Stutz, san antonio,TX, USA

hksusanita susanita_loca@yahoo.com Posted May 27, 2008, 5:39 pm	Hiya!!! This is Stutz! For sure that's ME with my Pinky KattieMill! See? We are now in Honky Tonk Kong! It's really a Super fun place to RockzZ ON!!! As One of my missions stated there, I LOVE THE BEATLES! ~ " I believe I can FLY~ I believe I can touCH his thumB "
hksusanita susanita_loca@yahoo.com Posted May 28, 2008, 10:38 am	Heyhey! It has been a cool dayzzZ!!! Mum took me and KattieMill to Emilia's home today! She's a student of mum! She looks VERY Sweetz!  I love her holding me like holding a baby! Or am I? Mum likes Doraemon n so AM I but I guess I am more cool! Wow!!! I felt so GOOD with all the princesses!!! They really made my day!!! But mum said I can't be that "Flower-Mouthed" and I could only choose one in my future...  I guess so... but u know what, she already has Miss Snow White on her mind and Emilie always says they look alike! I probably have no choices... Thanks Mum for getting me a pair of glasses! It really fits me! Oh My!!! KattieMill was trying to imitate me! It just never works!!! C'Mon! I guess she thought she looks super cool in it! hehe...we found our new toys! (Wishing mum will not throw them away though I can't really squeeZe myself into it )  How comes KattieMill is so fit!!! Unfair! Mum brought us potato chips today! What's special in it? See the word "MongKok" on it? It's a very crowded place in HK n...that's all I know  I guess I will ask her more for that! "Get lost in Mong Kok"? I have to ask mum to take me there one day! I heard those housewives on the street saying it's a shopping paradise! This is what mum had for her lunch! She really loves it as I could see it from her EYES ! It seems to be something MAGICAL!!! Awww...it looks..so daMn Delicious!!! (if you feel like vomitting, it's just the poor quality of the photo!) Mum gave it to KattieMill first because it's the GOLD rule of the universe - LADY FIRST! Wow! The WHOLE thing just Happened within 30 Secs and it's ALL DONE by MUM!!! U're a SUPERWOMAN! P.S. I am looking forward to visit Australia next week!!! YOOHO!!!
hksusanita susanita_loca@yahoo.com Posted May 31, 2008, 10:17 am	YOHOOOO!!!! It's like playing Abyss in OCEAN PARK!!! I'm lovin' it! FLY me high! (Mami told me as she loves that...I haven't tried it in fact)
hksusanita susanita_loca@yahoo.com Posted Jun 1, 2008, 7:00 pm	I had such a nice day with Mami, Melissa n Vanessa! ( There are other three guys though but I can't remember their names and so as mami :P ) Only Mami is a local Chinese and all of them are expats! A place in LKF (Drinkers MUST-GO-PLACE) Haha...u know, Mami only had half a glass of SUNRISE and she seemed to get a bit drunk after that little!!! When we stepped out of that bar, a guy came up to Mami and greeted her. Then he hold her hand and started dancing!!! HAHA He wanted to kiss Mami on Cheeks when taking the pics! Me, Mami and that Unknown Someone  Wow! Victoria Harbour!
hksusanita susanita_loca@yahoo.com Posted Jun 4, 2008, 6:59 pm	Hurray!!! Apperveilchen promised to host me from Mid-August! I am now lookin' for someone who can host me before Mid-August! Host me! Host me!
hksusanita susanita_loca@yahoo.com Posted Jun 12, 2008, 7:40 am	Stutz is on his way to Ireland and longing for the trip to Liverpool!!!
HappySunshine Posted Jun 17, 2008, 8:23 pm	Hi Mama and fellow TVs!!! Just a quick note to let you know that i arrived after my long flight from Hong Kong in Northern Ireland on Saturday.  My host, Emma, wasn't here as she was at a wedding in Portugal but i was very safe anyway with her mum!!! i've had a quiet few days, meeting the locals and looking after Emma's fish.  I hope to go to work with Emma later this week and then  we have a busy weekend planned starting with a Midsummer Fayre in Lisburn and then a party just over the border in Co Louth. more later!!!
HappySunshine Posted Jun 18, 2008, 7:34 pm	Some pictures of me meeting the locals at Emma's house.  It was very wet today so i kept an eye on the fish.
