Travelog for: Mr. Furrington

Hello mommy,

Today our friend Bine had to leave us to travel to her next host.



We were sad to have to say goodbye to her, but I hope she will have a lot of fun in her future adventures.

Hello!

We decided to do a cake today! So we looked through some recipes and my host said we should try making a mayonnaise chocolate cake. It sounded really weird to put mayonnaise in a cake! But she said it didn't taste weird and it makes the cake really moist so we agreed to try it out!



We started gathering the ingredients: flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, chocolate chips, mayonnaise, water and an egg.



Then we gathered a bowl, utensils, measuring cups and a measuring spoon.



Now we were ready to begin!

First, Viper preheated the oven.



Then my host mom's new TV, Axel, started with the flour.





Then Shooga got to add the sugar.





Viper put some cocoa powder.





And I decided to add the baking powder.





Shooga added the baking soda.





And then she had to mix all these together before we added more ingredients!



Axel took some mayonnaise to add it to the mix.





And I poured some water.





Shooga added the egg...





Almost done! Viper mixed the ingredients again.



And then Axel added the last ingredient: chocolate chips!



I mixed everything one last time.



My host mom poured the mix into the mold and then we added some more chocolate chips together!



It's ready to go into the oven now!



It's cooking slowly...



And... all done!
It looks really yummy now! But it's late now, so I think we should wait for tomorrow before we eat it!

Hello mommy!

Today is Quebec's National Day! We couldn't go to the celebrations yesterday night, but we decided to go to Montreal today.

We had to wait for the bus to arrive.




And finally we got on the bus!



Then we had to take the subway again.



We got off at the "Champ-de-Mars" station.
We had to go through a tunnel to get outside the station.




Then we followed the signs to go to the "Old Port".



On our way, we walked by the Montreal City Hall.



We got up the stairs and saw a lot of people were resting beside a fountain. It was refreshing!








It was a hot day so we found a spot in the shadow to hide from the sun a bit.




We continued walking and got to a plaza.




We saw some street performers! There was a mime, and kids were trying to copy him... it was very cute and funny!



There were also other talented street performers.



And finally we got to the Old Port!



This is a big anchor! Can you see me? I'm so small compared to it!



We walked through some parts of the old port.



There were a lot of boats!



And there were horse with carriages on the streets. The horses must be hot, working at such a high temperature! At least they get to rest.



There were a lot of small streets full of stores and restaurants. It was nice!



We took the subway again because we decided to go watch a movie at the theater!



On our way we saw a small cathedral.



And finally we got to the theater!



We saw the movie Dark Shadows. It was really good! Then we decided to go home because it was raining and we didn't have an umbrella.

I had a fun time in Montreal though! And my host mom bought a Quebec flag to celebrate the National Holiday.



I hope you are doing well mommy!

xxx
- Mr. Furrington

Hello!

Remember I said last Sunday was the National Quebec Day? Well, today, July 1st is Canada Day!
Happy Canada Day!!

We thought we could do something special today... My host mom suggested we go to the zoo! It's not related to Canada Day, but it's fun so we agreed!
So Viper and I went to the Granby Zoo (with our host mom of course!) today!



Look mommy, I'm a lion!




We decided to go see the African animals first. We saw a big rhino!



But the elephants were even bigger!



Such a big skull...



Flamingos... They're so pretty with their pink feathers but they quack just like ducks. It's funny!




There weren't many zebras... they were probably resting somewhere in the shadow of the trees.



The baboons were funny!




And the bats were eating. The fruits seemed to be very yummy because they all liked them!



Look! I'm on a gorilla!... Not a real one of course.




These are the skulls of a chimpanzee, a gorilla and a human!



Such a big tortoise!



And she lives with a nice goose.



Now I'm riding a plane!




What's this?



It's a hippo!




They have large skulls too!



Then we decided to try out the train ride!









Then we found a picnic table to rest and eat a bit.



Do you want some radish mommy?



Now... where should we go next?



Let's go see the Asian animals!

This Asian black bear is resting quietly on a rock beside the waterfall... It must be refreshing!



We saw some lory birds!




And a Przewalski's horse.



Then we went to see the Siberian tigers!





A tiger's skull:



Tigers have larger paws than mine!



And there was a fish pond in the tigers' enclosure.




There were also some Amur leopards. They are so nice!





I was almost eaten by a hippo!







Then we got to see some snow leopards! They were really beautiful.




After that it was almost time for the zoo to close, so we went back home.



It was tiring, but it was so fun to see all kinds of animals! I really enjoyed my day.

Love,
Mr. Furrington

Hi!
It's me again. Today I've arrived in Vienna, Austria. I was welcomed by Joe, the bear, who isn't a traveler himself, but enjoyed to hear about my adventures.

I also met Barney, the cat. First, Barney couldn't believe his eyes -  I really just look like him (except for the color - but never mind  ) Who would have thought that I would met my look-alike in Austria?!?!
Well, after the first initial shock, Barney hugged me, and we immediately became friends 

I then decided to enjoy the sun a bit, because it is really hot in Vienna right now. I couldn't believe it  - it is hotter than on the Greek Islands or than in the south of Italy here!
I expect to get a nice tan in no time 

In the evening we went to see the Stephanskirche (St. Stephan's cathedral). It took over 100 years to build it.

On the first picture you can see the South Tower of the Cathedral, the North Tower has never been finished. I wanted to know why and was told the Sage of Hans Puchsbaum. (I then wanted to know what a Sage is. They explained that it was similar to a tell tale. It is typical fopr Vienna, or even for Austria as a whole.)

