Welcome at Ciska's Travel Corner

Hello everybody, on this page I'll show you all the places I've been already for vacation.

• My first far trip to Canada.
• Vacation to America and the pictures that I took.
• Vacation to Scandinavia and the pictures that I took.
• Vacation to Eastern Europe and the pictures that I took.
• Vacation to Ireland and the pictures that I took.

Canada

On September 2nd 2000 we went on a holiday to Canada. For the first time in my life in a plane, quite an experience. We went to a friend of my mama that she knew from the time that she lived in Ireland. That friend, Deirdre, now lives in a large city, Calgary. Because I was only 1 year of age I didn't have my own chair on the plane. But I had a lot of fun anyway, through one aisle to the back of the plane and through the other one back to the front again. We stayed a few days in Calgary and after that we drove through the Rockies with an RV, I really enjoyed it. Below you see some pictures of me in Canada. The three weeks travelling around in the RV went by way too fast. After that we stayed a few more days at Deirdres place. That was the end of the first long journey in my life. Actually I was also glad to be back home, so I saw my grand parents and all my other relatives and friends again. But the most important thing was that I was back with all my animal friends at home and that I could sleep again in my own bed instead of an inflatable pool as I had in the RV!

America

Together with my parents I went on vacation to America on Friday, September 13. We first went to Arlington, near Dallas. My mama used to go to school there and now there was a reunion of her class. We stayed with Dean, a former classmate of mama. While papa and mama were at the reunion, I stayed with the mother of Dean and I played with his niece Megan. That was very nice, although we couldn't understand each other. We also went to another former classmate of mama and I was allowed to play in the pool in their backyard. From Dallas we went to San Francisco. There we made a boat trip and then I saw a lot of sea lions and also a beautiful large bridge. We also went to see an old, former prison. In a town called Monterey we visited a large aquarium and I was allowed to touch a number of sea animals there. I liked that very much. From San Francisco we travelled around with an RV, just like we did in Canada. Only now I had my own bed, a very large one above the cabin. We also went to visit a number of parks. In one of them we saw a bear and I wanted to go to touch it. But my mama didn't allow me to do that, I didn't like that as I really wanted to approach the bear to have a better look. At the Grand Canyon we went on a train ride. During the trip the train was robbed, but what worried me the most were the horses of the robbers. The horses had to stay outside of the train while the train moved on. Our trip ended in Las Vegas, a city with a lot of flashing lights. What I really liked in Las Vegas was a large pool with a lot of fountains, and I do like fountains a lot. There was also a garden with a lot of birds like flamingos, ducks and penguins. At another hotel there were two pirate ships. They shot at each other with a lot of fire and smoke. In the end one of the ships even went down. In the hotel that we stayed in there was a circus and I enjoyed it very much. From Las Vegas we flew back home. Before we went on holiday my parents gave me my own photo camera so I've made some photos myself. You may see them on this page. If you want to read more about this vacation, check out my parents' site about this vacation.

Scandinavia

Our vacation of 2003 went to the northern part of Europe, to Denmark, Sweden and Finland. We left on the 8th of July and first we went to Legoland in Denmark. I really liked it very much, apart from the fact that they have there an awful lot of Lego, there is also an amusement park. From Legoland we went to the town of Bogense on the island of Funen. One of the things we visited there was the Egeskov castle and what I really liked there was the treetop walk. On a kind of suspension bridge you can walk through the tops of a number of trees. From Funen we drove to Sweden over a very long bridge. We went to Stockholm and we visited the Skansen open air museum. I liked the animals they have there. From Stockholm we took the ferry to Finland and we slept in a small cabin. The next day when we had arrived in Finland we drove to Helsinki. In Helsinki we visited a number of sights, but what I liked was the Sibelius monument and the boat trip through the harbour of Helsinki. On my mothers birthday we had a very nice dinner in a restaurant together with Heidi, a former colleague of mama. I really liked Heidi and later on I have even sent here a postcard from Sweden. Also in Finland we saw Aura, a friend of mama from the time she stayed in the USA. She lives with her husband and children in Oulu in the north of Finland. She just had a baby and it was nice that we visited them right now, as Aura had visited me in the hospital right after I was born. They also have two dogs and I really liked Rossu. Also in Finland we went to the arctic circle to visit Santa Claus. In Finland I also got addicted to the Moomins, an adventurous hippo family. Unfortunately they are not very well known in The Netherlands. Through Sweden we went down again. We visited the Dalarna area were the famous red Dalahorses are made. I really love these horses and we visited a factory in which they are made. All by hand. From there we went on to Copenhagen en there we saw the famous mermaid. I have also made some pictures during this holiday and to see them, click here. If you want to read more about this vacation, read the travelogue for this vacation of my parents.

