Posted Feb 16, 2011, 3:21 am
I am so excited about going somewhere, but I'm a little timid. Mom is arranging my travel plans.
Having fun!
~Aslan
Posted Feb 20, 2011, 4:47 am
Let's go to the post office on Tuesday, okay? 
Posted Feb 22, 2011, 8:27 pm
We all said goodbye to Bally today. I think he had fun with Mom going to the Ocean and to Reno. It was nice hearing the stories. Now it's time for ME to have stories. Peach the pooch, Gwennie and I played around a lot before I started packing --- we all came from the charity shop together. I also gave a big hug to Sierra. She's a kitty like me and one of my best friends already. I love her silly stripes, and she loves my silly belly. Then I packed a little gift for my host and some spending money for the trip. My travelope will get me to San Francisco very fast. Mommy tells me it's not far from Sacramento and that it's VERY nice. I am really looking forward to meeting Cheerio and Bowtie Bear. And, of course, my dear first host!
Love,
Aslan
Posted Feb 24, 2011, 6:11 pm
It was a nice short commute from mom’s house, no need to go to the airport, and I feel good that the plan is to return home between hosts. There was lots of mail today, postcards, magazine, catalog, advertizers, I’m in the puffy envelope. I met my host’s new ToyVoyager, Cheerio, who is getting ready to travel for the first time, and her less brave friend, Bowtie Bear, who prefers to stay at home for the foreseeable future; and then there is C.T. Mouse, not a Toy Voyager but he gets around a lot in his job as a detective, just like Sam Spade. At the end of the opening ceremony, C.T. loaned me an olympic pin from Los Angeles ’84 symbolizing my journey which is similar to the torch runs that go from one Olympic game site to the next. He also loaned me a vorpal sword in case I want to explore around in the wardrobe sometime.
Then I met my host, Jeanne, who tickled my belly, heh heh heh. She says I’m cuter in real life than on the internet [blush]. Mom, she says thanks for sending me with all those goodies: she has never seen a lion candy bar, and the chocolate money will take care of all my admission fees, transit passes and lots of TV chow. She has been to Sacramento but not very often because many months of the year it is too hot to travel there and beware the tule fog, what’s that, maybe the vorpal sword would cut through it. Guess what, she got word from her TV BarryO that he is in Sacramento today to visit the capitol; I can’t wait to see his travel log, he is such a political animal.
We said ciao to C.T. who got a call for his detective skills, he is a 24/7 kind of guy. The three of us then sat down and started reading a goodnight story, The Chronicles of Narnia; we each have our own copy to follow along. Then I fell asleep. I’m too big for a miniature bed like ToyVoyager DuDu slept in so my host put me up in an open drawer of the wardrobe. I asked her to leave the wardrobe door open in case I want to change my clothes during the night or um, explore with the vorpal sword. I feel so at-home here.
Aslan
Posted Feb 28, 2011, 2:17 am
Not much happening here, it rained a lot and got very cold. When the sun came out we went to the park; Cheerio had been outside once before and showed me how to do it. My host said it was too cold to pose for photos so we went to the coffee shop and then came home and warmed up on the cat’s heating pad. Here she is licking my mane; she does that when she claims a toy as her baby, she’s very maternal. Then she cleaned Cheerio’s wing; and left the warm spot to us.
See ya later,
Aslan
(See photos below)
Posted Mar 1, 2011, 4:22 am
That nondescript house in the background is where Jack Kerouac finalized the manuscript for “On the Road.” Yeah, the very words Truman Capote was talking about when he said, “that’s not writing, it’s typing.” heh heh heh Lots of history in that house but this is a family site. We ToyVoyagers are on the road, I’ll type a book too!
Then I roared at full volume in my crown, I’m king of the jungle. Actually we are geocaching in the park, looked for two caches, got two DNFs (did not finds). I climbed a tree to get a better look at a funky mural, gravity did a number on my mane. I completed the day posing in the same spot that Cheerio did a few days ago, it's all about tradition among ToyVoyagers.
Bye for now,
Aslan
Posted Mar 3, 2011, 5:03 am
Step into my office. I’m starting to work, I mean play, on one of my life missions: to send postcards or candy home from every country I visit. Anyway, mom taught me to stay in touch. I took a photograph and glued it to a freebee postcard, put it in an envelope and sent it home, used an iPod app to make a pix of me into a stamp.
I also sent a regular postcard because most people like to see the postcard without an envelope. After I finished preparing my two cards, I helped my host with 12 cards, so 14 cards total going out today, wow that’s lots of snail mail; so off we went to the mailbox and lunch.
Aslan
Posted Mar 5, 2011, 1:28 am
We went to an orchid show today. That’s me in the pot, in the best of show, phalaenopsis category, it’s the easiest one to grow, they stay in bloom for many months. There were hundreds and hundreds of colorful flowers. Then we got lunch from a vegan restaurant and took it outside to picnic tables; I tried some just to be polite and my host promised to toss me some raw meat tonight.
Bon appetit,
Aslan
(See more photos on March 3, 2011 post.)
Posted Mar 5, 2011, 5:56 am
I made my first post on the forum!!
Aslan
Posted Mar 8, 2011, 7:21 pm
We visited a community garden where there were very nice Spring flowers in bloom, including the state flower, the California golden poppy. The statue that is hugging me is St. Francis. My backside got wet from the dew but it was fun. I was sitting in a rosebush near that iris; who is going to pull the thorn out of my foot? Love that story, all about making friends, just as we do at ToyVoyagers.
http://www.storiestogrowby.com/stories/androcles_frame.html
May your day be full of beautiful blooms,
Aslan
Posted Mar 18, 2011, 2:17 am
), we are back to having fun.
