Louis the Rat, Bruchsal, Germany

Blurchen


Posted Nov 4, 2008, 3:08 pm
Today I made my first trip with my new host and my family. We went to the zoo in Münster (Germany). It was a very nice day - even if sometimes there has been some rain.

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That´s a funny looking donkey - don´t you think!?
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This horse didn´t wanted to turn arround and say Hello to me.. mmh..

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At least this one was friendly! =)

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Aren´t they cute!? =)
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There was also a playground-area in the zoo and in the middle there was a witch-house without a witch.. Luckily we found her, before she found us! =)

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Here you can see me in the aquarium.... luckily the water was behind the glass... you know - rats can´t swim!

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In the zoo there´ve been also some statues. Here you can see me on a horse. =)

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Wanna play ping-pong!?
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Blurchen


Posted Nov 8, 2008, 9:55 am
Yesterday we´ve been to the "Schloß Artstetten" (Castle Artstetten). It´s near to my home town and we drove there, before we went on to Klosterneuburg.

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And here I´m with a model of the castle.

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The castle was the home of the last "emperor" of Austria - Franz Ferdinand. He should became the emperor of Austria after the dead of his uncle Franz Josef. But Franz Ferdinand was killed in Sarajevo, which was the reason for the first world war.
Now the castle´s a museum about Franz Ferdinand and the Habsburger (the austrian royal family).

Here you can see Franz Ferdinand and his wife.

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This´s a photo of the last emperor of Austria - Franz Josef.

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Franz Ferdinand and his wifes graves´re also in the crypt under the castle.

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Here you can see me in front of an old map - look how big Austria was once!

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Blurchen


Posted Nov 8, 2008, 10:46 am
Today we spent our first day in Vienna! =) .. And it was sooo beautiful weather outside, that our mum let us travel in her bag trough Vienna - to see a bit more of this beautiful city! =)

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We started at the "Heldenplatz" (Hero Square) with a great look at the "Hofburg - Nationalbibliothek" (Hofburg - national library).

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We went on walking trough the "Volksgarten". On one of the beautiful ponts we stopped and made a photo.

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From the Volksgarten you´ve got a great view to the "Wiener Rathaus" (town hall of Vienna). They started already with building the christmas market in front of us. At the windows of the town hall you can already see the big advent calender, which´s for everybody in Vienna. =)

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At the opposite of the townhall you can find the "Burgtheater" (theatre).

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Here you can see me in front of the Burgtheater.

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Next to the townhall and to the Burgtheater there´s the austrian parliament.

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Here you can see me in front of the "Naturhistorischem Museum" (nature-history museum) of Vienna.

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In the opposite of the "Naturhistorisches Museum" there´s the "Kunsthistorisches Museum" (art-history museum).

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In the middle of those two museums there´s a place and a small park and in this park you can find the statue of Maria Theresia. She was once the empress of Austria.

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That was our first trip trough Vienna. There´s comming more my host told me... and I believe her! Looking forward to see the rest of Vienna! =)
Szandra


Posted Dec 16, 2008, 9:33 pm
Hello!!!
I'm writing you from Hungary!
I arrived some days before, but Szandra had busy days, she had to prepare for an exam. But I help her in everything!!!
We still have a lot of things to do before we can relax, but I have got a very good friend, so when I have time, I play with her a lot!! :D
Her name is Mása and she is a family member only a week ago! Sometimes she wants to eat me, but Szandra takes care of me! ;)

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Szandra


Posted Dec 21, 2008, 2:00 pm
Mása, the little puppy, wanted to play in the terrace, so me and an other voyager, Etwas went out with her and had a lot of fun together!

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Szandra


Posted Dec 21, 2008, 2:11 pm
We decided to see the Christmas market in the Vörösmarty square.
There were lot of people everywhere!!
We went across also the Váci steet, which is very famous among tourists.

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There was also live folk music.

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And a Christmas manger...

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Szandra


Posted Dec 21, 2008, 2:28 pm
At the evening an idea came to our mind! We thought, it would be funny to decorate the Christmas tree! Yeees, I know, there are still some days until Christmas, but we'll celebrate it in Miskolc, with Szandra's family. There'll be a real, big Christmas tree, but Szandra wanted an own little tree and in that way we could start celebrating a little earlier. :D

Me and Etwas enjoyed helping!!
Before...

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After...

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Szandra


Posted Dec 26, 2008, 12:58 pm
Merry Chrismas!!!
Hungarians say Boldog Karácsonyt!;)
That's a special day and I want to enjoy every mintues!
Now we are in Szandra's hometown with her family.
When I woke up in the morning, I helped decorating the Christmas tree. It's really a huge tree! :o

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We decided that the decorations will be purple this year.

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When we finished with decorating, I went to the kitchen to help Szandra's mother. The Christmas dinner menu will be fish soup, fish sticks, fish with mushroom...and a lot more fish!:D Than, some kind of cakes.

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In the evening everybody gave presents each other and the lights on the tree are switched on.

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And the dinner is ready!! Oh, I ate a lot!! :D

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Strawberry wine!! Yuuuummy! Loved that drink! :p

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Szandra


Posted Dec 29, 2008, 9:11 pm
Today we went to meet with Szabina, Szandra's best friend. We were walking in the city center of Miskolc.
We made some photos also when it was growing dark.

The statue of Miskolci lányok = Girls of Miskolc :)
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The "Szinva" River-Teracce
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The locks of lovers.
However we are not lovers :cyclops: but very good friends, so we made there a photo together with Etwas to rivet our friendship! ;)
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The main street of Miskolc:
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And a betlehem which isn't very visible on this photo unfortunately.
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Szandra


Posted Jan 2, 2009, 1:36 pm
Boldog Új Évet!!! Happy New Year!
We spent the New Year's Eve at home, but Szandra's best friend came to celebrate together with us. We had a great time together!
We talked and laughted, and of course we ate a lot! :)

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At midnight we drank champagne!
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Szandra


Posted Jan 2, 2009, 2:06 pm
On the first day of 2009, it was snowing!!! It was very cold outside, but I didn't mind! I played a lot!
There wasn't enough snow to bulid a snowman, but I hope there will be more snow in the next weeks!
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Szandra


Posted Jan 2, 2009, 2:11 pm
On the 1st of January, it's a tradition to eat lentil.
It gives beauty, health and money for the New Year!
I didn't really want to tast it... :p But finally Etwas gain me over, and I tried it! It wasn't bad! ;)
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Szandra


Posted Jan 5, 2009, 9:41 pm
Me and Etwas found a huge basket with a lot of Spanish sweets! We ate it...ALL! 
That was too much... :rolleyes:

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Szandra


Posted Jan 5, 2009, 10:24 pm
Szandra decided to paint something and we set down to see how does the picture change.
When she was getting tired, we helped a little. ;)

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And the painting is ready!

