Posted Nov 19, 2011, 8:45 pm
my name is napoleon. i am a small blue elephant. (don't tell your psychiatrist you have seen one. he might act strange ...)
i have around 43 g which equals more than 1.5 oz. my height is about 10 cm (3.9 in) depending on what hat i wear.
i do not fit quite well into a coffee mug. i have also tried stars and stripes: no way.
i cannot be wrapped into a dollar bill. everyone knows the size of a dollar bill, so i decided to compare my size with one of those.
here my uncle (left, larger) shows me (right, smaller), where he has been, and how the food and the beer was over there.
my uncle is a very nice guy. we like to play games, such as scrabble, very much. we are good friends. it's great to have him as my uncle.
sometimes we go on an excursion. here you see us in our "pool position".
today we have made an autumn walk to see the swans, geese and ducks in one of our lakes.
as always we have had a tasty snack. my uncle said "i always like november in november". a very good motto for today.
with my drink i needed some help. but, hey, what are uncles there for?
on our way home he asked me to pose in front of the real big ICC (international conference centre) ...
... and funkturm (radio tower). just to show everybody, that i am able to stand on my own
time to go home. uuurgh - i hate riding in reverse.
this much of me for today. bye bye, hasta luego.
Posted Nov 29, 2011, 1:48 pm
last saturday i have been on a short wal through our neighbourhood:
this is the tallest building in our neighbourhood. it's been unused since 2007 because they have found huge amounts of asbestos in it. at night you can see the lights are on. does asbestos need light?
next to it you find the old town hall.
there are also funny buildings in our neighbourhood. i like this one, because of its colours and shape. there is a bar and a gallery inside.
down there is the biggest shopping street around. what you don't find here, you don't find anywhere else. except for little fine boutiques but shopping centres.
our old post office. from here the stage coaches start to take me around the world.
so much for now. see you later, arrivederci.
Posted Dec 2, 2011, 1:40 pm
yesterday and before yesterday guido took me on a ride around town in his car. well, i had to stay in the car, while he was doing his jobs - but it was fun to see some places in town, though.
these are the photos we made. see you
Posted Jan 6, 2012, 8:16 am
Posted Jan 6, 2012, 8:20 am
the last day of the old year certainly begins with a good and healthy breakfast.
then we have walked ...
... to the beach. it has been very stormy, so we had to stay quite close not to freeze.
believe it or not, it has scary beasts on the beach ... shocking!
the beach itself is very nice. i like beaches ...
... and fisher boats.
midnight with wine, champagne and of course those tasty pastry.
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYBODY!
Posted Jan 8, 2012, 3:26 pm
my friends were really nice: each of them has given me some sweets ... but you know, i can't eat while on the way ...
my uncle told me not be afraid. better be curious! little rabbit said, he is afraid, as always. i.c. bear wished to go with me and play in the snow - funny boy, i am not going to the north pole. little bear has given me his chocolat santa. even count mount bat'n joined in and waved good-bye ...
it feels so good to have such friends!
bye bye everybody ... see you!
Posted Jan 10, 2012, 6:07 pm
I savely arrived at my hostfamily in Lichtenfels now.
My packet was carried in by a few little figurs, I didn´t know what´s going on. But I hoped, it will be good
Then I heard that somebody scraped at my packet. And soon I saw a pecker. A big pecker!
It was the pecker of a penguin. Then I saw more curious creatures! All TVs that live here!
I climbed out of the box and at first I gave every TV a present. I had one present to much. That was for me
I think I will like my time here, no worry!
Have a good evening!
Love you, your Napoleon
Posted Jan 10, 2012, 9:24 pm
congratulations, you have started your first journey. how was it travelling in a box? be nice to thoses lovely tvs. we are very curious to read of your adventures.
bye bye and have fun. feel hugged by
teddy and the guys (greetings from your uncle)
Posted Jan 11, 2012, 6:15 pm
I had a great first day in Lichtenfels. Klaus-Bärbel showed me the house where a few TVs live in. It looks very fine!
I sleep in the bedroom of my hosts. I have my own hammock! My first night was very good, I slept very long this morning
Tomorrow I want to stand up early at 5 o´clock. Yes, you´re right, 5 o´clock!!! But I have a good reason. I will go to work with my hostmum. She works in a kitchen and her job is to bake cakes. EVERYDAY!!!
So I come to her work and I will see, help and taste
She said, I am allowed to choose which cake we bake tomorrow. I think, I can´t sleep
Love you and the whole world!
Napoleon
Posted Jan 13, 2012, 4:43 pm
What a great day! My hostmum wake me early in the morning. Then we went to work by train. She showed me the kitchen where she works. It is a really big kitchen with a big oven!
As hostmum promised me, I was allowed to help her with the cake. We decided to bake a cheesecake. I cutted the butter for the dough. I was astonished, that the eggs are in a package, we call "tetrapack". Which henns do that????
Then the machine mixed the dough. I was allowed to mix the cheese mass. Very exhausting, but hostmum helped me. To put the dough into the mold was my next job. Because of the hygienic I had to wear gloves
4 pieces!!!
Wow, this will be a big cheesecake!
When we finished we had to wait, to wait, to wait....
Ready! I am so hungry! But histmum said, we had to wait until the cake is cooled
We made another job the time. Put curd in bowles and put parsley on. Great job for someone in my size!
Finally! I was allowed to taste the cake, MY CAKE!!!
What a big piece! I think I will not get it! There is no place in the little Napoleon for the last crumb.
But ist was soooooooooooooo yummie!!!
Love you, dad!
Posted Jan 14, 2012, 8:02 am
what a yummy big cake. typical you: eat and eat and eat ... lol. hush: you will bring home the recipe, won't you?
the nice hammock makes us jealous. have a lot of fun. many greetings to your hosts and to you, your friends at home.
Posted Jan 16, 2012, 3:59 pm
Yesterday hostmum was at work the whole day and hostdad repaired the tumbler in the cellar. We talked to the plushys living here what to do. Knabber (the big mouse in the cool pink shirt) had an idea! He knew that there is a bottle of mead (honey wine) in the storageroom.
We thought about to carry it to the kitchen. We had an idea!
We all helped together and it worked!
[tv]Fussel[tv] rolled the bottle into the kitchen. We built a lifting block to lift the bottle on the oven.
The dog Solvang tool the bottle on his back and so we could pour the mead in the pot.
Ooooooooo, it tasted sooooooooooooo yummie!!!
But: the day after was terrible
Never ever alcohol... this week
Posted Jan 17, 2012, 6:32 pm
I am well again
Tomorrow I will go to work with my hostmum one more
She said something that sounds like cherry pie
Love you,
napoleon
Posted Jan 20, 2012, 1:58 pm
look, what has happened to little teddy and how we have helped him out:
seems that you and the others have had a big party the other day.
by the way: have you eaten the cherry pie all by yourself? you grab-all!
we are all missing you. have fun!
daddy, uncle and the gang
Posted Jan 20, 2012, 2:46 pm
O, little teddy, I wonder how you came into the glass!
Daddy, what do you think about me? I shared my piece of cherry cake, but look at yourself!
We got a packet today. We wondered what should be inside.
Hostmum allowed us to unpack it.
Heyyyyyyyyyyyy, the little Wavy Gravy was inside!
He showed us where he was hosted last. He spent a long time in Finland. He told us about his great time there.
Look, I shared my cherry cake with him.
It is sooooooooooooooo fine!
We welcomed him warm and I shared my piece of cake with him.
Do you want to have this recipe , too? Think we have a lot of work when I come back
Love you all, Napoleon
Posted Jan 21, 2012, 5:26 pm
Posted Jan 22, 2012, 9:32 am
I had a great start in this sunday, I hope you, too.
Hostdad bought fresh biskuits, croissants and donuts (in german: Berliner) in the bakery. At first I tried the biukuits with bacon. Very fine! As a dessert a was allowed to taste donut. Oooooooooooo daaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaddyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy
So yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummieeeeeeee!
I wished I could send you a mouthful!
Now I do not longer like only cake. I like donuts, too!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Cuddles for you all!
Napoleon
Posted Jan 23, 2012, 4:09 pm
Yesterday we made a trip to the most famous castle in the region, the Veste Coburg. It is one of the best preserved castles in Germany.
The castle exists since the 13th century and was restored and upgraded a lot of times in its history.
Martin Luther, the reformer stood there in 1530 for a few month.
We visited the museums. I liked the armory most. I took place on the cannon
Look, the tiny window
The last picture shows a model of the whole castle.
Soon I have to say goodbye to Lichtenfels.
But I am excited for my next destination. Hostmum told me, I will have a lot of fun there!
Kisses to all cheeks at home!
Napoleon
Posted Jan 24, 2012, 6:20 pm
I spent one more day with my hostmum at work! My first work was to cook a semolina pudding with cinnamon.
After that we made a lemon cake with fruits. I was allowed to lick the spoon. Oh, a yummie dough!
When the cake was ready I made a lemon icing on it. And the best of the day: I tasted! And tasted! And tasted!
Daddy, I´ll write you a letter with all the recipes, I promise!
In the evening we mad a party. Unfortunately a good bye party - for me. Fussel and Knabber (the big mouse in the cool pink t-shirt) had a glass of wine with me. Then we said GOODBYE!!!
I am a little bit sad about leaving my new friends, but my hostmum told me, that my new host is very friendly.
See you soon, I have to leave now!
Love you all! Love the whole world!
Your little Napoleon
Posted Jan 25, 2012, 6:41 am
what a nice crowd you have met! it really looks like you have had a good time in lichtenfels.
have a nice trip - don't get lost
your friends at home and uncle and daddy
(waiting for the recipes!)
Posted Jan 26, 2012, 5:12 pm
today I arrived in eisingen, at my new host
LittleLuzi and Frederick opened my package
we had a little hug
then I ate yummii pancake
then we visited a so called "villa rustica" a roman ruin
LittleLuzi and I went up aaaaaall the hill
puuuh.. only 300 meters to go
there it is! a real old ruin! the stones are more than 1900 years old!
I'm sitting on a real roman ruin!
doesn't it look good?
can you see me?
this is the way the bathing area looks today
on the way home
now I'll take a little rest, was an exhausting day!
greetings to everybody at home
your napoleon
Posted Jan 27, 2012, 2:10 pm
good to know that you have arrrrived.
what a nithe walk you have made to a cute enchanted plathe. and what colourrrrful little crrrreaturrreth you have met. herrrre at home everrrrything ith in order. we mith you tho much. warrrrm rrrregardth, yourrrr count and the rrrretht of the gang
Posted Jan 27, 2012, 4:21 pm
look who I met yesteray: a green elephant exactly my size: Drumbo!
I've got my own little bed here! I've got a blue blanket, because I'm blue also
cool huh? I shared my bed with Drumbo
then I met an amazing huuuge elephant, he's called Charles M.D.W Hampelpampel
he allowed me to take a ride on his back
then I met Krällchen, the little turtle
we had a little talk
and then, look who I met: a conspecific of count mount bat'n! crazy
your napoleon!
Posted Jan 28, 2012, 1:06 pm
aaaaahhh, fried elephant?
no, just joking
we made spaghetti with salmon first cut some garlic..
then the salmon.. because the knife is very sharp, my host's mum helped me!
some cress..
let's check if the water is already boiling
yep!
put in the spaghettiiiii
I've got my own little plate!
it tasted reaaaaallly good!
your napoleon
Posted Jan 28, 2012, 7:33 pm
it has begun to snow here. we both adore this weather.
what's the weather like where you are?
eat a lot, darling. you never know when the next meal comes along ...
kisses from your friends, hoiho and i.c. bear
Posted Jan 28, 2012, 7:56 pm
feels good to know you guys at home think of me!
to get the living room more comfortable, I decided to to light up a candle
now Drumbo and I are watching tv
hope you guys are having a good time in cold berlin!
hugs to you all,
your napoleon
Posted Jan 30, 2012, 4:26 pm
maintenant je le parle aussi bien que mon prête-nom Napoleon!
hihi.. this was french
translation:
hello everybody, it's napoleon! today i learned french with my host
now i speak it as well as my eponym (namensgeber) Napoleon!
after that, LittleLuzi, Drumbo and I made a puzzle together!
of course, Drumbo and I puzzled the elephants
finiiiiiished!
kisses to everybody at home!
your napoleon
Posted Jan 31, 2012, 11:51 am
today I looked out of the window and what was there? SNOOOOW!
I went on the balcony, again: SNOOOW!
doesn't the view from the balcony look beautiful?
now I'll take a little rest!
your napoleon
Posted Feb 1, 2012, 5:44 pm
today my friend LittleLuzi started his journey to Zandy. because we like each other really much and we want to see each other again, I asked him if he wants to visit us in Berlin! he was soooo happy, because this is also one of his life missions! I'm really happy that we'll meet again in Berlin
after that, we went to the "Goldstadt" Pforzheim
in Pforzheim, there are only a few old houses, because lots of them got destroyed in the Second World War
we went to a shopping center, the "Schlössle Galerie"
the Schlössle Galerie has a beautiful roof terrace, but in winter it's closed
then we went to the Schmuckwelten
a sailor
a real goldsmith machine!
woooooow
what does my car do there
it's gold-plated
those Goldstadt-people even have golden walls
cuckoo clocks!
then we went to the pedestrial area
oookaaaaay.............. i prefer the other car
the market square
then we went to the "Auerbrücke". here 3 rivers meet and flow on as one: the Enz, the Nagold and the Würm
on the 23 February 1945, Pforzheim got almost completely destroyed by an air attack. there's also a memorial for this day, the "Wallberg", where all the wreckage was put on a mountain. my host said we'll visit this place, but at the moment it's too cold.
then we had a yummi choco croissant and cappucino to warm up again!
that's it for today,
your napoleon
Posted Feb 4, 2012, 1:31 pm
today I ate real "Schwäbische Maultaschen" !
of course I tried them... delicious!
now we'll bake a cake! I'm sooo happy means I will fulfill another part of my lifemission!
your napoleon
Posted Feb 4, 2012, 4:55 pm
first I studied the recipe
I've got my own cooking hat! fits my blue color well!
cutting the butter
we need 80g
heat it up
some sugar
preparing the dough
now the dough has to take a rest... lazy thing
in the meantime, I'm preparíng the stuffing
enough relaxing, lazy dough!
now I have to roll the dough out
ooooooops!
the stuffing is put on the dough
keep rollin' rollin' rollin' rollin' !
my good friend Drumbo is taking a look
I'm cutting the roll in two pieces
noooow the best part : forming the two parts into a Zopf!
finiiiiiiiiiished
the oven's calling!
now we'll have to wait
while the Marzipanzopf is in the oven, I'm preparing the glazing
it's ready! now comes the finish
can't wait to try it
aaaaawww, it's yummiii!! I wish you guys at home could try it too!
super afternoon!
hugs, your napoleon
Posted Feb 5, 2012, 11:51 am
again you are cooking, baking and - of course - eating!
it's good tha you are learning all about baking. here at home we only have some cookies left over from xmas.
we love you and hope you are doing well, honey.
1000 hugs from your friends at home
Posted Feb 5, 2012, 1:08 pm
yep, I am doing very fine! I hope the cookies tasted as good as my Marzipanzopf
today we went to the vineyards, they are only a few minutes away from my host's home!
before we went to the vineyards, I built a little snowball in the garden
there's also a birdshouse in the garden
in the vineyards, there is the "Weingut Otto Keller", 2 times a year there is also the "Besenwirtschaft" in this Weingut, but unfortunately not now :/
behind the vineyards, there's a forest
a sliiiiide
of course I took a seat
my host's mum carried me like this, so that I don't freeze
I took a rest on a bench
finally we reached the vineyards!
I discovered the tracks of something.. maybe a rabbit?
I decided to leave my mark too!
here you can see Eisingen in the background!
the emblem of Baden-Württemberg
this once was a stance.. my host told me that she went it up when she was a child, but now it's damaged
on the way back
after that, we visited the "Alte Kelter" of Eisingen
look at this huuuge wine barrel!
because it was locked, I tried to see something through the gap
then we went home again.. where am I?
later we'll visit a memorial of the Second World War, the Wallberg!
your napoleon
Posted Feb 7, 2012, 5:42 pm
it was a long day... I posed on some of the products they offer, helped to collect some in a yellow shopping basket, managed the cash box (I asked my hosts dad if i can have a 50€ note as a souvenir, but he said no
) and answered some phone calls. was exhauuustig! working is nothing for me I was glad when we were back home and I could relax!
feel hugged
napoleon
Posted Feb 9, 2012, 1:47 pm
today I made real handmade swabian Käsespätzle!
some salt and 2 eggs
the dough is finished when it looks like that. in german you say "er muss schwer vom löffel reißen"
for the Käsespätzle we need 3 different kinds of cheese
now the Spätzle are formed
my host's mum helped me to press it, it was veeeery hard
the Spätzle are ready to be taken out as soon as you see this white foam
of course I had to try one of the Spätzle
mhhhhhhhh...
after that I cut the onions.. I put on glasses so that I don't have to cry
now the cheese and the onios are put over the Spätzle
last but not least: some chive
fnished!
now it has to be in the oven for 15 minutes
it tastes soooo good!
my host told me that I can take the recipe with me
maybe we can cook it once again together at home in berlin?
your napoleon
Posted Feb 10, 2012, 12:17 pm
we also wanted to make some kaesespaetzle. but we found out that we don't have the right tools ...
