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Eleanor has become pen-pals with a first grade class in New Athens, IL. She's been sending postcards to their class. Their teacher, Mrs. Buescher, emailed Eleanor back with a few questions that the kids had. Eleanor thought it might be fun to answer the email with a blog post and add some pictures to liven things up.

Bikes in Bamberg, Germany1. Is Germany a lot different than California? In some ways it is. In some ways it isn't. There are cars everywhere and we drive sometimes, but there are a lot of bikes too. All over Europe it looks like there are as many bikes as cars. There are also a lot of motor scooters in Europe. They sound like really fast motorcycles. People ride on buses in Europe more than in California.

2. What kind of animals do you see in Germany? I feed the ducks on the river in Bamberg and I saw a rabbit when we were going on a hike. We saw swallows building a nest out of mud and sticks on the side of a wall (with nothing to keep it up) in Serbia. And we see lots and lots of sparrows and pigeons everywhere. My brother and I saw a mouse on the side of the sidewalk and my mom and dad saw a big rat at the side of the river, but I didn't see it -- I wish I would have.

3. That castle [Wawel in Poland -- pronounced Vavel] was really cool looking, have you been to other castles? Yes, I've been to one made out of sandstone, but I don't The Wawel Dragon breathing fire. It REALLY dose breathe fire every three minutes.remember where it was, and I've been to the one that Disney copied, called Neuschwanstein. It translates to "New Swan Stone." It's called that because the king that built it, Ludwig II, really liked swans. That same day we went to Hohenschwangau, which is close by. We also went to a castle in Bamberg, called Altenburg. You have to hike a very long time to getNeuschwanstein Castle in Germany to the top if you're walking. We were walking, and I was very tired. We were hungry when we got to the top, and when we got to the restaurant at the castle they had stopped serving lunch, and all they had was cake. Mmmmm, Cake!

4. What is your favorite place so far? There's a really pretty green belt here in Bamberg, and I also really like the parks. They're nice. In Serbia at the farm it was incredibly cool. In Krakow the square was good. Wow! I guess I have a favorite everywhere!

5. What is your favorite food that is new to you? My top three favorite foods in Germany are spätzle ( pasta, usually served with cheese sauce on top), sausage from the sausage stand, and this special kind of camembert that the cheese lady sells. And also I love brie. And of course, Almduddler.

6. Do you play with the kids in Germany? Can you understand them? No, I can't understand the kids in Germany. There are girls who live downstairs, and maybe I'll play with them soon. We are going to the UK next, and we'll be there for a few months, so I bet I'll play with the kids there.