Travelog for: Decker

Since the weather became worse while Decker was walking through the park of Schönbrunn castle we decided to show him Vienna's technical museum.

How impressive for a little lion! He was very interested to see all these engines, satellites, aeroplanes and other technical stuff there. He even was allowed to push some buttons and do some little experiments.

Exactly a week ago there was a wonderful autumn-day, you know one of these days where the sun is shining and all the trees have colourfull leaves. So my hosts decided to go for a walk with me in the "Wienerwald", the woods around Vienna and search for mushrooms. Well, to be honest we weren't so successfull with eatable mushrooms but we found many of these beautiful red ones:

Only 2 days later everything was completely different. The weather changed dramatically and it started to freeze. Decker decided to go to Upper Austria with us to visit our Grandparents.

When Decker woke up on Saturday morning he was shocked! Not only that he didn't know where he was at the first moment, no, everything was very very different and no-one warned him before that the world could also look like that! Everything was white - completely white. The whole world was covered with a white "something". Decker was confused! What did it mean? What was it? Was it something to eat? Something dangerous? It was hard to convience him to go out-doors but finally he did his first steps into snow. What an exciting adventure for a little lion!!

Decker has been in Austria for quite some time now and he really saw alot! So much, that we almost forgot to update this travellog!!!

Last weekend we went to a part of Austria called "Waldviertel". It was very quiet there with alot of nature, woods, hills etc. and Decker had a relaxing time there. He had a looong walk in the woods and he visited an exhibition in a castle called "Schallaburg" there. It was about knights and it was very interesting he thought.

Decker also went to see a church far above rive Danube: Maria Taferl. It is very popular there, even Pope Johannes Paul II visited it once. Decker was told that usually there is a very beautiful view from there to thr river and the valley called Wachau, but unfortunately it was so grey when we went there that he couldn't see anything.

Decker is not as lonely here anymore as he used to be when he arrived. Meanwhile he's in good company of Frankie, the little giraffe from the Netherlands, Cassiopeia, the colourful turtle from Germany and Jade, a very friendly kremlin also from Holland.

Together they went sightseing in the city center of Vienna - have a look which wonderful places they discovered!

They started at Hofburg, the castle where the Habsburg family used to live as long as they were on power. Can you also see the carriages with the horses? In former times people really used them for transportation  - nowadays they are only there as a tourist attraction. Of course Decker would have loved to go by these Fiakers but they were really too expensive. Decker was very astonished by the beautiful gates Hofburg has. He especially liked "Michaelertor" with the golden cupola, but "Heldentor" was nice for him, too. He tried to translate what there was written in Latin... But, you know...he never was so good in Latin....

Then the 4 heros continued their walk to the very center of Vienna where they saw St. Stephen's Cathedral. Decker was amazed to see a very modern building just next to it and he was astonished to herar me that there were many discussions about it before it was built. But Decker had admit it is beautiful and it's nice to see the dome like in a mirror there. And himself, too

When they walked down Kärntner Straße, the most popular (and expensive) shopping street in Vienna, they met this funny guy making various creatures from balloons. Have a look! Decker would have liked one, but the clown wasn't able to make a lion, so Decker was a bit disappointed.

They passed by the opera house and reached another church then, Karlskirche. It is very special with the 2 little "towers" next to it telling a story from the bible on the relief. Just next to the church there was a beautiful subway station in "Jugendstil" (which was very popular in Vienna, there are many buildings in this style). Beautiful, hm? Another building in "Jugendstil" they found when they just walked a little longer: Secession. It's a museum and in the cellar there you can find a large fresco of Gustav Klimt. Decker hasn't heard about Klimt so far but now he's curious to get to know who he was...

Decker's next stop was the "Museumsquartier", a laaarge building full of various museums inside, mainly for modern arts. Have a look what Decker found in front of the museum! What a funny sculpture, isn't it?

Just accross the street there were 2 other museums: the museum of historical arts and the historical nature museum. They are located face to face and look exactly like twins.

Decker and his friend walked along the "Ringstrasse" the street that surrounds the city center (it was built where the city wall was in former times) and passed by the Austrian Parliament and the Old Imperial theatre until we reached the City Hall. You know what Decker found there??? People who were already building up the Christmas market! Decker was very confused when he heard that it will take only 2 weeks until it opens. Decker would love to go there but he is afraid that he won't be in Vienna anymore when it opens.

Since they walked sooo much Decker and the other toyvoyagers had deserved a little rest then. So they went to Volksgarten where they enjoyed all the colourful autumn leaves and had great fun playing hide-and-seek!

While they were sitting there they discussed about the European Soccer Championship will take place in Vienna next year in June. Decker thinks that the people are already quite excited about that and he found a watch counting the days, hours and minutes until the first game starts. Strange...

Decker discovered that Vienna is very popular for its Cafés. He  passed by many of them but they were so crowded since it was a holiday and since his host had the baby with her she didn't want to go inside. But Decker and his friends did some window-shopping there and they were amazed what people can build out from sugar, chocolate and marzipan! Even this sculpture of emperor Franz Joseph was made of sugar!!

And guess whom they met just in front of a café? It was Decker who recognized him first: Good old Mozart himself! What a sueprise!!!

We were sooo busy to bake Christmas biscuits. What a wonderful smell everywhere in the flat - and how delicious they tasted!!!

We spent a day at the famous "Christkindlmarkt" in front of the City hall. I did a ride on a Merry-go-round, watched all the really beautiful things sold there, visited the crib with the holy family inside and my host was so nice to buy a gingerbread heart for me. That's a tradition there I was told - a very delicious one! Christkindlmarkt is even more beautiful at night but the photos didn't come out...

One day Decker visited "Naschmarkt", the biggest market in Vienna. It was very impressive for him to see all the different fruits, spices etc they offered there. We bought alot and had a big fruit salad that evening...

Have you ever heart about Hundertwasser-Haus? It's the most colourful house in Vienna created by Friedensreich Hundertwasser. There is nothing special inside just normal flats, but it is soooo beautiful!

And have a look at the hugh sculpture I found there! Doesn't it look like me??

All the family was ill for a while so we couldn't go out much. We got a bit bored but then somebody had this idea... We built a pyramide out of youghurt cups... Great, hm?

Hi there!

Tpday I safely arrived to Moscow!! And there're many other TVs here - it's so funny!

I'll write more soon