Posted Mar 24, 2012, 8:54 pm
We are Paula Hip (left) and Sam Hop (right).
We live in Bochum, together with a very big Family.
Our big brother Happy Ping started his tour around the world one month ago. When we were looking at his travel log, we were a little bit jealous of him. So we planned to travel around the world too.
But before we start our journey we want to tell you a little bit about us.
We love listening to music
And we like to do sports
Paula Hip’s hobby’s:
I love to read books. I also started reading some travel guides we had at home.
I hope we got the chance to see some of these places.
We have two rabbits here and I like to play with them.
Games are great. I am very good at playing them.
Sam Hop’s hobby’s:
My biggest hobby is watching movies. It is great that we have so much of them at home.
And my other hobby is to play video games
Posted Mar 24, 2012, 9:25 pm
Today we had so beautiful weather that we went to the landscape park in Duisburg with the other TVs.
In the Landscape Park, extending over an area of about 180 hectares, nature, industrial heritage and a fascinating light installation combine to create a park landscape unlike any other in the world.
At the Centre stands a disused ironworks whose old industrial facilities have today been put to a wide variety of uses. In an old gasometer Europe’s biggest man-made diving Centre has been created and an extinguished blast furnace has been modified to provide a viewing tower.
Around the buildings we saw a lot of wonderful spring flowers.
We climbed up a small hill to have a look over the park. It was really great here.
Wow this bucket is really huge.
I found a secret garden
What a wonderful cherry tree
Then we climbed up the viewing tower. We were really proud of our mum. She has a fear of heights, but she went up there to have a look at the great view with us.
Isn’t it really impressive here?
Everything is so huge here, even the pipes.
What a special day. We were really exited what we will experience the next time.
Posted Mar 29, 2012, 3:40 pm
T Deficit 3 days, Cuba I come....
Posted Apr 1, 2012, 11:57 am
On this photo I am with Cosyfuzz , the Tv of the working place of my guest mummy.
Mummy i love you
in dear your Paula
Posted Apr 1, 2012, 12:01 pm
Posted Apr 1, 2012, 12:11 pm
I am glad thus about Cuba.
I love you mummy
See you soon your Paula
PS: T Deficit 1 day, Cuba I come....
Posted Apr 18, 2012, 8:46 pm
Today was a great day.
When dad came with the post into the living room, he had two surprises for us. The first one was an envelope. Inside the envelope was Happy Ping who came back home from his first host Dr. Kröbner. I was so happy when I saw him.
We hugged him to welcome him home.
Then he showed us the presents he brought with him. And he gave me a cute chocolate bunny.
After that we took a group picture
Then mum took out an envelope with a wonderful card from Freddis mum. Mum was very surprised and happy when she saw the card.
In the evening we decided to play a game called “World of Warcraft”.
I was playing a druid.
Doesn’t this monster look scary? But I am much bigger that this dragon.
I want to fight all these monsters. I hope I can win
Who will be the first one? I think I fight against these monsters first.
Wow I can throw so many dices. Now I must win.
Yeah I did it.
This game is not easy, but it made a lot of fun. At the end we decided to call it quit, because it was so late at night.
Now it is time to go to bed.
I hope the Easter bunny will bring us some presents tomorrow.
Good night
Sam Hop
Posted Apr 18, 2012, 9:57 pm
Today we went to the parents from my dad. When we arrived there we saw, that the Easter bunny had left some presents for us.
I was searching together with Snowball. We found a lot of eggs, hidden everywhere in the garden.
Hey there is an egg, i found it faster that Snowball
It made so much fun, searching all the presents the Easter bunny had left us. We found so much of them.
I wish you all wonderful Easter Holidays
See you soon
Sam Hop
Posted Apr 25, 2012, 9:24 pm
Today was a sad day, because Happy Ping and Viper went off to their new hosts. Ping went to Chile and Viper to Canada.
We hugged them and wished them a save trip.
After that we gave them a surprise for their new hosts. Domino gave them flowers mum had made.
Then we took one last group picture together.
After that it was time for them to leave. Bye bye Ping and Viper.
I think I will miss my new friend Viper and Ping, but hopefully we will meet again one day
Posted Apr 29, 2012, 3:10 pm
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Posted Apr 30, 2012, 4:11 pm
Today the weather wasn’t so good. So Snowball, Freddi and I spend some time with planting some cactuses into a bowl. We had to be very careful that we didn’t sting us into our hands. It wasn’t easy but I think we did well.
Posted May 5, 2012, 12:41 pm
today we were something in the city centre and have looked to us at Havana.
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Posted May 5, 2012, 4:01 pm
I miss you mummy and am glad very much about you!
Posted May 6, 2012, 8:03 pm
I arrived in Sülfeld. Dicker Kumpel is the host here – he gave me a warm welcome.
Then he introduced me to his other guests.
I showed the things I brought with me. Dicker Kumpel was so happy about the photo of PinkyHH.
The weather was nice and I made a walk in the garden.
I met these funny guys.
Can you see me next to the blossom of a beautiful tree?
I found a lot of flowers for my life mission – blue ones...
...yellow ones...
...and purple ones.
Yours
Sam Hop
Posted May 11, 2012, 6:18 pm
Today Snowball, Sam and I went to the Duisburger zoo.
In this zoo we had the chance to see 271 different kinds of animals. We saw Lemurs, Monkeys, Giraffe, Crocodiles, Tiger and a lot of other animals.
Unfortunately we couldn’t see the dolphins, because they weren’t into their basin. And we hadn’t the time to go into the dolphin show, to see the other dolphins.
However it was a really great day, and we had a lot of fun.
What I giant turtle
Posted May 12, 2012, 9:40 pm
Today we went to the May ball into the dancing school.
We had the chance to dance a lot and in the middle of the evening there was a show, where mum and dad were participating. It was a really funny evening and on midnight everybody sang a song together.
Posted May 12, 2012, 10:20 pm
I am so happy, because today I will travel to my first host. Dicker Kumpel and RikeH were going to Finland and I had the luck that I could go with them.
The only thing that was a little bit sad was, that I had to say good bye to my friends.
Before I left, we hugged each other and took a last Group picture together.
I will miss them, but hopefully we will meet again.
Posted May 12, 2012, 11:52 pm
We made a walk through Sülfeld today. This is the old pharmacy.
Behind me you can see the church.
I went into it.
This was the school – many years ago.
Today the mayor lives here.
Bye
Sam
Posted May 16, 2012, 7:46 pm
We went to a city near to Sülfeld, called Bad Segeberg. The weather was not nice, but we had no rain.
Behind me you can see the church.
We went onto a hill – and had a look in the theatre.
In the other direction I saw a nice lake.
Later we saw these nice ducks next to a little lake.
Look – I loved this sculpture.
yours
Sam
Posted May 17, 2012, 12:01 pm
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Posted May 17, 2012, 12:11 pm
I will carry in Neuss and the experiences here always in the heart.
I always become to you loves!
Posted May 18, 2012, 4:28 pm
I've arrived safely in England. It was such a quick journey as well! When my package was opened, I was greeted by Tobbi and Sheela.
They were very nice and welcoming. They also told me that another package had arrived at the same time as me, so I helped them to open it.
Inside we found Flummi.
The four of us got to know each other a bit better, and we all told each other about all of our travels.
Then we decided to go outside in the garden for a bit. At first we just sat around underneath the Bonzai tree and chatted.
But then we decided to play hide and seek. So while Tobbi counted to 100, we all found a hiding spot.
