Apple’s iPhone To Support 3rd Party Apps After All
At the D Conference earlier today, Steve changed his tune, saying later in the year Apple would probably open up the iphone to third party developers. This is fantastic news, as it takes the iPhone from being a pretty Blackberry with an iPod inside to another level, that of a true smartphone.
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DRM-free EMI music hitting iTunes today?
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Google cooking up more apps for the iPhone and other details
So The Seattle Times got a sit down with the rather guarded Glenn Lurie, AT&T's man on the ground for the iPhone. While he didn't give much up in the way of the phone's finer details, he did have one takeaway that left us interested. When asked about the mass skepticism over the iPhone's price, he replied "... There are other things -- you have the widgets, some of the Google applications that are coming -- there are just so many things here that the price will not be an issue." Now, we don't want to get all weird here and read tea leaves, but he did say Google applications (as in plural), so we think it's safe to say Google has more planned than just Gmaps for the iPhone. We wouldn't be surprised to see a Google news reader, Gmail, or even Gcal apps on there, but given the fact that Apple already has its own agenda for mail, calendaring and the like, it might stand to reason the iPhone won't be locking its users out of 3rd party add-on apps after all. Another interesting detail: "people are going to be asked to have an unlimited [data] package" with the iPhone. Hm, no surprise there. Ok, discuss / argue amongst yourselves.Blogged with Flock
Today just got back from Mannheim and thought of what Whit Monday actually is as only some countries do have a holiday.
Whit Monday (also known as Hi Monday) is the holiday celebrated the day after Pentecost, a movable feast in the Christian calendar. It is movable because it depends upon the date of Easter.
Until recently, Whit Monday was a public holiday in Ireland, and was a bank holiday in the United Kingdom until 1967, when it was formally replaced by a fixed 'spring holiday' on the last Monday in May in 1971. It was also a public holiday in various former British colonies, especially in the Pacific. It is still a public holiday in some of the countries of the Commonwealth Caribbean.
Whit Monday gets its English name for following "Whitsun", the day that became one of the three baptismal seasons. The name "Whitsunday" is now generally attributed to the white garments formerly worn by the candidates for baptism on this feast. The Monday is also a holiday in France (though since 2005, the government wants it to be a "solidarity" day where people still go to work), Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Greece, Hungary, Belgium, The Netherlands, and several Scandinavian countries, there going under the name "Pentecôte" (fr), "Pentecoste" (it), "Pinse" (no, da), "Pingst" (sv), "Pfingsten" (de), "Pengschten" (lux) and "Pinksteren" (nl). Indeed, the official Danish name for the holiday is anden pinsedag (English: Second day of Pentecost). Denmark uses this tradition also around Easter and Christmas, celebrating both the Second day of Easter on the Monday after Easter, and the Second day of Christmas on December 26.
After viewing a match of the Dutch female B youth against the German team at Manheimer HC
and a nice farmers lunch at the Burrweiler Mühle
we visited the very busy Hambacher Castle for the Hambacher Fest.
The Castle.
Hambach Castle near the urban district Hambach of Neustadt an der Weinstraße in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, is said to be the symbol of the German democracy movement because of the Hambacher Fest which occurred here in 1832.
Hambach Castle is placed on the mountain Schlossberg (literally translated "Castle mountain"; elevation: 325m) in the east of the Palatine Forest. The estate ruled both as protection castle and as robber baron castle over the trade roads and also over the northern route of the Anterior Palatinate section of the Way of St. James.
Archaeological finds proof that the area of Hambach Castle was used in late Roman time. In late Carolingian Dynasty times and Ottonian dynasty times a castle of refuge was built. Rests of it remain in front of and under the outer ring wall.
(The Palatinate dialect literally translated: chestnut castle)
Probably in the first half of the 11th century inside the former estate a new castle was built. It got its name because of the surroundung magnificent sweet chestnut forests. There is only little known about its early times: there are speculations without any proof that it was found as an Imperial Castle (Reichsburg) or that Emperor Henry IV had started his Walk to Canossa in 1076. It is only certain, that bishop Johann I of Speyer signed over the estate from his property together with Castle Meistersel between 1090 and 1104 to the Bishopric of Speyer, which stayed owner to the end of the 18th century.
The big estate was told to be one of the most importand facilities of the Bishopric of Speyer in the late Middle Ages. This is indicated by the multitudinous inhabitancies of the bishops since 1180. Despite this the first "Burgmannen" primary were known as Imperial Ministeriales and not as commissionaires of the church, especially the first one, Burkhard of Kästenburg, who is provable in the imperial service from 1154 to 1186. His brother Trushard of Kästenburg, proven 1178–1201, performed a brilliant career at the court of Henry VI.
The descendants of Trushard had no connection to the Kästenburg. Other houses of "Burgmannen" took place here, among them since 1256 the ministerial family Schnittlauch of Kästenburg, the Earls of Zweibrücken (1284) and the Earls of Veldenz (1311).
Especially during the 13th century bigger building projects toof place, further ones were done at the end of the 14th century and in the second half of the 15th century by the bishops Nikolaus I and Matthias I.
The Fest.
The Hambacher Fest was a national democratic festival, similar to the Wartburg festival of 1817, celebrated at Hambach Castle near Neustadt an der Weinstraße (Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany), on May 27 to May 30, 1832 with about 30,000 participants.
People came from all ranks of society, workmen, students and members of parliament, as well as from different nations such as France and Poland. Amongst the Polish there were many who fled after the November Uprising (1830–1831) from Poland to Germany and further on to France.
At that time under the control of Bavaria, the local population suffered from high taxes and censorship. The main demands of the meeting that had been disguised as a non-political county fair were Liberty, Civil rights and National Unity (against the sectionalism that had prevailed in Germany since the Thirty Years' War).