Posted Mar 18, 2011, 7:38 pm
We went out to a museum on Tuesday; it was raining but not as torrentially as today. The lovebirds, Dudette and DuDu are in the second photo.
Posted Mar 24, 2011, 1:28 am
Little DuDutte said goodbye to us and left on her travels. It is still raining so I decided stay in and work on my book, just like Jack Kerauoc. I'll write about my adventures on the road and all about the coffee and apple pie a la mode I eat at roadside diners. :0
Smell the flowers and coffee along the way, Ciao,
Aslan
Posted Mar 27, 2011, 5:18 pm
Thanks mom, for letting me stay longer. I really do need the extra time to go to North Beach on a nice day to see the short street named after my hero, Kerouac. Looks like it will be sunny next week and we can get out and see the sights.
I’ve been spending a lot of time counseling DuDu. He really misses his girlfriend, DuDette but with a little help from his friends, he’s getting by. I’m the psychiatrist but I take the couch because, hey, I’m the lion here! He was very happy to see that the site is back and DuDette has posted a travelog. He’s glad she met some nice TVs and regular stuffed toys and none of them are eligible mice guys. Phew!
Photos to be posted later: Rain effects outside window with view of trees and street, and lion overflowing couch and ottoman with silly belly prominent, leaning toward small mouse on chair, listening intently.
Bye for now,
Aslan
Posted Apr 1, 2011, 1:15 am
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48799657@N06/5577793467/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48799657@N06/5578378794/in/photostream/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48799657@N06/5578406878/in/photostream/
Love to all,
Aslan
[Edit]: Okay, next time we'll try to learn how to embed photo's. Time for a nap before dinner.
See ya,
Aslan
Posted Apr 1, 2011, 9:02 pm
I was bummed out by too many rainy days and too much time with the woebegone DuDu, so it was extra special to set off in search of the elusive spirit of Jack Kerouac. Not to worry, dear DuDu is in the sunny care of Cheerio and I heard them giggling as we left the apartment.
Ah, at Kerouac’s alley and Columbus Avenue there is City Lights Bookstore. They will published my book after I finish typing it and then put it in the window next to “Howl.” My dream.
Hmm, that one sidewalk poem doesn’t have an author, maybe it is just an ad for the Vesuvius Bar at the end of the alley. Several cultures converge at this alley: Chinese, Mexican, and Italian among others; and there are some cool murals.
Enjoy the beach, Mom,
Your Dharma Bum,
Aslan
Posted Apr 3, 2011, 8:29 pm
I was getting fed up with DuDu’s obsession with his girlfriend being on the road, and literally brought out the violins to tell him to snap out of it when I got the bright idea to teach him to play some instruments. When (that is, if) DuDette returns, he will be ready to serenade her. He doesn’t have much talent but he is a good listener and we made a little progress. Our two new TV friends, Nicky and Flora, heard the music and joined us for a jam session; we played on all night and had so much fun. Nicky and Flora will be with us for a month before they are released into the wild via geocache.
Meanwhile we could get a gig at a coffeehouse in North Beach and Cheerio could do her comedy routine at the Purple Onion. My host and I walked past the Beat Museum today but we didn’t go in, next time we will, she promised. I am so happy; I was born eighty years too late but the vibes are still here.
And the beat goes on,
Aslan
Posted Apr 6, 2011, 7:49 am
Today was bittersweet, we saw Cheerio off at the Post Office, she is very happy to get started on her way. Then we spent a lot of time at the dentist, yuck! and then Flora wanted to smell the flowers so that was fun, then we had coffee and cannoli. I drank a lot of the coffee because I plan to pull an all-nighter typing my book. Um, a store window gave me an idea for a title, “Aslan, the Magnificent” could be dropped down to the sub-title, no, I think that would remain the main title.
When we got home there was a puffy envelope among the junk mail and magazines. It was BarryO! He is so happy, he said he had a wonderful time and he loves being a TV, he even completed one of his life missions.
Bye for now,
Aslan
Posted Apr 10, 2011, 3:22 pm
Yesterday, my host took me, Camilla and UrselHH to Aquatic Pier and The Beat Museum. DuDu stayed home because he was too tired to go out after spending the night on the internet looking at photos of his beloved DuDette.
In the background of the first photo is Alcatraz and the ship we explored. We stayed in North Beach a long time soaking up the Spirit of Jack Kerouac and I got inspiration to continue my typing. We watched a documentary and saw him reading from his books, wow, he had so much charisma. See you soon, mom,
Hugs,
Aslan
Posted Apr 13, 2011, 3:44 am
(By the way, DuDette checked my travelope for DuDu.
)
Well, that's all for now. I'm just waiting now for my next host. *hint, hint*
Love,
Aslan
Posted Apr 15, 2011, 8:53 pm
Posted Apr 24, 2011, 2:14 am
Posted Apr 24, 2011, 2:30 am
Posted Apr 24, 2011, 2:49 am
Posted Apr 24, 2011, 3:03 am
Posted Apr 24, 2011, 4:36 pm
Posted Apr 25, 2011, 10:26 pm
I want to show you a picture of me and the gang seeing off Crawfish. She's going on her first toyvoyage to Canada. She has been personally invited to a picnic. She didn't want to arrived empty-handed, so she brought some Peeps with her. Doesn't she look excited?