Eastern Europe

In 2004 we visited three new EU member countries: Poland, Slovakia and the Czech Republic. After staying one night in Dresden, Germany, we continued our way to the small village of Kalna in Poland. There we stayed six night in Villa Kotlina with Kees and Gerda, a dutch couple renting rooms in their apartment. I really liked it there. We picked bilberries, visited a former salt mine and a number of old cities, among which Krakow. I also helped Gerda in the kitchen and I really liked that. After six days we continued our journey into Slovakia where we stayed in another apartment. There we visited a large castle ruin, Spišský Hrad, once a very large castle, now the largest castle ruin in Europe. We also wanted to take a walk in the so-called Slovak Paradise, but as it was raining so hard that day, my parents decided to visit some caves. One of them was an ice-cave and it was freezing cold in there. On another beautiful sunny day we made a walk in the Zádielska Dolina. This is long narrow gap and together with my father I climned up the hill from which we had a beautiful view over the surroundings. We could even see Hungary. In the end I'd walked more than 10 kilometres this day, which for me as a five-year old is rather long. In the capital of Slovakia, Bratislava, we celebrated mama's birthday. In Bratislava we first stayed a few nights in a cottage on a campsite and after that a few nights in a hotel with a large swimming-pool. That I enjoyed very much. In Slovakia we also saw a lot of fields with sunflowers and I do like these flowers. We also went to see a small town near the border with Hungary, Komarno. This town has a so-called Europe Place. At this square you may find building in different architectural styles from 26 different European countries. From Slovakia we went to the Czech Republic. There we stayed for several night in a cottage on a campsite. I really enjoyed myself there; it had a large swimming lake and a large playground. There were a lot of Dutch people on the camping and I enjoyed myself with the other kids. So I didn't like it when we left. Ofcourse we visited Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. There they had a cow parade and that was something I really liked. I photographed a lot of special cows. Each time I saw one I had to take a close look at her. From the Czech Republic we went to Germany. First to Nuremburg where we rented a caravan on a camping. Close to Nuremberg lies Zirndorf and there you may find the Playmobil Funpark. We also spent one day there and I played a lot with the Playmobil they have there. It is mainly an amusement park with a lot of things to play with for small children. Also with water, but unfortunately we didn't bring my bathing suit with us into the park. I really liked the Playmobil Park. At the end of day we bought some Playmobil in the shop. Back on the campsite I played with Daniel, the sun of our camping neighbours. They had also visited the park and bought him some Playmobil and together we played with it. Our last stop this vacation was with a friend of my mother, Gabi. With her husband and two sons they live near Bonn. we stayed with them for two night. Gabi uses horses for her work, she has six of them, and I was allowed to ride on one of them. For me that was one of the highlights of this holiday. Of course I've brought my little photo camera with me this vacation of some of the pictures I took you may see on my photo page.

Ireland

For our 2005 holiday we went to Ireland. This because my mother has lived her several years with her parents when she was a child and she wanted to show papa and me where she lived and where she went to school. On Monday the 4th of July we left very early and we drove the whole day across England. Before we crossed the sea to Ireland we stayed one night in a hotel. The first four nights in Ireland we stayed in a Bed & Breakfast in Shankil, south of Dublin, De first day we had lunch with the parents of Deirdre who we visited in 2000 in Canada. After lunch we went looking for mama's house and school from former times. After four days we went to the west and we rented a cottage for a week near Boyle. On the way to Boyle we made a short train trip through bog and peat country in Shannonbridge near Clonmacnoise. From our cottage in Boyle we made several trips through the area, we also visited the Connemara National Park and there I also saw some of the famous Connemara ponies. We also visited the coast several times where I searched for shells on the often windy beaches. Unfortunately the weather didn't allow us to go swimming in the sea. After a week we continued our trip and went to County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland where we spend another week in a cottage in Kilmacrennan. From there we visited the Glenveagh National Park with its beautiful castle and a very beautiful garden. I've made a lot of pictures in this garden. Because this year I was allowed to use papa's old digital camera as my old dog-camera that I used previously had broken down. So this year I could make a lot of pictures. We also visited the Dunlewey Lakeside Centre, not far from the park. This is a very large playground near a lake where you also make boat trips. There I enjoyed myself very much, I must say. Our last cottage this holiday was in Northern Ireland, in Randalstown. This wasn't just a cottage; it looked more like a villa. It used to be the home of the gamekeeper of an estate and was about 150 years old. From this house we drove along the Atlantic coast, we visited the Giant's Causeway and the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, a narrow rope bridge to a small island just off the coast. We also went to Rathlin Island to see the puffins. I've seen them and I also bought me a soft toy puffin. On the island we also some seals, so this was a perfect day out for me. After a week in Northern Ireland we took the ferry again and crossed from Belfast to England to spent a day in Cambridge before returning home. When we were in Cambridge mama bought me a pair of princess shoes in the Disney store. I really liked them a lot. Some of the pictures I took during this vacation can be seen on my photo page.