No consensus was reached in regard to actions, and a few uncoordinated violent acts were carried out by students later on. This was criticized as missing a chance, e.g. by poet Heinrich Heine. The meeting had no immediate results, but the meeting is a milestone in German history, and saw the establishment of the colors Black-Red-Gold as a symbol of a German democratic movement, colours which were later used in the Flag of Germany.
Could be busy in Germany this weekend of Whit Sunday and Monday, hope going back Monday will not get me into traffic jams ...
This is today at 09.00:
To visit my sister, her girlfriend and my parents who also travelled to Germany.
Mannheim is a city in Germany. With 307,640 inhabitants it is the second largest city in the state of Baden-Württemberg after the capital Stuttgart.
Mannheim is situated at the confluence of the rivers Rhine and Neckar, in the northwestern corner of the state of Baden-Württemberg. The Rhine separates Mannheim from the adjacent Rhineland-Palatinate city of Ludwigshafen. The Hessian border is north of the city. Mannheim is the largest city of the Rhine Neckar Area, a metropolitan area with 2.4 million inhabitants.
Mannheim is unique among German cities in that its central area is laid out in a grid pattern (called Quadrate, squares), much like many North American cities. The main route through the squares leads to an enormous 18th century palace. This former seat of the Electors of the Palatinate now houses the University of Mannheim.
Mannheim's city symbol is the Wasserturm (water tower), located in the east of the city centre.
Mannheim is first mentioned in a document from 766, the "Codex Laureshamensis" from the Lorsch Cloister. It is listed as "Mannenheim" (Home of Manno). It remained a village until Frederick IV, Elector Palatine initiated building the fortress Friedrichsburg and the adjacent grid-like city core.
The city was destroyed subsequently in the Thirty Years' War in 1622 by Tilly's troops, and in the Nine Years War for the Palatinate succession in 1689 by the French.
Rebuilt in 1720, the capital of the Palatinate was transferred from Heidelberg to Mannheim. It was then that Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine began construction of the Mannheim Palace and the Jesuitenkirche. They were completed in 1760. In the 18th century Mannheim was home to the so-called Mannheim School of classical composers. It was reputed to have one of the best court orchestras in Europe under the leadership of Carlo Grua.
Karl Benz invented and drove the world's first car in Mannheim in 1885. He was granted a patent for that first automobile in January of the following year. Earlier still in 1817, Karl Drais invented and rode the first two-wheeled contraption called Laufmaschine or velocipede—the very start of horseless personal transport. Banker Otto Hermann Kahn was also born there.
In 1819 Norwich Duff noted the following observations:
Mannheim is in the Duchy of Baden and situated at the confluence of the Rhine and Neckar over both of which there is a bridge of boats. This is the third town of this name having been twice burnt. The houses are large, and the streets broad and at right angles to each other, and is one of the most airy clean towns I have seen in Germany. It was formerly fortified but the fortifications were rased in 1806 and gardens fill their places. There is a large Chateau here belonging to the Grand Duke and a very good garden; part of the Chateau was destroyed when the town was bombarded and has never since been repaired, the other part is occupied by the Grand Duchess widow of the late Grand Duke who was succeeded by his Uncle having left only three daughters. She is the sister of Eugene Beauharnais [so presumably she was born Hortense de Beauharnais daughter by her former marriage of Napoleon Buonaparte's Empress Josephine]. There is a Cathedral, a Theatre which is considered good, an observatory, a gallery of pictures at the Chateau and some private collections. About 2 km (1 mile) below the town the Russian Army crossed the Rhine in 1813. Population 18 300.
During World War II, Mannheim (as a key industrial centre) was heavily damaged by US and British bombing. The city was occupied by the US Army on March 29, 1945. There has been a large American military presence in the Mannheim area ever since (see United States military installations below).
In 2007 Mannheim celebrates its 400th birthday with a series of cultural and other events spread over the whole year.
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iPhone Will Be Available For Pre-Paid Users
Rejoice! If you’ve been kicking yourself non-stop over the iPhone because you either have another carrier or you use Cingular as a pre-paid service, you need not worry anymore. Proof has risen from an internal AT&T computer screen-shot, which shows available tracking for the iPhone. Three options are listed: iPhone Hybrid Tracking, iPhone Postpaid Tracking, and iPhone Prepaid Tracking - essentially meaning that a pre-paid version of the iPhone will be available.
This is huge news and will probably help ensure the iPhone’s success. Only problem is, remember when the Sidekick 3 was available for pre-paid users? The cost for the phone was astronomical. I wonder if AT&T plans on putting an inflated price on the iPhone for pre-paid users. Let’s hope not, because myself and some other people I know just got Cingular pre-paid accounts for the sole purpose of the iPhone.
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Although my site (started actively end November 2006) is not one of the most frequently visited or talked 
about sites in the world it is nice to see the interest is growing.
An early start brought is to Nea Makri to have a freddo Capucino or freddo Espresso.
Nea Makri (Greek: Νέα Μάκρη), also Nea Makris is a town located in the northeastern part of Attica and the peninsula.
Town layout
The street system is gridded aligning within Petalies Gulf connecting the Aegean Sea to the east. Nea Makri is linked with Marathonos Avenue (GR-53) that ends at Marathon to the north, and which added two more lanes between 2002 and 2005 and became a divided avenue to the west which stretches up to Nea Makri and GR-83 to the north. Other main streets include Poseidonos Avenue.
History
The area was once known as Plesti, but following the 1922 Greek military disaster in Asia Minor and the subsequent repatriation of Greeks from the town of Makri, it was renamed Nea Makri (New Makri).
