Posted Mar 1, 2010, 9:18 am
First of all I need to fresh up my German...
then I left my home and...
I enter the envelope!
My journey has started!!! My dear host, I'm coming!
Posted Mar 11, 2010, 10:22 am
I arrived here in Austria safe and sound! There are already two other toyvoyagers here: HappyLeopard and Sandi Rose.
We had a nice coffee first - with Nespresso, what else?
- and told us about our home countries. Then my host mom showed me a map so I could see where I am right now!
She promised that we will soon go off exploring!
Ciao, Fiorillo!
Posted Mar 15, 2010, 2:02 pm
Today we went for a first short sightseeing tour! We planned to walk a little longer, but it was sooo stormy outside and really cold.
So I can just show you a few pictures from today!
The first shows me looking up at the Turk in Palais Saurau . There are different stories why there is a Turk up there, but they are all just made up. In fact, the Turks have never occupied Graz! You can read the stories when you follow the link above!
Then we went down the Sporgasse to the Glockenspielplatz (Carillon-square). Named after the Carillon, that plays there three times a day. But unfortunately we didn't hear the music!
We went home through the Stadtpark, a huge park in Graz. There we could see some spring flowers!
We really hope that spring comes soon so we can explore some more of Graz!
Ciao!
Posted Mar 21, 2010, 10:21 am
What a nice surprise! We got a card today from my host mom's own tv, Snuttig, and his host Mom Rike! They are on Amrum, an island in Germany, right now!
I think it was really lovely that he thought of us and sent us this postcard!
I guess he has a great time there. Maybe I'll visit there one time too?
Posted Mar 23, 2010, 8:15 pm
Today we went to explore the Schlossberg. That's a mountain in the city center of Graz! There are different ways up and down there: You can take one of the many walking paths up, or take the funicular railway! There is even an elevator inside of the mountain.
We chose to walk up. On the way up you can see many underground shelters - today just tunnels in the mountain.
When we reached the top (or almost the top) we could see the town's landmark, the clock tower. We walked around there and enjoyed the view over the city. You can see Graz and some of its surroundings.
In one of the pictures you can see a funny looking building which is blue with tubes on its roof: The Kunsthaus, a museum for art. It was built when Graz was Cultural Capital of Europe in 2003.
We also saw that theatre, the Kasematten, where you can enjoy concerts in the summer. Next to it is the Hackher Lion, named after a Major in the army who defended Graz against the French (and Napoleon) in 1809.
Then we took one of the many ways down to the city. We also crossed the track of the funicular railway. You can see one in the upper station.
That was a great day on the Schlossberg!
Posted Apr 3, 2010, 8:17 pm
We did some more sightseeing today! But we had to cut it short - when you look at the clouds, you know why
Today we went to the Kunsthaus. As you can see it is an unusual building. Look at the left part of the house: This part is quite old and it is the rest of the old house that was there before. This part is protected by law. But they were allowed to put the new part on top of it. The facade of the building is special, too. It has many lamps on it and so you can illuminate it and make different patterns on it. The building is a museum for contemporary art and photography ... and it is also called "the friendly alien".
We then crossed the bridge over the river Mur and had a look at the Franziskanerkirche (see the clouds there?). We went on a bit along the river and then to another bridge. We looked down in the river...and what did we find there? The Mur-island. It is an artificial island with a café on it. This island and the Kunsthaus have been built for the year 2003 when Graz was Cultural capital of Europe.
On the other side of the bridge we looked at yet another church: The Mariahilfer-Church.
And we also looked up at the Schlossberg! Last week we looked from the Schlossberg down to the city.
Then we quickly went home... the clouds predicted rain!
Posted Apr 3, 2010, 8:25 pm
What a surprise! The postman brought a small parcel today. My hostmom looked at the parcel and told us that another toyvoyager was inside! We were all sooooo curious about our new friend.
So we sat around and watched as our hostmom opened the parcel. And look, here is our new friend: Corporal Flapjack, Jr. or Flappy for his friends. I like his uniform-hat! I always wanted to see a real Mounty, so I'm very excited!
