Posted Jul 27, 2013, 10:05 pm
My new Mummy rescued me from this place in the train station in Hanover.
You see, I am more adapt for living in a cold environment and it was way too hot there so Mummy was so kind to pick me up and take me home with her.
And then she even made me a toyvoyager to travel the world and see many (cold) places. Isn't that exciting!
Posted Jul 27, 2013, 11:46 pm
I also saw a nice cool apple on the table. Sadly I couldn't eat it.
And last but certainly not least I got my name from granny. She thought I looked like a Henri.
I'm so happy I am a real toyvoyager with a name now.
Posted Jul 28, 2013, 3:42 pm
Aren't we all looking good?
Posted Jul 28, 2013, 4:53 pm
Here you can see me after we had just left the station in Minden.
I saw lots of yellow and green fields. Some where already harvested, but most weren't.
I found a wonderful lookout where I spent the ride lookig at the scenery passing by.
Posted Jul 28, 2013, 5:03 pm
We went to Hildesheim again. Mummy had an appointment there. Unfortunately it was way too hot to walk a lot. So we settled for only going to the appointment, then shopping some postcards and going home again.
Here we are just leaving Hildesheim:
I saw the first mountains - well hills - ever.
And also lots more fields.
The first train was a really old one - but very cozy.
Can you see the train that passed us?
I also became best friends with Lieselotte.
She told me everything I needed to know.
We passed the big sugar factory in Nordstemmen:
We also went by some wonderful blue lakes.
We really wanted to jump off the train and go swimming, but Mummy's grip was too strong...
Another train went past. This time it was a metronom.
Such lovely yellow fields. We also saw some colza which was a little unusual because the colza everywhere else had been harvested around May/June.
We also saw a typical crossing:
And then it was soon time to get off our cozy train and get on another one which would take us home.
Posted Jul 28, 2013, 5:05 pm
The station is located near the Hanover fairground and was built for Expo 2000 in Hanover.
Posted Jul 28, 2013, 5:10 pm
We passed an old factory building near Hanover main station:
And we also passed the spot where many freight waggons are stopped and rearranged.
It was a nice trip even though we nearly only saw things along the rail tracks.
And it was the first time for me to be back in Hanover where I came from. Interesting experience.
Also, Mummy promised next time when it has cooled down we will go on more adventures and see more.
Posted Aug 8, 2013, 4:36 pm
First we gathered all the ingredients we needed for the base cake.
Then we melted some butter in the microwave. Wow, so fast!
We let the butter cool down and grated an apple. Cookie held the grater while Lieselotte grated the apple and I observed everything from a safe place high up on the coffee pot.
After that Lieselotte and Cookie mixed sugar and butter and I cracked the eggs.
After mixing the eggs into the sugar butter mix we had the important task of weighing the flour. Look, we are hard at work here:
Then Cookie cut open the almond pieces and added some to the flour.
Lieselotte added a pinch of cinnamon and Cookie a teaspoon full of baking powder.
We mixed everything well, added the grated apple and put it into the oven.
While the cake was baking we got out more ingredients to make custard. And we tested out the pot.
We poured some apple juice into the pot and let it heat up while Mummy mixed the other ingredients together with the custard powder. And no Cookie didn’t get her feet wet here.
While the custard was cooking we grated chocolate – lots of chocolate. *phew*
Then we had a little break while the cake was still baking and the custard was cooling down in the fridge. *yey* When the time was right Lieselotte took the cake out of the oven and I cut it into pieces to make it cool down faster.
When everything was cool enough we crumbled the cake and mixed it with the custard.
Then Mummy melted the chocolate while we watched from a safe distance so as not to get all choclatey.
While the chocolate melted we formed little balls out of the cake-custard-mix and stuck sticks into them.
Because the chocolate didn’t turn out as it should have we opted for a chocolate-free icing with lemon juice, water, powdered sugar and colourful sprinkles.
Our cake pops turned out very yummy!
Of course we had to try one. Can you see the empty stick in the bottom right corner? Yes, we snatched it while Mummy wasn’t looking.
And Mummy’s mother was happy with her unconventional birthday cake as well.
Posted Aug 8, 2013, 5:41 pm
Mummy brought a big envelope inside from the mailbox.