HappySunshine Posted Jun 22, 2008, 7:20 pm	On Friday, i went to work with emma and we stopped on the way to  have my picture taken outside the Parliament Building and then went into work where i helped emma! After work we went out for tea in belfast but it was too dark to take any photos.  i saw some lovely buildings though and we hope to go back later on in my visit.  we never made it to the fair - it started raining on saturday morning and hasn't stopped!  there was even thunder and lightening last night - luckily i was safe inside with emma and didn't get wet!!
HappySunshine Posted Jun 26, 2008, 7:49 pm	well the weather hasn't been great this week so we haven't done much sightseeing.  we went to the shops earlier today and then stopped off by the big cranes at the Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast.  The cranes are very big as you can see There are 2 cranes which are called Samson and Goliath although Emma calls them 'High and Wee' because if you look very carefully you can see a small crane on top of each of the big ones!!  They used to build lots of ships in Belfast - the most famous one was the Titanic - but these days the docks mainly dismantle ships.  They are building a big scheme to commemorate the Titanic and putting in displays to remind people what it looked like.  It will be very good when it is finished and give people another reason to visit Belfast!
HappySunshine Posted Jun 30, 2008, 7:32 pm	Today after work we went to the fish shop - not to buy fish to eat but to buy some new fish for the aquarium.  as i have been helping look after the fish i was allowed to help pick! First there was the shrimps and then there was the clowns and even some koi! but in the end we went for 2 dwarf gourami - not sure if i spelt that right!  they are silvery blue and have a slight red in their tails.  we took them home and got them settled in the tank
HappySunshine Posted Jul 7, 2008, 7:26 pm	It sure does rain a lot in Northern Ireland! We headed to Belfast to do a bit of sightseeing - on the way we saw a man on a Harley Davidson It looked great! we saw some tourists in the open topped bus and thought about joining them on a tour.  It started to rain again though so we had a quick stop at City Hall and the Belfast Wheel before heading home.  Hopefully we will get another day out in Belfast when we can walk round and have a proper look at some of the other sights! On Royal Avenue looking up at City Hall - it is a very grand building and at various times though the year they have continental markets, exhibitions and even an ice-rink at the front. Looking up at the Belfast Wheel which sits beside City Hall - it sure is big!
HappySunshine Posted Jul 15, 2008, 5:07 pm	We went back down to Co Armagh for the July holiday weekend and spent time in the garden we took the dogs for a walk in the field as well and met the horse and foal on the way back up to Lisburn we stopped off at the Slieve Gullion Forest Park where we could see the Mourne Mountains which lead right down to the Irish Sea and we had a quick walk around the Courtyard and garden where lots of people were having picnics!
HappySunshine Posted Aug 2, 2008, 6:39 pm	Today was nice and sunny for the first time all week so we went to Bangor to see the sea!  I went with both Budin and Blue Rat who arrived on his trip this week from England.  Here are are sitting on the sea wall and behind us you can see the Irish Sea! We saw some boats, both ones for people to have trips on and ones that went out to see and caught fish We walked around the marina and then back up through the town.  Budin had his picture taken at the Swans on the Pickie Pool, and we saw the little train but it was full of people!  we finished our day out by having some lovely Morelli's ice-cream - chocolate and vanilla with chocolate sprinkles - it was fab!
HappySunshine Posted Aug 19, 2008, 1:00 pm	I got to complete a mission recently when we went to Liverpool!!  We had to get a ferry from Belfast for a long journey across the Irish Sea.  here i am on the ferry we made sure we found the safety equipment just incase! here i am as the boat pulls into Liverpool - can you see the Liver Building and the famous Liver Birds? Emma said that we could go and look at the Cavern and the Beatles sites so i did some homework before we set out First we went to Stanley Street where i had a chat with Eleanor Rigby and then we went into Matthew Street, home of the Cavern where the Beatles used to play and the Liverpool Wall of Fame This is me and Mary, Emma's mum, in Matthew Street Here i am at the Beatles Shop in Matthew Street With the statue of John Lennon at the Liverpool Wall of Fame And at the Cavern The Cavern is quite small - you go down the stairs and its underground!  when the bar is very full and there is a band on, the condensation drips off the wall and ceiling!  there is a lot of graffiti on the walls as well! It was quite exhausting having my photo taken so we all sat down for a rest before going off to look at the Superlambananas! I had my photo taken with some of the Superlambananas as well before our trip came to an end and we had to get back on the ferry to Belfast
HappySunshine Posted Aug 22, 2008, 1:19 pm	Stutz is on his way to Germany - hope he gets there soon!