Posted Apr 4, 2010, 10:51 am
We are celebrating easter here with our host mom! First we decorated the house with bunnies and eggs!
Then we had a Osterjause, which is kind of an easter lunch, but you just eat cold meat and sausages and of course eggs. Yummi!
We will visit all of my host mom's family, so more eating comes our way
And my host mom told me that we might also be visited by the Easter Bunny if we are lucky! That would be sooo great!
Posted Apr 10, 2010, 4:53 pm
Our host mom told us that the Easter Bunny has visited and that he left some surprises for us. So we went on the easter egg hunt. We searched everywhere. Behind the sofa, under it, in the flowers...and I found a basket behind the flowerpot! Look, such a big Easter Bunny...and made from chocolate... Mhh...chocolate
And we are about the same size!
Today we were invited to another Easter meal with my host mom's family! As we didn't want to visit without any presents, we helped make some cute Easter Bunnies! They are made from bee's wax. We cut them with a cookie cutter and then decorated them with colorful wax. What do you think? Aren't they cute?
That was a nice Easter! But now I have to relax after all that eating
Posted Apr 18, 2010, 10:36 am
Today is our host dad's birthday! So we got up early to wrap his presents! We helped cutting the paper, wrapping, using sticky tape... We also wrote a card for him!
When he woke up, we surprised him with a cake and happy birthday candles!
And then we all sang: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!
Now we are off to a family gathering! More pics to follow!
Posted Apr 24, 2010, 9:17 am
I promised you more pictures of my host dad's birthday! And here they come:
After he had opened his presents, we went to a cozy restaurant! They also sell pickled vegetables there and home-made jams and chutneys. There were their significant glass jars everywhere in the restaurant and in the shop! We really enjoyed our three courses. We also had a look at the shop and brought some specialities home with us!
In the afternoon, the rest of the family arrived for the birthday cake!
What a great day!
Posted Apr 27, 2010, 5:03 pm
There were presidential elections yesterday! We went with Mom when she went to the polling place! But we weren't allowed to take photos inside - because of the election secrecy!
So we took one with the old and again new president.
Today we looked at the results in the newspaper!
Posted May 3, 2010, 3:58 pm
A new toyvoyager arrived today: It's Dottie the mouse
She told us about her adventures and we talked about our itineries.
Then Mom said we had to prepare for the Football World Championship (as in soccer
) because it's just about 40 days until the Championship will start in South Africa. And there are special stickers that you can collect and put in an album. Our host-mom had bought such an album and some stickers and so we helped to put them in!
It was fun learning about the teams and the players!
Bye!
Posted May 9, 2010, 11:18 am
Here are the pictures from my short Vienna holiday!
We walked through Vienna's city center and visited the Stephansdom, the big cathedral! Mom told us that it is forever being renovated - when the first part is ready, they start the next, and so on...and when they are ready with the last part, they can re-start with the first!
Next to the chirch we saw the famous Fiaker, the horse coaches! You can rent a coach and take a tour through the city with it!
Near the Cathedral is a very modern building, the Haas-Haus. We walked on through the small streets of the Inner City, which is a UNESO WHS by the way.
Vienna is very famous for its coffee-culture and the many traditional Kaffeehäuser (=coffee shops). We walked by the Café Hawelka, which is a very old and traditional café with many famous guests (actors, artists, authors...).
Then we walked through the Kärntnerstraße and stopped in front of the Hotel Sacher - that's where the original Sacher cake comes from!
We then had of course a coffee and relaxed a bit in a café!
Posted May 15, 2010, 5:54 pm
We did some more sightseeing and started with the MQ today. That's short for MuseumsQuartier (museums quarter). That's a complex of museums, for example the Leopold Museum and the MUMOK. During the summer months you can sit on design couches in the MQ courtyard and relax, there are also concerts! We then left the MQ and went on to some older museums, the Kunsthistorisches Museum and the Naturhistorisches Museum. The Kunsthistorisches is home of artistic treasures collected by the Habsburgs, whereas the Naturhistorisches collects for example stones, minerals, dinosaurs, fossils... Both museums are opposite of each other in a park.