We all really wanted to see what was inside.
Mummy opened the envelope carefully so we could all peer inside.
We saw a cute little pig in the envelope and told it to come out as we all wanted to meet it. The little shy piggy did as we told it when we all smiled our best smiles.
We all gave it a welcome hug.
And we learned that in fact it is no "it", but a "she" called Oink. She was sent to Mummy from
Strunki, her prevous host.
And she brought chocolate, a postcard and a real treasure map. We asked her to tell us all about her previous adventures. So she gave each of us a piece of chocolate because story-telling is so much better with sweets and told us all of her travels in the Bergisch Land and beyond.
Wow!
We are really looking forward to showing her around in the coming days!
Posted Aug 19, 2013, 7:37 pm
But first we had to send 2 postcards and then we posed on the mailbox.
On one of the meadows behind the retirement home we saw some goats. Two came running to have their pisture taken with us.
Around the corner we saw a huge blackberry bush.
After some more steps we saw a big construction site:
Here the buildings belonging to the agricultural cooperative society and the freight depot had been pulled down after a big part of them were burnt in a fire earlier this year.
Here we are posing in the construction site fence in front of a big pile of rubble:
A little way down the street we posed on a street blockade in front of one of the many corn fields.
Can you spot us on the barrier?
Also we have all been wondering what the street signs are supposed to mean. "Please only crash here" maybe?
At the end of the street we saw a field full a solar panels.
What a strange crop!
On our way back home we found this lovely pear tree hanging very full with fruits *yummy*, but without a partridge in it though.
Where one of the little streets is today there were many little garden plots. The street was built when Mummy was little so she remembers all the nice little gardens and she was very sad when they were all removed in order to build the street. Luckily a few of the gardens still exist today.
This one has a nice vegetable selection. Here you can see big cabbage plants:
And here are more different plants:
And we just had to pose in front of these beautiful sunflowers:
It was a nice little walk with lovely weather!
Posted Aug 19, 2013, 8:00 pm
First we had to gather all the ingredients for the cupcakes.
Look, how well we fit into the bowl!
Then we had to grate an apple.
Or more precisely Lieselotte and Cookie grated the apple while I observed them and Oink snacked on an apple slice.
But Oink made it up when she took over the important task of weighing the sugar.
Cookie mixed sugar and butter together while Lieselotte and I weighed the right amount of flour and Oink measured the baking powder.
Everyone watched while Cookie mixed everything together well.
Then we let Mummy fill the dough into the muffin tray and we snacked on the leftover dough. *yummy*
While the cupcakes were baking we weighed ourselves.
Look, all together we weigh a little over 200g.
Then we measured the red currant jam for the topping...
... and mixed it together with butter, powdered sugar and crème fraîche.
To make the finished cupcakes look like apples we had to make some decorations from marzipan and colouring.
Here you can see the results:
The cupcakes fresh out of the oven...:
...and decorated:
Sadly, we couldn't taste them just now because they were for the next afternoon and had to be put in the fridge overnight.
But tomorrow I'll try one!
Posted Aug 19, 2013, 8:06 pm
We took them to the apartment of Mummy’s grandmother to give as a present to Mummy’s aunt. We set them nicely on a cake stand (another present) around 2 smurf figurines.
Looks good, doesn't it?
And finally after so much work and waiting we got to taste one of them:
Very good! (And yes, in case you were wondering they were supposed to look like apples so some of them even had marzipan worms. *eek*)
Posted Aug 19, 2013, 8:43 pm
Today we made a fairly exotic dinner: jasmine rice with red coco curry.
First we all weighed the rice and Mummy set it to boil on the stove.
(Well, technically we watched Mummy cut the chicken meat first, but we didn't want to put any pictures of raw meat here because it's a little yucky and we are considerate of others.)
So we only show it after it was already in the pan.
While the rice boiled on its own we took the coconut milk and red curry paste...
...and mixed them together in the pan (after removing the meat again).
After a while we added the meat to the mixture and let it simmer.
We also added the rest of the coconut milk and some almond pieces and cooked everything until the rice was ready to be served.
We served the rice in a heart shape and put the curry around it. It tasted very good – very spicy and totally different to what we are used to here. And the whole house smelled amazing.
