Mr.Shaun, Leipzig, Germany

Dr.Kröbner Posted Oct 22, 2011, 6:40 pm	i`m sitting her at home with my friend Dr. Kröbner
Dr.Kröbner Posted Oct 24, 2011, 12:49 pm	yesterday i had awalk in the forest with my friend Hase, we climbed a tower and see the mountain "Broken". In the evening i hang up with my sheepdog Paul and Dr.Kroebner. Tomorrow i packed my bags and i`m ready to go, travel round the world to see amazing places and meet much interesting other toys in all the countrys, my first stop will be Michigan So good by mum, Paul , Hase and Dr. Kröbner i will miss you all
Tera Posted Oct 29, 2011, 6:05 pm	I made it!! I am so happy to have finally arrived in Michigan! I am getting all settled in and meeting some new friends. Tera and Gibson say I am lucky I got here when I did because Halloween is on Monday. We are going to shop for costumes, carve pumpkins and pineapples, go trick or treating and probably go to a party!  Guys let me out of here!!! Enough with the pictures I can hear you and want to come visit! Slowly poking my head out and I see Flippy the big frog, Flipito the small frog, and Smooky the bear. They are Gibson's best friends. I showed them the postcard I brought and they said that it was wonderful! They all were very polite and thanked me over and over! Here I am sitting on a bed in the house Gibson has made for visiting TV's! It is very nice. He is still working on it so I will show you more pictures of that soon. Today we are going to spend at home. I am going to meet all Gibson's other stuffed toys (I hear there are a lot), visit with the 3 cats that live here, and who knows what else. They are very happy to have me here! Tera says I am the first TV they have hosted.
Tera Posted Oct 30, 2011, 1:55 am	Hello again mom! Today Gibson was looking for something to watch on netflix and look what he found! I have my own show! So this family is a bit odd. I thought that for Halloween you carved pumpkins. Well they love a TV show called Psych and the guys on the show are a bit pineapple crazy so they decided to carve pineapples for a contest the show is having. I think in this picture I look like I'm in a scary movie. The finished pineapples! It was a little odd but a lot of fun! Boy is that a sticky mess!
Tera Posted Oct 31, 2011, 1:36 am	Tomorrow is Halloween so today we have done all sorts of Halloween type stuff. More typical than our adventures yesterday! We went to a Halloween store. These stores pop up all over towards the end of September. Tera only got one good picture of me here though...they had lots of creepy stuff. Then I stayed home with Tera while the boys went to a movie. We decided to start working on Gibson's Halloween costume. He is going to be the black knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. They showed me a clip and it is pretty silly. I don't know if anyone will know what he is supposed to be! I'm helping make the helmet here. I will show you more pictures of the finished costume tomorrow. Tonight we decided we better carve the pumpkin. It is a huge one! Gibson picked it out with his Grandma. I'm helping with the big knife again. Look at all this goop in here! Yuck! It really smells nasty! This is the pile of goop Gibson dug out! And the finished pumpkin. After we carved the pumpkin Tera said it was time to roast the seeds. This is all the ones we got from the pumpkin. There would have been more but Tera doesn't like to mess with the goop very much. We sprinkled them with lots of salt and spread them out on a pan. Put it in the oven and waited! Here they are all done! They got a bit brown because we got watching TV and sort of forgot...but they are still delicious! Today I also got to know the cats that live here. This is Elwood. He is 10. He is kind of fat and lazy. Tera says he is her baby. He is very rude when we are trying to eat and always trying to sneak a bite! This is Drew. Apparently she is just to important to pose nice for a picture with me. She is the princess and the boss of the house. Last but not least is Gibby named by and after Gibson of course He is very fluffy and very funny. We sort of look alike! Tomorrow we are going to a Lego Robotics class and Trick-or-Treating!! I am so excited!
Tera Posted Nov 1, 2011, 1:47 am	Hi Mom! So today was finally Halloween! I had lots of fun and tried not to eat too much candy. We did go to lego class today but Tera forgot to take pictures so we will do that next week. We started off taking some spooky pictures to get in the Halloween mood. Pretty cool huh? Look at this gross candy Tera gave Gibson. It is body part sushi! I didn't try this kind too weird for me. Tera thought that I needed a costume too! So she found this bow she made out of duct tape an added a cape! I thought it was very cool! (I did want to be a vampire more but didn't want to complain) Check out the cape! And with the fabric my cape was made from as a background. This was the bucket Gibson used to put the candy in he got when trick or treating. It is a Darth Vader head! This is me in the helmet I helped make for Gibson's costume. He was the Black Knight from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I went for a ride on Gibson's friends shoulder....not quite sure what his costume was but it was pretty cool! Here I am with the loot! Yum Yum! I love candy! I helped Gibson get his candy all sorted out! It sure is a lot! The grown ups are all saying they got more when they were kids but we only trick or treated for an hour and a half. All right I'm all wore out from the fun we had today and am headed to bed!
Tera Posted Nov 2, 2011, 11:00 pm	Hello Mom. Not much exciting has happened here the past couple days. I played with the cats today while Tera went to work. When she got home there was a package waiting for us! She said it was going to be another toyvoyager but wasn't exactly sure who it would be. So we carefully opened the package and look who peaked out.... It's Clifford! Clifford and I spent some time getting to know each other. He traveled here from England. He brought a postcard with cupcakes on it...they looked very yummy. We went outside for from fresh air. It is very nice out here today but Tera says it won't be like that for long! Tomorrow is only going to be 48F. Clifford and I chatted some more. He really is a nice dog! Update you soon Mom!
Tera Posted Nov 3, 2011, 11:21 pm	Hi there Mom! Today Tera and Gibson took me to play with some of their homeschool friends. The kids were so happy to play with me and Clifford and to show us around! They start with a circle so the kids can bring something from home for show and tell. This is a puppy that Tera knitted for a girl in the group who brought it as her show and tell. She thought it was so cool that we got to travel the world! Here is a Mickey Mouse glove that is from Disneyland! It sounds so fun there...maybe some day I can visit there. I liked reading this origami star wars book. I even helped make a Darth Vader and a Yoda...you will see those in a bit. I helped find the crayons to color on our Star Wars guys. This is the Darth Vader I made (well maybe I more helped Look I got to hold the light saber! And here we are with Yoda...such a tiny little guy! Check out all this string...they were making friendship bracelets (I didn't help sort this mess out) It takes lots of teamwork to get a bracelet done! We played a little Blockus. Clifford was being grouchy and took all his red pieces off the board because he was loosing. He thought they were better for taking pictures with than playing! Look at these yummy figs! There is an Islamic holiday coming up and these were out getting ready for the celebration. Man these sweets looked good! It was really hard not to sneak a bite but they were not there for us. This is a decoration on the wall. Isn't it nice? We found this beautiful copy of The Holy Qur'an. I loved the cover....all the text is in Arabic so I couldn't' read what it said. We played a bit with this hand knit pig...a pig with a wig...haha! Here she is with her other wig. She was quite fancy with the hair changes. I had a great time with the kids today. One girl was very excited to show me everything there was to see. It is really nice that the Islamic center lets the group meet here! It is a great space with lots of room for the kids to play.
Tera Posted Nov 5, 2011, 7:01 pm	Hello again Mom! Since the weather is so nice we decided to spend a bit of time outside. We went to downtown Plainwell. It is along the Kalamazoo River. The park had some fall decorations up still. This is part of an old paper mill.  Plainwell Paper was founded as the Michigan Paper Company of Plainwell in 1886, and went into production the next year. The mill closed in 1998. This area was part of what was known as the Paper City (centered in Kalamazoo). The rivers and railroads made this the ideal place for paper mills. Once it was realized how bad the way they made paper is for the environment the process changed and most mills closed. The city of Plainwell now owns the mill and it is going to be turned into shops, offices, and apartments. In this shot you can see the Kalamazoo River. This part of the river has been cleaned and is now good water. The mills did lots of damage. There is a nice board walk along the river here in Plainwell. Lots of parks and shops around. As you can see in the picture fall is about over and the trees have lost most of their leaves. We stopped and learned a bit about the towns history. Here we are by a pretty gazebo. Sometimes you see weddings here taking pictures. The river is right behind us. Goodbye for now!
Tera Posted Nov 8, 2011, 3:39 pm	Hi Mom!! Yesterday we went to Gibson's school. Well he only goes there one day a week for a really fun robotics class but still Of course we took pictures around the school but not any in the class...go figure! The kids all get a locker and can decorate them however they want. So far on the outside all Gibson has is his name. He has some cool magnets on the inside though...one is from Australia! While Gibson had his class Clifford and I had a cup of coffee while Tera chatted with the other Moms. After Gibson's class we had postcrossing club. Here we are with the cards the kids have gotten so far. Cards from Taiwan, Germany, China, and Argentina. The card from Taiwan showed how to write "thank you" in Chinese so we decided to give it a try. It is pretty hard! Here we are by the flag pole outside the school. No wind to make the flag look pretty and also a gray cloudy sky. We were very distracted in the picture by the kids having so much fun on the playground. Tera said it was too cold to go out and play today. When we got home there was a note from the mailman saying we had a package to sign for at the post office so we headed back out. Look what it is! It's Malu from Austria! Here we are talking about our travels. I told him about how much fun it is here in Michigan. The butterfly sticker he brought with him and Tera says if we were here in the summer we might have gotten to see one! Since we had a new TV with us Smooky Gibson's special teddy bear came out to tell us some of the rules of the house and all about the trips he has been on here in the USA.
Tera Posted Nov 10, 2011, 10:15 pm	Hello Mom! Today was exciting because it snowed!!!! First snow of the season! We rushed right outside to play in it! Malu, Clifford, and I had lots of fun in the snow! After all that time in the snow I was freezing!! We decided to go in and have some hot chocolate..yum! First we added the mix and some extra marshmallows. Then added the hot water and stirred it all up. Boy was it good...and warmed us up too! Then we helped Tera make her favorite lunch. Rice a Roni. Not sure why she loves this so much but she does. After a while it really started to snow hard and covered the whole ground! Tera said she wasn't going outside again so we took a picture out the window! All that snow melted and then it snowed a bunch again and now the ground is mostly covered.
Tera Posted Nov 11, 2011, 2:19 pm	We woke up to snow today!!! Tera said it was going to melt but boy was she wrong! It better be gone for tomorrow! We have a parade to go to!
Tera Posted Nov 13, 2011, 4:30 pm	Hi there! Yesterday we went to see a holiday parade. The weather was perfect! We met up with some family so there were lots of kids. Because of how busy it was Tera wasn't able to get as many pictures as she had hoped. This one is a good shot of the cute buildings down town. Color guard for Western Michigan University. A high school marching band. When we got home Gibson ran out to check the mail and there was a package. So we all gathered around to see who might be inside. It's Charlie Mouse!!! Malu, Clifford, and I all told him all about Michigan and the fun we have been having. I'm sure he will fit right it!
Tera Posted Nov 26, 2011, 4:45 pm	Today the other TV's and I were out and about in Tera's purse when she spotted these two deer in a field. I was lucky because I was the first TV she grabbed and the only one that got it's picture with the deer before they ran off! Not the best picture but the sunset sure was pretty and the deer were very cute. The little one jumped so high when they ran off! I can see now why they are called White Tailed Deer 0
Tera Posted Nov 28, 2011, 3:08 pm	We were back to Kalamazoo to visit the museum there today! We arrived early so we decided to look around a little bit outside first. This is The Radisson Plaza Hotel, Gibson's favorite building in Kalamazoo. Here is a group shot while we had a bit of a break on a bench. The museum is the building on the left. Here we are being news anchors! Look at the text on the screen on the left! I had to translate for everyone! This building is one of Tera's favorites...look at the pretty design on the roof. This tree still had lots of colorful leaves...most have all fallen now. Here is the plan for the city in the 1950's. Tera couldn't tell where anything was so we don't know how close they were to what it ended up like. Mr.Shaun and I were a great team for checkers! They had part of the museum set up like an old time store. Here I am with some of the cleaning supplies! Who do you think weighs more? Me or Clifford?
Tera Posted Dec 1, 2011, 11:44 pm	We went on a field trip to Fredrick Meijer Gardens. www.meijergardens.org for their Christmas display. Here is some information on it from the website. Excitement surrounds us this time of year as Christmas and Holiday Traditions Around the World brings the glow of 300,000 lights, strolling carolers, horse-drawn carriage rides and more than 40 international trees and displays. A new feature this year is the redesign of the Diwali display honoring the Hindu Festival of Lights, along with the enhancement of Nativity displays including the new-to-the-exhibition Polish szopka. Let me tell you it was beautiful!!! Really amazing. Sorry for the blurry picture here but this is the Germany tree with the nutcrackers underneath. This is a huge cactus in the arid garden. Don't worry I didn't get close enough to get poked! This church was in the train room. Everything on this church (and in the room) was made from natural materials. This church took over 200 hours to make. There had to have been hundreds of these poinsettias! This is a traditional Christmas flower. It was a great day!
Tera Posted Dec 1, 2011, 11:48 pm	We went geocaching today! Well we tried to go anyhow. We went to check on one Tera's family has hidden and then it was too late to go anywhere else..opps! This is the log the cache is hidden in. The Kalamazoo River. Us TV's were being very naughty and would not behave for a nice group shot with the river...this is the best one Tera could get!
Dr.Kröbner Posted Jul 7, 2012, 2:24 pm	Hello all my friends at home, after I've spent enough time here, I've thought it is time to come home,  unfortunately, Tera has not time,  so I had to come up with another way to come to Germany. Since I'm a clever sheep I had an idea, I take the Queen Mary from New York to Hamburg. To earn the trip, I'll sing in the piano bar. keep the fingers crossed Mr.Shaun
Dr.Kröbner Posted Jul 7, 2012, 2:37 pm	Hello, It worked, I'm on the Queen Mary.......I´`m seasick sadly there are no photos of the trip love from the pale Mr.Shaun
Dr.Kröbner Posted Jul 7, 2012, 2:48 pm	Hello at home, Finally I arrived in Hamburg, the last piece of the trip I'll make hitchhiking. Dr. Kröbner, and all my friends at home ..... I'm on my way. Love Mr.Shaun
Dr.Kröbner Posted Jul 8, 2012, 3:45 pm	He folks, it´s no easy task for a little sheep as me to hitchhike!!! Most of the drivers doesn´t take a notice of me at the roadside!!!! But after a while I managed it to tumb a diesel down. The friendly trucker with eagleeyes brought me homeward till the neighborhood of Celle in lower saxony. There I met a black sheep. It was unhappy because all the other sheeps in the flock (they where white) don´t want to play with it. So we put together and I finished the last miles on a sheeps back… It was a new great experience. After a 2-Day ride I saw the Sign: DELLIGSEN…..  finally after month, lost in the world, I´m back home! Jeah, the is the entry-door…. Ring the bell…. HALLO DR: KRÖBNER, I´S ME, SHAUN!!!! Oh what a farewell, Philly,B.o.B., Mr.Lemony and Dr.Kröbner arranged a offhanded Party in the garden under a new tropical tree,we talked about my adventures now I must relax in my deckchair, a souvenir of the eventmanager from the Queen Mary for my great piano playing I`m soooooo happy love Mr.Shaun
Dr.Kröbner Posted Dec 10, 2012, 8:53 am	Australia I`m coming
fleursmum Posted Jan 5, 2013, 10:42 pm	I HAVE ARRIVED DOWN UNDER Pictures soon! Love Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 7, 2013, 7:51 am	Hi Mum, Here I am!!! I have arrived and am safe and happy but very hot!! Sue says thank you for the chocolate - I was very good and didn't eat it on the way!!  Today I met Cyril - he lives here and is a mature aged sheep! He is going to come to New Zealand with us -he says young sheep like me need to have a chaperone when they travel???? Mmmmmm..might have to have a talk about that! Anyway I got to meet Tupai the chow chow - he was resting and feeling the heat - is 38 degrees here today! Phew!! Cold drink needed I think! Today I also met Kali, Dottie Mouse and Tica - it was hello goodbye to Dottie Mouse she is heading back to Germany today!  Me and Cyril having a chat - I think he might be a distant relation Mum....do we have family already in Australia Mum? Maybe he is a distant cousin? We might have to look into the family tree! Well Mum, we are off to New Zealand tomorrow..the Land of the Long White Cloud and many sheep - I hope I meet some Kiwi sheep!! Lots of photos when we get back Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx PS Cyril says hello!
fleursmum Posted Jan 24, 2013, 2:27 am	Hi Mum, Today we went to the airport to get on the plane and we found another TV - his name is Napoleon and he said he was teleported here from Chile!!! Wow! Have you heard of that Mum....I might like to try that one day!  Here we are at the airport Here we are on the plane - not much to see from the window More soon Love and hugs Mr Shaun
fleursmum Posted Jan 24, 2013, 2:31 am	Hi Mum, Today we are heading out of Auckland along the motorway - it isn't called a freeway in New Zealand!  It is nice and green here after the brown of Australia Next stop soon Mum, no sheep so far!!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx PS Someone took the corner too fast and I nearly fell over!!