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Szandra


Posted Jan 11, 2009, 1:39 pm
I said bye to my litte ghost friend, Etwas! :( I'll miss him, but maybe one day we'll meet again! Till that, I'm reading his travelog! ;)

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Szandra


Posted Jan 11, 2009, 1:57 pm
Today arrived a new guest, Elsie! I'm sure we won't be bored in the next few weeks!
As Szandra didn't have time to play with us, we decided to have a look at her. She was creating a collage. This was a school work and the subject was XX. century design. We found it interesting, so we set down and we keep our eyes peeled! :cyclops:
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Szandra


Posted Jan 14, 2009, 11:30 am
Szandra wanted to buy some things in the city centre. Elsie and me, decided to go with her and walk a little bit in the main street.

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We saw the statue of Mancs. He was the most famous rescue dog of the Spider Special Rescue Team of Miskolc, Hungary.
Mancs' special talent was locating earthquake survivors who lay trapped deep beneath the rubble, and alerting rescuers. He could differentiate by smell whether the person under the rubble was dead or alive, and could give different signs.
Mancs took part in several earthquake rescue missions, including the 2001 earthquakes in El Salvador and India. Mancs became famous when he helped rescue a 3-year-old girl who spent 82 hours under the ruins after the Izmit earthquake of 1999 in Turkey.

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Szandra


Posted Jan 14, 2009, 12:43 pm
Today evening we went to the theatre to see the musical, "A muzsika Hangja" (The Sound of Music).
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I enjoyed it so much!! And the theatre was huge and full with people. At first we were shy and didn't want to come our from Szandra's bag. But later when we became very curious, we peep out.
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Szandra


Posted Jan 18, 2009, 3:05 pm
Mummy, you won't believe it! :o I met with a real pet rat!! :D Her name is Valma and she arrived only a few days ago. Szandra got the little rat from her parents. She was the last girl in the pet shop. But Szandra plan to have some mates to Valma. She don't want to feel herself lonely.
I totally fall in love with her... ;)

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Szandra


Posted Jan 25, 2009, 10:10 pm
At night it was snowing, so when we woke up in the morning we decided to go out and bulid a snowman! It was cold, but the sun was shining, we really had a great time!

I was the one who made the middle part of the snowman:
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As Lila is the smallest, she made the head:
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And Elsie made the biggest snowball:
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And here it is!!! Our snowman! ;)
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After that, we tried ice-skating in the little garden lake, but Elsie didn't want to come, she worried that maybe the ice is too thin.
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Szandra


Posted Jan 25, 2009, 10:21 pm
Today we baked sajtos rúd (cheese sticks cake). It was great to spend this cold afternoon inside the warm kitchen!

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And we ate it all... :rolleyes:
Szandra


Posted Jan 25, 2009, 10:59 pm
Now I'm in Szandra's flat in Budapest.
The sky was so beautiful when the sun was going down. We went out and made some photos from the terrace.

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Szandra


Posted Jan 27, 2009, 7:31 pm
What a sunny day!!! And finally Szandra had time to show us the capital city.

Our first stop: Heroes' Square
The monument was built for the 1896 Millennium celebrations, that's why it is called Millennium Monument.

Hungary celebrated the 1000th anniversary that its ancestors found a place to settle down in the Carpathian Basin. Every part of the monument plays tribute to determining parts of Hungary's history.

The memorial won the first prize at the 1900 World Exhibition in Paris. The monument was completely finished in 1929 and the square received its name than too.
Since 2002 the Millennium Monument together with Andrásy Avenue is part of UNESCO's prestigious World Heritage sites

And here I am in front of it:
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Two museums flank both side of Heroes' Square, the Museum of Fine Arts and the Hall of Art.
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Than, we walked around the Vajdahunyad Castle, that is situated in the City Park, which is the largest park in Budapest.
The castle was modeled from a castle of the same name in Transylvania, Romania.
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We took a look at the ice rink. It's a pity that we didn't have time for ice-skating. :thinking:
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And finally the Széchenyi Thermal Bath:
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Szandra


Posted Jan 27, 2009, 8:55 pm
And this day still hasn't ended!
We met with one of Szandra's friend, Szilvi. And went to the Hopp Ferenc Far East Museum.
There wasn't allowed to take photos, but one of the ladies was kind and told Szandra that she can make 2-3 photos. So she had to hurry, unfortunately we aren't on this pics, but we were looking out from her bag.:)

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Szandra


Posted Jan 27, 2009, 8:56 pm
In the evening we were walking on the riverside of Danube. It was a perfect place to see the Buda Castle Palace and the Chain bridge.
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Little Princess statue:
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Szandra


Posted Jan 30, 2009, 10:16 pm
Yesterday we walked a LOT and today... we continued it!;)
We went to see the Szent István Bazilika (St Stephen's Basilic). It is dedicated to Hungary's first king, St. Stephen. The largest church in Budapest, about 8500 people can get in.

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View from the entrance.
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Inside it wasn't allowed to make photos, so ... we aren't on the pics which were made in secret! ;)

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Szandra


Posted Jan 30, 2009, 10:29 pm
We have a new little friend, Miranda!!
Now, Valma won't be lonely and I'll have mates to play with!;)

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Oh, they gave me a big hug! :D
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olgamaus


Posted Feb 6, 2009, 3:33 pm
Hello Mummy,
I'm back in Germany! I arrived in Remscheid today.

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I brought delicious sweets from Hungary for my new host Katja.

Katja also brought sweets, small cakes called Nuss-Schiffchen (nut-boats).

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3485/3258321562_ce8c19434f.jpg?v=0

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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3346/3258339376_fd19f46b90.jpg?v=0

We are seven ToyVoyagers here :D

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 7, 2009, 3:16 pm
Hi Mummy,
I'm so happy. Katja is also keeping pet rats. Six rat girls are living in a large cupboard sized cage with four floors. I met them when Katja cleaned their cage and fed them.

