Travelog for: Sofia

Hey Mommy,

we visited the Biosphäre Potsdam with a size of 7,000 m². It is an indoor tropical botanical garden located in Potsdam.

The garden contains approximately 20,000 tropical plants representing about 350 species, including orchids, epiphytes, and trees about 14 metres in height, including a palm grove and mangrove swamp. It also includes tropical crops, a waterfall, two lakes, and various types of tropical wildlife, including iguanas, snakes, spiders, frogs, geckos and pheasants, as well as a butterfly house containing about 30 butterfly species.

Sophia

Hey Mommy,

we went to Potsdam again for some sightseeing.

First we went to the Russian colony of Alexandrowka, a small enclave of Russian architecture built in 1825 for a group of Russian immigrants. It's also including an Orthodox chapel. Since 1999, the colony has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It's such a peaceful area and I really like it.


The next stop was in the two-street Dutch Quarter, an ensemble of buildings that is unique in Europe. It has about 150 houses built of red bricks in the Dutch style. It was built between 1734 and 1742 under the direction of Jan Bouman to be used by Dutch artisans and craftsmen who had been invited to settle here by King Frederick Wilhelm I.


Ok, we had Russian style and Dutch style, what was next? French style!

We visited the Sanssouci Park! It is the most popular attraction in Potsdam  2 km (1 mi) west of the city centre. In 1744 King Frederick the Great ordered the construction of a residence here, where he could live sans souci ("without worries", in the French spoken at the court).


First I wanted to send you a postcard, but then I decided that you'd prefer a picture of me in front of the palace and the terraces.


Enjoy the pictures!

Sophia

Hey Mommy!

Today we wanted to do a long walk at a lake, but unfortunately it started to rain heavy when we arrived. So we took just one picture within a small rain break!.
This is the Great Goitzsche Lake. It is a former coal mine which was flooded with the water of the river Mulde.
Its size today is 13,32 km² and the deepest point is 48m.
Maybe I can go back when the weather is a bit better.

Love,
Sofia

Hei Mommy!

Mitä kuuluu?

Our mission for today was a landing Antonov! In the early morning we went to an air base close to us. We heard that an Antonov AN-124 'Ruslan' is landing there for the first time.
The Antonov An-124 Ruslan is a strategic airlift jet aircraft. The An-124 remains the largest military transport aircraft in the world! Up to 150 tonnes of cargo can be carried in a military An-124.
Damn we had to wait for so long as the plane was delayed. But then we saw it close to us, flying really slow, passing nearly the half of the landing runway, falling down from heaven and stopped immediately. We never saw a plane landing that way! WOW!
It had a military helicopter inside its stomach which it carried back "home" from an exhibition in Washington DC. We didn't see the helicopter. A few minutes after the landing we went on by car...
Next stop: Airport Leipzig-Halle (LEJ).

Just a short time after the landing at the air base the Antonov started again and flew to Leipzig to get some service. Both airports are just about 70km away from each other, so it does not need as much time as we needed. But luckily we managed to arrive in time!
While waiting at LEJ we saw another AN-124. Can you see it next to that grey building?

Sofia

Hey Mommy,

we did a journey to a city called Halle. It is an economic and educational center in eastern Germany. The University of Halle-Wittenberg is the biggest university in Saxony-Anhalt and one of the oldest universities in Germany. Together with Leipzig, Halle is the heart of the Central German Metropolitan Region. There are about 230000 inhabitants and the river Saale runs through the whole city. It is also called "City of the 5 towers".

Sanny told us a nice place where we could find a really nice panoramic view!

Behind me you can see Halle-Trotha which is the northern part of the city.


This is the center! Somewhere in the middle of the picture you can see the market church of St. Mary, which has four steeples. The two western octagonal ones are called Blue Towers because of their dark blue slate roofing. The other two Hausmannstürme are connected by a bridge and on this bridge was the city's fire watch. The church owns the original death-mask of Martin Luther. At the market square you can also find the Red Tower. Originally it was built as campanile of the older St. Mary's Church between 1418 and 1503. The Red Tower and the steeples of St. Mary's Church forms the five towers marking the city’s skyline.


Sofia

Hey Mommy,

mitä kuuluu?

We used the day to visit Gondwanaland!
It's a 16.500 sqm tropical hall in the zoo of Leipzig. It was hot inside! About 25°C and a humidity of 65-100%. While we walked through the hall for hours we saw 100 different kind of animals, like sloths, monkeys, hippos etc... and more than 17.000 plants! This was so amazing that we missed visiting the rest of the zoo.

Your Sofia

Hey Mommy,

we went to Lutherstadt Wittenberg today for a few hours. Sanny had to go to an exhibition of Lucas Cranach the Younger with her pupils. He's an old friend of Crawfish who always paints a picture of her when they meet. It was a bit too boring for us Toyvoyagers so we decided to take a short walk through the city.

We first visited the market square. The white building on the left is the ancient town hall and in front of it you can see the statue of the famous Martin Luther. On the right you can see the Stadtkirche (Town and Parish Church of St. Mary's). The first mention of the church dates to 1187. Originally it was a wooden church.


