomamt", the most important office held by the Diocese on the West bank of the Rhine. In 1719 Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn became the new Bishop and after settling in he commissioned in (1722), among others, the new baroque château and the new Peters Church (from 1742). Both were built and, in part, designed by Balthasar Neumann. In the Bishop's honor, the Southern gate out of the château grounds is referred to as Damian's Gate to this day. In the afternoon of March 1, 1945, Bruchsal was bombed. In addition to the 1,000 lives that perished that day, the entire inner city and the baroque château were destroyed. The baroque palace was rebuilt in the 70th.     That's enough of history now. I'm not sure, whether you want to read everything, but I thought, Petra should write a bit about Bruchsal's history. She used wikipedia and you will find more history and information there. We went to see the palace. Here you see the entrance of the main building.         A sundial at another building, which belongs to the palace area. Here you see the back side of the palace and also a part of the church tower. Then we saw some interesting statues, when we walked in the palace garden. There are statues, which show the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. Here you see summer. And there are four statues showing the four elements water, fire, earth and wind. Here you see water. And here's the fire salamander and a burning house of the element fire, of course. There are some of the most beautiful and oldest houses of Bruchsal in Franz-Bläsi-Straße. On our way back through the palace garden we found this old and interesting tree. Here all toyvoyagers, which stay in Bruchsal right now, are sitting together on the tree. It was a nice resting place and we had a good view from there. On our way back to our current home, we went past the old tower of the old castle, called Bergfried.
fam-united Posted Sep 18, 2009, 3:54 pm	When we came home our host's kids had filled the pool. Katja made a paper boat for us, so we could take a boat ride in the pool.
fam-united Posted Sep 18, 2009, 9:21 pm	In the afternoon we went to Stuttgart airport, because olgamaus had to fly home again. From the roof of the car park we could see the famous Bosch-Parkhaus (Bosch-car park). It spans across the motorway A8. The car park has space for 4200 vehicles on five stories. The logo is the second largest illuminated sign in the world and the biggest logo in the world after the unlit Hollywood Sign. Then we went to the visitor terrace, where we could see some planes starting and landing. We also took a look at the old planes and helicopter, which belong to an exhibition on the visitor platform. Antonow An-2 Dornier DO 27 Harvard AT-6G
fam-united Posted Sep 18, 2009, 11:03 pm	Then we drove to Stuttgart-Degerloch to take a look at the TV (television - hahaha) tower. Since 11th July 2009 it is "Historic landmark of engineer art of construction in Germany. It is 217 m high, the first tv tower in the world and therefore the prototype of many other tv towers. When we turned around, we realized, that the weather changed and it got rather dark. So we hurried to drive home again. When we drove through Stuttgart it got darker and darker.
fam-united Posted Sep 19, 2009, 9:48 am	Today we arrived at St.Lunaire. Of course we had to go to the beach at once. I'm on holiday with Fabian, his girlfriend and her family. Saint-Lunaire (Breton: Sant-Luner) is a commune in the Ille-et-Vilaine department in Bretagne in northwestern France. This old fishing village is very popular for its old church, its beautiful beaches and the English-style houses on the Pointe du Décollé. In the summer, a lot of rich Parisians live there, and, with the near-by villages of Saint-Briac or Dinard, it's possible to meet a lot of French "stars" in the area. Fantastic viewpoints on the Pointe du Décollé, hill of La Garde Guérin and the Pointe du Nick.wikipedia
fam-united Posted Sep 19, 2009, 3:05 pm	Today we drove to Enzklösterle. At first we played Adventure Golf and had a lot of fun. Then we had lunch at a restaurant, where the Krippena is located. We saw the world largest wood carved Christmas crib (sorry, somehow I hid in the backpack) and a Christmas tree.
fam-united Posted Sep 19, 2009, 4:12 pm	On our way home we stopped at a field, where you can pick flowers and throw the money in a box. We bought some gladioli.
fam-united Posted Oct 10, 2009, 11:56 am	The next day at the beach of St. Lunaire we had high water.
