ABC Wednesday, T for A Tale of Two Cities.

"It was the best of Times, it was the worst of Times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only".
Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
English novelist (1812 - 1870)

Charles Dickens is renowned for his humour, but A Tale of Two Cities is one of his least comical books. Dickens also uses his humour in the book to show different points of view. The book is full of tragic situations, leaving little room for intended humour provided by Dickens.


The first book of the novel takes place in 1775.The two cities are Paris and London.It's a book about two men, both in love with the same woman. They are Charles Darnay and Sydney Carton. Darnay is a French once-aristocrat who falls victim to the indiscriminate wrath of the revolution despite his virtuous nature, and Carton is a dissipated British barrister who endeavours to redeem his ill-spent life out of his unrequited love for Darnay's wife, Lucie Manette.After many adventures in and out of prison, Sydney Carton who looks very much like his rival Charles Darnay, sacrifices his life under the guillotine.




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.

Psalms Challenge, Psalm 36

Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
your faithfulness to the clouds.


















Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
your judgments are like the great deep;
man and beast you save, O LORD
















The verses from Psalm 36 are contributed to Robert's Psalms Challenge meme at Daily Athens. To read more psalms click on Robert

Sky Watch, a dense fog all over the Netherlands.

On Sunday, 20th November and Monday, 21st November, we had a mist hanging over our entire country, causing a lot of problems with air traffic, and car owners had to drive twice as slowly as they were used to.
Today, 24th November,the sun is shining again! And everything looks a lot brighter in life! Have a great weekend! And for the American blogging friends: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Sky Watch is hosted by Sandy, Wren, Fishing Guy and Sylvia
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 other skies please click on the logo in the side bar.

Our World Tuesday, ABC Wednesday S for Sand Sculptures

In October I had a short break in a holiday resort in Putten, a village in Gelderland on the Veluwe, and joined several excursions. One of them was going to a park where we could see twelve enormous sand sculptures outside. All of them very beautiful see for yourself .
Inside there was another collection of sand sculptures all dealing with life at the bottom of the sea. It was as if we walked deep under the ocean, like in Jules Verne's book:" 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea"..































































































Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our new logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 9 of the fascinating meme of 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.

Psalms Challenge, Psalm 35

This time a little girl explains the meaning of the psalm.


The verses from Psalm 35 are contributed to Robert's Psalms Challenge meme at Daily Athens. To read more psalms click on Robert

Our World Tuesday, ABC Wednesday, R for Rotterdam Seaport

R is for the city where my parents, one of my sisters and I were born, Rotterdam! Wikipedia says:"Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and the largest port in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre. Its strategic location at the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta on the North Sea and at the heart of a massive rail, road, air and inland waterway distribution system extending throughout Europe means that Rotterdam is often called the Gateway to Europe.







But the essence of Rotterdam is its huge, modern port. The largest port in Europe and one of the busiest ports in the world, the port of Rotterdam was the world's busiest port from 1962 to 2004, at which point it was surpassed by Shanghai. Rotterdam's commercial and strategic importance is based on its location near the mouth of the Nieuwe Maas (New Meuse), one of the channels in the delta formed by the Rhine and Meuse on the North Sea. These rivers lead directly into the centre of Europe, including the industrial Ruhr region."






Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our new logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 9 of the fascinating meme of 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.

Sunday Bridges, Rotterdam, Erasmus Bridge

 
 
 

The Erasmusbrug ("Erasmus Bridge") is a cable stayed bridge across the Nieuwe Maas river, linking the northern and southern halves of the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands.

The Erasmusbrug was designed by Ben van Berkel and completed in 1996. The 802 metre long bridge has a 139 metre-high asymmetrical pylon, earning the bridge its nickname of "The Swan".You can see why!

The southern span of the bridge has a 89 metre long bascule bridge for ships that cannot pass under the bridge. The bascule bridge is the largest and heaviest in West Europe and has the largest panel of its type in the world.