This is Matilda, Mommy of Karla and nurse of Nicole.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3297/3259806009_6f3b244a6f.jpg?v=0

This is Nicole. She is very friendly, not as rapturous as Karla.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3368/3259806109_b3189c306c.jpg?v=0

This is Karla. She's really stunning.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3262/3260637604_232566ffe6.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3429/3260637836_b3ce7e7540.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3372/3260637712_216bfc3047.jpg?v=0

This is Jordan, she is nearly two years old.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3405/3260638064_ce823e94b2.jpg?v=0

The rats love their hammock, made of a trouser leg.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3260637954_1820193ff8.jpg?v=0

They are having dinner now. They have cooked potatoes, carrots and succory. Of course they also have dry food.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3439/3259806727_00abccbefa.jpg?v=0

They are really cute.

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 11, 2009, 1:37 pm
Hi Mummy,
it was snowing yesterday evening, but not too much. It's not cold enough, so most of the snow already melted away.

I went with Katja to the law firm where she is working. When we went home she showed me some things along our way home.

This is the town  hall, but only one of the side walls. Katja was too lazy to walk to the market place in front of the town hall.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3467/3271210603_7bc746c885.jpg?v=0

Can you see the restaurant in the basement of the right side of the building? Of course it is called "Ratskeller". Katja's daughter is working here as an apprentice to become a cook.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3311/3271210667_3a00ea0a0b.jpg?v=0

This is the water tower. From here comes the drinking water for the whole town centre. The water is pumped from a dam in a valley to the top of the hill here.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/3271210739_65e73a1c92.jpg?v=0

We also took some photos while we went home.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3005/3272031240_9d15df959c.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3459/3272031300_742cca4be6.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3415/3272031380_ea18acdd63.jpg?v=0

I'm living in this nice house on the left side at the moment, in the attic storey.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/3272031460_4af3db8eac.jpg?v=0

Katja's daughter is having a day off today because she had to work at the weekend. She prepared a delicious lunch for us. She made pasta with different vegetables and a lot of cheese.

Yummy!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3533/3271211093_e3a2c554bc.jpg?v=0

Katja promised to walk to the muncipal park with us in the afternoon.

Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 11, 2009, 1:49 pm
We went to the muncipal park in the afternoon. We have to walk only a few minutes to get there.

I can see this church from the windows of the living room.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3346/3272031728_f6cb041e9e.jpg?v=0

This is the observatory, situated in the muncipal park.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3497/3271216169_6beb137bb4.jpg?v=0

This  memorial is for those who died when fighting for democracy and freedom in the thirties of 20th century.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3299/3271211371_df901f41f1.jpg?v=0

What do you think who left such footprints, a bear, a dog or what?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3331/3271211269_f358cfd906.jpg?v=0

We rested in front of the memorial for victims of several wars before World War I.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3473/3271224337_d01974b01c.jpg?v=0

This is one of the walking paths in the park.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3271262469_707e312cc7.jpg?v=0

This is a pond where lots of ducks and turtles are living. It is still frozen.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3314/3271211453_5c5e1227b5.jpg?v=0

The weather is not very good, but we had fun anyway.

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 12, 2009, 12:49 pm
Hi Mummy,
we have more snow now. Kelly Bear wanted to show the world her new sweater, so Katja took Kelly and me to work. When we went home in our lunch break we had to buy a few things.

This is  the main entrance of the shopping mall.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3423/3273446993_654136dda6.jpg?v=0

These are shops for the girls.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3343/3274265748_265a0f0e9c.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3299/3274265906_4f7819955f.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3397/3274265982_b42419a612.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3273447349_e0d3cf4f54.jpg?v=0

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 12, 2009, 1:46 pm
Hi Mummy,
we are back home now. I will show you what we have bought today:

Cheese, more cheese, chocolate and stuff which is not really necessary like apples, potatoes and tomatoes.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3356/3273447459_16b9308e25.jpg?v=0

Who needs potatoes or apples when he can have cheese? You can play  with the apple stickers :D

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3344/3274266364_c13750f53e.jpg?v=0

I decided to taste the camembert immediately.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3440/3274266272_96c3f9a728.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3338/3273447647_fa315e62ec.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3432/3274266456_bd896b6a41.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3478/3273447777_87908f3752.jpg?v=0

Yummy!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3402/3274266568_c78a50b56f.jpg?v=0

This is the nice view out of the living room window.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3355/3273448229_a863cc4586.jpg?v=0

And to the other side, also nice.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3443/3273447995_0e00a03a95.jpg?v=0

I'm full of cheese now and I  need a rest now.

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 14, 2009, 9:51 am
Hi Mummy,

today a cute little teddy bear from Hungary, Peti, arrived with Harold from Australia.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3453/3276395191_fb536bec67.jpg?v=0

Elston will leave tomorrow so he had planned to bake lamingtons, the "Australian national cake" for us as his farewell dinner.

The other two ToyVoyagers from Australia helped hin. The kitchen was a mess afterwards, but they represented delicious lamingtons.

Lamingtons are squares of sponge cake, dipped into chocolate icing and covered with dessicated coconut.

While the sponge cake had to cool down for further treatment Katja offered us a glass of sparkling wine, also very delicious.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3480/3276395851_255dfc7848.jpg?v=0

Have a look!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3391/3276397119_5a632b4b3f.jpg?v=0

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 14, 2009, 9:14 pm
Hi Mummy,
today the weather was sunny and of course we wanted to go outside.

Katja wanted to meet a friend who is living in one of the other districts of Remscheid, in Luettringhausen.

Luettringhausen is a really old district, with a lot of woodland around.

We went there by bus. On our way to the bus station we saw a part of the town that we saw the first time today.


We went to the bus station in front of the central train station. On the next photo we already reached it.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3278950999_e1b7a71245.jpg?v=0

This is the bus station, in the background you can see the building site of the new central station.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3334/3278951547_33a2fb7d3e.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3493/3279774240_cafc09754e.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3412/3278952333_70e742d742.jpg?v=0

The next photo is showing the town hall of Luettringhausen.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3309/3279774448_55d18fbc2b.jpg?v=0

Katja's friend was already outside with the family dog, Pepe. Pepe is a four month old puppy.

