Travelog for: Roots Bear

Time to visit Rome! Or Roma as it's called in Italy. The bus brought us to Rome. We took the subway to go to the centre of the city. Went we got back at the streetlevel this is the first thing I saw:



The Colosseum! The Colosseum is soooo big!! It was built between the year 70 and 80 AD. The use was an amphitheatre. You could watch fights between lions, between lions and gladiators or just between gladiotors. One way or another, people would die. When the Colosseum was opened the Romans celebrated the opening with a party of 100 days. In these days everyone was welcome in the Colosseum. Everyday the fights and other events happened during the entire day. Romans where very ahead of their time: they already had fast food! You could buy it at stands near the Colosseum. Bread and wine, that sort of stuff.





Forum Romanum, this is the central area which the ancient Roman civilization developed.



The Pantheon (Temple of all the Gods)







Trevi Fountain



Spanish Stairs

The second day in Rome! This day we had some time off in the morning and in the afternoon we went to the St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City.

On our free time we found a cool Toy Store called Al Sogno.



They had lots of very cool toys.







Too bad Marjolein found the toys way to expensive. But they seem to have a really good life in the store and they will be bought by rich people who will give them a good life

We had pizza again today! After walking around we went to Vatican City to see the St. Peter!



On this photo I am standing on the Bridge of Angels.



The view from the balcony. This is the way the pope always looks at the St. Peter's Square.



The guard of the St. Peter are Swiss Guards. They have to be realy Swiss boys from between 18 and 25 and not married. And of course Catholic.



The inside of the St. Peter's Basilica



The Piéta from Michelangelo.







Saint Peter's Tomb, where the popes are burried. It was not allowed to make photo's of the grave of the latest pope but Marjolein did make some photo's where she was allowed.

Pompei is a town from the first century after the birth of Christ. It was built by Romans.



Years (about 15 years) before the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, the town was destroyed by on earthquake. The inhabitants of Pompei didn't know it then, but this was just Mount Vesuvius warning them for the eruption.



There where other warnings. The water dissaperead. Because of the hot lava the Vesuvius was making the water turned into steam.



In Pompei lived about 20.000 people. The went to the store



To the bakery



Or to a bathhouse





Or the just sat in there own garden, for example in the House with the Little Fountain



But on 24 August 79 the time stopped. The day turned into night and this lasted for three days. People didn't know what was happening. Some died because they breathed in the ashes of the mountain. Some died because of rocks flying around. Most people died right at the spot.



Almost everybody died in 79. But the city was preserved really well because of the ashes of Mount Vesuvius. So that's good for us, we can learn a lot, about the way people lived and what happened that day. We can go back in time and walk around like the people of Pompei used to do.

On our way our next hotel near Venice, we had a stop in Ravenna. Since 409 AD Ravenna became the capital city of the Roman Empire. Julius Caesar gathered his troups here. This was in 49 BC.

We went to see a early Christian church famous of mosaics. The Basilica of San Vitale.











We also went to the mousuleum (Mousuleum of Galla Placidia) next to the church.

Time to see Venice! Venice is by many called the most beautiful city in the world. We went here by boat. You could also go there by car but according to our guide you are suppose to go by boat.







We set foot on the land and went into the harbour of Venice after a trip of about half an hour.



On our way to Piazza San Marco we saw The Bridge of Sighs. This bridge passes over the Rio di Palazzo and connects the old prisons to the interrogation rooms of the Doge's Palace. It got it's name because the prisoner got a last look at Venice and their loved one from the brigde before there inprisonment or death and used to sigh there.



On the Piazza San Marco stands the Basilica di San Marco a Venezia.









There also stand two poles on the Piazza San Marco. No inhabitant of Venice would ever stand between those two poles, because people used to get excecuted their. Gulp!



On the left pole stands a lion. The lion is the animal of Venice.



We went for a walk around the city. The first thing we saw was the second most famous bridge, the Rialto Bridge. It's the oldest bridge in the city and build in 1181.



We had the most wonderfull view from the bridge!





We walked on and saw some beautiful sights.









We had some capuccino at a cool piazza.



Then we came across the only wooden bridge in the city: Accademia Bridge.





But sightseeing was the only thing we did, we also did some shopping! We saw a great toystore again, this was a Disney store!





Venice stretches over 118 little islands. It has a population of 271.251 people. People have lived on the islands for centuries but it is known as a city since the ninth century.

