Travelog for: Terry

KISS and us in Concert!!!

Hi Mommy,

today was a most exciting day!!!

We started out early from Anja's friend Tamara's house in Hannover, driving our own little cars



Would you believe we went to a concert by the rock band KISS



We got to meet all the guys from KISS in person





and they even allowed us to play in concert with them! 





Wow, and what a concert that was!!!







After the concert, we were stars, and we were rich, so the first thing I did was to buy a new car



and then we drove my new car to a big party with the guys of KISS



Would you believe we actually went to the Playboy Mansion? 



Wow, what a party!!!

I certainly needed some good, strong coffee after that!



Happy regards
Terry, Superstar 

... Well, actually, Mommy, I told a fib:
Anja's friend Tamara is a big fan of the States, and of KISS, so all the pictures were taken at her house  But it sure was fun playing  superstar...

The lovely old historical town of Miltenberg, Bavaria


Hi Mommy,

today is a German holiday, so Anja and her friend Maren went to Miltenberg, Bavaria, to pick up a pet rat for Maren. Of course, we TVs went along. Bavaria, wow! 

First we went to see the people who owned the rat.
They lived in a beautiful house with beautiful old furniture.

The lady and her husband painted this lovely old "Bauernschrank" (farmer's cabinet) themselves about 30 years ago





And they have a guardian angel above the door



This is the village of Grossheubach where they live



We left the pet rat with its - now former - owners for a while, because we wanted to go and see Miltenberg.

Source

And it sure was worth the visit! 





This is a patron saint. The people of Bavaria are mostly catholic, and they have Mother Mary and patron saints everywhere.





Look at the date on this lovely old timber house!



This is the pedestrian district of Miltenberg



where we had big fun riding a children's swing



and looking at the lovely toys in the shop windows



This is the restaurant and hotel "Zum Riesen" - the oldest inn in Germany!





While we were window shopping for some booze
("Wildsau-Tropfen" means "wild boar liquor"    )



it started to rain, so we went to a lovely old Bavarian restaurant



and ordered some dark Bavarian beer



and one of Germany's most beloved dishes:

Schnitzel with french fries



Ooooh, that was delicious!!! 

After our meal, we admired some nice wooden statues in the restaurant





and then the rain had stopped and we continued our walk





This is the old town hall - first mentioned in records in 1379 -



also showing how high the river Main reached during the floods of 1784 and 1945



What a lovely place Miltenberg is!



We also visited a shop selling wooden statues of all kinds, such as saints and creches





and soon we reached the old market place dating from the late 13th century










One house had a picture of St. Georg and the dragon



and some of the old city wall is still standing





... to be continued...

Miltenberg - a Walk along the River Main

Hi Mommy,

after seeing the sights, we walked back to the car along the river Main.



Miltenberg is situated on the banks of the river Main, and you have a nice view of the river from the promenade on the river bank.









We saw ducks and swans on the river





and the castle Miltenburg up on the hill



(close-up)



There are also some lovely old houses up on the hill



(close-up)



On the river bank, there is a big stone column, a so called "Heunesäule" (=heune column)







Close to Miltenberg there are several of these large stone columns lying around in the forest (see here: Heunesäulen).

History says there were produced for a church but never used.

The legend goes, however, that when these colums were transported to the construction site of a big church, the waggon broke in the middle of the forest, and the big, heavy columns rolled down the hill and into the forest.
As the people had no means to pick them up, and the columns were for some church official whom nobody liked, anyway, they just left them there. 

After a nice walk along the river bank



Anja drove us home on a real German Autobahn



Look at the clouds in the distance! 








We sure were happy to get back to Anja's place without rain! 



What a nice, exciting day!

Hugs
Terry

Penny Kitten arrives

Hi Mommy,

today, Penny Kitten arrived. Wow, she is so tiny!
Being a nice gentleman tiger, I promised to protect her. 

Here you can see myself, Wieka the bat and Harold Giraffe welcoming the little lady:



She brought a lovely picture postcard with her



and Anja promised to take us all to some nice places very soon.

Hugs
Terry

Glauburg - City of the Celts

Hi Mommy,

today, Anja took me on another trip to see all the historical stuff she likes so much.

About an hour's drive from Frankfurt, there is the historical town of Glauburg, where people settled and lived already 8000 years ago.

source

Glauburg is a nice old town with many nice old timber houses









The big museum mentioned in the article above is closed for renovation, but inside the town there is a small museum that is housed in an old school house (earliest picture of the building as a school house dating form 1908)








Inside the museum, there is a statue of the Celtic Prince that was excavated near Glauburg





and of many Celtic items that were found during the excavations, starting from 1933 (the excavations, not the items  )







These rocks were used to grind grain into flour




This is what a Celtic city wall looked like



and there were many tools and other i household tems that were found near Glauburg














Some things did not last that long all in one piece, so models of them were reconstructed from the remnants found.







and there were also some other nice old items in the museum





Wow! We certainly felt very, very young when we considered that this place has a history of 8000 years! 