I think I was hidden pretty well! I could hear Tobbi searching for us, and then I could hear that he had found Flummi. And together they found me.
Now that I've been found, I help Tobbi and Flummi to find Sheela. Hmm, where could she be?
I suggest that we have a look behind the Bonzai tree. Nope, she's not there. But, when we turn round... we've found her!
It was a lot of fun playing hide and seek. But I was so tired from travelling... The others said they were tired too, so we decided to join hostmum's cat, Snoopy, for a nap.
Bye!
Paula Hip
Posted May 19, 2012, 9:47 pm
Today we visited Dicker Kumpel’s Grandma. We had something delicious to eat.
Later we heard some music outside and went onto the balcony. There was the Schützenfest – and the marksmen walked through the streets.
It was really interesting.
There was a car of the fire service at the end.
Yours
Sam Hop
Posted May 21, 2012, 7:41 pm
Today Sheela, Tobbi, Flummi, Hostmum and I went in to Hexham where we met up with a friend of Hostmum's - Gizalba and the TVs that were visiting her, Pinky Bear, Edelweiss and Imperio. There were lots of us! It made for a very nice group outing.
First we went to see Hexham Abbey.
Here's a group picture of us inside the Abbey.
Here I am in front of the church organs - the picture isn't very good because we weren't allowed to use flash-photography.
We also went down to visit the 7th Century crypt. It was quite a steep descent!
It was also very dark down there - it was fun though.
We also went and saw the 'Old Gaol', which was the first jail in England.
Then we all decided it would be fun to take a group picture with all of us in the stocks!
After the Gaol, we went to the toy orphanage, where Hostmum picked up her new Hippy. You can see him in the next picture of all of us in the park.
There was a big monument in the park dedicated to all those that had fought in WWI & WWII.
It was a very nice day, I really enjoyed seeing Hexham!
Bye,
Paula Hip
Posted May 23, 2012, 4:21 am
It was such beautiful weather here today! The sun was shining, the birds were singing... so of course we had to go outside and enjoy it, and what better way than to go for a walk?
Don't you just love the English countryside?
We decided to go and visit the Roman Fort at Chester. Here I am with Sheela, Flummi, Tobbi and Hippy. We're standing in front of the barracks - where the soldiers slept.
The fort was built almost 2000 years ago, and was part of Hadrian's Wall - a 200km long wall (that was 10m high at some points!) that divided England from Scotland. The Roman Emperor Hadrian had it built in AD122 to keep the Scot's from invading their empire.
Gizalba and her visiting TVs Pinky Bear, Imperio and Edelweiss came with us as well.
Here we are in the baths.
Then we explored what used to be the sauna.
Oooh, the Commandant's house!
After exploring the fort, we decided that it would be nice to take a quick break by the river and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful scenery.
Here we all are, sunbathing.
Phew, after all that sun we were in need of some shade! So what better way to get some shade than under - or rather *in* - a tree?
And after all that, it was definitely time for some ice cream - yum!
We had a really nice time there - but after a few hours we had all had enough and decided it was time to go back to Hostmum's home. When we arrived, we saw that there was a package there, waiting for us.
Could it be another TV?
Let's open it and find out!
It is! It's Huhn.
He got a very big shock when he saw how many of us TVs there were! We all introduced ourselves and made him feel very welcome.
It was a very good day!
Bye,
Paula Hip
Posted May 25, 2012, 9:02 pm
It's been absolutely lovely weather here, so we've all been outside enjoying the sunshine.
We quickly grew tired though - the sun was just so hot! So we all sat down for a bit, relaxing.
But all that playing had made me very thirsty. This cool drink was just what I needed!
I quickly got my energy back, and saw that there were lots of things that needed doing. So I got right to work.
Look at this - I planted all of these lettuces!
It's been a very good day today Mum, but I'm quite tired.
Bye,
Paula
Posted May 26, 2012, 4:04 pm
We are on our way to Finland now. RikeH was very busy the last days, so we didn’t update our travelogs, but now it will be better, we hope.
We went from Travemünde,Germany to Helsinki, Finland with the Ferry Finnlady. The weather was wonderful, but it was so stormy that RikeH decided to take only one photo of me outside. She didn’t want me to fly away.
Fortunately we had a wonderful cabin with many windows. Through this one I saw the way we went.
Then we all went to the window on the side of the ship. The sun was wonderful.
Of course we wanted to look to the other side.
Our ferry was great – look, there in front of us was a cruise ship.
Our Captain did a good job, so we won the race!
Love
Sam
Posted May 26, 2012, 7:50 pm
Today we all went for a short drive to go and see one of the landmarks of the North East of England.
Here I am in front of the 'Angel of the North'. It's a huge steel sculpture, about 20m (66ft) high and the wings are 54m (177ft) long!
When we got back to the car, hostmum treated us to another ice cream, mmm!
Then back at the house, we all decided to make a fruit smoothie. First we had to get all the ingredients - ice, orange juice, raspberries and strawberries.
It was my job to cut the heads of the strawberries off.
And tada! The final product.
We each took a glass outside - it was great. It was lovely and hot outside, and the fruit smoothie was so refreshing; perfect!
Afterwards hostmum offered us some olives - I tried it, but didn't like it very much. The fruit smoothie was much better!!
Love,
Paula
Posted May 28, 2012, 12:07 pm
Behind me you can see the Port of Helsinki – or maybe one of the Ports there.
When I looked into the other direction – there was no port anymore – really strange.
We drove a while and our first stop was Hanko. We saw this nice beach.
Hanko has a small port, but there were not many ships at the moment.
There was a small hill in the middle of the town – with a church and a red tower.
I loved the tower – maybe it is a rocket?
Just another nice building – the Casino.
We went to another town called Turku. Here you see a church.
This is the library I think, with a nice fountain.
I looked over the river and saw this big church – it was wonderful!
Our hotel is next to this river!
Mum - I visit a new country - you should change the amount in our life mission!
Yours
Sam
Posted May 28, 2012, 2:25 pm
The day started in a small village called Rauma. It is famous for the old part of it with many wooden houses.
I think this was the town hall, but I am not sure about it.
Look – this bear was so friendly!
They had a nice old church.
We drove to the next place Pori – and started with another church.
Behind me you can see a great park!
We had a nice view back to the city.
There was another old building - maybe the town hall. Unfortunately I cannot read the signs here.
Our last stop of the day was at the seaside. We found this great beach.
Can you see me in the Dunes?
Here I am!
Bye
Sam
Posted May 30, 2012, 2:22 pm
We were in Jyväskylä today. First we went to a place called Naissaari. We had fun on this monument. Can you see Muggel and me?
We saw this watergate, but there was no boat in it.
This is typical for Finland – trees and water.
We bought some chocolate.
Then we went onto a hill – Harju.
We had nice views over the city from the tower on the hill.
Behind me you can see the church of the city.
Many greetings
Sam
Posted Jun 1, 2012, 6:53 pm
In the late afternoon Dicker Kumpel told me and the others that he had a surprise for us.
We all were excited and we jumped into our travel bag.
Look, what happened! RikeH met two Finish hosts – mmm105 and reissari – and all their TVs and TV-guests. So we had a big TV-meeting!
To have a better view of us – we made smaller photos.
It was great to meet so many new TVs. Hopefully I will meet some of them again on my trip around the world!
Then we had another meeting – we went to a postcrossing-meeting. You can see the postcards of the postcrossing-members. We had so much fun talking with these friendly women.
What a nice meeting!
