Czech Republic

Czech Republic is a country of central Europe, bordered by Germany to the east , by Poland to the north, Austria to the south and west Slovakia to the east.

Castle of Karlštejn

   Prague is a city where culture and the arts shine with special intensity. The sign of cultural activities is rich and varied. The art lovers can find in this city a cultural paradise.

We can find somo interesting place and great monuments such as Carlos Bridge, Prague Astronomical Clock, Dancing house, State Theatre, State Operates, Square of the old town, Saint Vitus Cathedral, National theater ....

1. Now I would like asking you some questions:

Would you like visiting Czech Republic?

When did you travel outside Spain?

Would you prefer travelling alone, with friends or with your family?

Do you know anything interesting about this country?

EXPLORING ROMANIA...

Hello everybody I'm Roxana as you know and on this post I'm going to talk a little about Romania, of its most beautiful historic places, traditions, traditional meals, etc.

As you suppose, I have chosen this country because it is the place where I was born and I'm very proud of it.

First, Romania  is located at the intersection of Central and Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea. Romania borders Hungary and Serbia to the west, Ukraine and Moldova to the northeast and east, and Bulgaria to the south. It is the ninth largest country in the European Union by area, and has the seventh largest population of the European Union with over 19 million population and as you know, Its capital and largest city is Bucharest. 

The flag of Romania is a tricolor consisting of three vertical bands: blue, red and yellow and the coat represents a blue field, where figure a golden eagle with beak and claws holding in its beak a golden Orthodox cross and, with his claws, a scepter and a silver sword, symbols of sovereignty. On the eagle's breast is a shield quartered with the emblems of the Romanian historical provinces (Wallachia, Moldavia, Transylvania, Banat and Crişana) with cheurrón which contains two dolphins symbol of the maritime region.
 The anthem is called Deşteaptă-te, române! (Wake up, Romanian!).

Now I'm going to talk about some historical places of my country.

• Historical places

ARCH OF TRIUMPH.

ARCH OF TRIUMPH


It is located in the north of Bucharest, It was made in wood in 1878, immediately after Romania obtained its independence, thinking that the victorious troops could parade under it.











 
Bran Castle (The Castle of Dracula).

Is a medieval fortress located in Transylvania, is a national monument and one of the key points of Romanian tourism. As you know, many people think that  in this castle lived Count Dracacula and that he was a vampire, but this is only a fictional character and the stories told about him are legends from antiquity. I have never visited it, but I would like to visit it because of its legends, that I think that are very impressive and in my opinion is one of the places that I like the most.




Palace of Parliament

It is a building of multiple uses situated in  the Libertaty Boulevard in the heart of Bucharest It was built in 1985 and you can always visit it if you do a previous call for reservation.






. 


Natural places

Bigar waterfall

Is a protected  Is located at the south-west limit of the country, in the south of the Anina Mountains and is one of the most unusual and beautiful waterfalls in the world.








The Blue Lake

It is a natural monument, a protected area of national interest  located in Maramures. In no other country in the world there is a lake that change color depending on the light that beats him or the people who swim here. It is very beautiful and a lot of people visit it.
















Traditional meals

Filled pappers

Filled peppers are a Romanian food which is usually prepared with sweet peppers or red peppers filled with minced meat (usually pork), rice, onions, herbs and spices and sometimes can you can add mushrooms.

Filled pappers

Boeuf Salad

Boeuf Salad

Boeuf Salad is a traditional Romanian  that accompanies meals Romanians in festive occasions such as in Easter and in Christmas. It was first prepared in 1860 by chef Lucien Olivier Hermitage restaurant. Boeuf salad consists of carrots, parsnips, eggs, and cooked potatoes, peas, usually comes from canned, pickled cucumbers, and olives , all these ingredients are cut into small pieces. Then in the composition is added a lot of mayonnaise and it is usually decorate.


Sweet cheese pie

 Is a Romanian traditional pastry resembling a thin, small round or square-shaped cake, usually filled with a sweet soft cheese. These is one of my favourite food of Romania.

