Travelog for: *Snowball*

Today we went to Oberhausen. Here we visit the Gasometer, with the exhibition “Magic Places – Natural and Cultural Monuments”





In this exhibition the UNESCO has counted more than 900 World Heritage Sites which are masterpieces of human architecture and huge monuments of nature.
For the first time in an exhibition, “Magic Places” is showing the wonders of nature and culture together.
This sounds so great, that we wanted to see it with our own eyes.



This is a picture from the Rapa Nui National Park on the Easter Island. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage since 1995. The Moal are monumental sculptures made of volcanic rock up to 20 meters in height. They stood like guards on platforms along the coast. 900 such Moals still exist on the island today.



This is Russia’s most audacious wooden church. The wooden churches of Kizhi Pogost in Karelia were built completely in the tradition of the Northern Russian wooden type of construction and yet have a visionary design. The church of the Transfiguration built in 1714 is 35 meters high and supports 22 onion domes. It is considered one of the most audacious wooden buildings in Russia.
It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1990.



This is the Ellora Cave Temple in India. The Hindus who created the Temple wanted it to resemble the sacred Mount Kailash. Not simply on the outside; they wanted to create it from a single piece of rock. It took 200 years for workers to excavate and carve the rock into the shape of a monumental temple.



Oh the wonderful Golden Gate Bridge. It took five years to build the bridge in San Fransisco, before it was opened to the public in 1937. Each year this miracle of engineering attracts countless tourists who come to gaze in awe at its beauty.  The best thing is, that I have the chance to see the bridge in real this summer.



The garden of Castello Ruspoli in Vignanello in Italy looks really impressive and beautiful.



This Photo shows the Monarch butterfly in its winter quarters in Mexico. Here billions of them hibernate in thick clumps in an extremely confined space. In spring they are awakened by the warming rays of the sun and set out on their long flight north to Canada.



Wow this Photo looks so impressive. Volcanoes, earthquakes and hurricanes are living demonstrations of the primordial powers of the planet.



Here I want to show you some of the wonderful jewelry we saw.



This is a tree slice from a redwood tree. It was a present from the First Lady Barbara Bush given to the city Bonn. The slice is 750 years old; 2,5 meters high and 2,7 meters wide. Its weight is 7 tones.
20 little metal panels are mounted to the matching annual rings to remind of important events out of the history of Bonn.



At the end of the exhibition we saw the gigantic "Rainforest Tree". This 40 meters high sculpture is a symbol of the beauty, fertility and vulnerability of the eternal cycle of nature. It was really impressive.

Today we had so beautiful weather that we went to the landscape park in Duisburg. Paula Hip and Sam Hop, the new TV’s from mum joined us.

In the Landscape Park, extending over an area of about 180 hectares, nature, industrial heritage and a fascinating light installation were combined to create a park landscape unlike any other in the world.
At the Centre stands a disused ironworks whose old industrial facilities have today been put to a wide variety of uses. In an old gasometer Europe’s biggest man-made diving Centre has been created and an extinguished blast furnace has been modified to provide a viewing tower.





Around the buildings we saw a lot of wonderful spring flowers.





We climbed up a small hill to have a look over the park. It was really great here.







Wow this bucket is really huge.





What a wonderful cherry tree



Then we climbed up the viewing tower. We were really proud of our mum.  She has a fear of heights, but she went up there to have a look at the great view with us.





Isn’t it really impressive here?









What a special day. We were really exited what we will experience the next time.

Our last days were really busy. On Monday we visited the dancing school, were host mum and dad went every week to dance.
Wow this room was so big.



From here the dancing teacher could control the music.





We considered dancing too, but then we changed our mind and watched mum and dad while they were dancing.

The next days we were really busy, because we were helping mum, sewing a small toy monster. It made a lot of fun.
In this box was everything we needed. I hope we will make everything right.



First I was reading the instructions “how to make a monster”



Then we copied the artworks and cut them out.



After that we were painting it on the sheets of felt and cut them out. It wasn’t easy but it made fun.





Wow so much left over from the felt.



Doesn’t it look great till now?



After so much work, we needed a little break. Then we went on to sew up the head of our new friend.





Then we needed the stuffing to fill it. It felt very soft.





We did it. It took us three days but then our new friend was finished. He is called Domino.



Out of these parts, we planned to sew Domino a coat. I think I need one too.





This was a wonderful week.

Today we were really hard working. We made some spring decorations.
It was very funny and we had to work all together.





I like these beautiful butterflies.



In between we had time for some playing.





Wow we were nearly finished.

Today was a great day.
When dad came with the post into the living room, he had two surprises for us. The first one was an envelope. Inside the envelope my good friend Happy Ping who came back home from his first host Dr. Kröbner, before he went to his new host Leslie in Chile.



We hugged him to welcome him home.



Then he showed us the presents he brought with him. And he gave me a chocolate bunny.





Then we took a group picture



After that mum took out an envelope with a wonderful card from Freddis mum. Mum was very happy when she saw the card.





In the evening we decided to play a game called “World of Warcraft”.
I played a mage.



I have a lot of money 





While the others made their fights I played with a handy and took some pictures





This is my hero



This game is not easy, but it made a lot of fun. At the end we decided to call it quit, because it was so late.





Now it is time to go to bed.
I hope the Easter bunny will bring us some presents tomorrow.

Happy Easter

Today we went to the parents from our dad. When we arrived there we saw, that the Easter bunny had left some presents for us.