Yours
Sam
Posted Jun 1, 2012, 9:07 pm
Today two TVs left us to continue with their travels, so we all said goodbye to them.
First I said bye to Tobbi who's travelling on to Yorkshire.
Then I said goodbye to Hippy and wished him lots of luck for his first ever travel.
Then it was time for them to leave. We said one last goodbye, and off they went.
But almost as soon as they left, two packages with TVs arrived!
In the first envelope was Lizzy Lizard!
Then we all opened the second package.
And it's _Mishuta_! Here we all are - Flummi, Sheela, Huhn, Mishuta, me and Lizzy.
Then we decided to go for a short walk to Brunto Turret, which is another part of Hadrian's Wall. Here I am outside hostmum's house - this is their view. Apparently it's typical English countryside.
Here we all are on the turret.
Here I am on the wall, can you spot me?
Then on the way back, some sheep came over to say hello.
It was both a happy and sad day - saying bye to two friends, and meeting two new friends as well as exploring more of the countryside around hostmum's house.
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jun 2, 2012, 5:09 pm
Great news – I saw the the biggest wooden church of the world.
We went inside, of course. (It is not always possible to go into Finish churches, because most of them are closed.) This one opened today.
There were many children coming into the church.
Look – the bell tower stood alone.
In the afternoon we reached the national park with the Koli Mountain. We had a great view over the lakes around.
And we saw trees. There are lots of forests in Finland!
Maybe this was a religious place in the Past?
Believe it or not - we found snow!
Can you see me on this funny guy?
This is a ski region in the wintertime. Look – I would take the black way!
On our way to the next hotel we stopped and enjoyed the sunshine next to this beautiful lake.
Yours
Sam
Posted Jun 4, 2012, 3:58 pm
Today we went to Durham, which is where hostmum goes to university. All of her exams are finished, so the last few weeks of uni is just for partying. Sounds good to me!
We went to visit Gizalba, who is a friend of hostmum's. She goes to Durham university as well, but lives in a different college to hostmum. So we spent the day at Gizalba's college with Edelweiss and Tapsi.
Here we all are by the war memorial, which is dedicated to those that lost their lives in the first World War.
Here you can see the war memorial and Durham Cathedral in the background.
And look Mum, a rainbow! Isn't it pretty?
It started to get a bit cold, so we had one last group picture taken with the cathedral in the background.
Then we went inside and played a game of Monopoly on the machine in the bar.
And to finish off the evening, I had a very nice cocktail. Don't worry though Mum, I was very sensible and didn't drink too much! I think hostmum should have followed in my shoes, judging by how shaky the picture is...
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jun 5, 2012, 4:11 pm
We had a lazy day at home. Look, what we had for dinner
Then we sat in front of the fireplace and talked.
I love it to look into the fire!
And I want to show you the funny kind of drinks we had.
Bye
Sam
Posted Jun 8, 2012, 5:26 pm
The Finnish people are crazy sometimes. We arrived in our new home today. And look, what we have in front of our house – a Christmas tree!
This was really strange. But RikeH told us that we are in the Santa Claus Village. Santa lives here – this is amazing!e
Maybe we will meet him tomorrow. Who knows? But first I had to show you two funny things in our room. This is the wonderful lamp!
Now I believe that the Christmas Time comes nearer!
Hohoho
Sam
Posted Jun 8, 2012, 6:34 pm
Hostmum's college at university held a special party today - it was Alice in Wonderland themed. To start it off, we watched the Disney movie. The Mad Hatter was really funny...
Then we went outside to join the party. I couldn't believe my eyes - everything was so big! I felt how Alice must have felt after she had drunk the potion that made her shrink. And there were crazy decorations everywhere - look, a mushroom in a tree?!
There was also lots and lots of games. We went bowling first - and my team won!
Then we played checkers. See what I mean about everything being really big??
My team won again!
Then we played four-in-a-row.
This time my team lost.
It was such a fun day Mum - completely magical, like I really was in Wonderland!
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jun 8, 2012, 6:53 pm
We saw these signs today – and wanted to meet Santa Claus.
But can you imagine it? Santa Claus didn’t allow to make own photos – and wants to have a lot of money for the photos taken by his gnomes…
So we decided that his Santa Claus is nice, too.
There were an ice bear and some gnomes next to him.
There were signs showing the distance to some cities around the world.
And here is Santa Claus’ Main Post Office – he has to write many letters each year.
I was really in the North now.
I crossed the Arctic Circle Mum – have you ever done it?
Love
Sam
Posted Jun 14, 2012, 8:34 pm
We visited Helsinki today. Behind me you can see the cathedral.
This is a Russian church – I loved the gold on the roof.
Near to the water we saw this beautiful building.
This is a wonderful church – inside a rock – really strange.
Love
Sam
Posted Jun 14, 2012, 10:29 pm
Today was our last day in Finland – and we spent it in Porvoo. We met a really nice lady there. First we climbed up a hill and had a look over the town. Unfortunately the trees were really high!
This was a better place to look at the city.
Behind me you can see the famous houses next to the river. The weather was not as sunny as yesterday, so you cannot see it so good.
There were moomins living in this shop.
We had a stop next to his bunny-lady. On the right side you can see some other TVs.
Then we did something funny – we went onto the Castle-Hill. But there was no castle anymore…
We stopped on a bridge and saw some nice new houses…
…and a ship with the funny name Glückauf.
Here we had a better view of the famous houses.
It was a great time in Finland!
yours
Sam
Posted Jun 16, 2012, 4:17 pm
Today, another package arrived.
Inside was not one, but two new toyvoyagers! Niiskuneiti and HelgaHH.
There's now 8 of us! We made sure to make them feel very welcome.
Then we decided to play a game of Trivial Pursuit.
We had to pick the colour that we wanted to be. I chose green.
Look - I'm in the lead!
To make sure that the game wasn't too easy, when someone landed on a square that could give them a cheese, we asked them a question from the normal Trivial Pursuit.
Do you know the answer to the question? Who plays son-of-a-gangster Amsterdam Vallon in 'Gangs of New York?
The answer is: Leonardo DiCaprio.
And look Mum - I won!
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jun 16, 2012, 5:13 pm
Guess what? Today I saw the Olympic Torch!
We went into town early so that we could get a good spot to see the Torch. Luckily, we had taken a chair with us, so we could sit back and relax while we waited.
When the police started to show up, we knew that the Torch was close.
And sure enough, there it was!
I enjoyed seeing it very much!
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jun 19, 2012, 9:17 pm
We were back on the way to Germany. Fortunately we had television in our cabin. So we watched soccer. In the first game the Netherlands played. Vriendje was so excited.
Unfortunately for Vriendje the Netherlands lost.
We went outside and had a wonderful sunset!
Here you can see a model of our Ferry!
It was time for soccer again. We decided to have a party!
Cheers!
Well the wrong supporters!
The game was great!
GOAL!
The good supporters!
Germany won – and we celebrated it!
The next morning we first had a coffee!
We preferred some fresh fruits! No more wine and beer!
Love
Sam
Posted Jun 24, 2012, 8:59 pm
We went to Hamburg today. The weather was not so nice - but no problem for us. We walked along the lake Alster in the center of Hamburg. Can you see the sailing ships?
There were more boats - I think they will be used if the weather is better!
There were some geese.
It was a nice place!
Believe it or not – it was the same day – only some minutes later – and we had sunshine.
One of many churches in Hamburg.
Many greetings
Sam
Posted Jun 28, 2012, 4:30 pm
Today we went to Derwent Resevoir.