Apperveilchen Posted Aug 29, 2008, 4:10 pm	Stutz arrived savely and brought presents.
Apperveilchen Posted Aug 29, 2008, 4:18 pm	We had a dinner of venison, gnocci and salad. Italian or French wine?
Apperveilchen Posted Aug 30, 2008, 11:08 am	We had to run some errands today and walked through a normal residential area fo Essen. It's relatively new that you need a special ID-card that verifies your age to buy cigarettes, even from a machine. We also walked through a playground and a small free soccer field for the children.
Apperveilchen Posted Aug 30, 2008, 11:15 am	Our host was invited to a party in Düsseldorf, so Wadworth and I tagged along. It was in the old town. We also passed the archbishop's preparatory school St. Ursula and liked their entrance, so we took a photo.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 9, 2008, 6:37 pm	We drove to a forest a bit south-east of the Ruhrpott. It was very nice and calm and they had much better weather out in the country. Unfortunately the camera's battery died after only one photo, but we enjoyed country life for a day.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 11, 2008, 3:53 pm	I spent my Saturday going shopping in the city center. We met my host's friend in a cocktail bar in the evening. There were a lot of people in the city because many Muslims live in Essen and they are celebrating Ramadan in the center with a tent where they serve free food after sunset and heard Turkish folkmusic and just generally met and talked. Everybody was invited. My host told me that last year they also went there and got some food and mingled. We also enjoyed the happy hour of alcohol-free mixtures.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 13, 2008, 1:27 pm	We relaxed in the backyard at 29°C. It was really warm and we wanted to enjoy what migth be the last nice day for a while here. When we went outside after work we found a siper had spun her net directly in front of the door. We had to make her built a new one.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 13, 2008, 1:46 pm	A typical Saturday morning activity in Germany is to go grocery shopping. Shops have to be closed on Sundays due to a law. The  law was changed a couple of years ago and now allows them to stay open until the evenings on Sturdays and weekdays, but commonly all btu the supermarkets and innercity shops still close  at 1 p.m. on a Saturday. So we had to be off, too. We wanted to park on the roof of a big shop. An elevator brings the cars there. Esp. vegetables and fruit are bought on the markets that are held about twice a week in each part of the town. We are at teh one in Essen-Steele. There are also stands with cheese, eggs, meat or fish but they have to cool accordingly. Here we are driving up to the old Laurentius church. This is the big bus station in Steele with the train station above it. We also wanted to buy a larger cage for the parakeets. They are having lots of fights at the moment. On the way to a big pet store we passed the old water tower in Essen-Frillendorf. On the way back we passed the former military base (left). It was occupied by the Russians after WWII for a while, then by the British. Many young men had to serve their obligatory time there until the late 1990s when it was given up and bought by Medion, an electronics company that also gave it happier colors but left the  high wall and security.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 19, 2008, 8:35 pm	Today our host took us to work with her. Most of the tiem we had to be good and stay in the bag, but we got out at a calm moment and saw the place where they reanimate the little babies. On the way home we had to stop where the trains cross the street. We had a chance to look around a bit. Here are some typical old worker's homes to be seen in the mirror and because they are so small and next to each other there are gardens (again one right next to the otehr without houses in between) behind the fence. That arrangement is normal here. People who live in appartment buy or rent gardens in such 'Schrebergärten' and grow fruit and vegetables or just nice flowers, maybe put a shed there and go there during the summer to have barbecues and be outside. First came the train transporting people. Right behind the first railway is another for the trains transporting goods. Gelsenkirchen has a well-known football club: Schalke 04. This is the part of the city they are from. People are very proud of their team and like to show it in their clothes, on their cars etc. The waiting lists for tickets are really long. In this shop one can buy fan stuff. Nearly home now:
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 20, 2008, 1:41 pm	It's Saturday again and we went to another market today, also in Essen but in a part of the city called Rüttenscheid. They have some more exotic things here because the clientel is a bit different. A bio-bakery that's very popular: It's the last weekens of the summer but already there are autumn flowers and arrangements on offer.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 25, 2008, 7:43 pm	Tonight we went to a shopping center in the city. Check out the selection of alcohols, vinegars, oils, spices and delicacies: On the street we heard some people discussing that the Germans weren't romantic because, apart from other things, they didn't really decorate like this. They thought Germans are bull-headed instead. Women used to stitch their own decorations like this for all the different seasons. This looks like a spring theme. Now many don't know how to stitch anymore. Some elementary schools teach it, but only rudimentaries and it doesn't stick.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 27, 2008, 1:26 pm	This is the courthouse at the Dreiringplatz in Steele. There are mostly just civil suits about car accidents or divorce or child support issues being discussed here. It says 'Amtsgericht' above the door. This is a column of some saints on the Dreiring platz. It's protected from the pidgeons by the wire-nets. Here's a beautiful entrance. Do you see the gothic window above it? The renoveted and colorful houses make the city so much nicer.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 27, 2008, 7:39 pm	Here you can see Wadworth and me crossing the river Ruhr. It's actually a beautiful view but hard to take a picture of while speeding by with 170khm. There's no speed-limit on the German Autobahn. We've arrived at a golf course. I will enjoy the sun and a nice walk. I don't think those clubs will fit into my hooves. While the others are running after the balls I am exploring the surroundings: Looks nearly mystical. A cow pasture: When the cows are on this pature they like to be near this part of the fence and lie down to watch all the stupid humans who climb up here just to hit a little ball into a hole in the ground. The next farm has some heavy horses: These big wind engines produce energy but also funny vibrations and light/shodow changes that can cause health problems, so they are only allowed to run at certain times. There are 'good German oaks' here. The eypression is a bit old-fashioned, but it is a nice tree. On the way back we found some mushrooms. Think the are edible? None of us knows so we'd rather not try it. One the way back there was an accident on the Autobahn and we left it and took an inner city route instead of waiting in the traffic-jam. Here we passed the Jahrhunderthalle (century hall) in Bochum. It used to be part of the steel industry and is now a palce for events. This is a pretty little 'Erker'. This is a big store for flowers and garding tools. It's right on the edge between Essen and Bochum. Here in the Ruhrgebiet the cities just flow into each other without real distinction.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 27, 2008, 7:43 pm	Back in Essen: industrial sunset a residential area with an adentist church Over the fields I can see the water towers and also the towers of the city center(but the camera can't catch them). a bit closer
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 28, 2008, 8:01 am	I was at a biker party! There were fireworks and after them one group of bikers left through the small alley we were standing in. The roar was amazing and a bit scary because they were so big and fast and in the dark I could only see the headlights and the outlines of the bikes and the leather people. I hid in the bag until it was over. Then I came out and admires the torches along the way and those the fireworks people used.
Apperveilchen Posted Sep 28, 2008, 4:36 pm	Today was the first day of three different trade fairs in the 'Messe Düsseldorf. (Messe = the fair but also the building for it) They are called InterCool, InterMeat, InterMopro and hogatec. They are about gastronomy, hotels, foods, etc. You can see me looking at different chair decorations and at a display of meats for Halloween.  The area is so big that the shuttle bus had several stops before we came to our parking place and we'd been there early. The LTU Arena is also in that area. The soccer club Fortuna Düsseldorf plays there.
Apperveilchen Posted Oct 1, 2008, 12:54 pm	Today I am going to travel to northern Germany. It's a good day to crawl into a warm and cosy envelope, because it's raining and windy and generally uncomfortable outside.
babyamy Posted Oct 5, 2008, 9:08 pm	I safely arrived in northern Germany - but nobody was there! I decided to have a quick look around my new home and discovered Kamie's cup. Finally Katrin and Cloudy came back home from their trip to Schwerin. Cloudy was a tired but I wanted to hear everything about Schwerin. Probably I'm going to go there next weekend, too!
babyamy Posted Oct 7, 2008, 8:58 pm	This evening Cloudy and I helped Katrin to pack some packages. She has sold some books and cassettes on Ebay and now the money has arrived on her bank account. Here I am closing the first envelope and Cloudy is filling the second one. The work is done much faster when we help Katrin because she is very tired after her long working day and now we are going to bed quickly.
