A Trip to Hadrian's Wall
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My international travels started at Easter in 2013, when I went to England. Some tourists took these pictures of me sitting on a very old wall. They sent me the photos as promised and wrote on the back ‘strange bird sitting on Hadrian’s Wall’. Okay, they got my name wrong but what was I sitting on?
I immediately clicked on the World Wide Wait to find things out. Apparently, Hadrian’s Wall was built by the Romans two thousand years ago to keep out the Scots. They began building it in AD122 and it took eight years to finish. It’s 129 kilometres long and stretches east to west and coast to coast. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site too – awesome! We can thank a guy called emperor Hadrian for it.
Just think, if had lived two thousand years ago, do you think people today would have sat on a wall called Jeffrey’s Wall?
I immediately clicked on the World Wide Wait to find things out. Apparently, Hadrian’s Wall was built by the Romans two thousand years ago to keep out the Scots. They began building it in AD122 and it took eight years to finish. It’s 129 kilometres long and stretches east to west and coast to coast. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site too – awesome! We can thank a guy called emperor Hadrian for it.
Just think, if had lived two thousand years ago, do you think people today would have sat on a wall called Jeffrey’s Wall?
A Trip to the South-West of the USA
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My international travels continued in the summer of 2013. I could accompany one of my friends and her family on their trip to the Southwest of the USA. There we started in Las Vegas and made it to San Francisco visiting many beautiful places along the Californian coast.
Our trip started on Sunday the 21th July. After a 12 hour flight we arrived in Las Vegas the same night (they are 9 hours behind us). Our hotel offered a great view over the so-called ‘Strip’ where all the famous hotels are.The first night I could not enjoy anything as I was sooooo tired.
Our trip started on Sunday the 21th July. After a 12 hour flight we arrived in Las Vegas the same night (they are 9 hours behind us). Our hotel offered a great view over the so-called ‘Strip’ where all the famous hotels are.The first night I could not enjoy anything as I was sooooo tired.
Most of the hotels in Las Vegas are theme hotels. For example in front of the Hotel Paris there is a smaller version of the Eiffel Tower but it is still huge and has a restaurant inside.The Venetian Hotel has many Italian impressions and it even includes the ‘CanaleGrande‘ with typical boats on.The New York New York Hotel consists of different buildings which remind you of the New York skyline, including a model of the Statue of Liberty. Or the Luxor Hotel has the shape of a pyramid with a Sphinx-Statue in front. These are only four out of more than 125 hotels!
My favourite hotel was the Luxor because I would love to visit Egypt and the real pyramids one day.
My favourite hotel was the Luxor because I would love to visit Egypt and the real pyramids one day.
But what I liked most in Las Vegas was our helicopter flight to the West Rim of the Grand Canyon. Luckily my friends did not have to pay extra for me as I am so small.
Before we landed on a platform for a picnic we had passed the Hoover Dam which is very impressive as well. The Grand Canyon is in Arizona and it is about 6 million years old. It was formed by the Colorado River which made its way through many layers of rock. |
After three days we left Las Vegas and stopped again at the Hoover Dam which is very huge.It was built between 1931-1935and is located at the border between Arizona and Nevada. It is named after the 31st President of the USA: Herbert C. Hoover. It dams the Colorado River and fills Lake Mead which is important for the fresh water supply of that region.
As I’m a vulture I liked the temperatures at the Hoover Dam - almost 40°C - but my friends did not like it too much. |
I dreamt of putting my sunglasses on and riding my Harley Davidson on Route 66 – a lonely vulture on a dusty street. Great dream …
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On our way to the Californian coast we made a two-day stop in Palm Springs, a very nice desert town which is very green due to some fresh water springs.
On our way to San Diego we used the famous and very dusty Route 66. In more than one hour we had only seen four cars but five very long railways on the tracks next to us. Route 66 starts in Chicago and it ends in Santa Monica near Los Angeles. When the first settlers came from the East to look for gold and to found farms in the West, they used this route.
On our way to San Diego we used the famous and very dusty Route 66. In more than one hour we had only seen four cars but five very long railways on the tracks next to us. Route 66 starts in Chicago and it ends in Santa Monica near Los Angeles. When the first settlers came from the East to look for gold and to found farms in the West, they used this route.
After San Diego, where we unfortunately did not have the time to visit the famous Zoo, our next stop was Los Angeles which means ‘the angels’. It is a huge city which is famous for the film industry in Hollywood and the very rich areas of Beverly Hills and the long beaches.
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In one of the streets
we saw a film set with real actors and film cameras. I asked the stage director
if they need a sweet little vulture for the film but they did not need one. We also walked
through Downtown Los Angeles and took a picture of the very strange looking
Disney Concert Hall which was opened in 2003 and has 2.265 seats.
And we took a picture of the famous Hollywood sign which is not as impressive as I had expected. In Hollywood we saw the stars in the pavement of the Walk of Fame.The main part is on Sunset Boulevard.There is a total of 2,503 red stars in the pavement, each one with the name of a film star or singer – but also Mickey Mouse or Lassie have their own star.The Walk of Fame was founded in 1960 and year by year new stars were engraved. It is funny to see how all the tourists look down reading names while walking. Who knows, maybe I
will be famous one day and might have my own Jeffrey star.
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On our way to the North we stopped in Malibu to enjoy a day at the beach. Here many rich people live in very expensive houses directly at the beach or in the mountains. After another two days in Santa Barbara where we had seen a blue whale
on a whale watching tour (unfortunately I felt a little seasick), we continued our way on the beautiful and
famous Coastal Highway No. 1 enjoying great views in Big Sur.