The resevoir is three miles long (which is almost 5km). It can hold up to 11 million gallons of water and provides water to half of the North East of England.
Here we all are - we were lucky it was a nice day as well!
We explored the area, and found this river that leads in to the resevoir.
Bye!
Paula
Posted Jun 28, 2012, 9:13 pm
We went to Hamburg again. But today we went to the Port. And we saw a cruise ship!
This Part of the Port is called ‘Speicherstadt’. It is the old warehouse district, but they built a lot of new houses there.
Here you can see the old houses.
This is another part of the Port.
We made a short boat trip.
There was a wonderful sailing ship!
Behind me you can see the pier of the port.
My last views of the port.
Bye
Sam
Posted Jul 3, 2012, 8:36 pm
It was my last day in Sülfeld today. I will travel to the USA! But I wanted to have a walk before I jumped into my envelope. Here you see me in front of a small lake.
Later we sat in front of this nice sign and enjoyed the sunshine.
Then it was time to say goodbye – the others gave me a big hug.
I will write, when I arrive in the USA.
Love
Sam
Posted Jul 8, 2012, 3:09 pm
I've been having a lot of fun this past week, and am a bit closer to completing one of my life missions.
We're in Essex this week, which is where hostmum's Grandparents live. As hostmum's Nana has just been released from hospital, hostmum has been helping out.
This means that I've been having a lot of fun with hostmum's Grandparents' animals. Would you believe it - they have FIVE animals!
For me, this is great! As you know, I want to play with 10 different pets. Well this week alone, I've played with five!
Here I am playing with Summer. As you can see, we're having a lot of fun!!
This is Honey, who absolutely loves to play. We've been having a bit of a rough and tumble - but don't worry, she's very gentle and didn't hurt me.
Next, meet Tosca. As you can see, he's extremely fluffy. He loves to play hide-and-seek, so we've been playing a lot of that. Here he is after I found him - he doesn't look impressed, I guess he thought that he had hidden in a good spot. But I'm great at finding people in hide-and-seek!
And here I am with Mr. Pickles, the tortoise. We're both quite ticklish, so we've been having fun tickling each other!
And finally, here I am with Jessie. Jessie is quite old, so takes things easy. But she loves to be stoked on the back of her neck and belly, and of course, she loves sleeping in the sun.
So as you can see, I've been having a very good time playing with all the pets
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jul 17, 2012, 3:22 pm
It was fun in Essex, and as you know I spent my time playing with all the pets.
I'm now back in Hexham - we got back early Sunday morning. Then on Tuesday I said goodbye to two of the TVs that are continuing their voyages.
First I said bye to Huhn.
Then to _Mishuta_.
I was sad to see them go - we had become good friends. But I'm sure I'll see them again at some point!
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jul 19, 2012, 9:26 pm
We had a massive house party last night (hostmum and her family went out, leaving us alone in the house). I can't really remember much of it... I know I had a good time though!
First we had to get ready, so I helped Sheela and Niiskuneiti put out some snacks.
Pretty soon, toys from all over the neighbourhood started to arrive. Everyone was dancing on the dance floor, but I was a bit nervous, so I sat and chatted with Goldie for a while.
But then... oh dear Mum! I'm afraid I might have had a bit too much to drink... Because the next thing I remember, is I'm dancing in the middle of a circle with everyone watching me and cheering me on!
That's all that I remember. I can tell you - I had a bad headache when I awoke in the morning!
It was a great night though, I had so much fun. But my poor head...
And best of all - we managed to tidy everything up, so the house was clean when hostmum came back. She never suspected a thing, we got away with it, wahey!
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jul 20, 2012, 8:17 pm
I'm writing this from Istanbul, Turkey. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures... as by the time our luggage was given to us, it was too dark to take any!
It's been a very long day today. We all woke up at 3am and first we said bye to Niiskuneiti, who is going back home.
Then quickly did a run around the house to make sure we hadn't forgotten anything, and then... ready to go!
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jul 21, 2012, 9:03 pm
Guess what? I went to the ancient city of Troy today!! You might have heard about Troy. It was in a 10 year long war after Paris, the prince, fell in love with Helen, a married queen of Greece. Paris kidnapped Helen, and her husband came after them. The war was won because the Greeks were very clever and built a giant wooden horse. But I'll come to that later.
Did you know that the city of Troy is over 5000 years old? That's one of the oldest cities in the world!
Right, so the horse! According to legend, the Greeks build a massive wooden horse and left it outside the walls of Troy. The Trojans thought that the horse was a gift from the Gods and meant that the Greeks had surrenderd. What they didn't realise was that the Greeks were hiding in the belly of the horse, so once all the Trojans were in bed asleep, they came out of hiding and voila, the war was won.
After visiting Troy, we went to see the small village of Canakkale and enjoyed the warm sunshine and walking along the shore.
Then we came accross this replica of the horse, which was used in the movie 'Troy', with Brad Pitt.
After a while we decided it was time to head back to the ship, where I relaxed on the balcony and enjoyed the view.
Bye,
Paula
Posted Jul 23, 2012, 8:29 pm
Today has been another exciting day! We arrived in Rhodes this morning and did a lot of sightseeing. Here I am overlooking Rhodes.
Then we went to see this old church which was built in the 15th Century.
Along one of the pathways leading away from the church are 12 plaques depicting Jesus in his final moments before he was nailed to the cross.
After that we walked in to Rhodes itself and came across this charming market. Isn’t it colourful?
Then we entered Old Rhodes – which is the medieval city of Rhodes. Old Rhodes is surrounded by walls to protect it from raiders. New Rhodes has been built around it.
Here you can see the old castle.
This used to be a hospital a long time ago, but now it’s an archaeology museum. Only the very rich were allowed to be treated in the hospital – and only on the condition that they gave their house to the doctors and priests that ran it.
This is part of an old statue from the 2nd century BC, depicting the God ‘Helios’. Very old!
And finally, here we are on the cannon balls – they’re also from BC.
As you can see, it’s been another great day!
Love,
Paula
Posted Jul 24, 2012, 3:13 pm
Today was a day at sea, which was quite nice. I spent most of my time on deck, just looking at the sea.
It was very hot though, and I would need to go and sit in the shade a bit with the others, to cool down.
At one point there was also an ice-sculpting demonstration, which I found really interesting.
In 15 minutes, the ice-sculptor had managed to create two dolphins from one block of ice. Amazing!
Love,
Paula
Posted Jul 26, 2012, 6:45 pm
Today we arrived in Cyprus. It’s such a beautiful place. And it was very hot – about 35C.
Isn’t this a beautiful view? Legend has it that this is the birth place of the Greek Goddess Aphrodite. Legend also says that if you bathe in the sea here when it’s a full moon on Friday the 13th, then Aphrodite (who is not just the Goddess of love, but also of beauty) will make you appear 10 years younger.
Here I am by a date tree – it was nice to sit in its shade for a while!
We went to a place called the ‘Tombs of Kings’, which, as you might have guessed, is a graveyard. It’s a very old graveyard though – thought to be from the 3rd Century BC. Its name is very misleading though – no kings were buried here, only very rich people.
This is where the body of a 5-year old boy was found. He was thought to be the brother of the Egyptian Queen Cleopatra. Did you know that Cleopatra had some of her brothers killed, in case they tried to take the throne from her? That’s what they think happened to the little boy buried here.
Then we went to the house of Dionysos, which houses mosaics from the 2nd Century BC. This mosaic shows a scene from a vineyard.
