Travelog for: Hip & Hop

Hi Mum!

I've arrived safely in England.  It was such a quick journey as well!  When my package was opened, I was greeted by Tobbi and Sheela.


They were very nice and welcoming.  They also told me that another package had arrived at the same time as me, so I helped them to open it.


Inside we found Flummi.


The four of us got to know each other a bit better, and we all told each other about all of our travels.


Then we decided to go outside in the garden for a bit.  At first we just sat around underneath the Bonzai tree and chatted.


But then we decided to play hide and seek.  So while Tobbi counted to 100, we all found a hiding spot.


I think I was hidden pretty well!  I could hear Tobbi searching for us, and then I could hear that he had found Flummi.  And together they found me.


Now that I've been found, I help Tobbi and Flummi to find Sheela.  Hmm, where could she be?


I suggest that we have a look behind the Bonzai tree.  Nope, she's not there.  But, when we turn round... we've found her!


It was a lot of fun playing hide and seek.  But I was so tired from travelling...  The others said they were tired too, so we decided to join hostmum's cat, Snoopy, for a nap.


Bye!
Paula Hip

Hi Mum,

Today we visited Dicker Kumpel’s Grandma. We had something delicious to eat.



Later we heard some music outside and went onto the balcony. There was the Schützenfest – and the marksmen walked through the streets.



It was really interesting.





There was a car of the fire service at the end.



Yours
Sam Hop

Hi Mum,

Today Sheela, Tobbi, Flummi, Hostmum and I went in to Hexham where we met up with a friend of Hostmum's - Gizalba and the TVs that were visiting her, Pinky Bear, Edelweiss and Imperio.  There were lots of us!  It made for a very nice group outing.

First we went to see Hexham Abbey.


Here's a group picture of us inside the Abbey.



Here I am in front of the church organs - the picture isn't very good because we weren't allowed to use flash-photography.


We also went down to visit the 7th Century crypt.  It was quite a steep descent!


It was also very dark down there - it was fun though.


We also went and saw the 'Old Gaol', which was the first jail in England.




Then we all decided it would be fun to take a group picture with all of us in the stocks!



After the Gaol, we went to the toy orphanage, where Hostmum picked up her new Hippy.  You can see him in the next picture of all of us in the park.


There was a big monument in the park dedicated to all those that had fought in WWI & WWII.



It was a very nice day, I really enjoyed seeing Hexham!

Bye,

Paula Hip

Hi Mum,

It was such beautiful weather here today!  The sun was shining, the birds were singing... so of course we had to go outside and enjoy it, and what better way than to go for a walk?

Don't you just love the English countryside?


We decided to go and visit the Roman Fort at Chester.  Here I am with Sheela, Flummi, Tobbi and Hippy.  We're standing in front of the barracks - where the soldiers slept.


The fort was built almost 2000 years ago, and was part of Hadrian's Wall - a 200km long wall (that was 10m high at some points!) that divided England from Scotland.  The Roman Emperor Hadrian had it built in AD122 to keep the Scot's from invading their empire.


Gizalba and her visiting TVs Pinky Bear, Imperio and Edelweiss came with us as well.


Here we are in the baths.


Then we explored what used to be the sauna.


Oooh, the Commandant's house!




After exploring the fort, we decided that it would be nice to take a quick break by the river and enjoy the sunshine and beautiful scenery.


Here we all are, sunbathing.


Phew, after all that sun we were in need of some shade!  So what better way to get some shade than under - or rather *in* - a tree?


And after all that, it was definitely time for some ice cream - yum!


We had a really nice time there - but after a few hours we had all had enough and decided it was time to go back to Hostmum's home.  When we arrived, we saw that there was a package there, waiting for us.

Could it be another TV?


Let's open it and find out!


It is!  It's Huhn.


He got a very big shock when he saw how many of us TVs there were!  We all introduced ourselves and made him feel very welcome.


It was a very good day!

Bye,
Paula Hip

Hi Mum,

It's been absolutely lovely weather here, so we've all been outside enjoying the sunshine.


We quickly grew tired though - the sun was just so hot!  So we all sat down for a bit, relaxing.


But all that playing had made me very thirsty.  This cool drink was just what I needed!


I quickly got my energy back, and saw that there were lots of things that needed doing.  So I got right to work.
Look at this - I planted all of these lettuces!


It's been a very good day today Mum, but I'm quite tired.

Bye,
Paula

Hello Mum,

We are on our way to Finland now. RikeH was very busy the last days, so we didn’t update our travelogs, but now it will be better, we hope.

We went from Travemünde,Germany to Helsinki, Finland with the Ferry Finnlady. The weather was wonderful, but it was so stormy that RikeH decided to take only one photo of me outside. She didn’t want me to fly away.



Fortunately we had a wonderful cabin with many windows. Through this one I saw the way we went.



Then we all went to the window on the side of the ship. The sun was wonderful.





Of course we wanted to look to the other side.



Our ferry was great – look, there in front of us was a cruise ship.



Our Captain did a good job, so we won the race!





Love
Sam

Hi Mum,

Today we all went for a short drive to go and see one of the landmarks of the North East of England.


Here I am in front of the 'Angel of the North'.  It's a huge steel sculpture, about 20m (66ft) high and the wings are 54m (177ft) long!


When we got back to the car, hostmum treated us to another ice cream, mmm!