In the evening after our trip to Venice we took a little walk down the beach near our hotel. I saw the Adriatic Sea in Venice but now I also got to touch it!



Tomorrow it's time to go back to The Netherlands. We will sleep in Germany the next night and by friday we are back in Den Bosch. The trip to Italy was so cool! I certainly want to go back

I hope you enjoyed the updates!

Love Roots

Hello!

Today i arrived in Alkmaar, the Netherlands after a very short trip. I was a pitty a have to stay in my envelope during the trip because now i didn't have the change to see the road from Den Bosch to Alkmaar. Because i'm on the dutch trail it doesn't matter at the other hand because now i also have the change to see different parts.

Here i am still in my envelope. I heard other voices wispering and i really wanna get out to see who they were.


They are al so nice and one of them start hugging me the moment i came out.


This are from the left to the right:
* Clem
* Mulalu
* Strider
* HitchaRideDooey

I think we are all gonna be great friends!

Big hugs Roots

Hello!

Because Eva isn't able to go outside at the moment we decided to show you information and sites about Alkmaar at another way. I hope you enjoy it!

Cheesemarket:

This cheese market is open every Friday morning between 10 and 12 from the first Friday in April until the first Friday in September. Market activities are explained in Dutch, German, English and sometimes Japanese. There are four teams (vemen) of cheese-porters (kaasdragers), who can be recognised by their differently coloured straw hats: red, blue, green and yellow. Two porters bring cheese on stretchers to the weighing house (Waag) - a typical stretcher "weighs in" at about 160 kilograms. Merchants sample the cheeses and decide on a price using a barter system called handjeklap, literally clapping hands.






Ruin church in Bergen:
This picturesque ruin church in Bergen once was the biggest church in Noord-Holland. From the 16th century church there is only a ruin left now, because the Beggars started a fire here. Only the choir of the church was rebuilt, so from the original church you can now only see the ruins.
In the village Bergen in Noord-Holland there are many beautiful old houses situated around the old village church.










Big church
During building the largest medieval church in Alkmaar, the church was already called the big church, because of its size. The big church is not only the largest and highest church in Alkmaar, but also the church which trough the centuries, stood most and called the jewel of the city. Originally the church was dedicated to Saint Laurens. That’s why, for centuries, the church is called The Saint Laurenschurch.

The church was probably designed by architect Anthonius Keldermans (Belgium) (1440-1512)

Beside Anthonius Keldermans brother, also his son was involved in the disign of the church, in which 26 freestanding columns support the roof. The Saint Laurens church is a basilica,

The outside walls rest on a fundation which is just below the ground. Built in the Brabant’s gothic style, which is bigger and more massive in its form than the French gothic. The building is 35 meters high and has a cross length of 85x56 meters. The outside walls rest on a one meter broad foundation which is just below thethe ground, and gradually becomes broader to a depth of tree meters. The last resauration of in-and exterieur was accomplished in 1996.

The large saint Laurens church counts two, world famous organs: Van Covelens organ (also called choir organ) and it VanHagerbeer/Schnitger or large organ. The choir organ descends from 1511 and has been placed against the northern wall of the church. The last restoration of this old, still playable, organ in the Netherlands, was completed in the year 2000. In 1636 arose the idea for the construction of a large organ in the church. Several organ builders have worked on it, but in 1645 Jacobus Caltus van Hagerbeer completed the large organ. Jacob Van Campen devised the organ cupboard and in 1643  Caesar Van Everdingen got the task to paint the doors of the organ cupboard with the ‘triomfe van den Coninck Saul’. This painting belongs to his first large work. Above the organ the painter Romeyn de Hooghe painted in baroque striking, (‘de deugd, die de ondeugd verplettert’)" virtue crushing the vice". From 1723 up to 1725 the large organ was restored and extended by Frans Caspar Schnitger. In course of time there have been several restorations on this organ.





St. Joseph Church
This church was put in use in 1910. Designed by famous church builders and students of PJH Cuypers, the Margry brothers. The church is built in neo-gothic style, which shows by the way the towers are placed and by the arched roofs.

The church is placed beautifully and is in possession of wonderful stained glass windows. The statue of Christ has been placed in 1948, in memory of Alkmaar war-victims. Their names are placed on a memorial plaque on the churches wall.


Big hugs Roots

Hello!

Feeling hot, hot, hot!


In reality it's 30 degrees here but as you can see it feels like 40 degrees. And you can't find any refreshment here.
That's why we decided to get a tan...