Then we went to the Schlosskirche which is so much more famous then the Stadtkirche! All Saints' Church is a Lutheran church. It is the site where the Ninety-Five Theses were posted by Martin Luther on 31 October 1517, the act that has been called the start of the Protestant Reformation. We couldn't visit the Theses, the church is in re-construction, it has to look perfect in 2017 when the event becomes 500 years!
Sanny tad us that it is possible to walk to the top of the church. Sadly we didn't have enough time.


Sofia

Hey Mommy,

wie geht's?

We did a journey to the Harz mountains to take a walk around a part of the Teufelsmauer (Devil's Wall). It is a rock formation made of hard sandstones of the Upper Cretaceous in the northern part of the Harz Foreland. The part we visited has been protected since 1935 as a nature reserve and is thus one of the oldest nature reserves in Germany. The band of rock that forms the Teufelsmauer outcrops at three places over a distance of 20 km.


The most interesting thing is the way the Wall was made: "In a gray time the Devil came to an agreement with the Lord over a division of the estate. He wanted the Harz, however, to be his dominion. So they bet each other that he might have the mountains, if he managed to build in one night a wall as high and strong as the buildings of the emperor. Said and done, the wall rose up in the dark. Then the Lord had a farmer's wife from Timmenrode walk to market with her cockerel and stumble over a small pebble. Whereupon the rooster stretched his neck in the basket and began to crow. The Devil thought the night was over and flung the keystone furiously against his wall, leaving only fragments of it standing."
Devil must be a tall one!

Sofia

Hey Mommy,

we spent one more day in the Harz mountains. Alex showed us his new castle! It was a little bit dirty
Maybe he is going to clean it some day...




Sofia

Hey Mommy,

Sanny told us we are  going to Erfurt, a city in the heart of Germany. Yeah!

Later we heard that we're not here for sightseeing, only for shopping. But we were allowed to take a picture at the Dom Square!
On the left you can see St Mary's Cathedral which is the largest church in Erfurt on Domberg hill. It combines Romanesque and Gothic elements and hosts one of the largest medieval bells, the Gloriosa. It is also the Episcopal see and one of the main sights of Erfurt.
And on the right there is St Severus' Church. It is the second-largest parish church after the cathedral and stands next to it on the Domberg hill. It is a Gothic church and was built around 1300.

Sofia

Hey Mommy,

it's me again!

We went to the Harz mountains for some hiking!
When we arrived to a small villages we jumped into an old train and traveled for about half an hour. When we went out of the train we were standing on the top of the world! Ok, it was just the top of the Harz mountains.
The Brocken, also sometimes referred to as the Blocksberg, is the highest peak of the Harz mountain range and also the highest peak of Northern Germany. Although its elevation of 1,141 metres (3,743 ft) is below alpine dimensions, its microclimate resembles that of mountains of about 2,000 m (6,600 ft). The peak above the tree line tends to have a snow cover from September to May, and mists and fogs shroud it up to 300 days of the year. Ok, this must be one of the few days without fog!
The Brocken has always played a role in legends and has been connected with witches and devils and I'm sure we saw some behind some trees.
There's a weather station on the Brocken peak which hosts a museum.


Look! Home is not so far away! I'm sure I saw our little red cottage from the top of that mountain!


When we walked down the hill we found a path straight into the forest. Of course, we followed it. We walked and walked and walked and then there was the end! Somewhere in the forest. We turned and went back.


After walking 8km we were so hungry and realized that we didn't have anything to eat! Luckily we found some tasty blueberries. Yummy!


Sofia

Roadtrippin'

Just for fun we went to the ocean!
We visited the seaside resort Warnemünde which is located on the Baltic Sea.
All we did today was enjoying the sun, the salty wind and the sound of the waves. It was amazing!
Isn't it beautiful?
At the end of all that blue there is our little red cottage, Mom! Can you see it?
In the evening we were so tired that we fall asleep in the car. Must be that fresh air!

Sofia

Hey Mommy,

we've been so busy that we totally forgot to take pictures.

This is just a short update, because we didn't stay long.
We were on train with Sanny traveling around. In Leipzig we had a short stop-over so there was only time for one picture.

Leipzig is the largest city in the federal state of Saxony. With its population of 544,479 inhabitants it is one of Germany's top 15 cities by population. The city is located about 160 kilometers (99 miles) southwest of Berlin at the confluence of the White Elster, Pleisse, and Parthe rivers at the southerly end of the North German Plain.

On the picture you can see ME! And Leipzig main station. It is the central railway terminus in Leipzig. At 83,460 square metres (898,400 sq ft) it is the world's largest railway station measured by floor area. It has 19 overground platforms housed in six iron train sheds, a multi-level concourse with towering stone arches, and a 298 metres (978 ft) long facade. Two Leipzig City Tunnel underground platforms were inaugurated two years ago.
The station is classified as a Category 1 station, one of twenty in Germany. It also functions as a large shopping centre. Damn, no time for shopping today.

Sofia