Bench of the Week in Oosterend, Texel

Walking through the little village of Oosterend on Texel (see previous post), you cannot but notice that many people have a bench in front of their houses. The houses have no front gardens so the benches are just placed on the street.


RuneE of Visual Norway
began this informal meme on "Bench of the Week". Please visit his site for other participants. PERBS has a whole site dedicated to benches called "For the Love of Benches", which is going on for two years and every day she posts a new bench.Her friend Malyss. has shown more than 600 benches on a site called "benchesonmyway".

that's My World, ABC Wednesday,T for Texel.

The past week my family and I were here on this Dutch island of Texel, which is the largest of a group of islands in the north of the Netherlands.On the west side of the island sand dunes protect the island from the sea. On the east side there's only a small part with dunes and a dyke to protect that part of the island.
Arriving on the island the first thing I noticed were the flocks of sheep. The villages are very picturesque and well preserved. I often had the feeling that I was abroad, for it was so different from the mainland . There is a possibility to go on a seal watching tour. There's also a seal sanctuary.

A very common bird is the sea- gull, but all kind of geese are there too and the odd duck. We rented a house large enough for 8 persons. There were four bedrooms, two toilets, a bathroom, and a livingroom with a small open kitchen. A utility room contained a second fridge. The house was surrounded by dunes, and the other houses were all spread all over the place. Plenty of space for the three children to play. In the evening they went swimming in the indoor swimmingpool. We hired bicycles and did everything by bike. I didn't cycle here much. One of the villages I really love, is Oosterend ( Easter End). My sister used to live there from 1960 till 1967. My brother-in-law was the vicar of the Reformed Church of Oosterend. We spent many happy holidays with them.


That's my World is hosted by Klaus,Sandy,Ivar,Wren,Fishing Guy & Louise - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World


With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with T.

ABC Wednesday S for Scotland

In 2005 I went to Scotland for the first time in my life.We arrived in New Castle in the morning and continued our journey to Windermere, where I bought some souvenirs and a book by Beatrix Potter, who lived in the Lake District. The Hadrian's Wall was the next sight on our program. We also paid a visit to Gretna Green, where a wedding was going on, complete with bagpipes playing men in kilts. Of all the places we visited, I was very much impressed by the castles, especially Starling Castle and Edingburgh Castle. The weather was not really bad, but a bit of more sunshine would have been lovely!

I shall be away for a couple of days, but shall answer all comments as soon as I am back! Have a great week!

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with S.

Bench of the Week, Norway, Røros

Click to enlarge and to see more details.











History
Røros municipality has been used by the South Sami people for reindeer herding up until today. Known for its copper mines, Røros is one of Norway's two nationally significant mining towns with activity starting in the 17th century (the other one being the "silver-town" Kongsberg, see Kongsberg Silver Mines).

Røros was burned to the ground in 1678 and 1679 by the Swedish Army during the Scanian War.


Røros and its people were made famous to Norwegians at the turn of the 20th century by semi-fictional author Johan Falkberget, who told the story of the mining community from the perspective of the hard-tested miners at the bottom of the social ladder.

With its authentic wooden buildings, Røros was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site list in 1980.

More benches in Røros!

Click to enlarge!


RuneE of Visual Norway
began this informal meme on "Bench of the Week". Please visit his site for other participants. PERBS has a whole site dedicated to benches called "For the Love of Benches", which is going on for two years and every day she posts a new bench.Her friend Malyss. has shown more than 600 benches on a site called "benchesonmyway".

ABC Wednesday R for Røros

One of the most interesting towns I ever saw is Røros, in Norway. In 1644 copper ore was found in the mountains by accident . Legend has it that hunters chased after a deer which ran into the mountain and in its flight he kicked some earth away and revealed a copper veine. I don't know what happened to the deer, but life in Røros changed for ever after this. In the following year the first furnace was built near a waterfall in the river. Workers flooded to Røros to work in the copper foundry. Farming became a secondary occupation. The town has retained much of its original character, with houses from the 18th and 19th centuries. The street pattern in the centre of the town is the same as it was constructed in the
1600s. The last time Røros was burnt was in 1678. For over 250 years Røros was among Norway's most important mining towns. The smallest houses near the furnace were occupied by short term workers, widows, gypsies musicians and unwed mothers.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with R.

I am away on a holiday and shall answer all comments when I return.

Sky Watch, Weekend Reflections,

The sunset of the first photo is reflected in the windows of the houses on the other side.