Love,
Aslan
P.S. The whole gang from the left is Sapphire, Wavy Gravy, Peach the Pooch, Vanilla, DuDette and Edelweiss.
Posted May 1, 2011, 6:46 am
I have had a bit of a dry spell writing-wise since my return from San Francisco. I feel travel may fix my writer's block. I was considering sitting with the artists, students and poodles on the left bank in the city of lights, but a very kind offer to stay gratis in Germany just arrived in the mail. It is too good to refuse! I will begin my preparations by reading up on Germany and listening to its national anthem. I am feeling inspired!
~Aslan
Posted May 3, 2011, 7:15 pm
Okay, Germany here I come!! More soon!!
~Aslan
Posted May 5, 2011, 3:13 pm
This is my second day at my new home, freed from a charity shop to travel the WORLD! I love to read, I love learning and I love sitting on the bank of the Seine imagining great things for future novels. Well, I think I will love all those things.
So we had fun reading and learning French.
We are looking at the Table of Contents to find the snow pictures for Hypno-dog. I don't know why snow is so interesting but ... I have a lot to learn about the world.
Flipping through we found the snow. Snow, ice and eskimos.
There are recipes and games, too.
Now it's time to draw and play. This magazine has color pencils taped to the front cover. I've never seen that!
This puzzle was too easy for us.
Now this puzzle is good and hard. What are the 6 differences between the two pictures. Even Miss Kate is scratching her head. She says the first reader who PMs her with the 6 differences will win a prize. Fun! So we get the answer, and someone gets a prize! Just send a PM to kcrawfish. {As of May 2011, the prize is still available!!}
I can't wait to see the world!
Aslan
Posted May 7, 2011, 8:54 pm
Posted May 7, 2011, 9:25 pm
Posted May 7, 2011, 10:23 pm
Posted May 13, 2011, 8:46 pm
Yesterday I arrived in Germany. I was so happy to jump out of my envelope!
A friendly bunny gave me a warm welcome. He is called Dicker Kumpel and he is my host here.
He introduced me to the other guests here. I showed my nice postcard and my Lion chocolate bar.
We all were hungry – so we ate it.
I just arrived in time for my first short trip. We went to the Landesgartenschau in Norderstedt. They show a lot of plants there. Here you can see me in the rhododendron.
There were many rhododendrons in different colors.
We made a stop and heard a choir singing.
Do you like these wonderful flowers?
I laughed about this funny person – maybe it is a straw man.
We went to a playground and found lovely sheep.
Here you can see all of us – can you find me?
Later we went to a farm –or something like this – there were many chicken.
There were many wonderful flowers.
Some were inside a building – I would love to send them to you, Mum!
Bye for now
Yours
Aslan
Posted May 15, 2011, 9:32 pm
It was time to party today. Dicker Kumpel’s best friend – Murph - came too. He is a blue alien – and came with his guest Ulrich. We talked a lot and had fun.
Later RikeH came and told us that it was time to have coffee and delicious cake. We went to the table – or maybe on the table.
Of course we had beautiful flowers for our host for this afternoon.
Then I had a delicious piece of cake. It was so yummy!
Guess what – it was time for presents then. Murph and Ulrich brought some for us.
We looked what was in the baskets.
There were really delicious sweets.
Then Murph and Ulrich got presents, too.
Look what they got.
We had a party all day long!
Bye
Aslan
Posted May 25, 2011, 11:17 pm
we made a nice trip this week-end. We went to Krakow in Poland. We walked in the old city and saw this nice gate.
I played in the miniature.
This is a Part of the old City Wall.
We will see more in the next days.
Bye
Aslan
Posted May 26, 2011, 10:27 am
We visited the Wawel Royal Castle today. It is situated on a hill next to the Vistuala River.
On the way to the Castle we passed this wonderful church.
You see a part of the Castle behind me.
We had a nice view over the River.
And when I turned I had this tower behind me.
Religion is important in Poland - and I saw the momument for the pope John Paul II.
There was a big cathedral on the hill.
When we walked down to the river, we saw this big dragon. He was horrible, but I am a brave lion - and I was not afraid!
Tomorrow we will make a boat trip, this will be fun, I hope.
Love
Aslan
Posted May 26, 2011, 7:57 pm
on Sunday we made our promised trip on a boat. It was so great.
Can you remember the Castle we saw yesterday? We will see it again.
But first you see me on the boat. I had a great place!
There was a big abbey next to the river.
Then we saw the Castle from the water - it was so nice and big!
It was a nice boat trip!
In the evening we made a walk on the Main Marketplace.
It looked great in the night!
Bye yours
Aslan
Posted May 28, 2011, 6:32 pm
today was our last day in Krakow. Yesterday we went over the Main Marketplace - but in the night.
Now we saw it during the day!
There are wonderful gardens around the city centre. I loved this bridge.
And this fountain was so nice!
On a big place we found this monument.
In the afternoon we had to fly back home. I had fun in the plane.
The view out of the window was amazing.
Love
Aslan
Posted Jun 4, 2011, 11:42 pm
We arrived in Canada and today I made my first trip here - to a point called Cape Spear. Behind me you can see the old Lighthouse.
We had a wonderful view from the place.
And there is the most easterly point of North America. This was amazing.
Then we drove to another nice place - it is the Ferryland Lighthouse.
On the way we saw the wonderful Coast.
We went to this lighthouse...
...and had this delicious picnic there.
I loved this place!
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jun 7, 2011, 11:57 pm
we drove to Harbour Grace - but we stopped in a little village - and took a photo of this nice church.