But it was so hot that we want to sit in the shadow again. The only shadow you can find here is at the dreamhouse in the garden. In this house are living two dwarfes. But they weren't home so we couldn't get into the house. Hopefully later while i'm here because i really wanna see it from the inside.
It's such a lovely house!


Big hugs from a hot Roots

Hello!

Today we asked Eva to tell us everything she know about Alkmaar and the Netherlands. She told us some funny stories!

Alkmaar is above all Holland's cheese town. During the season from the first Friday of April to the first Friday of September a traditional cheese market is being held here on Friday mornings between 10 and 12.30. The cheeses are sold by dealers on a clap of hands. Thereupon the 400 year old cheese porters' guild goes into action, carrying the cheese off on barrows after the lot has been weighed at the Waag (the official scales). In the Waaggebouw - in which the scales are housed - a cheese museum that tells everything about dairy farming has been established.
Cheese has been weighed in Alkmaar since 1635.

Alkmaar is historical with around 400 monuments. The Waag, dating back in its earliest form to the 14th century, the 16th century town-hall, Grote St. Laurens Church and the many courtyards, facades and canals give the town an ambience all of its own. With the past as a setting, the town has a modern stock of shops offering a wide choice. Besides the predominantly small shops in the old centre, the Noorder Arcade with large scale shopping facilities stands by the side of the Noord Holland Canal.

Alkmaar is the biggest town in the region. Relaxation can also be found in the Geestmerambacht recreational area close by.



The Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland]) is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands, the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba in the Caribbean. The Netherlands is a parliamentary democratic constitutional monarchy, located in Western Europe. It is bordered by the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east.

The Netherlands is often called Holland. This is formally incorrect as North and South Holland in the western Netherlands are only two of the country's twelve provinces. As a matter of fact, many Dutch people colloquially use Holland as a synecdoche, being well aware of the widespread use of this name. For more on this and other naming issues see terminology of the Netherlands.

The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying and densely populated country. It is popularly known for its traditional windmills, tulips, cheese, clogs (wooden shoes), delftware and gouda pottery, for its bicycles, its dikes and surge barriers, and, on the other hand, traditional values and civil virtues such as its classic social tolerance. But primarily, the Netherlands is a modern, advanced and open society. An old parliamentary democracy, the country is more recently known for its rather liberal policies toward recreational drugs, prostitution, homosexuality, abortion, and euthanasia. The Netherlands is also one of the most densely cabled countries in the world; its internet connection rate is 87.8%, the 2nd highest in the world.

The Netherlands has an international outlook; among other affiliations the country is a founding member of the European Union (EU), NATO, the OECD, and has signed the Kyoto protocol. Along with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Netherlands is one of three member nations of the Benelux economic union. The country is host to five international(ised) courts: the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the International Court of Justice, the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, the International Criminal Court and the Special Tribunal for Lebanon. All of these courts (except the Special Tribunal for Lebanon), as well as the EU's criminal intelligence agency (Europol), are situated in The Hague, which has led to the city being referred to as "the world's legal capital."

A remarkable aspect of the Netherlands is its flatness. Hilly landscapes can be found only in the south-eastern tip of the country on the foothills of the Ardennes, the central part and where the glaciers pushed up several hilly ridges such as the Hondsrug in Drenthe, the stuwwallen (push moraines) near Arnhem and Nijmegen, Salland, Twente and the Utrechtse Heuvelrug.



Religion
Main article: Religion in the Netherlands
The Netherlands is one of the more secular countries in the Western Europe, with only 39% being religiously affiliated (31% for those aged under 35), although 62% are believers (but 40% of those not in the traditional sense). Fewer than 20% visit church regularly .

According to the most recent Eurobarometer Poll 2005, 34% of Dutch citizens responded that "they believe there is a god", whereas 37% answered that "they believe there is some sort of spirit or life force" and 27% that "they do not believe there is any sort of spirit, god, or life force".

In 1950, before the secularisation of Europe, and the large settlement of non-Europeans in the Netherlands, most Dutch citizens identified themselves as Christians. In 1950, out of a total population of almost 13 million, a total of 7,261,000 belonged to Protestant denominations, 3,703,000 belonged to the Roman Catholic Church, and 1,641,000 had no acknowledged religion.

However, Christian schools are still funded by the government, but the same applies for schools founded on other religions, nowadays Islam in particular. While all schools must meet strict quality criteria, from 1917 the freedom of schools is a basic principle in The Netherlands.