And this one shows the four seasons of the year.
Before we went back on board, we explored the small harbour-town of Paphos.
It was such a fun day!
Love,
Paula
Posted Jul 28, 2012, 3:43 pm
I’m sad to say that today is our last day on holiday. Tomorrow we dock in Athens and have to head straight to the airport to catch our flight back to England. But it was another great day today!
Today I was on the beautiful Greek island of Santorini. Look at the view.
The church that I’m standing in front of is the most famous church in Santorini.
I also walked up the highest hill on the island. It was quite a walk! But from this vantage point, I can see the whole island.
After that trek to get to the top of the hill, a pit-stop at this little café was definitely called for.
Can you see the ship behind me? That’s our boat!
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 2, 2012, 3:58 pm
Boy, has it been a long journey! We started our journey back to hostmum's home at 9am yesterday, and only arrived back at 1am today.
Back at hostmum's home, I said bye to Flummi, who is travelling to Germany.
Now, it's time for some much needed sleep!
Love,
Paula Hip
Posted Aug 2, 2012, 4:34 pm
The past few days we've all been taking it easy. I've spent most of my time out in the garden with the others.
And I've also been playing with Snoopy, hostmum's cat.
That's 6 pets I've played with now!
Love,
Paula Hip
Posted Aug 2, 2012, 5:32 pm
Today I said goodbye to HelgaHH, as she's travelling to Finland.
I'm quite excited about tomorrow... hostmum says she has a big surprise for us. I wonder what it could be??
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 3, 2012, 10:15 pm
You'll never guess what the surprise from hostmum was! She got tickets to an Olympic event - the women's football quarter-final! It was so exciting.
Here I am outside the stadium, St James' Park.
And here I am inside. The pitch looks so much smaller in real life!
The two teams that were playing were America and New Zealand. Here they are warming up.
The match has started! It's so exciting!
In the end, the USA won 2-0. Hostmum was rooting for New Zealand, but even she said that America were excellent. It was such a fun day! I'm so glad I got to see an Olympic event!
Love,
Paula Hip
Posted Aug 5, 2012, 8:16 pm
After that, we went out for lunch at Jersey Mike's which is a really good sub place. Then we went out to see Batman (The Dark Knight Rises) at the Warren IMAX Theater.
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Posted Aug 10, 2012, 7:15 pm
It's been lovely weather here recently, so we've been enjoying sitting out in the garden. But today, we saw that Lizzy Lizard had done something really special...
She had set up an outdoor swimming pool!
We were all thrilled! She had put out chairs for us as well. I wasn't sure that I would fit in it...
But it was actually pretty comfortable.
Then I saw that Imperio was enjoying a swim. I really wanted to go in the water, but I didn't want to get wet. So the canoe was perfect!
It was so much fun - our own pool party!
Love,
Paula Hip
Posted Aug 13, 2012, 12:18 am
Today, Sheela left us to continue her travels. I gave her a big hug goodbye.
We posed for one final group picture.
And now she's on her way to Sweden.
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 15, 2012, 9:09 pm
It was the Olympic's closing ceremony tonight. We all gathered around the TV to watch it. And of course - we had to have sme popcorn!
Look - it's Prince Harry!
The final winners - the winners of the men's marathon - were presented with their medals.
Hostmum was absolutely thrilled when these kids started signing 'Imagine' by John Lennon, as hostmum is a BSL (British Sign Language) user as well.
Jessie J performed several songs as well.
And the Spice Girls.
And finally, the UK handed over the ceremony to Brazil, who gave us a few performances, as they're hosting the 2016 Olympics.
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 17, 2012, 5:38 pm
Today we all went to visit Alnwick castle (pronounced an-ik). It's a beautiful place.
This carriage was used in the wedding of a highborn lady last year. Isn't it pretty?
This statue represents Sir Henry Percy (Percy is the name of the family who live in the castle). In 1378 Sir Henry Percy led a battle against a neighbouring enemy and won it. He also won a lot of battles against the Scots, earning him the nickname 'Hotspur'.
Isn't the view quite something? You would definitely be able to see your enemies!
Look Mum - a dragon!
This is the weaponry room. Wow...
Here I am relaxing in a big canon.
We were going to stay longer, but unfortunately it started to rain quite badly, so we had to leave.
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 18, 2012, 6:57 pm
I had another fun day today. There was a Regatta and fair in Hexham, so we went to that. A regatta is a sporting event where they hold boating competitions.
There were so many fun stalls.
There was even some rock-climbing.
And guess who I saw rowing? Matt Wells! He's a famous British rower, and he grew up in Hexham. He's taken part in a lot of Olympics and has won many medals.
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 22, 2012, 3:49 pm
Tonight, there was a beautiful view of the sunset outside hostmum's home.
Isn't it just gorgeous?
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 23, 2012, 4:37 pm
We all travelled back down to Essex yesterday to stay with hostmum's Grandparents. But today we went in to London. Hostmum took us to Camden, which is a great place. There's lots of little shops, markets, stalls and more.
Inside this building is a market, with lots of fun stalls.
After exploring Camden, we explored other areas of London. This shop is in Leicester Square. Doesn't it look like fun? They only sell M&M products!
Hostmum had a surprise for us - we went to Her Majesty's Theatre to watch Phantom of the Opera.
Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures of the show though. But it was a great show!
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 26, 2012, 1:32 am
We're all still in Essex at the minute, at hostmum's Grandparents' house. I've been doing a bit of exploring around the house, and have found that there's quite a lot to see!
Hostmum's Grandad was in the Army for most of his life, so there's a lot of army stuff around the house. Look at this sword - it was given to him by the army for great service.
And this dagger was the one he used in the service - he spent a lot of time stationed abroad in his younger days.
A few years ago, the Queen visited his old regiment, and along with his collegues, he had had his picture taken with her!
And just look at all these medals! Not all of them are his mind, some belong to his dad (hostmum's Great-Grandad).
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 26, 2012, 5:01 pm
We arrived back in Hexham today after a long car journey. We saw this package waiting for us.
As we opened it, Mefito came out and said hello!
He's travelled all the way from Mallorca!
Tomorrow we'll take him for a walk and show him the area.
Love,
Paula
Posted Aug 30, 2012, 1:53 pm
It's been horrible weather the past few days, and the finally, today it stopped raining. So hostmum took us in to Newcastle to show us around.
We saw Grey's Monument, which was built in 1832 and is dedicated to Charles Grey, who was an Earl and who was in charge of the Great Reform Act of 1832, where he changed how politics was ran.
Then we stopped at one of hostmum's favourite cafes. Hostmum had a coffee, and she bought a cupcake for me as a treat!
Unfortunately, this is when hostmum's camera decided to stop working.
So she had to find a camera repair shop, and they said it would be ready in a few weeks... 
So we cut our trip to Newcastle short, but hostmum has promised that we'll go back again, and hostmum's mum is lending her her camera in the meantime.
Love,
Paula
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We got mini red velvet cupcakes. Instead of candles, we put two lollipops in her cupcake, because she's two years old now! After the lollipops, we also had some strawberries!
Posted Sep 3, 2012, 1:39 pm
The weather here has been pretty bad recently - it's been raining almost non-stop! So when there was a small gap between showers, we all took advantage of that and went for a walk in the countryside.
We passed this little village.
And went deeper in to the countryside.
There's just something magical about being in a forest, don't you think?
We cam across this very pretty little waterfall and stream.
It was nice getting back in touch with nature!