Posted Feb 11, 2012, 12:07 pm
here are the photos of our trip to the Wallberg, a memorial of the destruction of Pforzheim in the Second World War. it was beautiful sunny winter weather, but freeeeeeezing cold! I even became blue because of the coldness
before we went up the mountain, I enjoyed the view over Pforzheim from a bench
then we went up
finally we reached the top. in the middle there is information about the memorial
the view is amazing! in reality, it's even better
a kind of map! the Wallberg is in the middle
these trees you can see down there are the beginning of the black forest! this is why Pforzheim is called Pforzheim. it comes from "portus": the portal to the black forest
then we went down the hill again
it was a great day!
ps: today I'll bake again
your napoleon
Posted Feb 12, 2012, 11:39 am
more snooooooooooooooooow!
perfect day to stay inside and bake
we made coconut cake
now the stuffing. first we hade to make the egg white
oooookaaay, it's stiff
now put the coconut in...
and put in the stuffing
now it has to bake for 60 minutes
mhhhh.. looks great
sooo tasty!
your napoleon
Posted Feb 13, 2012, 4:18 pm
yesterday I did something totally cool.. I took my elephant friends with me and we went to the Buddha Lounge!
we arrived at the Buddha Lounge
I sat down and tried the waterpipe
then we had a very interesting discussion!
did that guy next to me fall asleep?
wow.. Buddha
will he bring me the enlightenment?
a treasure?
ooooookay.. this is a strange elephant
it's from Salvador Dali
Lui sat down for meditation
the whole elephant crew
this was a relaaaaxing sunday!
your napoleon
Posted Feb 15, 2012, 7:45 am
what an impressive march of the giants
it is so unfair: you cook and bake the yummiest things, and now smoke the waterpipe. and us? we are forced to eat vitamins
as if, sour makes funny ...
Posted Feb 15, 2012, 5:10 pm
Lui and Drumbo said goodbye to me
Lui helped me to get into my package
they both wished me a safe journey and lots of fun at my new host
it was a little bit hard to say goodbye to Drumbo, because we became good friends in the time I was here.. but this is the toyvoyager life!
my next station will be Stuttgart! I can't wait to start my next adventure!
hugs and kisses to everybody at home,
your napoleon
Posted Feb 16, 2012, 8:05 am
your friends at home ...
Posted Feb 16, 2012, 10:25 pm
I am now safely arrived in Stuttgart. Mofi received me and forwarded me to the Toys. They opened very carefully my box. Now I'm just tired so i need to rest
bye bye Napoleon
Posted Feb 21, 2012, 7:32 pm
one day after arrival I was awakened very early
After a light breakfast and a banana we went to Falera, a ski resort in Flims / Laax. We were skiing, drove with the gondola lift and have warmed up in a little wigwam (Tippie)
Take a look at the huge snow piles (and me at the side)
Your Napoleon
Posted Feb 22, 2012, 8:26 am
did you ski? hopefully all your bones are still in order
by the way: thanx a lot for your postcard. it has arrived yesterday.
bye bye - see you!
Posted Feb 24, 2012, 9:57 pm
Today we were in a Hotel in Flims in the spa area
In the basement of the hotel is a small museum I've looked at lots of great old stuff. Finally, I was still in the nursery
Your Napoleon
Posted Feb 28, 2012, 9:07 pm
Last weekend I sleeped very long
after a good breakfast I have examined twixx's illustration, which Twixx's parents has sent. Later, we went to a little party. I had helped the DJ to make music
see you
Napoleon
Posted Mar 1, 2012, 9:36 pm
This morning, I was bored
so I decided to go with my host to work I had to install sockets and network sockets into the floor After work I enjoyed a delicious chocolate Finally, I looked out the window at the beautiful feuersee.
See u daddy
Posted Mar 2, 2012, 10:00 pm
lovely greetings from all your friends.
bye bye!
(look, what kind of a funny shoe we found!)
Posted Mar 4, 2012, 5:03 pm
This morning I got up with the other toys very early
and played dice together. My host has been sleep very long After his breakfast my host invited me to a sightseeing tour by bicycle First, we drove through the local forests, and later through the City back home. We were at the following locations: vineyards, Television tower, Monte Scherbelino (Birkenkopf), Palace Square, Central Station, Porsche-Arena, Mercedes-Benz Arena, Mercedes-Benz Museum, Kozernzentrale Mercedes-Benz. After the bike ride, I got a delicious chocolate cake
See u Daddy - Napoleon
Posted Mar 4, 2012, 5:16 pm
I was totally happy to hear from you
that you are well and you have much fun at home
Here in Stuttgart, it is also great with the other toys
we have a lot of fun together
see u - Napoleon
Posted Mar 6, 2012, 10:48 pm
Today I went with my host to work again
We have drilled a corehole. It was very muddy My job was to supervise the negative-pressure-compressor, who sucks the machine on the floor and supervise the hole itself
Everything worked out fine - thank me
Napoleon
Posted Mar 10, 2012, 10:59 pm
Today is my day
I am travel to Sandra @ Öhringen
So I said goodbye to all the toys: Fritzle, Coba, Bubble, Violet, Baerle, Nippy, Maeusle & Mofi.
I am so excited about what awaits me in Öhringn.
See u Daddy
Napoleon
Posted Mar 10, 2012, 11:14 pm
have a nice trip.
your friends at home
Posted Mar 15, 2012, 7:29 am
still alive?
your friends at home are looking forward to reading about your adventures.
Posted Mar 29, 2012, 5:10 pm
the world is not too bad.
i was on my way home. the weather was bad.
i was alone, hitchhiking through the country. i could not imagine how few people stop for giving a small elephant a lift home! *sniff*
suddenly i heard a strange noise: "queekqueekqueekqueek ..." and somebody was singing: "old mac donald had a farm, hiahiaho,
and on his farm he had some pigs, hiahiaho,
with a oink oink here and a oink oink there,
here a oink, there a oink, everywhere a oink oink ..."
it felt good to hear someone singing.
a small car stopped and the big yellow driver did not ask why or where but said: "hop in boy! i drive you home!"
so i stepped in and we drove on.
everything has its happy ending. see you soon!
Posted Apr 1, 2012, 12:04 pm
we have been on the road for a long time.
i found out, that my driver was miggy and he was our new guest at home! what a coincidence. i am really a happy elephant.
when we arrived at home there has been quite some traffic.
all my friends just drove chaotically as usual criss cross through our place.
when they discovered us, they all came nearer to welcome us.
hey! even hannibal my brother was there to say hello! long not seen, boy!
everybody asked different questions - all at the same time.
so, we decided to gather in a round. miggy and me have not eaten all of the swiss chocolat. we shared it with every one.
then they said there will be a big tea party later on! oooooh, it feels so great being at home again!
uuuuuuuuh! so good to be at home with all your friends. we have had a great party. i love you everybody!
more pictures of the party?
Posted Apr 8, 2012, 4:44 pm
me, joesy, miggy, and the other guys went to a large park. little bunny, little teddy, and my uncle and his blue friend started to hide easter eggs and other chocolat candies.
we, the others had to wait for their return.
then we started to search for the eggs.
my brother hannibal, wulfi and i started together.
we returned with lots of sweets.
there were still some more sweets.
we returned from our second round.
yummy, what a great harvest.
we carried it home.
we nearly ate all of it.
this was a very good easter party!
happy easter time everyone in the world!
Posted Apr 9, 2012, 3:15 pm
today i have started to new adventures.
first will go back to yosemite and travel with her and many many other tvs. i am soooo excited
so, i climbed into my good old travel box.
i felt quite alone.
all my friends came and brought my something to eat for the long journey.
good bye my friends. i love you all!
Posted Apr 12, 2012, 1:57 pm
I arrived at Lichtenfels, it felt a little bit like coming home, a little bit
Hostmum documented how the other plushies opened my box. She said, Baerbel was the first, snuffled and shouted out: "Elephant inside!"
A good friend knows me by aroma
After opening the box they wondered were I am, I was very quiet, even didn´t breath. They should find me theirselfes
(I was covered by a postcard from my hometown Berlin)
Then I heard rustling and so they found me. They wondered about the amount of wrappings of sweets in the box. Yes, Daddy, I nearly ate them all
Not because I was hungry, I needed the papers to pad my hard box! REALLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!
Now I am very excited for our hoilday! Tomorrow we will start, pick up Dr.Kröbner and family and then: Denmark, take care! A load of TVs will arrive soon!
Love you all at home!
Napoleon
Posted Apr 15, 2012, 2:39 pm
Today we were at the beach! I found a crazy thing in the sand. At first I thought it was a bone of a mammut, it looked like a fossil tusk! But hostdad explained that this was only wood
no fossil mammut found in Denmark...
But what we rellay found were soooo much pretty sea shells! We decided to build a throne out of them. I carried the big shells on my back. When I sat down I felt like the king of Denmark
After that we went back through the dunes and I had a original danish icecream! Yummieeeeeeeeeeeeee, with a lot of chocolate!
Love you Daddy, kisses to Berlin!
Posted Apr 17, 2012, 8:46 am
Do you know that the danish bakers do a great job?
I know! Being in a danish bakery is the most interesting thing here. REALLY!
Yesterday hostdad bought some yummie truffle bowls. I managed to dispose on of them in my shopping trolley, a very practical item
And I ate and ate and ate.......
I love Denmark
Posted Apr 19, 2012, 3:55 pm
Today we had a funny sweet for coffee. Hostmum said, the sweet is called "Napoleons hat". I tried it, it´s true, I can wear it. But it´s better to eat it
*whisper* Hostmum didn´t get a chance to make a photo, I ate it to fast
Posted Apr 20, 2012, 12:05 pm
Ugly day today, very bad weather in Denmark. So we made a shopping tour. Do you know what "Bolcher" means? I know
Just take a look:
There was a man, who rolls a mystic mass. He wore gloves, because the mass was hot. He formed a roll, once black, once white...
Put it into a machine...
When he started the machine it made a pandemonium
And what came out???
CANDIES!!!
Blavand Bolcher is the oldest candy factory in Denmark!
We certainly MUST taste the candies!
SOoooooooooooo yummie!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sweet greetings, your Napoleon
Posted Apr 22, 2012, 4:15 pm
Today we celebrated a big party! Baerle and Maeusle have birthday today!
They got a big chocolate cake and invited us to share it with us.
I think all guests have had enough cake now, I´ll sleep now and have a comfortable afternoon *hmpfhmpf...*
Yours, Napoloen
Posted Apr 27, 2012, 2:18 pm
Yesterday I couldn´t sleep. Cookie and me decided to look for some sweets. And we found yummie biskuits and we had some.... only some
Now we soon have to leave Denmark. Therefore we spent a last day at the beach. It was very windy today.
For lunch I had a fish plate and a ice for dessert
Yours, Napoleon
Posted May 8, 2012, 8:20 pm
I heart childlike voices... and they looked at me very special...
Please open the parcel!
I went out of the parcel very shy. Where I am?!?
Finally...! I was stroked very gentle... Grrrr yes, I like it!
Posted May 8, 2012, 8:23 pm
Oh yes, we finally reached the tunnel!
Posted May 8, 2012, 8:35 pm
Ohhh, that's so high!!!
Then, I saw a funny sign. ...do they mean me?!?
Posted May 8, 2012, 9:07 pm
The Locarno International Film Festival and Moon and Stars (Openair) takes place every year in the Piazza Grande.
The Piazza Grande is a big place in the heart of Locarno. It's very nice for relaxing and drinking something.
And then, I was so hungry!
...OK, it isn’t traditional swiss food, but I liked it!
Posted May 8, 2012, 9:38 pm
Look how many Banks I discovered within a short time:
I also needed some money...
The Bank director advised me to invest in gold...
Posted May 13, 2012, 7:59 am
All over chocolate, what a dream!
And of course, I tried the Swiss chocolate. Yummi!
An old chocolate machine in the museum…
A swiss cow in the garden…
Posted May 14, 2012, 8:16 pm
...I feel like in the dschungle!
The mainstay of the tea culture is a tea plantation of around one thousand plants. Black and green teas are produced from the leaf of the same plant, Camellia sinensis. Monte Verità produces non-fermented green tea - which offers extraordinary health benefits - following an ancient Japanese tradition.
I need a break. Let's enjoy the nice pavillon.
Visitors are accompanied through a gate and along a tea trail (designed according to the dictates of Japanese philosophy and highlighting the various aspects of tea culture) to the tea house.
The Zen Garden
A nice trail. It really looks nice.
What a nice overview!
Posted May 14, 2012, 8:30 pm
...the train finally arrived...
They live near the river called "Engelberger Aa". I enjoyed to jump on the stones.
It was very hot and I jumped on the stones like a frog. I really get dursty.
...I hope Voltaire won't see that...!!!
Posted May 17, 2012, 3:43 pm
Of course, I also had a drink and a sausage..
The high skyscraper with flats
My own seat...
A staff member took me to the field. I was very nervous to stand on the saint grass... (I know, the picture is not good, you can't see the stadium, but I really was on the field!).
The stadium and skyscraper from outside.
Posted May 23, 2012, 10:57 am
It's also very nice for bicycling.
Look a Blower-Flower...
...and the same flower in yellow...
...relaxing on a "Stone-Island".
...oh, I'm so tired now...
Posted May 28, 2012, 2:57 pm
And then, I found this funny house with this crazy windows...
Posted Jun 5, 2012, 8:29 pm
Hmmm, that smells nice...
Posted Jun 5, 2012, 9:10 pm
Posted Jun 5, 2012, 9:27 pm
It was really hard work...
First, I had to jump on the mower...
uppsss...
...and then, everything has been done automatic! I really had fun!
And the result...!!!
...like a golf green!!!
Posted Jun 5, 2012, 9:37 pm
Hi Dad, you'll receive a present...!
He helped me to write some words.
Bye, bye Miggy-Copy. I wish you a good trip. Take care and have fun!
Posted Jun 6, 2012, 3:47 pm
All year round, Mount Titlis offers snow and ice experience on the highest viewpoint in Central Switzerland. This unique glacier paradise is centrally located and easy to reach.
This is Trübsee, where we made a break.
At Trübsee we took another cable car. With the 80-person gondola, we went up to Station Stand.
Going up to the top in the world's first revolving gondola called Rotair (..we call it: Chinese Tumbler) is like being an eagle, exploring the landscape of the glacier world. While driving to the top it rotates once on its axis.
...it's also very nice for skiing!
Look, I prepared the ski run...
Posted Jun 11, 2012, 8:44 pm
That's a very new building. It's the new University of Lucerne. It opend last year.
The railway station.
The beautiful Lake Lucerne...
...with one of its famous steamer.
The KKL (Kultur- und Kongresszentrum Luzern).
The Wagenbach Fountain in front of the KKL.
The world famous Chapel Bridge (Kappelbrücke). The Chapel Bridge is a covered wooden footbridge spanning diagonally across the Reuss River. As part of the bridge complex, the Chapel Bridge includes the octagonal 43 m tall Wasserturm, which literally translates to "water tower". The Kapellbrücke almost burned down on August 18, 1993, destroying two thirds of its interior paintings. Shortly thereafter, the Kapellbrücke was reconstructed and again opened to the public on April 14, 1994 for a total of $2.1 million dollars
A very nice painted house. It's the Fritschgi-House or also the "Swiss House of carnival". It tells not only Fritschi's history, it also reflects the Lucerne Carnival.
Shopping street...
That was my city walk. I hope you enjoyed it.
Posted Jun 11, 2012, 8:49 pm
...nice mountains (Pilatus)...
...and the Stanserhorn.
There are not just sheeps...,
but also cows...
Posted Jun 11, 2012, 8:55 pm
Bye Switzerland, welcome Luxembourg!
Posted Jun 11, 2012, 9:01 pm
I really liked to play Alphorn...
...but I found a postcard which will be send to you. Maybe I can find a Alphorn when I revisit Switzerland?!?
Posted Jun 13, 2012, 2:41 pm
I'm in Luxembourg now!
A lot of TV's welcome me and they were happy to hear from my last adventures.
On the pictures you can see
Aidan , Hipsu , Kasurinen and Mello
Ups,
and sorry that I ate the chocolate during the travel time!
Posted Jun 13, 2012, 2:50 pm
I'm on a farm now
these are my first pictures I took from the farm.
Today I only have had a look,
I don't had to work!
Posted Jun 29, 2012, 7:40 am
your friends at home
Posted Jul 4, 2012, 1:16 pm
Posted Jul 4, 2012, 2:05 pm
a sad day,
first it's Aidan who must leave us to reach his next host-family and than later this day our big love Hipsu is also going to the post office to restart travel again.
