Travelog for: Timothy III.

In the afternoon we started to prepare Christmas presents. Katja made a liqueur with lemon and ginger.

For marking this liqueur you need

150 g ginger
4 all-natural lemons
375 g sugar
375 ml water
175 ml lemon juice
1 bottle vodka (0,75 l)



First we had to peel the ginger and cut it into thin slices. Than the lemons had be peeled really thin - without leaving anything of the white stuff on the peel. The lemons had to be squeezed.





Than we had to cook water, sugar, lemon juice, lemon peel and ginger for about 10 minutes.



This mixture had to cool down a bit than. We put it into a large glass.



Than the vodka was given to the mixture and the glass was closed securely. Now it has to infuse for two weeks. Than we'll have to strain it and fill it into small bottles.



Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
we made a shopping trip to Wuppertal today. Last weekend our hiking tour was following the outskirts of this town. Today we went there with another of Katja's friends.

My first view from the parking deck:



Katja told me that the tower belongs to the city hall. I would see it later.



In the background you can see the skywalk of one of the shopping malls.



Katja showed me this jewelry in the shopping street. The Wuppertaler Uhrenmuseum (clock museum) is situated here. This three-wheels-clock on the facade was built from parts of an  horse-drawn vehicle which was crashed in an accident.



This is the city hall with a daily farmer's market in front of it.





Here you can see the "Bergischer Löwe" (Bergisch Lion), the heraldic animal of the former state "Berg", which existed from 12th to 19th century. Nowadays the lion is the heraldic animal of many cities, also of Remscheid and Wuppertal.



This is the rear side of the city hall. Another shopping mall is situated here, also part of the Christmas market.





Katja bought a few things here and we went on. Later we went into another shopping mall, this one close to the parking deck.



Here we had a delicious ice cream.

Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
Katja's brother-in-law asked us if we wanted to take a walk with the dog. Of course we wanted!

We started in the district Hohenhagen.



We reached this rural area soon.







This is Berti, an Entlebuch Mountain dog. This dog breed is originally from Switzerland.





In the background you can see the city centre of Remscheid, with the two towers of the city hall and the water tower.



It was really cold so I was glad when we reached the car.

Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
we have snow!!!

We took a walk in the city centre because Katja wanted to buy knitting needles.

This is the city hall. A christmas market and an ice skating rink are in front of the city hall.



These large forceps are marking the entrance to the shopping street. The forceps are symbols for the local tool producing industry.



The large fountain in front of the shopping mall is covered in winter.



Katja  likes this store. You can buy flowers and decorating items here.



Soon we reached the end of the shopping street.





Katja bought her knitting needles and we had to walk back to her workplace.

Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
it was really cold today, have a look!



Nontheless we went shopping.





A bridge for pedestrians and cyclists is built here at the moment. It will connect the station with the city centre.





We are at the staton now. It is a new built station, it was re-opened about one and a half year ago.



In the background you can see a housing area, it is called "Hohenhagen". We took a walk with dog Berti there.



Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
what a surprise this morning - tons of snow!

We had actually planned to take a walk somewhere, but we only made it to the video shop to get some DVDs and have a lazy day.







When we came home after 15 minutes we looked like Yeti

Katja needed to take some laundry from the attic, we had a look out of the roof light.



This is our roof.



Let's see how it will be tomorrow.

Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
Remscheid is still suffering under tons of snow

In our lunch break we took a short walk in the city centre. The sidewalks are partly full of snow, walking is extremely exhausting than.

Here you can see the city hall with the christmas market in front of it.



The water tower is close to the city hall. You can see those two towers of the city hall and the water tower from far away.













Here you can see the central bus station.





The next photo is showing the public library.



Soon we reached the shopping mall. On the left side you can see the theatre, in the background the city hall.



We than went back to work, but not without buying delicious Chinese food for lunch.



Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
it was raining at the weekend and it was much warmer outside. So the snow melted partly.




We enjoyed coffee and delicous Stollen and Baumkuchen.

Baumkuchen is a kind of layered cake. It is a traditional dessert in many countries in Europe. The characteristic golden rings that appear when sliced give the cake its German name, Baumkuchen, which literally translates to "tree cake" or "log cake".

Stollen is a loaf-shaped cake containing dried fruit, and covered with sugar, powdered sugar or icing. The cake is usually made with chopped candied fruit and/or dried fruit, nuts and spices. Stollen is a traditional German cake, usually eaten during the Christmas season.





I'm afraid I'll have to loose some weight in January

Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
do you remember the lemon-ginger-liqueur we made two or three weeks before? Today we finished it.



Katja has collected several small bottles over the year to fill them with the liqueur. First we had to pour the liquid off from the ginger and lemon peel.





The liqueur was filled into the bottles. Now we have to print labels and stick them to the bottles.



We'll try the liqueur soon! It should be served chilled.

Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
we have new snow now, I think it's even more than two weeks ago.





In the afternoon we went outside for a walk in the  municipal park. Did I show you our house? We are living in the attic storey.



Some cars are nearly completely hidden under the snow





This is the pond in the park - I know, you can see nothing





On our way home ...



Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
outside it is snowing without an end. Nobody wants to go out. Instead we prepared more Christmas presents. We made a garlic relish today.

You need lots of garlic bulbs, a little bit oil, aluminium foil and empty glasses.



Each garlic bulb had to be wrapped into aluminium foil.



Than they were put into the pre-heated baking oven - 180°C - for 45 minutes.



In the meantime we looked if it was still snowing. The whole window was covered with snow!



After baling the garlic bulbs were cut into halfes than. The inside was soft than. With a knife or a small spoon the garlic cloves were taken out.





We had even two of those bowls full of garlic cloves!



All the garlic cloves were put into the mixer with some oil.



The creamy stuff was filled into glasses.



The surface was covered with some oil. Stored in the fridge you can use this garlic relish for months.

Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
today the sun was shining, finally after weeks with a dark grey cloudy sky. Of course we went outside in the afternoon.

The first photo was taken in the street where I am living at the moment.



The large building on the opposite side of this intersection is the local court.



We decided to take a walk on the "Trasse des Werkzeugs" (Route of tools), a lane for pedestrians and cyclists built on a closed railway track. This lane is about 5 km long, connecting the central station with the district Hasten. The building work was sponsored by local industrial companies. You can find signs with their logos alsong the lane. Here are some of them and also the coat of arms of Remscheid.



Even today you can still find industrial companies along the lane.



Katja likes this lane because you can take a longer walk here with rarely getting into contact with traffic.





From this point sometimes you can see Colone in the distance.





We reached Hasten than, an old district with lots of nice old buildings.







Stumping through the snow is really exhausting. I was glad when we came back home.

Bye
Timothy

Hi Mummy,
today we met Katja's friend Kerstin and took a walk with her 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 lot of people come with their dogs and let them run and play here.







This is Pepe.







When we were chilled to the bone we went back to the car. It was hard to find a parking place because the narrow streets here are stucked with tons of snow.

Bye
Timothy