Location
The Penteli mountains that are covered with forests lie to the west and southwest while farmlands are within Petalies Gulf and to the north except for the downtown part of Nea Makri. Beaches cover the eastern part and restaurants, hotels, and tavernas cover the area within the shoreline. Nea Makri is located NE of Athens and the Attiki Odos (number 63), NNE of the Eleftherios Venizelos Airport, SE of GR-1 and SW of Grammatiko.
Population
Until the 1970s, most of the population was rural. As housing developments came to the area, the population boomed and filled into the settlements. Housing developments continue to this day.
A American naval communications base used to exist from mid to the late 20th century north of Nea Makri. The outbreak of the disease of 1996 did not affect Nea Makri, but the July 28, 2005 forest fire affected the southern part as smoke blanketed the southern part during the evening hours. The fire did not threaten Nea Makri at all. The threat was floods on November 24, 2005, and flooded streets and residential buildings, destroying properties as well as their homes, which was rare and caused traffic chaos as some automobiles were stranded.
We had a vry nice fishy lunch at Rafina
Rafina (Greek: Ραφήνα) is a town located on the eastern coast of Attica in Greece.
Geography
Rafina lies east of the Penteli mountains and northeast of the Mesogeia plain with an area of farmland near the coastline to the north. The Cephissus River lies to the west. It is located E of Athens and the Attiki Odos (number 63), S of Nea Makri, NNE of the Eleftherios Venizelos Airport and N of Loutsa. Rafina is about 30 km E of downtown Athens.
The Municipality of Rafina contains, besides the city itself, a large portion of the surrounding area, which is mostly woodland and farmland.
Road and sea access
The town can be accessed through Marathonos Avenue (GR-54) to the west. Other roads link with the town of Artemida, also known as Loutsa, to the south and Nea Makri to the North.
Rafina is a port town serving ferries to the southern part of Euboea as well as most of the Cyclades. Its port is the second largest of Attica, after that of Piraeus, but it will probably be superseded by the one in Lavrio, which is currently being expanded.
History
Rafina was established in the 1920s by refugees fleeing from Anatolia after the end of the Greco-Turkish War (1919-1922). Its name is an anagram of the name of an ancient Greek city which was located roughly in the same location as the modern town. Until the 1960s and the 1970s, most of the population was rural. As housing developments came to the area, the population boomed and moved into the settlements.
The beautiful small church of Agios Nicolas overlooks the blue sea just North of the town. The chappel was built after World War II by men who were to be executed but spared at the last minute. The town commandant had been assassinated and the Germans rounded up townspeople in retaliation. Another group of men were executed and those at the present site of Agios Nicolas were spared.
July 2005 forest fire
On July 28, 2005, a forest fire began near the area of the hills southwest of Rafina at 11:00 EET (8:00 a.m. GMT). The fires expanded quickly with windspeeds of 60 to 70 km/h, threatening forests around the hills and the small mountain range that runs from north of Spata to near Rafina, consuming most of the forest and burning homes in two settlements including Kallitechnoupoli. The fires also threatened Neos Voutzas near Penteli. As a result of property damage, a large number of people were displaced. Traffic was redirected or halted as Marathonos Avenue was shut down from its junction near Pikermi. Thick smoke covered the area until about 5 p.m. EET, when the wind calmed down and changed direction to the northeast near Rafina. A massive mobilization of fire departments across the region of Attica followed, and eventually most of the region's available personnel were deployed to the area. Firefighting efforts were assisted by water bombers and helicopters. The gradual decrease of windspeeds in the area slowed the spread of the fire. The fire was put under control in the afternoon and was fully extinguished by nightfall. The flames did not reach the city itself. On the same day another forest fire began in the area of Neos Voutzas at 13:00 EET (11:00 a.m. GMT).
After lunch my friends droppe me at the airport for a long flight or better a strange one. This time I was going by Warasawa in Poland which took me a much longer flight total to get to Amsterdam as I also had to stay 3 hours in between flights. I arrived in Amsterdam at 22.30.
After a very good night with a visit to a typical Greek Taverna today we visit Piraeus (below text from Wikipedia).
Piraeus (Modern Greek: Πειραιάς Pireás, Ancient Greek / Katharevousa: Πειραιεύς Peiraieus) is a city in the periphery of Attica, Greece, located to the south of the city of Athens. It is the capital of the Piraeus Prefecture and belongs to the Athens urban area. It was the port of the ancient city of Athens and it was chosen to serve as the modern port when Athens was re-founded in 1834. Piraeus remains one of the busiest shipping and industrial centres of the Mediterranean and is the terminus for Line 1 (the "green line"), the electric train service now incorporated into the Athens Metro.
The population of the dimos (municipality) of Piraeus (Δήμος Πειραιώς) is 175,697 (2001). The nomarchia of Piraeus, which includes the surrounding land and some of the islands of the Saronic Gulf, has a population of 541,504 (2001). It consists of a rocky promontory, containing three natural harbours, a large one on the north-west which is an important commercial harbour for the eastern Mediterranean Sea, and two smaller ones, Zea and Mikrolimano, used for naval purposes. The port serves ferry routes to almost every island in the eastern portion of Greece, the island of Crete, the Cyclades, the Dodecanese, and much of the northern and the eastern Aegean. The western part of the port is used for cargo services and covers a huge area. Much of that part of the harbour is in suburban Drapetsona and Keratsini.
Piraeus has been inhabited since about 2,600 BC.[1] The name Piraeus roughly means "the place over the passage". In very early antiquity Piraeus was a rocky island (the settlement of Munychia-the present Kastella) connected to the mainland by a low-lying stretch of land that was flooded with sea water most of the year and was used as a salt field whenever it dried up. Consequently it was called the "Halipedon" (salt field) and its muddy soil made it a tricky passage. The area was increasingly silted and flooding ceased, and by early classical times the land passage was made safe. It was then that Piraeus assumed its importance as a deep water harbor, and the older, shallow Phaleron harbor fell into gradual disuse.