We took a walk in the forrest.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3489/3279774946_cb581168f8.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3462/3278953389_2d1e610985.jpg?v=0

When we came home we played in the garden. They have a hanging basket-chair here!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3338/3279776378_774db391e8.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3388/3279776500_8536f7a905.jpg?v=0

I suggested to build a snow man. Only Sweetsy liked  the idea while Kelly Bear, Peti and Harold Giraffe preferred sitting in the basket-chair.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3076/3279775862_a7e1d1c324.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3325/3279776024_fa95c5d41d.jpg?v=0

Katja got a piece of carrot from the kitchen and soon the snow man was ready.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3300/3278954345_a5f5c4d8f9.jpg?v=0

We were chilled to the bone than and went inside. Katja and her friend already made coffee. They also had sweets for us.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3365/3279776936_2f64bf24d9.jpg?v=0

Katja's friend does not only have a dog, she also has a cat. I was very brave. I went to the cat and took place in front of her nose.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3430/3278954659_7950bab950.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3533/3278954969_339413626e.jpg?v=0

The cat was very friendly, I'm still alive.

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 16, 2009, 5:35 pm
Hi Mummy,
we took a walk today to the district Hasten and to the outskirts of Remscheid. Hasten is one of the oldest districts of the town, dwellings and mostly old factories close together. This district was not destroyed in World War II, so most of the old houses remained.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3281113389_fc0a873623.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3423/3281115119_0cd74bb1d5.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3617/3281939540_071b0603f2.jpg?v=0

We saw a hedge of holly, covered with snow. I liked it very much.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3406/3281119743_89fda1fcf0.jpg?v=0


We than went to pick up Katja's friend who wanted to walk with us. She is living in a district close to Hasten, it is called Rath, a housing area with mostly one-family-homes and terraced houses. From here you can see Hasten again, in the background.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3281942556_d07506c03a.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3321/3281943366_421ba0ddaf.jpg?v=0

From here we went into the forrest. First we had to cross a road in the valley, than we had to walk uphill again.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3191/3281943664_2d2b939473.jpg?v=0

Katja told us that in summer many horses are grazing on these pastures. In the background you can see the hill with the town centre, unmistable the silhouette with the water tower and the tower of the town hall.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3283/3281944542_e162a35c02.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3281945372_8ef8b2a7e7.jpg?v=0

We were walking along the border of the neighbour town Wuppertal. Hidden in the forrest are a few more small hamlets like this.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3655/3281124925_bb30e956e0.jpg?v=0

We had so much fun in the snow!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3624/3281947452_c0cfc495f6.jpg?v=0

On the way back it started to snow again. Can you see it?

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3385/3281127225_2837928cd7.jpg?v=0

Back home we all had to sit on the heating because our bums were wet :D

Bye
Louis


olgamaus


Posted Feb 20, 2009, 1:30 pm
Hi Mummy,
we had a party tonight!

Do you know why?

Theodore is Voyager of the week, so he had a reason to celebrate. Fluffytail and I made a cool medal for him.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3359/3291349880_d3c0a10988.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3310/3291349996_7ac238ee44.jpg?v=0

We had delicious food: several sorts of cheese, olives,  tiny tomatoes, sweet pepper and nachos with hot cheese dip.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3612/3291350422_38763f183d.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3578/3290533713_cdd08e2b3e.jpg?v=0

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I had Saint Albray cheese, camembert and gouda.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3536/3291351232_35eb7eaf54.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3333/3291351318_3c6d5912dd.jpg?v=0

and nachos with cheese dip.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3549/3290535145_f95b0421c7.jpg?v=0

I even tasted Katja's beer. Delicious!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3453/3290535511_37ab37321a.jpg?v=0

Atchoo!
My nose is full of froth!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3616/3291352736_56f6921d99.jpg?v=0

We had a lot of fun tonight.

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 24, 2009, 7:51 pm
Hi Mummy,
we visited the carnival procession in Lennep today. Lennep is one of the oldest districts of Remscheid. Katja's partens are living here and it's the only carnival processioin in town.

It is helt for about 30 years on Carnival Monday. There were about 25 floats and marching bands.

First we went to Katja's parents. They are living in the seventh floor, the top floor, of a multi-storey building in Lennep. From here you can overlook the whole old town. Many of those old houses are older than 250 years.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3348/3304674730_38015cab11.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3310/3303846993_44c30de9b5.jpg?v=0

The carnival procession started on a fairground and made its way through the town. It came around the street where Katja's parents are living, so we only had to go down to the street to see it.

It was a rather small procession. In other regions of Germany, in Cologne, Duesseldorf and many parts more in the south of Germany, hell is breaking loose at carnival time, from  Thursday, called „Altweiber“ (insuffiently translated to Woman's Carnival Day) until Tuesday. Almost nobody is working than, schools are closed and almost the complete population is celebrating and drinking gallons of beer (that's the part Katja also loves :D )

We were waiting for the procession here ...

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3416/3303847097_02836c3476.jpg?v=0

It was starting than! In front of the procession there are mostly police men taking care that nobody is on the street.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3060/3304676964_feb18e4c72.jpg?v=0

This is one of the marching bands.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3591/3304677170_db247894a8.jpg?v=0

These people were wearig fancy dresses made of plastic bags. They were also wearing a sash, reading "Miss Aldi", "Miss Saturn" and so on.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3511/3303849649_2b4c7da81d.jpg?v=0

They were throwing sweets into the crowd. We also collected some of them.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3490/3303849807_df343789d3.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3380/3304677644_5cc9cc3d7b.jpg?v=0

We had a lot of fun today.

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 27, 2009, 8:07 pm
Hi Mummy,
we visited Katja's friend today. She broke one of the bones in the metatarsus about four weeks ago and she had to undergo an operation last week. She still cannot leave the house so we visited her. Katja and Karin are knitting socks when they meet. Katja bought a cheesecake at her favourite bakery.

CHEESECAKE?!

You know that I love cheese, but cheese with a cake around? I don't know if that is a good idea. Katja told me that there's not gouda or camembert inside the cake, but curd cheese, sugar and a lot of other stuff. I decided to try it.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3512/3313939879_19bb6de2f5.jpg?v=0

It's good!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3136/3314764272_fa70f3b644.jpg?v=0

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Feb 27, 2009, 8:18 pm
Hi Mummy,
the weather is horrible, no more snow and sunshine. Have a look!