fam-united Posted Oct 10, 2009, 12:05 pm	Saint-Malo (Breton: Sant-Maloù; Gallo: Saent-Malô) is a walled port city in Brittany in north-western France on the English Channel. It is a sub-prefecture of the Ille-et-Vilaine department. Saint-Malo during the Middle Ages was a fortified island at the mouth of the Rance River, controlling not only the estuary but the open sea beyond. The promontory fort of Aleth, south of the modern centre in what is now the Saint-Servan district, commanded approaches to the Rance even before the Romans, but modern Saint-Malo traces its origins to a monastic settlement founded by Saint Aaron and Saint Brendan early in the 6th century. Its name is derived from a man said to have been a follower of Brendan, Saint Malo. the harbour I liked it, how you were able to see the houses and the people in that sign. Then we visited the Saint-Vincent cathedral. The original church, built in the 9th century, was burnt down during the attack by the Franks. Rebuilt by the archbishop Jean de Châtillon in the 12th century it became a cathedral in 1146. Built over nearly seven centuries it was finished in 1987 when the spire in the shape of a granite arrow -inspired from a 19th century model- was fitted. Opposite the castle on the Sillon beach, the national fort was built in 1689 by Vauban and Garangeau with granite from Chausey. I love the coast. There is a swimming pool at the coast filled with sea water. It is covered at high tide. Robert Surcoufwas a famous French corsair. We are at the harbour again Saint-Malo has one of the highest concentration of sea food restaurants in Europe. It is famous for its local oysters from the nearby village of Cancale.
fam-united Posted Nov 14, 2009, 10:50 am	Today we and our host's daughter went on a surprise trip. The Bietigheim Horse Market begins on Friday before the first Monday of September and ends on following Tuesday. Beside the traditional (actual) horse market on Monday, ride- and jumping tournament (Friday until Sunday), the other riding demonstrations as well as the procession (Monday) with following premium of the most beautiful cars, there is also an entertainment park with marquees, a large shopkeeper market.[size] [size=3]Later we had fun on the river rafting. On our way home we took a photo of the landscape.
fam-united Posted Nov 14, 2009, 11:18 am	It is such a beautiful day, that we decided to go on a walk to the little field chapel. On the way we passed the seven sorrows of Maria, the holy mother. They started to built the chapel in 1903 and consecrated it in 1905. In year 1908 the seven stations were finished. The first four stations were destroyed by environmental impact and war and so they were recreated in 1957 and consecrated in 1958. The Seven Sorrows (or Dolors) are events in the life of the Blessed Virgin Mary which are a popular devotion and are frequently depicted in art. It is a common devotion for Catholics to say daily a Hail Mary for each. 1. The Prophecy of Simeon over the Infant Jesus. (Gospel of Luke 2:34) 2. The Flight into Egypt of the Holy Family. (Gospel of Matthew 2:13) 3. The Loss of the Child Jesus for Three Days. (Luke 2:43) 4. The Meeting of Jesus and Mary along the Way of the Cross. (Luke 23:26) 5. The Crucifixion, where Mary stands at the foot of the cross. (Gospel of John 19:25) Here is the field chapel, Feldkirchle. 6. The Descent from the Cross, where Mary receives the dead body of Jesus in her arms. (Matthew 27:57) 7. The Burial of Jesus. (John 19:40)
fam-united Posted Nov 19, 2009, 5:24 pm	Today we visited the museum of Cancale Cancale lies along the coast to the east of Saint-Malo. It is a picturesque fishing village popular with visitors, many of whom are drawn by its reputation as the "oyster capital" of Brittany Then we went to see the oysters farm. This is the lighthouse of Cancale. Then we had an apéritif
fam-united Posted Nov 19, 2009, 5:25 pm	The name St Briac comes from the name of Saint Briac, an Irishman. Briac arrived from Ireland with Saint Tugdual in around 548. I'm hungry, so I ordered a Galette 4 Saisons But maybe I prefer Galette with shrimps now. Or should I eat a Galette Super Bretonne? Maybe I just ask, if I can have a piece of all three?!?! I love this pine tree.
fam-united Posted Nov 19, 2009, 5:27 pm	After eating so much yesterday, I had to jump into the pool at our house. After swimming I relaxed in the sun.
fam-united Posted Nov 19, 2009, 5:29 pm	Today we went to the weekly market at St. Lunaire. There are beautiful houses. At the Pointe du Décollé At the beach we found this sandcastle.
fam-united Posted Nov 19, 2009, 5:30 pm	St.Lunaire - Dolmen St.Lunaire - church
fam-united Posted Nov 19, 2009, 5:31 pm	At home I ate a Ker-y-pomme
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 8:38 am	Today there is a thunderstorm and Petra decided to read a book. We were very curious, what it was: the "city of...." books, but she said, that she prefers the twighlight books.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 9:08 am	Hi Mum, Here you see me and my friends waiting for the start of our travel to Oelsnitz, Vogtland, where we want to stay for one week.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 11:23 am	We made a rest at the DB museum in Nürnberg. I read a letter about locomotives. Then I saw many locomotives and waggons. I read about the train of Ludwig II.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 11:54 am	Oelsnitz is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the river Weiße Elster, 9 km south of Plauen. We stay in a beautiful house called Finsterbusch's Häusl.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 12:09 pm	On our way to Kingenthal we passed at the Muldenberg river dam. It provides about 100 000 people with water. The dam wall has the longest mural crown of all river dams in Saxony. It was built in 1920 - 1925. The weather was very cold and windy and it drizzled. So we hurried back to the car.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 12:24 pm	Klingenthal is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated directly on the border with the Czech Republic opposite the Czech town of Kraslice, 29 km southeast of Plauen, and 33 km northwest of Karlovy Vary. The Aschberg ("cinder mountain") towers above the town at 936 m. The extremely elongated town, 10.5 km from end to end, is surrounded by numerous woods of firs. The town is bisected by the Döbra and Zwota rivers. These two rivers unite at the Czech-German border to form the Svatava river, which in turn flows into the Ohře river at Sokolov. Klingenthal's inhabitants number 8,996 (September 30, 2005). The town is famed for its manufacture of musical instruments and is a well-known ski resort. We visited the Vogtland-Arena, a wellknown ski jump in Germany. The first ski jump was opened in 1959, the new Vogtland-Arena was opened in 2006.  I was really impressed by the altitude of it. With this train we drove up the hill. Wow, isn't it high? I would love to meet some of those ski flyer, but unhappily there is no training today.