Themistocles was the first to urge the Athenians to take advantage of these harbours, instead of using the sandy bay of Phaleron. Foreseeing a new attack by the Persians -after the Battle of Marathon- he built large fortification works and turned Piraeus into a military harbor in 493 BC. The shipyards that were created then, built the mighty Athenian fleet, which distinguished itself at the Battle of Salamis.
In 460 BC the fortifications were completed by Kimon and Pericles when Piraeus was connected with Athens by the Long Walls. The original town of Piraeus was planned by the architect Hippodamus of Miletus in the famous grid system that he devised, probably in the time of Pericles. The main agora was named after him, as an honor.
During the Peloponnesian Wars, Piraeus was the major Athenian port. In 404 BC, Munychia was seized by Thrasybulus and the exiles from Phyle, and in the Battle of Munychia, the Phyleans defeated the Thirty Tyrants in Athens. The three chief arsenals of Piraeus were Munychia, Zea and Cantharus, which could contain 82, 196 and 94 ships respectively in the 4th century BC. Piraeus, as a port, would follow the fate of Athens. After the end of the Peloponnesian Wars, when Athens came under Spartan occupation, Piraeus was to bear the brunt of the victors' rage. These walls would be torn down, the triremes found in the harbor surrendered to the Spartans or were burned, while the renowned neosoikoi ("ships' houses") would be pulled down and indeed in an almost festive manner-with music, dancing and songs.
After the reinstatement of democracy, Konon rebuilt the walls in 393 BC, funded the temples of Aphrodite Euploia, the sanctuary of Zeus Sotiros and Athena, and built the famous Skevothiki of Philon, the ruins of which have been discovered at Zea. This revival of the town was quashed by the Roman Sulla who captured Piraeus in 86 BC. The destruction was completed in 395 AD by the Goths under Alaric. During the Byzantine period the harbor of Piraeus was used at various intervals, but it was very far from the capital, Constantinople.
In 1456, it became known as the "Aslan Liman" of the Turks (the Lion's Port), getting its name from the marble lion standing at the point where, later, the old Town Hall was built.[1] The marble lion was removed and stolen in 1688, during Francesco Morozini's well-known expedition against Athens, and carried to the Arsenal of Venice where it still stands today (see Piraeus Lion). A copy of the lion statue is on display at the Piraeus Archaeological Musuem.
Throughout the Turkish occupation, Piraeus was mostly deserted except for a small place of habitation was around the St. Spyridonas Monastery. During that time there was only a customs house and the monastery of St. Spyridonas.
Modern Greek state
With the creation of the modern Greek state and the proclamation of Athens as the capital in 1832, the port again acquired a reason for existence and growth and developed into a great commercial and industrial center. People started to come back to the city once again. A town plan for Piraeus was also drawn up and approved by King Othon.[1] Following the establishment of the town, municipal elections were held to elect a new mayor for the city.
It quickly became the leading port and second largest city in Greece. Helping the city grow was its prime geographical location and closeness to the Greek capital.
The town flourished and lovely buildings were constructed. One of them, which continues to ornament the present town, is the Municipal Theater, an excellent example of neoclassical architecture. Today, Piraeus is the third largest city in Greece and the largest port in the country.
Large parts of the Themistoclean Walls around the shoreline survive in very good condition to this day, and are incorporated in seaside promenades. Remnants of the neosoikoi, where the triremes were kept in wintertime, were also excavated and valuable information about ancient shipbuilding and sailing was obtained by their study.
Greek shipping
In addition to being the largest marine-based shipping centre of Greece, Piraeus is also the commercial hub of Greek shipping, with most of Greece's shipowners basing their commercial operations there, largely centered around the street Akti Miaouli.
In its capacities as host to Greek shipping, Piraeus has been affected largely by the various Governments of Greece. For example, after World War II, the Greek government attempted to nationalize the proceeds of the insurance payments given to Greek shipowners who had lost vessels as a result of those vessels having been commandeered by the Allied Forces. The insurance had been provided by Lloyd's of London and guaranteed by the coalition of the allied forces. Although the Greek shipowners ultimately won their case against the Greek government in the British courts, most were uninterested in continuing to base their headquarters in Piraeus both out of distrust of the Greek government and the fact that the war had left the greater Athens area in a state of severe poverty. As a result, the Greek shipowners left Piraeus en masse in favor of operations in London, New York, Alexandria and other major shipping cities.
Today we started early and went by Metro to the Plaka and Monastiraki.
Most text was copied from other sites, like Wikipedia and Lonely Planet. Pictures (added later) are originals though.
Plaka, (Greek: Πλάκα), lying just beneath the Acropolis, is famous for its numerous neoclassic buildings, making it one of the most scenic districts of Athens. It remains the traditional top tourist destination, with many tavernas featuring traditional music.
Nearby Monastiraki (Greek: Μοναστηράκι), on the other hand, is famous for its string of small tourist shops as well as its crowded flea market and the tavernas that specialize in souvlaki. Another district notably famous for its student-crammed, stylish cafés is Theseum or Thission (Greek: Θησείο), lying just west of Monastiraki. Thission is home to the remarkable ancient temple of Hephaestus, standing on top of a small hill.
I have to say it is nice and hectic, but off the main roads it is even cosey. What is terrible though is meeting a person every minute trying to sell you something, from sigaret lighters, sunglasses, CD/DVD to crafted African woodwork. You're not a minute without someone, especially when sitting at a restaurant or cafe.
