Switzerland

Switzerland is located in central, western Europe. Why I chose this country? Now, I'm supposed to say I did because of its beautiful landscape, the chocolate... In fact, I did it because I've recently done something similar in French class...

General info

Switzerland is a landlock country. It's multilingual (I'll explain it later) and it's divided into 26 cantons. It has 7.870.134 inhabitants. Its capital is Bern. However, the most important city is Zurich. It is bordered by Germany to the north, France to the west, Italy to the south, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east.

Policy

Switzerland has a long history of armed neutrality (it has not been in a state of war internationally since 1815). It pursues, however, an active foreign policy and is frequently involved in peace-building processes around the world. It's the birthplace of the Red Cross (its logo is the same as the Swiss flag, but with inverted colours), and home to a large number of international organizations, including the second largest UN office.

Culture and way of thinking

Scotland

Scotland 

Scotland is a country situated in the north of great britain, is the biggest country from The Great Britain. In addition to the mainland, Scotland constitutes over 790 islands including the Northern Isles and the Hebrides.

Edinburgh, the country's capital and second largest city, is one of Europe's largest financial centres.The city was one of the historical major centres of the Enlightenment, led by the University of Edinburgh, helping to earn it the nickname Athens of the North. The Old Town and New Town districts of Edinburgh were listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995 in recognition of the unique character of the Medieval Old Town and the planned Georgian New Town.

The Kingdom of Scotland emerged as an independent sovereign state in the Early Middle Ages and continued to exist until 1707, although it had been in a personal union with the kingdoms of England and Ireland since James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English and Irish thrones in 1603. On 1 May 1707, Scotland entered into an incorporating political union with England to create the united Kingdom of Great Britain.

Scotland is a very beautifull country from my point of view, i like scottish people too because people don´t care how you are or what your were 

I give you a video that you can see the most important things in Scotland

L´union fait la force.

This title isn´t just any sentence, it is the motto of Belgium. In english: "The union makes the force". 
·This is a francophone country which is situated at the heart of Europe , to the side of France, and its capital is Brussel.

·Belgium has a population of about 11 million of people.

There, people speak German, French and Dutch.

·This country is a highly developed and stable democracy with a modern economy.

The central government retains responsibility for foreign policy, defense, taxation an social security.

·Belgium si divided into 3 main regions : Brussels capital, Flanders and Wallonia.

·How is the climate?

The climate is temperate, with warm summers and cool winters

·What do you have to know about religion?

The majority of belgians are catholics, but some of them are protestans too

·What about food?

Well, Belgium is famous for waffles and ships. Belgian chips are often eaten with mayonnaise or served with mussels. 

The luxury chocolates are delicious as well.

·Do you want to know more about Belgium?

You can watch this fun video if you want

That´s all, I hope you like the entry! 

On my point of view, this is an interesting country.. I think that I will visit it in a fututre.

Austria

Austria is the best country to enjoy musical culture. This country has frontiers with seven countries: Italy, Sweden, Germany, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Greece. It Is in the center of Europe. This country is in the European Union and the coin is the euro, as you know. The principal language is  German.

                 The capital  of Austria is Vienna, The city of the music Viena has a lot of culture. Famous musicians like Mozart  was born here , Beethoven lived and died and  a lot of composers inspirited in Vienna.

 In the city there is The House of The Music. Inside there is the history of the composers of the past, present and in the future (that are the computers).It is unique.

               Another monument related with the music is The House of Mozart. You can see how Mozart lived and also is the only  house where  Mozart lived that is preserved like Mozart left it when he died.

Answer the next question:

Where is the House of music?

In Viena , Mozart presented one opera.What is the name of the opera?                

To know more about Vienna watch the next videos:

   Video 1

What is the best season of the year to go to Vienna?

Can you get bored in Viena? Explain it and give your opinion.

. 

Video 2

What is your favorite number? Explain it

En billett til Norge, vær så snill

Norway is a country in the noth of Europe, a cold and frozen place. With minimum temperature -27'5ºC Norway is part of Scandinavia.

When people thinks about Norway, normally sais "in winter there aren't days, is all night" or "it's to cold and wet".  But Norway is more than a cold place, is the home of the Vikings, the best place to be a mother and the country chosen to deliver the Nobel Peace Price.

Vikings:

The vikings were in Scandinavia since 1,100. The Viking religion had many gods, like Thor. The gods lived in Asgrad, and the leader was Odin. Frey was a fertility god, Freya was the goddess of sex and later also war and death, Idun was the goddess of spring and immortal youth.

Norwegian curiosities

• The name of Norway means northern route
• The maximum temperature in Oslo was 35ºC on July 21, 1901
• After Saudi Arabia and Russia, is the third largest oil exporter of the world
• After China was the second largest exporter of fish on 2006
• Norway is made up of 19 provinces -called fylke- and 434 municipalities -called kommuner-.
• You can see the aurora borealis in the north of Norway and the best places are Tromsø and Alta.

Questions:

-What mithologic character is a Norwegian symbol?

-What things you can find in Brenneriveien (Oslo)?

-What's a hytta?

-What's the story of the Framm?

