Sep 21, 2013

In the footsteps of the start of uprising against British rule 24 July 2013

The national park of Boston organises some trips to see the remaining sites of importance for the uprising against British rule in Boston. Early Boston was a hilly peninsula. In April of 1630, the Puritans, led by one of the company’s stockholders, John Winthrop, left their homes in Boston, England and sailed from Southampton towards the New World, fleeing from religious persecution in England. By 1676, Boston had 4,000 residents. Settlers built the city’s first post office in 1639, the first bank in 1674 and published its first American newspaper in 1690 titled “Publick Occurrences: Both Foreign and Domestick.” Boston continued to grow, despite small-pox outbreaks in 1690, 1702 and 1721, and had over 13,000 residents by 1730. Many of Boston’s most famous buildings were built during this time period, such as the Old State House in 1713, Old North Church in 1723, Old South Meetinghouse in 1729 and Faneuil Hall in 1742. By 1750, Boston’s population had risen to 15,000 people. By the mid-18th century, Massachusetts Bay Colony had grown into a successful colony with a large trade industry that exported fish, lumber and farm products to Europe. Tensions quickly began to brew between the colony and Britain when the British government started to mettle more deeply into the colony’s business matters, activities and daily affairs. This tension slowly began to sow the seeds for the American Revolution. Boston National Historical Park has a Visitor Center in, Faneuil Hall. Faneuil Hall has served as a marketplace and a meeting hall since 1742. It was a much smaller 2 storey building by then. Funding was provided by a wealthy merchant, Peter Faneuil. Puritan landowners of the city gathered there to decide about the city’s affairs. The Inspirational speeches by Samuel Adams and other puritans were given at Faneuil Hall. These oratories promoted their desire to obtain independence from the British to promote their business interests. Boston National Historical Park has a Visitor Center in Faneuil Hall from where they organise historical walks to the major attractions. The marked behind Faneuil Hall which offers a great variety of food and drink and souvenirs, and is extremely popular among local and tourist alike. The old state hall. Also known as Boston's "Towne House", the Old State House dates back to 1713. This Georgian style structure was occupied by the British during the Revolution and was a continuous reminder to the settlers of British dominance and presence in the colony. The Old State House was the center of all political life and debate in colonial Boston. On top of the building the British Lion and the Scottish Unicorn. The old south meeting house.Old South Meeting House a Puritan church was built in 1729. Old South Meeting House has played an important role in American history. In the years leading to the American Revolution, thousands of colonists gathered at Old South Meeting House to challenge British rule, most famously to protest the Boston Massacre and the tea tax. The largest building in colonial Boston, Old South Meeting House was the stage for an overflow meeting on December 16, 1773, which adjourned to Griffin’s Wharf for the infamous event that would become known as the Boston Tea Party. The top of a gravestone from the old puritan graveyard. State house. Built in 1798, the "new" State House is located across from the Boston Common on the top of Beacon Hill. The land was once owned by Massachusetts first elected governor, John Hancock. Charles Bullfinch, the leading architect of the day, designed the building. Beacon Hill Beacon Hill gets its name from a beacon that once stood atop its hill to warn locals about foreign invasion. Its architecture and lay- out is reflective of old colonial Boston, consisting of brick row houses with beautiful doors, decorative iron work, brick sidewalks, narrow streets, and gas lamps. Entrance to house on Beacon Hill Impressive fire trucks Paul Revere House The ranger telling stories. The ranger appointed two girl twin one Loyalist: Thomas Hutchinson and one patriot: Paul Revere. Thomas Hutchinson (governor), Thomas Hutchinson (9 September 1711 – 3 June 1780) was a businessman, historian, and a prominent Loyalist politician of the Province of Massachusetts Bay in the years before the American Revolution. A successful merchant and politician, Hutchinson was active at high levels of the Massachusetts government for many years, serving as lieutenant governor and then governor from 1758 to 1774. He was a politically polarising figure who, despite initial opposition to Parliamentary tax laws directed at the colonies, came to be identified by John Adams and Samuel Adams as a proponent of hated British taxes. Hutchinson exemplifies the Loyalist-as-loser. He sacrificed his love for Massachusetts to his uncritical loyalty to Great Britain, where he spent his last years in unhappy exile. Paul Revere (December 21, 1734 – May 10, 1818) was an American silversmith, early industrialist, and a active in the American Revolution. He is most famous for alerting the Colonial militia to the approach of British forces before the battles of Lexington and Concord. Revere was a prosperous and prominent Boston silversmith, who helped organize an intelligence and alarm system to keep watch on the British military. Following the war, Revere returned to his silversmith trade and used the profits from his expanding business to finance his work in iron casting, bronze bell and cannon casting, and the forging of copper bolts and spikes. Finally in 1800 he became the first American to successfully roll copper into sheets for use as sheathing on naval vessels. Some Canadian geese (Branta canadensis) we meet on our evening walk in the harbour Evening atmosphere in the harbour A monument not connected to the uprising against British rule in Boston, but a gift from the Armenian-American community of Massachusetts to recognise that Massachusetts has offered hope and refuge for emigrants from all over the world and in honor of the Armenian Genocide 1915-1923.