fam-united Posted Nov 22, 2009, 1:35 pm	In the evening my host and one of her sons took as on a walk along the Pirk river dam. Maybe just enjoy the photos as our hosts did it in reality.
fam-united Posted Nov 23, 2009, 9:29 pm	Göltzschtalbrücke (Göltzsch valley bridge) is the largest brick bridge in the world. The railway bridge is 574m long and was built between 1846 and 1851 using more than 26 million bricks. When it was finished, it was also the highest railway bridge in the world. It is currently part of the high-speed Dresden-Plauen line, close to stop Netzschkau.wikipedia
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 7:46 am	For lunch we drove to the Kuhberg, the highest point in northern Saxony. Our lunch wasn't that great and also watching the play train wasn't fun. We only saw some crashs. We wanted to go to the top of the tower, but it was too expensive. So all in all this place was annoying.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 8:11 am	The Elstertalbrücke is the second largest brick bridge in the world after the Göltzschtalbrücke. The railway bridge is 279 m long and was built between 1846 and 1851 using more than 12 million bricks.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 10:27 am	Today we visited the Exhibition of German Astronautics   The main request of this exhibition, wich is unique in Germany, is to show to lot of people the use of space travel and space research for mankind. It starts with the history of space travel. That means visitors can get information about the knowledge and development of astronomy and the dream of mankind to leave our home planet earth. More-over, there are presented first flight and rocket experi-ments. But you can see much more; as there are first artifical probes, the first Soviet and American men in space, the programme of landing on the moon or different space stations. As you will be informed about satellites and probes which are near our planet and those which are sent to other galaxies. At the end of our exhibition you will come to documents about the space station MIR and future projects like an international space station and manned mission to mars.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 1:00 pm	Later we drove to Plauen to try to find a special beer glas of Sternquell brewery. Close to the brewery we saw this bridge, the Syratalviadukt.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 1:17 pm	Then we visited the St. Johannis church.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 2:50 pm	Then we visited the museum of lace from Plauen in the old city hall. For 120 years, Plauen lace has been a world famous Saxon textile product. Plauen lace and embroideries have their roots in a century-old tradition of making textiles in and around Plauen. Already in the 15th century Plauen was a centre of the clothmaking craft and cotton-weaving. The embroidery craft dates back to as early as 1780. With the invention a machine capable of making machine-embroidered forms of lace in 1880, the development was open for an economic upswing in the Vogtland, in particular in the town of Plauen. The lace known as "Plauener Spitze" was to conquer the world. At the World Exhibition in 1900 in Paris, Plauen lace was awarded the Grand Prix. Today more than 150 companies are working in this industrial sector. On national and international markets, Plauener Spitze is in demand again. The scope of supply ranges from room textiles, such as curtains and table laundry, to ladywear, lingerie and underwear.
fam-united Posted Nov 28, 2009, 4:24 pm	At the Daetz-Centrum in the palais of Lichtenstein, Saxony, we saw many wooden sculptures from more than 30 countries. Its name comes from its founders Marlene and Peter Daetz. It was founded in 2001 and presents more than 550 wooden sculptures from 5 continents and represents the knowledge of wooden art and artwork from all over the world.