Three political parties in the Dutch parliament (CDA, ChristianUnion and SGP) base their policy on the Christian belief system.


Culture
Erasmus (1466–1536).The Netherlands has had many well-known painters. The 17th century, when the Dutch republic was prosperous, was the age of the "Dutch Masters", such as Rembrandt van Rijn, Johannes Vermeer, Jan Steen, Jacob van Ruysdael and many others. Famous Dutch painters of the 19th and 20th century were Vincent van Gogh and Piet Mondriaan. M. C. Escher is a well-known graphics artist. Willem de Kooning was born and trained in Rotterdam, although he is considered to have reached acclaim as an American artist. Han van Meegeren was an infamous Dutch art forger.

The Netherlands is the country of philosophers Erasmus of Rotterdam and Spinoza. All of Descartes' major work was done in the Netherlands. The Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens (1629–1695) discovered Saturn's moon Titan and invented the pendulum clock. Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe and describe single-celled organisms with a microscope.

In the Dutch Golden Age, literature flourished as well, with Joost van den Vondel and P.C. Hooft as the two most famous writers. In the 19th century, Multatuli wrote about the bad treatment of the natives in Dutch colonies. Important 20th century authors include Harry Mulisch, Jan Wolkers, Simon Vestdijk, Cees Nooteboom, Gerard (van het) Reve and Willem Frederik Hermans. Anne Frank's Diary of a Young Girl was published after she died in The Holocaust and translated from Dutch to all major languages.

Replicas of Dutch buildings can be found in Huis ten Bosch, Nagasaki, Japan. A similar Holland Village is being built in Shenyang, China.

Windmills, tulips, wooden shoes, cheese and Delftware pottery are among the items associated with the Netherlands.


Big hugs Roots

Happy birthday to HitchaRideDooey!

Today we celebrate his birthday.
First we sing a birthday song in dutch for him.
It goes like this:

Er is er een jarig, hoera hoera
dat kun je wel zien, dat is hij
dat vinden wij allen zo prettig jaja
en daarom zingen wij blij
hij leve lang, hoera hoera
hij leve lang, hoera hoera
hij leve lang, hoera hoera
hieperdepiep, hoeraaaaaa

First we gave him his present


We wrapped it up in orange paper, because the national color of the Netherlands is orange.



It was a t-shirt with toyvoyager on it! He loved it.

After that it was time to eat some snacks. We really want chips.


It was time to play a game! As you can see on the picture above this text we invited two other animals.
We were in a naughty mood and decided to play a kiss game. We were sitting in a cirkle and when te pen point at you,you have to kiss the one that was turning the pen. We had so much fun!








Now we are gonna dance all night long, woepie!

Big hugs Roots

Hello!

Today we went to 'Het Geestmerambacht'.
The recreation area Geestmerambacht, which lies at north of Alkmaar, offers all kinds of possibilities for recreation in natural surroundings.
There's a nature area and a big lake and many many more, but we want to see the lake.


This is me in front of the lake:


There are also a lot of birds here:






Some pictures of the lake:




we found a thing in the water and Eva let us sit on it:


The vieuw when you look at the other side:


On our way back we saw the neighbourhood Eva lives in behind the field with vegetables:


And this is the neighbourhood Eva lives in:


Big hugs Roots

Hello!

Today it was time to say goodbye to Clem.
I'm gonna miss him a lot, but i'm also happy for him, because he was very excited to see more of the world.
Maybe we will meet again.

Today i get my last hug from his huggy arms:



Good luck Clem!

Big hugs Roots

Hello!

Today we saw the prison of Alkmaar.
It is called Schutterwei and it's a prison for men.
Th prison lies in a area called Alkmaarderhout. This park is a part of an old forest with many old trees. You will find an animal farm and the prison.

Unfortunally we only saw the prison from the backside. On the front are a lot of houses so you can't see much of it.


Big hugs Roots

Hello!

Today Eva went to the cemetary to see the graves of some relatives and she took us with her, because on the way to it you can see ducth mills.

On the parking space we first saw something else. Each year in the summer volunteers organise JOL.
Children in the age from 4 till 12 years can come there.
The main thing children do there is building cabins of everything they can find like wood and other stuff. There were some lovely cabins there. All the children decorate there own to show it is theirs.


On our way back we finally saw some mills!


Big hugs Roots