Boston, Monday 23 July 2013

We flew to Boston on our USA trip, The main purpose to visit my brother Asger and his wife Lizzie and se their new house out in the woods in the northwest corner of Connecticut, but Lisbeth and I had planned the trip, so we start with 4 days sightseeing in Boston, and end with 4 days sightseeing in New York City. Our excellent hotel room on 8th floor in the Harborside Inn Hotel (http://harborsideinnboston.com/) on State Street just next to the harbour View from our hotel room towards Christopher Columbus Park View from our hotel room up State Street Another view up State Street with Old State House The harbour View from the harbour toward the building which includes the Harborside Inn Hotel, originally built in 1846 as a mercantile shipping warehouse on the Boston harbour. We decided to use our first day go on a whale watching trip In the bay outside Boston there is an archipelago with lots of small islands. We focused on one male humpback whale named after the Brazilian football player Pele (humpback whale can be identified from the markings on their the tail flukes). Our guide complained that it was too lazy and did not make a show for us when it was breeding, but probably it was too busy to feed on a shoal of fish below us to have time. The humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) is a species of baleen whale, adults range in length from 12–16 metres and weigh approximately 36,000 kilograms. The humpback has a distinctive body shape, with unusually long pectoral fins and a knobbly head. An acrobatic animal known for breaching and slapping the water with its tail and pectorals, it is popular with whale watchers. Like other large whales, the humpback was and is a target for the whaling industry. Once hunted to the brink of extinction, its population fell by an estimated 90% before a moratorium was introduced in 1966. While stocks have since partially recovered, entanglement in fishing gear, collisions with ships, and noise pollution continue to impact the 80,000 humpbacks worldwide. When we left another group of whale watchers took over observing Pele. The famous park Boston Common is very popular among its citizens It is also among very popular among squirrels, who are feed by the visitors Boston Common (also known as "the Common") is the central public park in Boston. Dating from 1634, it is the oldest city park in the United States the Make Way for Ducklings sculpture. The Mrs. Mallard and her 8 ducklings sculpture is based on the drawings of Robert McCloskey who wrote the 1941 children's classic Make Way for Ducklings, set in the Public Garden.

Loekken, Wednesday 10 July and Thursday 11 July

Agnete, Lisbeth and I were also visiting Bertel, Torsten and Karen in the family (Torsten’s) weekend house in Groenhoej on the northwest coast of Jutland, south of Loekken in Vendsyssel-Thy in northern Denmark View from the dunes towards Loekken and Rubjerg Knude lighthouse On the beach Sand masses block the light from the 23m high Rubjerg Knude lighthouse, built in 1900, north of Loekken, so it was turned off in 1968. The area near the cliff has a wide view and is a popular tourist destination On Løkken Beach you’ll still find fishing cutters being drawn up onto the beach after a trip out to sea, and if you want to you can take some of their catch home with you. After the first houses were built in Løkken in 1678 the town grew to become the most important trading port for traffic between Vendsyssel and the south of Norway, with grain, butter and meat going one way and timber and iron the other. Warehouses from those days are still extant although the trade which gave rise to them dwindled out around 1900. Løkken became an important centre for fishing, the third largest on the west coast. In 1950 up to 50 boats were beached on the shore when the fishermen brought their catch home. There aren’t many fishermen left. Here they land the catch of the day from one of the remaining fishing boats. We bought crab claws Before the dinner Bertel were bathed

Sep 4, 2013

Mount Dajti, Sunday, 23 June 2013

Kurt and took the Dajti Ekspres Cable Car [Teleferik] up to Mount Dajti. Whisking us up to 1230m above sea level in under 15 minutes, the Austrian-built Dajti Express cable car on the outskirts of Tirana is a fun ride. Swooping over pastures, a lake and steep rocks, the 4km route offers great views of the mountain and the city. We went for a hike in the lush forests, and ended up having our lunch at the Panorama Restaurant with nice beer, good food and great views over the valley with Tirana.

Rafting in the Osumi Canyon, 8 June 2013

The Grontmij trainee, Karen, who visited our EU SELEA project, and I went rafting. The canyons of Osumit is a 1½ hour drive upstream the Osumi River from the world heritage town Berat. The Osumi River canyon is one of the most spectacular natural attractions of Albania. The Osumi canyon from above. Group photo Another unknown (at least by me) nice bird The landscape with the canyon And a view down (very much down!) Whenever I see some nice haystacks I have to make a photo!