Henrik, Helsinki, Finland

Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 2:18 pm	Hi! My name is Henrik and I'm a Finnish moose. My mom got me from a shop today and I was happy to go with her. At first I met my new friend Manu the rubber duck; he is quite famous here in Finland. We went to my new home by a tram and my mom gave me some chocolate and latte - I just love coffee and chocolate
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 2:31 pm	We went to see the city and I saw the famous Lutheran Cathedral of Helsinki. After a lond walk in the city we went to a nice cafe' on the beach and we had a HUGE latte
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 2:37 pm	Soon Manu and I got some new friends. At first arrived Gustav from Germany and pretty soon after him arrived Mercury from Canada. We all travelled to visit my mom's mother in the Central Finland.
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 2:47 pm	There was a big Skiffle Music Festival nearby the place we stayed and we went there to listen some great bands and visit some of my mom's friends. We had lots of fun there; I like all kinds of music  The concerts were in a big tent and we spent some time behind the tent too. The consert place was really near to a railway station and we saw some big trains there too.
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 3:17 pm	The place where we stayed in the Central Finland was beautiful and we were out a lot. The weather was warm and sunny; we all enjoyed our time there a lot.
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 3:46 pm	On Sunday we left the Central Finland and on our way back home we visited at Manu's godmother's summer cottage by the lake. In the evening we were all back home tired, but happy after a great trip. We had some delicious chocolate strawberries and went to bed.
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 3:52 pm	My mom loves postcrossing and especially postcrossing meetings. I was in many meetings together with my friends and we wrote a lot of postcards there - that's fun and I like it  Here are photos of the meetings where I've been.
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 4:12 pm	I like to be in the city, but I also like our trips to the countryside. Here are some photos of our trips this summer.
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 4:19 pm	It was time for Gustav to leave us and travel to meet his next host in the United States of America. We all went for a cafe' and eat delious cakes and we told Gustav how mutch we like him and we'll all going to miss him a lot. We went to the post office and said bye-bye to Gustav. It was a sad day, but Gustav is now having fun with his new friends...
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 6:52 pm	We had a wonderful International Postcrossing meeting here in Helsinki in the end of August. There were about 40 postcrossers, mostly from Finland, but also from different countries like Dandilion from The Netherlands. On Saturday evening we all wrote postcards together; 545 postcards, our wrists were a bit aching on Sunday... We also had a ToyVoyager meeting at our PC meeting and a special guest all the way from Malaysia named Harris. He looked a bit scaring at first, but actually he was really nice and friendly  Harris is the black one in the photos.
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 6:59 pm	30.9.2009 we went to the amusement park of Helsinki called Linnanmäki. We had fun there and my mom even had a ride at the roller coaster with Dandilion. We had already made a deal that I would leave Helsinki and go to visit the Netherlands with Dandilion; I was really thrilled and excited... Here are the last photos of me in Helsinki, one of me with flowers and the another one of me with Dandilion.
Huppu68 Posted Sep 27, 2009, 7:04 pm	Now I'll start my trip to the Netherlands with Dandilion. I'm looking forward to have great new adventures all over the world  See you all soon! Bye-bye! (My mom wants to appologise for Dandilion, because this travelog is so late, but better late than ever, I think.)
dandilion Posted Sep 28, 2009, 6:54 pm	Hello mummy and everyone else! Here I am finally!!!! You can see by the pictures I am having great fun with Dandilion (Leonie) I am staying here in Rotterdam and been on a few adventures already! We drove to Flevoland, to visit the Walibi rollercoaster themepark :-) I went on the big wheel, it was so high I loved it!! You could overlook the park :-) Peekaboo!!! I have made a new friend he is Leonie her own toy ‘Kakuch’ we took a few minutes break from the walk and relax and had some stick of rock I found another horned animal like me :-) It was at the petting zoo/kiddies animal farm at the themepark. This sheep was so nice and so laid back that sheep and I even had some silly animal talk, sheep let me sit on her head crazy sheep hey?
dandilion Posted Oct 1, 2009, 6:17 pm	Visit to Dordrecht I went on the Fast ferry boat from Rotterdam to Dordrecht.  We walked around Dordrecht and I have seen some pretty old Dutch house, like in this street. This house in the middle is for sale, I was thinking of going to buy it :-) I really enjoy the view over the water here, all these boats look so pretty! We went inside a church and climb up the belfry tower. What a climb!! The view of Dordrecht, train bridge On my own exploring the great wide open world. Aint we a nice toy voyaging team :-) Dandilion you keep good hold of me I wanna see how far we are up! Some old warehouses, pretty hey? And to finish the day off with a nice cold beer MMM And old Brown Heineken MMM
dandilion Posted Oct 5, 2009, 7:30 pm	Whats Henrik doing amongst so many cards?? Forfilling a toy voyaging task is he??? I think he is!!!! Henrik attended a Dutch Postcrossing meeting held on 2 october 2009 in Zwolle. Well done Henrik!!!!! Henrik with Dandilion and 2 other postcrossers jill daisy and Marjolein ( she is a toy voyager host too)
dandilion Posted Feb 13, 2010, 1:43 pm	Its been too long since last time I made an update for sweet little Henrik... but you must know most of the time he was having his wintersleep! Soon there will be  some pictures and his adventures :-)
dandilion Posted Feb 13, 2010, 3:18 pm	I made a lovely new friend! This is miss Pebbles.. We love to eat a carrot together!!! we talked about our lives being a rabbit and a moose... miss Pebbles said she had more visitors as small as me! She likes to have some body over to nibble a carrot with! It tasted lovely MMM Yummy!
dandilion Posted Feb 14, 2010, 7:23 pm	We are the train going to some places in The Netherlands. With my new best friend Kakuch This is in Middelburg, in the province Zeeland This is the Zeeland traditional clothes Eet Smakelijk! (bon apetit) A delicious appel pancake MMM And here I pop up in Amsterdam!!! Amsterdam Dam Square Where the war memorial statue is and where we have the rememberance day ceremony on may 4th. madame taussaud wax house
dandilion Posted Feb 16, 2010, 7:37 pm	On the 23rd of January, I went to another Postcrossing Meeting, something we (you Huppu68) and me love to do!! signing the cards! MMM delicious!!! some other crazy Dutch Postcrossers :-) See a familiar face? Lotty from belgium also came!! We walked around Utrecht, I enjoyed this 'student capitol'of Holland... look at the bicycles: Super cool Dutchies bike! 112 meters high the Dom church I was almost posted away by Leonie... just kidding!! Dutch houses Hey I saw some of my dutch far away cousins lol (Leonie get me in a identity crisis.. she just had a thought of me as a cow lol)
dandilion Posted Apr 5, 2010, 10:05 am	dandilion said: I made a lovely new friend! This is miss Pebbles.. We love to eat a carrot together!!! we talked about our lives being a rabbit and a moose... miss Pebbles said she had more visitors as small as me! She likes to have some body over to nibble a carrot with! It tasted lovely MMM Yummy! :-(  Pebbles passed away on 3 March 2010.. She will be sadly missed!!! :-(
dandilion Posted Apr 5, 2010, 10:56 am	MMM very tasty a home made apple pie with cream MMM Buying postcards for Postcrossing! Just hanging around the cards :-) Henrik meet with postal Ana and famous Paulo! dandilion writing postcards 196 cards were written! At a big bookstore we found this lovely cuddly Miffy at the Childrenbook section:
dandilion Posted Apr 5, 2010, 1:16 pm	Happy Easter Henrik!!! Spring time is here! Nice tullips!
dandilion Posted Apr 25, 2010, 1:03 pm	This is the Hef, a former train bridge. Henrik enjoys the view of Rotterdam The Erasmusbrug ("Erasmus Bridge") is a cable stayed bridge across the Nieuwe Maas (English: New Meuse) river, linking the northern and southern halves of the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands. The Erasmusbrug was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The 802 metre long bridge has a 139 metre-high asymmetrical pylon, earning the bridge its nickname of "The Swan". The southern span of the bridge has a 89 metre long bascule bridge for ships that cannot pass under the bridge. The bascule bridge is the largest and heaviest in West Europe and has the largest panel of its type in the world. The bridge was officially opened by Queen Beatrix on September 6, 1996, having cost 165 million Dutch guilders (about 75 million euro) to construct. Shortly after the bridge opened to traffic in October 1996, it was discovered the bridge would swing under particularly strong wind conditions. To reduce the trembling, stronger shock dampers were installed. The bridge featured in the 1998 Jackie Chan film Who Am I?. In 2005 several planes flew underneath the bridge as part of the "Red Bull Air Race".
dandilion Posted Jul 18, 2010, 8:14 pm	Henrik went with us on holiday to Poland. We travelled by train all around From Warsaw to various places such as Lublin, Torun, Gdansk and Posnan. Here Kakuch helps big Henrik to look out of the train window. Malbork castle (UNESCO) Old town Warsaw Day trip to Kazimierz Dolny, famous for its rooster shape bread: yummy! Torun, the river Wisła was about to flood.
isagv Posted Aug 25, 2010, 5:36 pm	My last host Dandilion was at a postcrossing meeting in Belgium / Brussels and asked isagv, who also visted my mummie in 2009 in Helsinki if she wants to be my new host. The flower carpet in Brussels was showed to me by dandilion.
isagv Posted Aug 25, 2010, 5:39 pm	So here I say goodbey to dandilion and hello to Isa
isagv Posted Aug 25, 2010, 5:43 pm	I am Isa's first travel toy and she did not knew that i don't like to be in a bag. I want to see the world!