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 1:11 am	Hi Mum, We have stopped at Paeroa - this town is "World Famous in New Zealand" for the mineral water drink made here - it is fresh mineral water from under ground and lemon juice - today it s made by the coca cola company, but it is tradition here to have your photo taken by the big bottle! Off down the road now Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 1:19 am	We are now between Paeroa and Waihi and have stopped to look at the river and the swing bridge - this area was really busy with gold mining back in the 1800's, you can still find the old workings and tunnels back in the hills here I am in a native rimu tree - it's a bit spiky!! More soon Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 1:29 am	Hi Mum, I have found a pohutukawa tree in flower near the beach - it is known as the New Zealand Christmas tree here, if it flowers in November that means a long hot summer Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 1:35 am	Hi Mum, here is the view from the back window of where we are staying (no sheep so far  ) and the front window Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 2:04 am	Hi Mum, We have come to Waihi to go to the quilt shop but on the way stopped at the Martha Mine, we met this statue Here is the mine Mum - it is HUGE!! More soon Mum Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 2:33 am	Hi Mum In the afternoon we went back to the beach Have a look at the pohutukawa trees grow in amazing places here! That's all for now Mum Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 3:37 am	Hi Mum, Today we had a walk up the back of the camping ground over the hill and down to the harbour beach at Anzac Bay Here we are at the end of the walking track where the ocean meets the harbour, opposite is Matakana Island Good resting plant Anzac Bay behind the trees A little chat with Cyril Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 3:45 am	Hi Mum, We went back to the beach in the afternoon ready to go Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 3:46 am	Today Mum we are travelling to Tauranga - not far.....I am looking out for sheep..... Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 3:52 am	Hi Mum, This afternoon we have gone into town to have a look at the Maori waka (canoe) and the information along the harbour Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 4:01 am	Hey Mum, Today we are having a walk on the beach at Mount Maunganui - the beach here is really long and ends at the Mount which is an extinct volcano. We found some pipis - they are shellfish that you usually have to dig up with your toes, these ones were rolling about in the shallow waves but they looked ok you can boil them until the shells open and then eat them, or make them into fritters! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 4:11 am	Hi Mum, This afternoon we explored the old Pa site down the road, this used to be a persons farm and horses used to live here, but the land has been handed back to the Maori people as it is the site of the Pa. Here we are looking over the harbour towards Mount Maunganui Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 4:16 am	Hi Mum, Not much happening today so we went and played hide and seek in the garden!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 6:26 am	On our travels we stopped at the kiwi fruit place this is how the kiwi fruit grow here I am in a kauri tree the big kiwi fruit. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 6:34 am	Hi Mum, This afternoon we are in Rotorua at the Redwood Forest for a walk We came across this natural spring - it look s beautiful but smells of sulphur!  Mmmmmm... Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 6:41 am	Hey Mum, Late in the afternoon we came to Ohinemutu a settlement on the side of the lake. As you walk around you can hear water boiling under the ground - there are places the road has subsided and steam is coming through. Some of the locals have round concrete pipes set up over steam vents to cook on!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 6:51 am	Hi Mum, Today we had a walking day and I am looking looking for sheep!! They have to be around here somewhere!  ! My first New Zealand sheep - way way over near the house!!!!! More sheep Sheep on the hill More sheep on  the hill sheep eating in the long grass getting excited now Mum!!!! sheep a little closer! They are shy the Kiwi sheep they run away when you come near the fence!!  But I shouted out Hallo!!! ; So Mum, I think I have made a Life Mission!!!! Excitedly yours Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jan 31, 2013, 7:02 am	Today we visited Wai-O-Tapu to see the thermal activity a big sulphur pool a and boiling mud Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 6:27 am	Hi Mum, We are heading to Cape Paterson for the weekend - we are getting glimpses of the beach Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 6:32 am	Hi Mum, We had a walk along the beach today the tide is out a long way so we can see all the rocks and the rock pools The water here is Bass Straight - nothing from here until Tasmania Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 6:37 am	Back to the beach for another walk this morning lots of walking space here heading back to Gisborne this afternoon I was on the look out for Australian sheep yup a few over there!  very brown here Mum! Love and hugs Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 6:45 am	Hi Mum, We are taking the chow chow for a walk in the park today - he is hot so is in the creek swimming! Mmmmm...not such a bad idea! Love the big oak trees here, cool for walking too! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 6:53 am	Hi Mum, We had a quick look at some places in the city today we found an interesting statue (or 4) in Federation Square now I am on a bridge over the Yarra River looking towards the Melbourne Cricket Ground - the big sports stadium in the background. Cricket is played there and also Australian Rules Football still on the bridge but behind me now is the Arts Centre back in Federation Square again looking over to St Paul's Cathedral and to Flinder's Street train Station. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 6:56 am	Hey Mum, We have driven across the city to see a friend of Sue's and guess where we have gone shopping???  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 7:00 am	Hi Mum, We have taken Sue's friends dog for a walk to the Arboretum - we had to walk him fast to tire him out and then we could take photos!!!  OOf! Sue squeezed my stomach!! this is the children's part of the park, with lots of tiles on the wallmade by the local school children Oops! Kali and I fell over! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 7:04 am	Just hanging about Mum!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 7:11 am	Hi Mum, My first view of the beach here from the house I am staying in the main pier at St Leonard's and part of the beach In the afternoon we headed off for a walk a little contemplation Back at the house we found another flowering gum I think orange suits me Mum!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 7:16 am	Hi Mum, We had a short walk along the beach this morning then pizza for dinner!! Yum!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 7:28 am	Hey Mum, We had a bike ride today down past the boat launching ramp through the camping ground along the path by the  beach getting closer to the main pier right near the pier now posted soem letters p round past the lagoon and home!! Phew! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 7:39 am	Hi Mum, We are heading back to Gisborne but have stopped in Geelong to show you just a few of the bollards here - they tell the history of the area here and there are about 100 of them! these are the fishing people Just looking for sheep on the way home Mum, some very brown ones in the paddock Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 7, 2013, 7:44 am	Hi Mum, It is a very hot day today - sunny, windy and a total fire ban - bad day for fires!!  we are ok though! We decided to have a swim outside but it was very hot Napoleon was going for the high dive  - I had to turn away!! All was good though! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 10, 2013, 5:28 am	Hi Mum, Is a work day today so I got to meet the library lucky cat - it was made by the Japanese teacher from folded paper. Clever huh!! We helped "cover" books and I got to have a ride on the elephant in the library this was painted by some of the art students here for a promotion at the Melbourne Zoo they were celebrating 150 years of caring for elephants. Several schools painted elephants and some larger elephants were in the city - they had been decorated by various Australian artists. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 10, 2013, 5:42 am	Hi Mum, Taking the chow chow for a walk in the park today this statue is made from an old tree by a lady with a chainsaw..it represents the local Australian Rules football club, they are called The Bulldogs. Just following the path.... Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 10, 2013, 6:30 am	Hi Mum, Just hanging out at home today chatting and listening to some music Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 19, 2013, 7:22 am	Hi Mum, Today we went driving...we don't know where because we didn't get out of the travel bag until we were on the way back home...kind of a mystery tour do you think?? I think I slid over here Mum!  still  on the freeway here Mum turning off to Gisborne heading for home! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 19, 2013, 7:26 am	Hi Mum, Home day today so we thought we might attempt this puzzle!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 19, 2013, 7:30 am	Hi Mum, This evening we went to quilting group but as we were sitting there we heard the beating of drums and cymbals so off we went to investigate. It was Chinese New Year and there was a celebration at one of the local restaurants with the dragons! I think the dragons are eating the food they have been offered! Ohhhh!! The dragons are coming!! I was quite safe Mum - it was very noisy though with all the banging of the fire crackers, Sue had to cover my ears!!! Happy Chinese New Year!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 19, 2013, 7:37 am	Hi Mum, Today we were sitting minding our own business when the sky got dark and there was a huge bang!! Suddenly it started to rain and it rained and rained and rained some more! There was so much water outside and lots of lightning and thunder. There was a waterfall coming down the front steps and the grass was covered with water and there was a lake in the back yard!! Quite a change! The temperature dropped by about 10 degrees in half an hour!! Phew things change quickly here some  days! But all is well the water has gone and the only problem was lightning hitting the TV aerial but that is now fixed! Soggy love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 19, 2013, 7:38 am	Hi Mum, Today we were sitting minding our own business when the sky got dark and there was a huge bang!! Suddenly it started to rain and it rained and rained and rained some more! There was so much water outside and lots of lightning and thunder. There was a waterfall coming down the front steps and the grass was covered with water and there was a lake in the back yard!! Quite a change! The temperature dropped by about 10 degrees in half an hour!! Phew things change quickly here some  days! But all is well the water has gone and the only problem was lightning hitting the TV aerial but that is now fixed! Soggy love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 19, 2013, 7:45 am	Hi Mum, Today we went to Ballan to Mill Rose Cottage for a stitching day with a group of ladies who know each other through blogs. There was lots of chatting and looking at what other people were doing and eating at the restaurant next door, but I have to say Mum, not much stitching!! We had a great day though! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 19, 2013, 7:45 am	Hi Mum, Today we went to Ballan to Mill Rose Cottage for a stitching day with a group of ladies who know each other through blogs. There was lots of chatting and looking at what other people were doing and eating at the restaurant next door, but I have to say Mum, not much stitching!! We had a great day though! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 21, 2013, 6:34 am	Hi Mum, Today we caught up with some friends in Bacchus Marsh which is about 25 minutes drive from Gisborne, we made some new friends while we were walking along the main street!  Yee haa!!! Can't sit here for long Mum, I do not want to be lunch!!  Back home another storm front went over, we had rain and thunder and lightning and even some hail, but not as much as last week!  Woolly hugs, Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 23, 2013, 7:18 am	Hi Mum, Yesterday we welcomed a new TV - Elmar - he has hypnotic powers  so we are secretly hoping he can get us some life missions!!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 25, 2013, 7:01 am	Hi Mum!!    Hi Dr Krobner!!  Have a look at what happened today!! Napoleon decided to entertain us while we were sitting chatting he found a tea pot but no cups this looks good but a little big?  Ah! This is better  Mmmmm....now I think someone is being silly!!!  Love and woolly hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 25, 2013, 7:40 am	Hi Mum, Today was a very special day.....today I achieved a LIFE MISSION We went in to the city and have a look at the building we are going into  This is the Eureka building, it has the highest public vantage point in the Southern Hemisphere We are going up to the 88th floor!!  OK enough facts - lets go here we are looking down towards the Yarra River -  the building with the little white sails is the Melbourne Aquarium here we all are on the edge!! Good for us, not so good for Sue who doesn't much like heights!!  train yards and Flinders Street Station below (the green roof with the dome) down below is the Art Centre and in the background the Tennis Centre and Melbourne Cricket Ground Hee! Hee! Playing with the telescope!! looking over the parks and the sports centres in the background outside now Mum...looking to the Bay ( out of focus sorry!) Back inside now..was getting hot out there Hee! Hee! This one made Sue dizzy!! Guess who was standing back from the window!!!  Back down now - just looking at the bees on the building! Off for a rest now Mum and a cool drink, more soon Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Feb 26, 2013, 5:59 am	Hi Mum, We took  Elmar to the Cathedral to get part of a life mission and I had another look at Flinders Street train Station Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 4, 2013, 7:44 am	Hi Mum, We are in the city today to attend some classes at the Melbourne Exhibition Building, there is a paper and scrapbooking fair on here I am inside and outside  round the other side of the building and hanging out in the gardens!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 7, 2013, 12:20 am	Hi Mum, We went to the Zoo today to help Elmar achieve a life mission. It was a hot day, I was tempted to swim with the fish we saw!! Here we go! Maybe I could swim with the pelicans??  Special Aussie shoes for the summer!! this is a banjo shark Mum, they are friendly and harmless, they come to the top of the water to have a look at you!! I hope this is as close as I get to a gorilla Mum!! there is one snoozing in the shade an elephant ride here are the real elephants Mum, well their bottoms!! They are having a feed, we didn't see the new baby sadly, it was inside having a rest the giraffe were having a feed too!! sorry I am fuzzy Mum, but we had to zoom in to get close enough to see the koala!  the Wallabies were snoozing in the shade some Aussie outback post boxes here!  Off for a cold drink and a sit in the shade now. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 7, 2013, 1:18 am	Hi Mum, Today we welcomed back home Buddy he has been on holiday in Italy! Then I found some goodies.... YUM!!!!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 9, 2013, 2:27 am	Hi Mum! Hi Dr Krobner!  Today is International Women's Day and we are at a lunch at school. There is a talk by the local Federal politician, Joanne Duncan, and some ladies from the community who are here to talk to the Year 12 female students. (Sue says sorry for the bad photo) Mmmmmm....off for lunch now!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 12, 2013, 6:54 am	Hi Mum, Today we said goodbye to Kali - she is heading back to the USA to do some more travelling there Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 17, 2013, 2:13 am	Hi Mum, Tonight we had dinner in the restaurant of a pub called Holgates at Woodend. We helped Suomi-boy achieve a life mission. YUM!!!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 17, 2013, 2:29 am	Hi Mum, We went shopping today for some flag bunting for Sue's work - she is doing a display for Multi Cultural Week Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 17, 2013, 2:38 am	Hi Mum, This afternoon we are at the costume hire shop - the family are going to a 21st this weekend and the theme is Arabian Nights! Just checking out the hats! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 17, 2013, 2:58 am	Hi Mum!    Hello Dr Krobner!  After work today we went into the city so Napoleon could see his Dad (and his plushy blue friends) who are here on holiday. we had a great catch up! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 17, 2013, 6:35 am	Hi Mum, Today we had corn fritters for lunch!  Happily yours Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 17, 2013, 7:09 am	Hi Mum, Today we have been to Ballarat Wildlife Park to see Australian animals. I met a very nice kangaroo and learned things about koalas and the Tasmanian Devil here is one Mum....they make a horrible screaming/growling noise and they bite!! Their ears glow red in the sunshine, they must have been very scary to the early settlers here until they worked out what these animals were! I met a very cute wombat, she is about 6 years old and weighs about 25kg, when she is fully grown she will weigh 40kg! these are American alligators not Australian but we took a photo anyway!!  a handsome lizard!!  some koalas in a gum tree!! the kangaroos are resting in the shade today because it is very hot somebody was playing with the sign and got her fingers in the way!!! Off home now for a cold drink and a rest. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 19, 2013, 12:35 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we said goodbye to Napoleon - he is off on his travels once again - this time he is going to Japan for the cherry blossom time.  I wished him safe travels!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Mar 25, 2013, 9:15 am	Hi Mum, Today we helped  with folding paper cranes for the Japanese teacher at school. There are students from Fukushima visiting the school and the cranes are for them - it is a sign of respect Buddy and I were helping each other! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 2, 2013, 8:31 am	Hi Mum!    Hi Dr Krobner!  This week is Multi Cultural week at school, so there is a display in the library, strange music playing at bell times, foreign movies at lunch break and strange smells coming from the food tech area. here we are in the library with the book display there are recipes for Indonesian and Japanese food and lots of different flags - see the best flag there in the top right corner!!  More soon Hugs and kisses Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 2, 2013, 8:48 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  We are at the beach and this morning are taking the Chow for a walk nice day Mum Mmmmm....someone is swimming and not walking!!  Here he comes, we are off now! We came across this old winch that was used to pull the boats up onto the beach before the jetty was built. More soon Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 2, 2013, 9:03 am	Hi Mum, Walking the Chow chow again but in the opposite direction to yesterday taking in the sights Oh No!! We have to walk up all these stairs now!! Tiredly yours Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 2, 2013, 9:14 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr. Krobner  Another beach walk for the dog today guess who was swimming again!!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 2, 2013, 9:26 am	Hi Mum, Today was working in the garden day today - check out all the mulch to move!! Phew!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 2, 2013, 9:34 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  Sue had a sewing day today  with a friend and made this little basket - just the right size for me!  Looking good Mum!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 3, 2013, 9:42 pm	Hi Mum,    Hi Dr Krobner  Happy Easter!! Yum!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 16, 2013, 1:12 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we said goodbye to Buddy - he is off to Oklahoma! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 16, 2013, 8:00 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  Today we took the dog for a walk in the park It is a nice day!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 16, 2013, 8:04 am	Hey Mum, Today we have been to the market YUM!!!  Quite a busy day today LUNCH!!! Baked potato with butter, cheese, bacon and pineapple Mine all mine!!!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 16, 2013, 8:46 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner    Today we are on our way to the beach and have stopped at Geelong to have a look at the bollards just visiting the cage  here!!  hanging out with Suomi-boy Nice shiny clear water here Mum I think this life saver has been in a bit of trouble! this is an eastern rosella joining the band Mum!!  Off now for a ride on the Thomas train along the waterfront Oh we nearly forgot the tram conductor!! Off for a rest now and maybe lunch? Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 17, 2013, 10:17 pm	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  We had a walk on the track by the beach this morning I am being a tree sheep!!  More soon Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 17, 2013, 10:28 pm	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we are having a look at Queenscliffe - an old town by the beach with a fort built in the 1800's. It is very popular now as a holiday place. Heading off for a walk along the pier here I am on the pier looking over towards the fort on the hill this structure is on the pier and is the old waiting area for people going on the ferry - the ferry has a new wharf and waiting room now a bit along the coast now I am up near the fort and looking back to the pier which is the second one in the photo Nice day here today and clear water down there!  this is the newer light house near the fort built in the 1960's - is the only black light house in Australia and this is the old light house built in the 1860's surrounded by new shipping signs the beach by the fort looking over to Point Lonsdale where there is another light house! we think this is a de fused WW2 relic Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 21, 2013, 3:35 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we are having a look along some of the coast line here - this is Ocean Grove Off down the coast now Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 30, 2013, 12:27 am	Hi Mum, We had a look at Barwon Heads a bit further along the coast from Ocean Grove Looking back to the township and bridge we drove over looking out to the ocean Rough coast along here Mum, it is know as the ship wreck coast because so many ships came aground or sank here back in the 1800's. More soon Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 30, 2013, 12:29 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  We have come back from the other two place and stopped at this place to have a look at the light house here is the opening to Port Phillip Bay where the ships go through to get up to Melbourne and here is the light house! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 30, 2013, 12:31 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Walking Tupai along the beach today he is going swimming but it is too cold for me!! Off home now! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 30, 2013, 12:56 am	Hi Mum, Today some cooking was happening here some grated cheese, pepper, bacon, eggs and grated cheese went in to a bowl, crusts were cut off bread, and put into muffin pans and this is the end result!! Yum!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 30, 2013, 1:00 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we went to the Australian Quilt Convention in the Melbourne Exhibition Buildings here I am walking towards the building - you can see the tower in the back ground busy and interesting place! we found this interesting house in the park on the way back to the car. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Apr 30, 2013, 1:31 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today is ANZAC day - a day when Australian and New Zealand people remember the men and women who went to war, in the afternoon there is an Aussie Rules football match between two of the Melbourne teams, Essendon and Collingwood at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. Lots of people go to the game but also lots watch on the big screen at Federation Square we also helped Charly6 have a look around the city  In a shop I found these Back packs - I wanted to bring all of the home!!! I was sad when I had to leave them behind  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted May 12, 2013, 5:53 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we have been for a drive to Macedon - just 15 mins from Gisborne to have a look at the autumn leaves in the avenue of honour we are a little late for the best colour but can see lots of fallen leaves! confused photo uploader here Mum - I was siting not lying down!! driving back home here I am in the street Sue lives in good colours here Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted May 12, 2013, 6:11 am	Nice sunrise this morning Mum!  Hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted May 12, 2013, 6:20 am	Hi Mum, Today we have been to see the Victoria Market in Melbourne - you can buy just about anything here. unusual sculpture!!  I checked out the boomerangs and the hats the fruit and veg Yay!! We stopped for lunch!  then we found a Christmas shop!! Now Mum we are off on a chocolate tour!! Yum!! this is the window of the Haighs chocolate shop we went to a chocolate shop here too but I liked the arcade we were in now I am in the Royal Arcade Mmmmmmm....now to choose!!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted May 12, 2013, 6:22 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Quiet day at home today so we enjoyed the sun! so did Tupai! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted May 16, 2013, 6:24 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  Today we have been to play golf - it started out a lovely day but then we had hail and rain!! No good for being outside!! I stayed in the golf bag!! check out the hail stones!!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted May 28, 2013, 7:52 am	Hi Mum,  Hi Dr Krobner!!  Back at the beach again this weekend - we played a game of "How Many TV's can you get on a Post"!! We started with me and Charly6 then came Elmar then came Suomi-boy no worries to us, we are very good at this game!!  just relaxing on the beach here Mum!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted May 28, 2013, 7:54 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  A  Sunday morning walk on the beach before we had to head home again Tupai had a swim!!! Too cold for me! Hi Mum!! Hi Dr Krobner!! Tee hee!!!!  Guess who is swimming again!! Back home again, More soon Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:24 am	Hi Mum!    Hi Dr Krobner!  Today we said good bye to Elmar - he is off on his travels Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:27 am	Later in the afternoon we went in to the city and sent Elmar off in the post, the had a little look around here I am by the Yarra River looking over towards South Bank we found some graffiti Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:30 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we have gone to a scrapbooking class - down the road is a little park with some interesting wood sculptures the wooden seat was a bit big for us!!  Back to the scrapbooking now [IMG] [URL=http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/tupaismum/media/P1050143_zpsb535424a.jpg.html] Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:43 am	Hi Everyone!!  Today we are at a sewing day at a quilt shop in Ballan with us is Pumpkin the orang-utan and Peg and Dale some travelling chooks from New South Wales, we got to share the chocolate!! Yum!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:45 am	Hi Everyone!!  Today was very cold in the morning and our summer swimming pool was frozen on the top!! Good morning for staying inside!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:47 am	Hi Everyone!!  Back at the beach for the weekend we took Tupai for a late afternoon walk. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:49 am	Hi Everyone!  Nice day today - we are off for a walk to the supermarket! we found some interesting toadstools in the caravan park and some more on a tree! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:52 am	Good morning for a walk we made a sand castle it is a bit windy today so there are waves on the bay more growing things!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:55 am	In the afternoon we drove around the bay to Port Arlington to get some mussels - Sue's friend loves to eat them!! The weather was bad when we got there so we walked along the wharf to see this ship we didn't go on board to have a look because Sue gets sea sick really easily!!!!  and the rain was starting to be heavy, so we got the mussels and headed home. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 8:58 am	Hi Everyone!!  Our last walk on the beach - we are heading home this afternoon Tupai checking out the empty mussel shells, we picked them up and threw them in the deeper water, the Tupai couldn't chew on them!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 13, 2013, 9:01 am	Hi Mum      Hi Dr Krobner  Today we have said good bye to Charly - he is off to sunny Spain for a holiday!! But a package has arrived in the mail we couldn't hear anything so we had a look inside it is Fabler Bjorn he has come for a holiday in Australia We are off now to sit by the fire and exchange travel stories. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 19, 2013, 8:54 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  How is everyone? All good here, we took Fabler Bjorn to the park today when we walked Tupai here we are on the path by the creek up into the old part of the park and down through the old oak trees. More soon Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx PS Hey Mum in two weeks we are going to New South Wales for a beach holiday!! Yay!!!