We also learned how to eat with chopsticks, but we weren't very good at holding the chopsticks with our paws. So there are no pictures of this embarrassing endeavour.
Even though we don’t get outside much at the moment we have a lot of fun and we are certainly well fed.
Posted Aug 25, 2013, 5:45 pm
But first we stopped at another nice place overlooking some fields.
On the way to the lake we even saw a dragonfly. And it stayed still long enough for pictures.
Then we finally reached the lake. It's very green and peaceful there. Plus only very few people were around which made it seem even more peaceful and secluded.
About halfway around the lake we sat down on a bench and enjoyed the beautiful view and the nice weather.
We also saw a pretty blue dragonfly. It was gone too fast for more pictures, but I want to show it nonetheless.
On the other side of the lake we saw two swans. Can you spot them both?
A hint: One is looking for food with his head under water in this picture.
On our way back we saw the Uchter Mühlenbach (millstream of Uchte) also called Beeke which is Middle Low German for rivulet.
We followed the rivulet until we reached one of Mummy's favourite places:
Mummy used to play here often as a child - also in the forest you can see on the left side in the background. Btw the bridge is a railway bridge.
From here we followed next to the railway tracks until we reached this huge rock:
It came from Scandinavia and was transported here during the Ice Age. It weighs 31 tons.
This was our last stop today before we went home on the railway tracks.
Posted Aug 25, 2013, 7:26 pm
We had a look around once we were allowed out of the backpack in Mummy's car for a minute.
In Soltau Mummy met with some more postcard-crazy people.
First they had a little sightseeing tour and of course some postcards were bought. But after a while we went into the Lüneburger Heide (Luneburg Heath) where the humans found a nice place to sit down.
We had a look around:
Doesn't the purple look nice?
But after such a long time we were very hungry. Luckily every Postcrosser had brought something to eat or drink and we had a picknick.
Doesn't it all look yummy?
Coincidentally we also met lots of other toyvoyagers.
Here we were inspecting a big stack of postcards (it was a postcrossing meeting after all)
:
And of course we had to have a group picture taken:
So many TVs!
Most came from different cities in Germany, but one was on holiday from the USA and another was raised in China (where a Postcrosser found him).
This stone marked the place where we had settled down.
Yes, it was definitely a beautiful view!
Of course we needed a picture close up with some heather.
And when all of that got too boring we played hide and seek and catch around the heather bushes.
I also had to say goodbye to Mummy and my fellow toys because I'll be going on my next big trip now.
At the end of the meeting I went into mondkind's bag to go with her to Hamburg. Exciting!
Posted Jan 26, 2014, 7:42 pm
today I had a break during my Hibernation and as I was hungry, I decided to do a walk to the Baltic Sea and look for something to eat - maybe fish?
The first look was good:
I asked the first animal, which I met, for the best place to fish, but he was not able to help:
Then I tasted the seaweed around me, but it was only a appetizer:
No fish under the ice cover....
...and around me a lot of snow and ice...
the pier was iced too
but the seagulls had a tip for me, where i can find a lot of fish...
yeah
A great place for fishing!
A last look and now it's time to continue my Hibernation.
XOXO,
Henri
Posted Mar 9, 2014, 12:53 pm
guess where I am:
Yes! You're right. I visited the Hanseatic City of Bremen and met my mom.
Here I sat at the statue of the Bremen Town Musicians. First I touched the front hooves of the donkey, because that brings happiness.
Today in Bremen was Samba Carnival and i saw a lot of interesting people:
We all strolled through the old city center to a nice restaurant, where we did our Toy Voyager Meeting and wrote some cards to Kuma_Chan, Maschi and other Toys.
Left to right:
Batgirl, Oink, Olga, me and Lieselotte
Quacky-King had to leave early, because he got an invitation for a birthday party later this day. So he missed this picture
The restaurant was located in the Böttcherstraße, a street which is famous for its unusual architecture, a rare example of expressionist architectur. Turtles loved the red brickstone houses, and I agreed.
And at least I met another group of Town Musicians - they all were reading!
The cats book looked very exciting
A nice day, but now i'm tired. I will countinue Hibernation for a few weeks, I think...
