SWITZERLAND

Switzerland is a small country of Europe, it's situated in the middle of Europe next to France and behind of Germany. The currency it's the Swiss french and there are more than 200 000 habitants and its the 34 in the list of the more rich countries in the world.

There are four official languages in Switzeland:

German
Italian
French
Romanche



Tipical things of Switzerland:

                                        CZECH REPUBLIC


The czech republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Germany to the west and north-west, Austria to the south,Slovakia to the east and Poland to the north-east. Prague is the capital and largest city, with 1.3 million residents. The Czech Republic includes the historical territories of Bohemia and Moravia, and Czech Silesia.

CLIMATE

The Czech Republic has a temperate continental climate, with warm summers and cold, cloudy and snowy winters. The temperature difference between summer and winter is relatively high, due to the landlocked geographical position.
Within the Czech Republic, temperatures vary greatly, depending on the elevation. In general, at higher altitudes, the temperatures decrease and precipitation increases. The wettest area in the Czech Republic is found around Bílý Potov in Jizera Mountains and the driest region is the Louny District to the northwest of Prague. Another important factor is the distribution of the mountains; therefore, the climate is quite varied.

FOOD and DRINK
Goulash de carne con dumplings

 
Kozel

 BYE BYE

 

LUXEMBURG

Is a country in western Europe. It's surrounded by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east and France to the south.

The stripes of the flag are horizontal and their colours are red, white and blue.
Luxembourg has been overshadowed by the culture of its neighbours, although, having been for much of its history a profoundly rural country, it retains a number of folk traditions.

 TYPICAL DISHES

· 

·Bouneschlupp

 ·Träipen

BELGIUM

Hi Class!
I´m going to talk about an important european state call Belgium

Belgium officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal monarchy in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters as well as those of several other major international organisations such as NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a population of about 11 million people. The Belgium flag is black, yellow and red. Brussels is the capital of Belgium and of the European union too.

The economy of Belgium is marked by a system called the "Benelux" which is the union between Belgium, Luxembourg and The Netherlands.

Belgian cuisine is widely varied with significant regional variations while also reflecting the cuisines of neighbouring France, Germany and the Netherlands. It is sometimes said that Belgian food is served in the quantity of German cuisine but with quality of French food. Outside the country, Belgium is best known for its chocolate and beer.
The world-known belgian chocolate has a good quality an

d also it sometimes only had cocoa.

Another important thing of belgium is that they celebrate is the most important festival of electronic music, it´s called "Tomorrowland", The motto of the festival is  "Yesterday is History, Present is a gift, Tomorrow is a mistery" Only the best dj´s of the world perform here. 

And now the questions:

Why the the belgian chocolate is so famous?
Which countries form the Benelux?
When is Tomorrowland celebrate?


Bye class, I hope you like my post!

DENMARK

How are you bros? I hope you are all right! I'm here to show you some interesting things about Denmark. ARE YOU READY?? (Not for people with heart problems). Let's go.

Denmark has a number of characteristics that distinguish it from its northern European neighbours. Did you know that Denmark has 406 islands and 7314 km of coastline, that Denmark ranks number 133 on the list of world countries in terms of size, and that the highest point in the country is only 170 metres above sea level? Or that the average wind speed is 7.6 metres per second, which explains why Denmark is one of the world's largest exporters of wind turbines?

 

It's AWESOME.

 

Denmark has around 5.584.758 inhabitants in a área of 43.098 square km. Its population density is about 129.58 inhabitants per square kilometre. In this country life expectancy is around 81.62 years in women and 77.3 in men.

 

Food in Denmark is influenced in French meals and also by Italian chefs. Food there, is based on fish, seafood and meat. This country is also known by its cheese because it is exported to lots of different countries. The 60% of all Denmark's cheese is exported.

 

 

Danablu cheese

 

 

There are also some important football players that play in Dinamarca but are in their differents teams, for example:

 

Michael Krohn-Dehli, who plays in Celta de Vigo   

 

 

Nicklas Bendtner, who plays in Arsenal

 

Now I'm going to talk about some customs of denmark people:

 

Greetings (saludos) are casual, with a firm handshake, direct eye contact, and a smile.
 They shake hands with women first and Danes people tend to introduce themselves with their first names (nombre de pila)

 

They are also very careful with presents:

 

-If you are going to make a present there, you must choose a red wrapping paper (papel de regalo rojo) because they think it's a good choice.

 

-If you give some flowers to some girl or boy they should be wrapped(envueltas)

 

-And the last one, when you receive a present you must open it at the moment. It's a sign of education there.

 

The last one, if you are invited to a dinner in Denmark you should make the following steps:

 

-You must arrive on time. They are very punctual in both, business and social situations.