fleursmum Posted Jun 22, 2013, 10:51 am	Hi Mum!!   Hi Dr Krobner!  Have a look at the park this morning!!  We had a frost over night!! Back home we found the dam was full of water again and the bird bath was frozen! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 24, 2013, 5:00 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  This evening we have been down to have a look at the light show on the old Court House building - there weren't many photos so we didn't stay long, plus it was very cold so we wanted to be back home by the fire!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 24, 2013, 5:02 am	Off to the park to take Tupai for a walk again this morning- another frosty night the flower buds are starting to come on the wattle trees! Maybe spring isn't too far away now! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 24, 2013, 5:03 am	In the afternoon we went to scrapping class again so took Fabler Bjorn to see the sculptures in the park Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 27, 2013, 7:29 am	Hi Mum,  Hi Dr Krobner, There are some early spring flowers in the garden so is Tupai the chow chow!!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 27, 2013, 7:44 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we went to the city and showed Fabler Bjorn some of the places we have seen we found this great wool display in one of the shopping arcades and here we are with Fabler Bjorn by the Yarra River. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 29, 2013, 12:27 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner, Today a new TV arrived - we looked at the travel bag - it is from America!! We said hello!! It is Little Squirt!!  Saturday we are all heading off on holidays together!!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 29, 2013, 9:00 am	Hi Mum, On our way to day we drove through Bendigo which is an old gold mining town, now a city Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 29, 2013, 9:17 am	Hi Mum,  Hello Dr Krobner, Now we are on the border of Victoria and New South Wales - once we cross the Murray river we are in New South Wales Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 29, 2013, 10:02 am	We stopped to have a look at these signs on the side of the road - one about an earthquake that was here and the other about the Long Paddock - this is many miles of land between the road and the fence lines that was made available to farmers when they didn't have grass on their farms Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jun 29, 2013, 10:39 am	Hi Mum, Hi Dr Krobner  We are here in Narrandera for the night - we has a short walk around - it is a bit late for photos, but we took a photo of the Council Offices and a memorial to the men who learned to fly the Tiger Moth plane in WW2 at a base not far from here. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 1, 2013, 9:33 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  We are leaving Narrandera and heading for Coonabarrabran which is about 500 kms away!!  When we left it was like this But later the weather cleared Not long now!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 1, 2013, 9:36 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  We have arrived and are having a look in the information centre Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 1, 2013, 10:02 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner!! Today we stopped to have a photo at the Golden Guitar centre in Tamworth Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 1, 2013, 10:19 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner We are driving through the Great Dividing Range - the weather is raining and foggy and the roads narrow!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 1, 2013, 10:20 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner We have arrived!! The weather is not good - very windy and the sea is rough but it is not cold Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 2, 2013, 8:02 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  We had a walk to the beach this morning..through the nearby streets in Safety Beach, past the High School, through some bush, over a creek and out at the beach. We sat on the rocks at the end of the beach and watched the waves pounding in - it is still very windy but not cold - this is the Pacific ocean here some big waves here Mum!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 3, 2013, 7:55 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  it is a nice day today, supposed to be 21 degrees C...we had a walk along the beach we found an interesting tree growing the sand we walked until we came to the end of the beach and had a rest on the rocks before heading home In the afternoon we went to Woolgoolga Heads to look for whales, but sadly didn't see any, they are supposed to be swimming past at this time of the year! Ah well maybe tomorrow! [URL=http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/tupaismum/media/P1050601_zpsb8f60eec.jpg.html] Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 4, 2013, 9:22 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner Off to the beach for a walk again this morning On the way we found the bones of an old ship buried in the sand We found these unusual sand balls on the beach - they made some unusual shapes Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 4, 2013, 9:26 am	Hi Everyone!!  In the afternoon we went down the coast to Coff's Harbour and went out on the headland to try and spot a whale swimming by, but sadly no luck!  On the way home we stopped at the local tourist attraction the Big Banana, so we could have a photo taken with the Big Banana!! Good bunch of bananas here Mum!!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 6, 2013, 8:00 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner    This morning we had a walk through the bush next to the estuary we saw lots of bats - we think fruit bats - hanging in the trees. There were hundreds of them!!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xx00xx
fleursmum Posted Jul 7, 2013, 6:30 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner Today we had a walk past the golf course across the swing bridge over the river along the road and the track and out on to the headland then down on to the beach. When we got back to the bungalow, we went through the back fence to say hello to the kangaroos they are enjoying the sunshine! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 9, 2013, 9:49 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner Today we have driven through Cowra and stopped to have a look at the memorial for a prisoner of war camp that was here during WW2. Not much is left now as it was dismantled at the end of the war. We had to scrunch up for photos today because someone forgot to charge the camera battery and it is nearly flat!!!  Can't mention any names!!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 9, 2013, 10:01 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  Tonight we are staying at Wagga Wagga near the Murrumbidgee River. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 20, 2013, 1:26 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  Today we said goodbye to Fabler Bjorn, he is heading off to America to continue his travels Life is a bit quiet here at present, I am off to sit by the fire. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 24, 2013, 8:37 am	Hi Mum,    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we have a new TV visiting He is Sidney L and he has come from Germany.  We are off to the beach this weekend so can show Sidney where we go walking. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xx00xx
fleursmum Posted Jul 30, 2013, 8:32 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today we took the dog for a walk on the beach - it is very windy today Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Jul 30, 2013, 8:34 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  Today we had a walk in between rain showers and found this sea creature washed up on the beach, there were lots like this Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 11, 2013, 4:31 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Off down the beach again this morning  we sat and enjoyed the view for a while Mmmmmm....ig jelly fish washed up on the beach No diving in for us here Mum!! Too cold anyway!! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 11, 2013, 4:34 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner    Last walk down the beach until next time Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 11, 2013, 4:36 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner Today we said goodbye to The WotWots - they are off n their travels again, this time to Germany!! and we said hello to Sunshiney - he has just arrived from HongKong. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 11, 2013, 4:38 am	Guess where I am once again!!  Hi Mum....Hi Dr Krobner!!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 11, 2013, 4:40 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner      Today we visited a friend of Sue's and had a chat to her dogs Jasmine and Misty - it was hard to sit on the slippery couch!!  Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 11, 2013, 6:24 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  We went out to a book crossing meet up today we went down the Calder freeway we went along Bulla Road - there is a narrow bridge here but the photo didn't come out to well! we stopped for petrol and refreshments out on  to the Tullamarine freeway and here we are at the Green Sage Cafe - lots of books needing new homes back along the Tullamarine Freeway and the Calder freeway and just up this rise we turn right and we are home! Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 11, 2013, 6:31 am	Back to the park again today Here I am with Suomi-boy and SidneyL. near the soccer fields. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 13, 2013, 9:31 am	Hi Mum....Hi Dr Krobner  Today in the park we saw that the Tane Mahuta statue from New Zealand had been yarn bombed - it had little crochet flowers and a heart on it. maybe it is to make Tane Mahuta feel better as his head was stolen a few months ago! back near the council offices Sidney L and I saw the Australian and Aboriginal flags flying. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 19, 2013, 6:44 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  Back in the park today and having a look at the old court house and jail it is a lovely morning behind us is Gardiner Oval where the Aussie Rules football is played. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 19, 2013, 6:46 am	Today we came to work but Sue had a very busy day so only one photo with the elephant the art students decorated Love to everyone Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 19, 2013, 6:47 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Today it was sunny them this huge black cloud came over and there was a hail shower there were a few little stones left when we got outside Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 23, 2013, 9:20 am	Hi Mum  Hi Dr Krobner  My last walk in the park today  we are in the old part of the park up behind the football oval. Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
fleursmum Posted Aug 23, 2013, 9:25 am	Hi Mum    Hi Dr Krobner  Guess what today is?? It is goodbye day  I said goodbye to Cyril and to Tupai had a hug with some of the orangutans and said goodbye to Elmar, Sidney L, Little Squirt, Suomi-boy and Sunshiney. I was a bit sad Mum  but I am in my travel bag now and have food and company and I am off to Finland for more adventures. maybe I can come back to Australia again one day...who knows!! See you from Finland Love and hugs Mr Shaun xxooxx
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Sep 4, 2013, 8:10 pm	Hello, dear mom!  And hello my late Australian host mom too! I´m sure you´re both happy to know I have arrived safely to Finland!  My envelope was pushed and pulled and dragged (and I´m sure, thrown!) from plane to plane and truck and train, and I could hear the languages outside changing. When it got totally incomprehensible I guessed I had come to Finland.  So I made a hole to my envelope and roamed out - I had got enough of it. I packed the things from the envelope into my suitcase and started marching towards the deepest forest I could find, having heard that my new host was living in middle of a big big forest.  It really was a big forest, and I was searching for any signs of a little red cottage, a kiwi, frog, bat and cat. After walking couple of hours I felt a bit thirsty, so I digged a bottle from the suitcase, and I was soon enjoying my walk much more.  I walked couple of hours more and took some sips more, and was singing all sort of songs while walking.  I was just in middle of the sixth verse of "Mary has a little lamb" when I suddenly heard an answer! "Hi, who´s singing?!" shouted a small voice. I walked towards the shouter and soon I saw a kiwi, frog and bat!  It was the kiwi who was shouting. "Hello, you, come here! You look like a toyvoyager to me!" And I was running! I was so happy to meet real people (well, toyvoyagers) after the kilometers of spruces, pines, birches and rowans!  "Hello, friends! This must be the place I´m looking for! I see a kiwi, frog and bat! I am Mr Shaun. By the way, where is the cat?" I panted. "Wellcome, wellcome!" they all shouted to me, and then I flew into the kiwis neck, because the relief was so great! Her name is Zoe, by the way.  Then the frog Tuli hugged me too and said "Wellcome, Shaun!"  And so did the bat Stoker. "Wellcome, Shaun!"  I tried to take one sip more, but noticed my bottle had somehow disappeared.  Instead I gave  my new friends the gifts my australian hostmum had put with me. They were very enthusiastic with the sweets!  (They all send their thanks, and my new host Henna too!) But that was nothing compared to the excitement of Zoe, when she saw the bookmark with a pic of a kiwi bird. "Hey, there´s my pic in it!" she shouted. "Can I have it, please?" We all agreed with that! And the little koala bear, Pip, whom I also brought with me, immediately climbed to Zoes lap. They originate from the same part of world, you see.  And then came the cat Cuty too and hugged me! (He had been spying on some birdies..  ) I think I´m going to like this forest gang here! They led me to the little red cottage, which is going to be my home for some time.  In the evening we sat round an open fire on the yard and talked, and watched the sky to turn dark. It was a nice first evening!  See you soon, dear mom, and all my friends! Kisses from Shaun!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Sep 16, 2013, 7:02 pm	Hyvää iltaa, äiti! (Good evening, mom!)  How are you? I´ve been familiarizing myself with the gang here, our surroundings and the odd lifestyle of my new host.  There was three voyagers arriving here the same week - me, Mr Casanova and Matcha. So the elder gang took us for a sightseeing tour in the village. I must say there wasn´t much sights to be seen!  This is the main road, along which the buses come to the village. We walked along the road and saw, umm, fields.  Then we walked some kilometers more and saw a building! Wow!  Henna told us about her Portuguese friend, who had been on a visit in Nuuksio, and asked "Where is the village?" - What do you mean where? You´re standing on its main road! -But where are the houses, the shops, the people? -There isn´t any shops, and few houses and people. -But where is the centre of the village? -You´re right there! You´re standing beside the telephone booth! -You´re kidding!  We saw some horses on a field. "Hello, horsies!" shouted I. But they were just continuing their eating. They´re not used to seeing living things on the road, and propably dismissed us as hallusinations.  We saw Nuuksio school. It has about 30 students between the ages 7 and 12. Because there is so little of them, the grades 1-3 are in one classroom, and the grades 4-6 in the other.  There was a small old bridge, and under it run a small stream called Salaoja. Some hundred years ago it was part of an important water route along which boats were transporting goods and people from the seashore  to the inlands and wise verca. Hard to believe now!  We followed the stream trough groves and thickets of hazelnut bushes and birches.  We saw another, a bit bigger bridge. The stream had grown a bit wider too.  The stream led us to the shore of the lake Nuuksion Pitkäjärvi (Nuuksio Long Lake). Yes, it is very long. After the iceage it was a fjord of the sea. There is a rock painting from stone age on one shore, but it can only be seen from a boat or from the ice in winter. It shows a pic of an elk.  We spotted a house on the other shore!  There was some rowingboats of people living near by.  I think there´s more boats than houses. Interesting!  The shores were growing thick reed forests. There was pikes hiding between the reedstems. For them it was a real forest.  Since there clearly was nothing more to see in the village, we decided to go to search for mushrooms into the forest around the lake.  We followed a smaller road into the forest. There was wonderful lingonberries growing in the forest. I was eating like a crazy!  And blueberries too! I was eating like another crazy!  And then we started to search for the mushrooms. This one was hard not to spot!  It is a Russula paludosa, and it is ediblle. I tasted it, and it tasted, umm, mushroomy.  And then we found some elk poop.  I found a chanterelle! I was very happy about it!  And then I found a big anthill, and stopped to watch them dragging spruceneedles and murdered insects into their nest, and just busying themselves otherwise, but I shouldn´t have, because soon the most warlike ants were climbing along my legs, snarling their teeth and thinking to turn me into a dinner, and then I run!  Next we found a bunch of Kuehneromyces mutabilis. I was convinced they are delicious too. Lets see!  We stopped to make coffee over a fire. It felt wonderful after all running!  We also warmed up some karjalanpiirakkas, (Carelian pastries).  After the coffeebreak I found some Cantharellus tubaeformis, and we all got exited, because they are about the best mushrooms ever!  We all started feverishly to search for more, because they usually appear as big gangs.  Here is our prey! We were all happy walking back home with the load of mushrooms!  Back home we made food on the yard.  We cleaned the mushrooms and put them on a frying pan with some butter, onion, garlic and salt. Then we added some broccoli, cawliflower, carrot, green beans and cream.  And then we ate!  It was simply superb!  I wish you would have been here eating with us!  See you soon again! Your Shaun
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Sep 29, 2013, 10:12 am	Hyvää huomenta, rakas äiti! (Good morning, dear mother!)  How are you? I´m very well and we have been visiting some interesting places.  Last weekend we visited Linnanmäki amusement park in Helsinki.  We were first walking around the park, watching the different rides and listening to people screaming.  Besides people bumping onto each other, coming dizzy from the rides, or eating candy floss, there was also some nice flowers and fountains to be seen. I think this one looks like a peacocks tail.  We wanted to try some rides too, but it wasn´t so easy to find an understanding about the rides! Some of them looked a bit too horrible, and others just a bit too boring.  But then we saw one ride we all wanted certainly to visit - this cute old carousel with swings!  So, there we went, and it was so wonderful we went there about ten times more!  Whee! I could come here every day!  Next we visited this ghosthouse, and there we were screaming too! Sadly it was too dark inside to take pics, but I can tell that we saw monsters attacking us behind corners, and horrible ghosts flying across the ceiling!  So we wanted something more relaxing, and took a ride in the Ferris wheel.  It had cute little gondolas in which we rised higher and higher towards the sky.  From the top we saw a beautiful view over Helsinki.  Back upon the earth again. We passed this ride, because it looked quite too horrible, but Henna went in, and we watched her to come out, rather green-faced but grinning.  Then we were going round and round in teacups, hahaa!  We watched a beautiful old animal carousel, in which people sit over elephants and giraffees and whatnot.  We took a ride around the area in a small monorail train. The evening was already turning dark, and we knew we sould leave back to home soon. Surprisingly Henna said she wanted to take another round in the monorail. We were a bit surprised, but followed her to sit in a wagon.. But she was fooling us! It wasn´t the monorail at all, it was the rollercoaster, and soon we were all screaming and giggling like hell! It was both horrible and fantastic! Wheeeeeeeee! What a great way to finish a great day!  See you soon again, dear mom! Many hugs from your little Shaun!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Oct 7, 2013, 9:41 pm	Hyvää iltaa, rakas äiti! Good evening, dear mom!  How are you doing? Here we have already had some rather cool days, and in nighttime the degrees drop below zero. But inside the little cottage it is warm and cosy, and outside.. well, as a sheep I always have my natural woollen overall on!  The sunny days are getting rare, and when we get one, we always go somewhere to take photos when there is a possibility. Last weekend we went to Helsinki to have a sightseeing trough some of the "hotspots". Helsinki is about 30 kilometers from Nuuksio, and we took a bus and a train to get there.  We started our sightseeing from the statue of the three blacksmiths, because it is a spot where many people living in Helsinki area meet each other, when they´re going somewhere together. The statue is.. well, it is showing three blacksmiths, who have stripped their clothes off and are hammering happily together, naked.  A bit odd, maybe, or maybe not, considering that all European cities are bursting with statues showing naked women, alone and in groups. So, why not men too?  We walked towards the direction of an area called Kamppi, and passed by this street artist, who was doing some rope walking in a Superman costume.  In Kamppi we saw the newest one of the church buildings in Helsinki. It is called Hiljaisuuden kappeli (The Chapel of Silence). It is built totally of wood.  Inside the chapel the atmosphere was really peacefull, and I must say I liked it, although from outside it looked like a dinosaurs egg!  We continued our walk along a nice esplanade called Esplanadi (ha ha!).  There is always beautiful flowerbeds in Esplanadi green areas (well, not in the winter, of course!), and people love to spend their time on the lawn, reading and picknicking, or being drunk as skunks.  Henna wanted to show me a shop along the Esplanadi, and we hopped in.  The shop is called The Christmas Shop, and it was worth of seeing! It was selling nothing but christmas decorations.  I met there a friendly polar bear, who said I fitted well amongst the christmas animals, because I too have a white fur!  I spent a good time watching all the decorations. It felt a bit odd, though, there being a sunny day outside, and flowers still blooming, and the christmas carols ringing inside the shop.  The ceiling was full of traditional decorations made of straw.  I was admiring the christmas three, which really transferred me into a christmasy mood.  There was a whole gang of snow-white squirrels, hopping here and there. They asked me if I was one of the sheep the shepherds were herding in the meadows of Bethlehem.  On my way out I met a group Santas little helpers. They were already waiting the first snow rather impatiently!  We returned to the Esplanadi, and walked towards its southern end. There we saw a popular restaurant called Kappeli (Chapel). The famous finnish artists of the national romantic movement spent most of their time there, hundred years ago.  There was also a very nice little statue called Kalapojat (Fishboys). We reached the Kauppatori market square, where they sell fruit and vegetables, mushrooms, fish and souveniers in small booths.  It is a very popular place to sit having coffee and to buy fresh ingredients for food. I saw many delicious looking fruit!  We stopped to wonder a fountain, in middle of which there is a statue called Havis Amanda. It was sculpted by Ville Vallgren in 1906 in Paris. He was one of those artists who spent half of his lifetime sitting in the Chapel restaurant. The other half, I guess, he spent in Paris.  