Hugs
Terry

A beautiful big farm near Glauburg - and a Linden Tree

Hi Mommy,

when we drove home from Glauburg, we saw the most beautiful farm building!  Anja just had to stop her car and have a look around - and of course, we got to see it, too. 




















No, this is not a castle. This is really a farm!










Near the main building, there were two lovely old Linden trees, as big as a house






Linden trees blossom in early June, and the smell of the blossoms is unbelievably sweet and lovely 

To German people, a Linden tree is the most romantic thing in the world, and this tree also plays a large role in German / Germanic folk lore.

source

The Linden tree also plays an important role as a symbol for love and peace during the romantic period in German literature and music in the 1800s, and through the ages - up to the time of Anja's grandmother - young people would meet under the big Linden tree in a village / town square to celebrate and dance - and to fall in love 

Here is a song about a Linden tree, composed by Franz Schubert in 1827:

Am Brunnen vor dem Tore - song you can listen to

Ooooh, this place was so romantic! If you listen to the old song and look again at the pictures, then you can catch the mood of the place. 

Romantic regards
Terry

Bree arrives

Hi Mommy,

today, Bree arrived.

Of course we were all curious what Bree would look like, so we all crowded around the envelope: myself, Harold Giraffe, Penny Kitten and Wieka



And here is Bree:




We all enjoyed the nice picture postcard of the island of Sylt that she brought with her



Another giraffe! Harold was so happy!
They hit it off immediately 



and they shared a gummi bear giraffe that Anja had brought home



We immediately told Bree that for the very next day we and Anja plan a trip to the Hessenpark, an open air musum with old farm houses from all over the state of Hessen.

I'm so excited!

Hugs
Terry

Pottery Market in the Hessenpark
- and a genuine Hessian "Bembel"

Hi Mommy,

today, Anja took us to the Hessenpark.

source



There was a pottery market in the Hessenpark today, showing and selling all kind of pottery items: traditional items for the kitchen and household and also more modern items for decoration.

This is what an old pottery workplace looks like



and this is still the way pottery is made today






The first stall sold traditional pottery, which is still used in the home by people who like traditional things



These items are.

top: a milk jug
left: a platter
right: a butter dish

and in the middle:
a genuine item that you will find only in the state of Hessen: a "Bembel"

A Bembel is a jug that is used for serving the traditional Hessian drink of apple wine. A Bembel is always grey with blue markings. As the Bembel is made of pottery, the apple wine will stay cool inside it. (And no, you never ever drop ice cubes into apple wine!  )

Traditionally - before the day of refrigerators - apple wine was kept in the cellar, to keep it cool. If you wanted to drink it, you would go to the cellar and fill a Bembel with the apple wine. The drink would then stay cool in the pottery Bembel for quite some time.

Well, if you have some thirsty Hessian people sitting around the table, a small Bemble full of apple wine won't last long, anyway.  That's why Bembels come in different sizes. The very big Bembels served in pubs for large tables full of thirsty people are put into a metal contraption that allows you to tilt the big, heavy Bembel without having to lift it 

You see, Hessian people can be quite ingenious when it comes to enjoying their favorite drink 

This stall sold many nice traditional things









and the sweet old lady in the stall told us that her father, her husband, her son and even her grandson were all potters.

She showed us some lovely pictures of them at work, making this lovely traditional pottery






Then we went on to look at the other stalls

Look at these kitten faces! You can hang them on the wall and put things into them, like flowers or pencils



Penny thought they were so cute!



There were all kinds of nice decorative things



and - of course  - Anja's favorites again: dragons!





These dragons you can fill with lamp oil, and then they will have flames coming out of their noses






We saw so many cute things!


























And then we saw a stall where we had such fun!!!!

.. to be continued....

Hugs
Terry

Hessenpark Pottery Market - Big Fun with Pottery 

Hi Mommy,

as I said, this pottery market had all kinds of items - traditional household items, decorations and all kinds of nice things.

But there was one stall where we had the biggest fun! And the two people working at the stall enjoyed it, too, and they came up with the nicest things for us to do! 

They sold some really funny figurines that produce fragrant smoke when you put something fragrant inside.



We had a ball there!
















Wheeee!!! 