From there it's just a short walk to the Hofburg, where the former Emperors had their quarters. You can take a tour through the bedrooms of Sissi and Emperor Franz if you like and the Vienna Spanish Riding School is also in the Hofburg. Today, the President of Austria has his office here.
Wow, what a walk! Our feet are hurting now, so we decide to go to a café and relax!
Posted May 16, 2010, 11:40 am
Today we went to Schönbrunn. That's not just the name of the famous castle where the Habsburgs have lived, but also the name of this huge park. It is the park where Sisi used to ride and today it is a real treat for Vienna's inhabitants to go there and relax, other like to take a run. You have alleys with huge old trees and rows of boxtrees and other hedges, in the spring you see flower beds with tulips and now you have many blooming lilac trees there in many different colors! You can see a plan of the park here.
In the park you can also find the Palm House. And that was our first destination! The Palm House was built around 1880 and in those days it was a great experience to see tropic blooms or palm trees! The House has three different climatic zones: a cold one, a temperate zone and a tropic one! You can walk between them and in some parts it's like being in the jungle.
That was great! Some of the blooms were really fragrant!
Posted May 16, 2010, 3:53 pm
So here I am with my report of my day in Schönbrunn. After visiting the Palm House, we went on to the Vienna Zoo. It is the world's oldest zoo, founded in 1752.
Some of the old houses and parts of the old walls have been conservated, but today the shelters and areas for the animals are modernized. There are always some animal babies here, at the moment they have very small penguins, freshly hatched. The giant pandas have mated again, too, but we still don't know if there will be another baby panda! The Vienna zoo was in the news with the birth of the baby panda Fu Long, who returned to China at the age of three.
I completed my first life mission, because I saw some koalas!
We visited Giant pandas, hippos, elephants, penguins, bears, zebras...it's a beautiful zoo!
Later we went through the park and to it's other end, where the beautiful castle and the Gloriette are located! What a walk!
Posted May 21, 2010, 11:05 am
Of course we could not leave without having seen the Vienna Riesenrad, the Giant Wheel! Because the weather was not really great, as you can see on the picture, we did not drive with the wheel!
Then we left Austria for UNO-territory - yes you did read it right! We went to the UN city in Vienna and when you are inside of this city, you have left Austria and are on United Nations soil! We had to pass several security checks, have been x-rayed and were finally allowed to enter the Memorial Plaza, that's where all the flagposts are! Unfortunately we did not have much time to take pictures, so I just put the picture of the flags online! We were guided through the different building there: huge auditoriums, the IAEA and in the buildings you could also find lots of art and artifacts that were given to the UN from either the artists themselves or from the UN member countries. I'm so srry that we could not make any more pictures, but you can tale a virtual tour here.
After re-entering Austrian soil, we went back to the city center of Vienna and took a tram to the Vienna Central Cemetary. This is where you can visit the graves of famous Austrian musicians, artists, actors but also politicians. You can see us in front of the "Präsidentengruft" (the Presidential Vault), that's where all the former Austrian Presidents are buried.
That was an interesting tour as our host mom told us stories about the people lying there. So it was a history lesson, too!
We then went to meet our host dad and drove back home to Graz! We had a fantastic trip to Vienna!
Posted May 30, 2010, 4:58 pm
This week there will be another big celebration. My host grandma's birthday. We will celebrate it with the family in another city of Austria, Kottingbrunn. That's near Vienna! As the other family members will organize everything, we thought of buying them a present! So we went to a big flower market and had a look!
We then decided on buying a basket of strawberries! Mmmmhhh...I love strawberries! My host-mom also picked up some flowers for her own balcony: Look, aren't they beautiful?
And we also bought a special potato-pot: You can see that the inner pot has some holes, where you can harvest the potatoes. My host mom told me that she had potatoes on the balcony last year, and that they tasted really great! I have to wait and see, I guess!