Every year on Vappu (1.5) Amanda serves as a centrepiece for the celebrations. Students of the local universities put a cap on the statue in an elaborate ceremony. For many it is a "must see" event. There is also an urban legend that Havis Amanda patronizes men's sexual potency. Some men believe that washing one's face with water from one of Havis Amanda's fountains and shouting thrice "Rakastaa!" (Finnish verb "love") increases men's sexual ability. Look what the sea lion is doing, mom! Is that good behavior, I just ask? To spit like that over who knows what or whom!  We left the sea lion alone and walked to see Uspenski Cathedral. It is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary). It was designed by the Russian architect Alexey Gornostaev (1808–1862).  The door was open, and so we peeked also inside. There was lots of gold and beautiful icons everywhere.  We walked past Helsinki University library, where Henna has been sitting the past 15 years.  We came to the square of Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral. It is an important place where many of the demonstrations take place. In middle of it is the statue of Tsar Aleksander II of Russia, who also was the emperor of Finland at the time the church was built. The cathedral itself was built in 1830-1852, and it was designed by Carl Ludvig Engel. The stairs are a very popular place to hang amongst the students of the university. In winter the stairs are covered with snow, and the students are using them as a slide.  I think it is a beautiful building. What do you think, mom?  W were all starting to feel a bit tired and peckish, and so we headed back towards the bus station.  I think Helsinki is a cute little capitol, and delightingly green.  On or way back home we stopped to have some coffee and pancakes with jam and whipped cream.  Hug from your adventurous sheep! See you soon again!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Oct 16, 2013, 10:12 am	Hyvää päivää taas, äiti!  (Good day again, mother!) I wish you are having a good day! We are having a rainy day, but I consider it a good day too - a good day for writing updates, which should have been written long time ago! I´ll show you photos about a sunny day when we went for a walk, in late september, uhm.. .. I didn´t have time then to make the update..  But better late than never, they say!  My host Henna had to spend some time in an allergy hospital in Helsinki because of her UV allergy. While she was there, enjoying the pleasures of various tests, we toyvoyagers were exploring the area around to the hospital.  It was a nice bay area with boat harbours and canooing clubs and such. The sea looked so very very blue!  We walked trough a small park, discussing if it would be possible that someone could be allergic to tovoyagers.  And if so, how would it be tested? The patient laying on a hosbital table with 60 toyvoyager hopping over him/her and sitting over his/hers nose? I think even a totally healthy person would so somekind of reaction to that!  In the park was a monument, honouring the finnish composer Jean Sibelius.  We honoured him too by checking if he had hairy nostrils. (He didn´t.)  Jean Sibelius (1865 – 1957) was a composer of the late Romantic period. His music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His best known work is his set of seven symphonies.  Sibelius loved nature, and the Finnish landscape served as material for his music. So I guess these pipes can be interpreted as being either pipes of a church organ or icicles hanging from a cliff in the forest, or maybe both..  It is said that these pipes have an echo too. So we were shouting and growling and singing into them, and I guess half of the Helsinki must have heard it.  We returned to the shoreline and continued our walk. We saw some old industrial buildings on the other side of the bay. Suddenly we came onto an area which was divided into many small garden patches growing vegetables and autumn flowers.  There is many such areas in the Helsinki region. The land is owned by the ctiy, and people living in the region can rent a little garden patch for a summer and grow there vegetables to eat.  I think it is a great system! There was many wonderful flowers!  Do you see these wondrfull cornflowers? There is lots of them in Finland, growing as weeds on the rye fields.  It is now endangered in many parts of Europe by agricultural intensification, particularly over-use of herbicides, destroying its habitat. It was interesting to see how some people were growing for example many different cabbages on their patch, some others had only flowers or berrybushes, strawberries or potatoes. I guess everyone grow what they like most.  I´m sure you would love to see these small gardens, mom!  Maybe we can come here together some day. These are Echinacea purpurea, purple coneflower. They are used as herbs to prevent flue.  We left the wonderful little paradise, and walked forward along the shoreline. We saw a cute little red cottage pretty near, and there seemed to be lots of people around it. So went to find out what was happening there. It was a cute little cottage café! We decided realised immediately that we were immensely hungry and in need of coffee!  I get to choose what cake we would have, because it was also my last time in a café here in Finland. I chose blueberry pie!  With whipped cream!  There was a blog of flats for birdies on the yard of the café cottage. Must be nice people keeping it!  We walked past an old graveyard called Hietaniemen hautausmaa. It was very green and park-like and full of trees and flowers. Many people here come to spend time in the graveyards, there is so silent and peacefull to sit on the benches under the trees, reading and enjoying the summer´s beauty.  There was also a verdant, shady bergola.  We walked then past some nice old wooden houses.  On the yard of one of the houses there was a very funny little fountain. I didn´t realise what it was first, but Tuli explained it was picturing a samovar, a Russian tea-machine.  This was the home of one of the finnish presidents, Urho Kekkonen. Now it is a museum, showing his private life to people.  We came onto a rocky shore and saw a white bridge leading onto an island. It was a very beautiful, wooden bridge.  On its other end we saw this plake telling us the island was "Seurasaaren kansanpuisto", the peoples park of Seurasaari island.  It was a nice, green island with narrow paths to walk, rocky shores and sandy beaches, and also some museum buildings to watch.  This has been the main building of a very wealthy farm house somewhere in western Finland. All the buildings are moved to the island from their original spots around Finland to preserve them. We were walking and imagining how it would have been to live in Finland for example two hundred years ago. I guess it would have depended just into what kind of family we would have been born into.. To be living in this house wouldn´t have been so easy!  The front part of this little house was for animals. They were taken in for wintertime and also for such nights in summertime when there was seen bears or wolves in the surrounding areas. The people lived in the front part of the cottage.  This is where they kept their foodstuff. The building is standing on higher posts so that the aforementioned bears and wolves wouldn´t break into it.  To me the lifestyle sounds a bit harsh! And for me as a sheep, all the talk about volwes and bears and whatnot circulating the home animals is a bit unnerving! Luckily we found an icecream booth! Nothing is so good to sooth our nerves as an icecream cone! Especially with liquorice icecream!  We continued our walk trough finnish history and nature.  And hid under treeroots trough a short rainfall.  We saw more funny little buildings.  And on the yard of one house we saw a very wellcoming little café where they sold gingerbuns.  Then we walked back to the beach and spent rest of the day just enjoying the warm rocks and sand and the sea.  I was spying on the fishes, but they were making faces to me!  I guess they wanted to keep their privacy.  We took a nap in the afternoon sun, listening to the waves.  Then we ate some karjalanpiirakkas (we are a hungry lot here!  ) After eating five pastries each, we went to investigate the little beach.  There was interesting insects and such. We were following them to see what they were so busy about, but they looked clearly irritated by the spying.  And then I was irritating the waves too!  You know - walking very near the waterfront and letting the waves almost touch my feet, but actually jumping aside every time in the last moment.  The sun started to set lower on the sky, but we were still lingering on the beach. We somehow felt instictively it was the last summerlike day in Finland this year.. We sat on the shoreline, watching the sun diwing to the Baltic Sea, and said goodbye to the summer and wellcomed the autumn.  In my next update I´m going to saw you the autumn.  Your loving little sheep, Shaun.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Oct 19, 2013, 3:08 pm	Hellurei again, dear mommy!  How is the autumn developing there? I´m now going to write a very herringy update!  We went for a walk in the shore again, but this time there was some fog over the water and the horizon looked grey and misty. I rather liked the new kind of beauty of the atmosphere!  The rocks were really smooth and felt soft under my paws. Henna explained it was the huge mass of ice during the ice age which polished the finnish shores.  Just imagine, mom! Henna told the icecover was five kilometers high!  No wonder it was grinding the ground! We wandered along the strand, admiring the beautiful views and investigating small details, like this oval little pool.  Had the weather been warmer, it would have been an excellent swimming pool for us! Now we just tipped our toes into it and screamed. Toyvoyagers don´t like cold water!  We saw small islands emerging from the mist. They reminded me of the fairy islands, which appear from under the wawes in certain special times and then disappear again, but it is possible to hear the singing and laughter of the fairy folk living there.  I was delighted by the white foam the sea was pushing over the rocks. According to the Greece mythology Afrodite, the goddess of love, was born from such foam, as a result of the intercourse of the sea and the land. (Oh dear - now the others are hopping and dancing round me and giggling. "Intercourse! Shaun wrote ´intercourse´, tihihii!") There was lots of green algae growing in the sea bottom and on the edge of the shoreline. I wonder if this is the type we could eat. Although it didn´t look very inviting.  The area where we were walking is called Porkkala, and it is owned by the communs of Helsinki, Espoo and Kirkkonummi. It is prohibited to build houses here, because the area is reserved for all people to refresh themselves in the beautiful shore nature. It is possible to tent there for free, and there are places to lit up an open fire to make food or coffee.  We hiked on a higher terrain, from which we get a wonderful view over the sea.  Behind the Finnish Gulf, about 80 kilometers to the south is Estonia. On some winter nights it is possible to see the glimmer of the lights of Tallinn from these rocks.  We didn´t get any glimpse of a shimmer, but instead we got a trifle of a certain smell drifting to our noses.  Herring! That was it! Zoe, who is crazy about fish, got quite wild and started to follow the smell, running after it like in hypnosis, and had to run after her.  Soon we saw a fishingboat, and then another, and a thir one, all sailing to the same direction, and we run following them.. .. and came to the Kauppatori Market Square, where there was the Herring Fair going on!  There was even more people than usually and most of them sat munching on herrings.  Zoe disappeared amongst the herring dish - booths, drooling. We others went to watch around in more civilized manner.  The herring fair (Silakkamarkkinat) is an annual event held in Helsinki in October every year. During the herring fair, many archipelagans arrive in the Eteläsatama harbour to sell fish and other archipelago products directly from their boats.  The event is very old; according to common knowledge it was first held in 1743. The event has been forgotten from time to time, for various reasons, but in the 1980s it was revived and has become very popular.  The fair lasts a week, and it is all about herring.  There are fishermen coming along the coast in their fishingboats to sell the herring, but most of them also sell different herring products they´re producing.  There´s herring in glass jars with varying ingredients and spices, smoked herring, herring pies, kalakukko, of course, and traditional island bread, called black bread, which contains blood.  It was really hard to get any kind of photos of the herring stands - there was so many people blocking the view. I don´t know.. fish is good for our health and some of it is quite tasty, but I wouldn´t go raving mad about it and fighting to get my herring!  Besides the fishingboats and stands selling fish, there was many boats serving as restaurants selling beer and fish dishes.  We walked around watching the boats and people and activities going on and keeping an eye on Zoe, who was trotting like mad here and there, herring tails hanging from her beak.  Every year during the fair there´s a jury picking the best herring product of the year. How would you like to be in the jury, mom? Tasting maybe 200 different herringy things in one morning?  Besides the best herring product, there is also a competition for the most beautiful fishing boat every year.  I personally enjoyed more the blue sky and sea and the shrieking of the daring seagulls than the herrings.  There was also a nature wellfare organization giving people information about what fish to eat and what not, considering that there´s nowadays for example many endangered tuna species, not to speak of sardins, which have been overfished the past hundred years.  Then we visited an old lighthouse boat, which has also been turned into a sailing restaurant.  There was a brass band playing on board, and it all looked quite nice, but it was time to head back home again, and it took two hours to locate Zoe and to coax her to come with us. We had to buy ten kilos of different herring products to get her onto bus with us.  A warm hug to you! Your little sheep Shaun
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Oct 21, 2013, 8:39 pm	Hyvää huomenta, rakas äiti! (Good morning, dear mother!)  Mitä kuuluu? (How are you?) We went yesterday for a walk here in the surroundings, and then happened something very fun, and I´m now going to tell you about it!  In the morning the earth was lightly white! It had been snowing a bit during the night. When the sun rise the snow melted away, but in the Northern Finland there is already half meter of snow.  We walked along a narrow, peaceful road. The day was turning to be sunny and the birds were singing cheerfully on the pine tops when we walked past.  We were watching the birds, and the sky looked so blue we wanted to climb the treetops ourselves too.  See how high up we were! A crow saw us sitting on the tree branches and stopped to talk with us. "Gee! Wow! How come there is two frogs, a sheep, a kiwi bird and a teddybear high up in the tree?" she asked. "We´re toyvoyagers!" we answered, "we can be where ever!" Then we came down again, and the forest surrounding the small road was so beautiful, that I sat, leaning on a tree trunk, just enjoying the view and the sun and the smells of the forest - the decaying leaves and the earth itself.  We reached the small Salaoja stream, which run to the lake Sahajärvi. The name of the stream comes of a small species of fish, called salakka (bleak), living in it.  We were playing on the little stream, hopping from stone to stone, screaming and giggling.  And then we were making bridges of tree branches and balancing ourselves over them.  We left the stream and walked along the shore of the lake. We saw many rowing boats on the bank, and a desire to get rowing on the lake conquered our fluffy hearts!  But alas! The boats were all so very big! We tried, but there was no way to move such a big boat!  What frustration! But then..! Look, mom, what we found!  We could hardly believe our eyes! A toyvoyager -size rowing boat waiting for us!  Must be a very smart, civilized and enlightened person who has left it there! We pushed the boat in great hurry onto the water!  When the boat started to float we all rushed in at the same time, eager to get on board, and ended up into a great pile on the bottom of the boat..  The cargo was too big and too unbalanced! The boat lurched and one voyager flew to the water!  "Voyager overboard! Voyager overboard!" we shouted in panic, but then I realised it was Tuli, and as a frog she just swam easily back onto the shore, phew!  But the accident made us realise we should be more carefull and take turns!  So we went on boating three at a time, and like that it went well!  I let Matcha to do the actual rowing, because I was feeling very lazy, and it felt more inviting to just sit enjoying the boatride. There was fishes who came to stare us. "Hey, guys, come and see! Funny creatures in the boat! Is that a sheep or what?" "Yeah, fishes!" we answered, "Why don´t you do something surprising some time? " The weather was very calm, and there was no waves at all - it felt like we were gliding on the surface of a mirror.  After boating round the lake and surprising many fishes and waterbirds we get back on dry land.  We sat still for sometime watching the beautiful lake view, and then we left back home. We came home in a great mood. I would love to take you rowing some time! Kisses from Shaun!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Nov 1, 2013, 10:28 pm	Hyvää Kekriä, äiti!  Kekri is the traditional finnish celebration of the last day of October. It is related to the celtic samhain and more modern Halloween. The Kekri was the end of the work-year, when all the harvest was done, the animals were slaughtered, the berries and mushrooms were collected, and the larders were full. So there was more food than any other time of the year, and a good reason to celebrate.  We went for a trip into the Porkkala area, and on our way there Henna told us that the harvest celebration was just half of the Kekri. The Kekri was also the last possibility to celebrate for a long time, since the whole month of November is a month of the dead. Even the finnish name for November (Marraskuu) means "The month of death". Tuli told me that during the whole November the dead people are on the move, visiting their old homes and keeping an eye on their descendants. They were served food and the sauna was heated fro them throughout the whole month, and the living people had to behave in a very subdued manner and keep up their best behavior and manners. So, in Kekri people were drinking and dancing and uhm, doing certain fertility rites.  I must say after hearing all that talk about spirits moving upon earth made me feel a bit creepy. I was watching behind my back more than usually, but didn´t see anything.  There was a bit a snow in shady places, and I tried on my new hat.  We made up a fire and heated some glögi over it.  That is a warm drink the finns like to have in winter. It is a bit similar than the german glüchwine.  It tasted good and felt great!  Then we walked round the forest collecting herbs for a magical potion.  When we were loaded with various herbs, we sat in front of the fire warming our paws. On our way home we stopped on the yard of a desolated house and climbed onto its attic, because we still needed some ingredients, like spiderweb. We felt all a bit nervous in the attick, it was like we had heard odd whispering sounds and felt sudden gusts of cold air, but we didn´t see anything. Well, it was just an old house, full of rejected stuff.  Like some old paintings leaning against the walls with broken frames.. At one point I felt like something touching my head! But I couldn´t see anyone!  I asked the others if they also felt we weren´t there alone, and they answered that hell yes, we´re in a big bunch of toyvoyagers and no one can feel like being alone in one!  At last we had all the nessessary ingeredients! "Double, double toil and trouble, Fire burn and cauldron bubble! Scale of dragon, tooth of wolf, Witches' mummy, maw and gulf Of the ravined salt-sea shark, Root of hemlock digged i' th' dark, Liver of blaspheming Jew, Gall of goat and slips of yew Slivered in the moon’s eclipse, Nose of Turk and Tartar’s lips, Finger of birth-strangled babe Ditch-delivered by a drab, Make the gruel thick and slab. Add thereto a tiger’s chaudron, For the ingredients of our cauldron!"  Well, our ingredients weren´t quite that horrible!  Then we carved some oranges and one turnip to make lanterns, and when the evening came we lit candles in them.  And then we went inside to celebrate the Kekri! We ate and sung and drink our magical potion, and that made us dance so that we couldn´t stop the whole night!  So we sung and danced and drank some more! Here you can see us dancing See you soon again! Hug from Shaun!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Nov 21, 2013, 10:04 am	Tere hommikust, kallis ema!  (That is estonian and means "Good morning, dear mother" Estonian language has to do with my todays update.  One morning Henna kidnapped us into her backbag so early, that we didn´t even wake up. We were dozing of peacefully until Henna woke us up. "Hi you lazy little brats! Open your eyes and check were we are!" So I put my head out from the backbag - it was still dark outside and my eyes weren´t properly open, but I could see we were entering one of the Viking Line boats!  (It is the red one in the pic). "Hey! What´s up?" I shouted and then everybody else came to take a peep out too, and then we were all shouting at the same time, and Henna could hardly explain that she needed to visit the uni library in Tallinn, which is the capitol city of Estonia, and that meanwhile we could stroll in the citys Old Town part. Great!  Inside the boat we walked along many narrow corridors and looked for our own little cabin, where we could rest or watch television if we happened to feel like it.  Hah! No one of us wanted to sit in the cabin watching television, but can you imagine, that´s just what Henna did!  After watching a really boring political document for some time she fell into sleep on the couch and started to snore. Who is the lazy brat here, I just ask!?  We sat on the small window and watched the morning turning from dark to grey and rainy, and listened to Hennas snoring for some time. Although it was entertaining (she makes funny noices) we soon wanted to see wider horizons and went out onto the deck.  Here I´m somewhere in middle of the Finnish Gulf of the Baltic Sea. The distance between Tallin and Helsinki is only eighty kilometers, and the crossing over took us two and half hours. We wandered along the corridors and scared people by running between their feet and such, and let Henna to sleep until we were in the Tallinn harbour. (She claimed she never slept, just rested her eyes, hah!)  The first thing we saw of the medieval Tallinn was this cannon tower called Paks Margareeta (Fat Margaret). It is one of the many towers in the town wall, which surrounds the Old Town.  On its one side is the Great Sea Gate, trough which we entered the Old Town.  Tallinn Old Town became a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site  in 1997, and is often referred to as the “medieval pearl of Europe”. Unlike other capital cities in Europe, Tallinn has managed to preserve the completeness and structure of it’s medieval and Hanseatic origin. Most of the cobblestone streets and properties, important state and church buildings, citizens’ and merchant’s  residences, barns and warehouses dating back as far as to 11th century, are preserved in their original form.  We walked past Oleviste Church. On 15th and 16th century, the church with it’s 159m high tower was the highest building in the world! Ha ha!  We saw a very interesting car!  The was plake announcing it to be "a moving art gallery", and so it looked like too!  Here I am in Raekoja plats. The big building behind me is the Raekoja, Town Hall. There has been a town hall in Tallinn since at least 1322 and a town square next to it ever since then. The hall was rebuilt from 1402 to 1404 into its current form, and a Christmas tree display has been held in the square since 1441, making the Tallinn Christmas tree display over 570 years old.  Then we saw another church called Pühavaimu kirik (The Church of the Holy Ghost). Building of the church probably started sometime during the first half of the 13th century, and the church is mentioned in written sources for the first time in 1319.  This is the beautiful door of the guild house of The Brotherhood of Blackheads. It was an association of local unmarried merchants, ship owners, and foreigners in the medieval times. The brotherhood traces its origin to a group of foreign merchants who, according to the legend, had participated in the defense of Reval (present-day Tallinn) during the St. George's Night Uprising between 1343 and 1345 when the indigenous population of Estonia unsuccessfully tried to exterminate all foreigners and eradicate Christianity from Estonia. We saw still one church, Jaani kirik. (Lots of churches in Tallinn!)  Then we came back to the Town Square from another direction and saw the famous restaurant Olde Hansa, which serves medieval food. It looked very inviting, but sadly had to leave allready back towards the harbour, because we our boat back to Helsinki was leaving soon and we still had to Henna out from the library, where she was buried under papers.  See you soon again, mom, and again in a different part of Europe!  Your travelling sheep Mr Shaun