Well, here is the tell tale of Hans Puchsbaum:

He was a young man, who worked as an architect for St. Stephan's cathedral. He was very talented, and his boss was impressed by his work. Then he fell in love with the daughter of his boss. His boss was only willing to allow their relationship, if Hans proved himself to be the best architect of the city by finishing the North Tower of the Cathedral. Hans was devastated - this was an impossible task. He didn't know what to do - and that was when he met the Devil and made a deal with him. He was promised to be able to finish the North Tower in no time, but wasn't allowed to speak the names of the holy family for one year.

The North Tower was nearly finished, when one day Hans saw his beloved standing in front of the Cathedral. He called her name"Maria", so that she would see him. That was when he fell.
All the work on the North Tower was immediatly abandoned, and hasn't been continued until today.

I have to damit I was a bit frigthened by this story. But it was also very interesting.
I hope to be able to walk the city hearing all the legends there are about the different buildings and place- apparently there are loads!

Well, in reality St. Stephan'S Cathedral probably was never finished, because the gothic style in which it was build went out of fashion while it was built. I cannot really understand this, as I think that the details of the Cathedral look beautiful. Finishing it would really have been worth it.

After having seen St. Stephan's, we went for a little walk. We passed the Manner Schnitten store (popular Austrian Sweets), where they also sell Mozart Kugeln (even more popolar Austrian Sweets). When I learned that Austria has so many famous sweets, I was very happy. I expect I get to try all of them soon 

We also passed a clothing store in which they sell traditional Austrian clothes. I was a bit disappointed that I saw no one actually wearing a Lederhosen, but was told that you would rather wear them in the country than in the city, and mostly for formal or festive occassions.

Last we saw the Ruprechtskirche- which is one of Vienna's oldest church. Legend says that it was build in 740, and the first evidence that it already existed dates back from as early as the 1200s. That is really impressive, don't you think.

Unfortunately it was getting very late by then, so we had to return home.

Today the weather wasn't very nice. Actually it was raining cats and dogs ;-)

So we stayed inside. Because I got bored first I also tried to annoy Barney a bit- you know just for fun ;-) - so i tried to pull his tail- but he got me before I could even do so. We then had lots of fun together  blowing some bubbles 

You will never guess what happened today to me!

I had to go to school

My host mum had to teach there, and I had to come along. Well, when I got there it actually wasn't that bad, as I found some means to entertain myself

First I drew my favourite meal - fish yummy!!! But when I had drawn fish all over the blackboard, host mum told me that I wasn't allowed to go on drawing onto the walls Well so that was that.

But then I found a copier, and decided to use it on myself. I really had loads of fun doing that

PS:host mum loved the copy I did of myself - So I was even more pleased of myself

Hello!

Today we decided we should do some sight seeing. So we went to the Parliarment, which is on the Wiener Ringstrasse.

The Ringstrasse is a circular road which is full of historically important buildings. It was build by a king, well actually by one of the Austrian emperors. He was quite jealous of one of the previous emperors, who had build many famous buildings in Prague and was therefore called Karl the Great. So he decided to do something similar in Vienna, and built the Ringstrasse, which used to be the place where the Vienniese city wall was standing

So, as you can see the Parliarmant looks Greek. On the fountain in its front you can even see Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom.

Hi there!

Today we went for a short walk on the Ringstrasse again

I saw a statue of the three men who reigned Austria when it first became a republick. Then we went on to the Museum of Natural History and the Museum of Art History. They are build opposite from each other and resemble one another very closely. In fact I still don't know how to distinguish them, but I guess when you enter you will know if you are in the natural history museum, or not.

As we wanted to go shopping, we had to pass a few other interesting museums, namely the Museumsquartier, which houses the Leopoldmuseum, the Museum of contemporary art, and the Kunsthalle, in which concerts take place.

Finally we arrived on the Mariahilferstrasse, which is Vienna's biggest shopping street.

Hi there!

Today we went to the Technical University of Vienna, and I have to say, that the building is really amazing- as are its surrounding buildings.

First we took pictures in front of the building, where an alley out of statues of famous professors was built. I took a closer picture with the professor of chemistry, as my host mum studies this subject.

In front of the building there is a statue of Mister Ressel, who was one of the inventors of the marine propeller.

From the Resselpark you can also easily see the Karlschurch, which is especially famous for its roof. The roof was in a goldenish color, when it was build, as it was made out of copper. Yet over the time copper gets a greenish color, which is called Patina.

I really liked the fact that there were so many plants there, to make everything look nice.

Hi there!

Yesterday we went to a place where a famous film was shot. Namely the vienniese Underground System. The third man was shot all over the system during the time it was build- Now it doesn't look as spectacular as in the movie anymore (because the building work has of course been finished by now), but it's cool to go there nevertheless 

I took pictures of the station, and of inside the "train". Inside they have lots of pictures of who should be given a place to seat. Like pregnant women should be offered a seat, if it is possible. But the greates suprise was that they have swings in the wagons. I've enjoyed these the most, even though I don't know why they were put in there 

Hi!

We went to a game store. It is only about a game called warhammer, and well worth a visit, even though my host family doesn't play it.

People can build the scenery for their games, and color their pawns in the play themselves, right in the shop.

You can also play the game directly on the scenerys they exhibit there- and I couldn't resist, and took part in the games myself  I even used the biggest weapons they had there