Mr. Pigeon's European Adventures

Hello! Apologies for the long absence. You'll be pleased to know I have a very good excuse- the parents were visiting me in Germany this week and it was my duty as their only daughter to exploit their hire car and empty their wallets. They very kindly took Mr. Pigeon and me to some very nice places. There are of course photos...


The first stop was Giengen an der Brenz, a small and pretty town in Bavaria. It is also home of Steiff, the stuffed animal company so we visited the museum. It really is worth a visit, it's amazing what they can make out of fluff and stuffing...

We got a catalogue to flick through over a piece of cake...




...no sign of any stuffed pigeons.




Next stop was Munich. Mr. Pigeon got very excited by this place...

...but it didn't really appeal to the human members of the party so we ended up in the Hofbraeuhaus with one of these...

...and one of these...

After all that beer, Mr. P needed some fresh air to clear his woolly head...

...so we went up to the Heidelberg castle...

...Mr. Pigeon didn't seem impressed...

..."shoddy brickwork" apparently.




He seemed happier in Hanschuhsheim...

...he knocked but nobody was in...

But it was ogling the French birds in Strasbourg that Mr.P was really looking forward to. He soon felt right at home...

...although I expect it's a good thing he can't read French...

...he even tried to blend in with the locals...

...they weren't very talkative.





So that's where we've been. Needless to say not an awful lot of crocheting has been going on.

Except for this chap...

But fear not, pigeon fanciers! Normal service has now been resumed, the dissertation is very slowly being written during the day and new pigeons are appearing in the evening :)

A pigeon on a mission

I'd caught Mr.Pigeon staring thoughtfully up at my dictionary on quite a few occasions...



...I'd also caught him trying to read it...but I think it may have been a bit difficult as it is twice the size of our feathered friend...

...so I took pity on Mr. Pigeon and bought him a little present to make things easier for him...

...although I still wasn't sure what a pigeon would want with a German dictionary...

...I did ask, but was told to mind my own business....charming.

He then demanded a lift on my bicycle (with a folded piece of paper under his wing)...

...to one of my favourite places- Cafe Frisch, the best bakery in Heidelberg.

I was told to stay put and in he went still holding the little bit of paper...

( I should point out that I was alone, had been hanging around suspiciously outside the bakery for about 10 minutes holding a woolly pigeon , waiting for an opportune moment (i.e. a moment when nobody would be watching) and just as I though the coast was clear, that woman appeared and must have thought I was a complete lunatic...you can see it in her face)



Anyway, Mr. Pigeon emerged a few minutes later with a package and I gave him and his mystery item a lift home...

...what was written on the folded paper?

I thought so- "one piece of cake for Mr.Pigeon please"

Introducing....THE WONDER CHAIR!

I had a problem. It was a beautiful sunny day, the sun was shining directly onto my balcony but I had nowhere to sit. The spinny desk chair just wouldn't do so I set off on a mission to find a chair that was up for the job.



I found it in the first place I looked- near the station, sitting outside the shop in all its glory. I paid for it, was presented with a very long bag which I attached to myself and cycled home with at great risk to myself and other cyclists (you've seen the slapstick 'turning around holding a plank and hitting somebody' sketches? well imagine that but with a chair in a bag on my back and a lamp-post.)



What's so great about it? Attractive it is NOT but practical it most certainly IS. Look...it's even got a footrest built in...

"Now wait just one minute" I hear you say. "What's all this got to do with knitting and pigeons and...well, interesting things?"

Funny you should say that.



This chair not only has a yarn holder on one side...

...it has a pigeon holder on the other side!

Those chair designers think of everything.

And don't worry, Mr. Pigeon was well protected from the sun. I didn't want him burning his beak so we got his sun hat out...





And finally I'll leave you with a picture of the apple that cares.

Who needs a man when fruit can say it for 40 cents?

Bargain Yarn and Gummy Pigs

This is my bargain bamboo/cotton yarn (1.75 euro) and groovy new coloured-handled crochet hook. I tested the hook (successfully) on Mr. Pigeon 024. Unfortunately nothing new has been made yet (although there are plans for that red yarn) but I've discovered a great patchwork and sewing shop with some great patterns for snails and chickens and yet another wool shop even closer to where I live. It was closed yesterday so that's something to explore tomorrow.

Do you recognise "Fred Ferkel"?

They're exactly the same as M&S Percy Pigs and are slightly cheaper so I'm VERY happy :D

I know I promised pictures of cake but by the time I got my apricot custard slice back home there wasn't much left to take a photo of. Sorry. Maybe next time...

Hallo Heidelberg!

Guten Tag! It's been a while.

I arrived in Germany just over a week ago to embark on the second half of my year abroad and have only just got t'internet set up after filling in a lot of forms and trying to decipher the set-up instructions. At least this connection is lightning fast unlike the one in Spain so there's no excuse for me not to post photos!

Before coming out here I spent 2 1/2 weeks in England going to a 21st in Edinburgh, an 80th round the corner, going to York , Durham and finally Bristol to find somewhere to live next year and whenever I had a spare moment I was doing something pigeon-related.

This was the latest batch (there were 3 more who went to the Rugby Club and New York) and these little chaps (and one chapette) were sent off to various places in the UK.

I've already found the wool shop in Heidelberg and it's very good and very cheap. I've just crocheted a new hat for about 60pence (photos to follow). Most exciting of all however are the bakeries. On the pre-term German course I am taking we get breakfast every morning which consists of a choice of sandwiches, pretzels, jammy or chocolate doughnuts, croissants, pain au chocolat, cheese bread, chocolate muffins...the list goes on. Mmmmmmmmmmm. This makes up for the dreadful weather. As you can see, it's a wee bit grey and I was told today that snow was forecast...

Hopefully the sun will come out later and Mr.Pigeon (or Herr. Taube as he should be called here) and I will go out and take some more photos........probably of cakes.