Sweet cheese pie

"Cozonac"

"Cozonac "


The "cozonac is a traditional Romanian sweet bread.  It is usually prepared for Easter, Pentecost, New Year and for Christmas. The main ingredients are egg, butter, flour, milk, chocolate and nuts.










Traditions and celebrations 


Saint Nicholas


 










It is celebrated on December the 6th, on the night of 5 to 6 December, the old Saint Nicholas wave his beard for the first snow fall in Romania, and also children receive presents.
Like many Spanish children celebrate "Papa Noel" and "the Three Wise Kings", many children receive gifts in Romania on 6 and 25 December because we do not have the tradition of the Kings.

Orthodox Easter
Romania is one of the Orthodox countries that has the tradition of painting Easter eggs. Boiled eggs are painted in various colors: red, yellow, blue ... but anciently they were painted red, the color that signifies the blood of Jesus Christ. These eggs can be eaten, of course, because they are boiled. Normally Orthodox Easter is celebrated a few weeks after Catholic Easter although in some years can coincide. But,my point of view,  it would be better if they are  celebrated on the same date. On Sunday, people clash eggs to each other saying the phrase: "Hristos a inviat" ("Christ is risen"), in which the other responds while he hits the egg with the other : "adevarat to inviat" ("truly risen" ).

 

Here you can see a video of  the traditions of Romania. traditional food, natural and historical places, etc.

Questions

1)What is your opinion about the historical and the natural places of Romania?
 2)For what reason do you think people from other countries like to visit Romania ?
 3) I suppose none of you have tried the Romanian food, but have you tried something similar to it?
 4)What is the place that you would like to visit if you get the chance to go there? 
5)Have you ever heard anything about Dracula and his castle? What thing? 
6)Did you think that Dracula existed in the past?

Thank you for your attention, see you in class!

SWEDEN

Sweden, officially the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Scandinavian country in Nothern Europe. Sweden borders Norway and Finland, and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunel across the Oresund. At 450,295 square kilometres, Sweden is the third-largest country in the European Union by area, with a total population of about 9.7 million. Sweden has a low population density of 21 inhabitants per square kilometre, with the population mostly concentrated in the southern half of the country. About 85% of the population lives in urban areas. 

FOOD AND ECONOM:

Food in Daily Life: There is a wide array of culinary choices, including pizza, kebabs, falafel, hamburgers, and Chinese cuisine. Nonetheless, it is customary to identify certain items as particularly Swedish because of their association with the agricultural or early industrial past. The term husmanskost, or homely fare, refers to a basic diet of potatoes, meat or fish, and a hearty sauce. A less agrarian dinner alternative is the smörgåsbord. This buffet meal of cold and hot hors d'oeuvres often includes various forms of herring, meats, cheeses, and vegetables.

Breakfast typically includes bread with butter or cheese; muesli or cornflakes with filmjölk, a yogurtlike milk product; and coffee. Relatively light hot or cold lunches at midday customarily are followed by early-evening suppers. Common components of these two meals include bread, pasta, potatoes, carrots, cabbage, peas, herring, salmon, and meat. Immigration has enriched the range of restaurants, and restaurant patronage is rising.

Food customs at Ceremonial Occasions: The smörgåsbord is well adapted to festive meals such as Christmas, Easter, Midsummer, and wedding banquets. Meat and fish dishes have greater prominence at these times, as do schnapps and other alcoholic beverages. Certain holidays have trademark dishes: The feast of Saint Lucia (13 December) calls for saffron buns, Midsummer revelers eat pickled herring and new potatoes, and late summer is a time for crayfish parties ( kräftskivor ) and, in the north, gatherings for the ingestion of fermented herring(surströmming).

Land Tenure and Property: Less than a tenth of the land is devoted to agriculture, mostly in the form of family farms. Forested land is held largely by individuals and corporations; the state owns less than 5 percent. Access to nature is protected by allemansrätten, the right of common access to land. This law makes it permissible for anyone to walk and camp on almost all private property; landowners are not permitted to barricade their estates. Strict building codes safeguard the quality of publicly accessible spaces. Urban apartment units are often owned by national renters' associations rather than by private landlords, an arrangement that makes it possible for working-class people to obtain desirable addresses.   



