Travelog for: Wolle

Finished!

Hi Mummy,
I couldn't wait to go out so we went to the municipal park in the afternoon. On the first photo you can see where I am living at the moment. Katja is living in the house on the left side, in the attic storey.



The following photos were taken on the way to the park. We had to walk less than 10 minutes to get there.





Soon we reached the park.



The observatory is situated here in the park.



This is a memorial dedicated to the dead of several wars before WW I.







I had a lot of fun playing in the snow with Wendy.









Here is a frozen pond. Turtles and ducks are living here.





The police headquarter is situated here.



A small park is located in front of the building. You can find a pillar here, showing the coat of arms of Remscheid. It is dedicated to Remscheids twin town Quimper in France.





After playing in the snow we are completely wet. We had to go home than.

Bye
Wolle

Hi Mummy,
we took a walk in the forest today. We had wonderful weather.

We parked the car in a district which is also situated on a hill, a housing area.



Here we saw a television tower.



We walked over an open field than to reach the forest. In the background you can see the outskirts of the neighbour city Wuppertal.



Later we rested in the sun for a moment.



Katja told me that three years ago a terrible storm destroyed large parts of this forest. Now you can see the A1 motorway in the background. Before this storm here were trees and the motorway was not visible.





When we went back to the car we walked along some farms.



Bye
Wolle

Hi Mummy,
after more than a week with really bad weather we took a short walk in the city centre today. During this rainy week most of the snow melted. Still at Katja's work place in a law firm, we said goodbye to BineHH. She is leaving today. She will visit her next host in Japan.



Here you can see the main entrance of  the shopping mall.



This is the public library.



The slate covered house on the right side contains an art gallery.



The next photo is showing another side of  the shopping mall with the tower of the city hall in the background. Underneath the large building only busses and taxis are allowed to drive through.



We went into the shopping mall to buy a few things.



The floor is decorated with real small gardens full of spring flowers.



Bye for today
Wolle

Hi Mummy!
Today the weather is really good so went out for a walk when Katja finished work. It is much warmer now - about 12°C. I don't need my scarf any longer.

We went through the shopping street than.
At the end of the shopping street you find a place where a farmer's market is held twice a week. Ah, I have been here before!





Close to the central station you can find many industrial plants.





Katja showed us a special path for pedestrians and cyclists: The Route of Tools. This is a path built on a closed railway track. It is about 5 km long and it is connecting the central station with the district Hasten. You can walk along this path with getting into contact with too much traffic. Of course you have to cross some streets.



This path was sponsored by local tool producing companies, that's why it is called "Route of Tools". Tools are produced here in Remscheid since middle ages.

Here you can see signs with the logos of some of the sponsoring companies.







Here you can see the former slaughterhouse. This building complex is under monument protection nowadays.



All along the route you can find industrial buildings. Some are still used, others are dilapidated.





We had to cross the street here.



Here are more logo signs.



The first sign is showing the coat of arms of Remscheid.



We walked about half of this route. Next time we will take the second half

We went home than.

Bye
Wolle

Hi Mummy,

we enjoyed the midday sun in the open kitchen window.



In the afternoon we took a walk to the  municipal park. Katja wanted to show us the second half of the Route of Tools. To get there we went through the park.



At the slope of this hill you can see the district where the  Route of Tools is ending.



Lots of allotment gardens belong to this park.



The Route of Tools is ending here. This time we'll walk it into the other direction.



You can find artwork of a local artist here.



We found large "tools" stamped into the tarmac.



We rested on this bench which was made of a giant screw clamp.









This is where we ended our walk yesterday.



Bye
Wolle

Hi Mummy,
once more we took a walk in Katja's lunch break. Winter seems to be gone now, it is about 15°C outside. We went downhill to a district called "Steinberg".



In the background you can already see the rural outskirts.





Here are allotment gardens. A small path is leading downhill through those gardens.







In the valley you can see many old houses.





Katja showed us another district, "Rath" than. This is a housing area with a lot of old houses, lots of terraced houses and other one-family houses.









Here is a lot of green around





Work calls!

Bye
Wolle

Hi Mummy,
we made a trip to the region Vulkan Eifel, situated in the northwest of the state Rhineland-Palatinate, in the Eifel Mountains , that is defined to a large extent by its volcanic geological history. Characteristic of the Vulkan Eifel are its typical explosion crater lakes or maars, and numerous other signs of volcanic activity such as lava streams, volcanic tuffs,  and volcanic craters. We visited the Dauner Maare, a group of three maars close to each other.

A maar is a broad, low-relief volcanic crater that is caused by  an explosion caused by groundwater coming into contact with hot lava or magma. A maar than fills with water to form a relatively shallow crater lake.

When we parked the car close to one of the maars we read some information signs.







This is Weinfelder Maar, Its diameter is 525 m and it is about 51 m deep.





Soon we reached the next maar, Schalkenmehrerer Maar. Its diameter is 575 m and it is about 21 m deep.







This region is a nature protection area.







We went into this small town Schalkenmehren. Here we saw fantastic statues which made cut with a chainsaw out of tree trunks.





We walked round the maar and went back to Weinfelder Maar.



We walked uphill to have an overlook from a nearby mountain which is called "Mäuseberg" (mice mountain).







Even from half of the height of this mountain we had a great view at the surrounding landscape.



We reached the top of the mountain and rested here for a while.



Here on top of the hill we saw this tower. You can climb onto it.