After all that fun, we needed a rest, so we joined this lovely lady on the lawn




By the way, Anja had a ball at the pottery market, too, playing "shop till you drop" 

These are all the nice things she bought (some for herself, some as gifts)







By the way, this little guy sitting on the toilet and holding his nose can be used to put fragrance in the bathroom. Put some cotton in the pot behind him (where Penny kitten is sitting), then put a few drops of fragrant oil in it, and then he makes your bathroom smell nice 

Oooh, what a lovely day!

Later, I will tell you about the Hessenpark itself and all the lovely timber houses and the nice things from German history that we saw.

But today, I am too tired...

Hugs
Terry

The Hessenpark in Neu-Anspach, close to Frankfurt am Main
- 400 years of German history (no, this is not boring!  )

Hi Mommy,

like I said, on Saturday Anja took us to the Hessenpark, an open air museum with original buildings from all over the state of Hessen, showing 400 years of German history, as it was lived in the state of Hessen.

No, this was not, repeat not, boring! 

On the contrary, as they say on the homepage of the Hessenpark:

source

When you get to the Hessenpark, which is located in the lovely wooded area "Taunus", about 10 miles from Frankfurt, there is a large area where you can enjoy things, shop, eat and drink without having to pay the entrance fee.



You start out with a soap shop and soap museum housed in - what else?  - a timber house





They sell homemade soaps and sachets, without any chemical additives.
Ooooh, you wouldn't believe the wonderful smell of that place!!! 





Anja bought a sachet that smells like roses



and this is a really old advertisement for the detergent "Persil". The detergent still exists today



The next shop sold brushes - the good old fashioned brushes made of wood and pork bristles, not this new fangled plastic stuff 











They even had some old fashioned feather dusters, like you see in really old movies



When you walk on and follow the sign



you get to the "market place"







a pharmacy



a churchbell





a building dated back to 1589, with its gate showing the date of construction




A very interesting building was the "Kolonialwarenladen" (general store). Like the general stores in the American West, these stores sold everything: from sewing needles to sausage, and from ladies' corsets to men's shoes 




Advertising signs for Maggi soups. Maggi soups are still sold and eaten today. They are quite tasty, Anja said











We walked on towards the actual entrance of the park






All these things you can see without having to pay entrance fee. You can shop, look at the old buildings, eat and drink. And you have not even entered the actual Hessenpark!


By the way:

These buildings are not replicas.
Instead, they were purchased all over Hessen (many of them in ruins), dismantled, transported to the Hessenpark, and there they were rebuilt from the original parts and restored to look the way they used to look. Using the same materials and techniques that were used in the old days.


Here is a building that is not quite finished, so you can see how it is made: of a wooden frame that is filled with clay mixed with straw






As soon as we got inside the actual park, we needed a rest in another market square



Anja bought some apple wine (yes, the stuff that is traditionally served in a Bembel  )



and we all enjoyed a nice, cool drink





While we were resting, a waggon drawn by real work horses came by




... now, I will rest for a little while, too, before continuing my story...

Hugs
Terry

Hessenpark - there is more to see!

Hi Mommy,

after resting and drinking the apple wine, we continued our walk inside the Hessenpark.

There were such lovely old buildings, the whole park looked like an old village





We particularly liked this old farm building from 1691  that had belonged to a wealthy farmer. The farm consisted of four buildings forming a square:a wall,  the barn, the stable, and the house for the family





















We also entered the house

- no, not this little house, tee hee  -




This is the kitchen






and the upper story of the house has an exhibition on making fabrics in old times

flax and hemp




and wool



This is an explanation of how to spin wool



(Sleeping Beauty stung her finger with such a hand spindle and fell into a sleep that lasted 100 years...  )





The people in the villages worked all day long - even in their "free" time they would sit and spin wool.

This is a "spinning room" of old times



The text says that there in such spinning rooms, there was conversation, music and fun. But all while doing work - even in the evenings, when the "day's work" was done.



Spinning wool at all times - along of all the other work - was so prevalent that this painting shows even Mother Mary spinning wool while Joseph and Jesus are doing carpentry work



The finished flax or wool threads were then woven into fabrik at these looms






Embroidery

Farm women worked all day long. For enjoyment and pleasure, they turned to embroidery.



Here are some traditional costumes with lovely embroidery





and more pictures of what the farmers used to look like






and some nice embroidery






Then we went on to the barn



where we saw pictures of people mowing corn



and threshing it




Wow! What a lot of work there is on a farm!!! 


This house had a lovely herb garden - herbs were used for medicine before the days of chemistry










And there was also a display of making pottery in the old days








Wow! We had seen so much history that our little feet were tired, and we were hungry and thirsty!

