Travelog for: Clifford

Hello, Im Clifford ..the 'little' red dog..
My owner adopted me from miapearl, has given me a TV tag and the freedom to travel to world!

I hope to get started very soon.
Bye for now,
Clifford
x

Hi Mummy,
I arrived in Remscheid today!

What a surprise - I was welcomed by a whole bunch of ToyVoyagers. Fiona also arrived today. Katja was very delighted to meet me and my red-hearted friend.



As the weather is fantastic, we are planning to go out later.

Love
Clifford

I could not wait to take a walk. In the afternoon we went out. First we walked along a sports ground. Soccer is usually played here, soccer is one of the most famous sports, like in England.



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.



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





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.



We walked through another 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.





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

Love
Clifford

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 Automobile Association in Great Britain.

We met Katja's friend Kerstin and her dog Pepe. 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.



This is my new friend Pepe.





We are really good friends, Pepe is only a little bit larger than me



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



Bye
Clifford

Hi Mummy,
we went for a short walk in our lunch break. Katja's workplace is close to the city hall, so this war our first stop. The tower of the city hall is 48 m high.



In front of the city hall there is a large place, the farmers market is taking place here twice a week. On this place you find this pillar with the heraldic animal of Remscheid, a lion. In the background you can see the shopping  mall.



We only had a few minutes, so we took a really short walk.







Soon we returned to the city hall. Opposite of the back side you can find the water tower, the second tower which is dominating the city scene. The city hall is partly hidden under a scaffolding.



Katja told us that the water is pumped to the top of this hill from a dam in a nearby valley.



We had to return to work than.

In the evening I met Katja's pets - funny fuzzies which cannot sit still for more than a second. They seemed to like me.

First ferret girl Zaehnchen came to say "Hello" ...



The second one was not really interested in me.



The third one was chasing a plush mouse, I'm sure I'll meet her some day.

Bye
Clifford

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.





On our way back we saw this relay station.



Bye

Hi Mummy,

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?



I met this hard working companion in front of a café.



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.



That was a really interesting trip!

Bye
Clifford

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



This is the central bus station.





What is this?



It's a present from Remscheid's twin city Wansbeck.





Someone sprayed red hearts to a concrete wall.



The shopping street is beginning here.





Bye
Clifford

Hi Mummy,
a new guest arrived today!

It's Kirin, he came here from Russia. His homeland is Chile.



Kirin had to spend two days at the post office, so he could not wait to go out and enjoy the fresh air. So we went to take a walk.

Not far from home I saw something really interesting...



A red house! Let get closer ...



There is even a red car parked in front of it, no, even two red cars!



We walked towards the municipal park. Nothing special at this time of the year, Katja told us. But she showed us the elementary school, her kids went to this school when they were younger.



In Hasten we saw lots of nice old houses.





Katja told us that this street is leading towards a nice woodland area, but because she thought it would start to rain soon, we did not walk into the forest.



Those who are living here don't like dogs, I suppose.



Katja showed us this poster, "Evita" is her most favourite musical. She told us that she has already seen it live on stage and she would love to see it again.



This is the little park in front of the police station.



From here we had only a few more minutes to walk home. It really started to drizzle in the meantime.



Bye
Clifford

Hi Mummy,

another ToyVoyager arrived today, it is Sampson 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 took a path in the municipal park to walk to Hasten.







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
Clifford

Hi Mummy,
today we met Katja's friend and my doggy friend Pepe again to take a walk. Thankfully dogs have to take a walk in the forest every day Katja also has to take walks, she often talks about losing w.... I forgot what she was  talking about.

We went to the outskirts of Lennep, another district of Remscheid, also with woodland and rural areas around.





We reached a dam, not a drinking water dam like most of them here in this region. You can swim here, dive, canoe or sail.





We saw some farms on our way.





Love
Clifford

Hi Mummy,
on this wonderful day we could not resist to pick up a friend from her work place and walk for about two and a half hour.

Starting from this business area we reached the forest within a few minutes.



This is a lovely place to live.



For a few minutes out path was following the A1 motorway.



We rested in a valley with a small creek running through.



Only a few more weeks and everything will be green here!



Than we had to climb out of the valley to walk through a housing area...



... only to cross a street and walk downhill towards another valley



This cat was not in a mood for playing.



Oh, that's not good ... a digger on our path! We had to climb along the slope to get past this building site.







These are blooming willows with their soft catkins.



Here is another business area, situated at a creek.



From here we had to walk uphill towards the city centre and our home.

Bye
Clifford

Hi Mummy,
today we made a trip to the neighbour city Wuppertal to take a long walk.

In Wuppertal they have a walking- and cycling trail built on a closed railway track, it is called "Sambatrasse". Is is beginning in Wuppertal-Cronenberg and is leading to Wuppertal-Vohwinkel, about 10 km long. We walked a short part of it in Cronenberg. Here one of the old trains is parked.



Oh great, it is red!

Can you spot me among all this red?



Here I am!



From a bridge we had a fantastic overview. In the background you can see the city centre of Remscheid, situated on a hill, with its two characteristic towers of the city hall and the water tower.



In Cronenberg we walked through the town center. I saw a school of arts here.



Cronenberg is an old district with lovely old houses.



Springtime is coming!



An arboretum is situated here, a collection of trees. Fiona was eager to see the trees of North America, so we walked along the trail showing those trees.







We found some pieces of artwork here in the forest, like this carved mushroom.



At the end of our tour we found a map. We followed the pink line.





When we walked back home, we saw more signs of springtime in the gardens.



I hope you at home are also having such wonderful weather!

Bye
Clifford