I found a lot of eggs, hidden everywhere in the garden. I was searching together with Sam.











It made so much fun, searching all the presents the Easter bunny had left us. We found so much of them.

Today was a sad day, because Happy Ping and Viper went off to their new hosts. Ping went to Chile and Viper to Canada.



We hugged them and wished them a save trip.





After that we gave them a surprise for their new hosts. Domino gave them flowers mum had made.











Then we took one last group picture together.



Before he left Ping gave me his hat to keep it for him, while he is gone.





After that it was time for them to leave. Bye bye Ping and Viper.
I will miss both, but hopefully we will meet again one day

Today the weather wasn’t so good. So Freddi, Sam Hop and I spend some time with planting some cactuses into a bowl. We had to be very careful that we didn’t sting us into our hands. It wasn’t easy but I think we did well.

Today Freddi, Sam and I went to the Duisburger zoo.
In this zoo we had the chance to see 271 different kinds of animals. We saw Lemurs, Monkeys, Giraffe, Crocodiles, Tiger and a lot of other animals.
Unfortunately we couldn’t see the dolphins, because they weren’t into their basin. And we hadn’t the time to go into the dolphin show, to see the other dolphins.
However it was a really great day, and we had a lot of fun.

Today we went to the May ball into the dancing school.    
We had the chance to dance a lot and in the middle of the evening there was a show, where mum and dad were participating. It was a really funny evening and on midnight everybody sang a song together.

Today was a sad day, because Sam Hop left us today. He will go with Dicker Kumpel and RikeH to Finland. I think he will have a lot of fun, with them.
Before he left, we hugged each other and took a last Group picture. I wish him a save trip and that he will see a lot of interesting places.
I will miss him but I hope he will come back home safe one day.

Glück auf!

Today I went to the German Bergbau-Museum with Freddi. I wanted to show him a little bit about the Ruhrgebiet’s culture.
Established in 1930, this Museum is recognized as one of the most important facilities of its kind worldwide. It has an exhibition area of 12,000 square meters, as well as an underground mine network spanning 2.5 kilometers.
The key focus of the museum is to present the historical development of mining through the ages, with a particular emphasis on social, cultural and economic aspects. Original machinery, tools and working models give an insight into the underground world of mining. In addition, the museum also has a large collection of minerals and a selection of mining-related artwork.
Visitors can also take the elevator to the top of the headgear, which is approx. 60 meters in height. The viewing platform affords a superb vista of the «heartland» of Germany’s former coal district.

Here we were outside the museum and in the back you could see the headgear. I hope we will go up there.



These are some models from machines for mining



Wow, here are so many different lights that were used in mines



This is a replica of an old mine shaft, it is too deep for me.



Here you could see the collection of minerals that were found under the earth



Hey we’ve found a great slide for TV’s





This is an old control center for the mine. Freddi tried to call me down into the mine. It worked









This lorry seems to be made especially for TV’s



Now I want to show you some of the giant machines that we saw here















This is the biggest black coal chunk in the world



At the moment the museum has a special exhibition called “treasures of the Andes – Chiles copper for the world”





Isn’t this wheel gigantic?



This is a replica of the emergency capsule that was used to rescue the 33 buried miners’ from San José



Here I want to show you some other interesting things.







This is the elevator that will bring us into the underground mine and after that up to the top of the headgear. I am very curious, how it will be there.



Now we are at the underground mine.















Wow what a giant machine, it could drill huge tubes





This is a model from the last mine pony that has lived here, his name was Tobias



With these bikes you could drive onto the tracks



Now we were driving up with the elevator. What a great view we have from here above.



Freddi and I were really brave and climbed up the last meters to the top.



From so high above we could see some garden plots which you can find everywhere here in the Ruhrgebiet.





This was a really great day. But now we are both very tired.

Today a new TV arrived. Mum came into the living room and had a blue envelope into her hand. Freddi and I were very curious who will be inside. So we opened it quickly.





Then the envelope was opened. We looked who was there, but the first thing we saw was the feet of the TV.



The she sat up and in front of us sat a cute little dog. Her name is Milk Chocolate and she is coming from America. We hugged her, to welcome her in Germany.







After that she gave us the chocolate she brought with. The chocolate looks really tasty.



Then we made a gruoppicture and I took a picture with Milk Chocolate for my memory album.





Because Milk Chocolate was so long into her envelope, we decided to go outside and play a bit on the playground near the house.





Milk Chocolate and Freddi tried to pull me up to them, but it was too heavy for them.





We climbed everywhere around, every time another one of us was faster than the others.









After that we were a little bit tired and went onto the swing.



It made a lot of fun, but then we were a little bit too fast and so we……



Don’t worry, we were fine. But after that we went onto the seesaw.





It was a great day but now I am very tired, so we went to bed.

Today a new TV arrived. Her name is Lorca and she is coming from England. She told us, that this is her first trip. I think we will have a lot of fun together.









We hugged her to welcome her here in Germany.







Then Lorca showed us the Sweets and the Card she brought. The sweets look really yummy, so we decided to share them later.





After that we took a new group picture together and I made my picture for my album.

Today the weather was so good, that I took the others to the Kemnader Lake, to play miniature golf.
I hope the ball will roll into the hole





The different obstacles were funny and it made a lot of fun to play on them.



In the evening we played a game named Talisman. It is a very easy game, because you only have to roll a dice and do what was standing onto the board.















Oh no… we lost… and Lorca had won the game





Now it is time, to go to bed.