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Nov 30, 2013, 2:03 pm	Bom dia, querida mãe! Beijinhos de Portugal!  (Good day, dear mom, greetings from Portugal!) As you can see, I´m learning a lot of new languages these days!  After coming back from Tallinn, Henna kidnapped us again, and soon we found ourselves in the Helsinki airport!  To be honest, I think it was time to leave Nuuksio behind us.. it was already beginning to be unnessessarily cold ! We waited in the airport about two hours for our flight. I met there Muumipeikko (Moomin) and Nuuskamuikkunen (Snufkin) in front of a shop!  The flight to Lisbon took five hours, and first we were running under peoples seats and binding their shoelaces together and such, but then we started to feel a bit sleepy.  I fell asleep watching the clouds..  It was already late evening when we arrived to Lisbon. We had a supper of castanhas assadas (roasted chestnuts).  And juicy slices of mango! Njam njam! This country seems promising to me!  Can you imagine - next morning we were travelling again!  We took a bus towards south, a small town called Pias in the area of Alentejo, where Hennas portuguese friends parents have a house. It was about 200 kilometers distance, and I was mainly admiring the views along the road. We passed many olive groves.  Here is the house in which we spent some days. It is a very typical portuguese country house - they´re all chalked white, and usually they have only one floor. There has always been a lack of wood to build, so the houses have been growing sideways, not upwards.  There is traditionally no heating in the house, except the big fireplace in the kitchen. Nowadays there´s of course also electronical heaters in the bedrooms, but in the old times everyone packed to sleep in the kitchen in cold winter nights. There was a fantastic bougeanvillea growing on one side of the house.  We went to investigate everything in the yard.There was all sort of fruit trees, and Henna told us to pick some to eat later.  We picked some tangerines and made the day of a granny in the neighbouring yard, when she saw us up in the tree.  See how much tangerines! Can you even imagine how many kilos we were eat.. uhm, picking?  These are marmelos (quinces). Originally the word "marmelade" meant only jam made of these fruit, told Hennas friend.  They were ripe, so picked some of them too.  The lemons were still green, and we left them to ripen more.  The passion fruit trees were hanging their branches low with the weight of the fruit, and we decided to lighten their burden a bit!  (You can see we had altruistic motives!) Here we are transporting our loot to the shade of the wall.  Uh huh! This is a well-earned moment of rest!  Then we started to pick olives! Upon my word - olives! Our paws (and everything else) was soon colored dark purple with the juice from the ripe olives. Here is what I picked.  Then we spent some juicy times amongst oranges.  Here I´m investigating if there´s any figs in the fig tree. Sadly, there wasn´t. After all the hard work (and eating) it was time for a little siesta.  And time for playing too!  Then we ate MORE fruit.  In the evening we tried to diwe into the night life of the town, but there wasn´t any.  So we made our own night life by watching the moon.  Then we lit a fire into the big fireplace and sat late in front of it talking.  See you soon again, mom! Next time I´ll tell you about our day in a small town called Serpa. Kisses from Mr Shaun and greetings from Henna!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Dec 2, 2013, 12:09 pm	Bom dia de novo, querida mãe!  (Good day again, dear mother!) I hope you´re well! I´m doing just splendidly!  On our way away from the little town of Pias we stopped in another small town called Serpa for couple of hours to switch from bus to bus. We used the two hours by walking around.  We encountered the similar narrow streets enclosed by rows of houses chalked white, and little grannies peeping trough the curtains everything that moves along the streets.  Those grannies don´t miss anything! In some places the police has enrolled them to do cooperation.  Really, I´m not fooling. I could really feel the eyes on my back. These towns are so small and so much aside from the main highways, that there is not many outsiders visiting them, and the inhabitants all know each others faces. So a bunch of turists is a real sight for the locals - not to speak of a bunch of toyvoyagers.  We walked trough a beautiful little park with palm trees.  On its other side we saw three olive trees, which are believed to be about thousand years old.  Just imagine it! Living beings who have been wittnessing birth of cities, many earthquakes and medieval plagues, and still they´re carrying fruit every winter! Look, mom! So many olives from a thousand year old tree!  Then we continued our walk between the rows of houses. They are so white, that on a sunny weather they can even blind you momentarily! We saw the ruins of a castle looming ahead and went nearer to see it. The town of Serpa existed already before the Roman occupation of Portugal - its beginning is in the calcolithic periods urbanization. The romans inhabited the town, and so did the moors in the 12th century. The castle was built round the town by the portuguese kings in the 13th century.  The name of the town - Serpa - means either a snake or a dragon, and we could see the pic of a dragon in the emblem of the town over the castle gate, but it is too small for you to see it in the pic.  We walked forward along many more narrow alleys and got lost.  But getting lost is one of the best things in travelling, don´t you agree?  By getting lost we see so many things we wouldn´t see otherwise. Getting lost we found accidentally this beautiful church, Igreja de Santa Maria de Serpa.  It was built in the 15th century over a mosque built by the moors come centuries before.  And this beutiful old guesthouse.  We admired the impressive road to the museum of Serpa, between a gate foremd by two huge stones, but we didn´t have time to go in, we had to go back to the bus station. So we run again trough the little alleys and the stares of the grannies.. We got to the station in time, and mingled there with the locals.  See you very soon again, dear mom! Your Mr Shaun
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Dec 5, 2013, 10:57 am	Boa tarde, mamã amada! É o Senhor Shaun que está a escrever.  (Good afternoon, dear mom! It is Mr Shaun who is writing.) We made a trip into the region of Évora to help Henna in her task of collecting material for her masters thesis she is writing about the megalithic culture in neolithic Portugal.  We stayed in a small hostel in Évora town and drowe around in a hired car in search for the megaliths and other stone heaps Henna has a passion for.  In this photo I´m standing on Alto do São Bento watching over the town of Évora.  Why we came here, on this high ground is because here is the beginning of the city of Évora, about five thousand years ago. Here was a big well defended village which grew into the town which then became the nowadays Évora. Now there is only old windmills and couple of small farms and the town of Évora has moved couple of kilometers away.  There is thousands of dolmens in Portugal, and the Évora region is one of the densest concentrations of them. Dolmens are here called "anta", and they were built 7000 - 5000 years ago.  This is the first anta we visited, Anta Grande de Comenda da Igreja. The dolmens were used as collective graves for the neolithic societies, but actually they were much more. Antas were built to serve as wombs of the Mother Earth. Dead people were buried into them so that they could later reborn back upon earth..  This is a bigger anta we went to see. Actually it is the biggest anta in Iberia - Anta Grande do Zambujeiro. Anta Grande do Zambujeiro was declared a national monument by the Portuguese government in the 1971. It is composed of 8 mauled granite stones, all 6-8m in height (above ground), with the largest at the rear almost 4m wide. The whole structure has been originally covered by a huge mound.  It is hard to understand how people were able to build something like this without any modern day machinery! To see these monuments we had to driwe along really small lanes and paths in the deep countryside, and our small hired Smart -car wasn´t the best vehicle for those routes, but we saw very beautiful landscapes. Most of the monuments were situated in midst of cork oaks.  The evenings we spent in our small hostel room, which was in a very old house. The nights were very cold, and we had five blankets in the bed!  Our small toilet was built into an old clothe closet, and we had to climb a stair to get in there. At nights I missed a pot under the bed, when roaming out from under our five blankets and climbing the stair to get into the freezing cold toilet!  We slept all tight together to keep warm, and even kept the scarfs round our necks!  When it get too boring to be sitting in our room, we went to walk along the streets of Évora. Sadly I can´t show any daylight pics to you from town, because we used every possible minute of daylight to run after the megalithts..  Here is the main square and town hall of Évora.  There was a "Cepo de Natal" burning there every evening. It is a portuguese version of a Christmas log. A whole trunk of an oak or an olive tree is burned in the main square of many towns every evening about a month until Christmas. People come to stand around it to keep warm and to chat and eat roasted chestnuts.  Here we are in a small café which also had a fire burning in the hearth.  The old houses here don´t have any kind of heating, and even if they have, they are built in such a way that they don´t keep the warmth. Many old people come to spend time in cafés or round the cepo just to be warm. It is a bit sad.. but this is the way they are used to live for centuries.  This is another day on our trip. We are walking trough a small town called Alandroal. It is famous for its woven carpets. But we climbed to see the castle of Alandroal. Its building started 1298, and it is a fine example of Mudéjar art, which means it is a fortification commissioned by Christian elites but built by a stonemason or architect of Islamic origin.  In climbing up there we got a nice view on the surrounding countryside. We could hear the sheap bells from down there! I could see my cousins as small white spots, pasturing on the green grass, and for a moment I felt an urge to join them and become a countryside sheep, but then I came back to my senses - it is so much better to be a toyvoyager! But what do you think, mom? Could I have a little bell on my neck too?  The sound is so cheerfull. On top of the hill, inside the castle wall there was a church. And other small buildings and towers.  And even more beautiful and wider landscape.  This is the Menhir of Almendres. It is about four meters tall, and is situated about a kilometer away from the Cromelegue of Almendres stone cirkle. When the sun sun rices on the winter solstice day the shadow of the menhir points towards the highest stone of the stone cirkle, which in its turn is casting a shadow towards the Anta Grande do Zambujeiro we visited earlier..  Pretty interesting!  Here is the Cromeleque dos Almendres stone circle, which was maybe the most interesting site we visited.  The site consists actually of two stone circles, and it was built in two phases between 5000 and 4000 e.a.a, which makes it two thousand years older than the famous Stonehenge in UK and the oldest known stone cirkle in Europe!  The result is an oval of 92 stones, which measures 30m x 60m. It includes various markings such as cup marks, spirals and circles which can still just be seen on some of the stones. Most of these are propbaly symbols of planets.  Originally there was over 100 monoliths, but people have been taking them away to use in building.  Here is one of the stones with carvings we managed to spot.  The Almendres monoliths are directed to show both important lunar and solar dates and alignments with other megalithic constructions. It has stones that face both the sunrise and sunset of the equinoxes.  If nothing else, this place I will remember from my trip to Portugal!  See you soon again, dear mom! My next update will be from Lisbon.  Many kisses, muitos beijinhos, from Senhor Shaun!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Dec 17, 2013, 1:02 pm	Bom dia, mamã amada!  (Good day, dear mom!) Como está? O senhor Shaun está a escrever de novo da Lisboa!  After admiring some hundred different stone heaps and seeing many of my cousins pasturing on the green turfs, we returned to the Lisbon region and went for a first sightseeing.  Here is where we started our round: The Lisbon Town Hall and Square. The portuguese flag flying on the roof aroused Zoe to sing the national anthem, but since the only line of lyrics she could remember was "Às armas! Às armas!" it happily ended shortly.  We walked along and came onto a special spot on the Tejo riverfront, where two old pillars are left to remind people of Portugals great past as a seafaring nation. This spot is the place where the ships arrived from overseas, laden with treasures, gold and spices and valuable raw materials.  We sat there for sometime and had a somewhat fierce debate about the seafaring past, because Zoe said that it would have been better if the europeans had stayed in Europe and left the other continents alone, so the kiwi birds and many other animals would not be in the edge of extinction, and of course that is true, but what about chocolate then, asked I. "What do you mean - what about chocolate, huh?" asked Zoe. "Well, there would not be any chocolates in Europe without the Europeans bringing them here!" said I, and that is true too!  "Usch, you bimbos!", said Tuli, "Don´t you realise that without european seatravel there would be no possibilities for us toyvoyagers to travel round the globe?!" "Bah - what about aeroplanes then?" asked I, and then Tuli was chasing me round the Praça do Comercio. After running enough we stopped to watch the  square. It is a square with long history - the royal palace was once situated there, and it worked as the place for public hangings. Later it was the commercial center center of Lisbon. The guy in the top of the statue is King José I. "The King on his horse is symbolically crushing snakes on his path" says Wikipedia. Certainly not a nice thing to do!  I´ve met many friendly snakes! This is Arco da Rua Augusta - the triumphal arch of Rua Augusta, which was built to commemorate the city's reconstruction after the 1755 earthquake.  Pretty pompous thing. We walked trough the pompous arch and soon we came to the Elevador da Santa Justa, which is this huge lift connecting one of the hills with the lower regions of the city. (Lisbon was  built over seven hills.) The elevator was inaugurated 1902, and at first it was powered by steam, and by electricity since 1907. Gee, it must have been quite an experience for the people over hundred years ago!  We took the ride up in it, and then we started serious landscape watching.  This is the view towards the river Tejo. And here I´m watching to the other direction, towards the Castelo São Jorge ruins up there. (We have to go there too some day!)  We walked along the bridge which leads from the elevator to the town part called Carmo, and hopped in to see the ruins of the Carmo monastery. The monastery was totally ruined in the 1775 earthquake, and because it was the first of November, The All Saints Day, the monastery church was full of people, and almost all of them died. Nowadays the ruins serve as an archaeological museum. We saw there some interesting items saved from the earthquake, like this money-collecting box, into which you should put a coin, if you want to shorten the time in purgatory for the people buried under the church, like the custom was.  Then we met a sailing ship, who had been waiting for a crew to arrive for five hundred years. We felt pity on her, and so we climbed in and sailed with her up and down the River Tejo until she was content.  Then we met a medieval gargoyle, who was so amazed to see us, that I think he has not shut his mouth since then.  We left the ruins and dived back to the streets and modern times. We walked to a nice viewpoint, where there is a small garden and a pergola. The pergola was decorated with blue and white tiles, which is very typical for portuguese architecture.  Sadly many of the tiles were broken and the whole place was in need of some reparation works. But I think it was beautiful even in its decadence.  Next we arrived onto a third important square. This is called Rossio. No idea what it means.  The square has been one of the main squares since the Middle Ages. It has been the setting of popular revolts and celebrations, bullfights and executions, and is now a preferred meeting place. Here we met another king of Portugal, Pedro IV. He, at least, wasn´t crushing any animals.  This is one of the beautiful fountains in Rossio. Very popular swimming pool in summer nights, I was told.  Well, why not, although it seems to me to be a bit populated even as it is, with all the naked ladies and such. Next we went to see Torre de Belém, tower of Belém, which was built on the early 16th century to guard the mouth of river Tejo and the gates to the city of Lisbon from any mischievous invaders.  It looked rather romantic against the setting sun, and we sat there and I was keeping my eyes open for any possible sheep girls passing by. But no, they´re all in the countryside..  There was a big jellyfish on the beach - she had come to enjoy the sun but couldn´t get back to the water. We pushed her into the river and got rather slimy.  We realised there was so many things to see in Lisbon, that we had to leave rest of them for the next walking trips. So we spent rest of the daylight time watching the view over the city and planning the next trips, about which I´m soon going to write about!  Many kisses from Senhor Shaun!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Dec 27, 2013, 12:20 pm	Hello, dear mom! Feliz Natal para ti!  We´ve been pretty busy here and I´ve many updates to write, but this time I just want to show you some pics of our Christmas eve. It didn´t start in so promising way, I must say! Henna made us to sweep the floors for Christmas! Christmas cleaning, said Henna, is important, and told us to sweep the floors carefully! Hmph!  But she promised us gifts when the whole house would be clean.. and so we cleaned!  We were even cleaning one carpet. The others we hid behind a bookcase.. After sweeping the floors we lit some candles and brought in the hyasints from the balcony. What a wonderful smell! It started to feel like Christmas right away!  Henna gave us our promised gifts - a pile of Portuguese christmas chocolates! Njam njam!  We took (what was left after 10 seconds) our chocolates and went to the livingroom, where Henna was calling us to go. She had been decorating the Christmas tree! That also explained the cursing we heard - the horrible every-year tangle of the christmastree lights! Hah!  We sneaked under the tree and started to climb!  Soon we were all up there, adventuring on the branches, watching all the decorations, balls, elves, snowmen and the lights of different colours!  Ha haa! We all went a bit wild with it all! It was like a giant Christmas disco for us, and we were all soon singing and dancing and chasing each other trough the tree and hanging from it on our knees.  And then we were hiding and giggling near the trunk when Henna came ask "What´s happening here?" after some balls had dropped onto the floor.. "Must be the cats!" she said, and we were making faces under the branches.  Then we went to rob the table! There was a fantastic portuguese christmas cake called Bolo Rei (King Cake), and also a Christmas log with chocolate topping, and almonds and nuts and cookies..  We ate so much that we couldn´t move for some hours. We had to lay down on the table and guess what! Henna was tickling us!  So we had a very enjoyable Christmas eve!  Feliz Natal! Hyvää Joulua! Merry Christmas to all of you!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Jan 3, 2014, 3:15 pm	Bom dia, querida mãe!  Bom Novo Ano para ti!  I´m here to tell you about our trip to a place called Cabo da Roca. Cabo da Roca is the westernmost spot of the European mainland (yes, just forgot the islands exist. Sorry, British Isles! Ha haa! )  We loitered to see the lighthouse of Cabo da Roca. It is haunted! Huu!  It is hard to believe, watching it in such a gorgeous day, but when the night comes and the moon is veiled by heavy clouds and the wind is rising and making the sea turn restless, the ghost of the lighthouse gets restless too, and he can be seen running over the rocks, trying to warn a ghostship about the rocks near the shore..  ..or at least that is what Zoe was telling us!  We went to the official viewpoint and whatched the nice landscape for a minute. Then we left the official path and diwed into the landscape.  We walked downwards along the edge of the ridge, and watching towards east and inlands we saw this beautiful, green valley.  There was growing many interesting plants, but even Zoe didn´t recognice most of them. The spiky bush with yellow flowers is called "maias" by the locals.  Watching towards the west there was the Atlantic ocean. I didn´t see any traces of the ghost ship, phew!  I found an empty shell of a snail and tryid if it would work the same way as I had heard the seashells to work - to bring the sound of the ocean into our ears. I put in on my ear and oh yes, it worked! But then my fellow toyvoyager mates gently reminded me that it´s not a big deal to hear the sound of the ocean, sitting some meters away from the shore.  The seashore down there looked so interesting that we decided to go down - easier said than done!  It was almost a straight wall to climb down, but we helped each other.  When we got lower down we found a rope other climbers had friendly left there and it was a great help!  Soon we were on the shore. It was full of wonderful, smooth rocks, polished round by the sea.  Henna told us Cabo da Roca was a holy place both in the Roman period and much earlier in the Neolithic age. There has been interesting items found here related to the lunar cult.  No wonder, the place is so beautiful, and certainly it must feel like being nearer to the moon on a moonlit night. The sea beating against the rocks and swirling back and forth between the rounded stones on the shore made a hypnotizing sound, which made us to run and hop and shout like maniacs. (And how does that be different from your normal behaviour? Asked Henna)  Wouldn´t you like to be here with us?  We spent there some hours playing, and then we climbed back up, because the sun was starting to set. Here we are up again. Surprisingly it was easier to climb up than down!  See you soon again, dear mom! Kisses from Senhor Shaun!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Jan 26, 2014, 11:15 am	Muito bom dia para ti, mamã amada!  Como está? É o seu pequena ovelha que tá a escrever de Portugal novamente.   One day we took a train and went to a small town called Sintra, not far away from Lisbon. Here I´m at the Rossio railway station. When we got nearer Sintra the landscapes turned greener, which was fantastic. Here I´m missing the nature - the country is so densely populated there isn´t much left.  So when we got to Sintra, we just run trough the town (sorry mami, no town photos this time!) until we reached the edge of the forest, and then we dived in.  