Sky Watch is hosted by Klaus, Sandy, Ivar, Wren, Fishing Guy & Louise
Thank you so much for this great meme, it's always a pleasure to participate, and see all the other skies around the world. If you want to see some real skies please click on the logo in the side bar.






Weekend Reflections was started on 27 September 2009, by James. You can join this meme at some time during the weekend. Just post your photo and go to James to tell him that you are on, or click on the logo in the sidebar.This meme is created for any type of reflection.

ABC Wednesday Q for Qantas

Click to enlarge.

The first time we went to Australia was in June 1996 for the wedding of my second daughter. We flew with Qantas from London Heathrow to Singapore and after a stopover we continued the trip to Cairns, where my daughter met us at the airport. From Cairns we flew in a small aircraft to Cooktown.


Wikipedia says:"Qantas Airways Limited is the national airline of Australia. The name was originally "QANTAS", an acronym/initialism for "Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services". Nicknamed "The Flying Kangaroo", the airline is based in Sydney. It is Australia's largest airline and is the world's second oldest airline. Qantas is headquartered in the Qantas Centre in the Mascot suburb of the City of Botany Bay, Sydney, New South Wales.

In 2009, Qantas was voted the sixth best airline in the world by research consultancy firm Skytrax, a drop from 2008 (third), 2007 (fifth), 2006 (second), and 2005 (second).


With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with Q.

ABC Wednesday P for Platypus

Click to enlarge.
Tomorrow my daughter from Australia is coming with her family, that's why I write entries about Australia. The header shows a photo taken in the Tablelands in Queensland. When we were there in 2008, we tried to find this remarkable animal, the platypus. We were told that if we walked along this water, we might see this shy and rare animal, native to Australia. It is such a strange creature that the first Europeans, who came back in their homeland, were not believed that it really existed. It has the bill of a duck and the body of a mammal, it lays eggs, but it feeds the babies with milk.

Wikipedia says:"The Platypus is a semi-aquatic mammal endemic to eastern Australia, including Tasmania. Together with the four species of echidna, it is one of the five extant species of monotremes, the only mammals that lay eggs instead of giving birth to live young. It is the sole living representative of its family (Ornithorhynchidae) and genus (Ornithorhynchus), though a number of related species have been found in the fossil record.

The bizarre appearance of this egg-laying, venomous, duck-billed, beaver-tailed, otter-footed mammal baffled European naturalists when they first encountered it, with some considering it an elaborate fraud. It is one of the few venomous mammals; the male Platypus has a spur on the hind foot that delivers a venom capable of causing severe pain to humans. The unique features of the Platypus make it an important subject in the study of evolutionary biology and a recognisable and iconic symbol of Australia; it has appeared as a mascot at national events and is featured on the reverse of the Australian 20 cent coin. The Platypus is the animal emblem of the state of New South Wales".

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.For more interesting ABC posts click on the logo in the sidebar or Here. This week we are looking for words beginning with P.

The Netherlands, that's My World,

From Wikipedia:

In the Netherlands
the Commemoration of the Dead is held annually on May 4th . It commemorates all people in the Kingdom of the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since World War II.
Traditionally, the main ceremonies are observed in Amsterdam at the national monument on Dam Square, and attended by members of the cabinet and the royal family, military leaders, representatives of the resistance movement and other social groups. At 8:00 p.m., two minutes of silence are observed throughout the Netherlands. Public transport is stopped, as well as all other traffic. Radio and TV only broadcast the ceremonies from 19.00 until 20.30. Since May 4, 1994, the flags, flying at half-mast during the day, are then hoisted to the mast-head when the Dutch national anthem is being played.
We were liberated by the Canadians. The Dutch are very grateful for that. Many of them died for our freedom.

Tomorrow we celebrate Liberation Day and for me it's a double reason for celebration, as my daughter and her family will arrive early in the morning at 8:55 at Schiphol Amsterdam!! We will all be there to welcome them.





That's my World is hosted by Klaus,Sandy,Ivar,Wren,Fishing Guy & Louise - a Team of experienced bloggers, whom we thank for this wonderful meme. You can see more of the world of other bloggers by clicking on the logo in the side bar or on that's My World

Today's Flowers, Crab Apple

The Japanese flowering cherry and the crab apple are so magnificent that I am always sorry not to be able to take proper photos of them. Last year they bloomed in mid-April. They were then also absolutely stunning! I hope that my Australian daughter, who is coming this week Wednesday with her family, will still see their beauty.

TODAY'S FLOWERS was created
by LUIZ SANTILLI JR
Now it's managed by SANTILLI and DENISE BC Thank you, Luiz and Denise!To see more flowers click on the logo in the side bar.