Love,
Paula
Posted Sep 5, 2012, 6:13 pm
Today we went to Alnwick to explore the gardens of the Stately Home.
First we explored the Poison Garden, which was full of dangerous and poisonous plants. It was quite interesting!
Then we went for a stroll and passed this lovely pond.
We walked through a Cherry Orchard - which is the largest orchard of it's kind in the world.
This is the Ornamental garden.
Then we explored the rose garden.
We also had a go in the bamboo labyrinth. We were in there for about 20 minutes, trying to find our way back out again!
Look at these grapes - they're used to make wine.
And I saw honeybees in their nest - it was fascinating seeing them!
This massive tree house is a restaurant, isn't that so cool?
And to get to it, you have to cross this swing bridge!
Love,
Paula
Posted Sep 9, 2012, 10:45 pm
At the end of the movie, it was raining. In fact, as soon as we left the cover of the roof to go to the car, it poured down really hard all of a sudden. It was fun to play in the rain.
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Posted Sep 12, 2012, 4:20 pm
I'm in China!! We arrived Tuesday afternoon, after traveling for about 12 hours... it was a looong trip. And all of us are still pretty jetlagged, as there's a 7 hour difference between China and England.
BUT - the jetlag didn't stop us from going to see the Great Wall of China!
To get there we had to walk up this street, which has stalls that sell lots of nice little trinkets an touristy stuff.
The wall itself was amazing.
And so were the views!
This massive jar used to contain oil. The guards would put a flame on the oil when they saw that the wall was under attack, that way everyone would know they were in danger (like in the Disney movie 'Mulan').
It was a great day Mum - so much fun!
Posted Sep 13, 2012, 1:39 pm
Today we went to the Temple of Heaven, which is a complex of religious buildings in Beijing. I loved it!
These stones represent the peaks of Taishan Mountains, which was a place to worship in ancient China.
This is the Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests.
And these are some of the halls around it, with various different altars in them.
Behind me you can see the 70-year-old-door. One of the Emperors was 70 years old, and his health was declining, so he had this door built in as a short cut to the Temple. However, he didn't want his sons to use it out of laziness, so he made the law that only Emperors that had reached 70 could use it. Hence the name - the 70 year old door.
And finally, behind me you can see the Imperial Vault of Heaven.
Love,
Paula
Posted Sep 17, 2012, 3:11 am
Today we went to the famous 798 district - the art district of Beijing.
We explored lots of different galleries.
I enjoyed looking at all the different styles of paintings.
This one was my favourite.
Love,
Paula
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Guess where we went today? To the Palace Museum (aka The Forbidden City)!
It's a huge place - I had no idea it was so big...
It's about 961m long!
The Forbidden City was the Imperial Palace for about 500 years.
In total, 24 Emperors lived here.
It also has a beautiful imperial garden.
As you can see - I had another great day in China!
Love,
Paula
Posted Sep 26, 2012, 12:29 pm
We leave China tomorrow to go back to hostmum's home. It's going to be a very long journey I think. So today I've just been relaxing and playing with the animals of hostmum's hosts.
Here I am with Mecredi, the cat.
And this is Lugnut.
I've also been relaxing with my fellow TVs, Imperio, Lizzy Lizard and mefito on this massive hammock!
Love,
Paula
Posted Sep 29, 2012, 7:41 am
Then we went for a ride on the river boat. Everything was so pretty, but it was too dark to take very many good photoes.
After all that, we saw the movie Loopers. It was a nice night!
Posted Oct 12, 2012, 10:24 am
Hostmum has been suffering from jet-lag pretty bad, so, along with my fellow TVs, I've been entertaining myself with all the different things we bought back from China.
Believe it or not, this is actually a hat!
And this Chinese tea was absolutely delicious.
Hostmum also brought back a box of 'moon-cakes'.
Aren't they pretty?
Love,
Paula
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Merry Christmas!
Posted Dec 30, 2012, 9:10 pm
So Thanksgiving is always a little sad. However, this year, a second good friend died in an accident on the same day... Thanksgivings Day. A long time ago, my host Michelle got really sick and almost died. She had two emergency surgeries. Her fiance (now husband) lost his job while trying to be with her in the hospital. It was a mess and their friends Chazz and Carrie offered to help them. They moved from Ohio to Oklahoma, which is way up north to down south (a long distance). At that time, Chazz and Carrie was struggling financially too, but they took care of our hosts. There was no rush or pressure to get a job or help out... it was all about helping Michelle recover. It took months to recover and she did eventually get on her feet. My hosts helped clean the house and cooked and did whatever they could to make things eaiser for their friends while they were there. Today, my hosts are healthy, on their feet, and doing so very well! When Chazz passed away this Thanksgiving, it made November 22nd extra sad.
Our hosts is thankful for everything Greg and Chazz (and Carrie, who is still alive and well) they did for them.
In early December, our hosts moved into a nicer apartment. Wally, my hosts fish, died during the move. She was very upset about this. Wally may have just been a pleco fish, but Michelle loved him very much. It was just hard loosing a pet on top of losing a good friend.
Closer to Christmas, there was another loss. One of Michelle's childhood friends had a little sister named Dannielle. Back then, as Michelle and Rachel were growing up as teens, Dannielle was 10 years younger. My host remembers babysitting with her group of friends. At the age of only 22, Dannielle died in an accident. Rachel was her friend, but Dannielle was still a part of their childhood memories. Michelle mournes with her friend from so far away.
Despite all this sadness, our hosts did enjoy the holidays. They went to a live perforance of Dralion (Cirque Du Soleil) and then had a lazy dinner around the house on xmas day. Unfortunately, they are really super strict about taking photos at the show and we couldn't even have our phones. So no photos... it was a great show though!
So, here's some pictures of the new apartment! When you first walk in the door, there is Toki's house (and Toki's family), and the cat stuff. The livingroom is nice and comfy. They like to bring out different toys every week or so to hang out on the coffee table and couch (Chelle has a lot of toys). That's Brambles (ox) and Shayla (owl) on the coffee table. There's Dottie (ladybug pillow pet), Guy (pirate skull pillow), Chico (mouse), and Cuddlewitz (bear) on the douch. Chico is Chelle's first and oldest toy that her mother gave her. The original Cuddlewitz was lost a long time ago and was a xmas gift from her grandmother. It took my hosts over 7 years to track down a bear this new Cuddlewitz. The bear was called a Wurble in the 1980's - her nose lights up and she makes noises. You can still find Wurbles, but this particular color of wurble is extremely difficult to find. So, Chico and Cuddlewitz are always out in the livingroom. They also have a big old recliner.
There's the pretty hang bag that we toyvoyagers ride in when she takes us out anywhere. Chelle keeps a little lent roller in the bag so we can clean ourselves up before taking photos. Isn't that thoughtful?
Posted Jan 27, 2013, 4:39 am
Also, I had some vanilla icecream with shell chocolate on top!
Posted Jan 31, 2013, 10:45 am
greetings from Paula Hip!
I reached my new host's home today. I am in Remscheid now, in North Rhine-Westphalia in Germany (not too close from my own hometown
). I already met some friendly ToyVoyagers here. They are Arimbi from Indonesia, Suny, Mr. Stanley, Lady Katherine, PieksiHH and Stoker, all from Germany.
My host Katja told me that they had terrible weather this week. it was raining and melting away the snow. But today in the afternoon it was looking much better, so we took a walk to Hasten, a nearby historic district. Here you can find lots of traditional houses, like this one.
In this region, called "Bergisches Land" traditional houses often are half-timbered houses with green shutters. They are also often covered with shist.