This is the space in front of the town hall with the lion on its pillar.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3322/3314669358_8fa845ba59.jpg?v=0

To cheer us up Katja decided to take us to the public library and later bake a chocolate cake. I think chocolate cake is the perfect thing when the weather is so bad.

Here you can see us in the library.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3389/3314669632_01972fce10.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3313845809_4714dd7885.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3377/3314670042_cd7cbd7742.jpg?v=0

Back home we made the promised chocolate cake.

For this cake you need

300 g dark chocolate
140 g butter
4 eggs
200 g sugar
pith of 1 vanilla bean
100 g flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
50 g sour cream

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3375/3313846265_482d736b9f.jpg?v=0

First we had to melt 227 g chocolate with butter. The rest of the chocolate had to be chopped.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3373/3314670354_fe8298ebba.jpg?v=0

Than we had to stirr the eggs with sugar and vanilla to a tight foam, for at least 5 minutes. The melted chocolate and butter had to be mixed into eggs and sugar, than flour, baking powder and cocoa powder, than sour cream.  Finally we had to stir the hacked chocolate into the dough.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3519/3314670942_6c5dc252af.jpg?v=0

The cake had to bake for 20 minutes, 175 °C.

Ready!

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3378/3314671234_62b4639f7c.jpg?v=0

It's really delicious ;D

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 1, 2009, 6:56 pm
Hi Mummy,

today it was much warmer than this week and the sun was shining. So Katja took me, Kelly, Womat, Fluffytail and Sweetsy out for a walk. When the weather is good Katja seems to be unstoppable :D

She decided to show us Germany's highest railway bridge, Muengsten Bridge. Of course we walked there through the forrest.

Here you can see allotment gardens in a district called "Gueldenwerth".

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/152/3318885273_5106a5f854.jpg?v=0

We walked through a really pastoral area. Doesn't it look nice here? It's only a few kilometres apart from the town centre.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3045/3318885925_0e21713a7a.jpg?v=0

We went into the forrest than.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3621/3318886081_573c513d7c.jpg?v=0

On the next photo you can see how steep it's going downhill here.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/90/3319713212_4385bbc0f7.jpg?v=0

We saw a collection of nest boxes for several sorts of birds.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3621/3318886763_6db1ae9698.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3521/3318913025_9d8b6f88a0.jpg?v=0

This is an information board which is showing local plants, mostly herbs.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3610/3319713766_a93553715a.jpg?v=0

We reached a viewpoint and saw Muengsten Bridge for the first time, at least a little piece of it.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3613/3318887205_5deca75579.jpg?v=0

We rested here on a bench, enjoying the sun.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3493/3319740036_d679e45b47.jpg?v=0

At the next viewpoint we could see the bridge.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3464/3318887519_93284ac981.jpg?v=0

Muengsten Bridge is made of steel. It is 107 m high and  spans the valley of river Wupper, which is marking the border between Remscheid and the neighbour town Solingen.

The bridge is 465 m long and was completed in 1897 A.D.

Katja knows a not very common path which is leading through the bricked pillars . From here you have an fantastic view.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3581/3319714694_2083768ec3.jpg?v=0

... and here the other side.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3527/3319715296_f2e960a5ed.jpg?v=0

Just above my heads were the railway tracks.

We walked downhill than, heading for the valley. We walked under the bridge, this time clearly lower than before.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3430/3318888601_312927674e.jpg?v=0

Here you can see the River Wupper, running underneath the bridge, which is almost invisible because of back light.

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/164/3318889783_dcc767ff67.jpg?v=0

We reached the valley than and took the following photo on a small bridge.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3313/3319717004_4d30cbc3a4.jpg?v=0

Half an hour ago we walked along the cute pavilion you can see in the background.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3343/3318891023_782c1d4ef6.jpg?v=0

Underneath the bridge a leisure park was established. You can find restaurants here, lawns for relaxing, playgrounds for the kids and more.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3355/3318890329_1a47c497e4.jpg?v=0

After more than two and a half hour walking we decided to go home by bus. Otherwise we would have had to walk uphill for rmore than an hour.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3552/3319718382_1d8108c029.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3349/3319718542_97a01ff14f.jpg?v=0

The bus stop is really close to Katja's home. I'm really wiped out now.

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 4, 2009, 7:23 pm
Hi Mummy,

we had to walk to the post office today. Fluffytail and Kelly Bear were leaving today.

We did not walk to the post office in the town centre but to the post office in the district Hasten. So Katja could show us more of the route of tools.

We started exactly where we left the route of tools last week.
Here are more of those rusty looking signs, this one showing the city arms.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3661/3322598051_390ebe096b.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3616/3322598159_a9eda6de66.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3636/3323431062_69bc5eabd9.jpg?v=0

Here you can see wrench patterns, stamped into the tarmac of the lane.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3557/3323431238_887a56d504.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3627/3323440400_806f27fa2d.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3664/3323431386_3f3896d0a4.jpg?v=0

You can also see patters showing tools on the ground.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3643/3322598615_e839f5382d.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3538/3323440250_0dffef8ac2.jpg?v=0

Here you can see distance data. The route of tools is about 5 km long.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3591/3322598725_047f470a39.jpg?v=0

We than accompanied Kelly and Fluffytail to the post office and walked back to the town centre through the muncipal park. They have several sports facilities here in the park.

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The next photo was taken in the vicinity of my current home.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3585/3322597963_41480a3775.jpg?v=0

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 4, 2009, 7:39 pm
Hi Mummy,
Katja bought a lot of different vegetables today. We decided to cook Ratatouille. Veggies like it.

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She bought sweet pepper, aubergine, tomatoes and zucchini. We also needed onions and several herbs and spices.

We than had to search her favourite cooking community for a receipe. We found one.

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I had to chop onions and vegetables.

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I had to braise the onions lightly, than I added aubergine, later pepper and zucchini, also tomatoes and vegetable stock, herbs and spices.

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Yummy!

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We also prepared salmon.

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It smells wonderful!

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My dinner is ready. Of course I added some cheese.

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It was too much for me, I'm afraid.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3643/3328297197_48449e0278.jpg?v=0

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 17, 2009, 8:50 pm
Hi Mummy,
today we took a walk around Eschbachtalsperre, which is Germany's oldest drinking water dam. It was built since 1889 A.D. and was opened in 1891 A.D.

