Travelog for: Laika

Hi,

My name is Laika and my mum decided that I can go and explore the world. I want this since month, but my mum were a little bit worried about me, because I am a little dog.

I am looking forward to my first adventure.  I am excited were I will have my first stay.

All the best,
Laika

...just adding longitude and latitude of my home...

Dear mummy,
today morning I reached Paderborn, North Rhine-Westphalia.
I was welcomed very warmly by all the plushies living here and by some other ToyVoyagers: Störte who is hostdad's TV and Twixx and Haribaer who are hostmum's guests.
After introducing ourselves to each other I needed a recovery of my first trip in an envelope...the wicker beach chair in the garden was perfect 
See you later, mummy,
yours Laika

Dear mummy,
after having a good sleep I was ready to accompany hostmum, hostdad, Twixx and Haribaer to a walk.
We walked on the old way of pilgrims near Paderborn. You can see the route on the sign. There was another sign: "Dogs have to be put on the leash"  But hostmum said it didn't go for ToyVoyagers 
Our way was very nice, forest and fields in the sunshine...
We took a rest in an organic café, I had yummy cake and a cup of tea.
On the way back we saw a sign with a cow on it but unfortunately there were no cows, not after 75 metres and not at all.
Another sign was in the shape of a horse that pointed to a witch-hill, but on the hill we didn't met any witch. Perhaps it wasn't dark enough...
Love you, mummy, as you can see 
yours Laika

Hi, mummy,
today afternoon we made a bike tour to Bad Lippspringe, a little town near Paderborn.
In Bad Lippspringe five rivers rise as you can see on the sign. The river you can see on the photo is the river Jordan. But the town isn't only full of rivers but also full of flowers!
Of course Twixx and Haribaer wanted to show me their favourite ice-cream parlour, very good idea 
On the way back home we saw some sculptures of old people in front of an old people's home, very nice!
And I discovered a very funny sign with a dog on it...I'll do my very best 
Best wishes, mummy,
yours Laika

Back home I got to know Lina the cat. I told her that I've nothing against cats at all 

Hi mummy,
today afternoon we drove to Paderborn city by bike. On the way we saw some nice flowers, hostmum said the name of the flower is Wegwarte (cichorium intybus).
In Paderborn we visited the cathedral with it's famous 'window of the three hares' (three hares with three ears but every hare has got two ears  ), the town hall, the Neptun fountain and a funny red and yellow house 
The peacock is s symbol of St. Liborius, the patron saint of Paderborn.
Of course we took a rest in a comfortable café that belongs to a friend of hostmum.
The last photo shows Neuenbeken, hostmum's home village and since more than 30 years a district of Paderborn.
Hope you're fine, mum,
yours Laika

Dear mummy,
today morning we made a bike tour to Altenbeken. Altenbeken is a small town at the beginning of the Egge mountains. On the way there we stopped at river Beke and for sniffing at Jasmin blossoms 
When we reached Altenbeken we first visited the big viaduct this town is famous for. The viaduct was built up in the middle of the 19th century. Though Altenbeken is a small town it was and still is a railway junction.
In commemoration of the old days there is standing an old steam engine in the middle of the town. Though it was forbidden to climb up the steam engine I did it...
On the way back home we saw lots of little figures in a shop window. They showed the big party that will begin today in Altenbeken. In this region every village has got a traditional shooting club and once a year the best rifleman (king) and his wife or another woman (queen) are celebrated for three days with a big village party.
All the best, yours Laika

Hi mummy,
yesterday hostmum asked us whether we could help her cookin jam. Of course we wanted!
First we picked lots of redcurrants, then we had to wash them and to clean them up from stalks (a very long-winded activity  ) because hostmum wanted to bake a cake with currants before making jam.
Twixx and me rolled out the dough, then we covered it with redcurrants. At last meringue to the top...yummy!
Then we started making jam. We DIDN'T have to pick the currants up from stalks because hostmum has got a brilliant old mincer from her grandma: you can fill in the redcurrants WITH their stalks, then you only have to turn the crank...on one side the stalks and pips appear and on the other side the pulp. So we did, wow!
After that we cooked the pulp together with bananas, gelling agent, sugar and some liqueur and filled the jam into glasses...ready!
All the best
yours Laika

Dear mummy,
yesterday I escorted hostmum to work by bike. It was a very hot day, look the very dry maize on our way to Paderborn city 
Hostmum works in an old people's home as a social worker and tomorrow she wants to create some 'welcome-hearts' together with the old people. These hearts will be distributed to the newcomers in this home. So I helped preparing the handicrafts.
Then we made music with the old people and I played the guitar 
Before driving home we had to write something by computer...look what I wrote for you 
Yours Laika

Hi mum,
yesterday we said goodbye to Störte, hostdad's pirate who started to Austria.
And today we welcomed Mr. Moose from Finland. He brought some gifts with him so we sat together talking about TV-life and eating yummy liquorice 
In a few minutes we'll eat cake in the garden and in the evening we'll go to a restaurant, cause today is hostdad's birthday.
Yours Laika

Happy birthday, hostdad!
Unfortunately in the afternoon it started raining so we had the birthday cake in the kitchen instead in the garden. But nevertheless the gooseberry-cake was very yummy!
Yours Laika

And in the evening we went to the restaurant "Fischerhütte" on the edge of the spa forest in Bad Lippspringe.
Not only the dinner was very good but also the ambience 
And look whom we met in the garden...

Hello mum,
now it's 'Liobori' in Paderborn and that means it is state of emergency 
'Libori' is both a secular and a worldly festival in Paderborn with many masses in the cathedral and processions in honour of St. Liborius whose relicts were conveyed from Le Mans to Paderborn in the year 836 and are kept in a shrine in the cathedral's crypt. Every July the shrine is shown for a few days and the 'Libori' festival  is celebrated for one week.
There is a big market round the cathedral and a very big fairground.
Today 'Libori' has been opened and we were present! Mum, you can't imagine how many people and how many bishops I saw!
Next week we'll visit the fairground.
All the best
yours Laika

In the evening we visited hostmum's parents for watching the football match Dortmund against Bayern. Hostmum and her mother are enthusiastic Dortmund fans (Dortmund is their birthplace) and so it was a very good evening for them cause Dortmund won 4:2!
Before watching the match we visited hostgrandma's lovely garden. We discovered a small fountain, a small pond (with a BVB-duck AND a Schalke-duck on it  ), a hotel for insects, a birdhouse, many flowers and some strange occupiers of the garden.
When it got dark hostmum showed us a very nice flower: in German 'Nachtkerze' (Oenothera biennis) that blooms  in the night! Every evening some blooms open in some seconds and bloom for only one night. They looked beautiful!
Love you
yours Laika