isagv Posted Aug 25, 2010, 5:56 pm	After a long travel, finally I am at my new home in Grevenbroich. I also met a fluffy pen which is also from Finland. Huppulle gave it to Isa as she was in Helsinki 2009. I also met Isa's cat Franca and her son Domenic. They have still summer holidays in Germany and the whole family is kind of lazy but Isa promised to take me to her next trip but she did not tell yet where it will be. I want to greet my mummie in Finland and dear dandilion in Holland. I am doing fine.
isagv Posted Aug 27, 2010, 10:58 am	At Isa's house there also live 4 mice. They belong to Domenic and I said hi to them. The grey mouse is named Mona, the white mouse is Amy and the black& white mouse is Chicca. Nona is missing she is shy and also black&white. The weather was to bad to go out, it is raining since days but Isa promised she will soon take me with her to Cologne, to a postcrossing meeting.
isagv Posted Aug 29, 2010, 1:52 pm	Last Friday I went to the soccer stadium of Borussia Mönchengladbach. Isa's son Tim had trainings and while we waited until he finnished, Isa showed me the area and we had a coffee and some cake.
isagv Posted Sep 5, 2010, 8:20 pm	Guess what? We went to a Supertramp concert last night! I enjoyed it very much. The band said that it was there second concert in 8 years so very special! )
isagv Posted Sep 19, 2010, 9:04 pm	So Isagv took me to my 4th Postcrossing meeting today. This time in Cologne. (Remember, I was in Helsinki, Holland and Brussels before) MichaelK, Tweets, SonjaB, Weltenbummler and Nicky86 also joined. We had a lot of fun. I did not made it to starbucks but I made it to "Café Extrablatt" and I also saw the huge Kölner DOM, (Cathedral, World Heritage UNESCO) Enjoy the pics!
isagv Posted Oct 20, 2010, 8:13 pm	Today is an exiting day, I will travel toooo ????  The picture shows me at the airport in Düsseldorf.
isagv Posted Oct 20, 2010, 8:15 pm	On my way to ??? I had a 5 hours stop in Istanbul (airport) where I could drink a latte at Starbucks!
isagv Posted Oct 20, 2010, 8:22 pm	I landet in Iran where I visited the blue mosque in Tabriz with Isa and her friend Ipuenktchen. Ipuenktchen is the one who now takes care of me.  Isa, Ipuenktchen and I also travelled to Teheran and we visited a postcrossing meeting in Tabriz but let my new host ipuenktchen tell you about this. Bye bye isa
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 20, 2010, 10:02 pm	I was really thrilled when ISAGV surprised me when we came out from our plane and we saw ipuenktchen!! she took a photo of me and dear isagv, newly arrived in another country!!!! IRAN!! we both were pretty tired....
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 20, 2010, 10:22 pm	as we arrived at tabriz airport at 3 AM, we took a nap and had breakfast at 1o AM. after we went downtown to have a look around where ipue is living!!!?! first we went to tabriz' most famous sightseeing site, the BLUE MOSQUE!! as you can understand by the above pics, I said GOOD BYE to dear ISAGV and thanks her a lot as it was nice with her and her family and all the animals!! IPUENKTCHEN welcomed me in tabriz and up from now takes care of me! the photos you can see above, too! then we entered the blue mosque!! I had never been in a mosque before!!?! but this one is announced as a museum and so we hadn't got out our shoes! it was so beautiful with all this nice blue colour around - it remembered me the flag of my home country and my dress even!!!! last but not least we had a look at the bazar and saw this beautiful fruits: pomegranates!
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 20, 2010, 11:00 pm	today ipue had the gorgeous idea to arrange a breakfast-picnic with her friends in the park nearby EL GOLI, the other famous sightseeing site of her 2nd home town!! they came and picked us up and we stayed there for 2 - 3 hours...
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 20, 2010, 11:06 pm	the same day in the afternoon was the great moment of the 3rd international tabriz postcrossing meeting!!!! and there had been (in alphabetical order) - IPUENKTCHEN - ISAGV - MISSLONDON later: - LILI_6789 - YASHILA_81 and for sure - EMMA - me, HENRIK - POSSY & CROSSY - and the other fluffy pens from FI believe it - we wrote 126 postcards and for sure one for my mom huppu68, too!!!
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 20, 2010, 11:55 pm	we left tabriz at midnight by bus and arrived at 7 AM in tehran! for sure at first we went to the post office and sent out our mail all over the world *smile*
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 21, 2010, 12:08 am	later the same day we had some sightseeing in this 14-million-city with its awfull traffic......... - the sign of tehran azadi-monument (freedom monument) - the golestan-palace - the IR-flag
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 21, 2010, 12:37 am	this is ANITA_2004, the youngest active postcrosser of IR.. *smile* and as you can imagine we had a meetup in tehran, too!!!!! later we would leave tehran forward to tabriz - but what a surprise!! we'll go by a PORSCHE-car!!!?!?!? on the road..........
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 21, 2010, 12:53 am	on FRI morning everybody was too tired to bring us to kandovan.. finally it was ipue's close friend monika who was so kind to do it!! how impressing - ppl are still living in a kind of caves scarved in the tuffstone-mountains 6o km far from tabriz beside the sahand mountains!!?! downstairs they have their stables, then the kitchen and living room and upstairs the bedrooms. can you imagine there are still some ppl from tehran, buying one of the caves as a *weekend villa*!!?!?! and even if you like you may spend the night in a 5-star-hotel in some parts of these caves!!!!!!!?!?! EDIT: are these the *mountains* my mom requested as a life mission for me???? hey mommy, pls give me an answer!!!!!!! I reached another life mission or not yet?
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 24, 2010, 7:37 am	as our dear little guest from FI is from a country without any mountains one of his life mission his mom requested for him is TO SEE MOUNTAINS.. well - as we are living on an altitude of 1.4oo m there is no prob to see mountains - we are living on mountains.. on an elevated plain!!! EVERYWHERE when we are going out he can see mountains and hills.. even el goli, where we are living, is situated on a hill! - 1.875 m - AINALI beside tabriz (pls look at pic baghmisheh) - 2.85o m - MISHO in the direction to marand (pls look at the pic on the road to the garden!) - 3.7o7 m - SAHAND beside kandovan (pls look at the pic!) - 4.811 m - SABALAN beside ardabil (third highest mt in IR, no pic with henrik, sorry) so we can be sure about this life mission is completed!
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 24, 2010, 8:03 am	wow - how exciting!! today my host ipue.. had a group of 4o for sightseeing in tabriz!! we picked them up from their hotel and went by their bus to the first step of our sightseeing: THE CONSTITUTION HOUSE!! this is a tradional house from qajar era, dedicated to the leaders of the AZ revolutioneers in the early 2oth century. after we passed the main mosque in front and from there we entered the bazar! tabriz bazar in july 2o1o was registered as a world cultural heritage as the world largest covered bazar! from there we went by foot along the pedestrian zone ahead to the famous new restaurant shahriyar in the former  well restored HAMAME NOBAR, an ancient public bath. there we had a break. after we entered again our bus and went to BUSTANE KHAGANI, a nice small park in honour to the tabrizian famous poet KHAGANI. his monument is there and a beautiful view with the BLUE MOSQUE behind it! one of the highlights of tabriz is the BLUE MOSQUE! built in 15th century, completely destroyed by an earthquake in the 18th century. about 2oo years it rested without any restauration, but in the seventies of last century they started the restauration of the building, finished about 1977, and then started the painting inside, which took about 3o years, done by 1 man. only last time there was finally a group to finish inside, and now there are serveral years, the BLUE MOSQUE is re-opened and used as a museum! beside the blue mosque is an excavation site from iron era, explored while constructing the shopping malls around. even they had to renew the history of tabriz. before there was written, tab is about 1ooo y/o. but some years ago they found these graves and they understood in the tab area ppl was settling 2.6oo and 3.4oo years ago!!!!!!!!!! finally ppl needed a break and went to their hotel and in the evening they entered el goli for dinner. the whole day like every day dear isagv was with us!!!
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 24, 2010, 8:19 am	today we had a trip together with the same group from yesterday to another unesco-site: QARA KELISA - ST. THADDAEUS MONASTERY - part of *ARMENIAN MONASTIC ENSEMBLE IN IRAN* registered as a world heritage site in 2oo8. this monastery is situated in another county and so we entered during these 3 days 3 different counties: - tabriz, east-azerbaijan county - qara kelisa, west-azerbaijan county - ardabil, ardabil county we had a beautiful weather and after sightseeing we had our lunch in front of the monastery with a great view!
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 24, 2010, 8:47 am	the 3rd day with the same group had another goal  in North-EAST of IR - the city of ARDABIL with its Unesco-site, registered in july 2o1o, too: SHEIKH SAFI mausoleum, an ancient dervish monastery. when we had been still on the road it was nearly half an hour or more we had the SABALAN mountain beside us, and what a chance, not that foggy weather like usual... you reach hard to get a photo!!! the sabalan is the third highest mountain of IR - 4.811 m high! ipue's son2 climbed on in 2oo2 and it was a great adventure for him! but two times after he tried again, but not successfull because of the foggy weather.... SHEIKH SAFI was a very beautiful place and everybody enjoyed it. the new museum beside is finished and even a great monument in the yard of shah esmail, the founder of the safawid dynasty. so they were ready to get the honour being registered as a unesco-site!! inside of the mausoleum there had been a famous carpet with its pic on the floor like in a mirror. this carpet got lost in olden times and belonged later to the victoria- & albert-museum in london. ipue.. had seen it there. it's the highlight of this famous museum, presented just in front of the main entrance!!!! so IR ppl decided to remake their own carpet and it took years and years.. everytime when ipue came to visit there was only a tiny progress...... what a pity.. but at last there were working some carpetmakers at the same time and the could finished this great and large carpet with 64 squaremeters!!!!!!! which is presented now in the porcelain hall. all these days for sure DEAR ISAGV was with us!!!!!! and at this day we returned to tabriz as she would have her home flight in the night!!!!!!!!!!! :-(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( and as ipue.. regrets a lot.. both these days she was so busy with the group and FORGOT to take pics from me................ :-((((((((((((((((((((((((((((( - except one on the road to ardabil..  and so I can offer you only the UNESCO-hp to have a look at the mentioned sites... http://whc.unesco.org/en/list and bad news... during this night ISAGV left tabriz back home again! thank you, dear isagv, bringing me to ipuenktchen - it was so nice to stay here with you!!!!!!!