 

-You should remove your shoes before entering in the house.

 

-You should help them with the preparation or cleaning up the table when the dinner finish.

 

-And of course, DO NOT discuss about business.

 

Here you have a video with more information about Denmark.

 

 

 

 

Now some questions =P

 

1-Who is the head of the state?

2-What form of state do they have?

3-What is the name of the sport that you see in the video in the minute 2:20?

4-What is the nickname of the Denmark team?

 

That's all! Bye class!!

Liechtenstein

Liechtenstein is a small country situated between switzerland and Austria. The official language of liechtenstein is German and his capital is Vaduz, located in the middle of the country.


HISTORY:

At one time, the territory was part of the ancient Roman province of Raetia. For centuries this territory, geographically removed from European strategic interests, had little impact on European history.
In the Early Middle Ages, the Germans  had settled the eastern Swiss plateau by the 5th century and the valleys of the Alps by the end of the 8th century. Lichtenstein formed part of eastern edge of Germany. 
In 1866 Liechstentein won the independence from Germany.

FESTIVALS:


There are a lot of festivals in Liechtenstein but one of the most important festival is the Feiertag des Heiligen Joseph or ¨Día de San Jose¨ celebrated the the 19 of march.

Food:
Ther is no much variety of food in Liechtenstein so, Liechtenstein had been influenced by some countries such us Austria and Switzerland.

                                         This is the flag of Liechtenstein.

Here is located Liechtenstein.









Questions:

-How is called the motto of Liechstentein.
-In which year won Liechstentein his independence.

                          SPAIN

Spain is located in Southern Europe , behind France and right of Portugal. The official language is Spanish , but also speaks Catalan , Valencian, Galician and others.
The capital of Spain is Madrid.

CUSTOMS AND TRADITIONS :

Tapas : tapas or spiked out is very common in our country , something that surprises a lot of foreigners . They have a trouble accepting the idea of eating standing and go from one place to another taking different things at various establishments .

The Mediterranean diet : It's very surprised that we use olive oil in almost all our meals . Also the relatively high amount of fish and fruit we eat. Regarding fruit incomprehensible that many foreigners come take for example melon with ham, a very common dish in Spain, as a starter .

Popular holidays: Spain has a long tradition of festivals. In every city there are parties and people from different cities and countries that come each year. They are many and varied. Among the best known are the Fallas, the April Fair and the San Fermin.

Bulls : the first time that a foreigner goes to a bullfight leaves her stunned . I draw much attention to the end of the fight is given to the death of the bull . At first they are deluded , but many times they like, because usually the atmosphere of a bullfight is special and striking.

Nap : that little while we slept after eating and sitting so well, it becomes gradually popular among foreigners.



Our night time : young Spaniards tend to go out at night almost until dawn. The nightclubs in our country are usually open until 6 or 7 in the morning. By contrast, in Europe usually from 4 or 5 there is nothing open and retire to bed much earlier.

FLAG:

TIPICAL FOOD:

 QUESTIONS:

1.- Tell me more typical holiday in Spain.

2.- Tell me more typical food.

3.- Do you know other customs?

4.- Do you like the Spanish's food?

                                                               HOLLAND

Holland is an European country that is located in the west of Europe, next to Belgium and Germany. It has aproximately 6 millions of inhabitants. The official language here is Dutch and the capital city is Amsterdam.

Now I´m going to show you some things about Holland that you didn´t know but thanks to me, you will know.


ECONOMY

Nowadays, Holland has one of the most powerful economy in Europe. Most of the people here work in services sector, while a minimum of people work in agriculture. Holland belongs to the Eurozone, so the official currency is the euro.

TOURISM

Holland has a very good profile in the world because of its monuments and the standart of living there. 7 million of tourists visit Holland each year. What can you visit there? 

- La Haya, administrative capital of Holland

- Europoort, the biggest port in Europe.

Of course, if you go to Holland, you will see a lot of bicycles. 






SPORT

Talking about sport, I can say that football is very common here. Some teams are Ajax, PSV, Feyenoord... The national league is called " Eredivisie"

The national football team has been very competitive these last years. In 2010, they reached to the World Cup final in South Africa, being defeated by Spain.


Some famous footballers from Holland are Van Persie, Robben, Sneijder...




ART
Rembradt was the one of the most famous painter of his epoque. He lived in the Baroque, being a very good figure. He was born in Leiden in 1606. 

                                                                                                                                                           





                                                                                                          

THE STORM ON THE SEA OF GALILEE (1633)






FOOD

Bread and potatoes are included in most of the foods in this country. Beschuit is eaten at breakfast and is a circle toast with some butter. Here a photo:

Another typical plate is a kind of pea soup called "erwtensoep". Cheeses like Gouda or Edam are loved by Dutch people.