There are several walking paths around the dam and in the vicinity of the dam. We chose one which was about 8,5 km long, only a short walk because of the bad weather.

We started at the dam and walked than into the forrest.

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The dam is situated close to the motorway A1. Of course the dam was here first :D

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We were sitting comfortably in the fresh moss.

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A part of the forrest was overflooded, propably by lots of rain we had last week. Can you see the dark spots in the foreground? It is frog spawn. Large parts of the tarn were full of it.

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Our path leaded us away from the dam into the hinterland. Here we saw farms.

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We saw an interesting weather vane on a roof.

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Finally we returned to the dam.

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A large collecting box is standing in here!

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We reached the masonry dam. In the background you can see a hotel.

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Here you can read some informations about the dam.

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This memorial is dedicated to the architect of the dam, Robert Boeker.

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We took a last group photo, sitting on the masonry dam.

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Although the weather was bad we had a lot of fun.

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 23, 2009, 3:44 pm
Hi Mummy,
we'll travel to Munich tomorrow! I'm so exited.

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http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3417/3365553811_538d26ce0e.jpg?v=0

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 23, 2009, 3:47 pm
Hi Mummy,

we are at Duesseldorf Airport now. Our flight to Munich will start at 10:00 a.m.

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Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 23, 2009, 4:17 pm
Hi Mummy,
we arrived in Munich soon. We went to our hotel and than immediately into town.

Here we are at Karlsplatz, also called Stachus.

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Here you can see me at Promenadenplatz. In the background you can see one of the most exlusive hotels in Munich, hotel Bayerischer Hof.

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This is Wittelsbacherplatz. The statue is showing elector Maximilian I, who lived from 1571 till 1651 A.D.

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We walked through the old town and reached Odeonsplatz. On the right side you can see Theatinerkirche and on the left side Feldherrenhalle.

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Katja wanted to meet another host of ToyVoyagers here, Pandamao, in the Englischen Garten. We still had some time and so Katja showed us Hofgarten.

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The garden was built by Maximilian I, whose statue I already showed you. In the middle of the garden you can see Dianatempel, a pavilion dedicated to goddess Diana.

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Here you can see the inside of the temple.

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Facing the Hofgarten on the east side is the Bavarian Staatskanzlei ("State Chancellery"), housed in the former Army Museum. The glass wings were added to the orginal building.

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From here it'n not far to the Englischen Garten.

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Here we are!

With an area of 3.7 km˛ the Englischer Garten is one of the world's largest urban public parks. In the background you can see  Monopteros, a greek style temple built in 1836 A.D.

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There are many creeks in the Englischen Garten.

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We are now in the famous beer garden at the Chinese tower.

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Almost no visitors were here but we had a delicious beer although.

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Katja met Pandamao here. Harold Giraffe and Womat went with Pandamao, Berkeley and Bruni Lila came with us now.

Bye for  now
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 23, 2009, 4:44 pm
Hi Mummy,

on our second day here we planned to walk through the old town and than visit Westpark.

We started at Sendlinger Tor, which is a city gate at the southern extremity of the historic old town area of Munich.

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From here we walked along Sedlinger Straße to do some shoppings.

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Of course we also visited Marienplatz with the famous new town hall.

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On the next photo you can see the Mariensäule (Marian column) and also the towers of the Frauenkirche (Cathedral of our blessed lady).

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From here we went to Westpark by metro.

Westpark is a large urban public park in Munich. It was completed in 1983. It hosted the fourth International Garden Show (IGA 83) that same year.

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They have an area here which is called Little Asia which consists of a Chinese garden, a Japanese garden, a Thai sala and a pagoda.

Unfortunately the part with the Chinese garden was closed for visitors at the moment.

So let me show you the Japanese garden.

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This is the Thai sala.

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We took a long walk in the park and went back to the town centre than.

This is Karolinenplatz, an important intersection here.

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From here we walked to Königsplatz. The square is framed with the "Ionic" Glyptothek and the "Doric" Propylaea (Propyläen) and the "Corinthian" State Museum of Classical Art.

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That's enough for today, my little feet are aching.

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 23, 2009, 4:57 pm
Hi Mummy,

today we visited a meeting of the VdRD e.V. (Verein der Rattenliebhaber und -halter in Deutschland e.V.). Katja is a member of the association. She is managing the associations's shop and she is also chief editor of the association journal.

The meeting was taking place in a youth centre, called "Aquarium".

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On the next photo I am sitting among the articles which are sold here. They are selling stickers, coffee mugs, t-shirts, bags, biros, notebooks, saving boxes and more.

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Nobody had to starve here.

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In the late afternoon we left the meeting and went back to our hotel.

In the evening we took a walk along through the old town and
the river Isar. Here we are at Isartor, also part of the former city fortification.

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3624/3378213299_5c4d353c81.jpg?v=0

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3642/3378213335_1167fa5d39.jpg?v=0

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 23, 2009, 5:08 pm
Hi Mummy,
we visited Tierpark Hellabrunn today.

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We saw lots of interesting animals.

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Have a look at those giant turtles!

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We also watched a show with raptors. They showed a barn owl, a peregrine falcon and a golden eagle.

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The girl is showing the peregrine falcon here.

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They let the birds fly and they came back after performing how to kill their prey.

This is the golden eagle.

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We had to leave to zoo than to get back to the airport.

Here we are on our way back home.

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I had a fantastic time in Munich!

Bye
Louis
olgamaus


Posted Mar 27, 2009, 1:57 pm
Hi Mummy,

I'm on my way to my next host now. I hope I'll arrive there soon.

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Bye
Louis
samsmith621


Posted May 8, 2009, 11:49 pm
I arrived at my new host's house a few days before her vacation, so she was busy getting ready to go! My host's name is Sam.


Sam has finally gotten settled after her trip to DC, so here are some photos!