We visited and photographed especially the Tower of the Winds,
The famous Tower of the Winds is just a block up from Adrianou on Aeolou street and it is a part of the ancient Roman Agora. It is meteorological station from the first century built by the Syrian Astronomer Andronikos Kyrrhestes. It had a hydrolic clock fueled from a reservoir on the south side and inside was a mechanical device that represented the sun, the moon and the five known planets. The freize which represents the winds and their personalities is the most interesting part of the building and deserves a closer look.
The Mosque on the grounds of the Roman Agora was called the Mosque of Mehmet the Conqueror, built around 1458 for the visit to Athens by Sultan Mehmet a fan of the ancient Greek philosophers. Later the Mosque was known as the Wheat Bazaar Mosque because it was next to the yearly wheat market. It was briefly a Catholic church during the five months that the Venetians occupied the city. The minaret was demolished after Greece won it's independence and the mosque became a school for teachers and then a bakery for the army. Now it is just used for storage by the archaeologists working on the Roman Agora.
Across from the Tower is the doorway of the Medrese, originally a theological school founded in 1721 by Mehmet Fahri. During the War of Independence the Turks used it as a prison and hung many Greeks from the platanos tree and after the war the Greeks used it for the same purpose. In the minds of the Athenians it became a cursed place. The poet Achilleas Paraschos in 1843 predicted that one day it would be chopped up and used for firewood. He was right. In 1919 the tree was struck by lightning and the rest was chopped down and used for firewood. The building itself was demolished except for the door.
Next step was the Agora:
The Agora (market) was Athens' meeting place in ancient times, the focal point of administrative, commercial, political and social life. All roads led to this bustling and crowded place, where Socrates once expounded his philosophy and, later, where St Paul disputed daily in an attempt to win converts to Christianity.
The site was first developed in the 6th century BC. It was devastated by the Persians in 480 BC, but a new agora was built in its place almost immediately. It was flourishing by Pericles' time and continued to do so until AD 267, when it was destroyed by the Herulians, a Gothic tribe from Scandinavia.
A good place to begin an exploration of the site is in the reconstructed Stoa of Attalos, originally built between 159 and 138BC; its expensive shops were a popular stamping ground for moneyed Athenians. It houses the Agora Museum, where there's a model of the Agora upstairs along with a collection of finds from the site. The Temple of Hephaestus, on the western edge of the Agora, dates from 449BC and is the best-preserved Doric temple in Greece.
To the northeast of the temple are the foundations of the Stoa of Zeus Eleutherios, one of the places where Socrates spoke to the masses.
Near the southern entrance of the market is the Church of the Holy Apostles, which was built in the early 11th century to commemorate St Paul and his teachings. Have a look at the Byzantine frescoes inside.
After a simple, but nice Greeck lunch we started the climb to the Acropolis.
That day it was rather warm so it was a good tyring but rewarding journey.
The Acropolis of Athens is the best known acropolis (high city, The "Sacred Rock") in Greece and in the world. Although there are many other acropoleis in Greece, the significance of the Acropolis of Athens is such that it is commonly known as The Acropolis without qualification. The Acropolis was formally proclaimed as the pre-eminent monument on the European Cultural Heritage list of monuments on the 26th of March, 2007[1]. The Acropolis is a flat-topped rock which rises 150 m (512 ft) above sea level in the city of Athens, Greece. It was also known as Cecropia, after the legendary serpent-man, Kekrops or Cecrops, the first Athenian king.
While the earliest artifacts date to the Middle Neolithic era, there have been documented habitations in Attica from the Early Neolithic (6th millennium BC). Once into the Bronze Age, there is little doubt that a Mycenaean megaron must have stood on top of the hill, housing the local potentate and his household, guards, the local cult facilities and a number of workshops and ordinary habitations. The compound was surrounded by a thick Cyclopean circuit wall, possibly between 4.5 m and 6 m in height, consisting of two parapets built with large stone blocks and cemented with an earth mortar called emplekton. The wall follows typical Mycenaean convention in that its gate was arranged obliquely, with a parapet and tower overhanging the incomers' right-hand side, thus facilitating defence. There were two lesser approaches up the hill on its north side, consisting of steep, narrow flights of steps cut in the rock. Homer is assumed to refer to this fortification when he mentions the "strong-built House of Erechtheus" (Odyssey 7.81). It was during that time that an earthquake caused a fissure near the northeastern edge, one that ran all the way down to the marl layer and in which water collected. An elaborate set of stairs was built and the well was used as a protected source of drinking water during some portion of the Mycenaean period, as it was invaluable in times of siege.
The Dark Ages
It seems that the Acropolis might have been spared the violent destruction of other Mycenaean palaces, as there are no signs of fire or other large-scale destruction in what few artifacts of that time survive. This agrees with the standard Athenian folklore that the area resisted the Dorians successfully. Not much is known as to the precise state of building on the rock leading up to the archaic era, except that the Acropolis was taken over by Kylon in the Kylonian revolt, and twice by Pisistratus: all attempts directed at seizing political power by coups d' etat. Nevertheless it seems that a nine-gate wall, the Enneapylon, had been built around the biggest water spring, the "Clepsydra", at the northwestern foot. It was Pisistratus who initially established a precinct for Artemis on the site.
A sizeable temple sacred to "Athena Polias" (Protectress of the City) was erected by mid-6th century BC. This Doric limestone building, from which many relics survive, is referred to as the "Bluebeard" temple, named after the pedimental three-bodied man-serpent sculpture, whose beards were painted dark blue. Whether this temple replaced an older one, or a mere sacred precinct or altar, is not known. In the late 6th century BC yet another temple was built, usually referred to as the Archaios Naos (Old Temple). It is thought that the so-called Doerpfeld foundations might have belonged to this temple, which may have been sacred not to Polias but to Athena Parthenos (Virgin), at least for as long as the Polias "Bluebeard" temple stood. It is not known how long these temples coexisted.