Posted Jul 4, 2012, 2:24 pm
this is the next bigger town, Echternach, but still very small
... and nice too
Posted Jul 4, 2012, 2:50 pm
this time by car
and we could see a few houses in the center.
Posted Jul 4, 2012, 3:27 pm
and we saw that inside could only be a TV.
And what can I tell you, it was a new TV Jump a cute green frog from Finland.
We welcome him in Luxembourg,
we spoke a long time together this evening!
In the same box than Jump was also Horizon. A cow here from the farm, host-mums own TV.
After a journey in Finland she's back at home
Posted Jul 4, 2012, 4:32 pm
I'm so happy to hear from you!
Look host-mum arranged a blue meeting for me this afternoon
Your Napoleon
Posted Jul 16, 2012, 9:05 pm
we have got your postcard. we are happy, that every one is ok again.
cu - your friends at home
pikkuaasi@gmail.com
Posted Jul 17, 2012, 7:55 pm
I have arrived safely to Finland.
This is my first, rather mushroomy update from middle of the Nuuksio forest, like you will see.
I was travelling nicely inside my parcel, put into airplanes and trucks and whatnot, but when the parcel and me inside it were at last delivered into the postbox here in Nuuksio, I had got enough of it!
So I bite my way out from it (did you know I have such powerfull teeth?) and set search for my new host.
I smelled the air this direction and that direction with my sensitive trunk, and followed then a small path, because I thought there was a certain plushy aroma drifting from there.
I didn´t need to search for long. Soon I saw four toyvoyagers walking towards me carrying little baskets.
From left to right: Krystal, Brownbeard, Tuli and Zoe.
"Hi there!" I shouted.
"Hello! You must be Napoleon! No one else is quite that blue!" they answered.
And then they gave me a big wellcome hug.
They explained me they were a-hunting!
"Hunting? Hunting what?" I asked.
"For mushrooms and berries! Very cunning game they are!" I was told.
Of course I joined the hunting team.
I started by hunting blueberries, almost as blue as myself!
But I didn´t find them so very cunning.
Look how much I found, daddy! I had soon my basket full! (And my stomach)
Brownbeard and Zoe were then showing to me wild forest strawberries, and said that they are even sweeter than garden strawberries.
I started of course to search for them.
Soon I found my first ever forest strawberry, and licked it, and the taste was so wonderfull I almost fainted.
Then I was running from strawberry to strawberry devouring them!
They were not trying to run away, wild or not!
This is a cloudberry. They grow on swamps. But this one is not ripe yet. They have to turn yellow first.
Then Zoe was showing me what kind of mushrooms they had been picking.
She has been living here now some time and is turning the first ever finnish kiwi!
So she knows already lots about mushrooms and herbs and such. Maybe I can learn to know some too!
She was very kindly checking every mushroom I picked and telling if they were edible or not.
These mushrooms I knew already! Yellow cantarellis! They where trying to hide under the grass!
This is a birch bolete. It is a tasty mushroom too, but it tried to make me to stumble, moving its foot suddenly in front of my legs.
So I guess Zoe was not just kidding me, speaking about the cunningness of our prey.
This is a "rufous candy milk-cap". Nice gingerbread cookie -like color!
(I think that one was trying to squirt milk over my face!)
Soon our mushroom baskets were full too! At least we are more cunning than the mushrooms!
So my new friends were leading me to our home here in Nuuksio.
Here it is, daddy!
A hundred years old, tiny cottage in middle of a big forest.
We went inside and I met also my new host-mom Henna, who was making little squeky noises and saying "Awwwww how you are cute!" and hugging me.
Then I was showing for the gang the things I brought with me from Luxembourg.
Everyone was admiring the postcard Lisianne sent with me.
There was also this package of delicious looking, locally produced noodles.
We decided to cook them with the mushrooms we had just picked.
Uhum.. there was also some sweets in my parcel when I leaved Luxembourg.. but I don´t quite know how.. *shuffling the feet* .. I was maybe kinda peckish.. anyway, when I got to Finland, the sweets had mysteriously disappeared!
Rest of the evening we were sitting round a fire on the yard, and telling about ourselves.
The others were also telling me about this place where I had just arrived, the forests, lakes and swamps..
I also heard a local legend which is like straight from the Twilight Zone, but now it is too late and the shadows too long to repeat it!
I will tell it to you in my next update if you promise not to get too scared!
It was time for us all to get to bed, and so we did, but 10 minutes after Henna had started to snore, Krystal was shaking me and making gestures for me to follow her. I heard lots of giggling, and we all escaped trough the window and walked trough the forest into a dancing place in the little village and danced there until sunrise!
I think I´m going to have a fun visit here, daddy!
A hug from your little blue elephant!
See you soon!
pikkuaasi@gmail.com
Posted Jul 29, 2012, 6:02 pm
We have had here some technical troubles - Hennas camera stopped being cooperative, but luckily a friend loaned her a camera yesterday, and now I can go on with my updates.
We made yesterday a little trip to Minkiö, where we visited a steam engine festival. So it was really great to have a camera with us!
Our trip started from an icecream booth.
Have you noticed, dad, that the icecreambooths have some kind of magnetic power affecting specially toyvoyagers?
..and finns, it seems. Henna told me that finns are the biggest consumers of icecream in Europe. Every finn ates about 10 liters of the stuff per year. Doesn´t sound bad to me!
Minkiö is about 100 kilometers away from Nuuksio, and we stopped only once during the trip to photograph the church of Jokioinen, whch is one of the biggest surviving wooden churches in Finland - they tend to burn easily.
We arrived to Minkiö and headed to the old railway yard, where the festival was taking place.
This is the old station building, into which I went to buy a ticket.
The ticket was also valid for one trip with the old trains.
There was lots of people and lots of different steam engines and locomotives to be seen, and I was walking around admiring them.
I think the old machines were so much more beautiful compared to the machines of nowadays.
Ha ha, dad, just imagine if we had this kind of machines producing the nessessary energy for our comps for example!
There was also some miniature models. This is a model of a steampowered boat which sailed a hundred kilometers long route carrying passangers along the big finnish lakes.
The old trains where coming and going all the time loaded with happy festival guests.
I decided to use my ticket too.
So I had to choose with which train to driwe..
This small finnish made locomotive was really cute!
But is was pulling only one wagon, and it wasn´t so easy to find room in it.
And there was similar trouble with this one. I must say I liked the color a lot!
So I chose this bigger one, named "Orion".
There was different wagons - wagons for I and II class, postwagons and wagons for animals..
..but I liked best these summertime open-air wagons.
So I travelled in one of them, and it was nice and cool, and it was great to hang there watching the peacefull countryside landscapes we travelled trough.
The train chugged few kilometers to Jokioinen, and our speed was really slow, maybe 25 km/hour, and the locomotive let out steam and smoke, which smelled very good, because the finnish locomotives always burn wood, not coal.
In Jokioinen I went into a café which was situated into this funny looking old building called "Tapulimakasiini" and ate for lunch a dish of fried vendaces. It was pretty tasty!
It would have been possible to driwe back with a museum tractor, but I took the train again.
Here I´m arriving back to Minkiö.
I saw firemen wetting the roof of the engine hall with a steampowered hose, so that the roof would not catch fire. You know, the locomotives are throwing sparks onto the roof all the time..
I went into the engine hall to see the locomotives the museum train association is repairing there.
Most of the locomotives were steampowered, but this one is more modern, a diesel engine from Soviet Union.
I climbed into the enginedriwers huts too and imagined to be driwing a steam engine in the route trough Sibiria.
And then I was driwing a draisine.
I was reall enjoying the smells in the enginehall - the soot and smoke and pitch and engine oil.
Then I went outside again to see every possible thing there was to be seen.
When I had seen absolutely everything it was time to head back to our finnish home in Nuuksio.
We stopped once on our way back to admire a beautiful lakeview.
And then, and then it is time I told you about the weird story Zoe told me and which I promised I would tell you.
You remember the mushrooms we picked in my last update?
Well, we were making them for food.
I was frying them in a fryingpan on the open fire, while the others where slicing onion and cutting fresh herbs.
Then added the onions and herbs and couple of eggs to the pan.
It was very nice to cook outside on the yard, but all the time while doing that I had an odd feeling that someone was watching me!
Later on, after eating, when we were sitting round the fire, I mentioned this feeling of being observed to the others and asked if they had sensed anything similar..
I saw the others to exchance significant glimpses, and then Zoe told me the local legend of the Mad Mammouth of Nuuksio.
This is what Zoe told me:
"During the last ice age that part of Europe which was free of ice cover was the pasture lands of huge mammouths.
When the climate started to warm again about 12 000 years ago, the ice started to melt and new free land emerged from under it.
The mammouths, who loved the cold climate were following the melting ice towards north, and so they ended into the area now known as Finland.
The climate went on warming and there was nowhere more north where the mammouths could have escaped, poor things..
so they started to loose their thick fur generation after generation, and also to diminish in size, maybe to esacape easier the hunting humans..
The archaeologists have found mammouth bones, which got smaller and smaller until the latest nown remains about 2000 years ago where only the size of a sheep. The last known population was living in Nuuksio! The scientists think the mammouths then became extinct, but the local people are not so sure..
Every now and then someone picking berries in the forest has heard a mad laughing behind the trees. In vintertime people have seen odd footprints in the snow, and some kids swear they have seen light blue catsized, madly grinning animals running behind the Nuuksio school."
[color=indigo][size=2]And ever since that day I have felt that odd sensation of someone watching me behind the bushes.
Sometimes I think I have also heard someones footsteps following us, but when I look back I never see anyone there, except some squirrels..
But I think that if those mammouths really exist, maybe they are curious about me, because we are, anyway, distant relations, and also because I´m blue too!
The others agreed with my theory.
What do you think, daddy?
Do you believe in light blue mammouths?
Any ideas how I would find out?
Now I have to go to wash the dishes, it´s m turn.
Warm hug from Napoleon!
pikkuaasi@gmail.com
Posted Aug 5, 2012, 11:49 pm
Hei, isä! (Hi, dad!)
As you can see I´ve learned my first phraces in finnish. Tuli, who is a finnish frog, and Zoe, who has been here already for a long time have been teaching me some most central expressions, although Henna was looking pretty shocked when I uttered some of them, and then I heard her debating with Zoe and Tuli "Well, all right, I admit, those ARE central expressions, but was it really nessessary to teach those to him as the first finnish words ever?" And so on..
I have not yet told you much about the place where we are living here in Finland. so it is high time.
The area is called Nuuksio, which is a word from the Sámi language (nowadays sámic languages are spoken in Lappland area on Russia, Finland, Sweden and Norway.) The name Nuuksio means "swan". Nice name, I think.
Nuuksio is a huge forest area with many lakes and few inhabitants, and one of the biggest national parks of Finland is situated there.
It is just on the border of the national park area where we live, so we are really surrounded by forest, swamps and lakes, and that is where we spend most of our time.
At this time of the year, when the berries and the mushrooms are just ripening many people are heading for the forest to fill their freezers for the coming winter.
That is what we have been doing too every day.
This is one of the small roads leading towards the national park.
Besides the berries and mushrooms there is many interesting things to see and experience in the forest.
Here we are crossing a small swamp area along duckboards.
There is a wonderful smell hovering over the swamps. It comes from the turf itself, but especially from the wild rosemarys growing on the swamp shores.
In sunny weather there is zillion insects buzzing and humming in the air, and the buzzing, the smell and the sun can easily make one feel somewhat dizzy!
Do you know what this is, dad?
I didn´t know! When I first saw this thing growing in the forest it looked to me like somekind of foam.. but now i know it is Cladonia rangiferina, also known as reindeer lichen.
It is what the reindeers eat, can you imagine?
I munched it a bit, but it wasn´t any good.
Ha ha, I´m just imagining Santa Claus flying with his reindeers, the sleigh full of sacks, half of which contains presents for kids and half this lichen for his reindeers!
They need to fly around the world, anyway..
This beautiful mushroom is amanita muscaria, fly amanita, and it is poisonous.
We were just admiring its colors, but Henna told that in some old cultures the shamans were using it to make their spirit-trips, and even nowadays some people use it to get high. But I wouldn´t recommend it to anyone - it makes people seriously ill!
Henna also told that when she was a brat, she saw sometimes an old woman, attired in black, collecting these and other poisonous mushrooms, and she was sure the woman was a witch.
Maybe she was, who knows..
The deeper we get into the forest, the rarer it is to encounter human beings, and the more we see proofs of the activity of different animals, there is a great variety of animals living here - elks, deers, hares, foxes, raccoon dogs, badgers, lynxes and bear are the biggest ones, and besides them there is of course all sorts of little creatures busying everywhere.
Like ants!
I´m sure I spotted two which were just lazying around!
I wish I could sometime meet a bear or some other animal rarer to be seen.
As you maybe know already, there is almost 250 000 lakes in Finland.
So it is no wonder we encounter a new one about every ten minutes of walking or so..
We go every time to try the water with our hands/wings/trunks to see how cold or warm it is, and to see if we can spot any fish or frogs.
We have been picking lots of berries, and eating even more. They are the healthies possible food!
Full of vitamins and antioxidants and eaten on the spot they grow on in the pure finnish forest!
One of those trendy "superfoods".
It has been a rainy and cool summer here in Finland, and there is lots of interesting small streams and puddles here and there in the forest.
We love to play all sorts of things around them, like "tag", hopping from stone to stone. It´s much more exciting with the risk of falling into the water! Of course we all sooner or later are totally wet and giggling like hell
!
We are, of course, dragging the coffeepot everywhere with us.
There is some officially pointed places in the national park area, where it is allowed to make fire, and the coffee feels great after running round many hours.
So, we are getting lots of exercise here too, which is good to balance all the berries we eat..
There is many fallen treetrunks to sit resting a bit after the coffee.
These mushrooms are tooth fungus, which are very tasty fried.
And this is a young bolete.
Here is this years first ripe nut of common hazel!
We came out from the forest and walked along a small road watching over a beautiful field landscape,and realized we had come outside the national park area, where there is no tilling..
Then we saw.. a huge strawberry field!
We just HAD to go a bit nearer..
And to taste just a bit, and another bit and still one and.. well, dad, even the angels could not have been able to resist, and we are just little toyvoyagers..
In middle of the sixth bit we saw the angry oner of the field approaching, running across the field, shouting curses!
Oh gosh how we were running!
We run back to the forest and hid in a hole under the roots of a tree and stayed there until the cursing ceased.
When we dared to come out, we started our journey back home, and our adventure on the strawberry field made us giggle whole the way, now when we weren´t scared anymore.
Look, dad, endless looking forest everywhere!
This pic is from a cliff where we climbed on our way back.
Back at home, we were making berrypancakes on the fireplace.
They were excellent!
Would you like to taste?
Later that night we were watching the full moon on the old field next to our cottage.
See you soon, dad! A warm hug to you from your Napoleon!
pikkuaasi@gmail.com
Posted Aug 22, 2012, 2:57 pm
How are you?
I´ve been very busy, running around in the forests and helping Henna with her studies too!
I have not yet shown you any pics from Helsinki, the capitol city of Finland. So now you´ll see some.
It is about 35 kilometers to Helsinki from where we live here, and to get there we have to take either two buses or a bus and a train.
Here we are sitting in the bus like a bunch of very well behaving brats, but this is the "after"-pic. I will not show you the "before"-pic.
"Before what?" you ask. Well.. it had something to do with us running in the bus like maniacs and hanging on the busdriwers shoulders to see how he driwes and his yelling to us and such. But I´m not going to tell about that!
It´s a great advantage to be able to pick the things we put into these updates.
Here I´m watching the green landscapes sliding past, seemingly deep in civilazed admiration of the natural beauty.
When we had arrived to Helsinki we started a sight-seeing walk, spotting some of the "main turistical objects" of Helsinki.
Here you can see Stockmann, which was the biggest department store in the northern Europe somewhere in 1930´s.
The number one meeting point for people in Helsinki is still in front of its main door, although people say "Lets meet under the klock" when they are talking about it.
This is about the most famous statue in Helsinki, called Kolme seppää = "The three blacksmiths".
I must say I find it a bit odd they have taken off all their clothes when starting their blacksmithing.
Maybe it is some finnish tradition..
Next thing we saw was an alien egg.
Or that is what I though when I saw this building, but actually it is a chapel - The Chapel of Silence.
It is the newest church building in Helsinki and it has something to do with the fact that Helsinki is also the Design Capitol of Europe 2012.
It is made totally out of wood, and it was really a cosy place seen from inside.
Then we walked along Esplanadi, which is one of the favorite spots to spend sunny summerdays sitting on the lawn, eating icecream or drinking beer and watching the turists pass by.
People where watching us to pass by even more than other turists, so we started to act like some worlwide celebrities, smiling and wawing to every direction.
I was asked three autographs.
We came to the Southern Harbour, where the famous Kauppatori (Market Place) is situated.