So we all went to a nice country inn to enjoy apple wine and a German specialty: Schnitzel



This is a breaded Schnitzel with pepper sauce and Rösti (potato patties) and a salad. And let me tell you, Mommy, we sure ate it all! 

Ooooh, that was so good!

I hope you enjoyed my little trip into German history as much as I did!

Hugs
Terry

Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum
Lich, Hessen, Germany
4 and 5 July 09

Day 1 - Saturday, 4 July 2009

Warning:
If you are into Techno or Hip Hop, please do not read this.
If you are into Medieval Markets, you are going to love this

Hi Mommy,

today, Anja and two of her friends dressed up in their medieval clothes and took us to the medieval market in Lich.



First, we got something to drink, because it was a hot and sunny summer day - and we spent the "Taler" coins they had given us as change at the entrance on LICHer beer and Radler (a mixture of beer and Sprite, very tasty!)






With a Radler and a pretzel in our hands, we walked onto the festival grounds



where we found - what else? - dragons



Look! Medieval jewellery!!!



made by this lovely maiden




We did not have much time to look around the festival grounds,





because now the reeve ("Vogt" = kind of lord of the realm) was to give his speech and open the festival for the people of the realm.



He was accompanied by musicians and soldiers







who carried him in a sedan chair



to the other side of the festival grounds








where a stage had been erected for the entertainment of the people





and the merchants who sold their wares at this festival were introduced



Soon, a band began to play





and Anja and her friends visited the stalls of the brewer



the baker, and the butcher



which made them very happy



although you can sure meet some weird people at such a fair, such as this beggar



... I will now take a little rest to enjoy my beer and my food...

Hugs
Terry

Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum
Lich, Hessen, Germany
4 and 5 July 09

Day 1 - Saturday, 4 July 2009
Part 2

Hi Mommy,

after we enjoyed our lunch, we went to look at the many kinds of entertainment offered. They sure gave the people "bread and circuses" - oh, sorry, that were the Romans  , but it was also true for this festival.

First, there were some jugglers and jesters






and then, there was jousting among the noble knights who had come from far away to impress the people





Oooh, look at this nasty and dangerous knight!!! 



But he sure got his butt kicked 



Wow! Now we learned what they meant by "fire and sword"! 










Wow!!!
Now we wanted to be knights, too.
And Anja was glad to oblige








After all this excitement, we needed a little rest, so we wandered around the festival ground looking at all the beautiful wares that the merchants offered.

honey and mead



wool
(remember the spindles from the Hessenpark? Here they were, not only on pictures!)



little baby shoes



and all kinds of nice things to eat and drink, to dress up in, to defend yourself, and to make your home look nice














They even had some real  animals - look at the horns on these sheep!





Now, Anja laid down her cloak on the meadow, and we all took a little rest  - before it was time to PARTY!!!! 

Hugs
Terry

Mittelalterlich Phantasie Spectaculum
Lich, Hessen, Germany
4 and 5 July 09

Day 1 - Saturday, 4 July 2009
Part 3

Time to party!!!

Hi Mommy,

now, after a long and exciting day, the sun was setting in the sky, dusk was breaking, and we.......

Went home and to bed???? Are you crazy?????? 

No way! Now, it was time to party!!!! 

Anja's friends took out a Shisha (water pipe) and filled it with fruit flavored tobacco and some coals. We got ourselves a beer and a small bottle of strawberry liqueur.

By the way, such a bottle is called a "Flachmann" (= "flat man" ) in German, and it fits into jacket and coat pockets, if you are so inclined... 





time to fire up the shisha



aaaah, watermelon flavor!!!
(this stuff is more fruit flavoring than actual tobacco)



Good stuff! 



It was a warm evening, so our beer evaporated quite quickly 

So we went and got some bottles of mead.

The light mead is flavored with Linden blossom honey (remember the Linden tree on the farm? The bees make the most delicious honey from its blossoms!)



and the dark mead is flavored with cherry and elderberry juice



Soon, it got dark, and all the people gathered around the campfires.
Some on their cloaks, some on blankets and some sitting on bales of straw - and all listening to the beautiful music of the medieval bands playing and looking dreamily into the fires







which slowly burned down



while we all were sitting in the dark, warm eveing, talking softly

and listening to the music

Try listening to the music, Mommy, and looking into the fire. Then you will feel  the mood of this beautiful evening.

When the fires had burned down, we all went home and slept like babies.

Hugs
Terry


P.S.
This band was not playing there, but this was the kind of music they played at the festival.

Hi Mommy,

I did one of my missions! 
I had a lovely party with other toy voyagers! 

Excited regards
Terry