Travelog for: GiGi Giraffe

Hi mom,
Today I said goodbye to Sally.



She started to her first trip.
I hugged her and wished her a safe journey.







Then for me there was only one thing: relax. At 35 ° in the shade you can not do much. Thank God we have a small pool to cool off.





Hugs
GiGi

Hi mom,
Yesterday we started at 6 in the morning to Munich.



Fairly early but we had to drive nearly 280 kilometers.



The weather was nice but the time was long.



Then finally - we saw our first destination.



The Allianz Arena. Home of FC Bayern Munich.





We marveled trophies,





soccer stars and exhibits.





Then we took a tour of the arena.







Fan or not - it was very impressive.





With the subway we went to the City.

First stop: the famous Hofbräuhaus.





The Hofbräuhaus am Platzl is a beer hall in the city center of Munich, Germany. The inn was originally built in 1598 by Bavarian Duke Maximilian I. It was built as an extension of the original Hofbräu brewery, but for Weissbier (wheat beer). The general public was admitted only in 1828 by then king Ludwig I. The building was completely remodeled in 1897 by Max Littmann, when the brewery moved to the suburbs. In the bombing of WW II, everything but the ground floor (Schwemme) was destroyed; it took until 1958 to be rebuilt.

First we drank a beer



- ooh so good - and ate a big pretzel.



Then we tried a specialty: pork shank and dumplings.



Yummy, yummy.

Stuffed full, we needed some movement. We looked at the restaurant of a famous celebrity chef



and tried his ice cream.



Not bad.

After looking at the beautiful old houses





we went further to Viktualienmarkt.



The Viktualienmarkt is a daily food market and a square in the center of Munich, Germany.

The Viktualienmarkt developed from an original farmers' market to a popular market for gourmets. In an area covering 22,000 m2 (240,000 sq ft), 140 stalls and shops offer flowers, exotic fruit, game, poultry, spices, cheese, fish, juices and so on.



The maypole at Viktualienmarkt.



The tower of St. Peter church.



The parish church of Saint Peter, whose tower is commonly known as "Alter Peter" - Old Peter - and which is emblematic of Munich, is the oldest recorded parish church in Munich and presumably the originating point for the whole city.

Then was our interest in the Marienplatz with the "New Town Hall".



It was built between 1867 and 1908 by Georg von Hauberrisser in a Gothic Revival architecture style. It covers an area of 9159 m² having 400 rooms. The 100 meters long main facade towards the Marienplatz is richly decorated. It shows the Guelph Duke Henry the Lion, and almost the entire line of the Wittelsbach dynasty in Bavaria and is the largest princely cycle in a German town hall. The central monument in the center of the main facade between the two phases at Marienplatz above the guard house, is an equestrian statue of Prince Regent Luitpold. The bay of the tower contains statues of the first four Bavarian kings.

The main facade is placed toward the plaza, while the back side is adjacent to a small park (Marienhof). The basement is almost completely occupied by a large restaurant called Ratskeller. On the ground floor, some rooms are rented for small businesses. Also located in the ground floor is the major official tourist information.

The first floor hosts a big balcony towards the Marienplatz which is used for large festivals such as football championships or for concerts during the Weihnachtsmarkt. Its main tower has a height of 85 m and is available for visitors with an elevator. On the top thrones the Münchner Kindl. The Rathaus-Glockenspiel, performed by an apparatus daily on 11am, 12pm and 5pm, is a tourist attraction.

Not only we want to see this place.



It was just time for the chimes.

Next to the town hall tower you can see the towers of the Frauenkirche (Church of our Lady), another famous church of Munich.



By Kaufingerstrasse (shopping street and pedestrian zone)



we walked to the Frauenkirche. The picture looks a little funny but the church is being renovated.



That was the only part which is not blocked by scaffolding.
Jasper did her best.

Slowly, it was time to think on the way home.
At Stachus (Karlsplatz)



we took the subway back to our car. Then drive for hours.

We still enjoyed a beautiful sunset



and then fell into bed tired but happy.

kisses, GiGi

Hi mom,
Thursday, 6 clock in the morning. We packed our suitcases once again.



Our destination: Engelberg

9 am - We stopped at Lake Lucerne.



Jasper showed us the Rütli on the other side of the lake.
The Rütli, a meadow, is a historic site for the Swiss. 1291 here three brave men have made ​​a covenant by oath against the Habsburgs (the evil taskmasters). This Rütli Oath is considered the founding of Switzerland and is on 1 August celebrated as a national holiday.
Awesome we looked at the small meadow.


(The small round lakeside lawn - right above my nose)

Then we drove to Engelberg.
Engelberg is the leading mountain resort (Urner Alps) in central Switzerland. In the Middle Ages, Engelberg was known for the educational accomplishments of its Benedictine monastery, the Engelberg Abbey, whose school was well-known and regarded throughout the country. From the 19th Century, Engelberg became internationally known as a resort and spa, but is today visited as much for skiing as for its clean air. With its combination of modern sports facilities and alpine location, Engelberg is a magnet for both summer and winter tourism. The closest large cities are Lucerne and Zurich.

This was our hotel.



After checking in, we went immediately on the way to the cable car and drove to Härzlisee (little heart lake) The mountains here are a paradise for paragliders.



Because mountain air makes you hungry, we strengthened ourselves with specialties of the region and a glass of wine.







Then we enjoyed the great view and the beautiful weather.









On our way back we saw the monastery.





We also had a look at the magnificent monastery church. The monks just celebrated their evening prayers. Out of respect we did not take pictures.

Due to the National Day there was a great feast in the village. There was so much to see.