They have a small shopping area here.
Although Remscheid is an industrial city, it is surrounded by woodland, valleys and rural areas.
The sun came out for a moment
Only narrow lanes are between those houses.
You can often find historic factory buildings among dwellings.
A museum is situated in the Patrician Villa on the right side of the next photo. The villa was built in late 18th century by a local factory owner.
The German Tool Museum is also situated on this estate.
We went home than - uphill for a long time!
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Feb 6, 2013, 5:43 pm
we had horrible weather last week with snow, rain, black ice, snow again, rain again, mud and fog. During this night it snowed again, but today we had snow and sunshine
A good reason to take a walk to the municipal park, my host said.
From my current home it is only a short walk to the park.
In the background you can see the observatory which is situated here in the park.
There is a pond in the park, ducks and turtles are living here. But not a single duck was visible, they seemed to be hiding somewhere.
I love snow, but I am nearly freezing to death. Katja said she could make me a warm sweater. That would be great!
Greetings to Sam!
Love
Paula
Posted Feb 8, 2013, 8:12 am
in the evening I was allowed to search for a suitable yarn for my sweater among Katja's yarn leftovers I found a lovely green and grey yarn.
Than some measures were taken.
Later, when we would watch TV, she would knit a warm sweater or me
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Feb 8, 2013, 8:26 am
In the early morning I had a look out of the window - it snowed during the night.
Can you see that I am wearing my new sweater?
Before going to work Katja is taking her pets out of their cage so they can play in the apartment for about an hour.
Three ferrets are living here! They are cute and cheeky little monsters
The sable ferret is Shiva and the white one is Brighty.
And there is Zaehnchen sitting in the box. Katja told me to be careful because ferrets would like duck - for breakfast!!!
It seemed that Shiva does not consider me as her breakfast, maybe because of my leather cap
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Feb 12, 2013, 8:48 am
another ToyVoyager arrived today, Tsukumo, a sheep lady from Bavaria. Katja told us we would visit a riding stable in the afternoon.
Paula Hip
Posted Feb 12, 2013, 9:26 am
like Katja told us we went to a riding stable in the afternoon. One of her friends and her daughter are riding there, but today Angela went with us on a walk and let her daughter do all the work
The riding stable is in Hueckeswagen, a small town surrounded by rural areas about 20 km apart from Remscheid, in the region "Oberbergisches Land".
I met a lot of farm animals here. Horses, of course
I also said hello to some cows.
Cats and dogs were strolling around and I also went to the chicken.
We took a walk than around an upstream temporary dam of river Wupper. We only had to walk a few minutes to get there.
There are lots of hiking trails following this route.
A lot of relatives are living here
We crossed the dam here and walked back.
This is the view towards the city of Hueckeswagen.
We had a short rest and enjoyed the lovely landscape around before we had to walk uphill to the stable.
We helped to feed the horses and went back home.
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Feb 12, 2013, 4:03 pm
we took a short walk in the city centre today, in Katja's lunch break. She is working in a law firm, close to the city hall, so the city hall with the largen open space in front of it was our first stop.
The city hall was nearly destroyed in World War II, but rebuilt in a more modern style afterwards. It's tower is 48 m high.
This is the central bus station.
The adult education centre (VHS) is situated in this modern building...
... and the music school is situated here in this pretty house.
From this bridge you have a good overview across a large cemetary to Hohenhagen, a housing area with lots of woodland around.
Looking to the opposite direction you can see the bus station and the city centre.
This is the shopping street...
... and the main entrance of the shopping mall Allee-Center.
At the end of the shopping street you can find these giant forceps, a symbol for the local tool producing industry.
We had to return to work than.
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Feb 13, 2013, 1:55 pm
another guest arrived today, it's Easy, a cute brown rat. He probably was already sitting in the mailbox yesterday, but it was frozen over, and today my host got it open.
Later we visited a medieval castle in the neighbour city Solingen, Schloss Burg, It is situated high upon a hill above the River Wupper.
We went to the courtyard with many shops. You can find souvenir shops and shops whose owners are doing an "old" handcraft, for example handmade brushes, brooms, soap, lovely yarns and wooden knitting needles, toys like swords and helmets and much more.
Schloss Burg was built in 1133 by Count Adolf I von Berg on a hill above the river Wupper.That's why this region is called "Bergisches Land". Many people believe that it's name refers to the landscape with hills and valleys. (For those who do not speak German: The German word for mountain or hill is "Berg", so many people think that the name "Bergisches Land" means "land of many hills" )
About a hundred years later it was enlarged by Count Engelberg II von Berg. This is the man on the horse in the courtyard.
In Thirty Years War (17th century) large parts of the castle were destroyed. It was rebuilt then, but it was used for industrial purposes for many years. In the end of the 19th century they began to rebuild it as it appears today.
We took a walk in the surroundings of the castle than. Katja took a group photo with the castle in the background.
Soon we reached an outlook pavilion. You have a stunning overview across the valley here and also a good view to the castle.
A terrible storm destroyed large parts of the forest some years ago.
We took a side trip to the concrete wall of a nearby dam, Sengbachtalsperre. We thought the surface had been frozen, but it wasn't frozen at all.
Far in the distance (the middle of the photo) you can see the city of Remscheid lying in the sun.
You can see it better on this zoomed photo.
On our way back to the car we walked through a lovely rural district.
Walking through the cold is really exhausting
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Feb 17, 2013, 10:19 pm
I met Clara the tentacle kitty and Tonakai the custom reindeer, whom are the newest toys in the house. Clara is a very unique softie and she's super cuddly. Tonakai was colored and brought to life that night. They were both pretty cool toys.
We also eat dinner from Buffalo Wild Wings, played cards, and watched a UFC match on tv. We didn't pictures of all that because we were having so much fun we didn't think about it! It was a lot of fun.
Posted Feb 19, 2013, 10:07 am
today the weather became much better unexpectedly. Of course we went out for a walk. We went to the neighbour city Wuppertal, to the district Cronenberg. It is an historic district with many old factory buildings.
Here you can also find those lovely old houses like in Remscheid.
Katja told us that we would walk to a nearby woodland area.
Most of the snow already melted away.
Soon we reached the forest, a very special one: An arboretum, Staatsforst Burgholz
An arboretum is a collection of trees, sort of a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study. We went to "Staatsforst Burgholz", a woodland area which is situated in both urban area of Wuppertal and also the urban area of Solingen. When World War II was over, there were nearly all trees felled for rebuilding of destroyed city areas and also as firewood.
Searching for fast-growing forest species trees from foreign counties were planted than in this area to study their growth in local weather conditions. Plants from North America, South America, Asia and Europe were planted.
There are several walking paths through the arboretum. We decided to walk along a path showing trees of Northern America.
The soil is partly covered with soft moss.
Finally we walked through the sequoia tree area.
Walking back we saw this historic train, situated on the "Sambatrasse", a former railway track, now a walking trail.
After enjoying so much sunshine we were very lazy in the afternoon, visiting a friend and having coffee.
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Feb 25, 2013, 4:02 pm
we took a walk today in the forest with Katja and her broter-in-law.
Remscheid is surrounded by forests, valleys and rural areas. Here you can see the city centre of Remscheid in the background, while we were walking through a district in the south of the municipal area.
Soon we reached a forest. We walked downhill until we reached the sole of the valley.
Of course a creek is running through the valley.
You can also find some fish ponds along the creek, they are all frozen now.