They were selling nice looking vextables, berries, mushrooms and fish.
The people selling things were advertising their products by yelling from the bottom of their lungs, and they were trying to sell their products to me too"Come to taste delicious berries! Only three euros liter!"
"Berries!" said I, "at the moment I´m so full of berries I would not mind if I didn´t see them for a year!"
This is the Helsinki Lutheran Cathedral.
It is built 1830–1852 on a swamp, like actually most of Helsinki, and people of those times where sure it would soon sink into it. But that has not happened at least yet.
The cathedral is next to many University buildings, and its stairs are full of students during spring and autumn.
In wintertime the stairs are covered with snow and students using it as a sliding hill.
This is the view from the top of the stairs.
The square in front of the cathedral is where most demonstrations are traditionally taking place.
Now there is some happening going on.
Then I saw another interesting statue in front of one of the uni buildings. It´s done by an art student, and sadly it is going to stay there only for three months. It looked so genuine I wasn´t quite sure if it WAS a statue or a man who had painted himself white to look like a statue.
This is the uni main library building, which also works as the national library.
We popped in, because Henna had to "study a bit", like she said.
We where watching around while she was studying. The library is said to be one of the most beautiful libraries in Europe, and I must agree.
Pretty pompous surroundings for studying a bit!
We were playing "hide and seek" and helping Henna by searching some books for her.
The other customers where watching a bit slowly when they saw an elephant, kiwi bird, frog, siberian husky and a small pirate running and carrying heavy, valuable books around.
We were just making faces to them.
Henna was studying. We started to reorganize the books to the selves by colour.
Henna was studying. We started to build towers and fortifications from the books.
Henna was studying. I started to grow a beard.
Then I learned by heart the Bible in mediaeval finnish.
And wrote my memoirs. You can search for them in any good quality bookshop by the name The Memoires Of Napoleon, The Elephant Who Wasn´t Afraid Of Mice.
When we got out at last, two weeks had passed.
What?
Don´t you believe me?
We continued our turistic excursion and went to see this funny looking statue called Sibelius Monument.
It is the memorial monument of Sibelius (if you didn´t guess already!), the famous finnish composer.
It is pictured in thousands of photo albums round the world, a turist standing under it, head pushed inside the biggest metal tube.
I hope they don´t stuck.
The statue is said to combine the forms of icicles hanging on the finnish cliffs on winter and the pipes of a church organ.
I donno about that, but I can tell you, that if you stand below the statue and make funny noises, they echo in interesting ways in the pipes.
We were making so interesting noises that the turists with less sence of humour escaped from the site.
Then we went into the Christmas Shop - a shop specialized into everything to do with Christmas.
The finnish people believe that the only genuine Santa Claus (called Joulupukki in finnish) lives in the finnish Lappland, and all the others telling they come from the Nort Pole or whatnot are pure hoax. Thus the Christmas is a very important thing for them.
It felt a bit funny to be socializing with the christmas elves in August, but I used the situation for my benefit and introduced them a list about all the things I would to have for present next christmas. They admired the way I had put the items into an alphabetical order to make it easier for them.
Then we hopped into another shop called Moomin Shop, where we met lot of - moomins..
The moomins were originally characters in the books by a finnish author and artist Tove Jansson, and later in cartoons made by her, and they are also very important for the finns.
The finns have colorful expressions in their language which have to do with the moomins, like "You have some moomins missing from your valley" meaning that the person in question is a bit ding dong.
Then we headed back towards Nuuksio.
We took a train in the Helsinki Päärautatieasema, Main Railway Station, which is this building looking like a 1930s radio.
These characters on the station wall are mythical Lightbearers from the finnish national epos Kalevala.
Then we get back home, where we all combed our hair in a new style to show our support for the Pussy Riot. I hope you don´t mind!
A warm hug to you, dad, from your little blue elephant!
See you soon!
pikkuaasi@gmail.com
Posted Sep 3, 2012, 12:46 am
Hello, dad!
How are you doing?
I´ve just visited the most odd shop I´ve ever seen!
Its name is Kasvihuoneilmiö, which means "greenhouse effect", and it is situated in an old greenhouse.
Let me show you!
It was a very rainy day, like it usually is in Finland when the autumn comes.
We had all been a bit quarrelsome whole day because it rained too much to go out because we don´t have gumboots nor raincoats and there is a nasty flu circkling here..
so it was very lucky a Hennas friend appeared to ask us all for a driwe in his car before the pillow fight had time to turn any nastier.
!
We drowe maybe half an hour and arrived into a small place called Pusula. Ha ha, dad, pusu means "a kiss", so Pusula is about "Kisstown" or "Kissvillage".
Hennas friend told us to go step out from the car and into the greenhouse building next to it, so we would "have something worth to look at in this rainy day".
It rained so much we had to run from the car.
What we saw first when inside was this son of a cousin of Jaws.
This is a place selling whatever! I had never seen such collection of things!
They had antique furniture next to horrifying plastic giant gangaroo, old army garments, old books, toys, plants..
We started to wander round and just gape at things we saw there. Hennas friend was right! This was a place wort of spending a rainy day!
I met a smiling jug-eared pig!
..next to Leonardo da Vinci..
I took a bite of a banana, offered to me by a simpanzee mother..
..and a half wolf of an unfriendly indian tried to take a bite of me!
( don´t worry, dad, I´m still in one piece, I escaped by tickling the awful dog so much he had to let me go! )
Then I met real bunny rabbits who also lived in the shop.
Then we went into their café to have coffee and delicious donuts!
Zoe tried to sneak under the table with the donut but she didn´t have a change!
Then we aid good bye for the funny shop and came back home to Nuuksio.
See you soon again, dad!
Now I go to bed to continue the pillow fight!
Hug from Napoleon
pikkuaasi@gmail.com
Posted Sep 3, 2012, 5:52 pm
Hello again, dear daddy!
The weather continues here somewhat rainy and cloudy, but in spite of that Henna pushed us outside, saying that we better go out to unload some energy, rain or not, because she doesn´t want the cottage to burst in pieces.
Can you understand what she meant by that?
So out we went, poor maltreated plushies..
..just kidding!
Actually we always enjoy being out, and in the forest the trees cover us from the worst rain, anyway.
We went for a walk in a nature reserve area in Karkali, where we had not visited before.
It is always great to see new landscapes!
Here is a map of the area. Of course it doesn´t tell you much, because it doesn´show very much about the surroundings, but at least you can see it is situated on a long cape in Lohjanjärvi lake.
We walked many kilometers along a duckboard route.
There was signs telling us not to step outside the duckboards, not to disturb the animals and not to pick wild plants, and soon we were in middle of a lively discussion if we can a) step outside the duckboards if we need to, umm, pee b) how do we know without asking what kind of behaviour the animals think disturbing c) is there other than wild plants living in the nature reserve area?
Do you know what these are, dad?
They are elk droppings!
What do you think - how could we possibly disturb an elk with these kinda toilet manners, huh? Maybe by suggesting him a potty training course?
After some kilometers we saw the lake Lohjanjärvi glimmering between the trees.
It is a pretty big lake, and in earlier times it has been considered holy.
We walked along the capeside and got many beautiful views over the lake.
We were admiring the views for some time and then decided to go down to the shore.
On our way down we saw a cave, and a plake informing us it was the biggest cave in Finland, "Torholan luola", one end of it continuing below the lake surface, but we didn´t have a flashlight with us, so we couldn´t sadly investigate very far, besides, who knows what kinda creatures live there in the darknes. Might be two meter long centipedes.
When we got to the shore the sky cleared and the sun was showing up for awhile, and we were enjoying the rare incident, sitting on the waterline, letting the sun warm us.
We were playing to be small crabs hiding under the treeroots in the waterline, lurking for insects or small fish coming too near.
We found a small bottle floating near the shore and got an idea to send a message in the bottle to sail towards who knows what destination.
I wrote there the date and the place where we were, our names and what we were doing there and asked the possible finder leave a message to the toyvoyagers.com page.
Of course, lets say someone finds our message in the year 2150 - maybe they don´t even know anymore what internet was. But never know what the future brings!
Maybe I got an answer when I´m an old elephant with grey beard and a horde of grandchildren hanging on it.
Then we put the message inside the bottle and sent it to sail wherever it feels like.
A river runs from the lake towards the sea, so the bottle will eventually end there, but after that?
The bottle set sail in a very determined way, heading towards the rivermouth.
There it goes!
The sky started to darken again fastly, and so we came back home to Nuuksio to discus about all the places and people our message could reach.
See you soon again, daddy!
Your Napoleon
pikkuaasi@gmail.com
Posted Sep 7, 2012, 7:56 pm
This is my last update from here, I´m heading towards new adventures! Hiihaa!
Me and Krystal decided to go together part of the way, it´s nicer to travel in company.
It also gave us opportunity to plan our trip.. we are making it in a very stylish way!
On our last day here our friends were pampering us a lot! (And trying to learn our secret plans for the trip!
) We were having a farewell party in the forest with coffee and berrypie.
AND having icecream in a little café.
We spent our last evening together sitting round the fire and singing secret tribe songs.
Then I went with Krystal into a telephone booth to order our means of transportation.
Needles to say, the others were very curious!
Then we waited for our lift to come..
We didn´t need to wait for long!
The others gasped and Zoe cursed heartily, when they saw the flying saucer.
The saucer started to land, and we backed behind a pine tree to make room for it.
"Don´t tell me that is your lift?" said Henna, whose eyes were rolling in her head.
"Of course it is!" said I. "Isn´t it cool?!"
Two creatures came out from the saucer. Henna started to squeak and mutter something about cow abductions.
"Are our hitchikers here?" asked the creatures.
We were hugging everyone for farewell very tight. You cannot even see me trough the wall of voyagers here.
Then we greeted the saucer driwers and entered the vehicle.
It rised slow up to the air! Jiihaa!
We were still wawing to our friends.
Goodbye, Nuuksio! Goodbye, Nuuksio gang!
Towards new experiences!
See you soon again!
Napoleon
Posted Oct 1, 2012, 6:31 am
Before we could head off into Central Australia Bec had a Hen's Party to attend. A Hen's Party is a celebration for a bride before her wedding. Lucky for me, this one was a picnic which was taking place in the Botanical Gardens in Sydney so Bec agreed to smuggle me in (Being a male technically I wasn't invited)
So, I got to see the iconic Sydney sights of the Harbour Bridge, Opera House and Sydney Harbour as we headed across the Botanical Gardens and around to Mrs Macquarie's Chair - the place where all those famous Bridge and Opera House photos get taken from.
Here we enjoyed a yummy wine and cheese picnic (each guest had to bring a cheese and a story of how the cheese reminded them of the bride as cheese is her all time favourite food - Bec's was a mature cheddar because the bride to be has done all the things she once said she wouldn't be tied down by and has therefore become a 'grown up') before heading off at sunset so we could go home and pack for our big adventure.
Posted Oct 1, 2012, 6:47 am
Alice Springs - here we come!
Posted Oct 1, 2012, 7:08 am
A little history for you...
Alice Springs is more or less in the centre of Australia and is the third largest town in the Northern Territory. It is the halfway point between Adelaide (South Australia's capital) and Darwin (the capital of the Northern Territory) which made it an important part of the trade route between the two cities and the establishment of the Overland Telegraph Route linking Australia to the rest of the world.
This entire central area of Australia was opened up by a famous explorer John Stuart who, after 6 attempts finally found a way to cross from Adelaide to the north coast of Australia in 1862 and Alice Springs was established 10 years later.
Anyway...
Today Alice Springs has become a major tourist destination thanks to its proximity to Uluru and Kata Tjuta (by Aussie standards anyway! - it's actually a 4hour drive!)
So, one of our first priorities was lunch after the crummy one served on the plane... I wanted to try a Kangaroo burger but was reminded that as an elephant I am a vegetarian, so I had to watch Bec eat one instead!
Then we were able to explore a little...
This is the Todd River. Yep, a river - and its actually flowing. Most of the rivers in Central Australia are upside down rivers. There's water flowing there, just under the ground. Every year a famous yacht race (the Henley-on-Todd Regatta) is run here. It's the only yacht race that is cancelled if there is water in the course as they are bottomless boats. The participants hold on to them and run down the river! Pretty funny people these outback Australians. They even have an Alice Springs Yacht Club!!
Soon it was time for dinner. My travelling companions continued to try out the local cuisine...
Kangaroo fillets
and date & camel sausages.
One more sleep before Uluru. I was sooo excited I could barely sleep!
Posted Oct 1, 2012, 7:35 am
Our first stop of the morning was at the Mt Conner lookout. Mt Conner looks so much like Uluru that it is sometimes called Fakeroo as it confuses people who see it from the highway and think they are almost at Uluru.
Do you see what I mean? They're so much alike to look at, but Mt Conner has a much flatter top.
Check out how orange the sand is here! It'll go through your shoes and socks through to your toes really quickly (or so my host tells me)
Behind us at the lookout is Lake Amadeus, a huge salt lake that made it hard for the early European explorers who were looking for routes across the country.
And here is a view I was soon to get very very used to... Empty, seemingly endless, straight stretches of highway with only the occaisonal 4WD or tour bus to break the monotony.
Posted Oct 1, 2012, 8:50 am
The real thing - Uluru!
Some facts...
Uluru is 450km from Alice Springs and was made a World Heritage Site in 1987.
Stands 438m above the ground and has a circumference of 9.4km.
The yearly temperatures range from 47C in summer to -7 on winter nights and it receives just 307.7mm of rain each year on average.
Uluru is sacred to the Anangu, the Aboriginal people of the area who ask that visitors do not climb the rock (so we didn't - you'd have to be crazy to climb it anyway!)
Rather than climb, we took on the Base Walk instead. The Base Walk is marked by the orange line and goes around Uluru. It is a 10.6km trek that they advise takes 3.5hrs to complete.
There are many culturally sensitive sites around the rock that you are allowed to look at but not photograph. These are the sites of particular rites undertaken by the local aboriginal people under Tjukurpa law. Some of them are for men only and other are for women. Some are where the children are taken to be initiated and others are for special ceremonies.
Here's some of what we saw...
Uluru is not as smooth as I imagined it would be. Instead its rather flaky. Probably something to do with all the minerals that made up the monolith.
A waterfall site
With a bit of a boost up from my host I was able to TOUCH Uluru with my trunk.
This is in the Kantju Gorge, where the Mala people camped and their children were taken to learn about the language and symbols of their people. (The sun was especially bright here! Hence my appearance in these photos!)
Now, for the big, long walk in the 38C temperatures... Luckily I was able to hitch a ride. I don't think my little legs would have made it!
That big cave there is called The Brain. Bec thought it looked a lot like Darth Vader!
And the walk kept going...
and going...
We started to understand how people can die so easily out here. You think you're almost at a certain point because it looks so close to you over flat ground but its actually a half hour or more walk away.
Every now and then we would make it to one of these shelters which are modelled on those of the traditional owners of the land and would have the opportunity to refill our waterbottles - did you know that in the outback you should drink 1litre of water for every hour you are walking and drink every 15min to avoid dehydration.
Three hours after setting off, we found ourselves back at the carpark. The climb up the rock had been opened (it had previously been closed due to extreme heat) and some silly people were climbing it (silly because it was coming up on sunset and silly because every year people are injured doing the climb. Six people have even died!)
[Photos to come - on someone else's camera]
Check out Bec's Uluru tan! That's dust from the path! Those shoes were a greyish purple colour this morning! I would have turned completely orange had I walked the track myself!
Posted Oct 1, 2012, 9:18 am
The trick to catching it is to take a new photo every 2minutes or so as you just don't notice the colour change with your naked eye as you watch. So, here goes...
And, as the sunset was actually behind us, here's the last remaining rays...
Then we were off to our campsite for dinner, much needed showers and to sleep in our swags. A swag a bag is made from strong canvas, sewn like a large sleeping bag with a comfortable sponge mattress inside providing warmth, comfort and security. You sleep in your sleeping bag inside the swag... it's the Aussie way of roughing it. There's no need for a tent, so you go to sleep looking up at the stars! Unfortunately to keep the bugs out Bec didnt roll out her swag until well after dark and with the presunrise wake ups it was still dark when we got up and rerolled it, so no photos. If you're curious about it, you could go here.
Posted Oct 1, 2012, 11:31 pm
So, sunrise was AMAZING - way better than sunset or even the walk around the rock. Apologies that I'm not in the photos but Bec had to zooom in pretty far to get the image and I got all blurry!
Posted Oct 2, 2012, 12:06 am
We took on the Valley of the Winds walk, which is rated as 'difficult' in terms of walks and is a 7.4km track which is challenging and steep in many places. Luckily, once again I was able to hitch a ride as some of those steps going up and down were way to steep for my little legs.
This is the ampitheatre, where young boys were taken to learn how to hunt and listen to the stories of their elders. They were bought here because food sources were plentiful and if you missed another animal would come along shortly.
While we were here, we spotted a family of kangaroos - a female, a male and a joey.
