Glenn, Magnitogorsk, Russia

Battery_Star Posted Jan 13, 2014, 4:30 pm	Hi! My name is Glenn, and i was rescued from a Charity shop by my new Mum. I'm so glad to be off that dusty shelf! I was named after my Mum's favourite TV character... I'm quite fond of the name. After meeting the residents at my new home Mum showed me the site where she will try and find me a host to stay with. It was all very exciting! I cant wait to start my travels!   But until then, I'm content with staying with my mum. She makes the best cakes! Bye for now! Glenn
Battery_Star Posted Jan 14, 2014, 5:46 pm	Hello! After weeks of rain, it was finally frosty this morning! Mum and I slipped over coming down the path, and spent ages defrosting the car ( I got to watch from the inside where I was nice and warm). Mum had to go to school today, so we didn't get to do much. She let me come with her to stay in her bag, but I peeked out of the top when she wasn't looking. I also got my travelling ID! I'm so excited to travel, I want to go everywhere! I'd love to go to small coffee shops and book stores in Paris, see koalas in Australia, and so much more! I cant wait for my mum to find me a host! Mum went up in the attic today to get down the bag of toys that her brother had left up there. She was stuck up there for an hour ( I may have accidentally pushed over the ladder with my trunk!) and had to be rescued. She did come down with some new friends for me, who are also hoping to start travelling around the world! Bye for now! Glenn
Battery_Star Posted Jan 16, 2014, 5:55 pm	I got exciting news today! Mum told me that I'll be starting my travels this weekend! She said I'll be going to Russia, which is awesome because they have a very cool culture and they have some nice monuments! I cant wait to go, but I'm going to miss her a lot! However, she assured me that she's going to be joined by some TVs soon, so she wont miss me too much Also, here is a photo of me and my newest friend. He doesn't talk much, so I named him Ben. Bye for now, I'm off to pack!
Battery_Star Posted Jan 18, 2014, 1:13 pm	Hi Guys! Today is the day! Im off on my adventures, I'm so excited! I hope its not a long trip though, I dont want to be stuck in my envelope too long See you soon, Russia! ~Glenn
Vunder Posted Feb 10, 2014, 11:39 am	Dear Mum! At last I see light and some friendly faces around me! I've reached my destination! The flat is very airy and I like it. The weather is sunny and not so cold, though I'm so tired after my journey that I can't go out for a walk today. Hope Galiya apa will show me around these days! By the way she thanks you for your little surprise Your loving Glenn
Vunder Posted Feb 13, 2014, 2:46 pm	Hello Mum! or Selam! (I've started to learn the Tatar language, you can be proud of me) Today we went to the post office with Galiya apa, her little one and her sister! It was a nice walk! Some of the time I went in a bag like this: Or in the sled (where is my troika?) In each case I could see everything that was going around! It was a foggy day, because it was quite warm, only -1C (in fact while I'm writing to you now, the fog is getting even thicker). Here are some photos of the locality: There are many hostels belonging to different universities around (as in the last photo for example), thus lots of students from all around the world can be seen here. Actually Kazan looks like a city of contrasts: small houses and then suddenly almost skyscrapers, funny! And this is me and the mailbox On our way back we went through a local school's yard. I guess the school theme is interesting for you They study till the 11th form here (they go to the 1st form when they are 7 usually, thus they finish school when they are 18). There is an opportunity to finish school after the 9th form if they feel like going to a specialized school called "uchilische", they recieved a vocational secondary education there. If they want to recieve a higher education they have to finish all the 11 years of study, or they can try to enter a university after having the secondary education. Anyway all of them have to pass the Unified State Exam to graduate from school. And here are the photos: (and yes, it's a snowman, melted a little though) (do you see the sparrows sitting on the bush?) (I'm looking at the ski track left by the assiduous pupils, the snow is cold I must say!) And this is my place, temporary of course We have a wonderful staircase decorated by Galiya apa's sister's husband when he was courting her The inscription is translated from Tatar as "I love (you)!" Well, that's all for now! Your loving Glenn
