Travelog for: Fiona Yenien

Hi everyone!
It's been a quiet foggy day with Jack the cat, Zoe and my new friend Bally.  We played some games.  One really big kitty, Anakin, wanted to play with us.  But Koko had her own toy to play with.  Bally even found an empty tissue box to play with. 
We're all going to Aunt Mina's tomorrow, but only I am going to stay with Auntie and go skiing.  By the time I get home, Jack and Zoe will be off on their adventures ... but I'll see them again soon! 
~Fi

Finally we go somewhere!    South on 99 to little Lodi, the "Zinfandel Capital of the World."  We visited Junior Bear and helped him choose photographs for his travelog.  I think I have a good eye for this sort of thing really. 
~Fi

Hi everyone!
Lodi is pretty interesting and has nice vineyards.  But now it's time to say goodbye to Jack the cat and Zoe who will be on their first voyages soon, too.
Mom handed me over to Aunt Mina to go to the mountains.  I hope I get to ski!
See you on the slopes?!! 
~Fiona
P.S.  And when I get back, it's off to Germany!!

I'm back in Lodi resting after my invigorating ski trip.  I'll soon be off to Germany!  I plan to bring a chocolate with me to snack on for my journey and two Valentine's chocolates to give to my host.  I'm so excited! 

Hi Mom!
I've had a great time in Lodi and South Lake Tahoe!

I'm off to Germany!  Thanks for the snackers!

Hugs & Love,
Fiona

Hi Mummy,
I arrived in Germany today. I was not the only ToyVoyager here, Clifford also came here today. My host Katja Levi, Squirt, Herlinde and Fimbo_Fimble gave us a warm welcome. Clifford even brought a friend with him to Germany who maybe will stay here or maybe will also travel.



I gave the chocolate hearts to Katja, her daughter and her son. They really liked them



As the weather was fantastic we took a long walk in the afternoon.

Katja loves to walk in the forests, so we walked out of the city centre towards one of the surrounding valleys. We had to walk downhill for some time because the city centre of Remscheid is situated on a hill. We saw a sports ground on our way, here usually soccer is played.



Katja showed us this beautiful Patrician villa, built in the late 1780 years. It once was the house of a rich factory owner, nowadays a museum is situated in this lovely building.





Here I saw that Remscheid is surrounded by valleys and forests. In the background you can see the outskirts of the neighbour city Wuppertal.



We nearly reached the bottom of the valley.



Here you can see typical houses of this region. You can find many half-timbered houses or those which are covered with slate. Also typical are those green shutters.



This is not really typical for this region



Remscheid is an old industrial town, about 780 years old. Tools are produced here since middle ages. Here you can see one of the old factory buildings, you can often find them close to housing areas.





This is the bottom of the valley, on the right side of the street there is a creek flowing, it is marking the border between Remscheid and Wuppertal.



Katja told us that than we had to walk uphill again. On this slope of the valley we walked through a forest.



We reached a house than where alpacas are kept. Unfortunately they were on a meadow a bit more apart from the fence. Here at least some signs showed them. One of them was born in August 2010, I would have loved to met the baby.



Here you can see the whole alpaca family. alpacas are llamas like me.



And here you can see baby Frieda. Isn't she cute?



We walked through a small hamlet than, here I also saw nice old houses.









We walked through a rural district than, with large meadows. Can you see the two towers in the background? This is the city centre with the tower of the city hall and a water tower. We started our trip there and will have to walk back there.



What a lovely spot with so many animals.







This really was an exhausting trip on my first day here. We all will relax in the evening, doing almost nothing.

Love
Fiona

Hi Mummy,
today we planned to take a walk with Katja's friend and her dog. She is living in another district of Remscheid, we had to get there by bus. On our way to the bus I saw a little bit more of the vicinity of my current home.

Katja told us that the city centre of Remscheid was nearly destroyed in WW II, but the part where we are living stayed nearly intact. So there are many nice old houses in our neighbourhood.



This is the city hall, it's tower is 48 m high, you can see it from the neighbour cities.



At the bus stop at the city hall we missed the bus only a few minutes, so it would take nearly half an hour before the next one will come, so we decided to walk a bit to another bus stop.



We waited here for our bus. The ADAC is the German equivalent to the AAA in the USA.