Posted Jun 1, 2010, 1:53 pm
As I told you in my last update, we have travelled to Kottingbrunn, which is a small city in Lower Austria, near Vienna. We celebrated my host grandma's birthday here. We had brilliant weather and so we took a walk around the city!
We went to the Wasserschloss first where a dog exhibition was held. But they did not let me take part, as I am a little koala... So we decided to walk on and went to the huge park that surrounds the castle.
Later we walked along a river and came upon beautiful flowers in the cornfields. These are poppies, my host mom told me. Aren't they beautiful? But you are not supposed to pluck them, as they will loose all their patels when plucked! So we had to admire them in the fields! It is a really beautiful landscape here!
Ciao!
Posted Jun 6, 2010, 10:53 am
My host mom had visitors from the US here, distant relatives! So we decided to show them around!
We went to the Eggenberg Castle, a beautiful castle in Graz!
The castle is a Baroque castle and it was built with astronomical influences. There are for example 365 windows for the days of the year, 4 towers for the seasons of the year, and so on.
We also took a tour of the 24 (as in hours per day) State rooms, but we have no pictures of that! Not enough time because we had to follow our tour guide!
There is also the beautiful garden with free running peacocks! But they are nice, no worries! They just scream a lot
Bye!
Posted Jun 23, 2010, 6:17 pm
Today we were all watching tv the whole day long! We started in the morning with breakfast! And I can hear you asking "Why were you watching tv the whole day long?". Because there was a wedding between Swedens Crown Princess and her fiancé.
Wow, what a love story. I have to confess we all got a bit teary especially in the church and then later in the evening when the speeches followed!
And then they had a huuuuuuge cake! If I will ever marry, I want a cake as huge as that one
Posted Jun 25, 2010, 8:36 pm
We had fun in the kitchen today! We pickled small cucumbers! First we had to wash them and then make them a bath of hot salt water. You let the cucumbers cool in the water. Then you remove the water and heat vinegar with chopped onion, dill, pepper corns, mustard seeds. While the vinegar is cooking, you put the cucumbers in glass jars and add mustard seeds, dill, onion and pepper corns. The last step is filling the jars with the hot vinegar.
You can see all these steps on the pictures! And the final one shows me sitting on the glass jars
Posted Jul 13, 2010, 10:08 am
It was so hot lately here that we didn't do much - except drinking tons of water
And of course we ate just light snacks and so we were really happy to have Sushi one day! You can see me trying different sorts of Sushi and there was also Soy-Sauce. That was a great meal!
Posted Jul 19, 2010, 8:21 am
Yesterday was the big Finale of the FIFA World Cup and so we toyvoyagers got ready. First, we had to decide which team we wanted to support. We did a poll and then decided to cheer for Holland. Hupp, Holland, Hupp!
So we took a Dutch flag and had some Dutch beer. Can you see the blanket we sat on? It has the World Cup mascot Zakumi on it!
You may also think: Who is this funny orange friend? I don't know him... That is Beesie, a friendly Dutch supporter! My host mom got it from a Dutch friend! Those little friends were given away at a Dutch supermarket - Beesie is cute and it was a lot of fun with her!
As you know, the evening did not end good for Holland
The next day, we looked at a poster of the winning team!
Mom, I really liked the World Cup, but I'm happy that I don't have to listen to vuvuzelas any more
Posted Aug 4, 2010, 11:29 am
I'm so excited! My host mom told me that I'm off to new adventures!
It was hard to say Goodbye to my new friends! I will miss them for sure!
So, it's time for boarding now!
Bye!!!
Posted Aug 4, 2010, 4:25 pm
I'm arrived at small city Changwon in South Korea safely!
Changwon is my new host Jin's hometown.
She lives in Seoul city for her university.
but she is currently staying her parents' house here during summer vacation.
She had an appointment with her friend to watch a movie.
So, we went to downtown together by bus!
Downtown street!
We stopped by a cafe called 'Kidari' to have a cup of coffee!
Short visit to 'E-Mart'.
Look those all pack of 'Kimchi'.
