Tag Archives: Europe

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

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Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

“I pay no attention whatever to anybody’s praise or blame. I simply follow my own feelings.” – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was a musician that helped shape the classical music era, and is commonly referred to as ‘Mozart’.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was born as the youngest of seven children, on 27 January, 1756, in Austria’s Salzburg, in Europe, to Leopold Mozart, a violinist, and Anna Maria Pertl, although Mozart was only one of their two children to survive past their first year.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptised in the St. Rupert’s Cathedral, a Catholic church, as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, and was commonly called by various names throughout his life, and had a preference for the Latin word Amadeus, meaning ‘to love God’, as his middle name, rather than the Greek word ‘Theophilus’, that had the same meaning.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was originally educated only by his father, and was skilled on the piano and violin and composing at five years of age.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s first performance was in Munich, Germany, in the Prince-elector Maximilian III’s court at age six.

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Portrait, Red, Coat, White, Grey, Old, Ten Random Facts, Flickr, Joseph Hickel

Portrait of Mozart by Joseph Hickel
Image courtesy of WCFsymphony/Flickr
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was the official musician of the Salzburg Prince-Archbishop of the time, Hieronymus Colloredo, from 1773 to 1777, and later moved to Vienna, in Austria, in 1781.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart married Constanze Weber on 4 August, 1782, and had six children; although only two survived past the age of one year.
  • At 35 years old, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart died on 5 December 1791 in Vienna, Austria, after a period of illness, with his death cause unconfirmed.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart significantly influenced the great classical musician Ludwig van Beethoven, although it is uncertain as to whether they met, and Mozart’s music has long been studied by musicians around the world, having influenced many.
  • Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is said to have learnt 15 languages as the result of much travelling, and produced more than 600 works of music, in every genre of the day.
Bibliography:
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 2014, Encyclopaedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/395455/Wolfgang-Amadeus-Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolfgang_Amadeus_Mozart
 Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Composer, 2014, DSO Kids, http://www.dsokids.com/listen/by-composer/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart.aspx

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                        Mozart’s Music

Spear Thistle

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Spear Thistle

Spear thistles are not used as weapons… but can hurt!

  • Spear thistles are a biennial or annual thistle plant native to Europe, Asia and Northern Africa.
  • Spear thistles have the scientific name Cirsium vulgare and they are from the family Asteraceae, the family of asters, sunflowers and daisies.
  • ‘Spear thistles’ are also known as ‘bull thistles’, ‘black thistles’,  ‘scotch thistles’  ‘Fuller’s thistles’, ‘swamp thistles’ and ‘common thistles’ among others.
  • Spear thistles grow to be 1 to 1.5 metres (3.3 to 5 feet) in height, with flower stems at the end of the branches, and look similar to the well known Scotch thistle or cotton thistle, although they are a different species of plant and have the scientific name Onopordum acanthium.
  • Spear thistles have flower heads that are bristle like and are coloured pink to purple, and the plant has green, sharp spiny leaves.

Spear Thistle, Green, Purple, Pink, Flower, Dead, Green, Ten Random Facts, Australia, Plant, Weed, Spiky, Prickly,

  • Spear thistles are classified as a noxious and an environmental weed in some countries, and is a particular problem in Australia, parts of the United States and the United Kingdom.
  • Spear thistles typically grow in sunny open areas, such as paddocks and fields.
  • Spear thistle stems, flowers, roots, and seeds can be eaten and the stems and leaves can be peeled and then steamed or boiled.
  • Spear thistles flower during spring to autumn, but only in their second year of growth.
  • Spear thistle plants have been used medicinally and parts of the plant can be made into paper.
Bibliography:
Bull Thistle, 2014, King Country, http://www.kingcounty.gov/environment/animalsAndPlants/noxious-weeds/weed-identification/bull-thistle.aspx
Cirsium vulgare, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirsium_vulgare

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Plitvice Lakes National Park

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Plitvice Lakes National Park

Plitvice Lakes National Park is an old park with new splendour.