babyamy Posted Oct 8, 2008, 7:29 pm	Today I was the lucky one who was going to see were Katrin is working. This is the museum where she is working in the library but this week she is working with a project team on the new exhibition. This is one of the cars the exhibition is about. It's actually pretty small compared to normal cars but I'm so much smaller! This is the yard of the museum with the object which are too big to be inside. The work for today was putting the old ads into drawers and put glasses on it. Me and the "Tempo Matador"
babyamy Posted Oct 9, 2008, 4:52 pm	Post has arrived! Since Katrin has started with postcrossing, every few days a postcard arrives. Today she was very happy, there was a postcard from Hungary and letters from her penpals. And there was another bigger letter from England. When we opened it, we could welcome another guest: it's Mousy Mouse from Taiwan! The sun was shining outside and Katrin showed us the neighbourhood.
babyamy Posted Oct 12, 2008, 7:39 pm	What a weekend! Mousy Mouse and I were travelling with Katrin to Hamburg on Friday. She is working there in an office a few hours per week to earn some money. In the evening we met Katrin's boyfriend at the station and took the train to Schwerin. Many people wanted to go home with that train and we had to sit next to the bagguage rack. On Saturday the weather was great and we had a walk trough Schwerin. See the colourful trees and the fancy houses! The cathedral: In the mall we met a blind mole Today we went back home. In the train to Hamburg Katrin wrote a few postcards for postcrossing. Hamburg central station! It was very busy and there were soooo many people walking around. Our train back home left on time and now we are looking for Cloudy to tell her about our weekend.
babyamy Posted Oct 14, 2008, 8:37 pm	Katrin was too busy to take us with her today, so we decided to play cards until she is coming back home. Finally we had great dinner. There was lasagne and a good book.  Katrin loves to read, even when she is eating! After dinner Katrin took us outside. There was a full moon and after playing a bit with the camera Katrin managed to take this photo: Then she told us good and bad news. The good news are that we are going to Hamburg again tomorrow. The bad news are that we have to say goodbye to Cloudy tomorrow, too. She will leave for England to visit her next host.
babyamy Posted Oct 15, 2008, 8:18 pm	Katrin took the three of us to the library in the museum where she is working right now. This is the working place of the librarian. The library is not very big but it's a nice place to be, specially when the sun is shining because there are so many windows. These books are very old, they are from 1870 and older. They are about tabacco and cigarettes, you can smell it! They belonged to the cigarette company Reemtsma which is very known in Germany. The old manuel catalogue. Luckily today you can find all the books online on the internet. Encyclopedia Britannica Doing librarian things. I'm pressing a sign into the card! Katrin promised to send it to you, mum, then you can see how hard I worked! In the afternoon it was time to say goodbye to Cloudy. She is now on her way to her next host in England.
babyamy Posted Oct 19, 2008, 7:44 pm	This weekend Katrin showed us her hometown. It's a small town, but there are some nice places to discover. This is the harbour of Kellinghusen. It pretty small, it's mainly for canoes. One of the grocery stores: This is the church seen from the parking lot. We've been there later. Kellinghusen is known for it's pottery, that's why there are these dishes on the market place. We climbed on it but it was to tall to go to the top. In the background is a great ice café. The small street behind the ice café leads to the church. We saw some of the old colorful houses of Kellinghusen. Here it is, the St. Cyriacus Church of Kellinghusen. We wanted to enter, but the door was closed. The letters on the stones mean "peace". The townhall, it's opposite of the church. This is the building where Katrin's dad works.
babyamy Posted Oct 20, 2008, 7:55 pm	Today the weather was fine and Katrin took us on a walk through the local park. We discovered this funny grown tree. The leaves were making funny sounds when we walked over them and Mousy Mouse and I played with them for a while. This is the small pond in the park. There were also some ducks but they ran away when they heard us.