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2009, 8:44 am	Then we drove to Zwickau to visit the Horch museum, the place where August Horch worked for decades. Right in the heart of the former Audi plant, one of the birthplaces of automotive history from Horch to Audi and further on to the “Trabant”, you can experience legendary automotive history. Horch museum wrote: It is not only August Horch who is honored on the two floors of the exhibition area. The visitors may familiarize themselves with the manifold developments made during more than a century of automobile production in Zwickau. The highlights of Saxony’s automotive art, such as the 1911 Horch Phaeton, will fascinate you just like the DKW F1 micro car with the first standard front wheel drive ever, a sensational vehicle in its time, the elegant Horch luxury models or the Audi and Wanderer automobiles. .....
fam-united Posted Dec 4, 2009, 12:20 pm	The Zum Friedefürsten church is a baroque Lutheran round church in Klingenthal. It has an octagonal floorplan and is the largest of its kind in Saxony. The church is the most important historical monument in Klingenthal and dominates the town center.
fam-united Posted Dec 6, 2009, 6:16 pm	On our way to our holiday house, we took this photo of the landscape. Then we drove to Czech Republic just to take a photo of the sign. Our car is in Czech Republic, while we are in Germany to take the photo - I think, it's a bit crazy.
fam-united Posted Dec 6, 2009, 6:52 pm	Schöneck (also: Schöneck/Vogtl.) is a town in the Vogtlandkreis district, in the Free State of Saxony, Germany. It is situated 18 km southeast of Plauen, and 35 km north of Cheb. Schöneck belongs to the so called "Musikwinkel", maybe translated music area, to which also belongs Klingenthal, Markneukirchen and Erlbach. Since 1962 it is a place for recreation and winter sports. We stopped at the neobaroque city hall. We only visited a place called "alter Söll", where you have a great view over the landscape, even with sight to Fichtelgebirge.
fam-united Posted Dec 6, 2009, 7:04 pm	So this is the last day of October, time for us to say goodbye to Oelsnitz and our beautiful house. We needed some more diesel, so we drove to Czech Republic, because we were close to the border. There diesel is cheaper than in Germany. I think, more people had this idea to buy it there, because we had to wait more than half an hour before we were at the diesel fuel pump. It had frost outside, so it was rather cold in the car too.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:15 am	Today it was time to bake a cake for my host son's 19th birthday party. It is called Hansen Jensen Cake. Her son asked her for using gooseberries for stuffing.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:16 am	Today two other toyvoyagers arrived at our place. So now there are: Galo, Little, Jennifer, Homer, Tilla Mook, Smooch, Spooky, Scotty, Pinkz, Mandy Sheep and me.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:17 am	Here you see, how the cake looks like, when you cut it. I can tell you, it tastes delicious.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:17 am	Today evening my hosts had a dinner called "Würstchen im Schlafrock" (kilted sausages). My host wanted some fresh vegetables in it, but there was only one small piece of a tomato. They also had a beer called Rauchbier, so it was a very special dinner.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:18 am	It is a time for baking cakes it seems. My hosts will meet friends today, so here we are preparing a cake called Torta di Mandorle, a cake with many almonds.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:18 am	Later we helped getting finished with decorating the house. There are so many nice little things to put up and maybe you will see more photos of everything later. This is my hosts' favorite window decoration. Here you see the advent calendar for our hosts' daughter. This year there are ships sailing on the sea. There is a really frosty decoration in front of the entrance. I like it. Finally here is the cake. It tastes great. And here you see the decoration of the kitchen window.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:19 am	It is the first day, that my host has time to bake some Christmas cookies. We were allowed to help her. Everyone had a special job to do. She put the Christmas CD into the CD player and we sang the songs together with her. We start to prepare the dough for Husarenkrapferl and Vanillekipferl (crescent-shaped pastry or roll with vanilla) and Kokosmakronen (coconut macaroons) . I think, these are really funny names.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:20 am	Today we have beautiful, but cold weather and we asked our host, if she would have time to show the new guests some places in Bruchsal. She packed us in her rucksack. We still had about -12°C, what is rather cold in this region. Here once more you can read about Bruchsal: Bruchsal (orig. Bruohselle, Bruaselle) is a city at the western edge of the Kraichgau, approximately 20 km Northeast of Karlsruhe in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is located on Bertha Benz Memorial Route. Bruchsal is the largest city in the district of Karlsruhe and is known for being Europe's largest asparagus producer and one of the economic centers of the region of Karlsruhe Bruchsal is located at the edge of the Upper Rhine River Plains and the Kraichgau along the Saalbach, which is a small tributary of the Rhine that joins it between Philippsburg and Oberhausen.                                     