The European Union: Coronavirus Pandemic

30 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Editorial, EU blog post series, European Union Reading Time:  1106 minutes

(Latest update: 9 December 2023) Over the coming months, the world will now experience not only how individual states will deal with the global coronavirus pandemic, but also how governments can or cannot intercept the consequences. It can be observed in real time how a real and worldwide crisis is reacted to, who has made provisions and built up reserves or has only wobbled. Already the unemployment numbers and the number of bankruptcies in the first few weeks will provide sufficient information and thus also give an answer to which social and state systems are viable even in crises and take their weakest with them instead of having to leave them behind. It can be assumed that the countries will cope best with the crisis, that are regularly accused of charging too high taxes and having too strong social systems in “regular times” (some Americans would even call it “pure socialism” until a big crises hit in. Then more and more people are questioning why the richest country in the world cannot provide as excellent social security as Germany has for decades – everything always has its advantages and disadvantages), because these countries can now set their full strength come into effect and let it unfold. Whatever the outcome of this “competition” will be, let us all remain prudent, relaxed, reasonable and show solidarity and, of course, let’s stay at home if possible, because the more people abide by the rules, the sooner we can get this spook under control. Even if it will take months before a vaccine will be available, we shouldn’t give the virus the pleasure to let destroy us socially and economically. Stay healthy and #flattenthecurve #StayHomeSaveLives #Coronavirus #covid19 (Coronavirus warning app for Germany)   read more…

Old Port of Montreal

30 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Clock Tower © Concierge.2C/cc-by-sa-3.0

Clock Tower © Concierge.2C/cc-by-sa-3.0

The Old Port of Montreal (Vieux-Port de Montréal) is the historic port of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Located in Old Montreal, it stretches for over 2 km (1.2 mi) along the Saint Lawrence River. It was used as early as 1611, when French fur traders used it as a trading post. In 1976, Montreal’s Port activities were moved east to the present Port of Montreal in the borough of Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Haiphong

28 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

Du Hang Pagoda © HoangTuanAnh/cc-by-sa-3.0

Du Hang Pagoda © HoangTuanAnh/cc-by-sa-3.0

Haiphong is a major industrial city, the second largest city in the northern part of Vietnam. Hai Phong is also the center of technology, economy, culture, medicine, education, science and trade in the northern coast of Vietnam. The city is popular as a starting point for excursions to the famous Halong Bay. Hai Phong city traces its origin to its 1887 founding as a seaport province by colonist of the French Colonial Empire. In 1888, the president of the French Third Republic Sadi Carnot promulgated a decree to establish Hai Phong city. From 1954 to 1975, Hai Phong served as the most important maritime city of North Vietnam, and it became one of direct-controlled municipalities of a reunified Vietnam with Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh city in 1976. In the 21st century, Hai Phong has emerged as a trading gateway, modern, green industrial city of Vietnam, oriented to become the third special-class city of Vietnam in 2030 or by 2050 at the latest.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Vung Tau

27 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

© Hoangvantoanajc/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Hoangvantoanajc/cc-by-sa-3.0

Vũng Tàu is the largest city and former capital of Bà Rịa–Vũng Tàu Province in Vietnam. The city area is 140 square kilometres (54 square miles), consists of 13 urban wards and one commune of Long Son Islet. Vũng Tàu was the capital of the province until it was replaced by the much smaller Bà Rịa city on 2 May 2012. The city is also the crude oil extraction center of Vietnam.   read more…

Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive in New York City

27 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, New York City Reading Time:  11 minutes

© flickr.com - Bob Jagendorf/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – Bob Jagendorf/cc-by-2.0

The FDR Drive (officially referred to as the Franklin D. Roosevelt East River Drive) is a 9.68-mile (15.58 km) limited-access parkway on the east side of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It starts near South and Broad Streets, just north of the Battery Park Underpass, and runs north along the East River to the 125th Street / Robert F. Kennedy Bridge / Willis Avenue Bridge interchange, where it becomes the Harlem River Drive. All of the FDR Drive is designated New York State Route 907L (NY 907L), an unsigned reference route. The FDR Drive features a mix of below-grade, at-grade, and elevated sections, as well as three partially covered tunnels. The parkway is mostly three lanes in each direction, with the exception of several small sections.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Quy Nhon

26 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

© Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Bùi Thụy Đào Nguyên/cc-by-sa-3.0

Qui Nhơn is a coastal city in Bình Định Province in central Vietnam. It is composed of 16 wards and five communes with a total of 284 km² (110 sq mi). Quy Nhơn is the capital of Bình Định Province. Its population is at 311,000. Historically, the commercial activities of the city focused on agriculture and fishing. In recent years, however, there has been a significant shift towards service industries and tourism. There is also a substantial manufacturing sector.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Can Tho

25 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  8 minutes

© panoramio.com - trungydang/cc-by-3.0

© panoramio.com – trungydang/cc-by-3.0

Cần Thơ is the fourth-largest city in Vietnam, and the largest city in the Mekong Delta. It is noted for its floating markets, rice paper-making village, and picturesque rural canals. It had a population of 1.2 million as of 2011, and is located on the south bank of the Hau River, a distributary of the Mekong River. In 2007, about 50 people died when the Cần Thơ Bridge collapsed, causing Vietnam’s worst engineering disaster. In 2011, Can Tho International Airport opened.   read more…

Portrait: Johannes Brahms, composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic period

25 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Hamburg, Portrait Reading Time:  6 minutes

Johannes Brahms in 1889 - New York Public Library - C. Brasch

Johannes Brahms in 1889 – New York Public Library – C. Brasch

Johannes Brahms was a German composer, pianist, and conductor of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg into a Lutheran family, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna. His reputation and status as a composer are such that he is sometimes grouped with Johann Sebastian Bach and Ludwig van Beethoven as one of the “Three Bs” of music, a comment originally made by the nineteenth-century conductor Hans von Bülow.   read more…

Theme Week Vietnam – Hue

24 March 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  13 minutes

Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Imperial City © Arabsalam/cc-by-3.0

Hall of Supreme Harmony in the Imperial City © Arabsalam/cc-by-3.0

Huế is a city in central Vietnam that was the capital of Đàng Trong Kingdom from 1738 to 1775 and of the Nguyen Dynasty from 1802 to 1945. A major attraction is its vast, 19th-century citadel, surrounded by a moat and thick stone walls. It encompasses the Imperial City, with palaces and shrines; the Forbidden Purple City, once the emperor’s home; and a replica of the Royal Theater. The city was also the battleground for the Battle of Hue, which was one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the Vietnam War.   read more…

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