babyamy Posted Oct 22, 2008, 8:49 pm	Here were are again, but Katrin has changed her working place this week. Now she spending three months in the archives of the museum. The work is very intresting, there are old documents she is working with. She even has to wear gloves when she has to touch them to protect them. This is her working place where Katrin is scanning the documents. The view out of the window: The "Zinnschmelze" is a restaurant / pub, a nice place to go after work or in the evening. Finally we met this teddy. He's been living in the archivist's bureau for a long time and knows a lot about what's going on here. His storys were very exciting and Katrin decided that we should stay here and she takes us home tomorrow.
babyamy Posted Oct 23, 2008, 8:13 pm	Katrin found me and Mousy Mouse this morning sleeping on her desk. The teddy told us stories all night long and we didn't sleep much... These are the papers Katrin is working with. This are the documents of a woman who died a few years ago. Her letters and passports and working papers are now in the archives of the museum. The handwritten text on the left is from 1882! Homer's Odyssee, printed in the 1920's During lunch time Katrin and Mousy Mouse spend some time at the yard. I made another tour around the archivist's office. This is his private coffee machine, just big enough for one pot of coffee. Me and the telephone. I tried to call my mum at home but it didn't work.  Then I found this thing in the shelf but I don't really know, what it is. It looks like a watch but at the bottom it looks like a stamp for dates. Very strange... This is one of the passports and the working pass of the documents Katrin is working with. It's from the 1930's, can you see all this Nazi stamps in it? Katrin said later that working in the archives is great for learning a lot about the history of the country. Sometimes it's so much different from what you learn at school because it is real.
babyamy Posted Oct 26, 2008, 8:09 pm	Katrin spent the weekend with her boyfriend, but Stutz and I had to stay at home. We got a great job from Katrin's mom: take care of the letters which arrived on Friday and Saturday. Katrin has started to order the first presents for Christmas on the internet and now the first ones arrived. As a little surprise there was also a postcard from London from postcrossing. Katrin was happy when she came back home and said, that we did a great job!
babyamy Posted Oct 28, 2008, 8:14 pm	Today Katrin took us to downtown Hamburg, she wanted to do some shopping for Christmas. But before we went to the big mall, we went to the river Alster, whose arms go to the heart of Hamburg. Here are we with many seagulls which were flying around the whole time. This is the view to the Jungfernstieg, there are many very expensive stores. Right now they are building a new subway and where the cranes are, there is they are building the entry. Here you can see that Hamburg is a town with countless bridges. This is the view over the so called "Alster-Akarden". The town hall, it's very huge! Shopping! Four floors full of great stores and so many people! We spend some time in a very nice store where Katrin finally find a present for her boyfriend. He is reading this travlog, too, so I can't talk about it.  Yes, and this is the reason why Katrin really wanted to come here. It's the national library week in Germany and today there are authors reading from their new books. This guy wrote a very funny book about a man who works as cashier in a big store and tells the reader what he expiriences there. We listened to some more authors, but there were all kind of boring... Two hours later we walked back to the station and it was dark outside! This house is now used as a Burger King restaurant, but Katrin told us that it has been build to be one of the first libraries in Hamburg.
babyamy Posted Oct 29, 2008, 9:05 pm	Today Mousy Mouse and I met a new TV. This is Wieka, Katrin's second TV who is looking for hosts now. He is a lazy little fish (we thought it's Nemo when we first saw him) who was a bit confused when he heard that he is going to travel around the world. We told him about our adventures and now he is ready to go to discover the world himself.
babyamy Posted Nov 2, 2008, 8:11 pm	Today Katrin and her boyfriend decided to make an Argentine meal for lunch. It's called Empanada, it's dough filled with ground meat. Mousy Mouse and I helped as good as we could. Here were are mixing the dough. It's very simple, it's just flour, milk, salt, butter and baking pouder. The next step is frying the ground meat and onions. We added salt, pepper, paprika and garlic. While the ground meat is cooling, we rolled the dough in small circles and Katrin's boyfriend filled them afterwards. Now they are ready to get baked for about 40 minutes. Well, we had to pick some little holes in each piece before. Yummi, they are sooo delicious! If you want to have the whole recipe, just let me know, I know how to do it.
babyamy Posted Nov 5, 2008, 7:28 pm	It's time to say goodbye today, Mousy Mouse is leaving for his next host. Katrin told me, that I shouldn't be too sad, my journey will go on next week, then I'm going to visit the US.