Ancient era and early Middle Ages Excavations and artifacts that were discovered evidence a settlement existing on the Michelsberg (Untergrombach) as early as 4000 BC during the Neolithic. In the core of Bruchsal the oldest settlement discovered was dated back to 640 AD. It is located near the present Peterskirche, where I stay right now. The first mention of Bruchsal in official documents occurred in 976 when the King came to town. And during October of the year 980, Otto II and his Court stayed at the King's palace in Bruchsal for several days 1248 was the first time Bruchsal was referred to as a city and in 1278 St. Peters Church is mentioned for the first time. After extensive damage to both, the Palace and the Peterskirch were reconstructed in 1320. The Bergfried (an outlook and defensive tower bastion) was erected in 1358 and the city wall was completed in 1452. In 1460 the first coin was pressed in Bruchsal. By April 24, 1711 Bruchsal had recovered sufficiently to play host to Prince Eugene of Savoy of the Habsburg Court in Vienna. Then in 1716 the Bishop of Speyer, Heinrich von Rollingen, moved his residence into the Bruchsal Palace. This move elevated the city's status to that of an official residence of the Diocese of Speyer. At the same time, Bruchsal became the seat of the "Vizedomamt", the most important office held by the Diocese on the West bank of the Rhine. In 1719 Cardinal Damian Hugo von Schönborn became the new Bishop and after settling in he commissioned in (1722), among others, the new baroque château and the new Peters Church (from 1742). Both were built and, in part, designed by Balthasar Neumann. In the Bishop's honor, the Southern gate out of the château grounds is referred to as Damian's Gate to this day. In the afternoon of March 1, 1945, Bruchsal was bombed. In addition to the 1,000 lives that perished that day, the entire inner city and the baroque château were destroyed. The baroque palace was rebuilt in the 70th.     That's enough of history now. I'm not sure, whether you want to read everything, but I thought, Petra should write a bit about Bruchsal's history. She used wikipedia and you will find more history and information there. We went to see the palace. You see some small houses in front of the palace, which belong to the soon opened Christmas market. It is the back side of the palace. The tower on the right side belongs to the catholic church St. Damian and Hugo. There's a nice pond in the park, which is frozen right now. There are statues, which show the four seasons: spring, summer, autumn and winter. And there are four statues showing the four elements water, fire, earth and wind. There are some of the most beautiful and oldest houses of Bruchsal in Franz-Bläsi-Straße.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:21 am	The Belvedere (Bruchsal) was originally designed as a Manor for fun and games, to which a shooting house was added for use in the shooting competitions often held by the Court. As time went by, the Manor was nicknamed Belvedere by the city's residents, as it enjoyed the best view of the city. The Belvedere is part of the City Gardens. view out of a window:
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:22 am	Snow! How nice and beautiful, even when it is only a whiff of snow. Here is a view out of a window, where my hosts live. You see the top of the tower of the city church and next to it, you see cranes where they build a new shopping center. Looking to the other side you see this beautiful building, which is called Sancta Maria. I hope, to have a closer view soon. The large building is the music school. The part of the red tower belongs to the Bergfried, the tower of the old castle, and the small small part of the tower to its left is the tower of St. Damian and Hugo. Then we closed the window, because it still is really cold outside. My hosts love to decorate the windows with paper crafts. Then we went downstairs to warm up next to the oven in the livingroom. I asked my host, whether she would like to take a photo with me and the Adventskranz (advent wreath) and she did.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:23 am	My host said, that now it would be more than urgent to bake some more cookies or we only would have four sorts. You see, that Sweetsy arrived at our home today and also Princess Sarah. Sweetsy brought some wonderful gingerbread cookies with him. But four sorts of cookies aren't enough for all of us, so we told her, that we all would help together and get some more done. Here we read the recipe for our host's favorite gingerbread recipe. Sweetsy was so happy, that at his first day he had the chance to try another gingerbread recipe: Zigeunerschnitten. The recipe is handwritten in our host's book, because it is a family recipe from her grandparents. She said, that she never found this recipe somewhere else, but maybe someone knows this recipe too? At first Pinkz helped to weigh the butter. Then BineHH helped to add the sugar for the dough. Galo said, that if it comes to eggs, it would be his turn. We all were a bit nervous, because we didn't know, if he could stand it. Hey, Galo! What's the matter! Wake up! We knew it! It was too hard for him! After a while Galo felt better and we all went back to our places. Now Jennifer added almonds. Sweetsy added raisins. We had to have a break in preparing the dough for Zigeunerschnitten, because we forgot to buy some necessary ingredients. So we went on with preparing other cookies. Jimmy_D helped to prick out the Spitzbuben cookies. Smooch and Scotty helped to roll the dough for Zimtsterne (star-shaped cinnamon cookies). Ceryni tried to help to form Nougatkipfert. Finally one other family member bought the missing ingredients for Zigeunerschnitten and we had been able to finish the dough. Scotty added candied lemon peel and candied orange peel to the dough. I used the spoon to add cacao powder to the dough. Then it was time to add the cinnamon. At last it was time to add the flour. Pinkz stirred the dough. The result is a really heavy brown dough. Smooch and Galo rolled the dough on the baking plate. It is hard work. After baking the air smelled of gingerbread, yummy. Nevertheless we still had to decorate the Zigeunerschnitten. After the Zigeunerschnitten were cold enough we cut them into smaller pieces and put them in a box. We also decorated the Nougatkipferl and Husarenkrapferl
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:23 am	Here you have another view out of a window in the attic. It shows the view to the church St. Peter, which is next to the graveyard.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 11:24 am	Merry Christmas to everyone at home. For Holy Eve we have chicken fricassee for dinner. This is a traditional food in my hosts' family. Later after singing Christmas songs and unwrapping presents we had time to eat some Christmas cookies.