The bridge is named after Erasmus, a famous Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, and a theologian. He was born in Rotterdam and lived from 1466 till 1536.

Thanks to Louis we can participate in this meme!

For more bridges go to Sunday Bridges

11-11-2011 Today Remembrance Day

Today 93 years ago the peace treaty with Germany was signed.Wikipedia says: "Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth countries since the end of World War I to remember the members of their armed forces who have died in the line of duty. This day, or alternative dates, are also recognized as special days for war remembrances in many non-Commonwealth countries. Remembrance Day is observed on 11 November to recall the official end of World War I on that date in 1918; hostilities formally ended "at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month" of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice ("at the 11th hour" refers to the passing of the 11th hour, or 11:00 a.m)



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.

In the Netherlands we have a similar celebration on the 4th May and 5th May is our Liberation Day.Let's always remember these brave people who died for our freedom.

ABC Wednesday, Q for Quiz continued

Answers to the ten questions of the quiz about the Netherlands.I thank everybody who tried to do this quiz. There are no winners or losers. Although two of the nine participants had all answers correct. Some of you have already given me their addresses so that I can send a giveaway to any one of the participants. Can I have the other addresses as well?

1. Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of 24 August 1815 and its successors.

2. The government has its seat in the Hague. The next photo shows a part of the Houses of Parliament.

















3. The Dutch speak Dutch. It's the official language we learn at home and at school. Only the Friesians in Friesland speak Friesian, but they still have to learn Dutch and use it in official legal matters. The Friesian language is different from Dutch.

4. Well we have been a kingdom since 1806 when Napoleon made his brother Louis king of the Netherlands. When Napoleon was defeated in 1815 we got a Dutch king of the House of Orange and we remained a kingdom till today. So far we had three kings and since 1880 three queens. Queen Beatrix is the ruling queen of today.

5. So that answers this question: the Queen is officially the head of state.






















6. We have 12 provinces.

 

7. Rotterdam is the most important harbour and it was even the largest harbour in the world right after the war.
















8. We have 16,750,000 inhabitants

9. The Netherlands are a bit larger than Belgium, and Luxembourg is by far the smallest.

10.Gouda produces cheese and candles. That was a difficult one, and only a few had this right.
Every second Tuesday in December the citycentre is lit by candlelight only.

Our World Tuesday, ABC Wednesday, Q for Quiz

Ten questions about the Netherlands:

1.What's the name of the capital of the Netherlands?
a. Rotterdam
b. The Hague
c. Amsterdam

2.Where does our government have its seat?
a. The Hague
b. Rotterdam
c. Amsterdam

3.What is the official language of the Netherlands?
a. German
b. Friesian
c. Dutch

4.Which is the form of government of the Netherlands?
a. Republic
b. Kingdom
c Principality

5.Who is the head of state?
a. President
b. King
c. Queen
d. Prime Minister.

6. How many provinces does our country have?
a. Ten
b. Twelve
c. Eleven.

7. Which is our most important harbour?
a. Amsterdam
b. The Hague
c. Rotterdam

8. How many inhabitants do the Netherlands have?
a. 15,810,000
b. 16,750,000
c. 12,320,000

9. Which country is the largest and which one the smallest?
a. Belgian
b. Luxembourg
c. The Netherlands

10.What is Gouda famous for?
a. Windmills
b. Cheese
c. Cheese and Candles

For those who know the right answers there will be a giveaway!! ;) You can email them to me, if you want. Please try to answer the questions. I am curious to know what people really know of my country. One of you emailed me with the answers of which seven were right! Very good.You can always google them.

Welcome to Our World Tuesday! This meme continues in memory of the work of Klaus Peter, whose "that's My World" brought people together from around the world every Monday to share the wonders therein--big and small.Please click on our new logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar.

With thanks to Denise Nesbitt, who created ABC.We started round 9 of the fascinating meme of 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.