Garmisch, Germany

It's time I admit something.  I am not as talented as I thought I was when it comes to skiing.  But the German Alps are certainly the place to try!

We flew from London to Munich, Germany, a flight that went very quickly despite the one carry-on bag rule that left me squished against a travel size deodorant and questionably fashionable ski suspenders.  From there we took a train to the Munich Haptbaunhaf.  I knew this was the main train station, because I speak eloquent German.  I once spent a trans-Atlantic journey in the cargo hold next to a shipment of Nutcrackers.  They are generous language teachers.  We rode the train through the countryside all the way to the mountains, which were beautiful!

I've only ever seen the Rockies before, but the Alps have to be some of the prettiest mountains ever.  The tiny town we stayed in looked every bit like the postcard I had imagined, quaint and warm with plenty of mountain village details.

The best part of the whole trip, beyond the excellent chocolate, was when Maika and Scott took me skiing on the final run of the day.  We went all the way to the top of the mountain, where it looked exactly like the inside of a snowglobe someone had shaken up a lot.  We stayed in a bed & breakfast at the top and warmed up for a while and when we left to ski down everyone was gone!  We were the only ones on the mountain, and the fresh snow was falling!  The moment we came around the final corner we could see the whole village lit up like a scene from a story book.  I finally understand why humans like to strap those silly skis to their feet and attempt to travel downhill.  It was beautiful!

Londontown!

Yesterday the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) Awards brought lots of famous people to London.  Rumor has it if you were in the right place at the right time you could see George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Brad Pitt, and me!

The horses and I before the Changing of the Horse Guard!  They parade down the street once a week to switch out the guards.

No, I wasn't in town to accept my award.  Maika still hasn't found out about that secret travel movie I've been filming from her suitcase but I'm sure when she does I'll be up for an award too.

We were in fancy fabulous London to enjoy the sites as proper tourists!  It's such a cool place.  We rode a double-decker bus, had high tea, and even toured The Tower of London.  

Here are a few things I've learned from being in The Queen's city:

-They drive on the opposite side of the road, so you have to look left before crossing.  In London they even paint reminders on the street saying, "Look Left!"

-No one uses dollars, they use pounds, which are also called GBP (Great British Pound).  The money is all different sizes and looks very different from what I'm used to!

-The showers and closets are smaller, but the amount of butter and cream is bigger.  They put "clotted cream" on scones, which might be the reason I'm carrying around a few extra layers of warmth.

-When you say goodbye to someone, you can add an extra word to make it fun, "Cheers!"

Look!  They're just like me!  This is on the side of a double-decker bus, an advertisement for my favorite store!

Guess who rode in this fancy car?

The Duchess of Cambridge, Catherine Middleton!

The Royal Carriage at the Royal Mews, where they keep the royal horses

Big Ben is actually the name of the bell inside the clock!

Tower Bridge

The Tower of London, complete with nut roasters outside

So goodbye for now, my friends.  Cheers!

The Crown Jewels, on display at The Tower of London.  If only my neck were stronger.

Brugges, Belgium

Merry Christmas!
It's been a while since we've last spoken, and I'm afraid I have some sad news.  I am afraid my cover as Maika's secret suitcase partner has been compromised!  I was getting ready to hop into her trusty luggage for a trip to Belgium. I'd been saving up all my extra snack points (I'm on the new Weight Watchers plan. That Jennifer Hudson is an inspiration.) for waffles and chocolate when suddenly I was kidnapped!  Well, bearnapped...

A mean gray mouse tied me up and left me in the back of Maika's closet where I could only see old issues of People magazine and mismatched shoes.  Then he jumped in her purse and went on the trip with her instead of me!  I would have been much more upset if Maika didn't bring me back the most delicious chocolate--and if I didn't get a chance to read up on the latest gossip.  That Ryan Gosseling sure is dreamy.

When Randy (the mean gray mouse) returned from his trip, I found these pictures on Maika's camera.  Thought you might enjoy the little bit of Belgium he got to see!

The list of prohibited items in the Chunnel

Maika and Scott traveled from England to Calais, France under the water! The Chunnel (Channel Tunnel) was formally opened in 1994 and is 31.4 miles long! (Don't bring ferrets.)

The Chunnel carries passengers in cars on these sweet trains.  ( I had to find this on Wikipedia, because I was left at home in a closet. Stupid mouse.)

Brugges is the capital and largest city in the province of West Flanders in the Flemish region of Belgium.

The whole city smells like chocolate--just like this giant chocolate aardvark!

 

There's this cool old mote surrounding the whole city where you can take boat rides!

Belgian waffles!  You can get them topped with whatever you like, and people carry them around like funnel cakes!

Randy the Mouse in the lace, for which Brugges is famous.

I bet he thought this was about a mouse...

The good news is I have been freed and will soon be traveling again!  Have a happy New Year!

Pictures from Dubai!

Sunset in Dubai--notice the Burg Kalifa, the world's tallest building!

They even built an entire golf course here, in the middle of the desert!

Me and my new friend David, Maika's coworker from Germany

Can you guess what this says?

At first I was scared to go to the top of the Burg Kalifa, but they let bears ride the elevator, which goes 10m per second!  It only took 14 seconds to reach the top!

The view from the deck at the top of the Burg Kalifa made me think we must be back on the plane!

If you use your bear vision, you can see the beginning of a man-made group of islands they are constructing to resemble the world.  It will be a giant resort where guests can choose their "country."

This huge building houses the Armani Hotel, lots of businesses, and private residences.  They call it a vertical city.

My first meeting with a gold ATM.  I didn't know that's where humans get their gold.  Seems impressive to me!

Back on the ground after our journey to the top.  The Burg Kalifa is right next to the Dubai Mall, the biggest mall I've ever seen! It's structurally designed to resemble a flower, and is tested to survive every kind of weather.  Don't tell my science friends, but I was even more impressed by the pictures of Tom Cruise filming the newest Mission Impossible movie here!

A nice shady stop outside the Dubai Mall

Not only does this mall have an indoor ice rink and a full scale fashion runway, it has a waterfall with cliff divers!

You may not know, one of my many talents is cliff diving.

Dubai from the ocean, which was really warm when I stuck my toes in it!

There's an entire outdoor stroll full of restaurants along the ocean where people hang out every night.  On Wednesdays there's even a night market.

Did you guess?  It's my favorite! Starbucks!  The only difference is they didn't offer decaf coffee and they had never seen a Gold Card.  Bears need their caffeine. 

What a cool way to end my trip to Dubai, a walk at night along the Marina...