Jasper wanted to photograph everything, but the masses of people made ​​it impossible.
Here are a few pictures of the parade.





Mom, it's 9:30 pm and still as bright
On the way to the hotel we saw far away on the mountainside a cross of torches.



Exhausted, we fell into bed.
Bye for today
GiGi

Hello all my friends,
Next day - next fun. We all awoke early in the morning. On the balcony we had a good view of Engelberg.





The wonderful fresh air and the sun awakened the thirst for action within us.



Quickly host dad thrown out of the bed and then for breakfast. Strengthened for the adventure of the day we were waiting in the lounge,



while host dad paid the bill. The angel of the hotel.



These angels sculptures standing throughout Engelberg (Engelberg - Angel Mountain) and are painted individually. And because our hotel was named "Edelweiss" , this angel is painted with Edelweiss.

So, our destination today: Mount Titlis



On this panel you can see what heights we will move today.



The first look at the summit.



The first view from the summit.





Speechless, we admired the mountains.







The transmission system.



Cooling in the snow.





And now the Cliff Walk!



The test of courage. Not for us, for Jasper.



Europe's highest suspension bridge. Only 140 meters long but 500 meter abyss below.



It swayed and wobbled and it was absolutely great.



Because Jasper thought she need to sit down, we decided to take the Ice Flyer - the glacier chairlift.
Haha, we had to stay in Jasper's pocket. Minimum size of 1:20 meters. One after another was allowed to come out of pocket for a picture.



Jasper was afraid we might fall and forever disappear into a crevasse.



Perhaps we would show up after years or decades as a TV glacier mummy again. An interesting idea.

After a short break on the glacier





we took the cable car down to our next destination.



Trübsee, a small mountain lake on a high plateau below the Titlis.
We walked around the lake and marveled again and again the mountain scenery





and the plants.







Then it was finally time for the journey home. The cable car took us back to Engelberg.





Here you can imagine how steep it is.





We had much to talk about on the way home but at some point we fell asleep and dreamed of Cliff Walk.
We had two great days.

See you soon
GiGi

Hi mommy,
yesterday we celebrated DottiScottis 1 Birthday.
She got a big cake with a candle.



We played music and sang Happy Birthday.





Dotti blew out the candle and cut the cake.



Then we all enjoyed a large piece. It tasted wonderful.





She also got a gift.



3 wishes.





Whatever she want - if Jasper can fulfill it, she will do it.
Love you mommy
GiGi

Hi mum,
do you remember the three wishes that Dotti got for her birthday?
One of them she used for a farewell pizza party for Shakespeare and me.
So last night we sat together one last time, talked a lot and enjoyed our pizza.







Then we packed our stuff and said goodbye.





My path leads me to Austria.

After a big hug and lots of good wishes,



I crawled into my envelope.



Goodbye my friends, bye bye Jasper and host dad, bye bye Switzerland.
Until then, mum - next time from Austria.
GiGi

Hello at home,

sorry that you didn´t hear from me earlier, but I was soooo tired after my last trip, you can´t imagine:

First I arrived in Feldbach, Austria

After few days we had to prepare to a tour through London. We had only short time, but had to visit a lot in that short time. Nearly mission impossible.

Arrived in London, we packed our bag, map and umbrella necessary, and then - where is the underground?



We also went by bus, to have a better view over London.




We visited the Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the Tower Bridge and also the Tower of London. Not to forget the Buckingham Palace, Houses of Parlament and the Horse Guards.



   



We also had a little shopping trip: First at HardRock Cafe and then at Harrod´s:
   

I also met some swans in Hyde Park. We fed them with bread and so they came very close! Maybe to close:
   

This was a very exciting week in London. Some more impressions:
   
Now, I´m on the way to Italy! Hope to see you soon mum!

Bye and kisses

Gigi 

Hi Mom,
today I arrived at my new host in Italy. It was a long journey, but I was welcomed warmly by the other TVs 
During the first day we played together and took a lot of pictures. My host will upload some of them within the next days.

Have a nice evening..
yours Gigi

Hi Mom,
today we played LUDO ( Mensch ärgere dich nicht ).
Of course I won  and Pauli was angry and he knocked down all the pieces.
Tomorrow Hemming is going to leave us. He will travel to the Netherlands.
I will still stay here for a while with my new friends. We are having lots of fun together. I hope it's going to snow soon so we can go outside to build a snowman 

Yours Gigi!

Today i opened the forth window of my hosts Advent calendar. They have a Milka calendar as you can see. I picked a fir-cone of chocalate. Tommorow it´s Raulis turn I have decided to stay here for two more weeks after that time i will travel to my next destination.
Your´s Gigi

sleeping time........

Yesterday was the day of the holy Nikolaus. He brings presents to the good children and to us Tv´s. To the bad children and Tv´s comes the Krampus. We waited the whole day and in the evening surprisingly we found many sweets on the table. They were all for us. There was also a Nikolaus made of chocolate....he didn´t survive

Hi Mom.
Today I helped my host to bake christmas cookies called coconut macaroons :-) And of course afterwards I had to decorate them with melted chocolate. They are very tasty. 
After spending christmas here I will travel to my next host.

Yours Gigi.

Hi Mom. Today I went to Sterzing to the Christmas Market. There we saw all kinds of Christmas decorations, cribs and crib figures. There were also stands with mulled wine and food.

Its Christmas today My host allowed us TV´s to prepare and decorate the christmas tree. First we had to bring the tree upstairs. That was very exhausting but fortunately my host helped us a little. Afterwards we decorated the tree with Christmas baubles, stars and fairy lights. Merry Christmas to you and here are the pictures.