Hi everyone,

Yesterday, I went to the Eastern State Penitentiary. It's considered to be the world's first true penitentiary. It was in operation from 1829 to 1971. Unfortunately, I neglected to get a picture of the outside.

On this picture you see the kitchen building. It wasn't open so I wasn't able to go inside.

This Picture is a picture of the outside yard. The Comcast Center is also visible in the background. It's the tallest, thin, rectangular building.

This is a bit blurry. Sorry. It's a plaque commemorating prisoners who fought in WWII. They are only listed by their inmate numbers.

It shows a typical hallway in one of the later built cell blocks. Unlike the earlier cell blocks which just had 1 floor, later cell blocks had two floors.

This picture shows the size of a typical cell. The back of the wall, that's boarded up, was a door that lead to a small walled yard where the prisoner was allowed to exercise, garden, and/or keep a pet.

Here is a recreation of the original doors for the cells. You would have to crawl into the cell.












This is a model of the original design of the prison cells. Each cell was totally independent of another cell and prisoners were not supposed to have any contact with any people. The designers of the prison believed that solitary confinement would lead prisoners to think about their missdeeds.






Here is a door for the cell. It's very intimidating and there's no window or anything on the doors so no light could pass through.












This picture is of the hallway of cell block 1. It's one of the original cell blocks that was built at the prison. Very gloomy

My first trip in Pennsylvania

Hi every one. Now I am in Pennsylvania. It is a nice State in the USA.
First I visited Philadelphia. It was garde... Have a look at the pictures.
The first picture is of Philadelphia's city hall.











The court room picture is of the British style court room that existed in Independence Hall.







I visited Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence was signed.

Independence Hall was the center of Pennsylvania's judicial system. The three chairs in the back is where the judges would sit. The round table is where the lawyers would sit and the black barred area that I am looking at, is where the defendant would be standing.





The room where the Declaration of Independence was signed is the last place that I visited. I am standing where George Washington was sitting during the meeting.

My first Adventure in the USA

My trip to the Houston Garden Center! (It is known to have many varieties of roses. It is very beautiful when they are all in bloom!)



Oh my! It is an Ingrid Bergman Hybrid Tea!!! (rose)

This is the Ingrid Bergman Hybrid Tea Rose.

The Daydream Rose!




Daydream Rose

The pagoda in the Garden Center

I am taking a break from the Houston heat! The pagoda is a nice place to rest.

I have found a beautiful lady in the garden!















She seems to like me as well! :)








A blooming shrub in the herb garden!








The Rosemary Garden!








I am playing in the Rosemary Garden.








The Mint Garden is next.









I am enjoying the refreshing smell of mint on a hot Houston day!

My last day in Germany

Today is my last day in Germany. I am so nervous because of all the new things I will get to know. But today I made a small walk through my home town Stendal.

My friend Johannes put me into his pocket and than we went to the town. You can't see me, wait...

In Stendal we visited the "Roland", an old Statue, which was an important symbol of the "Hanseatic time". The traders measured their cloth between his knees.

After this we drunk a Coffee and enjoyed the sun and the warm spring breeze.














Me in front of his big foot.













This is the whole Roland.










At home again I made the letter ready.










I wrote a postcard and put it in the envelope.













And than I jumped into the envelope and now my first journey can start...

I am looking forward to it
Hans

My first invitation!

Good morning every one. I got my first invitation this morning from melsar. She is from Houston, TX in the USA. I am so curious how she lives. Now I will get ready. Hopefully the trip starts soon.
Hans

Hans Backpacker Tour around the World

Hi, my name is Hans. I'm a little Playmobil-man from Germany. I was bored by my job in an office, so I left my job, my flat and my whole old life, took my little backpack and started a tour around the world.
Without a job I don't have money for hotels, so I need your help to make my dream come true. I would be very happy, if you would invite me to your place and show me where and how you live, the sights of your town etc. I would like to see many exotic places but I also would enjoy traveling through good old Germany.
I got only one friend left of my old life, Johannes. He ist very interested in my tour, so it would be great if you could take many pictures with a digital camera, write short textes about it and send it to him. He is going to put them into this blog. He also helps me with the organization of my tour. After a stay of not longer than two weeks, please send me back, so I can start a new trip.
I can't wait to see, where I'm going to travel to.
Thanks for your help
Hans