(Again - apologies that I'm not in the photo! We had to be quick to get the photo & I didn't have time to pose!)
If you look closely, just past my left ear, you might be able to spot the kangaroos...
Can you imagine how amazing this must look when it rains??
Finally we reached our goal... the Karingana Lookout over the Valley of the Winds. There are many Dreamtime legends associated with the Valley and it is as sacred to the Anangu people as Uluru. One legend follows the great snake king Wanambi who is said to live on the summit of Mount Olga during the rainy season and stays curled up in a waterhole on the summit. During the dry season he moves down to the gorge below. He also uses the various caves on Mount Olga. The hairs of his beard are the dark lines on the eastern side of the rock. His breath is the wind which blows through the gorge; when he gets angry it can become a tornado.
Here's the path we climbed...
And then we were down and on the 'long but easy' walk back (once we got down into the valley anyway. And of course, we still had to come back up again!)
This is a pretty special place, huh?
Obligatory water stop to replenish our water supplies. Remember 1L per hour of walking!
Here's where we went today. Just follow the orange line!
Posted Oct 2, 2012, 12:29 am
Yulara is purely a 'resort' town. All of its residents work in the tourism industry in some way. It was built in the 1970's to provide accomodation for tourists coming to see Uluru & Kata Tjuta in order to protect the sites from people setting up camp around it and destroying the environment. We had actually spent the night here in their campground.
While we were here my hosts pointed out some of the native flora for me in the spectacular garden beds. Australian native plants have to be pretty hardy to survive the elements so they don't look like any of the flowers I've ever seen before.
This one is called a Kangaroo Paw. Can you tell why?
and there's a red Kangaroo Paw too. This one was flowering.
Here's a Bottlebrush. Doesn't it just look like the tool used to clean a bottle?
And these are grevillas.
Posted Oct 2, 2012, 12:46 am
This time we were up so early in order to catch the sunrise from the top of Kings Canyon. But, first we had to get to the top by climbing Heart Attack Hill! Boy, was that painful (for my host anyway. I had a relaxing time sitting in the pocket of our backpack!)
Apologies for the blurry pics. I was still getting my breath back - Bec)
Sadly, despite our best efforts in reaching the top, sunrise that day was a bit of a bust. Still, the views were pretty spectacular.
From here the rest of the tour group headed off on the three hour walk around the rim. Unfortunately our other travel companion had injured her leg the day before and hadn't been able to make it to the top of Heart Attack Hill, so Bec and I had to go back down the scary hill and join her on a walk into the gorge instead.
Still, it was pretty spectacular inside the canyon!
A creek bed with ghost gums...
Lots of brightly coloured rock faces...
Huge rocks...
And the Canyon itself. The walls of the canyon are over 100m high!
It's pretty amazing how the trees grow out of the rock faces. They have huge root systems that not only draw up any water from between the rocks, but also keep them anchored in place.
Posted Oct 2, 2012, 1:13 am
On the way we stopped at a camel farm near Stuart's Well station.
Why are there camels in Central Australia I hear you ask? And so many of them that camel meat is a local delicacy?
Well, in the 1800's there was lots of exploration going on around here as the colonies tried to find trading routes and open up the country to white settlement. Obviously, in these types of weather conditions and with the desert like terrain, horses just weren't cutting it. So, the government bought in camels and Afghan cameleers which in turn changed the Australian economy. They accompanied exploration parties, carrying supplies and materials where horses and oxen could not. They carted supplies, mail and even water to remote settlements. They transported the supplies, tools and equipment needed for the surveying and construction of some of Australia's earliest, and greatest, infrastructure projects, such as the Overland Telegraph and Trans-Australian Railway.
Sadly, in the early 20th Century with the arrival of cars and trucks and the completion of the railway the camels weren't needed anymore and the Cameleers were ordered to destroy their animals. Many were unable to do so and let their camels go free in the outback. Now there are nearly 1million camels roaming free out there.
There is also now a thriving industry using camels for tourism (short rides through to 5 day treks), export of camels to the middle east (Aussie camels are a cross breed and are stronger and bigger than camels from the middle east. In fact it is illegal to race an Aussie camel against an Arabian one in Saudi Arabia!) and racing as well as farming for their meat (which is healthier for you than beef)
So, back to the tour. Here we went for a ride on a camel. I'm near to impossible to see, but was holding on tightly in Bec's pocket! (orange shirt)
Riding a camel is a bit like being on a boat with the way you rock side to side. There are even stories of people on longer treks getting sea sick! I wouldn't know as we just took a short trip around the farm. It was a lot of fun though. Bec tells me she prefers it to riding a horse, except for the part where the camel drops down to let you get off!
Posted Oct 2, 2012, 1:47 am
It was established in 1972 and is the original site of the first European settlement in Alice Springs. It was once one of 12 stations along the Overland Telegraph Line.
Before the Telegraph line was completed, it could take up to 6months by boat for a message to reach Australia from England. Once the line was completed, that time delay dropped down to just 14hours!
Looks pretty basic for something so important huh?
Here we have the Station Master's Residence - pretty fancy inside!
The Telegraph Office..
While we were here I tried my trunk at sending a message using Morse Code. It was just a little confusing just spelling out my name! Let alone an entire message. I think the telegraph officers must have been pretty clever.
And the barracks:
Have you noticed all the wide verandahs on the buildings? They're an Australian essential to keep the house cool.
The Station operated until 1932 when the town of Alice Springs moved to its current site.
Once it closed as a telegraph station, it became a part of one of the more shameful parts of Australian history as home for Aboriginal children who were taken from their families, forming the Stolen Generation.
Then during World War 2, the site was used as an army base as troops were moved into the Pacific theatre and defenses were set up along the Australian north coast and along the road to Adelaide.
Posted Oct 2, 2012, 2:09 am
The School of the Air is a primary aged correspondence school for students aged 4.5 to 14. It covers an area of 1million square kilometres and the teachers use the internet to have daily contact with students, home tutors and teachers.
The first broadcasts were made from the Royal Flying Doctor Base in Alice Springs, Northern Territory (NT), in 1951 using the radio.
Now lessons take place over the internet using webcams, their website for shared docs and messenger services so that there is greater interaction between teachers and students. They have 4 in town weeks each year when they get together with their class (the older kids even go away on camps - this year they went to Tasmania) and the teachers visit each child at their home once a year. Some of the kids live over 1000km away from the 'school' so that's quite a lot of travelling to do!
Students also receive lesson packs with books that they work on independently with their parents or a tutor at home as well as a selection of books from the school library.
Posted Nov 4, 2012, 8:17 am
boy, what a stress, waht a jetlag!
i was supposed to stay in the warm southern hemisphere ... but suddenly - i dunno how - i was in the middle of a helloween party at home. was it a dream?
first we all came together. even the count and sir lancelot fluttered by. and two guests hase and sunnyhh.
elephants are family animals. so soon we grouped up in blue and green.
whilst the others had fun with the colourfull pills, we had ours with the blue ones. they are good and healthy for our trunks.
ok you guys ... see you soon in ... if only i knew ...
Posted Nov 25, 2012, 10:09 pm
today me, my brother, my daddy, and my uncle decided to mount the "herrnhuter sterne", since christmas is coming closer.
first we had to unpack them.
then we sorted the parts.
start to mount the pieces.
does this look like stars?
i had to fasten the clams inside.
a little hide and seek ...
finally the stars are ready.
christmas may begin!
but not with me ... i am a toyvoyager ... i will be far away.
your little napoleon
Posted Dec 9, 2012, 9:31 pm
But wait, they look somehow familiar... hmm... where have I seen this giraffe before? Maybe on TV... or wait, I know! They're toyvoyagers just like me and I've read their travelogs! but hmm... where was it that they were from? ... somewhere in the south I think... Peru? no... Argentina?... no.... ah!! I know, Chile! I'm in Chile!
That's why the weather here didn't make any sense... 25ºC in December? crazy!
I had this postcard with me, so Kirin and I read it for Leslie, my new host
After meeting everyone here I wanted to go out and explore these southern lands, so we headed to the center of Temuco city... and what's the first thing I see? A llama in front of me!
wow
I'm not sure who was surprised the most... me to see a llama in the street or her to see a blue elephant... I think we were both wondering whether we'd gone crazy
at least I was.
Oh, hello there
After out brief encounter I kept exploring around and I found myself in one of the main squares of Temuco, called Plaza de Armas
This monument in the middle of the square shows Mapuches (the aborigins from this area) and spanish conquerors.
There was a man playing the guitar... yeah... I like this place
Then we headed to the crafts market to see some Mapuche handicrafts
These drums are called Kultrún and are played in mapuche rituals and ceremonies. I wonder what could happen if I play one, maybe I could make it rain
These trumpet-shaped horns are Trutrucas
This giant guy is an Indio Pícaro, a wooden figure of a mapuche man... I really hope they don't look like this in person!
Then we went into a store and I saw mapuche jewelry made of silver, the big ones are called Trapelakucha and mark status among mapuche women
And these are mapuche knittings, nice designs!
So after all I learned I can now say that this woman in the picture is playing Kultrún while wearing a Trapelakucha
What a nice day!
I'll write again soon!
PD: Yay! Im halfway through one of my life missions
Countries visited in South America: 1/2! wooohoo
Bye for now
Napoleon
Posted Dec 17, 2012, 5:04 pm
On the way there I could see some great views of the pacific shores
Once we got in the summerhouse we couldn't go to the beach, so we stayed in the garden, and since it's the end of spring all the flowers are in its best moment!
This nice little plant is called Murtilla, it's endemic to southern Chile and very yummy
I heard some good drinks can be made out of it!
This plant I'm standing on is a Chilco, also endemic to southern South America
...and from what I saw I can tell it's one of the bees' favourite meal!
...We spent the rest of the day wondering around the garden because the weather didn't allow us to go to the beach
So I had fun watching the bees from closely
For a while the sun came out so I could see the nice view from the house
But then it all got cloudy again...
Now I'm back in Temuco writing and surfing the internet
bye bye!
Posted Dec 24, 2012, 2:17 am
Today we made a trip to the mountain range near the argentinian border
As we got closer some nice flowers appeared on the road
And closer we found Araucarias, the national chilean tree!
Ouch!
We started noticing the height we were at
And we kept going up...
The view was really beautiful from up here!
And the wind was very cold, but fresh mountain air... ahhh
Look at all those Araucarias!
It was a very very nice day!
Now we are preparing for christmas
I'll write again soon
Bye bye
Posted Dec 25, 2012, 3:12 pm
Yesterday we went with Leslie to finish her last minute christmas shopping and saw this giant beautiful tree in the mall
And later in the night we celebrated Christmas Eve
The tree looked beautiful and dinner was yummy, it was a perfect night!
Merry christmas everyone!
Napoleon
Posted Jan 8, 2013, 3:29 am
When we got there we climbed a big hill to take a look at the beach from above
Ahhh, how beautiful
Then we went back down to enjoy the sea
That hill back there is the one we climbed
It was a very nice day!
Posted Jan 22, 2013, 7:34 am
Hey Dad,
I have been teleported from Chile to Australia - would you believe that??? I found myself at the airport and now I am off to New Zealand - how is that for good news? Lucky a TV host found me!!
I am travelling with several other TV's - Kali, Mr Shaun, Tica and not in this photo is Cyril - he is usually a home TV but just between you and me I think he might by chaperoning Mr Shaun!
on the plane
View is not much to write home about here !
Off for a chat with the others now, more soon
Plushily yours
Napoleon
Posted Jan 22, 2013, 7:46 am
Today we are on the road - on the freeway heading out of Auckland - actually it is called the motorway here!
Looks greener here than the little I saw in Australia
Plushily yours
Napoleon
Posted Jan 22, 2013, 7:54 am
Some history first.....then.....
Ta....dah....does this make me famous now too????
More soon
Plushily yours
Napoleon
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 7:30 am
When the host is away the toy will play!!! LOL! (Just had a play on the computer)
Surfs up!! Just moved myself to Bondi Beach!! lol!!!
Oops...someone is coming got to run...
Napoleon
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 7:39 am
We had another stop after Paeroa - this gorge and river are between Waihi and Paeora - there was a lot of gold mining done thru here in the 1800's.
this is the swing bridge over the river and boy does it swing - a group pf school kids on a holiday programme walked across the bridge when we were taking the next photo and we were bouncing up and down!
Here I am in the native kauri tree (it was a bit prickly!!
)
Off on out travels now Dad!
See you later
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 7:48 am
I like this here Dad....I am told there are 8kms of beach to walk along - a long way for me but maybe tomorrow......
This is the flower of the pohutukawa tree...otherwise known as the New Zealand Christmas Bush. If it begins flowering in November it is a sign of a long hot summer!
Off for a rest now!
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 7:52 am
A room with a view!!! Lol!!
Nah, just the view out the back window of where we are staying
and out the front window
More soon
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 8:08 am
We had a drive into Waihi (someone wanted to go to the quilt shop
) but we had a look at the Martha Mine. The trucks working in the mine looked tiny!!
We met an interesting man
then here is the mine
Lucky I am good with heights!!
then we had a look at some information about the old pump house
Off to the quilt shop now, but I think we are going to the beach this afternoon!! Yay!
Yours plushily ( and full of history)
Napoleon
xooxx
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 8:17 am
Off I go!
Strength testing on the beach!!
Mr Shaun, Tica, Kali and me having a rest and looking at the view
Wish you were here dad!!
Amazing where the pohutukawa trees grow isn't it??
Bye for now
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 10:26 am
here we are at the end of the track - this is where the ocean meets the harbour
looking up Tauranga harbour
looking over to Matakana Island
behind the trees is Anzac bay
See you later
Napoleon
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 10:40 am
Last look out the front window
Last walk
I wonder where we are driving to now??
See you soon
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 28, 2013, 10:53 am
Now we are in Tauranga the town my host grew up in- we have driven down in to town to see some carvings and a Maori canoe or waka
this is the waka which is used for ceremonial occasions
along the Strand (the street along the harbour) there are carvings and story boards of the areas history
this is part of the Tauranga harbour looking back to the railway bridge - there is a huge wharf at Mount Maunganui out on the coast from Tauranga and lots of good are taken by train to the wharf
thought I would try to climb a palm tree but it was hard work!!!
Maybe I am better for walking and carrying!
See you soon
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 9:06 pm
We are having a walk on the beach at the Mount this afternoon. Mount Maunganui is an extinct volcano (I hope it is very extinct
) that sits at the end of a spit of land - the ocean beach is on one side and the Tauranga harbour on the other. There was an around the Mount swim today so the place was heaving with people.
While we were walking in the water we found some pipis - they are a shellfish that is really nice either boiled until the shells open or made in to fritters. Sue told me when her family had camping holidays at the beach they got pipis quite often. Usually you have to dig into the sand with your feet - looks like you are doing the twist in the water!! Sometimes there are crabs under the sand too and they grab your fingers when you try to pick up the pipis! I'm glad we are just looking at them Dad!!
One of the little islands off the beach
I like this beach here Dad!
"Sandily" yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 9:16 pm
We had a walk down the street this afternoon to look at this Maori Pa area...when Sue was younger there was a house here and horses in the front paddock. Now the land has been given back to the Maoris and they bring people here to explain how it used to be at the Pa here.
this is behind the front gate now
the water you can see is the Tauranga Harbour and the land on the horizon is Mount Maunganui -the Mount is on the left hand side, you can only see a tiny bit of it.
Now we are right up the back of the area behind us is the harbour and Mount Maunganui
Mmmmm.......Sue just realised she didn't take a photo of the remains of the pa fortifications, today it just looks like a ditch sadly!
Here I am out the front
More soon
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 9:24 pm
Not much happening here today so thought I'd go on an adventure
Have you heard the expression - the corn is a high as an elephants eye? (Sue thinks it comes from a song in the musical Oklahoma) Well this corn is much much bigger!!
Sadly the corn isn't ready yet, but the beans look ok
thought I would hide out in the beetroot for a while
We had a game of hide and seek in the garden!
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 9:32 pm
We are off travelling again - this time we have stopped just past Te Puke at
a kiwi fruit place
fruit are not ripe yet but we had a look at how they grow
here I am in a Kauri tree - lucky I have tough feet these are kind of prickly trees
one side of the big kiwi fruit - you can go up inside here and look over the orchard
and the other side
Off to Rotorua now Dad!
Fruitily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 9:40 pm
This afternoon we have come to the Redwood forest - an area where lots of Californian Redwoods were planted years ago
It is very quiet in here and the air smells wonderful!!
Phew!!!
Not so nice smelling here Dad...we have found out first hot natural spring and the sulphur smell is quite strong!!!!
Off for more adventures now Dad,
Smellily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 9:51 pm
It is quite hard work being a tourist!!
Now we have come to an area down near Lake Rotorua where there is a lot of thermal activity - as you walk around you can hear the hot water bubbling under the path!
Here I am outside the Maori meeting house on the marai (meeting area)
Interesting carving!
