Treacle

Treacle in Luzern

Posted 8th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Luzern, Switzerland: Distance Travelled = 60,570 miles

Hello!
I've travelled to Switzerland to spend some time skiing! It's lovely and snowy here, just like everywhere else! To get to the ski resort we had to take the train from the Zentralbahn in the city of Luzern up to Engelberg. It's a very small and really cute raiwlway with a rail gauge of only 1,000 mm. I decided that I wanted to have the best view possible going up into the Alps, so I got on the very front of the train. The crew of the train didn't think that was the best place for me though and I was reseated into one of the three coaches

On the steepest part of the line, cogs are used to pull the train uphill (or to break it when going down). You can see how steep the line is in the second picture by how much I had to tilt the picture to make the trees be upright! It was brilliant! We were soon in Engelberg though and ready for some adventures!
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle in Engelberg

Posted 9th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Engelberg, Switzerland: Distance Travelled = 60,585 miles

Hello!
Today we went up into the mountain to go skiing! To get up to the mountain, you need to take the lift. I was sandwiched inbetween some huge human beings, which meant that I didn't really so very much. So I went to the window to have a better look. My travelling companion held on as tightly as he could, but of course as usual I fell out, sigh. Luckily I landed in some very soft snow and didn't hurt myself, phew!

I wanted to try to climb back up to the cabin again, but my companions didn't that was such a good idea, so we decided to stay at the intermediate Gerschnialp level and do some cross country skiing instead. You can see me with my lift ticket in my hand, which is always very important to keep with you at all times! Then I skiied off on a strange track into the woods and off piste. At this point no-one was really sure where I went or what I got up to between this time and getting back to the village, but I'll reveal that information in my next blog entry!
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle in Engelberg Pt II

Posted 9th January 2010 - travel companions - Inger
Engelberg, Switzerland: Distance Travelled = 60,588 miles

Hello!
Well, now I'm going to let you know what I got up to after going cross country skiing in the woods! I stumbled across a log pile, which was really cool, the logs were all stacked so tidily, so I couldn't help but climb up it to see how it was done. Next I came to a lovely little log building with an interesting chain hanging from the roof. It was all covered in ice, I wasn't sure why so I had to climb it to see! I climbed into the hut, just for a quick rest. Once I was rested I skiied all the way up to the top of the mountain to have a look at the wonderful views. It was very refreshing up there and I looked at the view for a very long time before heading back down the mountain again, very happy! More soon!
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle in Engelberg Pt III

Posted 9th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Engelberg, Switzerland: Distance Travelled = 60,592 miles

Hello!
Well, having come down from the mountain I thought it was very important to have some aprés ski. I had arrived back down again just in time for the happy hour at "Ski Lodge Engelberg", a newly opened place ran by two swedes, where I ordered a large local beer, Eichhof. It was rather too large for me though and I fell asleep at the bar. I think it was because I was very sleepy after such an exciting day up the mountain. I was carried home by my wonderful travelling companions and taken to bed. In the morning I woke up very late after everyone else had left, so I climbed down out of the top bunk and decided to have a very relaxed day and sat on the balcony for fresh air. Very nice and relaxing and I could plan for my next adventure!
More soon!
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle Goes Crosscountry Skiing

Posted 12th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Ljungsbro, Sweden: Distance Travelled = 61,454 miles

Hello!
I'm now back in Sweden again and am enjoying the wonderful snow we've got over here. I decided to go out for a walk and happened to pass by the Vreta Kloster Golf Club, out by Ljungsbro near Linköping. I was so amazed to see the car park so full of cars! Of course I had to go and see what was going on, how could people be playing golf with so much snow everywhere?
Of course no-one could be playing golf, they were crosscountry skiing! I found a 10 kilometer track and got my skis out, but very cleverly I realised that if the start and the goal ('mål') is at the same place, you don't even have to put on the skis!
So I made a really large snowman whilst my friends were all skiing. Lots of fun and far less tiring!
A new adventure coming up soon!
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle Goes Skating

Posted 19th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Ljungsbro, Sweden: Distance Travelled = 61,457 miles