babyamy Posted Nov 5, 2008, 7:43 pm	Today the postman was packed with lots of small packages and postcards for Katrin. She has bought again some books on the internet and they all arrived today. But the best letter was a small blue one, because another TV arrived: Peti from Hungary! He arrived just in time since Katrin has big plans for us: we are going to go to Berlin, the German capital, tomorrow! While Katrin was packing her things together, we were checking which train we could take. Here we are, ready to go! Katrin said, that we will go to a special place tomorrow for dinner and she is very excited about it. We asked her again and again, but she didn't want to tell us...
babyamy Posted Nov 9, 2008, 8:12 pm	Peti and I are going to Berlin! We are travelling with the InterCity Express (ICE), a very fast train. It just took one and a half hour from Hamburg to Berlin. Here we are sitting on Katrin's boyfriend's arms. In Berlin we had to go some stations by "S-Bahn" (kind of subway) to go to the hotel. At the station "Zoologischer Garten" we had to change the "S-Bahn" but we decided to spend some time wlking around. We saw this cinema called "Zoo Palast" which seemed to be an important place for people who like movies. On the opposite side of the street we visited the famous "Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche". The church has been build in honour to the Emporer Wilhelm I in 1891 and has been destroyed by bombs during the Second World War. Today there is a kind of museum in the hall of the church. Katrin has told us about a special place to go for dinner and here we are: The Hard Rock Café in Berlin! Of course we had typical Amercan food, a big cheeseburger and french fries. Then we had a look around the restaurant, it was so exciting to see all the guitars (yes, there was one from Bon Jovi, Katrin was happy) and posters, but the best place was this glass window with a picture of Elvis: Guitars and a leather jacket from the German rock band Scorpions: A broken guitar from Green Day: The next morning Katrin had to go to the US embassy to apply for her visum to study for two month in the US. Katrin's boyfriend took us with him and we discovered this huge bear in front of a museum about Berlin history.  On the bear you can see sweets which were droped by parachute. This is a symbol for the Berlin airlift in 1948/1949. Later we met Katrin again and went back to the main station where we discovered another big bear. Can you see me? Now we were starting our trip to the "must-be-seen" places. This crazy horse is standing in front of the station. This is a restarant (?) in front of the station. In the fog you can the the famous "Alex", the TV tower which is located at the Alexanderplatz. The river Spree and an old guy guarding the bridge: Now we are in the gouvernment part of Berlin. This is the "Bundeskanzleramt", the building in which the chancellor is working. Another highlight of our trip: Seeing "Trabis"! These cars were driven in the former German Democratic Republic when there have been two German states. The look a bit funny when you compare then with today's cars and the are very noisy. The German Reichstag, in the building the German gouvernment helds their meetings. This is the street called "Straße des 17. Juni". At the end you can see the "Siegessäule". The next famous place: the "Brandenburger Tor". When you go through it, you go from the eastern part of the city to the western part. Today it's no big deal, but is a historical place since many people walked through it when the borders between the two German states were opened 19 years ago. The river Spree again. Somewhere here has been the "Palast der Republik", the place where the gouvernment of the former DDR met. This grey stones are the memorial for all the killed Jews during the Third Reich. It's nothing special at first sight, just a big place with these stones, but when you walk through it, it becomes more and more impressive. And, finally, the famous Berlin wall. There is a place were you can see some parts of it, today with historical notes. The Berlin main station. It is very huge, it's like a big shopping center and the trains are driving right trough it. The ICE back home, it drove 227 kilometers per hour! Pretty fast, you couldn't see much when you looked out of the window. Back home everybody was tired but Katrin bought some great doughnuts in Berlin. There were pretty sweet, but they were great to end this exciting weekend.
babyamy Posted Nov 10, 2008, 7:51 pm	Tomorrow I'll leave Germany, Katrin puts me into a warm envelope and tells me that the weather will probably better at my next host. I'll travel to the US now, I hope the journey won't take to long... Bye Peti, it was nice to meet you!
