christine.j's VirtualTourist Home Page

The lilies of the valley are in full bloom, the cuckoo has made its way back and this morning I heard the golden oriole for the first time this year. There is no doubt: Spring is here!

In February my husband and I spent a long weekend in Paris. We had a great time! I like city trips in the off-season, less visitors in the museums and hotels are cheaper.

In spring we went to Zittau

and Usedom,
then a few weeks later we were able to spend some days in Vienna.

Then in summer I went to the Uk again, cycled in Cambridge, met some very nice VT members in London, spent some days in Kendal
and was scared by a bull in the Lake District. The highlight of this year's travel was the unique
Isle of Man.

My mother turned 80 this year and as birthday gifts she wanted to go to
Taizé,
Cluny and
Dresden. I think it's no big secret where I got the travel bug from.

Even though I've never been to Australia my travel talisman is a koala.He's been with me on many travels. Over the years he sat on many hotel tables, very often in the UK, but also in other European countries and in Israel.
In 2006 he was with me in Taizé
France, where he was very surprised at the sudden snow fall in spring.
He was sitting in a hotel room in
Cologne
waiting for us to come back from an evening out drinking Kölsch.
He shook in head in wonder when he heard that I had touched a snake in theNationalpark Berchtesgaden.
In his mind I should stroke Koalas, not snakes.I fully agree, I would love to stroke another koala once, apart from him.
He suffered with me in the muggy heat in Berlin in 2006. In Wales, in Brecon and the Brecon Beacons
however, he loved the temperatures. Since he was well protected from the rain, he was able to enjoy autumn there.
On October 14,06 he met a fellow VTer and enjoyed a glass of Prosecco with him. Not too much though, as it's common knowledge that too much prosecco and koalas don't mix, especially if you need to sit on the sugarbowl in order to reach the glass.

VT bears Nobby and Luciano, VT member Russell the Wombat met with Koala in Weinheim on a hot summerday in July 2008. Even though they were carried all the time, they were quite exhausted by the heat and enjoyed their (well-deserved?) rest in the park.
Poor Luciano was overcome by the heat and had to lie down. Small wonder, he is the one wearing the most, hat, T-shirt, VT pin and a pair of trousers, on top of his fur!

Walking my dog in the late afternoon I thought I had seen a dwarf out of the corner of my eye. I turned around to have a closer look, and it still looked like a dwarf resting. I felt I was in the middle of a fairy tale or the Lord of the Rings.

The next day I took my camera to get a picture of the dwarf/elf. It's still there. Doesn't it look exactly like a dwarf or elf? You have to walk up very close to it to realize it's just some branches and leaves.

I'm 54, have a large family and lead a very busy and happy life. I'm working as a teacher, and also as a tour guide. Sometimes I think there is not that much difference between the two jobs.
We had students from many countries stay with us, so apart from my own travels I've done a lot of travelling to touristy places in Germany as well.
I like walking and hiking very much and I'm very much interested in bird-watching or any other wildlife.
I've been running for myself for years and have rune a few "official" runs, the longest so far the half-marathon on the Isle of Man.It was a fantastic experience! Now I'm hoping to manage a full marathon in a couple of months.