Then we arrived in Harbour Grace. Behind me you can see the the SS Kyle. The vessel was pruchased by the Earl Brothers Fisheries of Carbonear in 1960 and used in the seal trade until 1967 when an iceberg accident caused her to be moored in the Harbour Grace harbour. During a storm the SS Kyle broke its moorings and drifted to Riverhead where it has been standing ever since.
Amelia Earhart took flight from Harbour Grace on May 20, 1932, to become the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. The plane behind her monument is the "Spirit of Harbour Grace".
We had a closer look at the SS Kyle from here, too.
After looking at all these exciting things we drove to our next destination. We made a rest at this lovely place.
There were beautiful rocks in the sea behind me, but unfortunately they are really small on the picture. But they were wonderful when I saw them.
Some kilometers later we saw a moose next to the road. We all were so glad - and of course I wanted a photo with it.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jun 11, 2011, 2:23 pm
we were in Twillingate and went to a place called Long Point.
There is a nice coastline again.
We stopped at the lighthouse. There are many of them here in Newfoundland.
We drove back to Twillingate and found a nice place for this photo.
Then it was time for adventure. We were making a boat trip. There were no icebergs, but boat trips are always fun.
Look Mum, I were allowed to be the driver.
It was lovely to be on the water.
I searched for Whales, but we didn't find any.
The view was so nice!
We stopped near to some nice rock formations. Can you see the hole in the rock behind me?
We continued our trip and saw a little village from the seaside.
This was fun, Mum!
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jun 13, 2011, 12:19 am
we spent the day in the Gros Morne National Park. Here are many big mountains and wonderful bays. I liked it a lot!
First we stopped at a lookout and saw the Bonne Bay.
We drove further and stopped next to it.
The next stop was next to the Tablelands. They were really interesting and we made a walk there.
Next to the trail were these beautiful flowers.
Then we reached the end of the trail and saw this great valley with a nice river. Can you see that there is still snow on the top of the mountains?
I loved the river.
In a small town called Woody Point we saw this old house. I have no idea, why RikeH was not able to make a nicer photo - maybe because it was too windy?
After walking another trail we reached this wonderful waterfall. It was amazing!
We had a great day here in the National Park!
yours Aslan
Posted Jun 15, 2011, 1:24 am
RikeH packed our bags again - so we had time to play in front of the cottage.
I loved the slide.
It was a very big one!
Then I tried the swing.
But playing alone was boring - so we all tried to use the slide together.
The idea was not so good...
So RikeH came and told us to sit in the sunshine.
Later we were on the road again and stopped at this funny rock. It is called Arches and really nice.
The beach next to it was not really nice and sandy - and it was a little windy, so we decided to move on.
We spent this night in a lodge - next to it was this pond.
Tomorrow it is the birthday of Dicker Kumpel. We will sing a song for him - but he doesn't know it now!
many greetings
Aslan
Posted Jun 16, 2011, 1:38 am
as you know, it was Dicker Kumpel's birthday today.
We sang a wonderful song for him.
Then we gave him a big hug!
After the breakfast we drove to St. Anthony - it is in the North of Newfoundland.
Next to the street we found some snow - in June!
We made a boat trip - and saw this wonderful iceberg! This was amazing, Mum.
In the evening we had the birthday party! We had a lovely drink.
... and something nice to eat.
We were very tired for a moment.
But then we decided to become artists!
yours
Aslan
Posted Jun 17, 2011, 11:46 pm
today it was time for a museum. It was at the place where Vikings lived around 1000 years ago.
They had very funny houses.
I went inside - there was a wonderful fire.
Then I tried one of their boats.
On our way back to the car we found this monument.
Bye
yours
Aslan
Posted Jun 26, 2011, 8:13 pm
here is my last update from Canada. We had our last day in Canada.
In the evening our traveling group sat together in a big armchair. We met a new friend from Newfoundland. He is the funny puffin between us.
We had a small party – it was such a nice holiday!
Love
Aslan
Posted Jul 15, 2011, 4:54 pm
We are back in Germany for two weeks now, but nothing interesting happened. Today I decided to explore Sülfeld.
This is the centre of Sülfeld – not really interesting…
Behind me you can see the pharmacie – but don’t worry Mum, I am fine and need nothing there.
Then I saw the old church.
Luckily the door was open and I went inside.
It was time to see more - this is the old school.
I want to show you the emblem of Sülfeld.
Love
Aslan
Posted Jul 15, 2011, 5:19 pm
The weather is awful here in Germany – maybe you can find a place with better weather for me, please?
RikeH went to the Gartenschau again today. I thought it is better than nothing and went with her.
There was another choir this time – but you can see, there was a lot of rain.
We saw nice flowers again.
I love this color!
Then we went into the house with flowers. Dicker Kumpel’s grandma loves these flowers.
There were many other flowers – and the good thing was – no rain inside the house!
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jul 20, 2011, 9:12 pm
It was time for some sport - but we were lazy and only watched it.
We went to a tournament in Hamburg. This is the stadium.
Here I am with my friends on the seat.
They can close the roof, if it rains.
You can see the players behind me.
The game was interesting – maybe I should play tennis in some years, when I stop travelling.
Then we changed our seat and were nearer to the player.
Unfortunately you can see me better on the photo than the player.
Then I helped the man who took care of the line, when the players served.
I am sorry that you cannot see my face on most of the photos, but it was more interesting to watch the players, than to look into the camera of RikeH.