RockVixen07 consider_me0101@yahoo.com Posted Nov 20, 2008, 5:34 am	Hi mommy! I made it safely to Texas!! When I arrived, there were two other TVs waiting for me,ducky duck and Fred Lion! I was only here for a while then Ecateirna had to go and get groceries. We made a stop at HEB. Afterwards when we got home, me and my new friends decided to relax. Well thats all for now! Night.... Stutz
RockVixen07 consider_me0101@yahoo.com Posted Nov 21, 2008, 3:58 pm	So today we took Ecaterina's son for a walk around the aparments. We stopped in front of the office to make some drop offs That was the highlight of my day mommy! Ecaterina promises to take us out this weekend =) Love, Stutz
RockVixen07 consider_me0101@yahoo.com Posted Nov 25, 2008, 5:51 pm	Hi mommy! Sunday Ecaterina took us to see the Missions! I was SO excited since it wasn't TOO hot but too cold. It was breezy about 55 degrees with some wind! Since I'm so small, she let me ride with her son in the car seat! He watched out for me. This is the first Mission we stopped at. San Juan Mission. At this area, the white concrete in between the grass are marked as burial headstones for remaining descendants of the Indians who live in San Juan. The missions were not churches but places for the Indians to stay and protect themselves from enemies. Monks now live in the available rooms. You can see where the walls of the rooms still stand. Although its only part of the walls, these were SMALL rooms where some of the Indians lived. They were VERY small. As we walked along the grounds, Ecaterina noticed that the stations of the cross went along the ground of one of the rooms. We came across this lady who sat in front of some flowers. (She was a statue!) We continued walking and ended up at a exit... It wasn't just any exit, we came to which is the actual entrance for the missions where outsiders came from and needed permission to enter. The "front" of the exit. And this is what we came to when we exited. They were the trails of where the outsiders came from, So we walked along the trails and it was pretty much a river that we came to. It was higher back then so the travelers came by boat and docked. This was the irrigation ditch. We had to walk away from the mission grounds since it ran in the middle of the river. They walked here where their vegetable fields were planted and it's where they got water. The concrete like wall is what stopped the water so they were able to get some. Beyond the ditch as you can see,the trees went on which is where the field of veggies were. Now we are at Mission Espada. This is the top of the church. This is where a few of the rooms were where the Monks stay and info center. This is one of the remaining rooms where the Indians stayed. Not of the wooden panels for the doors and windows remained on the other rooms. It was removed on pretty much all of them during the war. This mission didn't really have much so we went on. We came to... Its the biggest Mission of all of them. As you can see by the size of the church! Inside of the church...(well part of it!) And the actual alter The outside of the church. The arches you see were windows to what would have been a two story living area for the priests. It was never finished. This is the Rose Window. The story goes, the architect who built it, named it after his wife who had passed away. This where the people came to hear of events or any news from the archdiocese. And lastly,the front of the church! Isn't it beautiful? This is where our journey ends!! I had a lot of fun!! Ecaterina bought us McDonald's when we got home so I was ready for a nap. Sorry I posted so late...past two days have been busy! xoxo Stutz
RockVixen07 consider_me0101@yahoo.com Posted Nov 29, 2008, 8:58 pm	Thursday was Thanksgiving Day in the USA! We had a nice little turkey dinner with all the delicious sides. MMMMM..... Ecaterina usually goes to her Grandmother's for Thanksgiving but her uncle wasn't feeling well. So we just picked up a plate! Then, we helped pick out a recipe for one of her swapping buddies! Now its a weekend of Ecaterina working so we'll be home, relaxing. Plus, it's getting colder here and I kinda wanna stay in! Until my next update.... xoxo
RockVixen07 consider_me0101@yahoo.com Posted Dec 11, 2008, 7:22 pm	Hello mommy! The Christmas tree is finally up and its VERY pretty It has been getting cold here so we haven't really been out. But Ecaterina says she has a busy weekend and promises to take us along!
RockVixen07 consider_me0101@yahoo.com Posted Jan 23, 2009, 6:56 pm	I'm back! My host apologizes for not updating... she hasn't had the internet since her brother moved and took it since he was paying for it =\ BUT I'll have more updates before she sends me on my way to my next host!!
RockVixen07 consider_me0101@yahoo.com Posted Sep 12, 2009, 7:05 pm	HI! I have not been lost but my host wasn't able to get me out for a while and we lost her passwrd to get into the website so I can find my next host! But I'm safe and sound with other TVs who have been here and are finding their way back home. My host did move into another place and we're just enjoying our time here until we leave again.

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