FLAG                                                                       

                                             











                                               


Questions:

1) What is the name of Dutch anthem?

2) Tell two famous artists from Holland ( appart from Rembradt)

3) "dat je een goed weekend" Translate this sentence to English.



Goodbye
                                                                              

   

PORTUGAL

 Hello class!, I´m going to talk about Portugal, officialy known as The Republic of Portugal.
 



Portugal is situated in the Iberian Peninsula, in the South-West of Europe, is next to Spain and the Atlantic Ocean. Portugal has two autonomous regions that are Azores and Madeira. Portugal is considered a developed country with an advanced economy and high living stardards, listed with the nineteenth-highest quality of life index rating in the world as of 2005. It's one of the world's most globalized and peaceful nations. It is a member of the United Nations, European Union, Eurozone, OECD, NATO, WTO, Schenger Area, and the Community of Portuguese Language Countries.

THE GOVERNMENT

 Portugal has been a semi-presidencial constitutional republic since the ratification of the Constitution os 1976, with Lisbon, the nation's largest city, as its capital. The constitution grants the division, or separation, of powers among legislative, executive, and judicial branches. The four main institutions as described in this constitution are the President of the Republic, the Parliament, known as the Assembleia da República, the Government, headed by a Prime Minister, and the courts. The President, who is elected to a five-year term, has a supervisory executive role: the current President is Aníbal Cavaco Silva. The Parliament is a chamber composed of 230 deputies elected for a four-year term. The government, whose head is the Prime Minister  (the current Prime Minister is Pedro Passos Coelho), chooses a Council of Ministers, that comprises the Ministers and State Secretaries. The courts are organized into several levels: judicial, administrative, and fiscal branches. The Supreme courts are institutions of last resort/appeal. A thirteen-member Constitutional courts oversees the constitutionality of the laws.

CULTURE

Architecture: Traditional architecture is distinctive and include the Manueline, also known as Portuguese late Gothic, a sumptuous, composite Portuguese style of architectural ornamentation of the first decades of the 16th century. A 20th-century interpretation of traditional architecture, Soft Portuguese Style, appears extensively in major cities, especially Lisbon.

Cinema: Portuguese cinema has a long tradition, reaching back to the birth of the medium in the late 19th century.
Literature: Portuguese literature, one of the earliest Western literatures, developed through text as well as song. Until 1350, the Portuguese-Galician troubadours spread their literary influence to most of the Iberian Peninsula.

CUISINE

Portuguese cuisine is diverse. There are differents types of food in Portugal. Typical Portuguese food with fish contains a lot of dry cod. Typical Portuguese meat recipes, that may be made out of beef, pork, lamb, or chicken. The typical fast food recipe is the Francesinha, the recipe of this is here. This food is delicious, I recommend you.

SPORTS

Football is the most popular sport in Portugal. There are several football competitions ranging from local amateur to world-class professional level. The legendary Eusébio is still a major symbol of Portuguese Football history. FIFA World Player of the Year winners Luis Figo and Cristiano Ronaldo who won the fifa "ballon d'Or" for 2013, are among the numerous examples of other world-class football players born in Portugal and noted worldwide. Portuguese football managers are also noteworthy, with José Mourinho, André Villas-Boas, Fernando Santos, Carlos Queiroz and Manuel José among the most renowned.
The main national team – Selecção Nacional – finished second in Euro 2004, reached the third place in the 1966 FIFA World Cup, and reached the fourth place in the 2006 FIFA World Cup, their best results in major competitions to date. SL Benfica, FC Porto, and Sporting CP are the largest sports clubs by popularity and by number of trophies won, often known as "os três grandes". They have won eight titles in the European UEFA club competitions, were present in many finals and have been regular contenders in the last stages almost every season.
                         
  QUESTIONS:

  1.- What is the name of the monument in the first picture? Where is?

  2.- What is the name of each food in the pictures?

  3.- Tell me other three names of important footballers in Portugal?

I hope you like my post, bye class, see you tomorrow

HALLO FREUNDE

I’m going to talk about Germany, which is also known as the Federal Republic of Germany.

Germany is in Western and Central Europe, with Denmark bordering to the north, Poland and the Czech Republic to the east, Austria and Switzerland to the south, France and Luxembourg to the southwest, and Belgium and the Netherlands to the northwest.

The country consists of 16 states and its capital and largest city is Berlin. It is the most populous member state in the European Union. Germany is the major economic and political power of Europe. The official language is German, although The most used immigrant languages are Turkish, Kurdish, Polish, the Balkan languages, and Russian. 

Its motto is:  "Einigkeit und Recht und Freiheit" (German), which means "Unity and Justice and Freedom".

Its flag and its shield

It’s a federal parliamentary republic.

