Travelog for: Drashuven

Hello!  My name is Drashuven, and I am an adventurous dragonfly... or I would like to be!  That's the part where YOU come in!  Interested in showing me your home town or taking me on a trip?  Please contact my mentor "Xadrian" if so!

Today I was mailed out to the Czech Republic!  I can't wait to see what adventures are in store for me!

Hi Mummy
I arrived in Germany today!

The postman brought me to my new host's workplace. My host Katja is working in a law firm.



I helped Katja to make some photocopies.



Unfortunately she had no time to show me around a bit, but she promised to do so tomorrow.

Bye
Drashuven

Hi Mummy,
today I met the other TVs here: Cheerio, Lupus-Tigger, Lady and Miss Lillith. In the late afternoon we took a walk. Cheerio and Lupus-Tigger went with us.

I am living in the city centre of Remscheid, but in one of the older parts which were not destroyed in World War II like large parts of the city centre did. So you can find many old buildings here, mostly built in the late 1800's and early 1900's years.





From here we went to the municipal park. There is a pond with ducks and turtles.



Katja told us that the pond nearly fell dry because there was nearly no rain within the last ten weeks, so the fire department filled about 150 cubic metres water into it a few days ago.



The local observatory is situated here in the park.



The city centre of Remscheid is situated on top of a  hill. When we left the municipal park the streets were going straight downhill.



This is a house which is typical for this region. You can often find houses which are covered with slate and also half-timbered houses. They usually have green shutters.





We decided to walk through a nearby woodland area.







We left the forest close to a district with some old industrial complexes. Katja told us that Remscheid is well known for its tool producing industry since the late middle ages. Industrialization began in the valleys where water wheels were running the machines. Close to the valleys you can still find old and also new industrial sites, often close to dwellings.









The next photo was taken in a parallel street of the street where my first photos was taken. No more lovely traditional houses ...



... but here in the parallel street to the opposite direction you can still find them.



Bye for now
Drashuven

Hi Mummy,

we visited Katja's nephew today, he was celebrating his 12th birthday. He is living with his family in the district Lennep, the second largest urban district. First we walked through a small park.







Lennep has a historical old town, rebuilt afer the last devastating major fire in 1746 A.D. Many houses are under preservaton order. A part of the town centre is still surrounded by remains of the former city wall. We are sitting on this wall.





Katja showed us around the city than.







This is the market place. The farmer's market is taking place here twice a week.



Typical for the townscape are narrow lanes.















The founder of the x-rays, Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen, was born in Remscheid-Lennep in 1845 A.D. Katja showed us the Roentgen-Museum.



Katja grew up in Lennep, she also showed us her school.



When we visited Katja's family we played in the garden.





Bye
Drashuven

Hi Mummy,
in Katja's lunch break we took a short walk in the city centre. First she showed us the city hall, partly hidden behind a scaffolding. Its tpwer is 48 m high, so you can see it from the surrounding cities.



On  the large open space in front of the city hall you can find a pillar with a lion on top of it. The lion is the heraldic animal of Remscheid.



We went through the shopping mall.



I saw the public library ...



... the central bus station.



Here you can also find the adult education centre.





Katja told us that she will go to the cinema this evening, they are showing a filmed version of one of the most famous German operas - Der Freischütz (often translated as "The Freeshoter" or "The Marksman". This opera is considered as the first important German Romantic opera. The premiere cast was in 1821 A.D. I hope she will enjoy it.



ByeDrashuven

Hi Mummy,
today we took a walk in the afternoon, to one of the older districts, to Hasten. On our way there we came through a small park. The building in the background is the police headquarter.



I found some yummy small insects in the is poppy to eat.



Hasten is a district about 2 km apart from the city centre, surrounded by woodland. You can find shops and restaurants here.



You can find many traditional houses here.









Houses like the following one are usually under monument protection, which means that you have to comply with the directives regarding exterior apperance, interior design regarding wall coverings and floors, for example.



Those old houses were built close together.



The patricial villa on the following photo was built in 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.











Bye for now
Drashuven

Hi Mummy,
yesterday another ToyVoyager arrived, it's Ellie Muh, she brought Willy W. back home.



In the afternoon we visited Germany's highest railway bridge, Muengsten Bridge (Müngstener Brücke). We took a walk through the forest to get there.









Soon we reached the river Wupper in the valley.



On our way to Muengsten Bridge we saw the shop of  an artist blacksmith.



This shark is great to keep obtrusive neighbours from your estate



We reached Muengsten Bridge than. The bridge is the highest steel railroad bridge in Germany. The bridge is 107 metres (351 ft) high, 465 metres (1,530 ft) long and spans the valley of the river Wupper, connecting the cities of Remscheid and Solingen. It was built from 1893 until 1897. Unfortunately it is closed for more than a half year now due to repair works. The railway complany neglected this bridge for decades, now it has to be restored and fortified extensive and costly.



Due to several weeks without rain the river Wupper is shallow at the moment.



A leisure park was built under the bridge some years ago. This café was opened last year.



They also have a kiosk and a crazy golf here.





We decided to walk a bit further through the forest. When we left the park and walked on in the forest we had to walk steep uphill. The steep slopes are cliffy.



Even from a larger distance we were not able to see the whole bridge!



We found a bridge to cross the river.



We were exactly under the bridge!



Fossilized footprints?!



No! Katja told us there were many pictures, sayings and so on were into ground and rocks by stone cutters.

We reached this lovely outlook pavilion.



From here we had the best view to Muengsten Bridge.



Walking back to the car meant walking uphill again, really exhausting!



On our way home we had to buy a few things. In the eveining were want to do nothing but watch TV.

Bye
Drashuven

Hi Mummy,
today we visited Duesseldorf.

Duesseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia. The city is situated on the River Rhine, and is renowned for its many events and also for its fashion and trade fairs. We went here by train and started our trip in the city centre, close to the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen (Arts Collection North Rhine-Westphalia) because Katja's friend needed to buy some things in an art supply store. Behind the museum we found this special wall.



From here we walked towards the old town.





Katja and her friend wanted to show us river Rhine. We reached the Burgplatz. Here you can see Burgplatz (castle place) with the Schlossturm (castle tower).



An excursion boat had landed just a moment before, so a crowd of people was heading towards the old town.





Lots of people were taking a walk and enjoying an ice cream or a beer here. Close to the city the promenade is full of bars.





The Rhine promenade was built in the late 1980s in its today's appearance. The traffic is running underneath the promenade. The houses in the background are much older of course.





In the distance the Rhine Tower and the old harbour came into sight. Rhine Tower is a telecommunication tower with a rotating restaurant behind the windows.



A freight ship from the Netherlands was moored here.



Katja showed us the Landtag of North Rhine-Westphalia, the parliament,. situated at river Rhine next to Rhine Tower.





This is the main entrance area of the Landtag, averted from the river.



Yippie! Katja and her friend decided to take the elevator to the top of Rhine Tower! We had a spectacular overview from a height of about 170 m.





The building shaped like a reversed "U" is called Stadttor (city gate).



Here you can see the harbour ...



and here the Landtag close to river Rhine.



Back on the ground we took a walk to the harbor. We walked along the marina first.



Rhine Tower once more ...



This part of the harbour is called Medienhafen (media harbour). For decades the harbour has been an area of workers, industry and trade. After the Mannesmann company had discontinued its tube production in Düsseldorf, parts of the central harbour were no longer needed. As a result the eastern part of the harbour started to be redeveloped. Nowadays you can find media companies, but also fashion and design offices here, lots of gastronomy also.



You can find some spectacular post-modern architecture, most famously three twisted constructions by Frank Gehry, here.







Here you can see the opposite bank, can you see the building with the climbing men?



Here is a zoomed photo of the funny facade:



It was very hot, but extremely windy.







Also a great sight





We walked back to the old town than. Here we saw this old dock, even an historic ship is moored here.



The city centre was crowded with people, so we decided to walk back to the station to take the train home.



We came past the Koenigsallee, the most famous shopping street here,(and the most expensive one ), famous for the fashion showrooms and luxury retail stores located along its sides.



When we got home, we all needed a shower immediately.

Bye
Drashuven

Hi Mummy,
today we took a walk with Katja's sister and her family in Remscheid-Lennep, one of the many districts of Remscheid.

Our first stop was a playground



Katja's nephew took me high into the monkey bars.



We walked to the Wupper dam, a large raw water dam. Here in Lennep you can find a smaller upstream dam. There was not much water because they did not have much rain during the last three months. But it seems as there was enough water for fishing!





Katja told us that the water level usually is where you can see the dark spots on the pillars.



We walked through a rural area than, we stopped at a barley field.







When we returned to Lennep I was a bit shocked!



No more lovely landscape, but Katja assured us that Lennep had a lovely old town. Unfortunately we did not visit the old town today, maybe another time

Bye
Drashuven

Hi Mummy,
today we walked along the Korkenziehertrasse (corkscrew route) in the neighbour city Solingen, which is a former railway track. It can be used by pedestrians, inline skaters and cyclists.

Before we left, Katja took a book out of the book shelf into her bag. We asked why she would take a book with her. She told us that we would come past a place where you can share books ...



We started at the station of Solingen.

This route is called "Korkenzieher" because its course, meandering through the city, reminds of a corkscrew.



We started at "Standort Bahnhofstraße" and walked towards the botanical garden, which is situated close to the Korkenziehertrasse.



You can  find graffiti along the route. Some are good, some are not. I liked this one.



Soon we left the city centre.





Next to the lane you can also find a cemetary.





One of several tunnels ...



Here we saw some more graffiti - unfortunately over painted by other sprayers.



The botanical garden of Solingen is situated close-by the route.



Here a lot of insects are living - bees, wasps and bugs.



Here is a sun dial.







Here we found fantastic insect sculptures, made of metal.



Look at this giant butterfly!



Katja told me to have a look at its back.

Wow! Isn't it beautiful with its glass mosaic?







Do you know that there are existing public bookcases? Here is the only one that Katja has ever seen. You can take any book out of it to take it home, bring it back or keep it.



We put our book into the bookcase and had a look at the books. Would Katja find a book to take home?



Yes, she found one! It is a book written by the Austrian author Vicki Baum. She wrote this book in 1937 A.D.



Here is another metal creature







From here we had to walk back the whole distance to the city centre.

Bye
Drashuven

Hi Mummy,
today we went to Hueckeswagen, a small town embedded in a rural area. First we had a look at the riding stable, where Katja's friend is spending her free time.





We went to the meadows to have a look at the horses.









Three curious goats are also living here



Later we went to the city centre to visit a beer-feast. More than 25 different beer stalls from several parts of Germany, Spain, Czech Republic, Poland, Belgium and the Netherlands were here.



Hofbräuhaus from Munich - the most famous pub in the whole wide world!





We tasted a "Porter beer" from Lusatia and one from Czech Republic.

Bye
Drashuven

I arrived yesterday and met Gremlin, my host's cat. My host is sick, so I'm going to help take care of her. We may not have much photos until the weekend.

Cutting out a stencil for making stuffing steampunk crafts.

We started making Steampunk Christmas Ornaments! These are turning out so cute. We made bottle caps, a bell key, some light bulbs, and some tiny baubles.