We went to Wuppertal, to Scharpenacken, a former army training area. This area was used for military purposes until 2004 A.D as a shooting range. Today there is a local recreation area with vast open areas.





A terrible storm in 2007 destroyed large parts of the forests in this region. Here you can see that young trees were planted here. They were packed into those plastic shields to protect them from damage caused by game animals .



On these signs you can find information about this area. It will be renatured in the coming years.





A lot of people come here with their dogs to let them run and play. Because it is very windy here there are also some people with their kites.





In the background you can see a housing area in Wuppertal, famous for its exquisite villas built by factory owners.



I must admit that it is quite cold here, not as warm as in Califonia!

Bye
Fiona

Hi Mummy,
today we took a short walk in the city centre in Katja's lunch break. As she is working close to the city hall, this was our first stop.



There is a large place in front of the city hall, there you can find a pillar with the heraldic animal of Remscheid on top, a lion.

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Here is also another entrance of the shopping mall.



We had only a few minutes, so we did not get too far.



Here is another part of the shopping mall.





Finally we saw the water tower,  the one I could see on my first trip here.

In the evening I met the pets - really wild creatures! This is Shiva, a ferret girl.



She is hiding there ...



Here is another of three fuzzies - Zaehnchen. Katja told me that she loves to empty drawers.



There is even a third one, but she is already looking for her dinner.

Bye
Fiona

Hi Mummy,
we went to a nearby forest today to take a walk in the afternoon.

I saw nesting boxes for several birds.





We saw an outlook point in the forest. Of course we were curious what we would see here.

You can see a small part of Muengsten bridge here, Germany's highest railway bridge. Katja told us that 15 years ago, when all the trees in the foreground were still smaller, you were able to see more of the bridge.







Some time later we arrived another outlook point. From here we had a better look to the bridge. It is refurbished at the moment, no trains will cross this bridge until at least April 2011. Muengsten bridge is overspanning the valley of the river Wupper, it is 107 m high, built in early 20th century. It is connecting Remscheid with the neighbour city Solingen.

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On our way back we saw this relay station.



Bye
Fiona

one of Katja's friends invited us to take a walk in the neighbour city Solingen. Katja told us that we would see a medieval castle there. So Katja and the four of us went with Karin.

We started our trip in Solingen-Burg, one of the oldest districts of Solingen. We could already see the castle, it is called Schloss Burg.



Can you see how old this house is?



Schloss Burg was originally built in early 12th century by one of the early reigns of this region. It is situated high above the valley of the river Wupper on a really steep hill.

In the following years it was destroyed some times and always rebuilt and enlarged. Nowadays there is a museum in the castle itself. You can visit the courtyard everytime you like. On the following photos you can see the outside facilities.



You can find several shops and restaurants here.



This statue is showing count Engelbert II, one of the earliest reigns.







We left the castle ground than to take a walk in the forest. We could still see the castle here.



We reached an outlook pavilion.



From here we had a fantastic overlook to the valley of the river Wupper. You can see it down there, running through the district Unterburg.



Later we reached a dam, there are many dams in this region. Nearly all of them are used for drinking water, so the surroundings are always a nature protection area.





On our way back to the car we reached a rural area.



This sawmill is also situated here.



What an interesting trip!

Bye
Fiona

Hi Mummy,
today we had the chance to see a little bit more of the city centre. First Katja showed us the public library.



Next we had to cross the central bus station.





In the background of the next picture you can see a district which is really close to  a woodland area. Katja told us that she'd often takes a walk there with her brother-in-law and his dog.



Someone sprayed red hearts to this boring concrete wall.



Here is the beginning of the shopping street.





It is really cold here, more than -5°C. I think I'd need something warm to wear if I don't want to catch a cold.

Bye
Fiona

Hi Mummy,

another ToyVoyager arrived today, it's Sampson, also from the USA.



In the afternoon we went to take a walk because the weather was so nice. Katja told us that nobody knows how long this weather will last.

We went to Hasten, downhill through the municipal park.







We reached Hasten than.



We saw this garden center, already selling spring flowers.



Katja told us that we would pick up a friend who wanted to walk with us. Can you see the rangy landscape?



Katja's friend is living in a housing area with mostly one family homes.



More lovely landscape around ...









This was a lovely trip, but it is cold here! About 0°C.

Bye
Fiona