(You can find the answers in these video)

Greek underwater ruins

Γεια σου! Do you know what  it means? It's the Greek word to say "Hello"! Greece is a country located in the Southern part of Europe. It has got 11.260.401 inhabitants and it's world-known because of being the cradle of one of the most important civilizations in the history of the Occidental World. Even nowadays Greece has got very difficult economic problems, it has been one of the most powerful countries in the Ancient World and, it is reflected in the Art and great legends is has left. 

                 

                                     


So, in this entry, I am going to show to you the most fascinating mysteries of the history of Greece, of the history of the World... Atlantis!

Greek people thought that there was a civilization located in a island which had a powerful economy, a great culture and the best army but a disaster occurred and the place sank. The patron of Atlantis was Poseidon and it was his kingdom, where he had his palace, his temples... It had the biggest library of the World and everybody wanted to live there because there, wealth and knowledge were the principal things of the legendary Kingdom.

The legend tells that the inhabitants of Atlantis were so intelligent and powerful that they became arrogant with Greeks and they became more powerful than these ones in fields related to trade so,the Gods and Godsesses who defended the people of the Hellenic country became angry and destroyed the legendary island, locating it under the sea. Poseidon was furious and broke his relationship with the other Gods and Goddesses and started guarding the underwater island to hide it from humans. 

But, where is Atlantis located? Some scientists of the Modern Ages thought it was located in  the Atlantic Ocean and it was a huge continent but, nowadays, we know these teories are not true. As you can see in the map, it is three times bigger than the Iberian Peninsula so, it  is not very credible. In the map you can see that the Canarian Islands would form part of the Kingdom of Atlantis, too.

You could say, what are all the islands near North America and that piece of land near Mexico? Those parts of land would have been part of that legendary kingdom but, in my opinion, if the Atlantis has existed, it would have been much smaller.

 

So, the  strangest thing is "How did  Atlantis sink?" In a scientific way, of course. Perhaps, there was a volcano and the island blew off or, a tsunami caused by an earthquake devastated the place. We don't know...

Another information is that, very strong floods which took place in the Ancient Ages destroyed the island but it's very strange because if it was so big the floods wouldn't have made so much damage, only a little.

Your task:

1. Look at this picture. It's a Greek Island with a relationship with Atlantis. Tell what disaster occurred and the name and the location of the island.

2. What is the name given to the people of Atlantis?

3. Watching the video, say if you think it's possible that the Atlantis has existed or not. Explain it and give your opinion.

              

Vatican City

Vatican City is a territory within the city of Rome, Italy. It has an area of approximately 44 hectares and a population of just over 800. This makes Vatican City the smallest independent state in the world by both area and population.
Questions:
1. Is Vatican City a member of the European Union?
2. What is the currency in Vatican City?
3. Who is the Head of State?

Now watch the video and discover some of the treasures in Vatican City.
Question:
1. Name the 5 most important tourist attractions in the City



Leave a comment about the city.

European Countries

This year we are going to travel across Europe. You have already visited some European countries, but there's much more to discover. What is your task? You choose a country in Europe (not necessarily in the European Union) and describe a feature of that country. It could be about its history, customs, geography, people, language, ... almost whatever will do. Remember to make your entry as beautiful as possible, so include nice pictures and interesting videos. When you finish your entry, don't forget to ask your classmates a question (something they have to discover about the country). The first ones to answer correctly will receive a prize. You must write at least an entry each term, but I encourage you to do as many as you like: the more you do, the better your mark will be.
And here is one example:

Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch

What a strange word! What a long word! In fact, this is the longest place name in Europe. Yes, this is the name of a village in the United Kingdom. But if you don't recognise the letters it's because it's written in a language other than English.  What language is that? Where is the village? Can you guess how to pronounce that long word? If you search the Wikipedia, you will find the answers to these questions. Good luck!

Academy Awards

The Academy Awards or "The Oscars" are awards given by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) to recognize the professionals of the film industry, such as directors, actors and writers.
The official award of the academy is "the Oscar statuette".

The Oscar statuette represents a naked man with a sword standing on a reel of film with five spokes. Each spoke represents one of the five original branches of the Academy: actors, writers, directors, producers and technicians. It was elaborated in 1928.
The first ceremony of the Academy awards took place on May 16, 1929 at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.
Since that year, numerous actors and actress has won Oscars, such as Penélope Cruz, Jack Nicholson, Kate Winslet....

And now, some questions:


-What actors and actress have won an Academy Award this year?
-And what films?

The cross of May!

The cross of May is a typical party here in Andalucia that take place in May.It's consists of a group of persons that make a cross with flowers,paper,or other things and they also decorate the enviroment.

 

Cordoba is distinguished for her cross of may but also for his courtyards. Many people in Cordoba in May prepare this and the rest of the people can visit it and stay there. I think is a beautiful party and I want that every year more people do this type of things.

In this special party the people who prepare this courtyards and cross also compete.There is a jury that choose the more beautiful or what they like and there is some prizes.

Many people and tourist go to this place to visit it. And here in Montoro, there are more lest 5 cross of diferent group of people. I think this is a typical and special party.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEtqwXrpLeE

I hope you like my post!


-Do you like this party?
-Have you ever make a cross may in your life?