Sintra area is one of the last forested areas in Portugal, and a real paradise for people (or sheep) feeling suffocated by the urbanism.  There is also few little pools, like this. Henna and Tuli, who are from Finland, love this area, because it reminds them of home - forest and lakes.  Of course even here part of the land is prvately owned and the owners are restricting people from walking trough their lands by erecting fences and putting up this kind of signs. It is good my portuguese is not SO very good yet, so I didn´t understand what was written there. Zoe said she suffered from a sudden loss of memory, and Henna said she had never even bothered to learn so stupid words. So we just walked happily forward.  We saw many beautiful flowers. These are for you, mom!  We walked some kilometers trough the forest, climbing some fences every now and then, until we reached these stairs and a plaque which told us we had come to the Capuchos Cork Convent.  An admirable filosophy, think I!  We followed the stairs, admiring the cork oaks along our path.  There was little cross signalling us that we were now entering an area dedicated to the worship of god. We reached the small front yard of the convent, where there was couple of stone tables where the monks could sit near to the nature eating their meals.  This is where they washed their hands. This is the main entrance to the convent. This sanctuary was  inspiration of the former fourth Viceroy of India, D. João de Castro (1500 - 1548). According to a legend, João de Castro was hunting in the mountains of Sintra, and chasing a deer, he found himself lost. Tired from his search, he fell asleep against a rock, and in a dream, he received a divine revelation to erect a Christian temple on the site.  There was originally eight monks living here, and amongst them was a real celebrity -  Friar Honório, who, according to the book "Mirror of Penitents", lived to be 100 years old, despite which he lived his last three decades in a small cave next to the convent.  We entered the monks humble recidings, which consisted of tiny cells in which they lived and a bit bigger common areas for worshipping and eating and such. As you can see, many surfaces - walls, ceilings, doors and benches are coated with cork to make the space at least a BIT warmer. That´s why it is called "Cork Convent". The convent didn´t have any kind of heating system besides the hearth  in the kitchen. It must have been freezing cold in the wintertime inside the stone walls!  Of course the winters here are not so very cold, but at winternights the temperature can drop under zero. The doors inside the convent were so small that even Henna, who is not a big woman, had to bend almost double to get trough them. Either the friars were very tiny, or the doors were planned so that they had to almost roam trough them to grow their humility.  This is one of the cells, and it is one of the biggest - meant for very old monks, who couldn´t walk outside anymore.It has a window too, so that the monk could see the nature trough it.  Here we are sitting on the monk´s window. And then we climbed to the roof. I wonder if the monks ever did that.  While we were sitting on the roof Henna told us more about friar Honório. So, this 70 years old monk was once walking on the road carrying a basquet of apples, when a naughty young village girl, whom he encountered on the road, wanted to have some fun and teased the poor monk, asking "Could I taste your appless?", besides which she was smiling seductively for the old guy, who undoubtedly almost got a heart attack.  The monk then decided to retreat into a cave to rest of his life, to avoid further encounters with horrible maidens.  Anyway, he became a real superstar of his age - even the king was once visiting his cave. So, not much peace, after all. We climbed back in trough the window and walked trough every corridor and peeped into every little cell in the building. We tried one of the cork covered benches, and it felt quite warm under our bottoms.  Then we went to investigate the yards and sidebuildings of the convent. This is the inner yard of the convent, round which the buildings are organized. It had a small fountain and a shrine.  Well, living in the convent building doesn´t much appeal to me, but living in these surroundins does! Add, let´s say, some light and heating and carpets and nice beds to the cells, and it would be all right!  I entered a small sidebuilding, and guess what it was!  The monks´s toilet!  There gould be three of them at the same time. How.. ..fraternal.  Then I entered another sidebuilding, and there was the monks´s kitchen!  There was a big hearth. I´m happy the monks could feel some warmth at least when cooking. I just wander what they ate. Probably not much. The cauldron was really stylish, like straight from the fire of Hamlet´s witches.  There was still a bowl on a shelf, totally empty except us. We didn´t stay there long, in case any hungry friars could lurk near by.  This is the table round which the monks ate at winter or when it was raining like hell (all but friar Honório who ate only dry bread the other monks were taking him).  What if they gave him too fresh bread? Maybe he put it aside for couple´ of weeks to get nicely hard and dry?  That girl really made a big impact on him! We returned to our yard-investigations, and started to follow a path up to nearby rocks. We passed the owen in which the monks baked their bread.  The path led us on a small platform on top of the rocks, where the monks climbed to admire the landscape.  This is the cave in which our friend Honório lived 30 years. In very cold nights, they say, he covered himself with dry leafs.  I´m not sure if I would like to meet the guy.. We returned to the convent yard and started our walk back trough the forest.  It was an interesting visit, don´t you think? Many many kisses from Shaun! See you soon!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 6, 2014, 5:55 pm	Hip hei, mom!  How are you? I´m doing very well! I´m going to show you some photos we took in Cristo Rei, which is a giant sized statue of Jeesus in Almada. On April 20, 1940, the Portuguese Bishops, gathered in Fatima for their annual retreat, made the following vow: “If Portugal is spared from the War, a Monument to the Sacred Heart of Jesus will be erected facing Lisbon, as a visible sign of how God, through Love, desires to conquer for Himself all mankind”. Portugal stayed neutral troughout the Second world war, and the giant statue of Cristo Rei was inaugurated 1959. Took some time to raise the money. I have to mention that in the dictatorial regime where 70 % of the nation was unable to read or write, the little kids troughout the country were collecting coins in their piggybanks to support the building of the statue.  The kids´s collection produced a sum, which in nowadays currency  would be 7500 euros. A huge sum, considering that there were people ekeing out their living in the edge of starvation. Sorry, but I think the nice guy Jeesus would have been more happy if the kiddies had bought bread with their pennies. Or sweets, or toys. I´m sure they didn´t have many! There is a lift inside the base of the statue, and we took it up to see landscapes. Besides, I wanted to talk a bit with the famous Jeesus about a certain subject. "Hello, Jeesus!" said I. "Oh, but do I see right?" said Jeesus, "Are there some toyvoyagers again coming to meet me? Gee, that´s great! The more the better!" "Ha ha, yes!" answered I, "We tought you would value our merry company, instead of the ever-so-pious pilgrimers!" "You´re so right, you little brat! said Jeesus, and laughed a bit, causing a giant wave in the river Tejo, so that some Casilheiras (the ferries) made couple of extra loops. "I´ve got kinda fed up with the fervent adoring.. don´t they have anything better to do, oh my!" Then we were watching the views from up there. This photo is taken to the direction of Laranjeiro where we live here.  "In that case we´re just the right companion for you, since we´re not specially pious!" said I. "I have kinda noticed!" said him, "And that´s just great! Pious brats make me sick." "As a young sheep, I want to ask you something" said I. "Whatever, as far as you don´t want me to accompany you into a Justin Bieber consert!" said he.  "Phui, I don´t!" Said I. "I want to ask why they do call you as a Lamb of God? Are we somehow related?" "He he hee!" he laughed and caused another wave, with which some dolphins were surfing, giggling. "I hope we were! But sadly, that expression has to do only with some rather gross ideas people had in my times about lambs and sacrifices. Oi, don´t faint, little fellow! That is not done anymore, luckily! If someone tries I´ll drop a fiery stone on his head." said he. I rather liked him.  In this photo you can see the both banks of the river - Almada and Lisbon. While we were admiring the views Cristo Rei was asking about our adventures, and we were asking about his life up there.  Here is the city of Lisbon on the other shore. I asked if it isn´t unendurably hot in summertime, up there. Cristo Rei answered: "Well, don´t you tell this outside the toyvoyaging circles, but sometimes when it is very hot, I dive into the river at night!" "Uhm, hey.. do you have any other clothing under your gaberdine?"asked I. "Yes, I do, and don´t you try to peek, you little brat! I have swimming trunks!" "Really? What color?" asked I. "Red, with a pic of Donald Duck" said he!  Here you see Ponte 25 de Abril, which is connecting Almada to Lisbon, or Lisbon to Almada, depending on the viewpoint. "Good point", said Jeesus.  Then we said good by to him, and he told us to keep our tails up and ourselves spirited. I guess we will!  Yours, as ever Mr. Shaun
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 11, 2014, 12:15 pm	Hullo, hullo, hullo! Do you  have snow there, mom?  We have just rain and more rain, and fog, for a change, when the clouds need to rest for a day and collect more water in their innards to be able to puke it over us the next day.  It was a very foggy day when we went again to Sintra, to climb the ruins of a mediaeval castle. In Sintra we walked trough a park called Parque da Liberdade. It had some odd inhabitants, and they were staring at us while we passed. We were heading upwards, since the castle ruins are on top of a hill.  After the park we followed some secret paths, always upwards. It started to rain, and we were hiding inside a cave for some time, but it was too humid for the camera to take pics. After climbing the wet and slippery, rocky hillside, we reached the castle walls. (without paying the tickets.  I´m not sure what the stay here with this gang is going to do to my morale! ) The castle was built on the Sintra hills by the moors in the 8th and 9th century, during the arab occupation of the Iberian peninsula.  There is many legends connected to the castle. According to one there was a moorish princess who fell in love with a christian boy. Her father got so angry with her, that he cast a spell over both, unhappy lovers, and they are still living on the hill, a ghostlike, neverending existence, unable to leave the spot, in which the spell fixed them.  Zoe told me that on a sunny weather there is great views from the castle over the landscape around, but we couldn´t see absolutely anything! But the fog gave the place a slightly unreal atmosphere. I was almost ready to believe enchanted moorish princesses appearing from the midsts of it.  After the conquest of Lisbon (1147), the castle surrendered voluntarily to Christian forces. The king then shared the Sintra lands to some highborn bimbos, with the responsibility to militarily secure the area. I rather think that for the poor, common people it was about all the same who was on power - muslims or christians. Their life was always as hard, the lands they were tilling gifted away in front of their noces.  The legends about the enchanted moors weren´t fairytales for people, though. For centuries people told stories about enchanted mooresses, left to Portugal by their fathers, when escaping the christian forces, to guard over hidden treasures. According to the stories the treasures would feel into the hands of the person who managed to break the enchantment of the moors. And people were trying! Using different grimoires - especially the "book of st. Cyprian", they climbed to certain caves and hilltops to utter odd magical formulas in hope of getting rich.. Pretty sad, actually.  The fog was getting even thicker! I could hardly see my hind paws (and that has nothing to do with the size of my belly!)  We sat on one of the walls, discussing the wonderful atmosphere on the place, and how it would serve as a scenery for a great film with ghosts and mysterious happenings. Don´t you agree?  Then we left back home, because, umm, it was somewhat chilly up there.  I wish you keep warm! A hug from Your little lamb  ;-)
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Feb 28, 2014, 4:53 pm	Hello again, mom!  We´ve all been a bit lazy to make updates lately, read: Henna has been. Well, actually she is just so deep in her studies that she hardly knows on which planet she is on. But today we just gagged her and dragged her to the toilet, and while the joined toyvoyager forces are pushing their legs against its door, we can write our updates here, one voyager at a time. You should hear how Henna is kicking the toilet door. He he!  We´ll open the door when it is time to go to bed - today it is our turn to use the comp! So - I´m now going to put here some pics of Pena palace garden.  This is the Pena palace itself. Looks like a fairytale castle, doesn´t it? Well, no wonder - it was built in the romantic period of Portuguese history, according to the mental images people of those days had about how a royal palace should look like.  We didn´t go in, because Henna already knows it is not allowed to take photos inside, and what´s the joy of going in if we can´t share our experiences with other toyvoyagers?  Instead we went for a walk in the palace gardens. it is a quite big area, divided into different kind of sections. This is the Garden of Camellias.  It was quite amazing - all those colourfull flowers shining against the dark green shades behind.  We were imagining the royal family ladies promenading in the gardens with their parasols, carefully not to step on mud with their dainty silk slippers.. And then we put on suitable headwear and played to be such promanaders ourselves too!  We found a pergola. It must look wonderfull when the visteria climbing on it wakes alive, with all it´s purple flowers. But now it was just dry and brown. I´m sure the 19'th century royals would be quite amazed if they could saw us sitting in their pergola. Maybe they did.  I wish they don´t come to kling any ghostly chains for us at nighttime! There was some interesting looking little buildings appearing trough the heavy foliage. And a fountain, but there was no water in it. (Which was good, because after our friend Tuli plunged into the river Henna has been quite hysterical about us being near any water at all. What a drag!  Like any of us others would be interested into froggish love calls!  We sheep certainly don´t have our love nests in any slimy waters! We walked under an arch and came into what was called "The Fern Valley of the Queen". It seems that the queen whateverhernamewas was very fond of ferns, and wanted a lot of different species be planted into the garden.  They were really gracefull things. But guess what? I got the first mosquito bites of this year under them! And it is only February!  We saw a small building which pretends to be some kind of moorish temple. It was made for the people to shit in shade on very hot days, sipping their humble tea. Why on earth is tea called humble, mom?  We were debating about that for a long time, wondering what if all things we drink and eat have somekinda characteristics. Well, like nervous buttermilk or nasty rye bread, not to mention the loony beetroot. Not that anyone of us would ever drink buttermilk anyway, yaiks!  We saw very fantastical looking trees! Sadly I´ve forgotten their name..  And then we climbed a hill, where they have erected a cross called Cruz Alta. It is a habit here, to erect crosses on top of hills, kinda sanctifying them. As you can see, the garden is a really big one, because we were still inside it, and the palace was so far away we could hardly see it.  Then we came down again and admired the ivy covered trees. It makes them look like they had clothes on.  Then we found a series of artificial lakes. There was small brooks running between them and small waterfalls too. Can you hear Henna shouting? "Don´t you go a step nearer of that water, or I put you all on a leash!"  Thanks, Tuli. Classically, it started to became a bit dark, and we heade back home.  Your enthusiastic traveller, Mr Shaun
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 2, 2014, 11:31 am	Hello, mom! I just wanted to tell you I was yesterday in a TV meeting.  I met there some old friends and some new friends, some of them very famous celebrities, like Dicker Kumpel.  It was rainy as hell and windy too, so our meeting didn´t take place in the best possible circumstances, but we had fun anyway, only Henna was so stupid she forgot to put the battery back to her camera, can you imagine?  Must be some early stages of dementia. Many kisses from Mr Shaun!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 5, 2014, 10:35 am	Hyvää iltapäivää, rakas äiti!  As you might have guessed we´re all here rather late with our updates. So don´t feel too surprised in seeing persons, who are not anymore in our midst, appearing in them.  With this I´m hinting to Tuli, who eloped into a frog orgy, and to Poschti, who is now on the cruise ship with Rike H.  Anyway, in this update you´ll see nothing but landscapes and nature.  That´s were we spend the time when Henna goes crazy with her studies. We recognice the signs - she starts to spend more time upside down standing on her head than on her feet, and then we know it is time to drag her out to the nature.  Here we are following a small path somewhere on the Serra da Sintra. That is an area where it is possible to walk about 15 kilometers to different directions between the towns of Sintra and Cascais, without meeting too many people, just some similarly odd hikers and bikers.  There is many little brooks and rivers running trough the area, from the hills towards the Atlantic ocean in the west and the lower lands of Mafra in the east. Yes, it was one of the bigger rivers into which our friend Tuli hopped.  Here she is still with us. I hope she sees these updates somewhere and giggles her wits off (if she has any).  Here we are following a small brook, called Ribeira da Mula, which leads onto a water reservoir. As you can imagine, the lack of fresh water has always been one of the biggest troubles in Portugal. So in earlier times they tried to collect all the rainwater of the winter to be used later in the dry summer. They built all sorts of reservoirs and aqueducts and channels to lead the waters to fountains or onto fields.  I love the sound of running water! Don´t you, mom?  I always spend some time near the specially delicious sounds.  Here we are coming near to the reservoir lake. Here! We reached it! This one is quite big - it could almost be a small Finnish lake.  Here you can see the dam built to prevent the water from running towards the sea. The lake has also real little sandy beaches, but it is not allowed to swim here, because the water is meant to be consumed. I think some people do, anyway.  Here we are following a bit bigger road, surrounded by eucalyptus trees. No koalas, sadly.  We passed a ruined farmhouse. And an old lime owen. The mimosas were in full bloom! If you walk trough a bush like that, you´re quite yellow when coming out!  And then the road took us onto a totally different landscape.  Onto open hills, grass and flowers!  It feels good to breath in this kind of landscape. Even Henna calms down and forgets her studies for some hours. For us the flowers and grass is like a different kind of forest.  Between the flowers hang spider webs decorated with raindrops. Beautiful! It started to rain, and Henna collected us into her backback, where we next couple of hours singing encouraging songs to her, while she walked  ten more kilometers trough rain and mud.  It is good to be a toyvoyager!  After our twenty third encouraging song the rain stopped (Henna says it juct couldn´t take it any more) and Henna digged us out from her backbag again. The landscape was totally different again - we had reached the shore of the Atlantic.  The sun came out a bit, and we were stretching ourselves in it, enjoying the warmth. The flowers were strecthing too!  I swear I saw them doing it! I even heard one of the flowers making a sound most people do while stretching, like "eeeaaaaahh!". We saw a small waterfall, born by the rain.  We followed narrow paths up and down the hills, admiring the views. I found a parasol mushroom, but I didn´t use it as a parasol, because I like the sun, but as a chair, to see the views better.  Soon it was, unsurprisingly, time to go home. I have to think about different ways to end an update. Many kisses from Mister Shaun! Have a great week!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Mar 26, 2014, 12:58 pm	Titityy, äiti! Mr Shaun is here again!  How are you? I´m sorry I´ve not been making mnay updates lately - we are leaving back to Finland after a week, and Henna has been pretty busy with what ever it is she is doing here. Hard to say, since all we hear behind the piles of books and papers behind which she has bunkered herself, is some words in Finnish of so juicy nature that Mr Casanova, who is always willing to learn new languages, spends half of the time with a pen and a little notebook, writing down the horrible curses. But we have managed to pull Henna out every now and then, to dust her brains a bit. Zoe, who loves to eat insects and other creepy things ate all the spiders and such which dropped out.  Here is the palace of Monserrate. It was one of the many summer residences of the Portuguese court. There is so many "summer palaces" of the royal family that I wonder how did they have time to spend in all of them?  Maybe they loved moving from one palace to another, once a week? Brings certain variation to the life, of course. The palace was built, like the Pena palace too, in the romantic period, and it is clear to see. The place is full of hints to mediaeval time and oriental architecture.  What I´m standing on is the first ever lawn planted in Portugal.  There was a beautiful fountain in front of the palace.  We decided to peek inside, although it was clear it would be a bit too dark inside to take many photos.. This is the central corridor. Just watch the detailed ornaments everywhere!  Here is the beautiful central dome.  Even the stairs were full of ornaments. Most decorations inside the house picture plant and animal themes. I also went to see the kitchen of the palace.  The palace was great, but I don´t think I would like to live in it.Or maybe.. with, let´s say, about five hundred other toyvoyagers!  We went back outside, still discussing what kind of life five hundred toyvoyagers could be leading in such a place. Five hundred pairs of roller scates would certainly form part of the pic!  But who would do the cooking?  Around the palace was a very well kept garden. The aloes were blooming red.  I wouldn´t mind stepping out from the door into this garden in mornings. I could have my humble tea with the guarrelsome sconces under the palm trees.  If a coconut happened to drop over the sconses, I´m sure they would become even more quarrelsome, and maybe invent the law of gravity. There was a brook running on the bottom of the garden. We are never very far from the water here. It makes Henna nervous.  We tried to comforrt her by saying it is a great thing to have so many running streams around us - no need to be afraid of any vampires following us! There was calla lilies growing on the banks of the brook. I tried how it would feel to be a bee. Not bad!  Deeper in the garden there was a ruin of a chapel. Well, it is not a genuine one.. every respectable household had to have a ruin in the garden in the romantic time the palace was built, and so they also built a ruin..  Well, genuine or not, it was pretty impressive with the trees growing inside it and on top of it.  Leaving the place we encountered a small waterfall, the little brook entering the estate.  And then we left home, because, can you guess? Was it becoming dark or were we hungry?  Heh, yes, the second option is correct!  Kisses from your adventurous sheep.