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 24, 2010, 8:54 am	apple harvest :-))))))))) yes, we went to another garden today.. and it was so great - new direction, new area, new landscape.. I was so thrilled about the beautiful mountains everywhere around us. it was about 45 km far from tabriz when we reached the garden, very far from the main road, passing two small villages. goshhhhh - so many apples on the trees.. ipue.. helped me jumping on the apple trees and took photos as usual!!! and then everybody started to pick up the apples. we filled some boxes for ourselves.
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 24, 2010, 8:57 am	today they took me with them going to the house of son2 and his wife in another part of tabriz, just beside the mountains!!!!!!! the end of the street is a close because of the mountains!! here you may see some pics of baghmisheh town, part of tabriz, and also a pic while working with yashila_81 as well as a glance in yashila_81's furniture production!!!!! isn't it beautiful??
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 29, 2010, 8:29 am	first of all today we had a call to tehran.. as it's the wedding anniversary of ipue's son1 today!! than we had a look around in ipue's yard making some typical fall-pics... I hope you'll enjoy them. the weather is nice! son2 is still busy with his new home, picking up some useful things from his dad's workshop and I was jumping on the car to go with him... :-
ipuenktchen Posted Oct 30, 2010, 4:54 pm	another day in baghmisheh town, part of tabriz, where yy & lili are living now! her mom was coming to tab to help them a bit and today the *two old grannies* were cleaning the windows of the whole house!!! (sorry - only ipue is an *old granny*, lilis mom for sure is a *young granny*!!!!) but what a weather... very stormy and dusty but sunny... however Ipue made some pics in their quarter. so you can see where they are living!! :-)))))))))))
ipuenktchen Posted Nov 2, 2010, 9:00 pm	A WALK DOWNTOWN.... yesterday we had our breakfast quite early and went downtown for some shopping and having a look around.. a lot of shops were still closed although it was around 1o AM.. boah, freelanced ppl are lucky ppl here, as they start to work so late!!!! smth we learned from dear ISAGV, founded in tehran, for her first time ipue, completely astonished, saw this in tabriz, too!!! the special pflaster on the pedestrian way for blind people to understand where they can cross the street and so on... - also we had some sightseeing, the ancient citadel *ARK* for instance and some beautiful old wooden doors!! and a parking was very interesting for me, when I saw the bikes on the roof!!!!! have you ever seen motorbikes on the roof of a house???? also we passed by the main post office!! but finally ipue could find everything written on her shopping list - but meeee, gosh, I got REALLY THRILLED, when we saw *MYYY SHOP*!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you cannot imagine, I met a lot of my friends and cousins and so on.. but the shop was still closed, too, and I was so sad as I could only kiss them from outside even I pressed my noose so much on the window!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-((((((((( btw - the weather was beautiful again!
ipuenktchen Posted Nov 5, 2010, 7:18 am	yummyyyyyyyyyy - breakfast in EL GOLY!!! last time we had an advertising in our mailbox for breakfast in the traditional el goly restaurant in the middle of the bassin and today we would try it.. yummyyyyy!!!!!!!  and why today?? perhaps you didn't heard about in islamic countries the weekly holiday isn't sunday but FRIDAY!!!!!!!! everybody enjoyed the breakfast! nice idea!! and as usual I had a photo-session there!! ;-))))))))))))))
ipuenktchen Posted Nov 5, 2010, 5:26 pm	if you don't get bored I'll tell you about another great trip to the same garden like a few days ago.. the apple harvest.. still on stage!! ;-) and we were happy to have another extraordinary day in the open air with a lovely weather and nice ppl and lotssssssss of apples!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
ipuenktchen Posted Nov 17, 2010, 8:29 pm	a kind of JETLAG.... LOOOOOOOOL......... after some boring days yesterday we had a great joy - ipue's son1 with sweet little ANITA_2004 - the by far youngest active postcrosser in IR - were coming to tabriz!!!! yeaaaaah!!!!!!! the road was so crowded because of public holidays.. and so they arrived only at midnight!! and as sweet little anita was sleeping nearly the whole way to tab she didn't agree to sleep again when everybody was going to sleep...... what should we do?? finally we were into postcrossing as she got as hooked to postcards as ipue... *smile* and she was writing and painting and so on UNTIL 4 AM when she finally allowed going to sleep........ - well, is this a kind of JETLAG??????????????????  anita made a lot of x-mas cards for postcrossing as well as for their friends an family, and pssssssssssst - don't tell it to my mom, I made a great x-mas card for her, too, hoping it will arrive in time!!!! :-)))))))))))))) You have to know - it will be my 2nd x-mas far from her..... :-((((((((((((((((((
ipuenktchen Posted Nov 20, 2010, 3:18 pm	after a couple of days with much joy & fun (and for sure a LOT of POSTCROSSING!!!) in the very early morning they arrived back home again in tehran - it was a good decision to go on the road during the night with low traffic after these public holidays with such an awful traffic during the day...
ipuenktchen Posted Nov 26, 2010, 3:40 pm	after some trouble with a good end during the other days ipue had an interpreter job for two days and I was allowed to come with her.. POSSY AND CROSSY, her playmob-traveltoys, were a bit sad, but as I'm not all the time in tab but only for vacation, she took ME with her... and next time will be again P&C's TURN she promised!!!!! :-))))))) we had some sightseeing again, and it was such a beautiful weather, and in one of the museums in a yard it was full of beautiful white roses!!! at the END OF NOVEMBER, imagine!!!!!!!!! Ipue told me she's looking for another host, specially in germany, as she will have  the opportunity to send me next month to DE!!! I'm so curious WHO WILL BE MY NEXT HOST!!!!?!?!? pls get in touch with ipue!!!!!!! - entrance of measurement museum - part of university of art, both in trad. ancient houses - roses in tabriz at the end of november!!
ipuenktchen Posted Nov 27, 2010, 2:18 pm	yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh - jippieeeeeeeeeeeeeehhh!!!!! as I was a bit homesick since a couple of days - as well as I didn't told it to anybody - LUCKY HENRIK!!! I was sooooo *H*A*P*P*Y* today when a postcard from my mom was in ipue's mailboxxxxx!!!! it shows one of my siblings :-))))))))) a maxicard with a special cancellation!! LUCKY IPUENKTCHEN, too!!!!!!!!!! she enjoyed the card also too much!! it was a meeting card from *red nose meeting part2* !!!!!!?!??!??! signatures of Huppu68 with manu, duffeli, delenna, yomyohas & sahrami - very kind of you ♥ I cannot explain you how excited I was, when ipue shows me this postcard and read it for me!!!!?!?!?!!!!!!!?!?! THANK YOU, DEAR MOM ♥huppu68♥!!!!!!!!!
ipuenktchen Posted Nov 30, 2010, 8:16 pm	hi, everybody!!! today my dear mom HUPPU68 got in touch with ipue.. and told her she was successfull to find another host for me!!!!! I'm sooooo curious, guys!!!!! but ipue told me NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-((( okaaaaaaaay... so I'll profite of my last days in IR!!!
ipuenktchen Posted Dec 15, 2010, 8:50 am	it's ADVENT as the germans are calling the time between the last four sundays before christmas!!! newly the weather get colder and colder and colder - last night -2 degrees.. but during the day a bit more and SUNNY!!! 6 - 10 degrees. and there is still one only beautiful lonely ROSE in ipue's yard!!!!! but step by step I'm getting more familar with the weather ;-) and everybody is keeping their fingers crossed for SNOW at the christmasdays!!!!!!!!! :-)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
ipuenktchen Posted Dec 21, 2010, 11:32 am	♪♪ HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!! oh gosh - today we have a BIRTHDAY!!!! ipuenktchen's son YASHILA_81 turned to 29 *smile* - ALL THE BEST FOR YOU, dear yasha!!!
ipuenktchen Posted Dec 22, 2010, 8:43 am	SHABE YALDA - winter solstice!!!!!!!! boah - what a day!! full of events... we had been invited this eve and it was great!!!! first of all it's *shabe yalda* - the winter solstice!! a nice eve celebrated among the family, parents or grandparents are inviting all their kids and grandchildren or among your friends to pass the longest night of the year together; up from tomorrow it's up to the long light days again.. it's common to spend this night busy with all kind of fruits, specially water melon and pommegranates, dried fruits and nuts, sweets, cake and biscuits and so on... they took me with them to another b-day... wow - iranians are always ready to make party........ :-))))))))))
ipuenktchen Posted Dec 23, 2010, 9:06 am	downtown in the dark... yesterday eve we had a bus ride downtown!! shopping here & there.. and some sightseeing, too!! still nice weather - it was fun!! here you may see the park *bustane khagani* with the monument of poet khagani, buried in tabriz!