The first day we arrived in DC, we went to Chinatown.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3378/3513336977_6435c128c1.jpg
The next day we visited some of the museums and the sculpture garden.
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We also got to visit the zoo!
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It was a really fun trip! We did some other things too, but it was very crowded and hard to take photos.
ashl_bee


Posted Nov 15, 2009, 8:55 pm
After my stay in Pennsylvania, I have moved along to Flagstaff, Arizona, USA. Zeke one of my new TV friends that I met in Glen Lyon, decided to bring us home with him.

http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a398/SpunkyAsh/toyvoyagers/winter/100_3701.jpg
One of the most distinguishable sights in Flagstaff is the San Fransisco Peaks. They look small in comparison to me but they stand at 12,633 ft (3,851 m). In the winter, Ashley says that these peaks get covered in snow! I hope to be able to see that before heading back to Germany!
fam-united


Posted May 20, 2011, 2:04 pm
SURPRISE! SURPRISE!
Hi Mum,
I'm here in Germany with fam-united now. AnjaM had a really really bad time last year and she is so sorry, that she didn't get in contact with you and tell you about it and that she didn't send me home to you. I can tell you, that we tried everything to make her smile again, but until today she's still not all herself again.

This week she felt the stength to send me on to my new host in Bruchsal. I'm looking forward to some more updates with her before I will travel on to my next destination.

Greetings, Louis
fam-united


Posted May 27, 2011, 5:05 pm
Hi Mum,

after we arrived at Petra's host the other tvs were very happy to welcome us. Our first wish was to take a bath, so we all ran to the bathroom.

Here you see us from left to right:

me, Nippy, Percy, Bree and Polki



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I tried to take care of my tag as much as possible.

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Nippy thought, that it would be enough to clean one ear:)

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But then she fell head over into the bath.

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Polki loved to swim in the water.

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We asked Petra, if she never needs a towel after having a bath and she ran to wrap us in the towel quickly.

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Because it was warm and sunny, we asked our host, if she could bring us to the balcony. We lied down on a table in the sun - more or less.

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fam-united


Posted May 29, 2011, 11:37 am
Hi Mum,

today nothing really interesting happened, but this evening Petra's son called me to take a look out of the window and get some photos taken there. I'm sorry, but we had to zoom some views, so you can see more of the sky. We thought, we would get some rain, but nothing happened. It is still much too dry.
:)


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fam-united


Posted May 29, 2011, 1:19 pm
Hi Mum,

Petra and her husband will get spoiled by her children - it's mother and father day present. And of course we will get spoiled too:)
For breakfast we had bread rolls, jam, honey, chocolate plates and a special treat called Einäpfchen. It was made of ham cubes and egg. I also ate a croissant and drank some green tea and orange juice.

Let's see, what I will eat for lunch:)

Bye, Louis


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fam-united


Posted Jun 7, 2011, 9:03 pm
Later we had lunch. The kids made some special appetizer and then noodles, salad, pork loin in lemon sauce. As dessert we had banana and vanilla ice cream.

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You see, that the dessert was my favourite:)
fam-united


Posted Aug 19, 2011, 7:42 pm
Today we took a photo of nearly all tvs, which stay here right now. There are several tvs of our host: Aaron, Robinson, Schnuffi, Scotty, Cassiopeia and Simba Leon. Then there are the regular guests: BarryO, Bubo, Henry, Sanji, Tuffy, NiliHH, Jack, Chuckle, WillyW. All the others are tvs, which stayed with hosts, who had some problems and no chance to send them on to their owners or the next host, including me. It is the biggest amount of toyvoyagers I ever had around me:)
fam-united


Posted Aug 20, 2011, 7:12 pm
Today the weather is nice - finally. So we had a chance to go out and take a look at the sightseeing places of Bruchsal. Bruchsal was first named in 976, but there are places even older than that. Bruchsal is famous for its beautiful baroque palace, for asparagus and for traffic jams on the autobahn.

Here you see the Damian Gate, which is the entrance to the palace area. You can see art exhibitions there every now and then.


http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6013/6015619898_f8970ab1b8_o.jpg


We crossed the street and walked to the fountain in front of the county court. Such a pity, that my host forgot to take a photo of the county court, but you can see it on another photo.

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Here you can read a about the fountain:

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We crossed the street again and walked into the palace front garden. At first we took a photo of a sign:


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The big part of the building is the main building of the palace. On the left side you see the catholic church St. Damian and Hugo, where my hosts go to Sunday service.

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Here you can see from left to right: the building with the chamber music hall, the tower of Damian Gate, the little piece of the tower of the jailhouse, then the tree. At next there are two more buildings, which belong to the palace area, between both is the street, which we crossed before. Then the higher building on the right side is the county court. And you can see the little gate, through which we walked into the front garden.

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We walked into the church to take a look at old photos. You can see, that the palace was destroyed during World War II. They rebuilt the area, but the church inside is modern nowadays.

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In the second last photo you can see a little gate, which leads from the front part to the back part of the palace. We walked through it and took a photo of the backside of the church and the church tower.

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There are some fountains on the backside of the palace. Each year there are open air concerts and it's a place for nice wedding photos. Around Christmas there is a second Christmas market at that place, too.

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Four guards with halberts are at the line between the fountain part and the palace garden.

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We walked to the little pond, where usually you can find many ducks.

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At two crossings of the main way you can find a statue at each corner. This crossing shows the four elements water, fire, earth, air. Here you see the fire statue. You maybe remember, that I've shown you the water statue a while ago.

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This crossing shows the four seasons winter, spring, summer, autumn. This statue is summer.

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There are several ways lined with chestnut trees.

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We left the palace area and drove to the backside of the hospital. There is a parking place and we stopped to take two photos: one shows the old hospital building with its nice little tower and the other shows the jailhouse.

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Then we drove to the Belvedere, which was built as a hunting lodge for Prince Bishop Franz Christoph von Hutten.


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Next to the Belvedere and Stadtgarten there is a place, where you have a great view over Bruchsal.

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You can see the two towers of the baroque church St. Peter, which is close to my host's house. In the street right in front of me you can see some of the oldest houses of Bruchsal. 80 % of Bruchsal was destroyed during the war, so mostly you only see houses built from 1945 to today.

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The buildings in front of me and the white one on the left side belong to the older people's house. Then there is the private catholic grammer school called St. Paulusheim - the big grey building in the far left side.

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This nice house also is next to the Belvedere. Nowadays it belongs to a hotel.

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fam-united


Posted Aug 24, 2011, 5:21 pm
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 m˛ large, it is open for patients and visitors. You will see a roof made of blue bottles, put into the concrete with there bottom to the outside - it's an interesting room, fascinating. Wall and floor are covered with blue tiles.
So now just enjoy the photos.


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I hope, you like the group photos:)

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Two more group photos in the blue room.