fam-united Posted Jan 3, 2010, 2:47 pm	I wish you all a happy new year. There is no big party at my hosts' home, so you only see a photo with me and a part of the Christmas tree.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 10:11 am	I tried to get a nice photo with me and the fireworks, but I had no luck.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 10:13 am	It is snowing! I'm so looking forward to playing in the snow, but it is night and my host told me, that it is time to go to bed.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 10:16 am	I love to see all the snow. I hope, that we will find time to go out, but my host's husband is really ill and I think, that I will have no luck. Please help praying, that he feels better soon.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 10:18 am	Today it is time to do some homework. My host helps her children writing vocabulary cards, while they do their homeworks. Here you see Latin vocabularies. We went to the church St. Peter to have a short rest from writing and of course to enjoy the snow. Here you see the statues of St. Peter and St. Paul.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 10:24 am	Today we went on a short walk around the Michaelsberg, which belongs to Untergrombach. It's also a nice place, when there is snow.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 10:27 am	Last night we got snow again. It is sad, that the old snow just melted away, so there are still only a few centimeters of snow.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 10:28 am	Today I saw "New Moon" in the cinema. I really liked it. Not too far from the cinema I saw this church. It is called Lutherkirche, an evangelic church.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 9:04 pm	My host had a disc prolaps in her neck and she felt and still feels really bad. So our activities are rare right now, but today we went on a short walk around this beautiful sea. We really enjoyed it.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 9:05 pm	Tonight there we watched the full moon.
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 9:09 pm	My host's most activities are watching tv, reading and walking up and down in the house. She doesn't go out alone, still afraid, because she feels so dizzy. So here we watched one of her favourite tv series: McLeods Daughters'. She prefers the ones with Claire
fam-united Posted Apr 26, 2010, 9:13 pm	Today we went for a little walk in a wood next to a small animal park. My host's son went with her and so she took us with them. We enjoyed the lovely weather again.
smaug Posted May 3, 2010, 3:25 am	Hi Mum! I am in Canada ! When I came out of my envelope today there were a lot of local residents and guests greeting me : Hedgie from Australia, Mortimer_ from Greece, Nijntje from the Netherlands, Dean from the USA, Etwas from Germany, sammino who is a stay-at-home TV and Pepita, one of smaug’s TVs who is here a few days on vacation. I guess it will be fun here .
smaug Posted May 3, 2010, 4:24 am	Hi Mum! Today the weather was quite nice (after the blizzards of earlier this week ) so smaug took us out for a short walk in the woods . We spent most of the time under the trees encouraging smaug while he was labouring his way in the fresh snow . But when he stopped to rest we played a bit in the snow by ourselves . At one point we found a place with a good view over the valley. But those clouds in the distance were a bit concerning, so we decided that it was enough for the day and went back to the car.
smaug Posted May 11, 2010, 2:29 am	Hi Mum! Are you ever going to send me to a summerish place? I have been pelted with snow all winter in Germany and now that it’s May here it’s been snowing again for most of the week ! But today the weather was a bit better, so we went out for another short walk in the woods . Some sections had plenty of fresh snow. On the way we found a couple of nice spots where we could take a photo.
smaug Posted May 11, 2010, 3:12 am	Hi Mum! Today we said goodbye to Pepita who is travelling to her next host, so we wished her a safe journey .
smaug Posted May 15, 2010, 5:26 am	Hi Mum! Today smaug came back home and told us that Hedgie has been invited to a trip to Fiji and will leave tomorrow to make sure he catches his flight. So tonight we all gathered together to wish him a safe trip .
smaug Posted May 20, 2010, 4:15 am	Hi Mum, Today it was very warm...for Canadian standards, of course ...so we went for a nice walk to a place called Prairie Mountain. Soon after leaving the car park we could see the Elbow River meandering in the valley below . Once we reached the top it wasn’t that warm anymore, the wind was bone chilling , but the view was great . We had lots of mountains in the West and South... ...and Moose Mountain in the North. smaug said that we might go there in a few weeks when the snow melts. In the East we could see the prairies...and with a very good zoom you could even see Calgary in the distance...but not in this photo .