Here you can see the third one of the Dauner Maare, Gemündener Maar, the smallest one with only 325 m diameter.



We had a look at this sign which is showing the names of the mountains you can see from here.



When we walked back downhill we saw this: a ski-lift.



This was a wonderful trip and I liked to see this fantastic landscape.

Unbelievably the sun was shining when we drove back home.



Bye
Wolle

Hi Mummy,

today we took a walk in the neigbour town Solingen. Katja wanted to show me Schloss Burg, a medieval castle. We startet in Solingen-Unterburg, an old district situated at the River Wupper.

You can walk uphill to the castle or you can take a chair-lift.



Of course we walked to the castle, we had to walk through a forest for some time.



The first flowers!



We reached an outlook pavilion than. From here you can overview the valley of the River Wupper.





The castle came into sight than.





Schloss Burg was built in 1133 by Count Adolf I von Berg on a hill above the river Wupper.That's why this region is called "Bergisches Land". Many people believe that it's name refers to the landscape with hills and valleys. (For those who do not speak German: The German word for mountain or hill is "Berg", so many people think that the name "Bergisches Land" means "land with many hills" )

About a hundred years later it was enlarged by Count Engelberg II von Berg. The equestrian sculpture in the courtyard is showing him.

In Thirty Years War (17th century) many parts of the castle were destroyed. It was rebuilt then, but it was used for industrial purposes for many years. In the end of the 19th century they began to rebuild it as it appears today.

In the castle courtyard you can find souvenir shops and shops whose owners are doing an "old" handcraft. For example someone makes soap, another makes brushes, then you can buy things that were used by knights for the kids, like swords and helmets. 











I also saw this statue.



This is a very old linden tree, it is about 250 years old and it is called "Kaiserlinde".



Here is the end point of the chair-lift. From here you can see how steep this hill is.



We left the castle than and went further. We walked through a rural outskirt of Solingen, Hoehrath.



We came to another forest. In the background you can see the city centre of Remsheid high upon the hill on the right side ...



... and also Schloss Burg in the distance.



We walked downhill until we reached the River Wupper.



We followed the river to get back to the car.







We reached Unterburg than. Katja showed us this statue, showing a "Kiepenkerl". In ancient times all sorts of goods were transported by men who carried the goods in large panniers on their back. This rangy landscape was too steep for horses. Those persons were called "Kiepenkerl". This one has sweet pretzels in his pannier, a local delicacy.





Katja bought pretzels for us in a bakery. We will taste them with a coffee later.

Bye
Wolle

Hi Mummy,
we tasted the pretzels today. They are really delicious.



I also want to tell you that I am going to visit wolljule in the neighbour city Wuppertal. Katja told me that I could learn something interesting there ...



Bye
Wolle

Hello Mummy,
today I arrived in Wuppertal at Wolljule´s home.
I had a good journey but was set in the envelope a long time. When wolljule opened the envelope, I saw Growan. He is a teddybear and lives here.
Growan had so many questions and I had to explain him all about my journeys. We talked a lot, but now I´m tired and want to go to bed.
Tomorrow we will visit wolljule´s parents, hope they are as nice as wolljule and Growan.
Bye Mummy, good night - uuuuaaaahhhhh, I hab´ve to go to bed.....

Hi mummy,
yesterday we went to Christa´s parents who live in a small village near Wuppertal.
The whole family met there and we had lot of fun.

Here you can see some of the coloured eggs and an easter bunny made of chocolat - I found it without any help.
Then we had a lot of cakes and sweets - it was delicious.
But it rained all the day so we couldn´t play in the garden or playground.
When we cama home late in the evening, Christa spun a bit on her spinning wheel. It´s funny to watch it........... she has selfdyed wool and makes pretty yarn. She promised me to try it one of the next days. Hurray - I´ll learn to spin.

Hi mummy,
today the sun was shining and Christa took me out for a walk. She wanted to show me the "Schwebebahn", it´s a train don´t driving on trails. The "Schwebebahn" suspence above the town. Bad luck, it doesn´t work at the moment because it must be repaired. I hope it will start working during my stay in Wuppertal. I think it would be great going by Schwebebahn.
Bye mummy

Hello mummy,
we had a warm and sunny springtime day today.
In the morning Christa had to go to the library and took some books to read. I met a sheep made of cardboard. It allowed me to ride on his neck and told me about his life as a book-sheep.

Later we met Christa´s sister and a little nephew named Milan. We went out for a walk in Hilden, a small town near Wuppertal. Milan wants to eat an icecream and let me lick. Hhhhmmmmmm icecream - I liked it.

Milan played on a playground with other kids and me and Growan enjoyed sitting in the sun.

Of course Christa and her sister wanted to go shopping again - it is sooooooo boring to see them pulling t-shirts and other clothes on and out. Fortunately both found some clothes, so we could go in a café. Growan and me had a tasty donut and a cold cherry juice.

Ooooh we were sooooo full - and coul´dn´t eat anything for dinner.

Tomorrow we plan to go in the zoo, so I´ll go to bed now.
Bye mummy

I arrived in Luebeck this morning. I brought some tea for my new host swan who is also my original mom, a postcard and more souvenirs. We made pictures of my arrival and afterwards which we will post later. I just wanted to let everyone know that my trip went well and I have arrived safely.

I hope wolljule who was my previous host will make more travel updates telling about my adventures learning to spin wool and more, too.