  • Plitvice Lakes National Park is a national park located in the mountains of Croatia, Europe, where it is the largest park, and it was established in 1949.
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park has an area of 296.85 square kilometres (114.61 square miles).
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979, and in 2000, the parks borders were extended to include underground water flows.
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park is seen by more than 1 million people annually, and there are hiking paths and boardwalks for visitors to use.
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park contains 16 lakes, as well as beautiful waterfalls, sporting colours of green, grey, blue and azure, caused by the surrounding limestone’s calcium carbonate content.
Plitvice Lakes National Park, Green, Water, Limestone, Calcium Carbonate, Blue, Aqua, Clouds, Croatia, Ten Random Facts, Flickr
A Plitvice Lake
Image courtesy of Grant Bishop/Flickr
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park has over 320 types of butterflies and moths, and 150 bird species including the eagle owl and the white-throated dipper.
  • ‘Plitvice Lakes National Park’ in Croatian is known as ‘Nacionalni Park Plitvička Jezera’, and the origin of the name ‘Plitvice’, most likely comes from the river called ‘Plitvica’, that flows into the lakes, while the Croatian words ‘plitko’, ‘plitvak’ and ‘pličina’ all mean ‘shallow’.
  • Plitvice Lakes National Park has forests of fir, beech, and spruce trees, and is the home to over 1260 species of plants, with more than 70 that are endemic to the area.
  • The Croatian War of Independence broke out in 1991 in the Plitvice Lakes National Park and lasted until 1995, causing the park to be endangered until 1998 and during this period it was successfully cleaned of land mines, although many buildings in the area were destroyed during the war.
  • The symbolic logo of Plitvice Lakes National Park is the European brown bear, which can be found in the park, along with 50 other mammal species, like deer, pine martens, hedgehogs, lynx, otters, and wolves.
Bibliography:
Bryan K, The history and little known facts behind Plitvice Lakes National Park, Croatia, n.d, Europe A La Carte, http://www.europealacarte.co.uk/blog/2010/05/03/the-history-and-little-known-facts-behind-plitvice-lakes-national-park-croatia/
 The Plitvice Lakes National Park, 2014, Nacionalni Park Plitvička Jezera, http://np-plitvicka-jezera.hr/en/
Plitvice Lakes National Park, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plitvice_Lakes_National_Park

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Cliffs of Moher

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Cliffs of Moher

The Cliffs of Moher is a place of legends.

  • The Cliffs of Moher are cliffs found in County Clare in the Burren area, on the coast of Europe’s Ireland, that look out over the Atlantic ocean.
  • The ‘Cliffs of Moher’ are also known as ‘Aillte an Mhothair’ in Irish.
  • The Cliffs of Moher range 120 to 214 metres (390 to 702 feet) in height from water level, and spread for 8 kilometres (5 miles).
  • The Cliffs of Moher is one of Ireland’s most popular sights, seen by nearly a million visitors annually.
  • The Cliffs of Moher are made mainly of sedimentary rock, particularly shale and sandstone.
Cliffs of Moher, Overhang, Misty, Dark, Black, Mystery, Ten Random Facts, ireland, land, rock, sedimentary, flickr
Cliffs of Moher
Image courtesy of German Poo-Caamano/Flickr
  • The Cliffs of Moher are home to 20 species of bird, with seabirds numbering over 30,000 pairs, including puffins, razorbills, guillemots and others, including some endangered species including peregrine falcons.
  • The Cliffs of Moher have been featured in multiple films and music videos, and has been mentioned in literature.
  • The Cliffs of Moher contains a large amount of fossils, including trails left by sea creatures.
  • The Cliffs of Moher are eroded by wind, wave, rain and ice, and this has created caves, and isolated landforms in the ocean.
  • The Cliffs of Moher are a section of the Burren and Cliffs of Moher Geopark that became a member of the Global Geoparks Network in 2011, that is supported by UNESCO.
Bibliography:
About the Cliffs, n.d, Cliffs of Moher, http://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/about-the-cliffs/
Cliffs of Moher, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cliffs_of_Moher