Hello!
Ljungbro seemed to be a good place for winter activities, so today we went back there for another adventure. This time we went to the Göta Kanal where someone had ploughed a track in the snow on the ice. We started to skate at the Heda Lock. Unfortunately there were lots and lots of people out skating and because I was so small I didn't see all the people and I managed to get myself run over by a skate, that wasn't fun at all! After that I managed to find the only hole in the ice and got myself stuck. It wasn't turning into a very good day at all. :(

Luckily I met up with some very kind friends who showed me how to wear and use ice prods, these keep you safe on natural ice. I also learnt about the using the whistle if you are in touble, which actually happens rather a lot to me! So I found the best way for skating was to hold on very tight to the ice prods around someone elses neck and then I stayed nice and safe. We managed to skate somewhere between 3 to 4 kilometers west along the canal this way. It was lots of fun!

Another adventure soon!
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle Goes to Dublin

Posted 26th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Dublin, Ireland: Distance Travelled = 62,366 miles

Hello!
I'm on a brand new adventure. I've travelled all the way from Sweden and over to Dublin. When you're travelling to new places all the time it can take a bit of getting used to using new transport systems. I found it quite hard to buy a ticket to get the bus into town, as you can see - sigh. I did manage to get my ticket though and took the bus, I got a nice view from the window. We got to the hotel and I thought I'd settle in a little bit. In the hotel room I found a trouser press and it reminded me of an adventure I had nearly a year ago! Another big sigh! I was surprised to find that in Ireland it was really, really cold. I think it's a different sort of cold really, far more damp and horrible. I managed to find a way of keeping myself warm. Luckily though I realised that maybe it wasn't such a good place to be and I decided it was time to go out before I could get myself into any more trouble!
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle in Dublin Part II

Posted 28th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Dublin, Ireland: Distance Travelled = 62,367 miles

Evening!
Having got to the hotel and spend a relaxing evening in we went out to discover the City of Dublin. First stop was the dockland area. Wow, the buildings were all so wonderful and fancy! Totally amazing. I thought it looked a bit like the Dockands area in London too. I think the best thing was the bridge though, looked like a harp on its side, very pretty! more soon!
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle in Dublin Part III

Posted 28th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Dublin, Ireland: Distance Travelled = 62,375 miles

Hello!
The travelling arrangements for a little bear can be a little bit difficult sometimes. In Dublin there is a new tram system, brand new, it's called the Luas Tramway and we took the tram all the way to it's final stop in Tallaght. The cold seats in the tram stops aren't helped much by bearing furry and it's cold in January in Dublin! The seats in the trams are a little bit big really, even the disabled seats aren't right for little bears. But there is definitely one fun way of travelling. I noticed all the human people holding on to the high up handles, now they fitted me perfectly! A great adventure on the tram though and I didn't get into trouble once!
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle in Dublin Part IV

Posted 29th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Dublin, Ireland: Distance Travelled = 62,380 miles

Evening!
Todays adventure was to the Guinness museum, well, if you go to Dublin, you have to go to the Guinness museum!! As we went round we were shown how the beer is made, you can see the barley before the roasting. Then fresh water from the mountains outside of Dublin are added. I tried to drive the engine that is used in the factory area, but I wasn't very good, it's not really made for little bears like me! Finally you end up in the sky bar on the 7th floor. There is an amazing view over Dublin and of course you have to have a pint of Guinness, it was very, very nice! slurp.
*cuddles*
Treacle

Treacle in Dublin Part V

Posted 29th January 2010 - travel companions - Anders
Dublin, Ireland: Distance Travelled = 62,382 miles

Evening!
My trip to Dublin has been really great. I've seen some really great things, including the Dublin Spire, which was the winning entry to replace Nelson's Pillar, which was blown up in 1966. It was a great place to meet up with people! Then I sat beneath a really huge statue and met a dog. Luckily he was only a statue too, so I didn't get into any trouble with him. After a very long day in the city you have to sit down with a lovely soothing coffee. Of course, being in Ireland I had to order an Irish coffee. Um, no-one told me that an Irish coffee has Whisky in it :( I found out after I'd drunk the coffee though. It's a good thing that it was my last day in Ireland! Another adventure soon.
*cuddles*
Treacle