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted May 1, 2014, 4:30 pm	Hello, dear mom!  At last we've got our internet connection back! Phew! We are now in Finland. We arrived here almost a month ago. I have still some updates I should make from Portugal, but it feels a bit stupid now after such a long time. So I will just hop here into Finland.  Hey! This certainly is not Finland! We´re still in the Portuguese "winter" here. Hah! We were celebrating our last day in Portugal by stuffing ourselves!  We started with wonderful spinach pies in a street café. Then we continued into a pizzeria and started the serious eating with this salad.  And then we attacked the pizza itself! I´m here having my fift slice, but there´s still some room!  So we filled the corners with good coffee. And then we rolled out, because our feet couldn´t reach the floor from under our bellies.  Then we rolled onto a meadow to say our farewells to the Portuguese nature, we have all got friends with.  And then we had a little snack in midst of yellow wood sorrels.  In the evening we were singing fados.  The next morning we were horribly early on the airport! Luckily we didn´t need to wait our flight. Oddly enough, it was on time!  I loved the getting up into the air! It was wonderfull to go trough the clouds and see the river Tejo and other places now known to me from the bird perspective.  I was watching the wonderfull landscapes until I fell into sleep. And so did the others too! Henna just pocketed as all and tried to look nonchalant when the other people were staring at her wondering the awful snoring coming seemingly from her person!  We only woke next morning and roamed to see our whereabouts and soon found ourselves in a pile of snow and ice.  Well.. actually there was snow left only in the deepest shadows and ditches and such, and our hopping there was quite voluntary!  There wasn´t yet anything growing, the earth was still empty, grey and brown. But at least the sky was blue!  We all put on some more clothes, because it was still rather cool. In spite of the clothes we were feeling cold! We had just arrived from the Portuguese warmth. So we lit up a fire and put a pot of coffee to boil.  We gathered round the fire and it warmed us up wonderfully. And so did the hot coffee! Never does coffee taste as good as in nature on a cold day!  But anyway, we wanted the spring to come a bit faster! So, we knew we had to perform the Spring calling.  "How is it done?" I hear you asking. Well, it is simply done by shouting and asking and coaxing the spring to come, and by singing spring songs, mentioning flowers, sun, birdsing, green foliages and other such things. So we walked along and shouted and sang so that the forest was ringing. "Lalalalalaa, the sun shines, the forest is full of flowers nad the squirrels are hopping on the trees and cleaning their nests for the summer" we sang on the shore of a lake. "Anemones, clovers, bluebells, lillies of the valley, come!" we shouted on a high hill and performed a little dance. And it worked!  They came! They came!  Suddenly, in front of our noses, wonderfull crocuses popped up from the earth and opened! "Wellcome, wellcome, spring beauties!" we greeted them and danced around them.  The Sun started to shine too and we greeted her joyoysly! Suddenly the air felt warm and it smelled of growing things and we realised the spring had really come!  A bunch of blue anemones run along the path towards us, and we run to meet them and their radiant beauty almost blinded us. "Wellcome, miracles!" we shouted. "Good springtime, little voyagers!" they andswered!  See you soon again, mom! Kisses from your happy Mr Shaun
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted May 11, 2014, 9:48 am	Hello, dear mom!  One morning we woke up the winter had come back!  The fields and forests were totally white, and it was raining fleet and little ice balls whole day, but happily it only lasted one day and the next morning the spring came back and everything started to grow.  The birches started push out tiny, tender new leafs.  Oooh they are so cute!  Henna told us to go and find wild vextables to make soup with! I found soon young nettles. They have to be picked in a certain way to avoid burning your paws! Then I found deer droppings! I didn´t pick them!  We found many many different vegetables,and Zoe helped us recognizing them if we weren´t quite sure of the species. Luckily Tuli was teaching her well before plunging into the frog orgies.  Here are the soup vegetables we picked: - Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) - Sheep´s sorrel (Rumex acetosella) (How suitable for me!) - Common wood sorrel (Oxalis acetosella ) - Ground elder (Aegopodium podagraria ) - Ground-ivy (Glechoma hederacea ) - Velvet Lady´s mantle (Alchemilla monticola ) - Dandelion (Taraxacum officinale ) - Nettle (Urtiga dioica ) - Cow parsley (Anthriscus sylvestris ) Can this be eaten? Do I pick these too? - Oh no, let them be! They´re Kingcups (Caltha palustris) and they´re poisonous! It´s good to have Zoe around, although it is a bit irritating, her snobbing around with the Latin names of the plants..  Can you imagine, mom, when we are eating cucumber-cheese sanwiches, Zoe tells us to "enjoy the bread made of Secale cereale and covered with Cucumis sativus and milk given to us by a female Bos taurus!"  Of course we then tell her to go and spend some quality time with a swarm of Culicidae.  We found the remnants of a lost civilization from the forest. It must be a relic of that period when people were black and white and moved around jerkily and in odd clothes. I have seen that in some old films they left behind before they disappeared.  We sat resting for awhile in the shore of lake Sahajärvi, and then we absconded into a café to have some buns, because we had some doubts about the quality of the soup Henna was going to make with the stuff we had just picked.  Mums mums, we ate approximately six and half buns each.  After thus strengthening ourselves, we returned to the little cottage with our vegetables. We put all the vegetables into a big kettle. Henna added there some potatoes, carrots, garlic, water and spices and we put it to boil over the fire on the yard. In summertime (when it is not raining) we make often food outside over the fire - it is fun and gives the food a bit different taste than when it is done on a electric stove. Here is our ready soup! Believe me or not - it was simply delicious!  I wish you could have tasted it! Kisses from your little sheep!
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Jan 6, 2015, 4:02 pm	Kukkuu, mom and all other toyvoyagerists too!  I'm so happy to be here again! Now we have witnesses again around us, you, I mean, and Henna can't continue violating our toyvoyager rights in such a ruthless way as she has been doing during these eight months, by forcing us to clean and wash dishes and to do practically everything here!  We even wrote to Amnesty International but didn't get any response!  The amount of our sufferings!  Oh! Ha ha haa! Just fooling! Did you get worried?  No need! The cottage is as dirty as ever and we are as lazy and happy as ever!  Instead of cleaning, we have been having fun in the snow. Here we are sking! Just see how stylish I am!  Hey! How did this photo end up in here? I wasn't going to show you this!! Zoe!!!  Here we are in the sleighing hill. We ride down the hill at least hundred times  - alone and together, forwards and backwards, sitting and laying and shrieking all the time so that the squirrels run horrified up onto the treetops and tried to hit us with pinecones..  We have been walking a lot in the forest and fields, wondering the landscapes. It all looks so different than in the summertime! It is hard to even recognize the places!  It is beautiful now too, just in a very different way. Everything being covered with ice and snow the nature looks like it had lost most colors - just the whites, blacks and greys left.  Here we are sitting on the ice of a small pool. Funny tricks the ice does! The surface here looks like it had small feathers all over!  All the trees and bushes have white, fluffy clothes on!  Here is the lake Sahajärvi, sleeping under the ice blanket. I wonder what kind of dreams it sees.  Over the ice there is a winter road, kept clean from most snow. People go there for walks, and the youngsters drive along it with their mopeds.  The little Sahaoja brook is still open. Later in the winter it will freeze. Here is our ice lantern, into which we lit candles in the evenings. Isn't it beautiful?  See you soon again! Yours, Mr Shaun
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Jan 20, 2015, 1:34 pm	Olá, mom! Like I told you we were dragged back to Portugal. I love Portugal, and usually I would have been delighted, but we were just having so much fun in the snow, that we would have wanted to stay a bit longer in Finland. We tried to hide, but it didn´t help at all. We found ourselves in the plane again. Henna tried to sooth our feelings by talking about the sun and the sea and the wonderful Portuguese food, but we were anyway all rather pissed off.  Soon after arriving we decided with Zoe, Mr Casanova and 3*Euros to run away from home, well, just to show Henna !  So we turned our backs to the civilization and moved into the forest!  We walked through the Portuguese midwintery forest, searching for a perfect place to build a little hut. The new grass was smelling, little streams were running, birds were singing and the sun was shining.. .. suddenly a joy filled our hearts and it didn´t actually feel at all bad to be back in Portugal!  I don´t know when and why we started to sing, but the truth is, that I found us walking through the forest, singing "Yl kasteisten vuorten me kuljemme" (We´re hiking over hazy hills) and my feet felt so light!  I filled my lungs with the wonderful fresh air in a young eucalyptus growth.  We pushed through mimosa bushes, and then we found the perfect place to build a hut, and then we built it!  Here it is!  Oooh, we stayed in our forest hut for a week, not anymore because we were sulking, but because we enjoyed every minute!  And because it was right for Henna, hah!  See you soon again, mom! Kisses from your little sheep
Dr.Kröbner Posted Jan 20, 2015, 3:22 pm	Message from Dr.Kröbner what a story .... . Little Sheep should be happy if they can be in the warm Portuguese sun. be thankful you rebellious little plushy  , experiencing so much of the world and nature  A big thank to Henna...again a wonderfull update
Eohippus pikkuaasi@gmail.com Posted Jan 26, 2015, 5:34 pm	Hello again, mom!  I heard I´m soon going to travel again! Jiihaa! That's splendid, although I know I'm going to be missed here! We are now in a big hurry to copy each other's notes of cursewords round the world with Zoe, Mr Casanova and Racko.  There's still couple of updates to do before I´m ready to roam into my travelling envelope.  Last weekend we took a bus from Lisbon to a small town hundred kilometers towards North called Óbidos. The trip took about an hour. I was watching vineyards running past the bus window.  The bus stopped just in front of one of the gate towers, through which we could enter the town. Óbidos is a fortified town - encircled by a wall built during the Roman and Medieval periods. The town's name is derived from the Roman word "oppidum" - meaning just that - a citadel/fortified town.  It is possible to climb on the wall and walk along it round the whole little town. That's exactly what we wanted to do!  The wall was rather high on some parts, and narrow for people to walk, but for us toyvoyagers it was wide and comfortable as a boulevard.  We saw a tourist creeping along the wall her both hands pushed against the wall, legs wobbling. Zoe suggested we could say "Boo!" when going near her, but Henna told us there would be no food for a whole day if we did that.. so we didn't.  There is about 3000 inhabitants in the town, and the rumour says they're all more or less related. You know, marrying a bit too near home for generations, if you know what I mean.  We were looking at the gardens and houses perched between the town walls, trying to see if we could spot any signs of, umm, those rumours being true. But no.. just nice looking, whitewashed houses, and cunning looking grannies, but then, the grannies almost always look cunning - so, nothing unusual there!  There are towers along the wall, and we stopped to rest and admire the views on the top of one of them. We could see an old white windmill.  It is the time of the year when the aloes are in their brightest bloom. They formed big bushes and looked marvellous against the grey walls. While we walked along, Henna was reading from a leaflet that there has been some kind of fortified town here on the same spot since the Bronze Age.  A settlement was constructed by early Celt tribes, that was later a centre of trade for the Phoenicians. After them the Romans, Visigoths and Moors continued the construction on their turn, and so did the early Portuguese kings, starting 1148.  Maybe they didn't have anything better to do.  The surrounding countryside was beautiful, the fields in this time of the year show so many different shades of green and brown.  On the other end of the town there is a small castle, which was built in the 14th century, by King Fernando. Sadly it is now turned into a hotel, so it is not open for visits without staying overnight. I also doubt if there would be much to see in the modernized hotel rooms.    We decided to climb down the wall, to see something of the town from the street level too.  We were discussing how it would be like to live in this kind of town. I think it is great place to visit, and spend some hours. The countryside looks like a nice place to make hiking trips too, but.. .. I wouldn't like to live here!  In such a small place everyone knows each others comings and goings a bit too keenly - it is hardly possible to sneeze today without everybody asking if you've got a cold the next day. We saw more of those wonderful blooming aloes. It looked like they were trying to reach the sky.  In the Portuguese style there was lots of plants planted everywhere on the yards and next to the walls and stairs.  It looked very nice. We went to a small park outside the wall to have snack of great grapes.  There was also a nice swing for children we were trying.  We saw a nice looking old church. Henna told us the church is famous because some Portuguese king got married in it with his cousin in the 15th century. The king gave the town of Óbidos as a wedding present for his new queen. Can you imagine?  How is it possible to give a town for a present to somebody? What about the people living there?  I took a look inside. It had nice, blue-and white wall tile decorations.  A nice church to get married in. Any cutie sheep anywhere ready to gift me a town?  Then we were just walking up and down the narrow streets, watching the white houses with their blue, yellow or brown painted corners and windowsills. Some people were clearly trying to camouflage their doors. Maybe to be able to sneeze in peace.  There was some interesting looking little bars and taverns, but we only need to take couple of steps towards them, when Henna picked us to her pockets, saying she remembers too well what happened last time. I don´t remember anything at all, isn't it odd?    Although the others were mentioning some donut and cabbage -incidence.  We saw a little garden.  And sat on a flowerpot.  Soon we felt we had seen everything there was to be seen - it is, anyway, a very small town.  I wish you liked the photos too!  A tight hug from Shaun
MA_17 Posted Mar 1, 2015, 11:44 pm	Hei Mommy! I arrived at my new host's home! You can't believe what happened to me! Zoe (that crazy kiwi bird) told me that I'm going to visit Eastern Germany! Later she told me that I have to take a cactus with me... a C A C T U S !!! A plant with spines! Zoe tried (with the help of Henna) to separate the cactus from me during the journey, but the plane was shaking that hard, that there happened a little accident! I fall on the spines of the cactus! It hurt just a second then it didn't feel bad. Hmm, something like acupuncture! My new guests found me on the table in the kitchen. They wondered why their Mommy ordered a sheep cactus! The boys had a closer look and noticed that it was ME on the spines of a huge cactus. They were happy that I was ok! I told them that I did this because I wanted to be a fakir... I really can't tell them that I wanted to have a closer look at the cactus and fell on it! Le fakir Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Mar 20, 2015, 7:59 pm	Hey Mommy, I made it to Berlin! You can't believe how cold it is outside. I better stay in the metro where it is a bit warmer. It's a nice way to discover the city. Maybe you heard that we are going on holidays soon, I'm so excited! Your Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Mar 26, 2015, 8:27 pm	Hey Mommy, as it is very cold outside I decided to take just a short walk in Berlin. Squab told me that we're going on a journey very soon and we will see lots of water! Yeah! Sounds like holidays at the beach! Today is a good chance to get the "feeling" for water. Berlin has a small old historical harbor with lots of nice ships. The big ones were parking so close to each other that it would not look good at my picture, so I decided to take one in front of some smaller ships. Now I think I should start packing for the big journey! Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Apr 8, 2015, 8:22 pm	Hey Mommy, did I tell you that we are going on holidays? It will be a place with lots of water we heard! First I thought the big journey was today, because of all the water. But it wasn't... Today we visited a former brown-coal open cast mine. The official name is "Großer Goitzschesee", but as we learnt today, this name is way too long! So everybody just calls it Goitzsche, like the name of the coal mine was. Its size is 13,32 km² and if you want to walk around the whole lake you would need lots of time! It's 66km to walk, or you take a bike. Around the lake there are some nice touristic places. There is a peninsula for concerts like Spring Break and the Motoboat Championships take part there. On the other side there is a huge villa for private parties, a nice marina and a tower swimming in the water which you can visit. The weather wasn't so good today. It was cold and a bit windy. That's the reason why we didn't climb up the tower. Hmm it looks like people tried to build something made of sand, like a walrus? This is the villa I told you about. We asked if we could party there a bit, but the owners thought that this would not be a good idea. So we went on with our walk. There were no ships in the marina and also at this new part of the marina... no ships! Did they here about us coming for a visit? Were they afraid of the boys? Along the lake there are some old sights from the time of the coal mine. We visited all of them. Some were so huge, you have to look clearly to see us! Can you see us??? HAHA, here we are! So our big journey is coming closer... I'm excited! Love you! Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Apr 13, 2015, 9:00 pm	Hey Mom, I made it to another country > the Netherlands! On our first day Sanny decided to visit the Hortus Botanicus, which is the botanical garden. It is one of the oldest in the world and it is one of Amsterdam's major tourist attractions. Lots of plants... Gnaaaaaaaa... Looks boring! Me and the other Tvs were sitting in the bag, we weren't really interested in all that green. We entered some glass houses. Huh, some were cold and others were extremely hot! There was also one with lots of butterflies which tried to attack us! So we decided to stay safe in the bag... But then something happened... and I still don't have any explanations... In one of the glass houses I got that feeling to leave my safe place. I just followed my heart and oooooh... What's this? Looks like the stuff I got from my last host Henna. These spines are A-MA-ZING!!! Hmm, can I take that home with me? Maybe my Mommy would like to try a fakir-bed. I really like this. I think I'm in love. When I tried to break the leaf from the cactus Sanny noticed me and put me bag into her bag. She told me not to touch any plants! Maybe I can go back to here some day?! Le fakir Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Apr 14, 2015, 11:12 pm	Hey Mommy, in the evening we decided to visit Amsterdam by night. It was amazing! We started our little walk at Amsterdam Centraal, which is the largest railway station in the city and a major national railway hub. It is also the most visited national heritage site of the Netherlands. This is the Magere Brug or "Skinny Bridge". It is one of 1200 bridges in Amsterdam and it is one of the most beautifuls. This bridge is able to open so bigger ships can pass by. This is the view from Magere Brug. The river under that bridge is the river Amstel. Can't wait to see the city by day! Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Apr 17, 2015, 8:38 pm	Hey Mommy, it is our first full day in Amsterdam! The weather is beautiful! Blue sky, looooooots of sun and it is really hot! No jacket needed! Time for sightseeing! Let's go! First thing we noticed: Not even the sky is blue, also Amsterdam! There's so much water everywhere! Nearly 1/4 of the city is wet area. So we started with that blue stuff. Amsterdam is home to more than one hundred kilometers of canals. The three main canals are Prinsengracht, Herengracht and Keizersgracht, all 3 of which are navigable by boat. In the Middle Ages, Amsterdam was surrounded by a moat, called the Singel, which now forms the innermost ring in the city, and makes the city center a horseshoe shape. The city is also served by a seaport. It is often nicknamed the "Venice of the North," due to its division into approximately 90 islands, which are linked by more than 1,200 bridges. Here we are close to a part of the port. Lots of tourist ships start their tours through the canals here. The big ship looks like a pirate ship. We were told that it normally doesn't leave the city. And the swimming house is a museum and it is not really swimming. Because of the beautiful weather we decided to stay outside and don't visit any museum today. Hmm I think I saw this ship before! I'm sure it belongs to my brother Günther! Can you see the green building on the right which looks like a boat? It is the Science Center Nemo. The other big houses are located on one of the islands. When we got closer to that bridge next to Nemo we realized something big behind the houses... We went closer and passed that bridge next to Nemo, but no chance to see that big thing. So Sanny had the great idea so jump on a fairy, cross the Het IJ (which is the canal between IJmeer and North Sea) and travel to Amsterdam Noord. We had to walk a bit and then we saw that big thing. It was an AIDA cruising ship. Look! It was smiling at us! Mommy, isn't this your ship??? We enjoyed the day close to the water and didn't realized how time passed by... Your Mr. Shaun without a ship
MA_17 Posted Apr 20, 2015, 10:32 pm	Hey Mommy! In the evening we decided to visit the water again! First we wanted to travel by fairy again, but unfortunately it was too cold! So we saw a nice sunset close to the harbor. :roll eyes: Määääh Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Apr 21, 2015, 8:41 pm	Hey Mommy! It's Friday 13th and it's not spooky at all. The weather is still beautiful! We thought we will be doing lots of sightseeing, but Sanny had other plans. Today we went to the Rijksmuseum (State Museum). It is the Netherlands national museum dedicated to arts and history in Amsterdam. The museum was founded in The Hague in 1800 and moved to Amsterdam in 1808, where it was first located in the Royal Palace and later in the Trippenhuis. The current main building was designed by Pierre Cuypers and first opened its doors in 1885. On 13 April 2013, after a ten-year renovation which cost € 375 million, the main building was reopened by Queen Beatrix. In 2013, it was the most visited museum in the Netherlands with a record number of 2.2 million visitors. The museum has on display 8,000 objects of art and history, from their total collection of 1 million objects from the years 1200–2000, among which are some masterpieces by Rembrandt, Frans Hals, and Johannes Vermeer. The museum also has a small Asian collection which is on display in the Asian pavilion. Later Sanny went shopping and geocaching and more shopping... Let's see what will happen tomorrow when we have our last day in that beautiful city. Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Apr 27, 2015, 9:31 pm	Hey Mommy! This is the first day where we didn't have a blue sky! But nope, we don't care. It is our last day in Amsterdam, so we had to do some more sightseeing! We started at The Royal Palace (Dutch: Koninklijk Paleis Amsterdam or Paleis op de Dam) which is one of three palaces in the Netherlands which are at the disposal of the monarch by Act of Parliament. The palace was built as a city hall during the Dutch Golden Age in the 17th century. The building became the royal palace of King Louis Napoleon and later of the Dutch Royal House. It is situated in the centre of Amsterdam, The National Monument on Dam Square (Dutch: Nationaal Monument or Nationaal Monument op de Dam), Amsterdam, is a 1956 World War II monument in the Netherlands. It is on the opposite of the Palace. Then we heard about a place in the inner city which shall be totally different. Not so many tourist and extremely quiet. It was not easy to find it, but hell we are Toyvoyagers! So we visited the Begijnhof which is one of the oldest inner courts in the city of Amsterdam. A group of historic buildings, mostly private dwellings, centre on it. As the name suggests, it was originally a Béguinage. Today it is also the site of the English Reformed Church. Tomorrow we will go on traveling... Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Apr 27, 2015, 10:22 pm	Hey Mommy! This morning we left that beautiful city, but we didn't go home. Our next stop was Zandvoort which is one of the major beach resorts of the Netherlands. It has a long sandy beach, bordered by coastal dunes. It is also the site of the country's most important automobile racing circuit, Circuit Park Zandvoort. Sad we didn't have time to visit the race track. We walked along the beach, watched the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and collected some sea shells. It was a nice, but short stopover. Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Apr 28, 2015, 8:41 pm	Hello Mommy! Same day, different place! We did another short stopover. This time in the Dutch city of Rotterdam! We stayed only for 2 hours, taking a few pix near the water and the rest of the time Sanny needed to go shopping at Starbucks. This evening we are going back to Germany for another short stopover... Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted May 2, 2015, 8:47 pm	Hei Mommy! I'm back in Germany! Last night we arrived in Cologne and we will stay here only for 2 days! Today we started with some plants...again! Same like in Amsterdam. We went to the Botanical Garden called Flora Cologne. There is no entry to pay, it is totally free! While some of us decided to stay in the garden, relax on a bank and enjoy the sun I wanted to see something more. I had that feeling that something is calling me! The building on my picture is the main building, but I couldn't see any plants inside. I heard people use it for parties! Oooh ooooh that looks so comfortable! I really like it! Don't ask me how long I was sitting here... After a while I fall into a deep sleep. When I woke up I noticed some more nice plants. Hmm I could go and see them all, but I decided to hang around a little bit! Mommy, I can't wait to go shopping with you! Le fakir Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted May 5, 2015, 9:02 pm	Hey Mom, this is my second and last day in Cologne. So it was time for some sightseeing. First we visited the most famous sight: the Cathedral! Cologne Cathedral (Kölner Dom) is a Roman Catholic cathedral. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Cologne and the administration of the Archdiocese of Cologne. It is a renowned monument of German Catholicism and Gothic architecture and is a World Heritage Site. The cathedral is Germany's most visited landmark, attracting an average of 20,000 people and 5 Toyvoyagers a day. The construction of Cologne Cathedral commenced in 1248 and was halted in 1473, leaving it unfinished. Work restarted in the 19th century and was completed, to the original plan, in 1880. It is 144.5 metres (474 ft) long, 86.25 m (283.0 ft) wide and its towers are approximately 157 m (515 ft) tall. The cathedral is the largest Gothic church in Northern Europe and has the second-tallest spires. Its two huge spires give it the largest façade of any church in the world. The choir has the largest height to width ratio, 3.6:1, of any medieval church. Then we had a view over their famous river: the Rhine. It is a European river and the second longest river in Central and Western Europe. It is about 1,230 km (760 mi) in length. This is the Hohenzollern Bridge which is crossing the river Rhine. It is the most heavily used railway bridge in Germany. But that's not the reason why it is famous. Most interesting thing is the decorations! Since 2008 people have placed love padlocks on the fence between the footpath and the railway lines. Can we go there and place a padlock together? Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted May 6, 2015, 9:49 pm	This morning we left Cologne and went back home. We really enjoyed our big journey! Last thing to do here was saying goodbye to our nice host in Cologne. Sean (brother of Squab and Alex) offered us a bed and did the lovely sightseeing tour.
