I am so tuckered out! We have done lots of traveling and walking in the past four days. We traveled through two countries stopping in Prague and Salzburg. Can you believe that we could travel across two countries is such a short amount of time?  Mark says the countries in Europe are much smaller than Canada, and he would know because he is a Geography teacher!

We hiked up to the top of a hill and had an amazing view of the city of Prague. There were many church towers and domes sticking out above all of the regular houses. Being up so high you get a totally different perspective of the city. I could almost see the house we were staying at from the top of the hill! We also went on the Charles Bridge. All along the bridge there were brass Saints and it was believed that you would be blessed if you touched them. That was the first time I was blessed by a Saint. I think I was the first monkey to ever be blessed by the Saints! There were also many artists and photographers selling their work. I might like to be a photographer when I grow up.  Ally let’s me borrow her camera sometimes and I have captured some spectacular shots.  I’ll show you some of them!

 

 I took this picture of the city of Prague. 

Have you ever heard of the band The Beatles? There was a big painting of the lead singer, John Lennon on a wall called the John Lennon Wall. Over the years people would paint over the face of John Lennon, but there was always someone who would come back and re-paint it. I saw a picture of this wall on the Charles Bridge and was amazed so we decided to go and see it. It didn’t look as good as the photograph, because it had graffiti on it.  This wall was famous because people would protest and speak out against the government there. I thought we should protest against the price of bananas, but we didn’t want to make a scene. After all people don’t eat as many bananas as us monkeys do. Even though banana prices were high, I still enjoyed Prague.

My view of the John Lennon wall.

 

I took this picture of the girls on the Charles Bridge.

            Austria was the first time on our trip where we stayed in the mountains. The mountains were so high that they had snow on top! Too bad we weren’t here in the winter because we could have gone skiing, unfortunately there was not enough snow for us in November. I wonder if there is such thing as monkey skis; it would be an amazing experience to ski in the mountains. I bet I would have been the first monkey to ski in the mountains of Austria. Hmmm, now that I think about it…I should probably start out on a smaller hill.

My view of the mountains.

            We went into Salzburg one day to meet Meghan’s papa’s friend, Louisa. She took us on a ride up the funicular to a castle. I had never been on a funicular before. The funicular was like a little cart or train that went up a steep hill.  It was super fast; what would take us ten to fifteen minutes to walk took us two minutes on the funicular. There was a museum in the castle at the top, and we learned how the castle had grown and changed over the years. There was a look out point and we spent a long time admiring the city. I quite enjoyed looking at the city and mountains with the sun beating on my face. The mountains with the snow on top in the distance sparkled in the sun. At the end of the day we got a hot chocolate and a Mozart chocolate ball. The waiter looked at me funny, as if he had never seen a monkey drink a hot chocolate before. I guess in Austria the monkeys drink their chocolate cold - they are really missing out.  The chocolate balls were filled with chocolate and pistachio filling, mmmmmmmm mmmmmmmm, they were delicious.

 

An oven in the Castle, we saw another one in a place we stayed at in Switzerland.

            I think if I ever come back to Austria, I’d like to come when I could go skiing.  I should probably have a couple lessons first though.  Maybe Ally and Meghan will teach me when we get home. I’ll have to ask them. I am glad that we stayed in Austria and the Czech Republic because now I am inspired to learn how to ski.  Watch out mountains….here I come!

Written by Socks, translated by Meghan.

Denmark

You would not believe where I just went, Denmark! We stayed in a cozy little cottage in a town called Hundested. The cottage even had a trampoline! I am a monkey and I like to jump, but I have never jumped on a trampoline before. I went so high!

 

This is a picture I took of Meghan on the trampoline.

Have you ever seen glass blowing before? They put the glass in a red-hot oven, then they blow the glass just like it was a balloon. If they make a mistake they just put it back in the oven and try again. I had to step back because the tip of my tail started to singe. We watched them make a vase and add different colours. I was so amazed. Amazed at the vase, that rhymes!

We had lots of time to relax and snuggle by the fire, and one day we decided to venture out to Copenhagen. Copenhagen was the first time I realized that I was really traveling around the world! It all just seemed like a dream before. One of the things we did in Copenhagen was visit a mermaid statue; I had seen the Little Mermaid movie and absolutely loved the characters. The mermaid was put there because a brewer saw a ballet performance of the Little Mermaid, and fell in love with the character. He got a sculptor to make a brass mermaid and she sits on a rock on the edge of the water.  She has been in the harbour ever since.

 

This is the Mermaid.

 We also went to a street called Nyhavn where a row of houses lined a canal. The buildings on the street were very colourful and there was a reflection in the water. There were so many different colours including yellow, red and blue. If I had a choice I would pick the green one.

 

Me at Nyhaven.