Love
Aslan
Posted Jul 30, 2011, 3:40 pm
It is time for me to come home. But before I jump into my envelope I wanted to visit Hamburg and see the Alster – a lake in the city center.
You can see the lake behind me. There is a nice fountain on it.
There were some busy people in a small boat. They cleaned the lake, because there were some bottles etc. in it.
We walked around the lake. These nice boats offer trips on the Alster.
I loved the next place. Behind me is the town hall of Hamburg. A nice building!
The other side of the river was beautiful, too.
At home it was time to say good-bye to Dicker Kumpel. He was such a great host – and we became friends. I would love to meet him again some days.
Then the others gave me a bug hug.
Now I am on my way home, Mum!
Bye
Aslan
Posted Aug 4, 2011, 4:00 pm
I am sorry I didn't go to Madeline Island, but it's nice to look at those photos, too. It made us think of my mom's granny because the log cabin was hers. She painted this. Nice, huh?
Posted Aug 5, 2011, 5:41 am
Posted Aug 8, 2011, 8:07 am
Posted Oct 11, 2011, 2:38 pm
Posted Oct 21, 2011, 11:36 am
I am still waiting to find my next host, so I haven't been traveling much lately, but my life is not boring, not with getting to meet toyvoys from all over the world, coming and going. And I got to go to the big city last weekend, too! I had so much fun. Mom explained to us that this was a postcrossing meetup. Well, and because LittleCableCars was there, too, it was a toyvoyaging meetup, too! Pretty cool, huh?
I met Airi, Robby, Orkku Orava and, of course, I got to see LittleCableCars again. She was my first host. We talked and goofed around. She even held me upside down by my feet and played with my hair. She likes my hair to be very full, I think. She poked my belly. It made me laugh. Good times.
The postcrossers were really nice and showed us some of their beautiful cards. One of them said that she has an "empty nest" at home now that her kids are at college, so she'd like to have a new "baby."
She thought us toyvoys were nice babies. I think we may have brought a new member to the toyvoyager site. I hope so!
We ate lunch while we worked on writing postcards to postcrossing members, mentors as well as to the hosts of Mom's and LittleCableCars' toyvoys all over the world.
After a few hours of chatting and signing, it was time to say goodbye. Orkku Orava came over to squeak a last goodbye to Tuli, Dottie Mouse and me before going in the travel purse.
The drive home to Sacramento was much faster than the drive there. Isn’t that how it always is. Zarafeh didn't mind because she lives in the car.
We had a lot to talk about, but I was getting a bit sleepy.
Then Tuli was getting a bit sleepy, too, and leaning on me. It's good that Mom wasn't getting sleepy!
Love,
Aslan
Posted Nov 12, 2011, 10:40 pm
Posted Nov 12, 2011, 10:56 pm
Posted Nov 29, 2011, 7:58 pm
Posted Dec 6, 2011, 8:23 pm
I arrived in Remscheid today. This was a rather short trip
We shared the delicious Lion bar when we had coffee.
Unfortunately Katja had to go back to work after lunch. On the way to the city centre she showed me the vicinity of my current home.
A house was demolished here and a new one will be built.
A water tower is situated here. The city centre was built on top of a hill, this is the highest point of the hill.
This is the city hall, its tower is 48 m high. A christmas market is situated on the open space in front of it. We did not have enough time to take a walk around the market, maybe next time we will
I am happy to meet Clyde here.
Bye for now
Aslan
Posted Dec 8, 2011, 1:00 pm
we are still having ugly weather, it is cold and stormy. Clyde told me that they even had snow here this week, but it melted away soon.
Today we took a short walk, mostly to accompany Jellybean and Baby_Pom_Fimble to the mailbox. Jellybean is travelling home and Baby-Pom-Fimble is travelling to a host.
We took a short walk in the municipal park.
We started at the pond.
An observatory is situated here in the park.
Franz-Ferdinand is wearing a hat and a scarf - really useful at the moment.
What a pity, the next photo does not show that the moon was already shining bright.
(I will talk to Katja about a scarf).
Bye
Aslan
Posted Dec 10, 2011, 8:29 pm
today we visited the neighbour city Wuppertal.
Wuppertal is the biggest city of the hilly region Bergisches Land. One of the city’s greatest attractions is the suspended monorail (Schwebebahn), which was established in 1901. The tracks are 8 m above the streets and 12 m above the Wupper River.
The whole route of the Schwebebahn is about 13 km long, following the river and crossing streets at some points, it even crosses the A46 motorway.
We went to the shopping streets than, we also had planned to visit the Christmas market.
The Christmas market is situated in the main shopping streets. We saw lots of lovely things, for example those candle holders.
Katja bought vanilla honey and honey soap here.
We enjoyed eggnog here.
We also went into one of the shopping malls, also lovely decorated.
Katja told us that maybe tomorrow we go to Wuppetal again, to see a place which Clyde would love. Let's see ....
Bye
Aslan
Posted Dec 11, 2011, 9:06 pm
today we went to Wuppertal again. First we took a walk along the "Sambatrasse", a former now closed railway track, rebuilt to a lane for pedestrians and cyclists. It is following the original track through the forest, meeting some interesting points.
First stop was an open air pool which is heated by waste heat from the nearby incinerator. You can go swimming here the whole year. Katja told us that it would be covered when there would be extremely deep temperatures outside.
This is the incinerator.
We walked along allotment gardens, many gardens are decorated with memorabilia from the former railway track.
The lane is running next to the A 46 motorway for a while.
Than the most interesting part followed: The Sambatrasse is crossing the zoo. Can you see the lawn in the background? It's the tiger enclosure!