Then back at the house, we all decided to make a fruit smoothie.  First we had to get all the ingredients - ice, orange juice, raspberries and strawberries.


It was my job to cut the heads of the strawberries off.


And tada!  The final product.


We each took a glass outside - it was great.  It was lovely and hot outside, and the fruit smoothie was so refreshing; perfect!


Afterwards hostmum offered us some olives - I tried it, but didn't like it very much.  The fruit smoothie was much better!!


Love,
Paula

Hello from Finland,

Behind me you can see the Port of Helsinki – or maybe one of the Ports there.



When I looked into the other direction – there was no port anymore – really strange.



We drove a while and our first stop was Hanko. We saw this nice beach.



Hanko has a small port, but there were not many ships at the moment.



There was a small hill in the middle of the town – with a church and a red tower.



I loved the tower – maybe it is a rocket?



Just another nice building – the Casino.



We went to another town called Turku. Here you see a church.



This is the library I think, with a nice fountain.



I looked over the river and saw this big church – it was wonderful!



Our hotel is next to this river!



Mum - I visit a new country - you should change the amount in our life mission! 

Yours
Sam

Hello Mum,

The day started in a small village called Rauma. It is famous for the old part of it with many wooden houses.



I think this was the town hall, but I am not sure about it.



Look – this bear was so friendly!



They had a nice old church.



We drove to the next place Pori – and started with another church.



Behind me you can see a great park!



We had a nice view back to the city.



There was another old building  - maybe the town hall. Unfortunately I cannot read the signs here.



Our last stop of the day was at the seaside.  We found this great beach.



Can you see me in the Dunes?



Here I am!



Bye
Sam

Hello Mum,

We were in Jyväskylä today. First we went to a place called Naissaari. We had fun on this monument. Can you see Muggel and me?





We saw this watergate, but there was no boat in it.



This is typical for Finland – trees and water.



We bought some chocolate.



Then we went onto a hill – Harju.



We had nice views over the city from the tower on the hill.





Behind me you can see the church of the city.



Many greetings
Sam

Hello Mum,

In the late afternoon Dicker Kumpel told me and the others that he had a surprise for us.



We all were excited and we jumped into our travel bag.



Look, what happened! RikeH met two Finish hosts – mmm105 and reissari – and all their TVs and TV-guests. So we had a big TV-meeting!





To have a better view of us – we made smaller photos.










It was great to meet so many new TVs. Hopefully I will meet some of them again on my trip around the world!

Then we had another meeting – we went to a postcrossing-meeting. You can see the postcards of the postcrossing-members. We had so much fun talking with these friendly women.





What a nice meeting!

Yours
Sam

Hi Mum,

Today two TVs left us to continue with their travels, so we all said goodbye to them.


First I said bye to Tobbi who's travelling on to Yorkshire.


Then I said goodbye to Hippy and wished him lots of luck for his first ever travel.


Then it was time for them to leave.  We said one last goodbye, and off they went.


But almost as soon as they left, two packages with TVs arrived!


In the first envelope was Lizzy Lizard!


Then we all opened the second package.


And it's _Mishuta_!  Here we all are - Flummi, Sheela, Huhn, Mishuta, me and Lizzy.


Then we decided to go for a short walk to Brunto Turret, which is another part of Hadrian's Wall.  Here I am outside hostmum's house - this is their view.  Apparently it's typical English countryside.




Here we all are on the turret.


Here I am on the wall, can you spot me?




Then on the way back, some sheep came over to say hello.


It was both a happy and sad day - saying bye to two friends, and meeting two new friends as well as exploring more of the countryside around hostmum's house.

Bye,

Paula

Hi Mum,

Great news – I saw the the biggest wooden church of the world.



We went inside, of course. (It is not always possible to go into Finish churches, because most of them are closed.) This one opened today.



There were many children coming into the church.



Look – the bell tower stood alone.





In the afternoon we reached the national park with the Koli Mountain. We had a great view over the lakes around.





And we saw trees. There are lots of forests in Finland!



Maybe this was a religious place in the Past?



Believe it or not - we found snow!



Can you see me on this funny guy?



This is a ski region in the wintertime. Look – I would take the black way!



On our way to the next hotel we stopped and enjoyed the sunshine next to this beautiful lake.



Yours
Sam

Hi Mum,

Today we went to Durham, which is where hostmum goes to university.  All of her exams are finished, so the last few weeks of uni is just for partying.  Sounds good to me!

We went to visit Gizalba, who is a friend of hostmum's.  She goes to Durham university as well, but lives in a different college to hostmum.  So we spent the day at Gizalba's college with Edelweiss and Tapsi.

Here we all are by the war memorial, which is dedicated to those that lost their lives in the first World War.




Here you can see the war memorial and Durham Cathedral in the background.


And look Mum, a rainbow!  Isn't it pretty?


It started to get a bit cold, so we had one last group picture taken with the cathedral in the background.


Then we went inside and played a game of Monopoly on the machine in the bar.


And to finish off the evening, I had a very nice cocktail.  Don't worry though Mum, I was very sensible and didn't drink too much!  I think hostmum should have followed in my shoes, judging by how shaky the picture is... 


Bye,
Paula

Hello Mum,

We had a lazy day at home. Look, what we had for dinner



Then we sat in front of the fireplace and talked.





I love it to look into the fire!



And I want to show you the funny kind of drinks we had.



Bye
Sam