Love and kisses,
Henri
Posted Mar 9, 2014, 2:44 pm
Yeah! It's springtime. I finished my hibernation and started live again with some good looking (and good tasting) flowers
Today lovely little Olga visited me and we went out to Lübeck for sightseeing and ice cream.
These are the first two towers (Lübeck is well known as the 7-Towers-City) I saw. It is the greatest of Lübecks churches, the St. Mary's Church (Marienkirche):
Only a few steps away, the Buddenbrook-House is situated, well known by the novel (Buddenbrooks, 1901) from Thomas Mann. He lived in this house for several years.
We had a little break...
...and started culture and history again:
But then we shared this tasty ice cream - yummmiiii !
Time for the photo, which every Lübeck tourist have to do - a picture with the Holsten Gate:
Did you know that in 1863 the Lübeck citizens decided by a majority of just one vote not to demolish the Holsten Gate but to instead extensively restore it?
Can you imagine Lübeck without the Holsten Gate?
Have a nice day, Love and kisses,
Henri.
Posted Mar 16, 2014, 5:07 pm
i'm writing this during a spring storm in March 2014.
Last year my host turtles took me along to the great annual postcrossing meet-up in Bielefeld. It was just before my Hibernation and so i write this report now.
Some of the humans in Bielefeld i've seen before
but some are new for me.
It was a great weekend with loads of postcards, fun and laughter, but see yourself:
You see - there are millions of postcards. The beautiful Miss Pineapple and i are very happy, that we haven't to sign all these cards.
And then we met nice Kuma Chan San - who is native from Japan but now he is living in Duesseldorf with Duesseljin:
We had a lot to talk und a lot of chocolate to eat - yummi. I wonder, how Miss Pineapple can be so slim, as she loves chocolate
Of course i did a walk to the near forrest and looked for a nice place for my Hibernation. This place seemed very good:
On this card you see my uncle Whity - a famous top model from Alaska:
So we sent you warm greetings from the town, which doesn't exist: Bielefeld. (Bielefeld Conspiracy)
Posted Mar 19, 2014, 3:41 pm
today turtles have to put her bicycle in for a service at Hamburg. And we want to take the opportunity and meet mondkind.
So we arrange a meeting for breakfast here:
at the portugese quarter near the St. Pauli Piers at the harbor.
The breakfast at Cafe Sul looked very good.
And I tried a wonderful thing ..... Pastel de Nata - yummy!
After the wonderful breakfast I were ready for new adventures and had a first look at the harbor.
Behind me you see the Elbphilharmonie Hamburg, which is a concert hall under construction. Maybe it will be ready one day, Mondkind told me with a smile.
And then we climbed up to the Youth Hostel and had a great view at the St. Pauli Piers.
The buildding at the right site is a part of the Old Elbe Tunnel. It is opened in 1911 and till now pedestrians and vehicles can use it to go to the other bank of the river Elbe.
Huge lifts carry motor vehicles to the bottom. That sounds very interesting and i had a look:
Look. A car in a lift. Wow.
And here are the entries to the lift. There are 4 lifts at each side.
.
A trip through the Old Elbe Tunnel costs only two Euros for a car:
And after this, we went back to the car, fetched turtles bicycle and drove back to Lübeck. Hamburg harbor was very interesting and thrilling, although the weather was cold and windy
See you soon- hugs and kisses and greetings to Lieselotte <3
Posted Mar 24, 2014, 6:42 am
a lot of awesome and handsome animals today!
i visited Arche Warder and had a very thrilling day. Most of the animals - okay - all the animals were bigger than I, but my host protected me.
Arche Warder is Europe's largest animal park for rare and endangered domestic animals - look:
At the very back of the entrance the children's zoo is located. No way that my host turtles will miss this
Meanwhile i met this hen...no, it isn't a small bank...the hen is so big. I've never seen such a great hen before. Is there something i have to worry about?
Yeah! A fence! That gave me safety. The hungarian curlgeese (sorry for the translation, in german they called: Ungarische Lockengänse) looks beautiful, but hungry
And then i met him - this handsome guy:
He had to impress a lot of hens and he did a good job!
The table says: Come and visit our animals at their meadow. I'm sure, i wont do that.