smaug Posted May 25, 2010, 3:44 am	Hi Mum! Today the weather wasn’t too bad, a bit windy actually , so we went visiting a new place between the mountains. We left the car at Barrier Lake and after a bit of walking we had a wonderful view over the lake... ...and of Kananaskis Valley . Moving up towards the lookout the view opened on the foothills rolling down into the prairies in the East. From the lookout we could see the Bow Valley carving its way into the Rockies. On the way back we followed a trail that was always in a very thick forest, so I just spent the time chatting with the other TVs .
smaug Posted May 31, 2010, 5:01 am	Hi Mum, Today we all gathered together to say goodbye and wish a safe trip to Nijntje who tomorrow is going back home .
smaug Posted Jun 13, 2010, 5:18 am	Hi Mum, Today we were again up on the mountains . smaug said that we were going to a trail that hopefully should have been fairly clear of snow....in his dreams . On the road we found this sign and suggested that maybe it was a good idea to take the heed and turn back, but smaug said that we had nothing to worry about and went on . Actually smaug was right, the first part of the trail was clear from snow, it was a mucky watercourse instead . But after wading through that for a good hour we reached a nice view point . Later the landscape went back to usual, no shortage of fresh snow at all. But it was worth the effort as we reached a place with an even nicer view . The way back was, of course, very muddy, so I’ll spare you the details of that .
smaug Posted Jun 21, 2010, 4:44 am	Hi Mum, Today it was (eventually ) a very nice ad warm day, so we went for a long hike . We spent the first part of the day walking among the trees, but once we reached our destination the view was beautiful . Here you can see Lake Minnewanka... ...and some of the surrounding mountains. On the way down we had a few more nice views. As the day was lovely we stopped on the lake shore, where an eagle come down greeting us . It was Landroval, one of smaug’s TVs who just flew back from Japan. While smaug was resting in the sun we had plenty of time to chat .
smaug Posted Jun 27, 2010, 7:47 pm	Hi Mum, Today we said goodbye to Mortimer_ who is going to spend some time at home in Greece for the summer....lucky him !
smaug Posted Jun 27, 2010, 8:18 pm	Hi Mum, Today we welcomed a new guest who arrived in a very big parcel . He’s name’s Red Navel and he comes from Russia....and he brought some lovely chocolate with him .
smaug Posted Jun 27, 2010, 8:38 pm	Hi Mum, It’s just lke being at the train station here in Calgary this week, TVs going, TVs coming . Today there was another arrival: Roderich , who comes from Germany. He brough over some lovely cereal bars and a flower chain in the German colours to cheer on Germany at the football world cup.....I wonder what smaug will have to say about that .
smaug Posted Jun 27, 2010, 9:30 pm	Hi Mum, Today seemed to be a nice day so we went for a walk on the mountains. On the way to the trailhead we got pelted with rain and hail , but once we parked the car it was nice and sunny and the view was wonderful . As we went up the weather started turning ugly. Here we got a view of our destination for the day. Unfortunately we couldn’t take any photo from the top as it started raining heavily, or was it snow ? On the way down we met again Landroval. sammino told him that there is a nice host  waiting for him in the States, so he said goodbye to us, grabbed our lunch and just flew away.
smaug Posted Jul 2, 2010, 1:29 am	Hi Mum! Today we said goodbye and wished a safe trip to Etwas, who is travelling to Hong Kong, wow !
smaug Posted Jul 10, 2010, 4:41 am	Hi Mum, Today we were going for a trip on the mountains but, on the way, smaug noticed that there was something wrong with the car: we got a punctured tyre ! Of course we decided to change it with the spare tyre all by ourselves . Smaug said that we need to get a bit faster if we want to join a F1 pit crew , but I think we were great . Too bad we had to come back to Calgary and get the tyre fixed, so the trip to the mountains was very short .
smaug Posted Jul 11, 2010, 2:22 am	Hi Mum, Today we went for a hike near Lake Louise to a mountain called Fairview Mt., so we hoped to find a nice view . And actually it was nice indeed .  Here we were resting after reaching the top. Then I took a look around. That is Mount Victoria... ...here is the Bow Valley Looking north... ...Mt. Temple just in front of us... ...and that down there is Lake Louise. Leaning out from a ledge we could see the Saddleback from where we passed on our way up . On the way down we asked smaug to let us play a bit in the snow. How often can you play in the snow in July ?!
smaug Posted Jul 11, 2010, 4:33 am	Hi Mum, Today sammino disappeared for a few hours and when he got home he brought two new guests with him : HolgiHH, a nice donkey from Germany and Krystal, one of smaug’s TVs who will stay here a few days on Holiday. Of course we all gave them a warm welcome .