ipuenktchen Posted Dec 27, 2010, 12:58 pm	many event during the last days ;-) btw I didn't thought before I could be able to see a x-mas tree here!!?! really!!!!!!?!! but I saw it!!!!!!!! :-))))))))))))))))))) HENRIK meets HERBIE - ein tag in marand and yesterday we had a 1-day-trip to meet ipue's close friends in marand 7o km far from her 2nd home town!!! it was a long time we hadn't any trip on the road and I was happy to go by bus to north of tabriz!! we passed the ski area and there was ....snow - LESS than just powdered..... no snow anywhere - no skiing not yet.. everybody is hopefull for january and february - if not they will have huge water probs next summer!!!! we had a nice time with ipue's friend. and me, I had a great surprise when I met HERBIE in their yard!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :-0
ipuenktchen Posted Dec 31, 2010, 12:18 pm	♥ SILVESTER-gruesse...... ♥ allover the world ipue and me like to spread our best wishes for all our great postcrossing buddies as well as for our good old friends from DE, FI & IR and in other communities, and last but not least for ipue's kids and their wifes and granddaughter, her dear sis with her lovely husband as well as for her husband's family!!!!!!!!!! and meeee - I send a big KISS for my dear mom HUPPU68 :-)
ipuenktchen Posted Jan 2, 2011, 6:36 pm	today ipue went together with me, HENRIK, by bus downtown.. we had to buy new local postcards.. and what did she show me??? a traditional *winter-fastfood*  - pls have a look!!! people like it a lot and you can find it everywhere! it's very common in winter!!! - pic5 even we went also again to the BLUE MOSQUE, which is ipue's favorite place for buying cards!! as we had to wait for the guy who sells the cards we had a photo session in the mean-time ;-)))) the famous BLUE MOSQUE in tabriz is a beautiful sample of brick stone mosques!! built in 1465 and destroyed mostly in an earthquake in 1779, rebuilt in the seventies and working on the restauration of the painting inside until some years ago, it's again a breathtaking beautiful colourful building!! - pic4 when people are asking why the name of this old mosque is *blue mosque*, they must have a look at the southern part of the mosque, which was decorated with beautiful lapislazuli tiles!! - pic3 this design in blue mosque had been the *exam* for everybody in the courses of IR heritage in pottery design.. it is sooo difficult as ipue told me, and everybody who didn't got hopeless by trying to copy this design, had got a permament member of pottery friends association... *smile* - pic2 schaut mal genau hin - erinnert euch dieses motiv an irgendwas?? jau.... so isses.. die schwarzen zeiten in DE.. der typ hatte sich das zeichen nicht selber einfallenlassen, sondern es war schon abgekupfert - es findet sich an vielen stellen in der islamischen kunst! und es steht fuer die bedeutung der vier grundelemente ****FEUER, WASSER, LUFT & ERDE**** - pic1
ipuenktchen Posted Jan 4, 2011, 12:40 pm	hei, what a day... a quite cold and foggy weather, jippieh, I LIKE IT and feel home!!! and ipue brought me to another of my *life missions*!!! believe it!!!!!!! tabriz is an industrial city and there are loooots of sweets factories.. and also we have TWO of the most famous chocolate-factories of IR in tabriz!!! ***hei - stay tuned - this is an advertising for FREE all over the world!!*** :-))))) on of the most famous and best chocolate producers in IR is SHIRIN ASAL (means *sweet honey*!) from tabriz!! and they even have their own markets to sell their stuff!! oooh what a paradise I've seen, and I tried also their chocolate - ohhh yummmmmmi!!!!!!!!!!!!! I bought some chocolate for my next host, for my dear mum HUPPU68 and of course for POSSY & CROSSY!!  after we had a bus ride to the main postoffice and as usual we got the nice special stamp marks for all our cards.. but ipue keep them another ten 1o days until the *posttraffic* will be again normal and nothing will get lost...... :-)))))
ipuenktchen Posted Jan 6, 2011, 8:21 am	hi, everybody.. oh snow... a bit only but better than nothing.. I had a great feeling!! :-))))) we made some pics in the early morning!! and also we made a souvenir-pic with POSSY & CROSSY with the famous chocolates I brought for them the day before yesterday!!! they were so thrilled about!!!!!!!!! :-))))))))) and btw today it's a holiday for the armenian minority: their christmas!! yesterday had been their holy eve!! because they believed in the birth of jesus only when the three holy kings had seen him by their own eyes and told about to the world!!
ipuenktchen Posted Jan 16, 2011, 7:38 pm	will it be WINTER finally or not?????? for the forth and fifth time 2 - 3 cm snow... and no more.. and downtown rest a very bit on the trees and everywhere else dirty and wet..... :-((((( we had some shopping - successfull!!! :-))))) and you may have another glance in tabriz........ *smile* as well as I enjoy to do, as it isn't sure how long I'll stay in tabriz.. :-) I have to think about the name of this vehicle... GONGA in azeri.. this vehicle was going in rails straight from the city center to the railway station in western tabriz when my husband was a child, in the forties of last century! the monument was built by AHAD HOSSEINI perhaps 5 - 10 years ago... the 2nd pic was taken in el goly alley with a rest of snow on the dome of the mosque....
ipuenktchen Posted Jan 23, 2011, 9:47 am	BYE-BYE, TABRIZ - bye, bye, ipuenktchen!!!!!! ipue.. told me today, they got a ticket for me to go to TEHRAN on THU, the iranian weekend (THU/ FRI), and yashila_81 will pick me up to go together, from tehran by a straight flight to COLOGNE at FRI!! I'm sooooooooooooooo excited!!!!! and in the afternoon we'll have a GOODBYE-PARTY at home!!!! on TUE or WED I'll leave kuye ferdows to go to baghmisheh, the quarter where yashila_81 and lili_6789 are living, to be ready whenever yashila_81 has to leave........................... :-(((((((((((((((((((((( pls stay tuned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - they told me, today the goodbye-party and on TUE a final *day out* - I'm so thrilled!!! :-(((((((((((((((
ipuenktchen Posted Jan 23, 2011, 11:02 am	yesterday finnish postcrossers reached the milestone of 1.000.000 sent cards!!!! bravoooooooooooooooo!!! I'm soooo PROUD for my country!!! at POSTCROSSING had been just recently sent out all together worldwide 6.000.000 cards and our dear small FINLAND had a part of ONE MILLION!!!!!!!!!! www.postcrossing.com/blog One day when I'll be back home I'll ask my mom HUPPU68 to open a postcrossing account for me, too!! I like to be a postcrosser, too!!!! (and veeeery soon we'll have the 2nd million!!!!!! LOOOOOOOOOL)
ipuenktchen Posted Jan 26, 2011, 12:35 am	boah, what a fantastic day ahead!!!! after breakfast ipue and her hubby got ready to go out - they told me we would go to their garden at 25 km tehran road to show me real winter in IR!!!!?!?!? they met so many things in their car, I guessed we'll have a great day staying there a long time???!!?! first we went across the city (pic1+2) to pick up yashila_81 and lili_6789 from baghmisheh!! (pic3) juchuuu!! so I said good-bye to their home we passed the new bridge as well as the shahriyar monument! (pic 4) hossein shahriyar was the most famous contemporary poet of azerbaijan; the monument built also by ahad hosseini, you know him from the *horse-tramway* from some days ago! he made poems as well in azeri as in farsi! btw it was always interesting to see the traffic lights, showing how many seconds you have to stay when it got red - or how many seconds you may still go when it's the green light showing.. we took a photo today, but because of the sunlight not very well noticeable.. (pic5) after we took the road to gurigoel (pic6+7) the nice lake beside the garden, ipue showed you long time ago here in another season! arrived at the garden's door there had been some wild dogs, *waiting* for us (pic 8) - the garden was sooo beautiful with all the snow and sunshine (pic9+10+11) even we had our break with coffee & tea outside!! (pic12) as here was today a mourning day, the 40th day of the mourning time of emam hossein, who died as a martyr in olden times there are a lot of ppl who are taking a vow and prepare some lunch or baking bread or making a dessert or smth else for charity, and so we got a special kind of safron-rice-dessert, where the donor wrote even *ya hossein* by cinnamon!! it looks beautiful and the taste is marvellous!! (pic13) our meal was the iranian kind of makaroni, yummyyy, prepared like rice with steam, not only boiled in water. - we stood there the whole day and were back home at 8 PM. then the sad moment arrived.... ipuenktchen gave me the three packages (pic14), metting each of it in a bag, to bring with me as a souvenir, and finally we said good-bye, kissed each other, wishing all the best for our future - aaaaaaaaand I jumped in one of the bag (pic15) and ipue took the last photo of me.... and yashila_81 took me with him. :-((( BYE-BYE TABRIZ!!! (he has to go on THU by plane to tehran and on FRI by plane to frankfurt... and from FFM by train to cologne :-0 for a business trip and take me with him, ipue told me!! wow, I'll enter EUROPE again.. not that far from my mom!!!!!!!!!!!!) thank you, dear ipue - it was so nice with you and your family - I appreciated to much to have a glance at your amazing country!!! - and now I'm really curious - WHO WILL BE MY NEXT HOST!!!!!!!!!!!!!?!?!?!????
ipuenktchen Posted Jan 28, 2011, 12:31 pm	latest news... I understood from the noise around me we arrived at an airport.. but it's still dark allover where as I'm in my bag in the suit-case.. I had to be more patient.................
ipuenktchen Posted Jan 29, 2011, 8:31 pm	it's me again.. it's no more that dark and I'm into a tote-bag or smth like that... from the airport we had gone by train, I understood from the noise again.. (remember I was still in the suitcase!!) entering a hotel, as I heard when they got their keys...... and later I heard yashila_81 speaking by phone to somebody who it seems would come to pick me up from the hotel the next morning!!!?!?! she arrived and yy gave the bag to her and we went - I think - to her home............ I'm sooooooo curious what will happen nexxxxxxxxt!!!!!!!?!?!?!
ipuenktchen Posted Feb 2, 2011, 9:16 pm	oiiiiiiiyoooooiiiiiiyoooiiiyooooiiiiiiiiiiiiiyyyy... you cannot image what happened to me today!!!!!??!?!!??! when she picked me up from the tote bag and met me in a box at the post-office she told me she's SonjaB from cologne!!!?!!!! it was a short meetup, because there was a long queue in the postoffice and she had to hurry up.. closing the box - and after a few moments, I got REALLY grossed out - in the first second I thought there was an earthquake.... as my box got a batchhhh.... later I realized it was the postman who met a stamp mark on the box.... yeaaaaaaaaah..... and he kicked me in a basket... uffffffffffff - how much pain I had... :-(((((((((( I hope instantly I'll reach the home of my new host safely and can suffer asap...