MA_17 Posted May 17, 2015, 9:09 pm	Hey Mommy, we are on tour again! This time we went to the Harz mountains. Ok, we stopped a little bit before in a city called Halberstadt. No time for sightseeing, just some hiking. Sanny wanted to get a special stamp in her hiking book so we had to join her! We went to a tower called Belvedere which was built in 1782. From here we could see the highest mountain of the Harz: Brocken. Can you see it behind me between the trees? There was still some snow on the top. And this is Halberstadt. It is famous for its sausages. Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted May 17, 2015, 9:47 pm	Hello Mommy, we had some spare time left and went to the Alaris Butterfly Park in Wittenberg. It is one of the biggest butterfly parks in Germany. Its size is about 1000m² and you can find 140 different kind of butterflies. We went here, because Squab is planning to fly to Canada. He heard of butterflies flying long distances from Canada to Mexico. So he told Sofia to have a small talk with her relatives about useful information. It was really hot in this area! And can you imagine that there was NO cactus? Too hot and no cactus, I decided to wait outside the hall. My wool even started to curl! Your Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted May 22, 2015, 8:51 pm	Hey Mommy, today we visited a flew market in Ferropolis, which is also called "the city of iron". We weren't interested in the market, we preferred to see the area. Ferropolis is an open museum of old huge industrial machines. It's an open air museum which contains machines from the mid-twentieth century. They can measure to 30 meters high, 120 meters long and weigh up to 1980 tons. Moreover, the area is used for several events like opera or music festivals like the Melt! Festival. These events seats up to 25000 people! There are five big machines and everyone has its own name: Mad Max, Medusa, Gemini, Big Wheel and Mosquito. This is Mosquito: Mad Max on the left and Medusa in front of me: Mad Max. During concerts they place the stage in front of that machine. This is the highest of all: Big Wheel. Last, but not least: Gemini! Guess what! We were allowed to climb up to the top of Gemini! Woah! From here Mad Max looks so small! Gemini is a really interesting machine. From the outside... ...and from the inside! Later Alex told us so much more about Ferropolis, I just can't remember anymore. I'm still impressed from these big machines! Mr. impressed Sheep
MA_17 Posted May 27, 2015, 9:00 pm	Hey Mommy, today we went to Leipzig, the biggest city in Saxony. Sad, all shops were closed, so we went for dinner. After that we visited the St. Nicholas Church which has long been one of the most famous in Leipzig, and rose to national fame in 1989 with the Monday Demonstrations when it became the centre of peaceful revolt against communist rule. The church was built in about 1165 around the same time Leipzig was founded. It is named after St. Nicholas, the patron saint of merchants and wholesalers, and is situated in the very heart of the city at the intersection of two then important trade roads, the Via Regia and Via Imperii. It is built partially in the Romanesque style but was extended and enlarged in the early 16th century with a more Gothic style. In 1794 the interior was remodeled by German architect Johann Carl Friedrich Dauthe in the neoclassical style. The church has been a Protestant seat since 1539 after the Protestant Reformation, but the Catholic Church is allowed to use it too. Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted May 30, 2015, 10:07 pm	Hey Mommy! And we are still in Leipzig. Today we went to the Botanical Garden...for some shopping! There was a cacti fair! All of us were allowed to do what we wanted! You can imagine where I stayed! I went to the cacti house and I found the fave cactus of a fakir sheep: Echinocactus grusonii (Mother-in-law seat). I didn't take lots of time until I found some! They were huged! Must be some old ones! Later I checked there upcoming flowers. Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Jun 6, 2015, 7:22 pm	Hey Mommy, we are back in Berlin... for some shopping... in the Botanical Garden! Sanny didn't want to take us with her. She said she will need all the space in her bag. Pffff! When she didn't look I jumped into her bag. And in the Botanical Garden I jumped out of it. I heard there are lots of cacti in this area, but gosh! There are so many huge greenhouses! Where to start?! I started walking through the greenhouses. It looks wonderful, but no cacti. This looks like a plant which loves lots of sun, but it is not what I am looking for... I walked through a door and entered the next greenhouse. I couldn't believe my eyes! In front of me was one of the biggest cacti I've ever seen! And then I looked behind that cactus: OMG! OMG! OMG! I started walking through all these beauties. Oh look what I found. Wouldn't this be perfect for daddy? These spines were too big for me. But it was fun to climb from the bottom to the top of it. I could see the whole cacti house! Then I found my fave of all! I was so tired from all the climbing so I took a nap. Some people passed my way and were taking pictures of me. I think they've never seen a sheep before! Later I found some more of the big Echinocacti. I wanted to take one of these home, but unfortunately they were too big for Sanny's bag. So I left them all in the greenhouse. Maybe next time. I'm a pretty cool looking sheep in a pretty cool looking area! Le fakir Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Jun 27, 2015, 8:48 pm	Hey Mommy, we visited the Biosphäre Potsdam with a size of 7,000 m². It is an indoor tropical botanical garden located in Potsdam. The garden contains approximately 20,000 tropical plants representing about 350 species, including orchids, epiphytes, and trees about 14 metres in height, including a palm grove and mangrove swamp. It also includes tropical crops, a waterfall, two lakes, and various types of tropical wildlife, including iguanas, snakes, spiders, frogs, geckos and pheasants, as well as a butterfly house containing about 30 butterfly species. Sadly there were no cacti! Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Jul 3, 2015, 9:28 pm	Hey Mommy, we went to Potsdam again for some sightseeing. First we went to the Russian colony of Alexandrowka, a small enclave of Russian architecture built in 1825 for a group of Russian immigrants. It's also including an Orthodox chapel. Since 1999, the colony has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's such a peaceful area and I really like it. The next stop was in the two-street Dutch Quarter, an ensemble of buildings that is unique in Europe. It has about 150 houses built of red bricks in the Dutch style. It was built between 1734 and 1742 under the direction of Jan Bouman to be used by Dutch artisans and craftsmen who had been invited to settle here by King Frederick Wilhelm I. Ok, we had Russian style and Dutch style, what was next? French style! We visited the Sanssouci Park! It is the most popular attraction in Potsdam  2 km (1 mi) west of the city centre. In 1744 King Frederick the Great ordered the construction of a residence here, where he could live sans souci ("without worries", in the French spoken at the court). First I wanted to send you a postcard, but then I decided that you'd prefer a picture of me in front of the palace and the terraces. Enjoy the pictures! Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Jul 20, 2015, 9:15 pm	Hey Mommy! Today we wanted to do a long walk at a lake, but unfortunately it started to rain heavy when we arrived. So we took just one picture within a small rain break!. This is the Great Goitzsche Lake. It is a former coal mine which was flooded with the water of the river Mulde. Its size today is 13,32 km² and the deepest point is 48m. Maybe I can go back when the weather is a bit better. Love, Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Aug 4, 2015, 9:27 pm	Hei Mommy! Our mission for today was a landing Antonov! In the early morning we went to an air base close to us. We heard that an Antonov AN-124 'Ruslan' is landing there for the first time. The Antonov An-124 Ruslan is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. The An-124 remains the largest military transport aircraft in the world! Up to 150 tonnes of cargo can be carried in a military An-124. Damn we had to wait for so long as the plane was delayed. But then we saw it close to us, flying really slow, passing nearly the half of the landing runway, falling down from heaven and stopped immediately. We never saw a plane landing that way! WOW! It had a military helicopter inside its stomach which it carried back "home" from an exhibition in Washington DC. We didn't see the helicopter. A few minutes after the landing we went on by car... Next stop: Airport Leipzig-Halle (LEJ). Just a short time after the landing at the air base the Antonov started again and flew to Leipzig to get some service. Both airports are just about 70km away from each other, so it does not need as much time as we needed. But luckily we managed to arrive in time! While waiting at LEJ we saw another AN-124. Can you see it next to that grey building? Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Aug 24, 2015, 11:27 pm	Hey Mommy, we did a journey to a city called Halle. It is an economic and educational center in eastern Germany. The University of Halle-Wittenberg is the biggest university in Saxony-Anhalt and one of the oldest universities in Germany. Together with Leipzig, Halle is the heart of the Central German Metropolitan Region. There are about 230000 inhabitants and the river Saale runs through the whole city. It is also called "City of the 5 towers". Sanny told us a nice place where we could find a really nice panoramic view! Behind me you can see Halle-Trotha which is the northern part of the city. This is the center! Somewhere in the middle of the picture you can see the market church of St. Mary, which has four steeples. The two western octagonal ones are called Blue Towers because of their dark blue slate roofing. The other two Hausmannstürme are connected by a bridge and on this bridge was the city's fire watch. The church owns the original death-mask of Martin Luther. At the market square you can also find the Red Tower. Originally it was built as campanile of the older St. Mary's Church between 1418 and 1503. The Red Tower and the steeples of St. Mary's Church forms the five towers marking the city’s skyline. Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Sep 19, 2015, 8:51 pm	Hey Mommy, wie geht's? We used the day to visit Gondwanaland! It's a 16.500 sqm tropical hall in the zoo of Leipzig. It was hot inside! About 25°C and a humidity of 65-100%. While we walked through the hall for hours we saw 100 different kind of animals, like sloths, monkeys, hippos etc... and more than 17.000 plants! This was so amazing that we missed visiting the rest of the zoo. Your Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Sep 28, 2015, 10:22 pm	Hey Mommy, we went to Lutherstadt Wittenberg today for a few hours. Sanny had to go to an exhibition of Lucas Cranach the Younger with her pupils. It was a bit too boring for us Toyvoyagers so we decided to take a short walk through the city. We first visited the market square. The white building on the left is the ancient town hall and in front of it you can see the statue of the famous Martin Luther. On the right you can see the Stadtkirche (Town and Parish Church of St. Mary's). The first mention of the church dates to 1187. Originally it was a wooden church. Then we went to the Schlosskirche which is so much more famous then the Stadtkirche! All Saints' Church is a Lutheran church. It is the site where the Ninety-Five Theses were posted by Martin Luther on 31 October 1517, the act that has been called the start of the Protestant Reformation. We couldn't visit the Theses, the church is in re-construction, it has to look perfect in 2017 when the event becomes 500 years! Sanny tad us that it is possible to walk to the top of the church. Sadly we didn't have enough time. Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Nov 11, 2015, 8:37 pm	Hey Mommy, wie geht's? We did a journey to the Harz mountains to take a walk around a part of the Teufelsmauer (Devil's Wall). It is a rock formation made of hard sandstones of the Upper Cretaceous in the northern part of the Harz Foreland. The part we visited has been protected since 1935 as a nature reserve and is thus one of the oldest nature reserves in Germany. The band of rock that forms the Teufelsmauer outcrops at three places over a distance of 20 km. The most interesting thing is the way the Wall was made: "In a gray time the Devil came to an agreement with the Lord over a division of the estate. He wanted the Harz, however, to be his dominion. So they bet each other that he might have the mountains, if he managed to build in one night a wall as high and strong as the buildings of the emperor. Said and done, the wall rose up in the dark. Then the Lord had a farmer's wife from Timmenrode walk to market with her cockerel and stumble over a small pebble. Whereupon the rooster stretched his neck in the basket and began to crow. The Devil thought the night was over and flung the keystone furiously against his wall, leaving only fragments of it standing." Devil must be a tall one! Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Nov 11, 2015, 9:25 pm	Hey Mommy, we spent one more day in the Harz mountains. Alex showed us his new castle! It was a little bit dirty Maybe he is going to clean it some day... Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Dec 24, 2015, 7:44 pm	Hey Mommy, Sanny told us we are  going to Erfurt, a city in the heart of Germany. Yeah! Later we heard that we're not here for sightseeing, only for shopping. But we were allowed to take a picture at the Dom Square! On the left you can see St Mary's Cathedral which is the largest church in Erfurt on Domberg hill. It combines Romanesque and Gothic elements and hosts one of the largest medieval bells, the Gloriosa. It is also the Episcopal see and one of the main sights of Erfurt. And on the right there is St Severus' Church. It is the second-largest parish church after the cathedral and stands next to it on the Domberg hill. It is a Gothic church and was built around 1300. Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Dec 24, 2015, 8:18 pm	Hey Mommy, it's me again! We went to the Harz mountains for some hiking! When we arrived to a small villages we jumped into an old train and traveled for about half an hour. When we went out of the train we were standing on the top of the world! Ok, it was just the top of the Harz mountains. The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is the highest peak of the Harz mountain range and also the highest peak of Northern Germany. Although its elevation of 1,141 metres (3,743 ft) is below alpine dimensions, its microclimate resembles that of mountains of about 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The peak above the tree line tends to have a snow cover from September to May, and mists and fogs shroud it up to 300 days of the year. Ok, this must be one of the few days without fog! The Brocken has always played a role in legends and has been connected with witches and devils and I'm sure we saw some behind some trees. There's a weather station on the Brocken peak which hosts a museum. When we walked down the hill we found a path straight into the forest. Of course, we followed it. We walked and walked and walked and then there was the end! Somewhere in the forest. We turned and went back. After walking 8km we were so hungry and realized that we didn't have anything to eat! Luckily we found some tasty blueberries. Yummy! Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Dec 24, 2015, 8:42 pm	Roadtrippin' Just for fun we went to the ocean! We visited the seaside resort Warnemünde which is located on the Baltic Sea. All we did today was enjoying the sun, the salty wind and the sound of the waves. It was amazing! Isn't it beautiful? In the evening we were so tired that we fall asleep in the car. Must be that fresh air! Mr. Shaun
MA_17 Posted Jan 27, 2016, 10:09 am	Hey Mommy, we've been so busy that we totally forgot to take pictures. This is just a short update, because we didn't stay long. We were on train with Sanny traveling around. In Leipzig we had a short stop-over so there was only time for one picture. Leipzig is the largest city in the federal state of Saxony. With its population of 544,479 inhabitants it is one of Germany's top 15 cities by population. The city is located about 160 kilometers (99 miles) southwest of Berlin at the confluence of the White Elster, Pleisse, and Parthe rivers at the southerly end of the North German Plain. On the picture you can see ME! And Leipzig main station. It is the central railway terminus in Leipzig. At 83,460 square metres (898,400 sq ft) it is the world's largest railway station measured by floor area. It has 19 overground platforms housed in six iron train sheds, a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches, and a 298 metres (978 ft) long facade. Two Leipzig City Tunnel underground platforms were inaugurated two years ago. The station is classified as a Category 1 station, one of twenty in Germany. It also functions as a large shopping centre. Damn, no time for shopping today. Mr. Shaun

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