We saw the tigers.
I found this funny sign, it is saying "Infos for the tigers: Meals on wheels"
We reached the end of the Sambatrasse than, in the zoo quarter, a villa quarter with lots of interesting houses.
Soon we reached the Schwebebahn station.
Here you can see me inside the station, about 8 m above street level.
Our train was coming in!
Oh dear, the train was swaying. It felt like ... having too much eggnog.
Katja had told us before that there would be a surprise for Clyde. We visited a brewhouse to have a beer and something to eat.
We had a look at the menu and ordered Christmas beer and something to eat. Salad and potatoe wedges for Katja, burgers with french fries for her daughter and her boyfriend. Our beer was served in large glasses
Cheers!
I was so tired after my beer that I did not realized how we got home.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Dec 18, 2011, 9:43 am
it's the fourth Advent Sunday.
Tatanka and Snakey made a wonderful sweetness yesterday with lots of chocolate, nuts and marshmallows. They did a great job
It snowed a bit during the night.
Have a pleasant Sunday
Aslan
Posted Dec 19, 2011, 7:47 pm
today I made Christmas cookies with Clyde. We made macaroons with walnut, chocolate and marchpane.
We needed egg white, sugar, chopped walnuts, chopped chocolate and rasped marchpane mass.
The egg white was beaten stiff, than we added sugar, nuts, chocolate and marchpane.
We formed small piles and put them onto the baking tray.
Aren't they looking good
?
Bye
Aslan
Posted Dec 19, 2011, 7:59 pm
the weather was still ugly today, although we tried to walk around in Katja's lunch break. First she showed us the water tower which is visible even from a larger distance, because the city centre of Remscheid is situated on a hill.
The public library is situated in the brown building on the left side, an art gallery in the house on the right side.
Here you can see the central bus station - and the first raindrops.
It was raining more and we hurried back to "our" work place along the shopping street.
Bye for now
Aslan
Posted Dec 26, 2011, 11:11 am
we went to buy the Christmas tree today. We went with Katja's brother-in-law, like every year, she told me.
We drove to a farm in one of the rural outskirts of Remscheid. Here you can drive into the forest and look vor your tree in a tree farm. You can even fell it on your own.
Those trees were too large, about 2 m .
You can go with your own car here or you can go with the farmer, on the trailer of his tractor.
We took a short walk around.
To pay for the tree we had to drive back to the farm. In the meantime the sun came out, but only for a short moment.
I also went to say Hello to the horses on the farm.
It was time than to disappear into Katja's bag. I was a bit wet and afraid to get a cold.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Dec 26, 2011, 11:25 am
today we helped to prepare the Christmas tree.
Love
Aslan
Posted Dec 26, 2011, 11:27 am
after dinner we helped to unwrap the Christmas presents.
Love
Aslan
Posted Jan 8, 2012, 4:41 pm
after work we went to Katja's friend Kerstin today, to take a walk with her dog in Scharpenacken, a former army training area. This area was used for military purposes until 2004 A.D as a shooting range. Today there is a local recreation area with vast open areas.
In the background you can see a housing area in Wuppertal, famous for its exquisite villas built by factory owners.
Not long since we started our walk it began to rain again.
In the middle of the forest you can find a lovely landscape park, built by the former owner of the Vorwerk Company. Katja told us that this would be a lovely place in spring time, summer and autumn, but now it is a only muddy place.
When we went back to the car on a more rarely frequented path we found one of the old warning signs
No need to be afraid nowadays, you only might drown here today.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jan 8, 2012, 4:50 pm
we went to Katja's sister-in-law's family today to celebrate the last day of the year. When we arrived, there already was everything prepared for Raclette.
There were lots of vegetables like sweet pepper, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, than there was beef and chicken meat, salmon, bread, potatoes and much more. Of course there was a lot of cheese
Later we called a card game called "Dominion".
At midnight we all had a glass of sparkling wine.
Happy New Year!
Love
Aslan
Posted Jan 8, 2012, 5:03 pm
every update starts with the words "the weather is still a mess", so also today. Nothing changed so far. Although we took a short walk today. First we went to the municipal park to the district Hasten.
In Hasten you can often find dwellings and historical company buildings close together.
In the background you can see the outskirts of Wuppertal.
Along the main street in the valley between Wuppertal and Remscheid you can find a lot of industrial sites. Along the creeks in the valley industrialization started in middle ages here, even nowadays there are still a lot of companies which exist for centuries.
In the background you can see Hasten now, from here we had to walk straight uphill to get home.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jan 17, 2012, 2:31 pm
this is my first day here with fantastic weather, a great reason to take a hiking trip, so we took a long walk along the river Wupper today, in Solingen, the neighbour city. We started our trip in Balkhausen, a small hamlet in this rural area. Here we saw a lot of those typical half-timbered houses.
Finally we reached river Wupper, it is flowing towards river Rhine.
We reached a hamlet with a funny name: It is called "Rüden" because of the tale of one of the formerly reigns of this region (eventually in middle ages) who met with a riding accident and was saved by his dog.
("Rüde" is the German word for a male dog).
What a lovely place, I could sit here for hours and enjoy the sunshine.
We decided to walk back. We found an old machine.
Unfortunately we had no more sunshine on the other side of the valley.
We crossed the river here.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jan 22, 2012, 3:28 pm
when Katja came home from work we decided to take a walk - who knows how long we would have such great weather.
We went to the municipal park first, only a few minutes to walk.
There is a pond in the park, ducks and turtles are living here.