Boiling water just under here!!
and over here!!
we found another waka - this is one is more modern
That's our adventures for today Dad, back to the motel now...I think I heard someone mention a spa...just the best after a hard day being a tourist!!
Adventouristly yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 9:58 pm
Today we are off to[url=Wai-O-Tapu] http://www.waiotapu.co.nz/[/url] for more adventures
Sadly we didn't get many photos because someone forgot to tale the battery charger and the battery is going flat!!!
But we got some of the boiling mud and sulphur pool and the champange pool to show you - it is an amazing place Dad - lots of boiling noises, smells (Phew!!) and colours!
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 10:02 pm
See you in Oz soon
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Jan 30, 2013, 10:08 pm
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 5, 2013, 7:55 am
We are heading to another beach!
On the road again!!
Just getting glimpses here
Now the real stuff - wind in your plush, sand in your toes!!
The tide is way out so we can have a look in the rock pools
The water here Dad is Bass Straight - nothing from here until you get to Tasmania, well apart from birds and fish and ships that is!!
More soon
Love and hugs
Napoleon
Posted Feb 5, 2013, 7:59 am
Then sadly we had to head home
Very dry now here Dad.
More soon,
Sandliy yours
Napoleon
PS. Not much cake baking happens here Dad!!
Posted Feb 5, 2013, 8:02 am
Nice trees here
Cool for walking too
Greenily yours
Napoleon
Posted Feb 5, 2013, 8:38 am
A quick visit to the city today on the way to Boronia
all these people walked past playing instruments as they were walking
we found a wonderful cake shop!!
in Federation Square I saw this interesting sculpture
St Pauls Cathedral
The Arts Centre across the Yarra
on the bridge over the Yarra River - the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the background
and this is Flinders Street Station.
Happily yours
Napoleon
Posted Feb 5, 2013, 8:45 am
Guess where we went this afternoon!!!
Shoppingly yours
Napoleon
Posted Feb 5, 2013, 9:32 am
we found a nice wall in the children's area with lots of hand made tiles
interesting door here
Off home now
Yours happily
Napoleon
Posted Feb 6, 2013, 11:45 pm
Napoleon
Posted Feb 6, 2013, 11:50 pm
Have come to work today with Sue
The Melbourne Zoo had a promotion earlier last year because they have been caring for elephants there for 150 years, so several schools got to decorate an elephant - this one was decorated by art students here, went to the Zoo for a display and now is back at the library on display here.
Having a ride!
Mali is the first baby elephant born here at the Zoo - and just recently another baby elephant was born...it is so cute..not as cute as me of course but close!!
Happily yours
Napoleon
Posted Feb 7, 2013, 12:06 am
Here I am looking out to the main wharf - lots of people fish from here.
Off for an afternoon walk
Contemplation time!
Back at the house we found this amazing flowering gum tree
Gummily yours
Napoleon
Posted Feb 7, 2013, 12:15 am
DINNER!!! YUM!!!!
Munchily yours
Napoleon
Posted Feb 7, 2013, 12:21 am
Past the boat launching ramp
through the camping ground
along the beach side
coming up t the main wharf
Letters are posted!
past the lagoon
Back home!
More soon
Puffily yours
Napoleon
Posted Feb 7, 2013, 2:10 am
the fishing people - lots of fishing out of Geelong and Dad you can get mussels here ready cooked!! Mmmmm....
Lots of boats here Dad
Love the hat!!
Happily yours
Napoleon
Posted Feb 7, 2013, 2:22 am
Ready for the big dive!! I think Mr Shaun is too scared to look!!
I couldn't stay out long Dad, there is no shade by the pool and it is 33 degrees and uncomfortable for us plushy ones! Is a total fire ban day today - sunny, hot and windy!
I had a quiet sit with one of the Buddha's in the garden
Happily yours
Napoleon
Posted Feb 10, 2013, 5:17 am
Working day today so I am meeting the library cat - made by the Japanese teacher here - it is folded paper!
We helped cover some books
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 10, 2013, 5:20 am
these statues are made from the remains of an old tree - a lady carved them with a chainsaw!!
They represent the local Australian Rules Football club, The Bulldogs!
there is junior cricket happening on the oval today
waiting for the chow to catch up - he has been swimming in the creek but is getting hot and slow!!
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 10, 2013, 6:34 am
Relaxing at home day today having a chat and listening to music
Musically yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 15, 2013, 10:24 am
Today we went somewhere - we don't know where
we went in the car, then it stopped, then we were driving again and heading home along the freeway! Very confusing Dad!! But here we are heading back to Gisborne
I think Mr Shaun fell over!!
heading off the freeway now
and back to Gisborne!!
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 15, 2013, 10:26 am
What do you think?
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 15, 2013, 10:31 am
This evening we went to quilting group, but after a little while we heard drums beating so off we went to investigate!
the drums had stopped when we arrived but we realised it was Chinese New Year and people were celebrating outside the Chinese restaurant
I liked the dragons Dad, but the noise of the crackers was deafening - I had to put my feet in my ears!!!
Ohhhh!!! Here comes the dragon!!
Phew!! It's ok!
Posted Feb 15, 2013, 10:38 am
You wouldn't believe what happened today!! It was very hot, then the sky went dark and then kaboom!!!!
There was thunder and lightning right over the top of the house - things were rattling in the cupboards! Then the rain came and it rained and rained and rained!!! Boy!
Have a look at the waterfall down the front steps!!
and the lake in the back yard!!
The temperature dropped about 10 degrees in half an hour!! And you know what after the rain stopped all the water just soaked away! We had to have dinner by candle light though, there was no power until late in the night!
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 21, 2013, 6:04 am
Today we went to catch up with friends in Bacchus Marsh - this is about 25 mins drive from Gisborne
these are not the friends Dad, but some new friends we found in the main street!!
Lucky I could jump quickly out of here Dad!!
I like this wombat though Dad - could have taken it home with me!!
Here is Sue's friends lunch! Yum!! I decided to share!!
Back home a while and another thunder storm is going over - there was even hail falling out of the sky! And it is still 30 degrees!!! The weather is nuts here Dad! Lucky there isn't as much rain as last week!!
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 23, 2013, 7:27 am
A new TV arrived yesterday, it is another elephant but not a handsome plushy one like me!!
He tells me he has hypnotic powers Dad so maybe we can get to achieve some life missions - cake is very lacking here!!!!
We are hatching a plan!!!!
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
PS I nearly forgot --his name is Elmar
Posted Feb 25, 2013, 6:46 am
Today I thought I would help!!!
Good helper huh!!
Helpfully yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 25, 2013, 6:49 am
cuppa anyone??
I think this one is a little big for me!!
Ah this is a little better!!
OK! Someone is being silly now Dad!!!!
Sippingly yours
Napoleon
xxoooxx
Posted Feb 26, 2013, 5:35 am
How are you?
I am good here, although the weather is very hot for a plushy elephant!
Today we went in to the city to help Mr Shaun achieve a life mission. it was pretty exciting because we didn't know where we were going until we got out of the travel bag!
and here we are - the Eureka Skydeck building!! We are going up to the 88th floor
to have a look at the view over the city. This 88th floor is 300 metres up in the air Dad!! And the top of the building can flex up to 600mm in high winds!! Lucky it is a calm day today!!
Ta! Dah!! I am at the viewing level, looking away from the city towards the Bay
here we all are on the window ledge
the window ledge just happens to be on the floor!! Hee! Hee! Guess who doesn't like heights and wasn't comfortable putting us on the window ledge!! Oh nearly forgot - behind us is the city, you can see the train lines that go to Flinders Street Station - that is the little building with the green dome and across the road is Federation Square, and across from there St Pauls Cathedral.
I spy with my little eye......
that's better I can see you now!!!!
here you can follow the Yarra River past the Botanic Gardens up to the sports centres, the new soccer and rugby league stadium with the puffy looking roof, the tennis centre and the Melbourne Cricket Ground (the big round one)
outside photo, behind me is Port Phillip Bay
the building below with the white sails is the Aquarium
Hee!Hee! I wanted this photo just to make Sue dizzy!!
Back at the bottom of the building Dad having a look at the giant bees!
More soon
Dizzily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Feb 26, 2013, 5:56 am
Guess where I am??
Hee! Hee! See you there soon!!!
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 4, 2013, 7:37 am
Today we had a trip in to the Melbourne Exhibition Centre
here I am inside the building
and here I am outside the building!
round the other side of the building is this great fountain
I am confused as to whether this is the front or back now!! But it is the opposite side of where we went in.
just to show you where I am ! Tee Hee!!
Plushy hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 4, 2013, 1:10 pm
greatest wishes, your friends at home
Posted Mar 7, 2013, 12:35 am
Today we are at the Melbourne Zoo to help Elmar achieve a life mission. It is a hot day again today....
follow that elephant!!
good place for swimming I think, but maybe no, the pelican might eat me!!
Here Elmar and I are posing in front of a fish tank!!
Actually we are hoping a fish will swim past
there's one!
still waiting......
there is a banjo shark...they are friendly and harmless, they come to the top of the water and have a look at you
nice coral here
another kind of shark
a little sea horse
off to see the gorillas
one sleepy gorilla!
me in the jungle
off to see the elephants
well here we are and the elephants are way over the other side having a feed
some relations do you think Dad??
hey it seems to be lunch for everyone except me!!
a fuzzy me, so we could zoom in and see the koala
the wallabies are sleeping in the shade
here are some Aussie outback letter boxes!!
Off for a cool drink and some shade now Dad! Counting down the days!!
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 7, 2013, 1:07 am
Was down the street last night going along to quilting group when we saw this beastie sitting on the hedge
I don't think it liked blue plush elephants 'cos it hid down under the leaves after we took this photo!
Plushy hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 7, 2013, 1:20 am
Today we welcomed back Buddy he has been on holiday in Italy.
Then I found an interesting book
might do some doodling...but then I found these...nearly as good as cakes...
Munchily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 9, 2013, 2:33 am
Today is International Women's Day and we are at school for a lunch (Yep I have seen the cake!!) and a talk from Joanne Duncan, the local Federal politician.
There are women from the community here to talk to the Year 12 female students.
(Sue says sorry for the bad photo)
Yay!! Cakes....do I start here or....
here????
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 9, 2013, 2:43 am
Today I had a look at the travels of the blue plushy elephants!!
So exciting!!
This looks like a strange cactus jungle!
Like the photos Dad
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 10, 2013, 7:34 am
Am enjoying the photos of your travels
more elephants Dad???
who had too much beer????
I had to jump to get some beer here!!!!
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 12, 2013, 7:00 am
(Only 3 more sleeps to go!!!!! Yay!!!!)
Today we said goodbye to Kali - she is heading off to the USA to do some more travelling there
Excitedly yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 12, 2013, 7:18 am
I had a big day out today - at Ballarat Wildlife Park it was very hot, so just like at the Zoo the animals were quiet and looking for the shade
I met a kangaroo!!! It is a grey kangaroo and was very friendly, although it lost interest when it realised I wasn't good to eat!
I think I might be going to meet a koala!!!!
YES!! I did Dad, and his name is Yogi!!! Not very original! But he was very soft and I got to pat his back!!!
In here is a Tasmanian Devil - not for patting Dad, they bite!! They make a horrible screaming noise and got their name from the early settlers hearing their screaming and seeing the red of their ears in the bush! They must have been frightened until they worked out what these animals were!
This is a cute little wombat - she is about 5-6 years old and weight 25kgs. Usually wombats sleep in the day time but this one woke up for us.
These are American alligators = not Australian at all, but we had a photo anyway!
I said hello to a lizard...I think it wanted a kiss!!
and a sleepy koala or two....
had a chat with two more kangaroos
found heaps more sleeping in the shady rest area, and then we had to take our leave
but someone had a play with the camera on the way out!!
Sue thinks this is a native tree but we are not sure!!
Safe travels Dad,
Love and hugs
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 14, 2013, 10:24 am
Tonight we had dinner at a pub in Woodend called Holgates - dinner was good and we achieved a life mission for Suomi-boy!!
More soon and only one sleep to go!!!!
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 17, 2013, 2:17 am
Today we drove to Watergardens to do a message for Sue's work - we needed a world flag banner for a display in the library
Lots to choose from
these are the ones!
See you soon!!
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 17, 2013, 2:36 am
We are at the costume hire shop this afternoon 'cos the family are going to a 21st on Saturday and the theme is Arabian Nights!
Good hat for me???? What do you think?
See you soon
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 17, 2013, 2:51 am
My Dad came to Melbourne and we caught up and I got to see all the plushy blue people!!!
We had a great catch up and shared a beer!!
Every one came along!
I had a great time and I am soooooo happy!
Now I am very happy to travel on to Japan for cherry blossom time!
Was wonderful to see everyone!
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 17, 2013, 6:28 am
Today Elmarused his hypnotic powers and we got to bake a cake!!
Here we study the recipe!
and gather the cup, flour, sugar and cocoa,
in goes the flour
the sugar and cocoa
mixing - Oh Elmar nearly fell in!!
adding the egg
the milk and the oil, then mixing,
choc chips go in the cup
mixed and into the microwave
cooked - is this a cake or pudding???
Mmmmmm....smells good!!
Off to eat now!! Yum!!
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxoooxx
Posted Mar 17, 2013, 6:33 am
Today we had corn fritters for lunch!!
a good fortifying meal before I travel!
Munchily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Mar 19, 2013, 12:04 am
Today is a sad but happy day,
I said goodbye to Cyril,
and Mr Shaun
Buddy gave me a kiss,
Suomi-boy gave me a hug,
said goodbye to Elmar
and Sue
and Tupai
Everyone gathered around to see me off
I have a postcard from Gisborne
some company and food for the journey
(no cake thought Dad)
and I am off...see you in Japan!!!!!
Yay!!!
Happily yours
Napoleon
xxooxx
Posted Apr 7, 2013, 8:02 am
I'm in Japan now. Different customs in the different culture surprised me
But I'm really OK. My new friend Ele is like my big brother.
He's so nice to me.
Big hello from Japan!
napoleon
Posted Apr 7, 2013, 9:07 am
We are waiting for our Marine Liner train bound for Okayama.
This trash box is painted Anime characters.
Posted Apr 14, 2013, 7:33 am
We changed the train at Okayama station. Here the Shinkansen Express "Sakura" is coming. It's hard to take pictures of them, because they come quickly and stop just a few minutes
After 45 minutes, we reached Kobe. The weather was a little bad
In Sakura, the Shinkansen Express train
Sakura N700 Series Shinkansen
Port of Kobe Earthquake Memorial Park
It shows the status of earthquake-stricken Kobe port and the process to recovery.
The Former Foreign Settlement
The modern-era western style buildings remain standing in the new city.
China Town Nankin-machi
Nankin-machi is a compact chinatown in central Kobe, one of the three Chinatowns in Japan. (others are in Nagasaki and Yokohama) This area was developed by Chinese merchants who settled near Kobe Port after the port was opened to foreign trade in 1868.
"Coca Cola" written in Kanji characters
Posted Apr 20, 2013, 9:49 am
Walking around my host hanachan's house, we can see many Sakura trees beside the streets.
Soon they are in full bloom.
Posted Apr 20, 2013, 10:00 am
For 228 years long since 1642, the Matsudaira family, the feudal lord of Takamatsu owned and maintained the garden. Today the garden is open to public.
What a wonderful world!
more about Ritsurin Garden
Posted Apr 20, 2013, 10:40 am
This is a small Shinto shrine near hanachan's house.
The sky is blue. It's a beautiful day.
There is a stone monument. It is the memorial service monument for soldiers killed in the war, who were from this town. And here is the another one, it is for military horses in equisition. Twig of Sakura was offered to it.
Posted May 25, 2013, 7:21 pm
After my arrival in Delligsen no TV noticed me!!
They where soooooo busy with themselves and holiday
preperations!!! But last second before departure I enter the car like
a blind passenger and experienced the journey from the
background. Store Baelt Brigde,
Oeresund Bridge,
Kullen.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kullaberg
They where such in a hurry with all the Vacation impressions that I
was the air for them. At last in the evening the slowed down to
enjoy the sundown on Vänernlake this was my chance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V%C3%A4nern
I sprint upward the rock, give some “tröööööt”´s and it seems like
a wonder, they raise their heads in my direction and they noticed
me!!!
they all welcomed me on our holidaytrip to Norway...
more soon from your little
Napoleon
Posted May 28, 2013, 1:19 pm
Next day we visit a masterpiece of engineering:
A part of the
Dalslandcanal in Haverud/Sweden. Over 100 years ago they build a
couple of canal lock and a brigde for the canal over some water
rapids. And at the same place they build a railway bridge and a
highway bridge…. great….
After gazeing these constructions we
continued our way northward, crossed the norwegian border and
looked out to a campside for the night.
After a great breakfast we left the campground on norwegian roads
northward. Kilometers for kilometers we followed rivervalleys uphill,
crossed bridges with water rapids and suddenly we saw snow!!! In
the middle of May! Crazy. We drove up and down, more up as down,
stoped at nice lookout points at Rondane National Park, passed wide
fjell-areas and closely canyons.