The Girgentana-Goat comes from Sicily/Italy and is extreme endangered - it's a shame
Btw, this travelling toy comes from Uechte and is very endangered at this moment too:
And i saw a donkey, which looks a little bit like a Rastafarian:
The Poitou donkey is known since the eleventh century and is listed as "Critical" on the Conservation Priority List. Only about 300 Poitous worldwide
When i go into retirement, i want to live here!
Bye mom, Bye Lieselotte. I miss you both. Hugs,
Henri <3
Posted Mar 26, 2014, 9:43 pm
after my adventure at Arche Warder, i was a little bit dirty and wasted and i decided to do some spa today:
The bubble bath was very refreshing and after an afternoon in the sun i enjoyed this crackling fire:
I'm missing you and hope to see you at Hanover next Saturday?
Hugs,
Henri
Posted Mar 31, 2014, 8:29 am
today i had to guide my host turtles during her first longer bicycle tour this year. She has chosen a tour south of Lübeck, so that i could see some nice places...
We started very early - and it was foggy the first kilometres, which we were doing along the the Elbe–Lübeck Canal. The canal connects the Elbe and Trave rivers.
This was my place. I had an excellent view during the ride!
Look at these nice Primula veris'
The sun came out slowly:
The town of Mölln is along the canal and there we left the canal and had a look at this nice old town. At the old city center a lot of red brickstone buildings exists:
The townhall is at the left and at the right you see the church St. Nicolai.
The handsome guy, sitting below the church is Till Eulenspiegel, a legendary trickster known for exposing vices and provoking thought.
For luck you have to touch the thumb, as i do, or the foot, or both together, i'm a little bit confused...every statue in Germany has another point for getting luck.
Ready for take off again.
From Mölln to Ratzeburg i guided turtles through a nice forrest:
Ratzeburg is surrounded by four lakes and the most known building is the late Romanesque Cathedral, of course built in typical north German 'red-brick' style.
As Henry the Lion was responsible for the construction of this Cathedral, a copy of the Brunswick Lion stands in front of the cathedral.
Look at the wonderful details of the cathedral:
Finally we enjoyed the view at Lake Ratzeburg and visited my (and not only my) highlight of the day: Eis Pavillon Pelz
All those people are waiting for icecream. We did the same. Turtles promised me a very good icecream - she said, that she came for this icecream since she was a young girl.
After a short break, we started the last climb to the railway station and went back to Lübeck by train.
I enjoyed this beautiful Sunday very much, but i miss you.
Bye mom, bye Lieselotte.
Hugs and kisses,
Henri
Posted Mar 31, 2014, 8:43 am
i had mail this week. Wonderful Betze send me a sticker of her favourite soccer club, the 1. FC Kaiserslautern. I need this sticker for the match in Hamburg in two weeks' time.
And turtles made a football scarf for me. So we cheer Kaiserslautern during the match versus Karlsruhe:
Here and there Kaiserslautern leaded, but the final score was 2:2.
I hope for a victory next time....
Posted May 11, 2014, 12:57 pm
my report is a little bit late, but i hope, you enjoy it anyway.
The Easter weekend was so sunny, that i did another bicycle tour. This time i visited Eutin in Holstein Switzerland. And i have to say: the name is right. A lot of hills were on my way to Eutin. I was very exhausted when i reached home in the evening.
So have a look at my adventures:
The beach chairs are typical for both german coasts and just today they left their winter quarters.
The first kilometers i cycled along the coast and enjoyed the ocean.
Near Neustadt i turned to the hinterlands and saw a lot of blooming rapefields. The smell was wonderful and the yellow looked so nice!
Behind me is the Lake Eutin, only a few minutes to lunch
But first i had a look at Castle Eutin:
This is Eutin's market place and i had a great lunch under the cherry blossom...
After lunch i cycled back to Lübeck. At least i have done 86 km and slept very well
But next day, Easter Sunday, i had another look at the coast:
Behind me children did Easter egg hunt on the beach.
And the first people are in the beach chairs:
I didn't need a beach chair as you can see:
The sound of the sea was wonderful!
After that, i had a look at a stork's nest nearby, because Mr. Kwaadapp will arrive soon to meet a stork. Yes, i can offer two storks
and they look friendly and not hungry....