We stayed out in the countryside which was very different from the city. The houses had thatched roofs, which is weird because they are made out of grass. Have you ever seen a thatched roof before? One day we went to the beach, Ally and Meg made me a chair so I could look out at the water and watch the fish jump. There was a fly fisherman in the water.  Instead of having a reel he had to pull the string in and throw it out again to bait a fish. We went for a walk on the beach and there were very large round stones; because I am so little, it was like I was rock climbing!

 

Me on the beach.

            I was sad when our stay in Denmark ended but I am excited to head off to Germany. I hope to come back again to travel all around Denmark with my monkey wife and children one day, just like the Mitchells.

Written by me, Socks.

Edited by Meghan.

Socks in Switzerland

Hello! In Switzerland we stayed in a Swiss chalet beside the mountains. We had a beautiful view right outside of our window. We could see green fields, a large city and tall mountains topped with snow.  Surprisingly, for this time of the year it was not too cold. During our week here it only snowed twice, but it did not last. On one of the days here we went to a famous mountain called the Matterhorn. It is so tall, that you can ski on the top all year round. Sadly, I did not have my ski’s so we could not go. Another day we went to a chocolate factory and a town called Gruyere, the place were Swiss Gruyere cheese is made. As some of you may know, Switzerland is known for chocolate and cheese fondue. Since they have very good chocolate here, they can also make really good chocolate cookies! On our way to our little Swiss chalet we visited a cookie factory. We tried many kinds of cookies and could eat as many as we wished.  By the end of our visit we were full of cookies!

 

Welcome to the Swiss Alps!

Out our window. 

After a busy last week, we did a lot of relaxing. Meg and Ally got caught up on their school work. After our first few days of rest, we decided to get out and see the sites. Our first stop was the little town of Gruyere. We visited a cheese factory and learned how to make cheese. We saw part of the cheese making process as well. For our next stop we moved on to visit a chocolate factory. The chocolate factory was called Cailler. Many years ago the Cailler chocolate factory joined up with a few other factories including Nestle.  Nestle, is a big chocolate company and some of you may have tried their chocolate bars before. These include Aero, Coffee Crisp, Kit Kat, Rolo and many more. We looked at the ingredients and watched them turn from a pot of chocolate to a lovely creation that melts in your mouth. At the end of the tour we got to try all the different kinds of chocolate! Mmmm they were so good. I ate so many it gave me a tummy ache!

 

Gruyere

Making Gruyere cheese.

Kambly cookie factory.

Our cookies and crackers.

Callier chocolate factory. 

During our week in Switzerland we visited a big mountain called the Matterhorn near Zermatt. We were very lucky that day and had sunny and warm weather. Ally’s dad said that this beautiful weather rarely happens in November. We spent most of the day hiking along a trail close to the Matterhorn and relaxing in the sun. We also walked around the town of Zermatt. Later that night we returned home and had traditional Swiss fondue!!! It was the best cheese fondue I have ever had!

The Matterhorn

Switzerland was a very beautiful place and we thoroughly enjoyed our stay! 

Socks in Germany

Hello friends, I am back to tell you more about my trip around the world! Recently we have visited the country of Germany. Have any of you been to Germany before? Common food in Germany include sausages and pretzels. One of the favourite types of sausages, are sausages cut up and covered in curry sauce. During one of our days in Germany, my family and I tried one of these sausages and they were very tasty. We also tried a giant hot pretzel. Delicious! Also on the highway in Germany there is no speed limits so you can drive as fast as you want!

 

Pretzels in front of the Germans parliament building called the Reichstag.

Currywurst or curry covered sausages 

One of the old German cars. 

Germany is also known for the Berlin Wall. The Berlin Wall was a big concrete wall that split the city of Berlin in half. The wall was built after WWII when half of Berlin (the East Side) was controlled by Russia, and the other half (the West Side) was controlled by the USA, Britain and France. The West side was where citizens could be free, and The East Side where they could not. To make sure that all the East German citizens did not go over to West Side, the Russians put up a wall. This was called the Berlin wall. Some families were not able to see each other for years because they could not pass through the wall. Could you imagine not being able to see your family? In 1989 the German citizens destroyed the wall, and the city was once again reunited. You can buy pieces of the wall in stores and maybe when I come to visit you one day, I can show you the piece I bought.

 

A long section of the wall still standing (The East Side Gallery) 

The East Side Gallery

On another day we visited a German concentration camp, which was a very emotional day, but was a very important part of history. It made me realize how lucky I am to live a long and happy life, with the people I love. We also visited a Jewish museum to learn about the history of Jewish people in Germany.

 

The gates in to the concentration camp.

After our stay here we knew a lot more about Germany and were glad we came to visit. Now it is time for me to pack up my little monkey suitcase and head on the next leg of our journey.

Written by Socks

Translated by Ally