smaug Posted Jul 24, 2010, 6:35 am	Hi Mum! Today the weather was horrible so we just went for a short walk in downtown Calgary. Luckily it’s Stampede time, so there are plenty of places where you can snatch a free pancake breakfast around town . We found one where we could even stop eating indoor Calgary has the world most extensive pedestrian skywalk system, so you can explore several kilometres of downtown without ever going outdoor. Here I was on a bridge with the Calgary Tower in the background. Eventually we tried to go outside, but not for long . We found some shelter in this big shopping center until it was time to go home. The great thing of being a Toyvoyager is that, even when the sky started dropping golf-ball size hailstones on the head of our host, we were safely hidden in a rucksack .
smaug Posted Jul 25, 2010, 3:13 pm	Hi Mum! Today we went visiting the Stampede Park ! First we got ready for the day with a filling breakfast. Krystal, HolgiHH and Sigfrido brought some delicious chocolate Madeleines from France that we quickly ate . Just to be sure not to run short of energy we got also some bread and nutella . On the way to the stampede park we passed through this nice park. Eventually we arrived at our destination. First we checked out the Stampede Market where we found some nice “western” corners. There was even plenty of straw to play with... Then we played cowtoyvoyagers with  this saddle. We also found a chuckwagon... Later we explored a bit the park. On the way home we decided to get some typical food found in every cattle ranch: cowboy popcorns ! Delicious .
smaug Posted Jul 29, 2010, 4:55 am	Hi Mum, Today the weather was gorgeous, so we went for another walk in downtown Calgary . On the way we took a picture of some of the skyscrapers. Later we grabbed another free pancake breakfast...why isn’t  it always stampede time ? Once we had a full belly , we went visiting the Calgary Tower. It might not be so obvious in the photos , but the view was great !
smaug Posted Jul 31, 2010, 5:59 am	Hi Mum! Today we went visiting Banff . Here we were comfortably settled in the car. The drive was a bit long, but eventually we arrived close to our destination... ...and entered town. We spent most of the day dodging showers , but we managed to walk a bit along the River Bow without getting too drenched. Here you can see the Bow falls . Later we got a glimpse of the Banff Springs Hotel, one of the most luxurious resorts of the Rockies . Eventually it was time to go back home. On the road we got a bit scared when we saw a truck driving the wrong way on the highway towards us ... ...but it was just being towed .
smaug Posted Jul 31, 2010, 3:34 pm	Hi Mum! Today we went visiting the Dinosaur Provincial Park: we were very excited at the idea of meeting a T-Rex strolling on the road . The drive was long and a bit boring, so we spent most of the time chatting. We also stopped to take a couple of pictures at the prairies. Eventually we reached dour destination . Here the prairies are carved deeply by the Red Deer River and its tributaries, so there are plenty of these deep gorges with luscious vegetation at the bottom. At some points the landscape turns quite “lunar” . Disappointingly, we didn’t meet any dinosaur walking around , just a lot of information panels describing all the different skeletons (an awful lot apparently) that were dug out in this area.
smaug Posted Aug 5, 2010, 3:20 am	Hi Mum, Today we all gathered together to say goodbye to Krystal and Sigfrido who are on their way back to France.
smaug Posted Aug 5, 2010, 4:30 am	Hi Mum, This week end we are in Jasper and today we immediately explored a bit around the town . First we jumped on the Jasper Tramway that took us up a mountain with a lovely view of the valley. With a short walk we reached the top of a nearby mountain called The Whistlers, and the view was even better . This peak is called The Whistlers because of the sheer number of Whistling Marmots living here. They didn’t seem to inclined to take a photo a with us , but we managed to at least take a decent shot of one of them. Later we moved a bit on the side of the peak to enjoy more views. Here you can see Jasper again with the Upper Station of the Jasper Tramway... ...and here is the ridge that we walked on to get o the top . From the opposite side of the mountain we could see in the haze the Athabasca Valley, with the Athabasca River being that silver ribbon on the valley floor. What a great day !
smaug Posted Aug 8, 2010, 12:56 am	Hi Mum, Today we were supposed to visit a glacier, but the weather had other plans so after trying to reach it and getting drenched in the process we had to change destination. So we checked out a little lake near Jasper town called Lake Annette. Nice place, and it wasn’t raining . In the background you can see a green space. There was actually a beach there with someone swimming in the lake, crazy people ! Back to our hotel we gathered some wood... ...and decided to use the fireplace . Unfortunately smaug said that the room was already warm enough and we just have to chat imagining to sit in front of a fire .
smaug Posted Aug 8, 2010, 4:47 am	Hi Mum, Today we are going back to Calgary, so on the way we took a couple of photos. One with the Athabasca River... ...and one with Mount Fryatt .
smaug Posted Aug 20, 2010, 4:13 am	Hi Mum, Today I said goodbye to all my friends here and got ready to come home. Roderich is leaving tomorrow too, moving to his next host, so we’ll keep each other company for a bit at the post office . Before I jumped in my envelope sammino gave me a big hug and wished me safe journey . See you soon .

Back