I miss you both, mom and Lieselotte, and send a lot of hugs and kisses. <3 <3 <3
Posted May 22, 2014, 7:38 pm
today was a hot and sunny day and i didn't have much action. But a guest arrived from down under: Kwaadapp. A friendly green frog.
Luigi and i welcomed him and we had a nice afternoon in the garden:
Posted May 31, 2014, 8:14 pm
Today i make a father's day excursion
with food, drinks and fun on a ship with
kwaadapp He comes from down under
and ugla a TV candidate
i am a little bit seasick, i think i am not a true sea bear.
At the beach we meet Luigi Palermo he spend a wellness day at the beach
Posted Jan 17, 2015, 5:00 pm
Wallnau Waterbird Reserve (German: Wasservogelreservat Wallnau) is one of the most important reserves for migratory birds in Germany and the largest of NABU's nature conservation centres. The former pond estate of Wallnau lies on the west coast of the Baltic island of Fehmarn and covers, in its core zone, an area of just under 300 hectares (740 acres).
Unfortunately, most birds have hatched
but that does not matter,
there's a pond with frogs
Kwaadapp compliment his related
his aunt
is a little bit shy
it is here quite tiring
but after a break on the beach is all ok
Posted Jan 20, 2015, 8:47 pm
in Büsum it is a fishing and tourist town.
We see and the harbor with its fishing boats and the lighthouse.
The water police comes
At the beach it is very warm and interesting
everywhere are beach chairs
it is warm and windless.
after this exertion we eat a crab bun
a local specialty
Posted Jan 25, 2015, 6:36 pm
We start near the Salzspeicher, a historic warehouses where salt delivered from Lüneburg awaited shipment to Baltic ports.
and continue the downward traveling to the Lübeck museum port with old sailships and the old Fehmarnbelt Lightship.
To the new port It is the gate to the Baltic Sea.
There is the Burgtor the northern city gate of Lübeck
We pass under bridges through
the sun is shining
it's sunny and nice
we see the building of authorities
there work the police
on the way back we see the old churches of Lübeck
The St. Mary's church
Posted Jan 25, 2015, 6:53 pm
and we stopped at a roadhouse nearby Frankfurth,
there we enjoy the skylinie of Frankfurth
Posted Jan 31, 2015, 8:49 pm
there are pretty old houses,
and many outlet center.
we observe the frantic people.
I am looking at Joop suits, I wants to buy one.
Hey Mom it looks really good.
I find in a small shop my brother Charles a famous pilot,
he is preparing for new adventures over the ocean
Other members of his family are not so friendly, they work as security forces.
Posted Feb 8, 2015, 5:33 pm
The german word, Baden , translates as bathing, to bathe, or baths.
The Springs of Baden Baden were known to the Romans under the Roman emperor Hadrian.
Baden-Baden, Baden is a beautiful city with old avenues, a faberge museum,
fountains and greenery.
And there is a casino we look at it from the outside ,
I have an idea, I picks my pocket money from the Bank and we go inside.
if I win I'll buy a new suit,
I meet a lovely bear on the road, I want to travel with her around the world
Auuuh
It was not a good idea.
I lost everything
Luigi has to comfort me
Mom you know I love you, I have not forgotten you.
Please forget not my pocket money, I need it.
Posted Mar 2, 2015, 6:06 pm
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Strasbourg's historic city centre, the Grande Île (Grand Island), was classified a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1988.
At the train station, we saw our first TGV, it looks very futuristic.
In the city there are many channels with flowers.
Excursion ships drive on the channels
The old town is fantastic in the Sun
The city is chiefly known for its sandstone Gothic Cathedral with its famous astronomical clock, and for its medieval cityscape of Rhineland black and white timber-framed buildings, particularly in the Petite-France district.
On a street, we find a parking ticket machine
There you can pay with a card and everything is displayed in different languages.
This is the future
Posted Mar 29, 2015, 12:39 pm
the building is quite large
at the entrance are the flags of the member countries
nobody is watching , quickly into the building
how exciting
in the courtyard is a large round ball.
what is this, no cheering people?
all a bit disappointing, everything is closed, no one present,
we go Home.