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Saint Patrick’s Day

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Saint Patrick’s Day

The real meaning behind Saint Patrick’s Day:

  • Saint Patrick’s Day is a holiday originating from Europe’s Ireland observed on the 17 March every year, and is a public holiday in Ireland and a few other countries, but is celebrated throughout much of the world.
  • ‘Saint Patrick’s Day’ is also known as the ‘Feast of Saint Patrick’, ‘St. Patrick’s Day’, ‘Patrick’s Day’, ‘Paddy’s Day’ and ‘Patty’s Day’.
  • The 17th March, St Patrick’s Day, is believed to be the day that Saint Patrick, an important Ireland saint from the 5th century, died.
  • St Patrick’s Day celebrates Saint Patrick, who was originally from Roman Britain, and was captured and held captive by Irish pirates at age 16, eventually escaping six years later, only to return to Ireland as a Christian missionary.
  • Saint Patrick’s Day was officially declared a feast day in the 1600s and the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Church of Ireland (Anglican) and Lutheran churches typically honour the day.

Saint Patricks Day, Card, Shamrock, Scrapbook, Green, Three leaf clover, Ten Random Facts

  • Saint Patrick’s Day is generally associated with the colour green, a colour affiliated with Ireland in general, and shamrocks (clover), which were said to be used as an illustration to explain the Holy Trinity to the Irish, by Saint Patrick.
  • A rugby league match is held during the Saint Patrick’s Day period with Ireland and the United States competing.
  • Saint Patrick’s Day parades are very popular throughout the world, and the first was believed to have been held in the United State’s city of Boston in Massachusetts in 1737, where there was a significant population of Irish.
  • Occasionally, the celebration of Saint Patrick’s Day is moved to a different date if it coincides with Holy Week, and this occurred in 1940 and 2008.
  • Saint Patrick’s Day traditions include going to church and having feasts, particularly with alcohol, and it is also commonly celebrated as a cultural Irish day.
Bibliography:
Saint Patrick’s Day, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Patrick’s_Day
St. Patrick’s Day, 2014, Kidzworld, http://www.kidzworld.com/article/521-st-patricks-day

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Prune

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Prune

Soft and squishy prunes.

  • Prunes are the dried fruit of primarily the European plum species, although other species of plum are sometimes used, and they have a dark, sweet flavour, are sticky and a little chewy.
  • The scientific name of the fresh fruit, referred to as ‘fresh prunes’ or ‘plums’ is Prunus domestica, that belong to the family rosaceae, the family of roses.
  • Prunes generally come from fruits with easily removable pits and are sold either with or without the seed.
  • ‘Prunes’ are also known as ‘dried plums’, and this has become the more favoured term in recent years to avoid the stigma associated with the term ‘prune’.
  • There are over 1000 different varieties of plum fruit that are dried and packaged as prunes.

Prune, Black, Juicy, Sticky, Fruit, Plum, Dried, Ten Random Facts. Food, Angas Park

  • Prunes are popularly eaten in desserts, cooked in main meal dishes, eaten as a snack or as a fresh fruit, and can be made into juice or an alcohol beverage.
  • Prunes contain laxatives and sorbitol, which can be used to treat digestive related problems, and have been historically used to treat constipation.
  • Prunes are very high in vitamin K, and have a significant amount of potassium, copper, manganese, vitamin A and fibre.
  • Prunes have a high quantity of phenols that have significant antioxidant properties, that are beneficial to one’s health.
  • The process of drying plums to make prunes is said to be thousands of years old, and possibly began in the Caspian Sea area, in Europe, where the European plums are native.

 

Bibliography:
Prune, 2014, Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prune
Prunes, 2014, The World’s Healthiest Foods, http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?dbid=103&tname=foodspice

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