Its president is Joachim Gauck, since 2012 and its chancellor is Angela Merkel, since 2005. And the ethnic groups are in this way: ---->

-----------

Let’s see some aspects of culture, food, sport…

->In German classical music we can distinguish some of the world's most well-known composers, including Ludwig van Beethoven, Johann Sebastian Bach, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz Schubert, Georg Friedrich Händel, Robert Schumann, Felix Mendelssohn…

->Football is the most popular sport in Germany. The German Football Association is the largest sport organisation of its kind worldwide. The Bundesliga, the top league of German football, is the most popular sports league in Germany. The most well-known footballers are Franz Beckenbauer, Gerd Müller, Jürgen Klinsmann, Lothar Matthäus, and Oliver Kahn.

Other popular spectator sports include winter sports, boxing, handball, ice hockey, water sports…

Germany is one of the leading motor sports countries in the world. BMW and Mercedes are manufacturers in motor sport. Furthermore, Porsche has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and Audi has won it 11 times. The Formula One driver Michael Schumacher has set many motor sport records during his career and Sebastian Vettel has won the some championships.

 ->The typical food in Germany is different in each region but here are some of them:

Schwarzwalder Kirschtorte(1), kasespatzle(2), eintopf(3), wurst(4), brezel(5), kartoffelpuffer(6), rote grutze(7) and apfelstrudel(8)

-----------------------------------

Finally, I’m going to put a video where you will see places to visit in Berlin. If you have the opportunity to go there, you must do it, trust me!! I hope you like my post and you enjoy reading it and watching the video.

Questions:
1. Would Germany be one of your favourite countries to visit? Why?
2. You can see some typical plates of Germany in one of the pictures. What will you eat? Why?

3. What place would you visit in Berlin? Why? (Of course, places that are mentioned in the video)

Here you have a page where you can know new things about the daily life of a German teenager. (Click on the word ‘here’)

Goodbye class!!

RUSSIA

Russia is the world's biggest country. Is situated at the north of Europe. It have two parts: The Oriental Russia and the Occidental Russia. The Russian is the official language of Russia (they use different letters) and the coin is the "ruble". The Russia's capital city is Moscow. The most famous place in Russia is the St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow. Also, the "matrioskas" are famous dolls in Russia.There are about 143700000 inhabitants in the 17075400 km2 of Russia.

-The St.Basil's Cathedral

-A map of Russia

The Matrioskas dolls-

The last Olympic Winter Games were celebrated in Russia, in the city of Sochi. The winners of received medals with fragments of the Cheliabink's meteorite!

-What is the typical toy of Russia? How is it called?

- What is the most famous place of Russia? Where is it?

-What is the approximated population of Russia?

-Why were the medals of the last Winter Olympic Games special?

ANDORRA

Andorra, also called the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra (Catalan: Principat de les Valls d'Andorra), is a landlocked microstate in South-western Europe, located in the eastern Pyrenees mountains and bordered by Spain and France. It is the sixth smallest nation in Europe. Its capital, Andorra la Vella, is the highest capital city in Europe, at an elevation of 1,023 metres above sea level. The official language is Catalan, although Spanish, Portuguese, and French are also commonly spoken.

Andorra is a prosperous country mainly because of its tourism industry, which services an estimated 10.2 million visitors annually.  It is not a member of the European Union, but the euro is the currency.

As you know, Andorra is known for its wonderful scenery, with snow activities (ski and snowboard), for its hotels and lodgings, its people, its monuments, its rich commerce in different glamorous shops, its food* too, for its traditional festivals **...

                     

  

TYPICAL FOOD*

I want to show you, a very small description of the two main dishes of Andorra. The Andorran gastronomy is based on the most traditional mountain-style cuisine, as well as on the most innovative tendencies.

THE “ESCUDELLA”        

     

                                     A popular meal on January the 17^th                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  

THE “TRINXAT”

      

A typical dish of the catalan Pyrenees        

TRADITIONS**

In the municipal holidays and other festivities, one is in the habit of taking the traditional Andorran suit. That of the men consists of a white shirt with black jacket, black trousers loose trousers fastened at the ankle and black rubber-soled slippers, of rope, with black bows crossed from the ankle up to under the knees. The women take a white blouse with a white shawl on the shoulders, mitts of black lace, a smooth apron, a skirt three quarters and the same rubber-soled slippers that the men. Four typical dances exist in Andorra: the Marratxa (Lòria's Sant Julià), the Ball of Holy Anna (Escaldes-Engordany), the Counter step (Andorra la Vella) or the Sardana.

And finally, my questions:

1~ What is the official language in Andorra?

2~ Do you like the video? Why?

3~ Tell me another dish of this beautiful city.