BlackCat Posted Feb 2, 2011, 9:48 pm	Hello everybody, I arrived in Essen today. Fabi has made pictures already, but not on the computer until now. I will show you my photos as soon as possible ! I hope I will have a great time here. Will show you photos and such ^^. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Feb 7, 2011, 8:38 pm	So ! I didn't arrive alone today. There was Miss Lilith in an envelope next to me. So we both arrived here today ! And I made photos of that moment. Me in the bag I was travelling in. And there we are ! Miss Lillith and me. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Feb 7, 2011, 9:01 pm	Hey =)! Today we went on a long walk. We drove to Kettwig (a part of Essen) and walked in the fields. It was a nice view from there. I really liked it. We had a goal to reach which was a farm, but on our way there we found cows. Scottish cows. They are so cute, aren’t they? And then we arrived at the ostrich farm. Wow. We even saw some ostrich. That was fun. I really liked this walk and I hope we will have more like this soon. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Feb 7, 2011, 9:07 pm	Hey mum, Today BlackCat decided to show us a castle ruin which is actually just a ruin of a castle tower. It is called Kattenturm. Right behind the Kattenturm is the river Ruhr. So BlackCat showed us the Ruhr as well. I wish it was warm enough to swim, but it isn’t. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Feb 7, 2011, 9:22 pm	Hey! Here I am again. Today we made a walk in a part of Essen called Burgaltendorf. It is a really nice part of Essen with a castle ruin and an old church. We made a lot photos and I will show you now. We got out of the bus in front of the church. It is a really old church and looks so wonderful. At least I think it looks wonderful. From the church you had a nice view over a field. Burgaltendorf has an own fire station. It is just a volunteer fire station which means they are not there all day long. They are coming when there is a fire alarm. But it looks like nearly all the fire stations in Germany, so I made a photo for you. Right next to the fire station is a painting on a wall. I thought it looks nice, so I made photos there as well. I hope you like it, too. And then we finally arrived at the castle ruin. It is just the ruin of an old living tower, but it is the only castle ruin in Essen which looks a little like a castle. The other ones are more destroyed. Do you remember the Kattenturm? It is a castle ruin as well, but not in such a good condition. Maybe we will go to another castle as long as I am here. BlackCat doesn’t come there alone, so she needs to ask her boyfriend to drive there. And now, the photos. It was a long walk and we were so tired when we came home. Hope you like the photos. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Feb 7, 2011, 9:39 pm	Hey. Today we were in the city. BlackCat bought a lot of books in a book shop which is just opened in winter and so cheap. She bought more than 10 books for less than 20 Euros. This is really cheap. But we made no photos there. We went to the other side of the main station to see the pitmen statue. The pitmen statue is there as the history of Essen has a lot to do with coal mines and pitmen. In the second world war Essen was the city for getting coal for the trains and such. Essen had a big coal industry. They even had a coking plant. Maybe you heard of the World heritage site Zollverein? It was a coal mine complex with an own coking plant and such. Maybe we will visit it while I am here. Not sure if we will find time and good weather for that. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Feb 7, 2011, 9:45 pm	Today we welcomed Bombus here in BlackCats house. He came from America to us. So we welcomed him really warm and we hope we will have a lot of fun together.
BlackCat Posted Feb 13, 2011, 2:01 am	Hey, Today we had to wash the car as it was so dirty from the outside. So we drove in a car wash and Fabi made a lot photos with us. But see yourself. There you can see the prices. Not the one, we took. It was on another sign. We should close the windows and the roof, it says. Window is wet... Do you see the guy? He is cleaning the car with water. And it goes on... And then we are in the automatic area already. No persons here anymore. Just machines. And we are out again. And still alive. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Feb 13, 2011, 2:07 am	Hey, today we had a long walk in a living area not far from where Fabi lives. We went there as she wanted to show us the water towers there. But around the water towers are fields, so Fabi decided that she wants to show us the fields as well. It was a little like a holiday there. Really relaxing. What a nice walk. But see yourself: Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Feb 13, 2011, 2:09 am	Hey, Today we made a small walk at the river Ruhr again. It was close to the boarder of another city called Mülheim, but we didn’t walk there. Fabi just showed us this little place and all the other time we were sitting in her bag. It was a nice walk and we really liked it. What do you think of the photos? Hope you like them. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 8, 2011, 6:05 am	Hello =), Today we joined Fabi while working in the youth centre. The photo location was not the best, as we had to stay in the bag. The children who were there today aren’t the nicest one, so we were afraid to get stolen or been thrown around. So Fabi just made some pictures of us cuddling in the bag. We wanted to dance to the disco music, but we weren’t able to do a single move, as the bag was so small. But it was fun to listen to the music while cuddling. Here are the pictures for you: Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 8, 2011, 6:38 am	Hey, Today we drove to Hattingen Blankenstein. Blankenstein was a little town a long time ago and is now a part of Hattingen. We went there because Fabi wanted to show us the castle which is there. First we saw the church in Blankenstein. It looks really old. And then we saw the castle. It is really old and big. We liked it a lot. Fabi said, that she wanted to go inside, but there is restaurant and there was a big celebration on that day, so she didn’t want to disturb the people there. I really hope you like the photos. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 8, 2011, 6:59 am	Hello, Today we went to the coal mine complex Zollverein which is an UNESCO WHS. We had a lot of fun while jumping around on an old wheel. Can you see me? No? Here I am! There was a miniature complex as a card. So you were able to see where you are and where you want to go. We made a picture with the tower of coal mine Zollverein. And as we wanted to see the real tower as well, we went there. That was a lot of fun. I really liked it there. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 8, 2011, 7:17 am	Hey, it was such a nice weather today, that we decided to drive to Witten and have a walk at the Hohenstein. There is a memorial place called Berger-Denkmal. It was built as a memorial for Louis Constans Berger. He was one of the founders of Witten. Here you see the tower, which was built for Louis Constans Berger. You have a really great view over the Ruhr valley from there. Here the tower from the other side. We found an overview map of the view. And then we made a group picture. It was a nice day and I really enjoyed it. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 10, 2011, 3:03 pm	Hello ! Today we welcomed a new ToyVoyager here at Fabis home. His name is Droopy and I guess we will have a lot of fun together. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 10, 2011, 3:28 pm	Hey, today we welcomed Herlinde here. She is a really nice dragon. The photo is not so good, but Fabi promised to make better ones later. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 12:06 am	Today Fabi decided to have a walk with us in Herten. You know, she has the guest Herlinde and she is a dragon. So Fabi wanted to show us another dragon near her hometown Essen. We didn’t know what will be waiting there for us, so we were all excited to meet a dragon. And then we arrived. It was a bridge. A dragon bridge. Wow. Really amazing. What do you think? Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 12:22 am	Hey, Today we visited castle Hugenpoet. It is a hotel and a restaurant. Fabi wasn’t able to go inside, as there was a big private party, but we had a look at it from the outside. It was really cool. But have a look at the photos. It was a nice day and I hope we will visit a lot more nice places in the future. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 12:11 pm	Hey, today we met some famous persons. I was so excited. Fabi said we will go to Madame Tussauds and that there are a lot famous persons. We weren’t able to make much photos, as it was so crowded there, but we made two group pictures. Here we go. First we met Anne Frank. Her diary of the Second World War was published. Every child here in Germany reads it in school, normally. Did you read the book? Later Fabi said she will be a politician now. We were all excited and asked to join her. So she allowed us and we did. We had a speech with Angela Merkel, the chancellor of Germany. It was really great there. I really wish I could have seen more. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 30, 2011, 1:29 pm	Hey, This photo is from the Berlin cathedral. The Berlin Cathedral had never been a cathedral in the actual sense of that term since it has never been the seat of a bishop. Right from it you can see the “Alex”. The television tower of Berlin. That was a long walk and a long day was over then. We were all tired when we came back to the hotel. So we slept really fast. Love, Henrik
BlackCat Posted Mar 31, 2011, 5:01 pm	Hey, So this is the last update for our Berlin holidays. Fabi bought some souvenirs today which she wanted to share with you. You know in Berlin they have a Ritter Sport chocolate shop. Fabi was in there and got all crazy. She bought a 2kg “surprise” bag with a mix of chocolate inside. And now we want to share with you what was inside the 2kg bag. And no: She doesn’t keep it all for herself. Some of the chocolate will be send away to friends and others will be eaten by her brother or her boyfriend. So she won’t eat 2kg of chocolate all alone. So that was our Berlin holidays. I hope you like the pictures and enjoyed it as much as I did. Love, Henrik
Huppu68 Posted Jun 2, 2011, 10:02 pm	Hello everyone, I've had so much fun lately that I totally forgot to update my travelog, oops. Well, I'm back at home in Helsinki and I've been here for quite a long time already. I came here straight from the Postcrossing meeting of Köln. My mom's friend Kati (Kilona) brought me to Helsinki and I stayed at here place for a few days. When I finally arrived at home I noticed that here were many TVs at our place and I was busy getting to know all of them. Here you can see a few new pictures of me with my friends... Have a nice day
kcrawfish Posted Jul 13, 2011, 11:38 pm	Yes, I made it!  I heard only a few giggles and whispering for a couple of days.  I think everyone was excited that Miss Kate received mail before she even arrived.  But today I have met her and the other toyvoys, and I can't wait to have an adventure!  Thank you for letting me travel some more, Mom, and Miss Kate thanks you for the treats. Love, Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 14, 2011, 12:54 am	Hey Mom!  Hello everyone! It was time to see the log cabin ... from the outside ... and walk down to the beach and Lake Superior.  It's beautiful.  And I think we're all getting along swimmingly.  Miss Kate's mom recognized me from my photos in Iran and treated me like a celebrity.  Love, Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 20, 2011, 6:24 am	We went to town today and found a map to help us orient ourselves.  Miss Kate marked it up to show you where we are staying.