Vunder Posted Feb 19, 2014, 5:05 pm	Dear Mum! Galiya apa took me to the fitness centre called "Attica" today! She goes there twice a week. It is rather small, but cozy! They even have a statue of their logo! Keeping fit here, don't worry! Your loving Glenn
Vunder Posted Feb 22, 2014, 7:59 pm	Mummy, mummy! I have some great news for you))) We went for a walk with Galiya apa and her little one to the playgroung and  though it was cloudy it was warm enough to make a snow elephant I'm so happy!!! Hugs, hugs and more hugs Glenn
Vunder Posted Mar 2, 2014, 10:45 am	Dear Mum! It was a busy week for Galiya apa and no sunny weather here, very strange for the native inhabitants Anyway I'm having fun here playing with the little one all day long Today we cooked the national Tatar dish called "tokmach ashy", it's a kind of a noodle soup. Tokmach (made from wheat flour, eggs and water) was traditionally handmade though now mostly only old ladies prepare it in that way, the others just buy it in a shop I helped Galiya apa to peel the potatoes and onion and I'm very proud of myself! We added carrots, parsley and dill that were stored up in the freezer (that is very convenient I dare say and they are organic because Galiya apa's parents grow them in their garden at the coutryside) to the broth and boiled. The soup was very tasty!!! Best wishes, Your loving Glenn
Vunder Posted Mar 8, 2014, 7:58 pm	Dear Mummy! Today is the International Women's Day! In Russia it's just a holiday in honour of all girls and women, without any political meaning! So my congratulations to you! This is the holiday of flowers (girls do love flowers, don't they ) Tulips ruled here today Galiya apa visited 2 of her grandmothers all together with her parents, her sister and her sister's husband. We ate a lot There are "ochpochmak"s (it's translated from Tatar as "triangle", a traditional Tatar dish with meat and potatoes inside) on the photo below as an example. I hope you are fine there and having fun! Yours Glenn
Vunder Posted Mar 16, 2014, 3:21 pm	Hello Mum! Do you miss me there?   I'm fine! Spring came suddenly. The snow is melting and it's very dirty here! But there is something in the air! We had a sunny weather yesterday and had a nice walk along the railway near our house. Enjoy the photos! Your loving Glenn
Vunder Posted Apr 1, 2014, 7:20 am	Hello Mummy! This was a hard week, we tried to buy a ticket to Germany at the post office for me, but didn't succeed, so many people and such an  impatient child of Galiya apa That's why today Galiya apa have decided to raise our mood by preparing a Russian salad called "vinegret". The term "vinegret" is often used when a person wants to say "mishmash" here)) That's why its recipes differ, but the main ingredients are: boiled beetroot, potatoes and carrots. We also added pickled cucumbers, sauerkraut, an onion, green pea, some vinegar,olive oil and salt. Some people add salted herring or meat, but our salad was vegetable. Now I know how to prepare 2 national dishes! Bon appetit! Glenn
Vunder Posted Apr 4, 2014, 9:49 am	Dear Mum! At last I'm on my way to Germany! My adventures continue! This is good news, the bad news is that Galiya apa forgot her camera and I have no photo with me in the parcel She is very sorry! But I think I'll have my "parcel" photo when I reach my destination, won't I? Hoping for the best and sending you hugs Glenn
RikeH Posted Apr 28, 2014, 6:41 pm	Hello Mum, I arrived in Sülfeld and Dicker Kumpel gave me a warm welcome. He introduced me to his guest Kevin Kiwi and his wonderful girl-friend Kleine Fee. After the long trip from Russia I went out into the garden and find some beautiful flowers. These flowers just started blooming this week. And I love this tree, do you know it? Now I will go back to the others and talk a lot! Until soon Glenn