To confuse matters further, by the time the "Bluebeard" Temple had been dismantled, a newer and grander marble building, the "Older Parthenon", was started following the victory at Marathon in 490 BC. To accommodate it, the south part of the summit was cleared of older remnants, made level by adding some 8,000 two-ton blocks of Piraeus limestone, a foundation 11 m deep at some points, and the rest filled with earth kept in place by the retaining wall. The Mycenaean gate was demolished and replaced with the Old Propylon, a monumental colonnaded structure whose purpose was strictly ceremonial, rather than defensive.
The Older Parthenon was caught unfinished by the invading Persians in 480 BC, and was razed to the ground burnt and looted, along with the Archaios Neos and practically everything else on the rock. Once the Persian Wars were over, the Athenians brought some order to the location, firstly by ceremonially burying objects of worship and art that were rendered unsuitable for further use. This "Persian debris" is the richest archaeological treasure excavated on the Acropolis, as its burial had protected it from further destruction through the ages.
Most of the major temples were rebuilt under the leadership of Pericles during the Golden Age of Athens (460–430 BC). Phidias, a great Athenian sculptor, and Ictinus and Callicrates, two famous architects, were responsible for the reconstruction. During the 5th century BC, the Acropolis gained its final shape. After winning at Eurymedon in 468 BC, Cimon and Themistocles ordered the reconstruction of southern and northern walls, and Pericles entrusted the building of the Parthenon to Ictinus and Phidias.
In 437 BC Mnesicles started building the Propylaea, monumental gates with columns of Penteli marble, partly built upon the old propylaea of Pisistratus. These colonnades were almost finished in the year 432 BC and had two wings, the northern one serving as picture gallery. At the same time, south of the propylaea, building of the small Ionic Temple of Athena Nike commenced. After an interruption caused by the Peloponnesian War, the temple was finished in the time of Nicias' peace, between 421 BC and 415 BC.
During the same period the building of the Erechtheum, a combination of sacred precincts including the temples of Athena Polias, Poseidon, Erechtheus, Cecrops, Erse, Pandrosos and Aglauros, with its so-called the Kore Porch (or Caryatids' balcony), was begun.
Between the temple of Athena Nike and the Parthenon there was the temenos of Artemis Brauronia or Brauroneion, the goddess represented as a bear and worshipped in the deme of Brauron. The archaic xoanon of the goddess and a statue made by Praxiteles in the 4th century BC were both in the sanctuary.
Behind the Propylaea, Phidias' gigantic bronze statue of Athena Promachos ("she who fights in the front line"), built between 450 BC and 448 BC, dominated. The base was 1.50 m high, while the total height of the statue was 9 m. The goddess held a lance whose gilt tip could be seen as a reflection by crews on ships rounding Cape Sounion, and a giant shield on the left side, decorated by Mys with images of the fight between the Centaurs and the Lapiths. Other monuments that have left almost nothing visible to the present day are the Chalkotheke, the Pandroseion, Pandion's sanctuary, Athena's altar, Zeus Polieus's sanctuary and, from Roman times, the circular temple of Augustus and Rome.
The entrance to the Acropolis was a monumental gateway called the Propylaea. To the south of the entrance is the tiny Temple of Athena Nike. A bronze statue of Athena, sculpted by Phidias, originally stood at its center. At the centre of the Acropolis is the Parthenon
or Temple of Athena Parthenos (Athena the Virgin). East of the entrance and north of the Parthenon is the temple known as the Erechtheum.
South of the platform that forms the top of the Acropolis there are the also the remains of an outdoor theatre called Theatre of Dionysus. A few hundred metres away, there is the, now partially reconstructed Theatre of Herodes Atticus.
The least interesting part of the trip. It was extremely busy at Schiphol Airport so I was just in time for the boarding. Plain left late, so again just in time to board at Munic for the last part of the flight and arrival in Athens was as scheduled. Marijke met me at the airport to drive as a Greek (that is fast ..) to her husband at work. Together we went to their beautiful house in Kifisia to have a nice late lunch at one f the many restaurants in the neighbourhood. Ending that day with some nice bottles of wine at home .. tomorrow the real experience will start.
As one of the first cities with so many buildings in Google Earth, 300.000+
Below Westerkerk and Anne Frank House at the Prinsengracht.
It is getting more expensive every month .... below Euro to New Zealand Dollar Exchange Rate.
Flash-based Apple notebooks planned
Apple is planning to release a new notebook with solid state flash memory "soon," according to sources cited by Macworld UK. The Cupertino-based company is destined to release an ultra-portable thin 13-inch MacBook with an LED-back lit display, no optical disc drive, and on-board NAND flash memory that is thinner and lighter than existing MacBooks,...
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Will visit some of my best friends in Athens as of Thursday, seems to be good weather ... or even hot ... the weekend will be a litlle cooler TG.....
As of 7:54am, the Apple Store has been down. The classic Post-It note with the text “We’ll be back soon.” is up, which means a new product is being introduced to the store. What will it be? It could be a Santa-Rosa-equipped Macbook, an ultra-portable notebook, or maybe even an early release of the iPhone. Not.
Either way, we’ll keep up the refreshing and will let you know the big news come later today.
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That was a very quick but rewarding visit to Berlin. Sunday 2 hours delay, so I arrived late together with a consultant from our partner in Italy who also had a delay. We stayed in a nice hotel Sylter Hof. Monday we had two visits at prospects and the evening we had dinner in the Sony-Center at Lindenbräu. Again a short delay before getting back to Amsterdam and never had such a bumpy ride, but without problems returned.