Jin said Koreans can't live without 'kimchi'.
It is the most important food in life of Korean people!
We arrived at cinema 'Lotte'.
It is toy-picking machine!
You should coined 500 Won (US 0.5$) to have 3 chances to picking up.
Jin said that she tried over 1000000000 times(
)
but she has never won the toy.
Movie is getting started! Silence!
The movie was quite great. We watched movie called 'Salt'.
Angelina Jolie was awesome there.
We are really expected the sequel to this movie!
Jin and I plan to go to Busan(Pusan) city tomorrow which is near Changwon city!
Busan is the 2nd largest city in South Korea.
I'm really excited with it!
Good night mom!
Fiorillo
Posted Aug 4, 2010, 6:21 pm
Today, Jin and I went to Busan city near Changwon city.
It takes about 30 minutes to get there by bus.
Busan is the second largest city of Korea.
Jin said people called Busan as 2nd capital city.
It is famous for beautiful beaches and sea shores.
so we decided to visit 'Haewoondae beach'.
'Haewoondae beach' is the most popular beach in Korea.
Since it is summer peak season now, there were so ma~ny people!!!
People selling many goods for having fun in the sea!
many many beach parasols!
Yay~
We went to the small light house on the seashore!
Oh I can see - sea! (
)
The building behind me is 'Nurimaru APEC house'
It was built for the purpose of holding the 13th APEC summit meeting in 2005.
It is built in a style which is mordernized Korean traditional architecture.
We said goodbye with 'Hae woon dae'
tomorrow, we are going to go 'Yong gung temple'
I'm so excited with that!
Goodnight mom!
Fiorillo
Posted Aug 5, 2010, 1:47 pm
How's everything going?
Today, We went to 'Hae dong, Yong gung temple'.
We took a bus from Haewoondae beach. it takes 30 minute to arrive there.
'Yong gung temple' was built in 1376 by great Buddhist priest 'Hye geun' as known as 'Na ong hwa sang'.
'Yong gung' literally means 'a palace which is dragon lives in'.
It also means a palace of sea kings which is located under the sea.
The stone statue behind me said,
"At least one of your wishes will be answered here through your heartful prayer"
Let's go inside!
This staute is called as 'Deuk Nam Bul'.
People believed that if pregnant woman pets the belly of this statue, she will give a birth of a boy.
The statue behind me is Jijang Bosal (Ksitigarbha Bodhisattva).
He is here for relieving the suffering of the nether world.
He vowed not to become a Buddha until there are no more people suffering in hell.
He is usually bald, or has closely-cropped hair, and holds in one hand a staff or a sistrum, and in the other, a jewel.
This is the "wish-fulfilling gem," a magical jewel which grants all selfless requests.
A stone garden
Jin said, Korean people belive that pigs in gold color bring fortunes and money to their home.
so they have at least one piggy coin bank in gold color in home.
(Those Kids are eagerly wants their luck!
)
yeah~ We are in Yong gung temple! (dragon's palace)
Picture with 'Po dae hwa sang' who always carries a cane with a sack.
He gather and put people's agony, suffering and pain into that sack and give those people back with smile and happiness.
* BIG SMILE *
Here is the main building called 'Dae woong bo jeon'.
Inside of 'Dae woong bo jeon'.
People are bowing to the statue of Buddha.
Picture with miniature friends
This is the statue of 'Guan se um bosal' (Avalokitesvara Guan Yin) , the Goddess of Mercy.
Jin said, The meaning of her name is "Hearer of Cries".
She inclined her head slightly as if listening to the pleas of the suffering. She carries a vase and willow spray.
The vase contains amrita, the nectar of her compassion, or the waters of life.
The willow branch represents her ability and willingness to liberally sprinkle "sweet dew" on the afflicted.
The willow, which has long been considered to have medicinal value, also symbolizes her role as a healer.
Market street of Yong gung temple.
Jin bought a wooden bracelet as a souvenir.
Time to go home!
We took a bus to return the Jin's parents' house.
Good night mom!
Fiorillo