Travelog for: Commodore Quack

Hi Mummy,
today we visited the medieval castle, Schloss Burg, which I already showed you on yesterday's walk. It is situated high upon a hill above the River Wupper.

This is the view from the street.



We went into the courtyard and found a lovely half-timbered part of the castle.



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

About a hundred years later it was enlarged by Count Engelberg II von Berg. This is the guy on the horse in the courtyard.



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

In the castle courtyard you can find souvenir shops and shops whose owners are doing an "old" handcraft, for example handmade brushes, brooms, soap, lovely yarns and wooden knitting needles, toys like swords and helmets and much more.



The round tower was the powder tower, it was restored about two years ago.





You can overlook the valley of the river Wupper from this high point.



We walked into the forest than. From here you can see how high above the valley level we were.



Later, when we walked through a hamlet called Höhscheidt we saw a sweet chestnut tree in one of the gardens.





In Höhscheidt you can find many livery stables.



Bye for now
Commodore Quack

Hi Mummy,
we finished our work in the kitchen, everything is at its place again.





Bye
Commodore Quack

Hi Mummy,
today we visited an arboretum in Wuppertal, the 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, but only a small part of it. 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, of course we chose the longest of them, about 6 km long, displaying a variety of trees from Europe, America and Asia.

We walked through this large forest with all the strange trees.





The soil is partly covered with soft moss.



These are withered hogweed...



... and thistles.



Here are trees which you can usually find in the USA.





In the background, along the slope different kinds of conifers were planted.





Our path is meandering through the landscape, sometimes with rocks on both sides.



We left the path when we met the "Sambatrasse", a former railway track, nowadays a walking and cycling lane, aobut 10 km long. Those large piles of wood were here for years, Katja told me.



This is a former station, dilapidated now.



While we followed the Sambatrasse to reach the bus station, we walked along an incinerator.



This was a great trip, although it was sort of exhausting

Bye
Captain Commodore

Hi Mummy,

today I went to Katja to her work place.



Than Katja remembered that it was my birthday today!

All the ToyVoyagers, Katja and her colleagues were singing



"Happy Birthday to you ... dear Commodore Quaaaaack ... "

There were even flowers!



Someone bought delicious sandwiches.



And there was also some sparkling wine (only really small bottles )



C H E E R S !



Afterwards we enjoyed coffee and Baumkuchen.



What a great birthday party!

Later I found out that one of Katja's colleagues was celebrating her birthday, that's why she got flowers from the boss - Anyway, we had a great party.

After celebrating the birthdays we went into town, taking a walk. The weather is like it should have been in July and August, when it was raining without an end. 25°C warm and sunshine ...

Those two giant forceps are marking the beginning of the shopping street. They are a symbol for the tool producing industry which made Remscheid famous.



This is the main entrance of the shopping mall, with a large fountain in front of it.







Do you know this yellow guy? These are slippers







We saw a funny fountain







Five-leaved ivy is growing along a wall.



From a bridge we had a good overview to the central bus station.



The company building of the local newspaper, RGA, is also here.



We had to buy some things for dinner and had to return to Katja's work place than.

Bye
Commodore Quack

Hi Mummy,

in the late afternoon we took a walk, visiting Germany's highest railway bridge, Muengsten Bridge. This bridge is overspanning the valley of the river Wupper. The bridge was built in early 20th century, finished in 1907 A.D. It is 465 m long and 107 m high. It is made of steel.

A few years ago a leisure park was built under the bridge. You can can find a new café here. It was opened last summer, it's facade looking like rusty iron. There are also lawns with seatings and sun chairs to relax and a crazy golf course. The river usually is really shallow here, so kids can play at the banks.



This is Muengsten Bridge, at least part of it



It is so large that it is nearly impossible to take a photo of the whole bridge. We had t o walk further than the golf course to take a photo.



We walked into the forest than, steep uphill for some time. Soon we were high above the valley.





We found engraved pictures on rocks.



We crossed the river Wupper here.



Walking uphill again, we enjoyed the last sun of the day.



Later we saw this lovely outlook pavilion, we did not want to disturb a smooching couple, so we did not get closer



This was a really interesting trip.

Bye
Commodore Quack

Hi Mummy,
today we took a long walk at a nearby dam, Sengbachtalsperre, a drinkingwater dam in Solingen. We started our trip in Solingen-Unterburg, where I already have been before.

We walked through the forest for some time until we reached the concrete dam.





The concrete wall is under construction at the moment, usually there are not so many fences.

The walking path was not following the banks of the dam, but went along the slope of the valley at a higher level.







We saw those large piles of trunks. Winter can come!



Bye
Commodore Quack

Hi Mummy,
I am on my way to the USA now!

Bye
Commodore Quack

Commodore Quack arrived safely in Iola, Kansas today!

Commodore Quack made the acquaintance of a curious chinchilla!

Commodore Quack checked out the gas prices when host mom stopped to fill up.

Commodore Quack visited the dentist with his host family. He thought the waiting room was pretty cushy, and he was curious to see what the dentist does. He liked the view outside the office!

Commodore Quack went to Diebolt lumber with his host family, to help buy materials for a fence.

Commodore Quack attended youth group at the SDA church in Thayer, KS. He was very glad to find, among other things, a suitable ship there.

It was a lovely fall afternoon, so Commodore Quack went out to explore the countryside with his host family.