kcrawfish Posted Jul 21, 2011, 5:44 am	Miss Kate told us about a legend of a secret place where an old Chippewa Indian – they’re also called Ojibwe – built a small village.  Maybe for wood elves.  Maybe for spirits.  Years later he was gone and one family for generations has continued to add to the Hidden Village.  She said it's hard to find, but we will try ...
kcrawfish Posted Jul 21, 2011, 12:45 pm	I was so excited today was our day to find the hidden village.  We drove on a narrow dirt road and had to drive back and forth to find the start of the hidden path.  We weren’t sure we had the right place until we were pretty far into the forest from the road.  Then it was clearly a path.  It was starting to rain, but we didn’t feel anything, only the sound of water drops on the birch leaves far above us.  We walked through a cloud of mosquitoes but were intent on our goal. Then suddenly … deep in the forest … a sign. The first buildings I almost didn’t see.  They looked like mossy rocks. A few more turns of the path and there it was!  The village center! Mom, I think this was City Hall, don’t you?  It looks like an important place, maybe a monument.  I sat on its steps very very gently. Off the main path, there were many hidden buildings under leaves and branches.  Most had no dates.  Perhaps these were built by the Ojibwe man. Here you can see who built this, what it is and when.  This farm is more than 30 years old. Finally, we all posed together on one of two bridges.  You can see we all enjoyed the hidden village.  I hope you did, too!  Love, Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 22, 2011, 6:18 am	Hi Mom!  Today we went on the ferry to the mainland.  It was a nice day, but a little bit of a cold wind.  Miss Kate made sure we didn’t blow anywhere.  After our errands, Miss Kate gave in and took us to the Northern Great Lakes Visitor Center.  Do you like this wolf?  It was a little scary, but it was already in wolf heaven and not dangerous.  I rather like this moose banner.  I’ll see if I can find it in the gift shop.          Great views of the North Woods from the observation tower.  Wait, is that Finland over there??  There were a few informational computers in the center.  We could’ve looked at the snowmobile trails (?!) but chose instead to see the other Apostle Island around Madeline Island.  We also saw a 3-D model of Lake Superior.  We pushed the button for Native American communities and they all lit up.  Very cool.  It was time to go, but on the way out we met this very nice ranger.  We drove all the way back to Bayfield and got in line for the ferry back to the Island. Oh, and a quick stop at the island library! Miss you!  Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 22, 2011, 2:54 pm	Miss Kate’s friend found this amazing rock on the beach.  He did some research at the little library and found out it’s a volcanic bomb.  This is all very old rock around here, some of the first volcanoes were here, and this was spat out of one of them.  Or so I’m told!    We were all very inspired to find our own rocks in the lake and on the beach.  I hope you like what we found.  Too bad we can’t take them home with us!  The best souvenir ever!  But a bit weighty!
kcrawfish Posted Jul 23, 2011, 12:28 am	Miss Kate introduced us to her Aunt Sal’s toys, Gecco and Anonymouse.  They are friendly and cute even if a bit weathered … not unlike the cabin where they live.    Then Aunt Sal let us look at her ABC book.  It is in all the stores on the island and in Bayfield.  I felt like she’s a celebrity, so I asked her for her autograph.    H is for Henrik, of course, but I can’t see a single moose.  Oh, wait, I’ll check under M.  Silly me.  But I do like the horse and hammock.  After all that reading, it was time to do some writing … check your mail box!  Do you see the post card of Big Bay lagoon?  We’re hoping to go there before we leave!  Fingers crossed!  er Hoof toes crossed! Love, Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 23, 2011, 3:14 pm	Hi everyone! I am so glad to report that a little time was made for us to go with Miss Kate and her two aunts to Big Bay Town Park.  Do you remember the card with the lagoon?  Well, first we saw the lagoon and then we saw the bridge.  We walked far into the park.  I was very enthused about seeing other moose.  And Shir Khan guarded the flank.  There were mushrooms that looked like trees and trees that looked like swings.  Bye Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 23, 2011, 10:57 pm	Hello readers I feel very special today because Miss Kate took me, Henrik, her only Scandinavian guest, to the mainland to do some window-shopping but especially to visit her favorite Scandinavian shop.  I especially liked this mug.  I am feeling very proud to be a Finn.    I am feeling pretty proud to be an adorable moose, too.  Later we visited a charity shop, and guess who stood out?  I think a new toyvoy has joined the family!  … Okay, a long day … time to go home to the cabin …  Bye, Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 23, 2011, 11:22 pm	plotting map
kcrawfish Posted Jul 23, 2011, 11:30 pm	Hi Mom and friends, I am sorry to say that this is our last night on the Island.  We had a delicious dinner, and we were tucked in for the night. It has been a lovely trip.    My next update will be from sunny and warm California.  Love, Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 26, 2011, 1:07 am	Cheerio's mom gave Miss Kate this book for all of us to read.  We learned a lot about lakes and about Wisconsin.  Like how to make a cast of moose tracks.  I especially liked that one.
kcrawfish Posted Jul 26, 2011, 7:48 am	I'm in California!  Well, I've been here for a week.  We had much too much adventure missing our connection in Denver, and we've been taking a rest.  During our little respite, we found a painting in Miss Kate's postcrossing collection: Do you recognize it?  (Hint: there's no row boat in this picture.) Shir Khan and Pipps are packing.  I'm going to miss them.    But maybe I'll look for them on a trail!  Love, Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 29, 2011, 5:39 am	Cheerio was really excited today.  I was, too.  We were going to San Francisco, Cheerio's hometown!    And we were going there to meet someone very special.      We were zipping along .... At Fort Mason!  It was a beautiful cool/warm, foggy/sunny day.  Cheerio told us that's as good as it gets in San Francisco.    Here was Greens!  And here was LittleCableCars waiting patiently for us!  It was so good to meet Cheerio's mom and Robby the seal. I was hungry.  I liked what we ate.  The grilled peach, the potato pesto pizza and the eggplant focaccia sandwich ... all so yummy. I hope fam-united will see our group photos here.  Can you see the Golden Gate Bridge?  Yeah, a little too much fog.  Robby, Cheerio, Ranil and I decided the toyvoy site needs more meetups!  Where's next?  Chile?  Finland?    Love, Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Jul 29, 2011, 6:27 am	Hi everyone, We said goodbye to Shir Khan and Pipps today.  I hope to see them in Finland some day.  ~Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Aug 4, 2011, 6:59 am	Rumor has it Cheerio, Ranil and I might be seeing the ocean tomorrow!    But I am not just packing for the weekend ... I'm packing forever!  This may be my last goodbye to Sacramento, as someone is waiting for me on the European Trail.  Sad and happy.  I'll miss Zarafeh, Peach the Pooch, Lola, Cheerio, Ranil and Miss Kate very much.
kcrawfish Posted Aug 5, 2011, 5:24 am	We DID go to the ocean!  On our way, we stopped at Duncan Mills to do a little shopping.  First to the new old general store and then to Pig's Alley to do window shopping.  There were framed photos of outhouses.  Unusual American custom.  Well, it was a lot of driving, but it was a beautiful day as you can see!
kcrawfish Posted Aug 5, 2011, 5:52 am	Look, Ma!  It's the Pacific Ocean!
kcrawfish Posted Aug 5, 2011, 6:11 am	plotting map
kcrawfish Posted Aug 5, 2011, 6:15 am	plotting map!
kcrawfish Posted Aug 6, 2011, 8:36 am	Hey there! We took a refreshing stroll near the ocean today.  Wish you were here, Mom.    We saw a nice bumble bee. We also saw two deer.  Do you like them, Mom?  Pretty nice, huh?  Wait ... you can't see them??  Oh, well, maybe because Miss Kate took a photograph of just ONE LEFT EAR of a deer.    Oh, well!  Loving it here but dreaming of the trail! Henrik
kcrawfish Posted Aug 8, 2011, 2:48 am	We visited The Sea Ranch Chapel.  It's very unusual.  And quite serene.  I hope you enjoy the photographs.