About the past and the Sony-Center
Potsdamer Platz – the pulsating heart of Berlin
In the 1920s Berlin had more than one million inhabitants and was a symbol of a modern metropolis in Europe. Located just 500 m south of the famous Brandenburg Gate the Potsdamer Platz used to be the heart of Berlin and its historical center. The square’s proximity to the Reichstag made it a perfect choice for the location of foreign embassies. It was also a prominent business district which included department stores, government offices and hotels such as the luxury Hotel Esplanade. Café Josty used to be a famous place for Berlin’s high society. As one of the most central locations it developed into an important traffic junction with up to 20,000 cars per day. Due to this busy traffic the first traffic light system in Germany was installed. During the Second World War main parts of the Potsdamer Platz were destroyed. In 1961 the Berlin wall was built, the square was divided into two parts and became stranded between East and West Germany.
New Life at Potsdamer Platz
On this historic ground, Sony had a modern ensemble built that fascinates its visitors by its airiness and transparency. Its center is made up by the Forum, a public space with a roof that has a futuristic air to it. From there, the 103-meter glass-walled office tower, the integrated Kaisersaal and the other buildings are only a few walking steps away.
Five New MacBook Configurations for Tues, May 15th?
Tuesday, May 15th is the most recent date-on-the-calendar for those awaiting Apple notebook updates. Questionable rumors posted last week indicated that we would see Apple laptop updates this week, while other rumors pointed to "sooner than expected...
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Waitiri Creek Wines Ltd.
Waitiri Creek produces award winning Pinot Noir, Chardonnay. We have a cellar door and cafe in our old church (built in 1893).
Montana Brancott Winery
The Montana Brancott Winery features daily tours, an elegant restaurant, retail store, tasting rooms and wine education facility.
Carrington
Karikari Estate is New Zealand’s northern most winery, with a predominant planting of red grape varieties such as syrah, merlot and cabernet.
Clifford Bay Restaurant
Tuscany style cellar-door/restaurant in the heart of winery area offering free wine tastings and superb lunches. Bookings recommended.
Allan Scott Wines & Estates Ltd
Allan Scott Wines and Estates produce Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling, Pinot Gris, Gewürztraminer, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Methode Traditionelle. Includes a restaurant and wine shop.
Highfield Estate Winery
With sensational views of the Wairau Valley, the Highfield restaurant offers you one of the best culinary experiences in Marlborough. Fresh local produce teamed with the ultra premium Highfield wines.
Neudorf Vineyards
Neudorf is an internationally recognised winery producing Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling.
Herzog Winery & Luxury Restaurant
An acclaimed boutique winery in the heart of Marlborough offering a year-round tasting lounge and ultra boutique wines.
Gibbston Valley Wines Limited
Stunning wines and restaurant set amongst the vines in the picturesque Gibbston Valley. New Zealand’s largest and most innovative wine cave.
Grapevines planted in the 1800’s by European colonists flourish in this new land. Many New Zealand wines garner honours at international wine award ceremonies with pinot noir and sauvignon blanc varietals singled out as outstanding.
Marlborough in the South Island is the largest wine-producing region, then there’s Hawke’s Bay, Martinborough and Wairapa, Gisborne, Nelson, Canterbury, Otago and Auckland.
New Zealand wines can, of course, be appreciatively imbibed alone or allowed to liberate and enhance the flavours of New Zealand’s unique gastronomic sensations - from native foods like wild pig and kumara steamed deep in the very earth itself in the Maori hangi tradition through to experimental haute cuisine.
New Zealand’s food and wine harmonies are legend-making. Central Otago Pinot Noir with Canterbury lamb, Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc with world-famous Bluff oysters Martinborough Pinot Gris with Lake Ohau salmon - such complements are heaven-sent.
Visits to wineries mean tastings and there are so many excellent wineries to choose from - consider Wairau River in Marlborough, with its Gold Medal sauvignon blancs. Plane trees line the majestic driveway surrounded by the Rapaura vineyards, first planted in 1978.
Handcrafted wine from a tapestry of soils grown in harmony with nature is the signature philosophy behind Matariki Wines in the Hawke’s Bay. Here merlot, cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, malbec and syrah are nurtured along with sauvignon blanc.Combine a cave tour, lunch, tasting and tour - and a little wine and gift shopping at Gibbston Valley Wines in Central Otago. One of New Zealand's leading food and wine experiences, it has an outstanding reputation world-wide for pinot noir and chardonnay, pinot gris, riesling and pinot blanc.
An Australian wine critic exclaimed the wines from Neudorf Vineyards affinity for texture, density and balance, ‘the result of brilliantly-conceived grape-growing’. Here you can taste some the finest wines in the Southern Hemisphere under the beautiful landscape and wide blue sky of Nelson.
No matter whether you target one wine-growing area and visit only one or two wineries or explore a little of all, New Zealand wines will seductively raise your wine standards.
New Zealand brings together such an eclectic abundance of culinary taste experiences and sensations as to make your mind dizzy even while your mouth waters.
From the ocean, from the rivers, from the fertile plains and high country pastures, the wine varieties, the seafood, game, fruits, vegetables, meat and fish fresh-caught and fresh-grown in this beautiful land are simply unsurpassed.
All kinds of interesting delicacies await. From Honeygar marinated west coast fish salad with coconut lime dressing, celeriac remoulade and herbed potato crisps at the BeesOnline Honey Centre and Café near Auckland to every-changing plat du jour feasts featuring local ingredients at Te Whau Lodge on Waiheke Island.
