Autumn in Hortus Botanicus

Hortus Botanicus is now one of the attractions of the Dutch capital for both Dutch and International visitors. The collection is famous for some of its trees and plants, some of which are on the "danger" list, also well-known plants and trees can be found there, like the Persian Ironwood Tree which is known in Dutch as Perzische Parrotia.

Hortus Botanicus's initial collection was amassed during the 17th century through plants and seeds brought back by traders of the East India Company (VOC) for use as medicines and for their possibilities for commerce. A single coffee plant, Coffea arabica, in Hortus's collection served as the parent for the entire coffee culture in Central and South America. Likewise, two small potted oil palms brought back by the VOC from Mauritius, an island in the Indian Ocean, produced seeds after six years, and these were propagated throughout all of Southeast Asia, becoming a major source of revenue in the Dutch East Indies and now in Indonesia. In 1885-1918 Hugo de Vries was the director of the garden. Recent additions to Hortus include a huge hothouse, which incorporates three different tropical climates

 

 

Welcome to Santa

Tradition holds that Saint Nicholas (Sinterklaas) and his aides arrive each year by steam boat from Spain in mid November. Black Peter carries with him the book of Saint Nicholas. The rest of the entourage carries gifts, chocolate letters and spice nuts to be handed to the well-behaved children.

During the subsequent three weeks, Saint Nicholas is believed to ride a white-grey horse over the rooftops at night, delivering gifts through the chimney to the well-behaved children, while the naughty children risk being caught by Saint Nicholas's aides that carry jute bags and willow canes for that purpose

One minutes 25

The One Minutes: 25
On the occasion of 25 years IDFA festival the One Minutes Foundation invited filmmakers from around the world to make films of exactly one minute with a theme of '25 '. From the approximately 100 entries 15 films were selected.

IDFA TV is IDFA's online documentary channel, streaming various complete documentaries free of charge, as well as trailers, festival reports, interviews and master classes.
Visit http://www.idfa.tv (Dutch viewers)or http://www.idfa.tv/en (International viewers)

 

Timeline Rembrandt

Rembrandt van Rijn was a Dutch painter and etcher. He is generally considered one of the greatest painters and printmakers in European art history and the most important in Dutch history.

Having achieved youthful success as a portrait painter, Rembrandt's later years were marked by personal tragedy and financial hardships. Yet his etchings and paintings were popular throughout his lifetime, his reputation as an artist remained high, and for twenty years he taught many important Dutch painters. Rembrandt's greatest creative triumphs are exemplified especially in his portraits of his contemporaries, self-portraits and illustrations of scenes from the Bible. His self-portraits form a unique and intimate biography, in which the artist surveyed himself without vanity and with the utmost sincerity.

 

5 Broken Camera's

5 Broken Cameras is a 2011 documentary film co-directed by Palestinian Emad Burnat and Israeli Guy Davidi. 5 Broken Cameras is a first-hand account of non-violent resistance in Bil'in, a West Bank village threatened by encroaching Israeli settlements. Shot almost entirely by Palestinian farmer Emad Burnat, who bought his first camera in 2005 to record the birth of his youngest son, the footage was later given to Israeli

co-director Guy Davidi to edit. Structured around the destruction of each one of Burnat's cameras, the filmmakers' collaboration follows one family's evolution over five years of village turmoil.

More than 1000 timbered houses

History of Quedlinburg goes back up to the 10th century! It was the capital of the East Franconian German Empire at the time of the Saxonian-Ottonian ruling dynasty and has been a prosperous trading town since the Middle Ages. Most of the buildings were scrupulously restored to their original condition and beauty thus the cities convey a vivid impression of the flair and half timber architecture of a medieval European town. It is truly a pleasure to walk through the narrow alleys and streets and to see all the colourful painted old houses with their tiny rooms and windows, rich decorated with flower boxes

 

Playground Dierenrijk

A teleplay is a play for television, a comedy or drama written or adapted for television. The term surfaced during the 1950s with wide usage to distinguish television plays from stage plays for the theater and screenplays written for films. All three have different formats, conventions and constraints.

 

Remix ArtStudio

By visiting the museum’s Rijksstudio, art lovers can create their own “sets” of Rijksmuseum works. Sets can include images of just flowers (think of the luscious roses and tulips in Dutch still life ), faces appearing in portraits, or paintings of Amsterdam itself through the ages. Just select a work of art and drop it into your own image collection. Then use these selected images to create your own personalized products. From tattoos to wallpaper to scooters (yes, scooters) to smart phone skins. Unusual yet everyday items of all shapes and sizes can now bear the image of gorgeous art. The art is free and the object could be as simple as a T-shirt.

What better way to make the collection accessible to the public? Some might say it is sacrilege to put Rembrandt’s face on the side of a van; the Rijksmuseum encourages it. None of the artists are alive anyway to claim copyright infringement, now are they?

 

The historic town of Goslar

Goslar is a medieval town in Lower Saxony and serves as a regional hub to the wider Harz area. It lies at the foot of the Harz Mountains . Goslar is situated some 150 Miles West of Berlin. The nearest cities are Brunswick, Hanover, and Magdeburg. Goslar is much older than Berlin and worth a visit. If you are interested in history, outdoor pursuits (especially hiking), tranquility and nature, then Goslar is the right spot for you.
Goslar was founded in 922 AD, although it is widely assumed that it has been settled since pre-Roman times. The town is famed for its magnificent gates and ramparts, the medieval Imperial Palace, Romanesque churches, its half timbered guild houses, its witches, the last of which was burned at the stake in 1657 AD. In medieval times the city was a major producer of armouries and coins-- the raw ores for their manufacture came from the Rammelsberg mine just outside the city's walls.

No Facebook without the Dutch

Onze 'seamail' aan Mark Zuckerburg ter gelegenheid van onze Facebookpagina www.facebook.com/hetscheepvaartmuseum.
Mark, did you know there would not have been Facebook without the Dutch?

Credits: OneBigAgency (www.onebigagency.com), CCCP (www.cccp.nl) and SuperHeroes (www.hellosuperheroes.com)