kcrawfish Posted Aug 8, 2011, 10:50 pm	Hi Mom!  I'm sending some of my souvenirs to you, and I'm on my way to join the trail.  Miss Kate packed some salt water taffy so that I'd have a snack in my travelope.  It was sad to say goodbye to Aslan, Peach the Pooch, Cherry Lola, Ranil and Cheerio, but I'm excited about visiting Germany again.  I had such a good time there before with BlackCat, and Miss Kate says olgamaus is a great hostess, too.  I miss Miss Kate already!  I miss you, too, Mommy!  I'll write soon! Love, Henrik
olgamaus Posted Aug 14, 2011, 12:56 pm	Hi Mummy, after a rather short trip I arrived in Remscheid, Germany, today. There were even some delicious salt water taffys left for my new host Katja Here I also met some ToyVoyagers. They are Ellie Muh, Jango, April, Baby_Pom_Fimble , Twix and Claire Tamias . In the early evening we cooked strawberry jam. Katja bought strawberries and gelling sugar. A few empty jars were also ready. After washing the strawberries Jango and I helped to cut the strawberries into small pieces. Than the strawberries were mixed with the gelling sugar. A piece of vanilla bean was also added. We waited some minutes until the sugar was soaked with fruit juice. Than this mass had to boil for some minutes. The jam was filled into jars. They have  to cool down upside-down to generate a vacuum. This would be important to cure it for longer storage. In the end we had five jars of delicious strawberry jam Later I helped Katja to feed the pets. Three ferret ladies are living here, they had raw turkey intestines for dinner. Let's see what we will do tomorrow. Bye Hendrik
olgamaus Posted Aug 17, 2011, 7:51 pm	Hi Mummy, Katja showed me a little around the city when she went to work. Here you can see the street where I am living at the moment, lots of lovely old houses. The sun came out when we reached the shopping street. Later, at early evening, we took a walk in one of the outskirts of Remscheid. Soon we left the housing area and went into the forest. We went along grazing land. Here are living travellers! We saw a building site in the forest. Bye Henrik
olgamaus Posted Aug 21, 2011, 8:21 pm	Hi Mummy, finally summer is back - after a heavy thunderstorm on Thursday. We could not wait to go out for a walk. We started our trip in Hasten. Hasten is one of the oldest districts of the city. Because it was not affected by World War II too much, there are still lots of traditional old houses. You can often find half-timbered houses and houses which were covered with slate. They usually have green shutters and a green door. From here we had a great overview to the surroundings. We planned to take a walk in one of the valleys, Morsbachtal. Along the way we saw a lot of lovely houses. I met sheep There were more, of course, but only those two were interested to come a bit closer. We walked along some hamlets in the valley. Someone restored a tiny halb-timbered house and kept the orginally chimney which must be hundreds of years old. Here you can see an historic factory building with a basin in front of it. To get home we had to walk uphill for hours, at least it felt like it hours. We saw several hot-air balloons - can you the one on the next photo? It was nearly done - we reached the municipal park. From here it was only a short walk to our home. Bye Henrik
olgamaus Posted Aug 21, 2011, 8:38 pm	Hi Mummy, today we went to the house of Katja's sister-in-law. She is on vacation with her family. It is Katja's job to care for the garden, the flowers inside the house and for their pet - a tortoise. Here is the tortoise. Its name was originally "Hannibal" until their owners found out that it is a girl I must admit that I don't know its female name, we simply called it "Schildi" ( a short form for the German word Schildkröte). We let Schildi take a walk in the garden. I had a look at the flowers than. After finishing the garden work we sat down for a while, Katja brought her knitting stuff with her. Bye Henrik
olgamaus Posted Sep 4, 2011, 8:30 am	Hi Mummy, today we took an exciting walk along the "Route of Tools", a closed railways track for freight trains which was built to a lane for pedestrians and cyclists. It is about 5 km long, following the former railway track from the main station in the city centre to the district Hasten. It leads you through business areas as well as to dilapidated factory buildings and also along housing areas. We started our trip at the nearest point from home. Here you can see several signs, showing the coat of arms of Remscheid and also some with the company logos of the sponsoring companies. The building of this route was sponsored by local companies, mostly tool producing companies. At some places along the route you can find such information signs. Looks like hard work We found those patterns on the ground. They were stamped with wrenches. We walked along a housing area, no more hard work in sight. There are distance data painted to the ground. 3 km to walk from there to the main station. Dwellings and company buildings are close together. Do you know those berries? It's common sea-buckthorn. Katja told me that the berries are extremely sour, but also extremely healthy. We rested on this bench for a while. It was built from a giant screw clamp. From here you are having a great overlook across the valley of the Morsbach creek to the outskirts of the neighbour city Wuppertal. We left the Route of Tools here and went to the post office, than we walked home. Bye Henrik
olgamaus Posted Sep 4, 2011, 9:03 am	Hi Mummy, today we went to the neighbour city Solingen to take a walk and later having dinner in a restaurant. We started our walk at the "Corkscrew Route" (Korkenziehertrasse). This is also a former railway track which was built to a lane like the Rote of Tools here in Remscheid. It is called "Korkenziehertrasse" because it is meandering through the city like a corkscrew. The freight depots were here, now the buildings are used by artists, you can also find bars and cafés here. The route is following the nowadays used railway track here in the city centre. We found lots of graffiti along the route. We returned to our starting point to have dinner. Katja's daughter is working in this restaurant as a cook. In summer the beer garden is opened and there is a fantastic barbeque with lots of salads, potatoes and so on. Cheers! Bye Henrik
olgamaus Posted Sep 12, 2011, 7:20 pm	Hi Mummy, today we helped our host to paint the kitchen walls. Katja bought wall paint yesterday. Everyone but me was wearing a paper hat - my hat did not fit. Three walls were painted in a colour which was called "Linen", the fourth one was painted in a dark red. Tomorrow all the shelfs will be screwed on again. Bye Henrik
olgamaus Posted Sep 18, 2011, 8:53 pm	Hi Mummy, everything is in its place in the kitchen, have a look: Bye Henrik
olgamaus Posted Sep 21, 2011, 2:49 pm	i Mummy, today we visited a medieval castle in the neighbour City Solingen, Schloss Burg, It is situated high upon a hill above the River Wupper. Bamboo showed me a photo of the castle yesterday: This is the view from the street. We went into the courtyard and found a lovely half-timbered part of the castle. Schloss Burg was built in 1133 by Count Adolf I von Berg on a hill above the river Wupper.That's why this region is called "Bergisches Land". Many people believe that it's name refers to the landscape with hills and valleys. (For those who do not speak German: The German word for mountain or hill is "Berg", so many people think that the name "Bergisches Land" means "land with many hills" ) About a hundred years later it was enlarged by Count Engelberg II von Berg. This is the guy on the horse in the courtyard. In Thirty Years War (17th century) large parts of the castle were destroyed. It was rebuilt then, but it was used for industrial purposes for many years. In the end of the 19th century they began to rebuild it as it appears today. In the castle courtyard you can find souvenir shops and shops whose owners are doing an "old" handcraft, for example handmade brushes, brooms, soap, lovely yarns and wooden knitting needles, toys like swords and helmets and much more. You can overlook the valley of the river Wupper from this high point. We walked into the forest than. From here you can see how high above the valley level we were. Later, when we walked through a hamlet called Höhrath we saw a sweet chestnut tree in one of the gardens. In Höhrathyou can find many livery stables. Bye for now Henrik
olgamaus Posted Sep 21, 2011, 2:53 pm	Hi Mummy, today it was time to say good-bye to Katja and my Toyvoyager friends. I am already on my way to my next host in Northern Germany. Bye Henrik
RikeH Posted Sep 25, 2011, 11:11 am	Hello Mum,  I arrived in Sülfeld – a friendly bunny called Dicker Kumpel gave me a warm welcome. Then he introduced me to his other guests. I showed my postcard and my sweet – and we talked a lot. Bye Henrik
RikeH Posted Sep 27, 2011, 8:43 pm	Hello Mum,  I visited the village of Sülfeld today. This is the church. We went inside. I love this church. On the other side of the street is the pharmacy. This is the old school of Sülfeld. Maybe Dicker Kumpel will learn things there, when he will be old enough. The mayor is working here and you can see the emblem of the village. The house has a nice old door. RikeH started a cruise contest - but there are not many entries at the moment. So we decided to make our own photos. Hopefully RikeH will love them. We built our boats and started on the table. Then Dicker Kumpel and I  jumped into the big lake with Nessie. Fortunately we didn’t sink. Love Henrik
RikeH Posted Oct 2, 2011, 9:16 am	Hello Mum,  I went to a town - called Bremerhaven. This was our first view of the city. We went through the city and found this funny monument. There was a beautiful church – and we had lovely sunny weather. In Bremerhaven is a museum for ships – and we saw a lot of them. And a submarine! I have no idea, who this is. First I thought about Dubai, when I saw this building, but I am still in Germany. In the evening we were in our hotel. Look, we have a nice view out of our room. Love Henrik
RikeH Posted Oct 3, 2011, 3:08 pm	Hello Mum,  We went into the Zoo today. There were many nice animals. Here you can see me with the penguins. We were able to see them swimming and watch it from ‘under the water’. I also visited a seal – this was fun! Bye Henrik
RikeH Posted Oct 3, 2011, 3:10 pm	Hi Mum, We went to the Coast today – and wanted to see some lighthouses. This was the first one – it is not a big one, but a nice one. There was no water next to the Coast, but Dicker Kumpel explained us, that this is normal here, because of the tides. There were fisher boats in the little harbor. In another little village we saw this strange lighthouse  - have you ever seen one like this? The water still was not near to us. On our way back we stopped at this beautiful windmill. Yours Henrik
RikeH Posted Oct 3, 2011, 3:13 pm	Hello Mum, Not much happened today, we drove home to Sülfeld and had only one stop in a town called Stade. There were many nice building, but I loved this old crane. Of course the houses were beautiful, too. What a funny monument. It was a nice long weekend. yours Henrik
RikeH Posted Oct 15, 2011, 8:24 pm	Hello Mum, we went to the Landesgartenschau Norderstedt, it is an exhibition with many flowers. These are the mascots  more flowers funny chicken and I loved this tree. Then we heart some music. I laughed about this funny mushroom. At the end we found some pumpkins - Halloween is coming. Bye Henrik
RikeH Posted Oct 16, 2011, 9:22 am	Hi Mum, Christmas will be soon...so we went to a place with Christmas Trees and searched a nice one for RikeH and Dicker Kumpel. We liked this one - but RikeH wanted another. She decided to take this one - can you see the difference? We put a sign with her name on the tree - and the tree will be here until Christmas. This is funny. On our way back to the car we found mushrooms. yours Henrik
RikeH Posted Oct 26, 2011, 7:39 pm	Hello Mum, This weekend was so exciting – we watched Television – and saw ToyVoyager there. It was amazing. Look – there was Murph – the best friend of Dicker Kumpel. And we found a photo of me, too. I am a star now! This is the winning photo: And we saw Dicker Kumpel in the German Television. Many greetings Henrik
RikeH Posted Oct 28, 2011, 10:01 pm	Hello Mum, Today we went to a nice city called Bad Oldesloe.  Here you see a funny monument. I loved this view of the water wheel. You can see - it is autumn here in Germany now. This is the church of Bad Oldesloe. There is a nice river in Bad Oldesloe. Some old houses. Here you see me in front of the town hall.   Bye Henrik
RikeH Posted Oct 31, 2011, 8:56 pm	Happy Halloween, Mum!