SOME MONUMENTS:

Kalmar Castle

Kalmar Castle, located in Kalmar, in eastern Sweden, is a national monument perched on a small peninsula that juts out into the Kalmar Strait waterway. Originally constructed as a defense against pirates in the 12th century, the castle has played a significant role in Swedish history, earning its centuries-old nickname, “The Key to the Kingdom.”

Tanum

Tanum is not only a municipality in western Sweden but a national monument site of centuries-old rock carvings. The carvings, which resemble figure drawings, date back to the Bronze Age of Europe and depict the beliefs and activities of daily life during that era. Figures on the rock surfaces include ships, various animals and symbols of agriculture. One of the carvings is over 6 feet tall and is believed to represent Odin, the Norse god of war. The carvings cover flat rock surface that spans roughly seven square miles.

Lacko Castle

Lacko Castle, located in western Sweden in the town of Lidkoping, is a historical monument of Sweden that dates back to the 12th century. Located on the edge of picturesque Lake Vanern, Lacko Castle is a masterpiece of architectural grandeur that has housed many rulers and undergone many structural reformations and annexes. With more than 250 rooms, Lacko Castle is open to the public for guided or independent tours of its interior.

QUESTION:

1.- Do you like live in Sweden? Explain your own answer.

2.- What type of food do you like more? Why?

3.- If you go to Sweden, what do you like to do? 

MONACO

Hello everybody, I'm going to talk about Monaco, I choose this country because I think that is a beautiful country  and I like it because it has beautiful landscapes.

The principal language is french, Monaco has a constitutional monarchy, the actual prince is AlbertoII, and his minister is Michel Roger.The climate there is a mediterranean climate, the turism is one of the more important things there because many tourist go there for go to the beach or visit the monuments...

Monaco is famous for the rally, the football,formula 1, and tennis.

Formula1:The Monaco grand prix is held anually in the month of May, coinciding with the feast of the Ascension.This grand prix was first organized in 1929, and the first race was won by Willian Grover, driving a green Bugatti, colour would become over time flagship British runners.

Tennis:Also in Montecarlo been played since the Masters 1969 Monte Carlo Masters Series tournament of the male category of the ATP tour. Playing on clay, the tournament is held every year in April or May. Before the creation of the Tennis Masters Series at the beginning of the 90's, the event was named for Monte Carlo Open. The Monte Carlo tournament was first staged in 1897,although it was open for this event began in 1969.

       Rally:In the principality of Monaco has been held since 1911 Monte Carlo Rally.
One of the most important  tests of the World Rally Championship and has been held more edictions. Football:Monaco
 has its own national team sport , besides the main football team in the
 country is AS Monaco FC , ​​playing in the French Ligue 1 and play 
their local matches at the Estadio Luis II.29

The club managed to be a finalist in the UEFA Champions League 2003-2004
 edition , which lost to Porto in Portugal with a score of 0-3. The 
match took place on May 26, 2004 at the Arena AufSchalke in 
Gelsenkirchen , Germany. 

Monaco has an incredible beaches that are very famous in Europe, for me the mediterranean beaches are the best, in the next video you can see some places to visit in Monaco.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=surPDE1YtDE 

QUESTIONS:1.- What do you think about Monaco? 2.- Would you like to go there?Why?

MAGIC... SNOW... FINLAND!!

Finland is a member of the UE since 1995 and nowadays it's a clear example of a government without corruption in the power. Do you want to know more about this country? 

The capital of Finland is Helsinki and it's the main city in the country, but you shouldn't think that this country doesn't have places to visit because if you think this, you're wrong. 

CULTURE

People in Finland speak Finnish (main language) and Swedish and the majority of their customs are europeans customs, so it isn't a difficult country for the tourists and the foreigners. Its gastronomy is a mix between Sweden's gastronomy and Russia's gastronomy and their three meals more important are the breakfast, lunch and dinner.

The "Lohi y uudet perunat" is salmon with potatoes and it's a tipic meal of the country:

Now, I'm going to tell you some things about the places more beautiful and more importants in Finland, the first I could say that is Laponia because personally, for me it's the best place in this country. All of you know that Santa Claus lives there and I believe it's a wonderful place full of magic and peace where you can relax and do many things on nature. Here are the northern lights like you can see in the video:

Northern lights - Laponia

Also, here is the house of Santa like you can see and because of that, I've said that this place is full of magic.