The observatory is situated in the municipal park.
We enjoyed the sunshine
We walked to the district Hasten than.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jan 22, 2012, 3:38 pm
the weather is still ugly here with lots of rain. Nontheless my host Katja decided that we would take a walk. We went to a woodland area. There is a creek in the valley, usually a really narrow one. It is carrying much more water than usual.
These rain detention basins are usually empty, now they are filled. (It is raining for about six weeks now.)
We were happy when we reached our home.
Later we watched Katja's daughter prepare a torte. Her boyfriend is celebrating his birthday today, she is going to take it to the birthday party. She made a torte with cream, chocolate cream and strawberries.
She prepared the chocolate cream with egg yolk, butter and melted chocolate.
First the layers of the torte were filled with strawberry jam, than there is a layer of whipped cream and finally the chocolate cream.
Than the torte was decorated with more cream, strawberries and chocolate hearts.
It's looking good, isn't it?
Maybe I will manage to hide in her bag, so I could also go to the birthday party and taste the torte.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jan 28, 2012, 7:28 pm
in the afternoon we took a walk with a friend. We left the city centre and walked downhill through an allotment garden area. You can see that the city is surrounded by woodland and rural areas.
They are having lovely houses here. This one is a typical "Bergisches" house, covered with slate, with green shutters.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jan 28, 2012, 7:31 pm
finally the weather changed!
We had to walk to the pet shop to buy cat treats. They are not for me but for the ferrets.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jan 31, 2012, 8:51 pm
in the morning we took a walk with Katja and two of her friends. Katja promised me that I would see Muengsten Bridge, Germany's highest railway bridge. We went into the forest.
There is an outlook pavilion high above the valley of the river Wupper. You have a good overlook across the valley of the river Wupper with Muengsten Bridge.
There are rocks along our path, little waterfalls running down everywhere.
We were nearly under the bridge!
We went downhill than towards the river.
We found some rocks with engraved patterns, a tabletop game this time, nine men's morris.
In the meantime we crossed the river and walked back towards Muengsten Bridge. This side of the river bank is really steep, rocks and steep slopes.
We reached the leisure park underneath the bridge than. The bridge was built in early 20th century, finished in 1906 A.D. It is 107 m high, overspanning the valley of the river Wupper which is marking the border between Remscheid and the neighbour city Solingen. It is about 480 m long. There will be extended repar and restoration works in the coming years.
When the weather is good lots of kids are playing here in the shallow river, Katja told us. After six weeks with heavy rainfall the Wupper is not a shallow river any more.
There is also a new restaurant in the leisure park, it looks as rusty as the bridge
This was a very interesting trip today.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Jan 31, 2012, 9:01 pm
today we visited a medieval castle in the neighbour city Solingen, Schloss Burg, It is situated high upon a hill above the River Wupper.
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.
The round tower was the powder tower, it was restored about two years ago.
You can overlook the valley of the river Wupper from this high point, also the valley between Remscheid and Solingen.
We walked into the forest than. A last look to Schloss Burg ...
Here we found another outlook pavilion. Indeed, it is a "twin" of the outlook pavilion I saw on Sunday, built by the same architect.
From here you can see how high above the valley level we were.
We made a side-trip to a dam, Sengbach Talsperre. Katja wanted to have a look at the concrete wall, it is restored at the moment.
We walked back to the car than, walking through a rural district called Höhrath.
We had to hurry than, it was already getting dark
Bye
Aslan
Posted Feb 2, 2012, 1:59 pm
it is extremely cold in Germany - have a look at the thermometer.
- 12°c means 10.4°F. We all need warm clothings now. Katja suggested a warm scarf for me.
... a little bit later ...
Now we are prepared for the cold outside.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Feb 5, 2012, 7:42 am
we visited Katja's sister today. She is living in one of the historic districts of Remscheid, in Lennep. It is extremely cold outside.
We took a walk in the late morning, through the suburbs towards a restaurant for lunch.
You can find lots of woodland areas and rural areas in Remscheid.
The A1 motorway is crossing the valley.
All puddles and little creeks in the roadside ditches are frozen.
We reached our lunch destination in an industrial park close to the A1 motorway.
Afterwards we took a walk in the old town of Lennep.
Most of the houses were built after 1746 A.D., when there was the last great fire which destroyed nearly the complete old town. Many houses are under monument protection.
This area with the market place was refurbished in 1989 A.D.
You can find extremely narrow lanes here, no car can pass through.
The founder of the X-rays, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, was born in Lennep in 1845 A.D. The German Roentgen Museum is situated here, the house of his birth is also still existing.
We went back to Katja's sister than. In the background you can see Katja's former school.
Bye for now
Aslan
Posted Feb 6, 2012, 9:46 am
we went to Solingen today, the neighbour city. Katja's daughter had to settle something at work. In the meantime we had a look at the "Südpark" (Southern Park) which was built on a former railway track for freight trains. The buildings are the old goods depots, now you can find artist shops, galleries and bars there, also artwork.
We went to the station than to get back, not home yet, but to Muengsten Bridge to take a walk.
We got out of the train just before Muengsten Bridge. We walked downhill to the valley of the river Wupper. On our way we found some playgrounds, like those rocking sheep
There are "normal" walking paths, meandering down the steep slope, but you can also take the straight way down, with the help of those ropes.
Back on the Remscheid side of the valley .... all the little creeks running down the slope are frozen.
We found an extremely large old beech in the forest, too large to take a photo of it
There is a cemetary nearly in the forest, you can find a memorial for the dead of World War I here.
