Monday 18 May 2015

Tulips from Amsterdam or is it a Postcard?

My great friend Diane and her husband Nigel
went off on their travels again .

Taking in Amsterdam amongst other places
 
They went to quite a few different towns , go and have a read!!!
They saw interesting places.
 
 


 Here we have  the intersection of the
 Brouwersgracht and Herengracht canals in Amsterdam.
 
 
Brouwersgracht is part of the canal belt connecting the Singel, Herengracht, Keizergracht and Prinsengracht and marks the northern border of the canal belt. 
 
The canal served as a site for ships returning from Asia with spices and silks, and  Brouwersgracht had many warehouses and storage depots for the ships inventories. Breweries were also prevalent in the area due to the access to fresh water shipments. Today the warehouses are now apartments, some of the most expensive in Amsterdam.,

Herengracht  is the first of the three major canals in the city centre of Amsterdam, and is named after the heren regeerders who governed the city in the 16th and 17th century. The most fashionable part is called the Golden Bend, with many double wide mansions, inner gardens and coach houses on Keizersgracht. Samuel Sarphati (1813-1868) lived at the house at number 598 and Peter the Great stayed at the house at number 527 during his second visit to Amsterdam.
 
Thank you Diane , looks like you and  Nigel had a great trip.
 
♥ ♥ ♥
 
 

Sunday 10 May 2015

Anyone been to Sodermalm Heights - Stockholm ... ?

My lovely friend Krissa
who lives in Singapore has just been
on business and I received a card too!
 
 She thought of me when she
was doing a little bit of sightseeing. Thank you ♥
 
Krissa's blog is
 

(Postcards (and stamps!) collection )

Very interesting , a great read.

 

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
 

Sodermalm is an island that forms the southern district of central Stockholm and
 until the early 17th century  was mainly a rural, agricultural area.
The first urban areas were planned and built in the mid 17th century.
 
  Sodermalm is also often referred to as "Soders hojder", the Heights of 'Soder', which reflects its domain  of sheer cliffs and rocky hills.
 
 
 In the 18th century, the working class cottages that clung to Mariaberget, the steep cliffs facing Riddarfjarden, were replaced by the large buildings
 that are there to the present day.
 
   Today parts of Södermalm have rural feeling to them. . This area was mainly known as working class and  renowned for its poverty and regarded as a slum.
 
 While there has been a romantic air about Sodermalm for
many decades, its slow ascendancy towards a
better reputation began as late as in the 1970s or 80s.
 
Today it is considered a fashionable place to live or to go to, and it boasts prominent shopping districts and a wide range of cafés, restaurants and bars.
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
 
And for all you readers out there ...
 
"One of the literary phenomenons of recent years is the Millennium Trilogy by Steig Larsson, better known by their individual titles: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest.

Stockholm provided the backdrop for these compelling thrillers, so it’s no surprise that fans are flocking to experience the city for themselves, and in particular, visit the places featured in the books.  And now thanks to an exciting new walking tour, you can step into the shadowy world of investigative journalist Mikael Blomkvist, and anti-hero Lisbeth Salander. You get to see many of the locations, including Blomkvist’s apartment, the editorial offices of ‘Millennium Magazine,’ and the bars frequented by Salander. You’ll even pass the café where Steig Larsson would tap away at his laptop, authoring the novels that would go on to sell millions of copies around the world, and even become hit feature films."
 
The above information was taken from a website P &O Cruises... !!