Another place to visit in Finland is its capital, Helsinki. In Helsinki, we can see the people in restaurants and pubs at the city center and many green parks like the picture you can see on the left. There, you find people funny, talkative and likeable. Helsinki in winter is snow so you can do many thinks like ski and slide in pulkka. You also can visit the hills and walk in the water of the Baltic Sea and do ice skate.

In Helsinki we can find too a wonderful architecture, vaguardist and modern in comparison with other countries, personally I like so much because it gives the city colour and happines and here you have some examples of the architecture.

Finally, I want you to know one of the more important leading figure of the XX century music and its name is Jean Sibelius, I'm sure that you know him because he creates the computer program to write music and transcrip music sheets and the name of the progamme is SIBELIUS. He's probably the most important composer of Finland.

QUESTIONS

1. Would you like to go Finland? Why?

2. What is your opinion about their architecture? 

3. In relation with the video, would you like see the northern lights? Why?

4. Would you walk through the ice? Why?

5. Tell something you know about Jean Sibelius.

Norway

Norway officially the Kingdom of Norway

 is a sovereign state in northern Europe,

 whose form of government is a

 parliamentary democratic monarchy. 

Its territory is organized into 19 provinces 

or fylker. Its capital is Oslo.

The Viking period (between the ninth

 and eleventh centuries) meant the 

unification and expansion of Norway.

Norway is a Nordic country in which

 there are paradisiac landscapes and dreamlike.

Overall Northerners generally have a more cold and distant personality that the Spanish.

Looking for information about this country, I realized that a very famous Spanish youtuber, ''El Rubius'', born in Norway. It is a curious fact, and I think most people don't know it so here you already know.

Mitology: I love mithology so here I look for some information about nordic mithology.

Norse mythology was a collection of beliefs and shared by Northern Germanic peoples stories.

Thor, god of thunder, with iron gloves, his famous hammer.

 Bragi is the god of wisdom and eloquence.

 Loki is the misfortune of all gods and men; clever and intriguing, unpredictable and capricious, is the god of chaos, chance, prone to lies and deception.

Questions:

1.-What kind of mythology you prefer?

2.-Would you like to live in a Nordic country?

3.-If you had the opportunity to travel to Norway, would you go?

4.-You know any person born in Norway?

DENMARK

It is a sovereign member of the European Union located in northern Europa.Su capital and largest city is Copenhagen is located on the island of Zealand. Denmark is the least corrupt country in the world, according to studies, the country where the people are happier and one of the best countries in the world to live, although it is one of the countries with the highest suicide rate.

The vegetation consists of forests with deciduous trees. In deforestation these are offset growing conifers and firs.

 Most forests are used as protection against the wind and to avoid loss of soil and sand by the sea side of the north. However there is an important and varied bird fauna.

The Danish fashion is very popular internationally. It is the fourth largest export Denmark and Copenhagen is the fourth largest city in Europe when it comes to fashion. Danish designers have developed a unique style known for innovation and aesthetics. 

Some of the designers or known brands Day Birger et Mikkelsen are, by Malene Birger, Bruuns Bazaar, Isabell Kristensen, Baum und Pherdgarten, Rützou, among others. Every year is celebrated Copenhagen Fashion Week. 

The cuisine of Denmark has traditionally been influenced by French cuisine, as the French language and culture has had a profound influence on the Danish royal house and the upper class. Dinner is the main meal of the day is consumed at home with the family. 

Rugbrød con Leverposte

The general characteristics associated with their dishes, is that mainly consist of fish, shellfish, meat and a variety of root crops, vegetables and herbs.

In Denmark, the national and most popular sport is football In tennis, the young Danish player Caroline Wozniacki is the current Nº 6 of the WTA world rankings. 

these are the monuments of denmark

QUESTIONS:

1.- Do you like denmark? Why?

2.- Do you like fashion here? why?

3.- Do you usually dress with some mark of denmark?

4.- What is your main meal?

5.- for you, what sport is more important?

6.- What place you like best about denmark?