Bergen in Norway

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Bryggen, 5003 Bergen, Noorwegen

Bryggen i Bergen - The historic Hanseatic part of Bergen Norway

Bryggen - UNESCO World Heritage Centre

Saturday 12 August I returned from a cruise organized by MundoRado for elderly and a few younger people who are more or less handicapped.

My sister and I joined a group of 10 people. Four of them were wheelchair users, and were accompanied by a partner, who attended them. 

The crew helped us where ever they could. There were approximately 3000 tourists and 1000 crew members.

These photos were taken  a couple of years ago in Bergen,

in Bryggen, which is the oldest part of Bergen and entirely built from wood.. It is so unique that I thought it such a pity that we couldn't stay there a bit longer this time.

Bryggen. Bryggen, the old wharf of Bergen, is a reminder of the town's importance as part of the Hanseatic League's trading empire from the 14th to the mid-16th century 

Even the pavements were made of wooden floorboards.

There were plenty of places where we could have a drink and a snack.

My brother-in-law got a lot of attention from a couple of Japanese ladies, so that he couldn't  stop laughing.

Summer

Summer in our polder

Naarden, May 2014

Naarden May 2014

"Summer is the hottest of the four temperate seasons, falling between spring and autumn. At the summer solstice, the days are longest and the nights are shortest, with day-length decreasing as the season progresses after the solstice. The date of the beginning of summer varies according to climate, tradition and culture. When it is summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is winter in the Southern Hemisphere, and vice versa."

I prefer to go to Australia when we are having summer here in the Netherlands, for then it is winter in Australia. June, July and August are the best months for a stay .

Garden in summer.

Trompenburg May 2012

May 2014

ABC Wednesday, Y of Yard

Front Garden

Back Yard

Back yard

Back door

I like hydrangea

Back yard

Front yard

in spring

in winter

in summer

In my previous post I wrote something serious about our yard in Indonesia(at that time Dutch East-Indies) We were occupied by the Japanese and had to allow the Japanese soldiers to have their prisoners cook their meals in our yard. These prisoners were Moluccan men and they were the best soldiers of the Royal Dutch Indies Army. Moreover they were loyal to Queen and country.

I have no photos of that yard, but I'll show you some of the yard I have now.
This is my contribution for ABCW for this week. Mrs Nesbitt started this meme and it still goes on. I have no time to send in an entry every week, for I had an awfully busy time these past few months.

Veteran Day July 25th.

Vorige week vierden we  Veteranendag. We zagen militairen van allerlei rangen, kleuren, die overal op de wereld dienst hebben gedaan. Er waren soldaten die in de Tweede Wereldoorlog hadden gevochten.
Het was soms ontroerend om de oude krijgers te zien marcheren. De jonge soldaten die nog niet zo'n ervaring hadden meegemaakt, maar wel klaar waren hun land te verdedigen, maakten op mij erg veel indruk, omdat sommige van hen jong zouden sterven of gevangen genomen zouden worden.

Tussen al deze troepen miste ik de soldaten die ik als kind gezien had en die als gevangenen van het Japanse leger op ons erf in Malang hun eten moesten koken.
De Japanse bezetting was nog maar pas begonnen in maart 1942. Japanse militairen hadden de school tegenover ons huis ingenomen.
Op een dag kwam er een soldaat vragen of zijn gevangenen hun eten mochten klaar maken op ons erf. Het waren Molukse soldaten.


Ze zaten op hun hurken te kipassen( te wapperen)om het vuur brandend te houden.( Een kipas is een bamboe waaier.)
Een jonge Molukse jongen zei, terwijl hij mijn moeder niet aankeek:"Mevrouw, Nederland zal toch herrijzen!".Gelukkig verstond de Japanse soldaat die naast hem stond, geen woord Nederlands
Wat moeder terug zei, weet ik niet meer, maar ze keek de jongen ontroerd aan.

Kijk, die jongen en alle andere nog in leven zijnde Molukse ex-militairen van het KNIL(Koninklijk Nederlands-Indische Leger) had er gisteren bij moeten zijn. Zij waren de trouwste soldaten van dit leger. Dit werd niet beloond, want toen ze in de vijftiger jaren in Nederland kwamen, werden ze allemaal ontslagen. Ze hadden alles in Ambon en de andere eilanden achtergelaten. Ze zijn heel slecht behandeld door de Nederlandse regering. Dus nodig deze mannen volgend jaar vooral uit.


Last week we celebrated Veteran Day.
We saw soldiers of all ranks and colours, who had served all over the world. There were soldiers who had fought in World-war II. It was touching to see the old warriors marching on. I was impressed by the young soldiers who had not yet witnessed these  experiences, but were ready to defend their country, while some of them were going to die young or would become prisoners of war.

Among all those troops I missed the soldiers who I had seen when I was a child and who, being prisoners of the Japanese army, had to cook their meals in our yard in Malang...

The Japanese occupation had only just begun in March 1942.

The Japanese military had taken the school opposite our house in their possession.

One day a soldier came to ask if his prisoners were allowed to prepare their meals in our yard.

They were Moluccan soldiers.

They were squatting and fanning to keep the fire burning with a kipas(a bamboo fan).

A young Moluccan man said, while he didn't look at my mum:"Madam, The Netherlands will rise again!"Fortunately the Japanese soldier standing next to him, could not understand Dutch. I don't remember what mum said to him but she looked at him with emotion.

Well, that boy and the other soldiers of the KNIL( Royal Dutch Indian Army) who are still alive, should have been there at Veteran Day. They were the most faithful soldiers of this army..

They were not rewarded,for when they arrived in the Netherlands in the fifties, they were all dismissed from Her Majesty's Service. They had left everything in Ambon and the other islands.

They were treated badly . So next time invite these men too, by all means.

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  logo for "Our World Tuesday" in the sidebar.

Solstice

Today is the longest day in the year.

UT date and time of equinoxes and solstices on Earth[1]
event	equinox		solstice		equinox		solstice
month	March		June		September		December
year
	day	time	day	time	day	time	day	time
2010	20	17:32	21	11:28	23	03:09	21	23:38
2011	20	23:21	21	17:16	23	09:04	22	05:30
2012	20	05:14	20	23:09	22	14:49	21	11:12
2013	20	11:02	21	05:04	22	20:44	21	17:11
2014	20	16:57	21	10:51	23	02:29	21	23:03
2015	20	22:45	21	16:38	23	08:21	22	04:48
2016	20	04:30	20	22:34	22	14:21	21	10:44
2017	20	10:28	21	04:24	22	20:02	21	16:28
2018	20	16:15	21	10:07	23	01:54	21	22:23
2019	20	21:58	21	15:54	23	07:50	22	04:19
2020	20	03:50	20	21:44	22	13:31	21	10:02

The Solstice occurs twice each year (around June 21 and December 22) as the Sun reaches its most northerly or southerly excursion relative to the celestial equator on the celestial sphere. The seasons of the year are directly connected to both the solstices and the equinoxes.

Sunset

Sunset

The term solstice can also be used in a broader sense, as the day when this occurs. The day of the solstice has either the most sunlight of the year (summer solstice) or the least sunlight of the year (winter solstice) for any place other than the equator. Alternative terms, with no ambiguity as to which hemisphere is the context, are June solstice and December solstice, referring to the months of year in which they take place.

Sunrise

Sunrise

At latitudes outside the tropics, the summer solstice marks the day when the sun appears highest in the sky.
The word solstice is derived from the Latin sol (sun) and sistere (to stand still), because at the solstices, the Sun stands still in declination; that is, the seasonal movement of the Sun's path (as seen from Earth) comes to a stop before reversing direction.