Soljans Estate near Auckland brings you masterful combinations of food dishes and complementary wines such as scallops wrapped in bacon with a Marlborough reisling and manuka smoked chicken with a Hawke's Bay chardonnay.
In Hawke’s Bay there’s a winery that’s also an epicurean centre. The finest local and national products are showcased in alfresco dining, indoor restaurant, culinary school and a gourmet foodstore at Sileni Estates.
The food and wine theme continues at Herzog’s Winery and Luxury Restaurant, a hideaway amid Marlborough’s vineyards. Inspired by local fresh produce, Michelin star-rated chefs create magical flavour marriages. If you feel such inspiration, take a Herzog cooking class.
You’ll find key foods are represented in different regions around New Zealand allowing for ever-changing foodie adventures. Rock lobster and crayfish, King salmon, snapper, green-lipped mussels, even paua (abalone) are a seafood lover’s delight. Fruit from the Bay of Plenty and the far North. And from the wild hills of the South Island, venison, wild pork, beef and lamb have a unsurpassed richness.
Explore the rich diversity of New Zealand’s culinary arts - and enjoy excellent taste.
Yesterday afternoon and evening we'd partied the 50th birthday of two of my hockeyfriends, Dolf and Bonno. We started with a very nice two hour boat trip through Amsterdam. Seeing Amsterdam from the canals is the best way to explore all the best things it has to offer.
In the evening after we had some drinks in the Old Bell, we ended with a perfect dinner at Sluyzer.
More pictures at my Flickr site.
Today Mother's day, hockey and tonight flying to Berlin for a meeting with a client tomorrow. So yes it is/was a busy weekend.
Some days I use to check houses, this time at ijburg again. It is a complete new area built on new land very close to Amsterdam and also close to Almere where I have my company.
There are some rather nice houses, although it is also missing the atmosphere of the center of Amsterdam where I live now.
Some ar rather stupid, like trying to rebuild old Amsterdam next to very modern houses.
Odd iPod Patent Shows Dual Screens, Rear Touchscreen
The Interweb is all a’flutter about an odd iPod patent filed by Apple that describes a device with screens on both the front and the back of the player. An amalgam of Sprint’s UpStage and the iPhone, this patent describes an interface in which a rear touchscreen accepts input and reflects that input on the front screen. Confused yet?
It works like this. Because a Nano-sized device would be too small to allow for a real front touch interface, the rear touchscreen would sense your finger position and show a cursor where your finger or thumb would be on the front screen. This frees up front real estate and could potentially allow for an onscreen keyboard and other goodies. Possible? Yes. Will it happen soon? Probably not.
This is all pie-in-the-sky conjecture, but it does show a potential design for a future Nano-sized iPhone and makes for great Apple rumor-mongering.
From Wikipedia
People in different countries celebrate Mother's Day on different days of the year because the day has a number of different origins. One school of thought claims this day emerged from a custom of mother worship in ancient Greece. Mother worship — which kept a festival to Cybele, a great mother of gods, and (mythology), the wife of Cronus; was held around the Vernal Equinox around Asia Minor and eventually in Rome itself from the Ides of March (March 15 to March 18). The Romans also had another holiday, Matronalia, that was dedicated to Juno, though mothers were usually given gifts on this day.
In the United States, Mother's Day is copied from England by social activist Julia Ward Howe after the American Civil War with a call to unite women against war. She wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation. Today, some organizations are working to revive Howe’s original vision of a holiday that celebrates peacemaking by mothers and others. In the UK, the day now simply celebrates motherhood and thanking mothers. According to the National Restaurant Association, Mother's Day is now the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in the United States.
Julia Ward Howe wrote the Mother's Day Proclamation in 1870, as a call for peace and disarmament. An excerpt follows:
| “ | From the voice of a devastated Earth a voice goes up with | ” |
Howe failed in her attempt to get formal recognition of a Mother's Day for Peace. Her idea was influenced by Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker who, starting in 1858, had attempted to improve sanitation through what she called Mothers' Work Days. She organized women throughout the Civil War to work for better sanitary conditions for both sides, and in 1868 she began work to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. In parts of the United States it is customary to plant tomatoes outdoors after mother's day (and not before.)
When Jarvis died, her daughter, named Anna Jarvis, started the crusade to found a memorial day for women. The first such Mother's Day was celebrated in Grafton, West Virginia, on May 10, 1908, in the Andrews Methodist Episcopal (now United Methodist) Church where the elder Ann Jarvis had taught Sunday School. Grafton is the home to the International Mother's Day Shrine. The 1912 General Conference of The Methodist Episcopal Church, at the suggestion of delegates from Andrews M.E. Church, recognized Jarvis as the founder and advocated the celebration of the holiday. From there, the custom caught on — spreading eventually to 45 states. The holiday was declared officially by some states beginning in 1912. In 1914 President Woodrow Wilson declared the first national Mother's Day, as a day for American citizens to show the flag in honour of those mothers whose sons had died in war. Nine years after the first official Mother's Day holiday, commercialization of the U.S. holiday became so rampant that Anna Jarvis herself became a major opponent of what the holiday had become. Mother's Day continues to this day to be one of the most commercially successful U.S. holidays.
Mothering Sunday, commonly called "Mothers' Day" in the United Kingdom, has no direct connection to the American practice. It falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent (exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday). It is believed to have originated from the 16th Century Christian practice of visiting one's mother church annually, which meant that most mothers would be reunited with their children on this day. Most historians believe that young apprentices and young women in servitude were released by their masters that weekend in order to visit their families.[2] As a result of secularisation, it is now principally used to celebrate and give thanks for mothers, although it is still recognized in the historical sense by some churches, with attention paid to Mary the mother of Jesus as well as the traditional concept 'mother church'.