You can see the city centre of Remscheid in the background. Can you see the church tower? We are living really close to it.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Feb 13, 2012, 7:30 pm
today we took a walk in the late afternoon in the city centre. We walked along the "Route of Tools" (Trasse des Werkzeugs), a former railway track, now built to a lane for pedestrians and cyclists. This lane is following the former freight train track from the central station to the district Hasten, many industrial companies were situated along this track, some are still nowadays.
We found a resting area, you can find some seats here (it was too cold to sit longer than 30 seconds on the metal bench).
The lane was sponsored by local companies, mostly tool producing companies - that's why it is called "Route of Tools". Remscheid is famous for its tool producing industry for centuries. You can find large signs with the logos of the sponsoring companies.
This is the former slaughterhouse, the whole complex is under monument protection nowadays.
The closer we came towards Hasten, the more the lane seemed to be a park or a walking path in a forest.
I found those funny wrench patterns, stamped into the tarmac.
We left the Route of Tools and went home through the municipal park.
This monument is dedicated to the dead of several wars which took place before WW I.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Feb 29, 2012, 4:25 pm
we took a last walk today, along rover Wuppere once more. We started on the Remscheid side, walking steep downhill. In the valley you can see the district Solingen-Unterburg with a historic church and a graveyard.
Unterburg is one of the historic districts, you can find many restaurants here.
We followed river Wupper, along the slope of the valley.
Muengsten Bridge came into sight, later we walked underneath it.
Although the extreme cold is over there are still tose patrtly frozen waterfalls.
The path in the forest was extremely muddy, thankfully I was sitting in Katja's bag most of the time!
Bye
Aslan
Posted Feb 29, 2012, 4:32 pm
after a full year of travelling I decided to go home for a while. I packed all my souvenirs and left in a comfortable envelope.
I had a great time in Germany and it was so nice to meet Clyde here.
Good-bye Germany!
Aslan
Posted Feb 29, 2012, 4:40 pm
today we met friends to take a longer hiking tour to the neighbour town Wuppertal. We planned to visit the Wuppertal Brewhouse once more-
First we had to walk towards the valley between Remscheid and Wuppertal, it is called "Morsbachtal", like the creek (Morsbach) running through it. It seems that all the water on earth's surface was frozen.
This is the Morsbach (Morsbach creek).
This pond in front of an historic industrial site is also frozen.
This cute little house was restored in the last years, Katja told me.
Than we had to climb from the bottom of the valley towards Wuppertal-Cronenberg. Can you see the city centre of Remscheid on the hill in background? We started our trip there
This is a typical German garden with garden gnomes
From now we walked along the "Sambatrasse", also a former railway track, following a route though the forest from Wuppertal-Cronenberg to the zoo quarter in Wuppertal.
This historic train is placed here.
So many distance data, but my home town is not among them.
When we finally reached the brewhouse we were really thirsty, so we ordered large beers immediately.
Cheers!
Later we went home by train.
Bye
Aslan
Posted Mar 10, 2012, 7:34 am
I am home! Mummy and I decided to surprise her guests Little R2 and Tuli by releasing me from my travelope at bedtime. It was so great to meet them, tell them stories of Germany at Christmastime with olgamaus and show them my pretty amazing souvenirs. I especially like my German-English dictionary, which helped me so much in communicating with the locals. Well, okay, not that much. But they all welcomed me even with my poor German -- it didn't hurt that their English was sooo good and that the heraldic animal of the region is a lion just like me, only less ferocious
and with an extra tail. 
And Miss Kate is thrilled to have a photo of me and Clyde for our fridge.
Thank you for everything, my dear host Miss Katja! Mummy, too, wants to thank you for all the goodies! She was most surprised and happy!
~Aslan
Posted Apr 30, 2012, 4:06 am
On Saturday, Miss Kate and her friend decided to take Tuli, Little R2 and me to Auburn to have a picnic in the foothills.
We also brought Beans the Dog with us, but only his butt would stand still, so here:
We had a lovely picnic in Foresthill. We were looking due east at the Sierra Nevada mountains. Somewhere out there is Lake Tahoe, but we can't see it. It's amazing that there's nothing but trees between us and Lake Tahoe and Nevada.
Four new friends moved in to the picnic table next door. Chico and Big Red Chief. One of their owners is even running for President of the United States. You can see all 4 on this video.
It was a perfect Spring day.
Love, Aslan
Posted Jun 21, 2012, 8:44 pm
Thanks, R2!
Aslan
Posted Mar 26, 2015, 11:14 am
https://www.facebook.com/AslanLionToyvoyager?fref=nf
Today we walked around a bit to see some sights. As you can see the wisteria is in bloom. Happy Springtime,
Your buddy,
Aslan
Posted Mar 30, 2015, 1:57 am
Stay groovy, my friends
Your buddy,
Aslan
Posted Apr 1, 2015, 12:40 pm
I dreamed my siblings came to visit. There was Crawfish, Fiona Yenien, Vanilla, Wavy Gravy and Edelweiss.
He he, Cherry Lola, Jack the Cat, Clyde, Gwennie and Zoe were hiding in the wardrobe; they always kid me about those C.S. Lewis stories because I was named after the lion in The Tales of Narnia.
If you are hosting one of my mom's TVs, check and see if they logged some extra mileage when you weren't looking.
It was only a dream but so much fun,
See ya later,
Aslan
Posted Apr 17, 2015, 10:08 pm
Posted Apr 18, 2015, 7:30 pm