At a break between a huge Waterfall and a Water rapid, Rocky
Racoon had the idea to take out the Gummischnulli to went
riverrafting. We were fascinated from this adventure but hostmum ( Andrea)
stopped us because we had no life jackets in case of disaster.
Deeply disapointed we enter the car again and continued our way northward.
Next stop was Kristiansund. There we looked out for a place for the
night and enjoyed the midnightsun on the atlantic ocean(sorry not
realy, because she
dipped unter the horizon for a few hours, but the night was
constantly bright)
a big hug for you daddy
Napoleon
Posted May 30, 2013, 4:34 pm
now we continued our Holiday-tour by drove the new build Atlantic-
Highway who followed the atlanticcoast from Kristiansund westward
from island to island. Great views and crazy bridges..J. Today the
weather wasn´t so fine but we sat dry and have good windscreen
wipers.
After passing Molde and sailed with ferrys we passed Andernes
toward the Trollstiegen and Geiranger. Suddenly a boom with the
sign: “ STENGT”. What a pity!!
The best we could do, was making pictures in front of a very special
traffic sign and returned til Andernes.
At touristinformation we get the information, the Trollstiegen will
open tomorrow morning. To waste the time, we went to the habour
to look nice boats and made a trip into the viewy Romsdal.
We gaze at some waterfalls and rapids (Andrea still
forbid the riverrafting)
and the Trollveggen (Troll wall) the highest
vertical cliff in Europe. At evening we campt on the way toward
Trollstiegen.
Next morning we scaled the road with lots of switchback to a level of
over 1000m above sea level. We followed the smal road covered by
clouds and suddenly we came to a canyon and looked down on an
other Fjord: Geiranger we stoped to take pictures (the lookouts from
the car is much more comfortable, warm and dry) and followed the
road with countless switchbacks to the bottom of the fjord.
After short stop at touristinfo by reason fo closed roads we
continued our way to Sognefjord. But at first we had to cross the
sognefjell, the highest montain pass in Norway. At 1000m above
sealevel the temperature fell unter 0° and it start snowing.
We
made a break and took pictuers with 10cm fresh-fallen snow… crazy
We continued our way by mass of snow and a few
kilometre later we are back on sealevel.
We passed an other ferry,
drove into a tunnel, into a rotary traffic into an other tunnel…… but
this tunnel would not end!!!! Suddenly, in the tunnel, the light turns
blue!! We entered a big hall with a parkingplace, here in the
underground. Than it went dark and we are back in the tube again.
Lots of kilometer later the same situation: Light turns blue, big hall,
tube again…. And the same will followed a third time. After near
20min. driving underground we saw a light at the end of this
spectaculary building and it realy was daylight. We are back on the
surface again. This was the longest highwaytunnel of the world:
24509 m long. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A6rdal_Tunnel
by the way..Andrea has claustrophobia.....she could not took a nice
picture in the tunnel , only this blurry one
After this adventure we climbed up the next smal road to stay for
the night at an other lookout point far over Aurland.
thats all for today
a hug for you
Napoleon
Posted May 31, 2013, 5:59 am
we woke up in the early morning and the sun let passing her first
beams through the clouds. We looked outside and had marvellous
glimpse to the Aurlandfjord: The peaks where covered with snow
and on the water a cruise liner passing by. Suitable for postcards.
After breakfast we started to the next stop, Flam, from where the
worldenmost steeply standard gauge railway starts their destination
to Myrdal (The Oslo-Bergen railwy). But the train was crowded with
passengers of the cruise liner, we saw this morning.
So we changed
our plan and drove straight toward our summer cottage at
Hardangerfjord. In the afternoon we reached this lovely place and
appreciated it with a collective Boaaaah for the great view.
hugs from your
Napoleon
Posted Jun 6, 2013, 11:09 am
today we made a trip by ferry and bus to Bergen, the second biggest
town of Norway. By wonderfull sunshineweather we went sloppy
throught the city and visited the World Cultural Heritage Brygge,
the habour
Edward Grieg
and the nice old township aside of the touristcrowds
Aura has met a relative, a really big beetle
more soon from your little
Napoleon
Posted Jun 6, 2013, 11:50 am
today: lazzing at a sunny afternoon..
your deep relaxed
Napoleon
Posted Jun 14, 2013, 4:06 pm
today we made a trip to the 3th largest glacier of the country. The
Folgefonna.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Folgefonna_National_Park
Normally glaciers are surrounded by cold mass of air, so he
took his head in the clouds, what a pity...
So we took pictures at the
fjell area below the top
On the way back I saw this amazing waterfall.
kisses from Norway
Napoleon
Posted Jun 21, 2013, 10:02 am
Today: Lazzing at a sunny afternoon again.
Napoleon
Posted Jun 21, 2013, 11:02 am
Time to explore the surrounding area of the summer cottage.
Hostdad found an (old) topografic map with a hiking trail. With gusto
we followed the sign of the maps, but as longer the walk so obscure
was the trail and it splitted into lots of dirttrack, and they all ends in
the moor with wet and swampy underground...Andrea was not amused
typical norwegian companion animals
nice little cottages
Relatives of Squab
After a short discussion with yummy cokkies, we decidet to turn back.
This was a great luck because by break at a creek with wonderfull
clear water we took a refreshment und suddenly there stood an
other blue elefant……. he looked like me and introduced
himself as James...I invited him for a beer at our summer house
yummy
kisses from
Napoleon
Posted Jun 28, 2013, 2:49 pm
Last night at our summer cottage...
we have enjoyed the last time the wonderful view and talked about
our time in Norway
yours
Napoleon
Posted Jun 28, 2013, 3:42 pm
At first we had to cross seven brigdes, some tunnels and ferrys.
Our next stop for today should be the rock Preikestolen, a Plateau
600m straight above Lysefjord
to get there required a 2 ½ hour mountian hike through a typical
norwegian Fjell-Landscape. On the verge of the rock unfortunately
Hostmum hurts by climbing a crag
and we had to turn back. What a pity.
We continued our journey southward and crossed curious
landscapes...
next bridge
Huch, rustic tunnel….
last bridge
the last night in Norway
yours
Napoleon
Posted Jul 4, 2013, 2:38 pm
Last day in norway… and we visit the southernmost point of Norway. The Lighthouse Lindesnes. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lindesnes_Lighthouse
After enjoing a summerday we drove to Kristiansand Ferry terminal
and enter the speed ferry to Hirtshals / Denmark
Aura discovered her own perfume at the duty free shop
yours
Napoleon
Posted Jul 4, 2013, 2:42 pm
in Lökken we made a stop at the huge sandbeach to gaze to the sundown.
What a wonderfull ending of this spektacular Holiday… whhoouuu
bye,bye
Napoleon
Posted Oct 3, 2013, 8:43 pm
today was a special day. my host has driven me to lichtenfels!
what a surprise, a big toyvoyager party has taken place - and my daddy has been there with some other guests:
these tvs have participated (in no order):
erol the pirat joesy 3*euro napoleon tiffy kikuchan dr.kröbner günther jethro *coco* squab mr. casanova bubele aura bzzzzz scruffy mcgee rocky raccoon mr.lemony Húlí hútú lady katherine wavy gravy fipsy lina
we have had a lot of fun and had a lot of travel stories to tell!
erol the pirat tiffy kikuchan napoleon
after the party i have returned home with my daddy.
Posted Oct 3, 2013, 8:46 pm
this is my day!
we have celebraed our birthday. we all have birthday on the same day, we think, who knows exactly ...
we have gone into our new garden. the sun was shining nearly the whole day. FOR US.
we have invited the two gargoyle brothers from next door. they are dragons. the good thing about dragons is, that they are able to blow ON candles - birthday candles. even our new friends tiffy and erol the pirat our guests from lichtenfels and kikuchan our guest from japan have joined the party. so did miggy-the-pig - just in case the sun would not have shone ... he is so yellow ...
blowing out the candles together has caused some problems. we had to convince the dragons NOT to blow!
Posted Jan 1, 2014, 5:23 pm
me, my family and friends wants to wish you a happy and healthy new year 2014
after a couple of months break i guess i am ready for new adventures. let's see, where i am going to this year ...
Posted Feb 2, 2014, 12:37 pm
it's been a long time since i have travelled. for me it was good to rest a little, help my family in our new garden and not to forget: spend some time with them.
now i feel, it's time to move again. there is much more to see in this world and i can't wait any longer to make my next voyage!
this is me and my family in the snow. besides we have got cold feet i kind of like snow. is there snow in your hometown? or are you preparing for springtime now? would you like to let me take part?
your curious and brave travelphant napoleon
Posted Feb 8, 2014, 7:23 am
today i am starting my new adventures. i tell you: there will be much to see. many new places. i am sooooo excited ...
but first, i have to say good bye to my family ...
... and friends (guests tiffy and erol).
especially GOOD BYE BROTHER. see you later alligator!
and then: into the travel box and ... i'm on my way!!!!
cheerio - napoleon, the bravest elephant on earth and beyond
Posted Feb 10, 2014, 8:35 pm
I arrived in Northrhine-Westphalia today, in Remscheid. I already had to spend the weekend in my box at the post office, but today I was finally picked up by my new host Katja.
At home I was welcomed by two curious squirrels, eeehhhmmm.... chipmunks, Zhia and Claire Tamias. They loved the sweets I brought with me (and did not scarf up during this boring stopover at the post office!)
The chipmunks ate all the chocolates and Katja was happy that I brought a calendar for her, showing pictures of my hometown Berlin. She really loves it and says Thank You!
Later this afternoon Katja decided to visit a friend, I went with her.
Katja told me that Remscheid was an industrial city, in World War II large parts of the city centre were destroyed, but there are also quarters which remained mostly intact. Here you can still find lots of old houses.
There is the local court in the background.
Katja took me to a weird lane, it is called "Route of Tools" (Trasse des Werkzeugs), a former track for freight trains. It was re-built to a lane for pedestrians and cyclists some years ago. It is leading from the station to the historic district Hasten. Along this lane you can find lots of industrial sites, both dilapidated factories as well as industrial sites where work is going on.
Building costs were sponsored by local companies, mostly tool producing companies, so the lane was called "Trasse des Werkzeugs". Tools are produced here in this region for centuries, since late middle ages.
This is part of the former slaughterhouse. The whole complex is under monument protection nowadays and there are several service companies and crafts enterprises are situated here now.
You can also find some artwork along the lane, like this bench made of the original axis of an historic water wheel.
This is not an ufo, but a bench for relaxing
Along the route you can find signs like these, showing the company logos of the sponsoring companies.
These houses were built extremely close to the former train track - or was the track built close to those houses?
We almost reached the station.
This is the central station. Hahaha ... every tram station is bigger!!!
From here we walked to the city centre.
From here we went to visit Katja's friend. When we left it was already dark.
Bye for today
Napoleon
Posted Feb 16, 2014, 6:44 pm
today we decided to take a walk at Wupper dam ( Wupper-Talsperre ). This dam is extremely large, you can not circle it when you just want to take a walk. Our track led us through a forest first. This part of Wupper dam is situated in the district Lennep.
Finally we reached the lake.
Beyond that bridge in the background you can find a large camping area, also weekend homes and a large area for swimming, pedal-boats and canoeing.
We left the lake area than to walk back to the car, through a rural area this time.
If only the weather had been better!
Bye
napoleon
Posted Feb 20, 2014, 9:27 am
today we went to the neighbour city Solingen to visit the greenhouses in the Botanical Garden. These are usually closed during winter, but today they were open and guided tours were offered.
There are several greenhouses, one of them with desert plants, one with bromeliad plants, a tropical garden and orchids.
First we had a short look at the tropical garden.
Next stop was the desert
These golden barrel cacti, also called Mother-In-Law's-cushion, are well known.
.
This is a money tree, common as a houseplant worldwide.
An orchid ...
Next we went to the greenhouse showing bromelia, originally growing from Middle America down to South America.
Than I found a plant called Elephant's Foot.
My feet are looking much better than this plant!
This is heaven for an elephant
Every elephant loves banana!
Once m ore we went to the tropical garden.
Of course we also took a short walk in the Botanical Garden itself. You can find a lot of funny sculptures here, like this reading raven.
We found some spring flowers, like snowdrops ...
and these yellow flowers, called "Winterling" in German.
There is a giant butterfly sitting on the lawn, made of metal with glass mosaic.
IN the meantime it started raining, so we hurried back to the car to get home.
Bye
napoleon
Posted Feb 24, 2014, 1:14 pm
today we took a walk, just strolling around for more than an hour. First we went to the nearby municipal park. Katja showed us the police headquarter with a small park in front of it.
There is an observatory located in the entrance area of the municipal park.
Here, at the steep slopes of the park, you can find more allotment areas.
We walked to one of the valleys than. In the background you can see the city centre with the tower of the city hall.
We reached a housing area than, one of those built in the 1960s and 1970s years.
But even in this district you can find those lovely old houses.
Before we went home we bought a few things in a supermarket.
Bye
napoleon
Posted Feb 24, 2014, 1:21 pm
today I met Katja's pets, only two of three. Three terrifying and hoggish creatures are living here. OMG, they were eating raw meat!!!
Katja told me that there was no need to be afraid, they were only cute ferret girls. Mmmmhh... their noses are cute, but their ears are far too small!
Bye
napoleon
Posted Feb 24, 2014, 2:00 pm
we had fantastic weather today, the sky was elephant-blue in the morning, so we could not wait to go out for a longer walk. Katja met a friend and we went to the neighbour city Solingen, to the historical district Unterburg where you can find picturesque houses.
We left this small district and went into the forest. In the background you COULD SEE Muengsten Brigde, Germany's highest railway bridge, if it would not merge into the surrounding landscape.
We followed a path which was following the valley of river Wupper towards Muengsten Bridge.
Oh dear, I have never had to walk so far in my whole life ...
Here you can see Muengsten Brige, overspanning the valley of river Wupper. Repair works are going on here since several months and will go on until summer, so no trains were crossing this impressive structure.
We almost reached the bridge.
All the walking paths are covered with porch roofs to prevent people and elephants from being battered to death by dopped tools or construction elements.
On a nearby playground we found rocking sheep.
We went downhill until we reached the bottom of the valley and the leisure park underneath the bridge. Here we found this information board.
In the leisure park you can find lawns and benches for relaxing, a crazy golf course, playgrounds for kids and restaurants. The bridgte is 107 m tall and about 480 m wide. It was opened in 1897.
Actually it is strictly forbidden to enter the bridge, but I could not resist
We walked back to the car, finding rocks with engraved lyrics or pictures, like these hands.
Finally we reached Unterburg. (Katja's smartphone app told me that our walk was more than 11 km long!!!).
Bye
napoleon
Posted Mar 2, 2014, 8:35 pm
we took a walk today in the municpal park and as well in the historic district Hasten. First we went to the park where Katja showed us a pond. She told us that ducks and (probably abandonded) turtles were living here.
Someone has stolen a local celebrity, the Stinthengst, a legendary creature from waterbodies in Masuria, around Mikołajki, which is one of Remscheid's twin towns. The fish was stolen because this pond is an extremely soiled and fusty pond, smelling not so great in summer. The local newspaper is telling about this story several times a week.
We strolled around the park and found th is interesting bush, it is Witch-hazel.
In this perennial garden the first leaves are sprouting.
From here you have a good overview to the green outskirts of Remscheid. In the background you can see the outskirts of the neighbour city Wuppertal. My host will start a new job there on Monday
We went downhill than to the district Hasten, one of the historical districts of Remscheid. You can find lots of lovely old traditional houses here, also shops, restaurants, bars and museums.
A museum is situated in this Patrician villa, built in late 18th century.
It has the traditional doorknocker, showing the heraldic animal of Remscheid, the lion.
The "German Tool Museum" is situated on the the same estate. There are also outdoor facilities, some historic workshops and different machines.
Thankfully this rusty machine did not collapse while we were sitting here for this picture
That's all for now
napoleon
Posted Mar 2, 2014, 8:49 pm
we went to Lennep today, another historic district, to visit Katja's Mom. Of course we took a walk around the lovely old town before.
Lennep is the second largest district of Remscheid with about 25.000 inhabitants. Lennep once was one of the most important cities of the region Bergisches Land.
Lennep has an historical city core based on a medieval structure. There were several large city fires, the last one in the year 1746 which destroyed most of the city. It was rebuilt afterwards. Lennep received its town charter between the years 1259 and 1276- In 1929 Lennep was annexated to Remscheid.
You can find narrow alleys and cute houses, some of them looking rather skew-whiff.
This is the market place with bars and cafés.
Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, who produced and detected what is nowadays known as x-rays in 1895, was born in 1845 in this house.
You can find the Roentgen-Museum here in Lennep.
A real elephant would become stuck in this narrow alley
Bye
napoleon
Posted Mar 3, 2014, 8:44 pm
because my host is a health nut she decided to bake healthy bread rolls for breakfast. I said that a chocolate cake would also be extremely healthy, but she did not believe so. So we made sweet bread rolls.