RikeH Posted May 17, 2014, 2:47 pm	Hello Mum, We went to another village today – called Grabau. There we saw a lot of big stones and learnt a lot about their history. Behind me you can see one of the big stones. We rested on another stone. Then we went into the forest – time for a kind of safari. We will go into this house and look for wild animals. There was a deer. And a bunny! Far away! And I found a small animal. You remember that I saw a bunny – I went closer – and it was a friendly bunny! I even met a boar – he was huge! We continued our walk and went to a nice lake – the Hohendammer Mühlenteich. I learnt a lot about the animals here, too. Many bird live here – maybe we will see some. We were really quiet and saw some nice birds. What a great place! Yours Glenn
RikeH Posted May 18, 2014, 4:40 pm	Hello Mum, Today was a great day – Murph and his guests will come and visit us. We waited. Then they arrived. It was great to see them all. Murph brought gifts for all of us! Wonderful! Dicker Kumpel planned a game for us - how exciting! He explained the rules. We played with the die. Everyone who has a six put the cap and the scarf on like this.  Then he or she was allowed to ‘fight’ with the wrapped chocolate. This seems to be funny. Let’s start. I threw the dice - it was a 6 – I took the cap and the scarf – and here I go. After the game we all ate sweets – yummy! It was a funny day! Glenn
RikeH Posted Jun 2, 2014, 11:13 am	Hello Mum, I went to Hamburg today. Here you see me next to the lake Alster in the middle of Hamburg Next to it I saw the town hall – a nice building. Maybe you see the cars of the firefighters? There was a big meeting of young firefighters in the town. Many swans are living here. Here you see the town hall again – well, maybe you see me better than the building… Later that day I said goodbye to Dicker Kumpel and continued my travels. Love Glenn
cocoaby Posted Jan 15, 2015, 7:55 am	Hello! I arrived safely in Japan. It's hot and humid now. I was little nervous. They warm welcome, made me feel really happy. See you soon.
cocoaby Posted Jan 28, 2015, 3:21 am	Hi mom! Here is "Fujiko F Fujio Museum" in Kawasaki, called "Doraemon Museum". Do you know "Doraemon"? Doraemon is very popular character by Fujiko F Fujio in Japan. Indoor exhibits, there are cases where recording and picture taking are prohibited. I could not take some photos with me, sorry.
cocoaby Posted Jan 28, 2015, 3:25 am	It's cloudy. We went to Kurihama tenjin shirine.
cocoaby Posted Jan 31, 2015, 5:40 am	Hi, mom. I ate Sushi for lunch. I don't feel like eating and I'm exhausted after the hot and humid summer.
cocoaby Posted Jan 31, 2015, 6:05 am	Hello! It's cloudy. I went to the Umikaze park by walk about 10 minutes. Also Dockyard is near here. We can see Sarushima Island in the distance. There are This park has palm trees. And I love anything to do with warmer weather, including palm trees.
cocoaby Posted Jan 31, 2015, 6:43 am	Hi! I have to say goodbye to everyone. I will go home once. My host bought me Kitkat matcha(green tea) flavor. And she made me my photo card. Because she can not updates my travelog of Toy Voyagers site, it close and down at this time. I'm looking forward to meeting you. Greetings, your Glenn
MrsFoxy Posted Feb 19, 2015, 5:27 pm	Hey mum, Just updating to let you know that I arrived safety today. Photos will follow. I am excited to see the city. It was cold outside, so today we drink tea (MrsFoxy says thank you for the tea that you sent) and warming. See you soon Glenn
MrsFoxy Posted Mar 24, 2015, 5:31 pm	Hi! At Magnitogorsk I was greeted very well. The first thing I saw was Kermit - another TV. We immediately went to drink tea with pancakes and raspberry jam I saw a lot of interesting cards on the wall. Perhaps they traveled more than I I also learned to play a synthesizer Today we went to the circus. It was very cool! I was hoping to see there an elephant But I saw lots of other cool animals and gymnasts. Love Glenn

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