RikeH Posted Nov 12, 2011, 11:14 pm	Hello Mum, It is time to leave for me – I will travel to my next host. But first let me show two photos of RikeH’s birthday last week. Now it is time to say good-bye to Dicker Kumpel. I will miss him. The others gave me a big hug. Austria – I am coming! Bye Henrik
marcie08 Posted Nov 21, 2011, 8:43 pm	Hi Mom, today I have arrived in Vienna! Another toyvoyager was already waiting for me when I stepped out of my envelope: Creamsheep. We talked about my travel adventures and I showed Creamsheep a postcard from my last destination. Then we cooked dinner - a soup with potatoes and mushrooms. And of course I had a look around my hostmom's flat. She has a postcard-tree, isn't that funny? A "tree" where you can put your postcards on display.  And I met another funny guy: Elmo! So far my first impressions! Servus from Vienna!
marcie08 Posted Dec 1, 2011, 8:57 pm	Hi Mom! My hostmom took me with her to her hometown Graz. We went to a Christmas market. It is located on the Main Square, in front of the city hall.  There you can buy Christmas decorations and other homemade things and enjoy a glass of mulled wine! There was also a huge modern advent wreath...and a caroussel Unfortunately is was a grey and dark day. Servus, Henrik
marcie08 Posted Dec 1, 2011, 9:12 pm	Hi Mom, how exciting! I am on my way to the Postcrossing meeting in Bielefeld. There we will write tons of postcards and meet other postcrossers! Today, I started early and went by airplaine to Hannover. There we boarded a train and finally arrived in Bielefeld around lunchtime. Wow, I am tired now! Bye!
marcie08 Posted Dec 1, 2011, 9:19 pm	Hi Mom! Here I am on the postcrossing meeting. I am signing so many cards...that is really incredible  And look: I met another toyvoyager who was hosted by a former hostmom of mine: dandelion. That was so cool at meet her again - she immediately regognized me  Yeah, I am unforgettable  There was also a lottery and we won a funny Australian postcard!
marcie08 Posted Dec 1, 2011, 9:29 pm	Hi Mom, today was our last day in Bielefeld. Before travelling back, we explored the surroundings of our hotel a bit. We went for a walk in a small forrest. Then it was time to go home again! Bye!
marcie08 Posted Dec 1, 2011, 9:38 pm	Hi Mom! Today we enjoyed a fire in my hostgrandma's garden. That was nice. We then had roasted chestnuts, they were so yummi!!!! We also had Sturm, a special young wine from Styria. Delicious day!
marcie08 Posted Dec 1, 2011, 9:44 pm	Hi Mom! It is so cold here... brrr... But there is this cool charity thing right now, where innocent smoothies wear little hats. So my hostmom decided to buy some smoothies with hats. We then chose a hat for us...and emptied the smoothie  And best of all: From every sold smoothie, innocent donates 30 cents to charity! Yeah!
marcie08 Posted Dec 8, 2011, 11:20 am	Hi Mom, I love wearing my new hat - it's keeping my antlers warm  and you really need that here in Vienna, as it's such a windy city! As it is December, everybody is counting down the days to Christmas Eve and most people have a little calender to help them counting. My hostmom has a calendar with chocolate hearts, one with Kinder Überraschung and finally, one with tea bags. And today was my turn to open the teabag And in this weather, there is always time for a cup of tea! Servus!
marcie08 Posted Dec 8, 2011, 11:28 am	Hi Mom! Today is a public holiday here in Austria, so we got to sleep in. We then decided to enjoy a nice breakfast. We boiled an egg and had some bread and paté. There was also a cute sheep keeping the egg warm. We haven't yet decided what today with the day, but we'll see  Servus!
marcie08 Posted Dec 19, 2011, 7:14 pm	Hi Mom, we have been to Graz again. Every year, they have a huge ice nativity scene in the city. It is made of huge blocks of ice and then the artists carve the figurines out of the ice. Unfortunately it was a bit warm, so you can see that the ice started to melt. Servus!
marcie08 Posted Dec 19, 2011, 7:24 pm	Hi Mom! Christmas is approaching really fast, so I think it is time to think about presents. My host mom has a Christmas party in her office soon, so she asked me to help her with wrapping the presents. So we bought small gift bags. My host mom bought little ceramic angels as presents. In each bag I put some chocolate truffels and a lucky pig that should bring the others luck in the new year! Because I helped, we had filled the gift bags in no time I would have loved to try a truffle or two, but unfortunately I was not allowed to eat any  I really hope that my host mom's colleagues will love the presents. Maybe they will send me a truffle when we tell them that I helped? Servus!
marcie08 Posted Dec 19, 2011, 7:29 pm	Hi Mom! The Christmas preparations continued today! It is really time to think of the Christmas meal! So we took some cookbooks and recipe books and had a look. But we still haven't decided on what to serve  Help!
marcie08 Posted Dec 27, 2011, 9:01 pm	Hi Mom! As my host mom had a few days off for Christmas, we went to her hometown Graz to celebrate Christmas there. Of course we also bought some presents and here you can see us wrapping them. We used different types of paper, we cut the paper, then put them on the presents, used some sticky tape and finally gave all the packages a nice bow Will we receive a present, too?  Servus!
marcie08 Posted Dec 27, 2011, 9:07 pm	Hi Mom! It's the day before Christmas Eve. So it is really time to decorate the tree now! We put on the lamps and then a lot of different decoration. Some have been made by my host dad when he was really small, like in kindergarten They are quite old now, I think... We also put the Nativity set on display. I can't wait for the Christkind to arrive! Servus!
marcie08 Posted Dec 27, 2011, 9:14 pm	HAPPY CHRISTMAS, Mom! Today, people in Austria celebrate Christmas. They usually exchange presents and have a Christmas meal. It varies from family to family. My host family had steamed fish with root vegetables, as a starter beef in aspic, and of course, cookies! I helped preparing the meal! We also received a huge gingerbread heart box, filled with small gingerbread hearts. Each of us was allowed to choose a gingerbread heart! Cute, isn't it? Servus!
marcie08 Posted Jan 8, 2012, 4:31 pm	Hi Mom! Today is New Year's Eve! We will toast the new year with Champagne  Can't wait for the clock to stike midnight! It's a tradition to exchange small gift for luck here on New Year's Eve, traditionally it's pigs, clover or ladybugs. You can see me with some of the lucky stuff we received this day! So Mom, HAPPY NEW YEAR to you! Soon, I am off to the UK! My next update will be from there! Bye bye Austria, hello UK!
miapearl Posted Jan 20, 2012, 11:12 am	Hi Mum, I've landed in Wales! Let me out of here! They were all very happy to see me, however, Mr Wilson and KalliHH are leaving tomorrow.
miapearl Posted Feb 9, 2012, 9:58 am	Today, we went to Garden Organic's Ryton Gardens near Coventry for a Potato Day. Look at all these spuds! There were so many different ones. Golden Wonder is a crisp brand perhaps taken from the name of the potato used to make them. It was a pleasant day so we walked around the gardens. Look at these sprouts! Ryton Gardens has many little gardens. This is a small garden. This is the biodynamic garden. The compost bin display. My host has "dalek" type bins plus a compost box at the allotment. This is the cook's garden. The pond in the children's garden has some ice. There's a little house, some wooden things to bong.
miapearl Posted Feb 24, 2012, 9:34 am	After leaving Ryton Gardens, we had time to stop off in Ironbridge at Enginuity, a hands-on science centre. Look what is inside a teddy. A Dyson washing machine. And some model ships. The ? are to be aimed at with a special remote to activate a commentary There's a bicycle powered thing. A crazy boiler! Wind Power. There are different numbers of sails to experiment in the wind. Tessellations. Can we put this back together? I think so... Yes we can! Another one! Done! Let's have a race in the Norgren Climbing Challenge! Neck and neck! I sneaked off on my own to look at the crane... And the water power dam. It is raining The water is coming through. It is quite a big exhibit. A fly wheel.
miapearl Posted Mar 4, 2012, 5:52 pm	There's no snow other parts of the UK have had significant snowfall but we've had none.
miapearl Posted Mar 4, 2012, 6:02 pm	Surely there must be some snow on the mountains... so we went out to check, to Llanberis. There it is.. Though there isn't as much as what fell at my host's mum's! Brr!
miapearl Posted Mar 7, 2012, 2:09 pm	We haven't been out recently, my host's family have been redecorating the house slowly. Anyway, this room was recently finished and is now a workshop and jigsaw area. We decided to help my host's son do The Periodic Table jigsaw puzzle he received for Christmas. We all dived in to have a look for more pieces to put in the puzzle. Captain Caramel found a piece to fit in.
miapearl Posted Mar 9, 2012, 8:47 pm	The postman came with a packet... I wonder who is inside. It is Squizzle My host is attempting a 3000 piece jigsaw of the Mappa Mundi. How long will it take if we help? Tomorrow, I am going home, yippee!
miapearl Posted Aug 1, 2012, 4:18 pm	Oops, it appears my host forgot to post an update saying that I was on my way home.
Huppu68 Posted Mar 5, 2015, 9:14 pm	Hello, I've been at home for a few years now and I've enjoyed this a lot. I love travelling though and it feels like it's time for me to have an adventure somewhere again. Is there anyone who would like to host me? Love, Henrik

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