We had a lot of fun in the snow
Our walk took nearly two and a half hour
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Mar 5, 2013, 10:13 am
although the weather was bad we took a long walk today in the outskirts of Remscheid. Even Katja's son accompanied us. We went to one of the nearby valleys.
The first signs of spring were visible.
We reachend an interesting place, hiden in the forest - an historic hammer mill. Iron and steel were produced here since 15th century.
A large millwheel was lying on the ground. We rested here for a while.
Later we explored the estate.
This is the rear side of the house.
Katja told us that there was also a little pond with a weir. Currently the pond was nearly empty.
We left the valley than and walked uphill towards the city centre of Remscheid. The snow nearly melted away last week.
We walked through lovely hamlets.
We also crossed on of the largest valleys, the one where industrialisation began in middle ages. Still nowadays a lot of companies are working here.
From here we had to walk uphill for about half an hour to get back to the city centre on top of its hill.
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Mar 10, 2013, 1:23 am
Posted Mar 10, 2013, 1:25 am
Posted Mar 12, 2013, 8:26 pm
I found lovely spring flowers in the living room - daffodils!
It would be great if there was spring outside, but look what is happening now.
It is snowing again. We are all fed up with all the snow.
Bye
Paula
Posted Mar 15, 2013, 8:29 am
there is still snow, but at least it is a wonderful day with sunshine.
We went to the district Luettringhausen to pick up Katja's daughter for a longer walk. Luettringhausen is one of the historic districts of Remscheid.
Soon we went into the forest. We are planning to walk to Lennep, also an historic district.
We reached a valley with a creek running through.
Here in the valley we found an estate with lots of animals, also sheep. They are cameroon sheep. The sheep were curious if we brought food, but we did not have any.
We found the remains of an old weir.
We followed the path through the valley.
There are even a few houses in the valley.
When we left the valley and walked towards Lennep we saw the inner city of Luettringhausen in the background.
To get to Lennep we followed a main road for some time until we reached the historical inner city. Here you can find lovely narrow lanes and those typical houses.
This is the market place.
Later we went home by bus.
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Mar 24, 2013, 11:35 pm
Posted Mar 25, 2013, 8:25 am
we celebrated my birthday in the evening.
I'm sending Birthday greetings to Sam!
Love
Paula Hip
Posted Mar 28, 2013, 8:26 am
this week most of the snow melted away. We all hope that spring will come soon! We took a walk to Germany's highest railway bridge, Muengsten Bridge. This railway bridge is connecting Remscheid and the neighbour city Solingen, overspanning the valley of river Wupper.
It took us a 40 minutes walk until we could have a first look at the bridge.
We followed a hiking trail which is coming close to the bridge, but we intended to cross the river and walk on the other side of the valley.
Very obviously we are still having winter
We crossed the river and followed the hiking path, like the river meandering along the steep slope of the valely.
Muengsten Bridge was built of steel, completed in 1907. It is about 480 m long and 107 m tall. There are extensive repair works going on in the last few years, and there will be more this year from April till at least October.
Some years ago a leisure park was created under the bridge. You can find lawns here for relaxing, a crazy golf course, a restaurant, snack bars, a kiosk and playgrounds for kids.
When we get home, we will have to wash our trousers and clean the shoes - the paths in the forest were incredibly muddy
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Apr 2, 2013, 4:45 pm
today it was time for me and Gian TheFrog to say good-bye to Remscheid and our friends here.
I packed my things and now I am already on my way to my next host. Katja will send my souvenirs home to you, Mummy.
There is still one update to write from yesterday's trip to Wuppertal
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Apr 3, 2013, 5:25 pm
we had fantastic weather today, so we we made a trip to the neighbour city Wuppertal.
One of the city’s greatest attractions is the suspended monorail (Schwebebahn), which was established in 1901. The tracks are 8 m above the streets and 12 m above the Wupper River.
Katja promised to show us a really weird bridge. We had to walk for about 15 minutes until we reached it. It is a former railway bridge, looking like a Lego-bridge.
What a great bridge!
From here it was only a short walk to Hardt, a large parkway on a partly forested hill in the inner city area of Wuppertal. You can find a fantastic landscape park here and also the Botanical garden of Wuppertal. To get there, we only had to cross the street to the opposite direction of the bridge and walk uphill.
First we walked along a vast allotment garden area.
A look behind ...
Soon we reached the parkway. In the background you can see one of 47 Bismarck towers which were built across Germany in early 20th century as outlook towers.
We strolled through the park, enjoying the sunshine.
Those greenhouses belong to the Botanical garden which is situated here.
You can find the former country house of a textile manufacturers named Eller, which contained a villa (built 1820), orangery, residential and farm buildings, and the Elise Tower (built 1838) which provides the garden's focal point.
We found at least a few spring flowers
We went back to the city centre to visit friends and their ferrets
Most of the time we walked along river Wupper and the Schwebebahn.
This is one of 20 stations. It was rebuilt last year in its original historical style.
Katja showed us the centre of justice with local court and district court.
Back in the city ...
We found a cafe which was open and bought cake for our friends.
Bye
Paula Hip
Posted Apr 26, 2013, 4:24 am
Posted Apr 26, 2013, 4:26 am
Posted May 28, 2013, 9:26 am
sorry for the delay of the updates, but Zandy had o work really hart since we came back from our trip to Poland and in her free time she hat no head to sit in front of the PC.
Here is a picture of us (Cassiopeia, Germanya and I) while we are talking about our trip. It was before we had to go to bed. But of course it was late before we could sleep, we were really excited. - Is it normal, that this emotion never ends?
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Posted May 28, 2013, 9:29 am
The most time we sleep, it was to dark or Zandy had to drive, so there aren't more pictures during our drive.
But I will tell you something: I think once I will visit a town with a really great name .... It's "Lederhose".
You can belive me, we would take a icture of the shild, but it wasn't possible.
Posted Jul 18, 2013, 6:16 pm
Today I arrived in Lemgo, wonderful city but very bad weather.
I'm looking forward to visit California next month. Sun, burgers und many fun and great adventures... I hope it will be a great and wonderful journey.
My first contact was a big tree in the living room, where I feel like I am at home in the jungle.
After that I met two other TVs, HG and Little T.B. and we first start a little private Party.
Posted Jul 18, 2013, 6:21 pm
But the best thing is, that I get some pocket money for my own.
Nearly 400$, that would be a very nice trip over there.
Posted Jul 18, 2013, 6:26 pm
The first thing I saw in SF was a quite crude bedside lamp in the hotel.
Posted Jul 18, 2013, 6:32 pm
today it was a very exciting day....Sightseeing in San Francisco with my new friends. We have seen so many things, it was amazing.
The Golden Gate Bridge, Cable Cars.....
Posted Jul 18, 2013, 6:37 pm
After auch trip to Alcatraz, we spent some time in the city of SF and visit more things.
Posted Jul 18, 2013, 6:39 pm
Posted Jul 18, 2013, 6:44 pm
They are so tall, that often you cannot see the top of these monsters...
Posted Aug 24, 2013, 9:42 am
And we had a special event in South Lake Tahoe. Using a laundry was much fun and very crude.
Posted Aug 24, 2013, 9:46 am
now we are in Reno - little Las Vegas
Posted Aug 24, 2013, 9:49 am
We also have seen the Railroad Museum, one of the biggest in America.
Posted Aug 24, 2013, 9:52 am
The last two day we stayed in Yosemite National Park. A great landscape... This is a very nice place here.
But now I'm looking forward to go to my next host.