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More group photos in the pavillon.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 7, 2011, 6:21 pm
A thunderstorm is coming.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 29, 2011, 5:12 pm
Today we visited our host's aunt and uncle in Mannheim. From the balcony in the fifth floor we saw these high buildings.

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We saw some rather old houses.

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We also saw the tv-tower.

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fam-united


Posted Sep 29, 2011, 5:42 pm
My host and her daughter and son had the idea to walk around the Mummelsee. The Mummelsee is a 17-metre-deep lake at the western mountainside of the Hornisgrinde in the northern Black Forest of Germany. It is very popular with tourists travelling along the Schwarzwaldhochstraße. According to legends, the lake is inhabited by a Nix and the King of the Mummelsee.

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fam-united


Posted Oct 8, 2011, 4:28 pm
Today we went on a short trip to Bad Wildbad. We first thought, that we maybe could walk through a spa garden, but then the weather was so bad, that we decided to only have lunch and then go home again. Oh no, we didn't walk from Bruchsal to Bad Wildbad, we took the city railway.


For lunch we had Swabian pockets with fresh flowers on it. It looked and tasted really good.

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fam-united


Posted Oct 8, 2011, 5:16 pm
Today we bake a cake for a birthday party, where we will go later. It is an apple cake, bottom and cover with the same dough. It is really yummy, but we had to work a lot to get all these apples cut into small pieces.

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fam-united


Posted Jan 28, 2012, 10:17 am
I like this Christmas decoration on the window. It's on the same place each year. If you like it too and want the originals to cut them out for yourself, please send a note to Petra.
It's a nice place for us toyvoyagers, too. It is warm and you can see everything that's going on on the street
:)

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The first photo is without flash, just to show you, how dark it is outside although it is early midday. If Petra hasn't done a mistake, then there are 26 toyvoyagers sitting together. Some are her toyvoyagers, some her daughters and some are rescued toyvoyagers, which still are at her place and of course some are guests, who will move on again.
fam-united


Posted Jan 28, 2012, 11:01 am
After the big group photo session the guests finished the stars.

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Of course we other toyvoyagers were really curious and came to take a look at the beautiful stars.

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Later a group of starsingers visited our house, but we just had been too slow, so we aren't on this photo. Nevertheless we thougth, that it is a good idea to show you, how starsingers can look like. They don't carry one of our stars, though. They belong to the church region, were our hosts live, but our hosts go to another church, where they lived before. It's a bit complicated:)

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In the afternoon we all helped our Petra to bake two cakes. She told us, that tomorrow isn't only Epiphany, but also her husbands 50th birthday and that we will go to the parish hall and carry cakes with us. At first we baked a Hermann cake. It is a cake like a round robin, that's how it seems for me. Petra told us, that she received a part of the cake a few days ago and that she had to stir it and to feed it and that now it is ready to get baken. Of course we added some more stuff like flour, sugar, almonds, cinnamon, chocolate pieces.

We read the recipe.

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Then we had to get some more dishes for the "kids" of this cake.

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We had been really busy.


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We also added some apple pieces.

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We wondered, if this dish would be big enough and decided, that it wasn't. So we took a star for the dough of Hermann.

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German Rescue


Posted Mar 25, 2012, 10:40 am
Petra has created the German Rescue, so she keeps an overview over all the toyvoyagers at her place. The German Rescue is for toys, who were stuck at a place and then send on to fam-united.

I'm sure, I will travel home as soon as you write to my host.
fam-united


Posted Apr 29, 2012, 4:13 pm
Finally I found time to read these two pages of two different newspapers of the week. The one is about Bruchsal asparagus. Bruchsal is famous for its asparagus fields and auctions.

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The other newspaper page is about the baroque palace of Bruchsal. I think, you have a good view to many different parts of the main building with the church tower, but still many houses are missing.

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fam-united


Posted Apr 30, 2012, 6:36 pm
We have typical April weather in Bruchsal. There is sunshine and the next moment there is hail and thunder and rain.

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fam-united


Posted Jun 2, 2013, 2:34 pm
Wow! We have another sunny day! I really had no chance to see the flowers in the garden behind the house until now, because the weather was that bad. I can't remember, that we had springweather like this before. All flowers are blooming at the same time and the trees got leaves within minutes it seems.

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fam-united


Posted Jul 21, 2013, 9:25 pm
Today we decided to bake a rhubarb cake. Our host allowed us to do it all alone without her help. So please take a look at the recipe. We explain it step by step:

At first we had to find a place - we are quite a few
:)

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Of course we aren't all traveling. Some of us are here as active toyvoyagers, but many of us are guests, who decided to stay here as long as the owners don't find time to get in contact with our host. And of course some of us live here, but we all have one thing in common - we are toyvoyagers.
At next we had to get the eggs. We need six eggs for the cake.


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It was Sausi Karl's job to beat the eggs.

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Then one of us - don't know who - added 50g sugar for each egg, so it was 300 g sugar. It's quite a lot, we know.

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Madam Miff added one packet of vanilla sugar to the dough.

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Of course we had to beat the dough again, but we couldn't handle the camera while beating the dough.
Matcha and Ted added 300g flour and one packet of baking powder.


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Then we had to stir the dough again until it was fluffy.

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Melek helped

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and Nathalie

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Then Matcha prepared the dish for the dough. We baked without bottom on a foil.

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Nathalie was still busy stiring the dough.

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And the she filled it in the dish.

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Then we all were sitting there and waiting for the cake to get baken in the oven. Man it was boring at first. But we didn't expect, that half an hour can be such a short time, when so many tvs are together.

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After this break we had to prepare the rhubarb, because we wanted to fill the cake with rhubarb cream.

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Little Dragon helped to skin it.

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And Matcha helped to cut it in pieces.

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Billy helped Matcha to stay on the pot during cutting the rhubarb pieces.

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Then we had to prepare some ingrediences for the cream. We needed two packets of vanilly pudding powder, one egg white and one yolk. We had to stir the egg white.

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Before adding the stirred egg white, we had to add the pudding powder. We had added a little bit of water to it and shook it until it was smooth. Then we added the pudding powder to the cooked rhubarb. We also added the yolk.

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Then I added the stirred egg white and gently folded it in.

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Finally we cut the cake in two layers and filled the cream on the first and then on the second layer and put the last layer on top of it.

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