These were the ingredients: Whole wheat flour and the usual wheat flour, soy drink with vanilla (instead of milk), honey, yeast, butter, nuts, raisins and dried cranberries. Sounds really healthy
Zhia was interested in the nuts.
She tried to steal the bag, but I managed to keep the nuts for us.
Both kinds of flour, yeast and a tbls salt were mixed, soy drink,honey and butter were heated until the butter almost melted.
The dough was mixed and had to rest than for at least half an hour in a warm place.
The nuts were chopped ...
... and once more the little thief came to pinch some nuts!
Finally she had enough nuts and we were able to roast the remaining nuts for better taste.
In the meantime the yeast dough went high and higher ...
... nuts, raisins and cranberries were mixed in ...
...and 24 bread rolls were shaped.
They had to bake for bit more than 20 minutes. Oh, they are looking fantastic!!!
Tomorrow I will try them.
Bye
napoleon
Posted Mar 9, 2014, 9:30 am
today we went to the neighbour city Solingen to take a walk around a drinking water dam, Sengbachtalsperre. The weather is fantastic and it is rather warm. We started in Hoehrath, one of the outskirts of Solingen.
Here we met a funny guy, a wood frog.
A lot of bushes and spring flowers are blooming.
We went into the forest than. In the valley the lake was already visible.
SunnyHH and I enjoyed the lovely weather relaxing for a while.
Along the path we found felled trees everywhere.
[img]The path was going uphill and we were high above the lake than.[/img]
Isn't this a lovely view?
The bright spot in the background is Remscheid, we also took a zoomed photo.
We reached the concrete dam, which was under construction for almost two years, as Katja told us.
Winter??!!
Back in the forest, I found a tree with a giant root.
Katja showed us Schloss Burg, a medieval castle, situated in Solingen-Burg. Unfortunately we did not have time to take a side trip to visit it.
I found a toy for real men in the forest!
Here you can see the dam and the distance we covered today. Another of those long walks and my pretty feet would look like this plant in the greenhouse!!!
Bye
napoleon
Posted Mar 16, 2014, 10:09 pm
we made a trip today to the Westerwald area, we visited a place called Gackenback in the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Westerwald is a low mountain range n the right bank of the River Rhine.
Gackenbach is located in a lovely area, consisting of both rural areas and woodland areas. Here we took a longer walk. Because a lot of singing birds, especially chaffinch, are living the the forests, this area was named "Buchfinkenland".
First we walked through a village.
Soon we decided to take a lunch break.
Later, in the forest, we found an oak tree which is about 900 years old - at least what remained of this tree.
Next we drove to a city with an historical city core, Montabaur.
Posted Mar 16, 2014, 10:31 pm
Katja told me that the historical city core was located beyond this wall. How should I get over it?
In Montabaur'Äs old town you can find the loveliest timber-frame houses, mostly built in 16th and 17th century, also a beautiful city hall and parts of the medieval town wall are preserved.
This large building with the balcony is the city hall.
Katja told me that we would visit a castle, we had to walk uphill to get there.
Soon we reached the castle.
This castle is the town's landmark. The castle's history is going back to 10th century. Today's appearance is going back to late 17th century. Today a conference centre and a hotel are situated in the buildings.
The surrounding wall is a great place for an overlook across the town.
Back in the city we strolled around.
If I should ever move to Montabaur, I would want to live HERE
This is wulf tower, once belonging to the city wall.
After taking a last look to the castle we had to drive home. We also took a zoomed photo.
Bye
napoleon
Posted Mar 17, 2014, 8:41 pm
Katja took me with her to her new work place in Wuppertal. On our way home she showed me the "Schwebebahn", a suspended monorail. She promised that we would take a longer trip with this train next week, so today we just took a few photos.
The track is mostly following river Wupper. The whole track is about 12 km long, we just had a look at Wuppertal-Elberfeld today.
This is one of the trains!
Katja told me that there was something special about the Schwebebahn and an elephant ... Now I am really curious!
Bye
napoleon
Posted Mar 17, 2014, 9:33 pm
Katja told me that I would travel home soon, so it was time for my trip with the "Schwebebahn". We started in Wuppertal-Vohwinkel, one of two terminal stops.
The Schwebebahn was established in 1901. The tracks are 8 m above the streets and 12 m above the Wupper River. Mostly it is following river Wupper, but it also crosses streets, even the motorway A46. There are 20 stations along the track which is 13,3 km long.
Here in Vohwinkel the Schwebebahn is following the main street, sometimes only a few meters apart from the houses.
This is one of the stations. We decided to wait for the next train here.
A train was leaving the station into the opposite direction.
Again an elephant ... there must be something special about elephants here!
I found a seat just behind the conductor.
Here we were crossing the motorway - not a single car was in sight that moment.
In the meantime the train left the districts Vohwinkel and Sonnborn, heading towards Elberfeld and Barmen, already following river Wupper. The track was crossing the giant premises of a well known chemical plant.
We left the train at the station "Schauspielhaus2 (theatre) in Elberfeld.
This station was built in a rather modern style.
We walked to the next station, "Landgericht" (District court).
Here you can find the local court, the district court and the labour court.
This station was renewed two years ago in its original historical style.
We went there to hop into the next train.
We got out a few stations later when we viewed this colourful building...
... and another colourful one
Again we walked along the river, in Wuppertal-Barmen this time. Katja promised to show me this mystical elephant-Schwebebahn-thing soon.
Friedrich Engels, father of Marxist theory, was born in Barmen in the year 1820. The slate-covered house is his birth house on the left side of the next picture.
This is the opera.
All along the river bank you can find painted animals...
... even an elephant.
Now Katja told me what has happened exactly here on July 21, 1950:
The Althoff Circus organised a publicity stunt by putting a baby elephant on a train at Alter Markt station. As the elephant became nervous she started to bump around during the ride, she smashed a window,was pushed out of the train and fell into the river Wupper. The elephant did not get hurt seriously. After this jump, the elephant got the name Tuffi, meaning 'waterdive' in Italian.
Oh dear, poor Tuffi!
I thought I also could try such a stunt
I had to stop my kidding around because we wanted to go on. Next stop was the station "Alter Markt" in Barmen.
We found a place where the street was almost on the save height level as the Schwebebahn.
Can you see all those industrial sites? Wuppertal has a long tradition in dying fabrics, also all kinds of industry settled along the river.
We took a side trip to the city centre of Barmen, where Katja showed me the city hall ...
... and the "Bergischer Löwe", the heraldic animal of both Remscheid and Wuppertal.
I thought this was the heraldic animal of this elephant-crazy city
We found a tunnel with wonderfully decorated tiles. We do not know anything about it's meaning, we just loved it!
Here my fantastic trip ended. Katja told me that I will travel home soon
Bye
napoleon
Posted Mar 25, 2014, 8:35 pm
Posted Mar 31, 2014, 7:03 pm
is this it, what they made you believe?
you'll see ...
Posted Apr 4, 2014, 11:51 am
Miss you. How are you there?
It's completely not this that they made me believe! :о
I closed my eyes, anticipating the coming back home like dear olgamaus said me. But when I saw the light again, there were many packages and bags around me, then the unknown girl put me into the warm darkness again! It meant adventures continue. Hooray!
Posted Apr 6, 2014, 4:31 pm
Anyway it's quite cosy. All wagons are adapted so that the passengers could live there for a while. The lower shelves can be transformed into tables, the upper shelves is usually preferred by children.
I slept on a mini-shelf
The nicest thing is free tea that you can get any time you want.
The letters "РЖД" mean "Russian Railway".
I tried the saltwart in dining car. This is the dinner of three dishes and tea again (I noticed that Russians drink it almost all the time %)).
The long and boring day... the only entertainment was a window view: villages, stations, pine forests and endless snow fields.
Posted Apr 8, 2014, 1:34 pm
It's Kama river.
A long stop in Kazan'. Hm, I made only one photo, but I really liked this city... maybe I...
And this is the great Volga, the biggest river in Europe.
Moscow, please... Hurry up!
Posted Apr 11, 2014, 3:20 pm
The first impression of Moscow - it's big and chaotic.
I've ridden the beatiful Moscow subway and looked through the bus window to its famous sights - Ostankino tower, Worker and Farmer, Christ the Savior Cathedral etc...
Of course, we've walked on the Red Square... everybody knows it, so no comment. I'm just excited that I saw it all with my own eyes - the GUM, the Kremlin, St Basils Cathedral and Mausoleum where Lenin sleeps. %)
Posted Apr 11, 2014, 3:43 pm
The atmosphere here is indescribably. Bright sun is reflected in the gilded dome, сhurchbells, smell of Orthodoxy - of olibanum and candles, and the feeling of happy calmness everywhere. Really, I'd adviced to visit it even if you're not Christian.
Posted Apr 13, 2014, 5:17 pm
I'd like to go sightseeing immedeately and I was going to, but first we needed to check in. This hotel is somewhere in suburbs of Minsk and it's built specially for Ice Hockey World Championship 2014, so the window view is construction. %)
Then I've decided to check how cosy the bed was... and this was the end of the day. xD Dasha and me realised how tired we were. Anyway it's five days more to walk here...
I've made friends with one little girl from Berdsk. Here name is Sveta and she liked me very much, she played and talked with me all the time we spent in the tourist buses. This sign she made for me
Posted Apr 16, 2014, 11:12 am
That day we went to one of the most famous places in Belarus. This is Hatyn' ( Хатынь ) Memorial.
Hatyn was a little village with 150 inhabitants, and it was massacred by Nazi in 1943. Now there are only charred chimneys - all that have left after burning the village, and the bells ringing every 30 seconds. Very terrible and oppressing place. But it's a history.
Then we climbed the mound of Fame, dedicated to World War II.
Posted Apr 16, 2014, 11:26 am
the circus,
the catholic church
and the 'City Gate'.
Then to hotel by suburban train.
What a full day... %)
Posted Apr 16, 2014, 12:56 pm
One was Nesvizh, or Нясвiж, of 1540...
and Mir (1520).
Feels like in Middle Ages again
Posted Apr 19, 2014, 12:25 pm
That way we found ourselves in a large park. Look at the pictures, can you believe it's almost a centre of the city!
Later we were told that was Peramogi park, and an island within was Bird's Island, the little nature reserve.
Posted Apr 19, 2014, 12:31 pm
I've tried the traditional handmade Slavic bread and cheese,
(this is a Russian stove where the bread was baked)
and I've watched how smiths, potters, sewers and... hm... people-who-makes-valenki work
All this stuff is made from straw.
Also there were some old cars from USSR-times.
Posted Apr 19, 2014, 12:41 pm
I've really liked the city. It's big, but so spacious, quiet and clean. Maybe I'll watch Hockey Championship, which will take place there in May, on TV
Posted Apr 20, 2014, 12:05 pm
While there is grass and leaves in Belarus... It's obvious that we're going to Siberia.
Think about the trip, recalling it in my mind:
me in Belarus - little movie how it was
Posted Apr 20, 2014, 12:16 pm
Posted Apr 23, 2014, 2:59 pm
Moony from Germany met us at home, he came when we were out.
The weather is... like this. Not winter already, not spring yet.
Better stay at home and enjoy blinis and pelmenis
Posted Apr 23, 2014, 3:02 pm
It means the Easter comes soon!
Posted Apr 23, 2014, 3:12 pm
Preparing...
Look at the egg I'm covering. This is Trinity-Sergius Lavra where I've been some weeks ago
Letters XB mean "Христос Воскресе" - "Christ is risen". In Easter day they say it in stead of "Good morning" and "Hello", and the response is "Воистину воскресе!" - "He is risen indeed!"
We should put the eggs around the kulich (sweet Easter bread)
A mini-game by tradition: whose egg will be broken first?
And let us start holiday lunch :Р
Posted May 2, 2014, 5:28 am
We are preparing for tomorrow all together with Moony and Dasha's friends! It's going to be something really funny.
Posted May 2, 2014, 5:58 am
It's a Novosibirsk traditional happening that takes place on the 1st of May every year since 2003. First Monstration was here and then it spreaded to many other Russian cities and even abroad.
It's a kind of a big flashmob, a parody on Soviet May Day demonstrations. What happens there is difficult to explain, because the meaning is no meaning.
Thousands of young people in bright and unusual clothes make absurd banners and they go down the main city street, chanting funny slogans. It's just an explosion of youth!
we are here!
After walking a half of Red Avenue we reached the Opera Theatre and had a rest on the grass.
Posted May 11, 2014, 12:58 pm
Today we went to cafe to celebrate Dasha friend's birthday.
Om nom nom
Posted May 11, 2014, 1:35 pm
We had reached the Glory Monument right in 12 PM and watched the change of the guard of honor.
The Glory Monument is the complex of monuments to the heroes of World War II. There are six large walls with the names of all Novosibirsk soldiers who died in it, and a quenchless flame.
Behind them there are some tanks and planes, and a really nice park with good paths to cycle and roller-blade on
Go further. 'Golden' Lenin in front of government building:
Some of attractions in Kirova Park:
There we stopped to have a lunch of a squids sandwich and birch sap.
Posted May 11, 2014, 1:37 pm
Posted May 11, 2014, 1:47 pm
A big parade on the Red Square:
I've been there just about a month ago! It looks more awesome in reality, of course.
Posted May 11, 2014, 2:15 pm
A pioneers' old song helps us to pack all necessary things. "Where is my backpack? Put in compass and a map, campfire staff and camphor for mosquitoes..."
Planning the route. Well, we're going to catch the train to Iskitim. Then to go 10 km on foots.
Something interesting is waiting us there
Posted May 14, 2014, 7:37 am
)
The big part of a way to Iskitim goes near the Ob sea and Berdski Gulf.
After 1,5 hour we were in Iskitim and had a walk and a breakfast there.
Then a hour of extreme road to the village Belovo... and our little hiking trip started
Having passed an endless forest of birches with the compass,
we saw the Vydrikha Lake.
But even after going around it, we couldn't find one main thing. So we climbed up a steep hill to have a look from above.
It didn't help, the lake is so big we couldn't see it all.
However there was a stone with an arrow and an inscription: "Don't go here". What did we do? Of course, went that way
It seemed like the hill would never end...
Suddenly we heard the distant noise of running water.
This is what we were looking for - Belovo Waterfall!
- this is it-
It's not very high and not so beautiful as Victoria Fall, of course, but waterfall is a really unexpected phenomenon on a flat plain, especially in West Siberia.
After enjoying the view, taking pictures and dipping our legs in water, we realised that we are cold and hungry.
It's not a problem if you are in the nature and have some sausages
Even simple bun seems to be more tasty, heated by campfire and eaten outdoors
Then we returned by the same way.
Well, it was an awesome day
Posted May 31, 2014, 7:26 am
)
Our host Dasha showed me and Moony a little church in Narymskiy square.
We got there by subway - this is "Ploshchad Marksa" station.
The monument of saints.
Posted May 31, 2014, 7:27 am
Posted May 31, 2014, 7:28 am
We had a walk in the center of Novosibirsk. Here is the Opera and Ballet theater, the symbol of the city.
The Pervomayskiy square. Yes, there are the dogs in sunglasses and with backpacks
Just a little church, which is considered to be the geographical center of Russia.
Posted May 31, 2014, 7:29 am
Posted May 31, 2014, 7:33 am
Today I'm leaving Novosibirsk.
Goodbye my host Dasha, goodbye my friend Moony.
Goodbye quiet yard
I'm ready for the next adventures!
Posted Jan 10, 2015, 3:27 pm
i am so glad to talk to all of you again.
this is, what i have come through while this page has been down.
after a really astonishing and interesting journey in belarus and siberia i have returned home save and sound. the whole family came say hello. it has been marvelous!
sign on the second picture says: "i love you" - and this is true.
see some more pictures soon.
plushy greetings - napoleon
Posted Jan 10, 2015, 3:54 pm
hello everybody!!
i am so glad to talk to all of you again.
this is, what i have come through while this page has been down.
after a really astonishing and interesting journey in belarus and siberia i have returned home save and sound. the whole family came say hello. it has been marvelous!
sign on the second picture says: "i love you" - and this is true.
see some more pictures soon.
plushy greetings - napoleon
Posted Jan 10, 2015, 4:03 pm
in august i have had a lot of fun with my folks in the garden. tasty apples, good luck and lots of tomatoes.
Posted Jan 10, 2015, 4:08 pm
cupcakes in the garden (october was quite warm this year) and helloween at home
Posted Jan 10, 2015, 4:15 pm
back in our garden: the leaves have fallen, we have planted tulips for spring, and binstalled a new bird's house
Posted Jan 10, 2015, 4:23 pm
we were waiting for christmas. what came first? snow. ok snow is essential for christmas. and than - late but great - came the two christmas dragons along with sweets and presents.
you know, me and my brothers and cousin have not believed of the existence of the christmas dragons.
but see yourselves!
last picture: little brother alphonx is telling a christmas carol. how cute!!!)