In Monterey we visited one of the best aquariums in the world, the Monterey Bay Aquarium. Not only the sealife including sea otters, seals, sharks, penguins and many others is very impressive but the whole aquarium is very interesting and well done with many things to learn. What I liked most are the illuminated aquariums with thousands of jelly fish. The aquarium was opened in1984 on the grounds of a former sardine canning factory which was a typical industry in Monterey at the beginning of the last century.
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Of course, we have also visited the Yosemite National Park which is one of the most popular national parks in California.
We were only four out of about 3 million visitors each year.
Here we saw giant rocks of granite, waterfalls, creeks, mammoth trees and many many plants and animals. Even black bears live here. You have to hide your food if you do not want to share it with a bear.Yosemite Valley is the center of the park with shops, parking lots and tourist information. Rangers are very friendly and tell the tourists everything they need to know including the formation of the rocks millions of years ago. Here you can start hiking tours or rent bikes.
We were only four out of about 3 million visitors each year.
Here we saw giant rocks of granite, waterfalls, creeks, mammoth trees and many many plants and animals. Even black bears live here. You have to hide your food if you do not want to share it with a bear.Yosemite Valley is the center of the park with shops, parking lots and tourist information. Rangers are very friendly and tell the tourists everything they need to know including the formation of the rocks millions of years ago. Here you can start hiking tours or rent bikes.
I liked the huge mammoth trees – or Redwoods – very much. They are up to 80 meters high and have a diameter of up to 10 m. The oldest ones are 3000 years old.
We took one of the tracks to one of the waterfalls. It was an exhausting walk as we had to climb a lot – but not for me as I was safely sitting in my friend’s camera bag.The waterfall did not have as much water as in springtime when the snow in the mountains melts. |
Only the sea lions and seals which live in the harbour like the cold water. We had a lot of fun watching them play.
One morning we took a ship to “Alcatraz” which is a former prison on an island which is only 2 km away from San Francisco. Alcatraz is Spanish and means ‘pelican’. In 1861 the island was first used as a prison but only in 1934 did it become a federal prison.In 29 years as a prison there were 14 attempts to escape from the island. Most of the prisoners who had tried to escape did not survive. But the prisoner Frank Morris and two of his friends could escape by digging a whole into the walls using simple spoons. They were never caught and nobody knows if they made it through the ice cold water.
One morning we took a ship to “Alcatraz” which is a former prison on an island which is only 2 km away from San Francisco. Alcatraz is Spanish and means ‘pelican’. In 1861 the island was first used as a prison but only in 1934 did it become a federal prison.In 29 years as a prison there were 14 attempts to escape from the island. Most of the prisoners who had tried to escape did not survive. But the prisoner Frank Morris and two of his friends could escape by digging a whole into the walls using simple spoons. They were never caught and nobody knows if they made it through the ice cold water.
What I liked most in San Francisco is the Golden Gate Bridge. It looks so beautiful when part of it is covered by fog and clouds.This famous red hanging bridge is 2700 m long and can be used by vehicles, bikes and pedestrians. No other bridge in the world was used for more suicides – a very sad record. It was opened on 28th May 1937. The colour was meant to be grey, the red colour was only a layer to protect the bridge against rust. But the inhabitants of San Francisco liked the red colour so it remained like that.
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I liked the trip to California very much and I have seen so many great places. What I have also learned is that everything is bigger in the USA: The buildings are higher, the streets are longer and the burgers are bigger – and even the weeks are longer…
Jeffrey says 'hallo' to the
Revius Lyceum School
I continued my international travels in autumn of 2013 when I went to the Netherlands and to a school called "Revius Lyceum" in Doorn , a small city near Utrecht. It was an exchange for the students of the JKG and those from the Revius Lyceum. Two students from Germany took good care of me – they carried me everywhere in their rucksacks - allowing me to have a great insight into the world of Dutch students.
My first impression of the school was that it was very big and when I was in the entrance I saw a typically British thing, a red telephone box! I just phoned some of my friends because I thought, why not use it .
My first impression of the school was that it was very big and when I was in the entrance I saw a typically British thing, a red telephone box! I just phoned some of my friends because I thought, why not use it .
The Dutch students also have very well equipped classrooms for their lessons , like a beamer and whiteboard and the best thing for teachers was the room where you can copy because a special person is responsible for it all. For example, you give the special person the information and work that needs copying, then he’ll copy them with one of the special copiers.
Like I said, I lived with a German student and their Dutch match (the students from Germany were matched with students from the Netherlands) and yeah I had to ride a bicycle to the home of the Dutch match. It was only a few minutes and because I could ride to school I would like to say a big thank you! And I also want to thank the Dutch host family for their hospitality and the lessons about Dutch culture and also a little bit of geography.
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On one afternoon I was able to practise with some real professionals - we had some tips on how to play hockey given by the Dutch students themselves and we were all very happy to wear the shin and mouth guards (or in my case beak guard) needed to protect us from a wondering ball.
I think the whole trip was really great but the climax was Amsterdam. It is a huge city and there are a lot of shopping opportunities. The only thing that I did not enjoy was the trip to "Dam Square" because it was quite a walk to get there. Well we were also in the Netherlands to learn about culture and yeah, we went to the Rijksmuseum. The museum was really huge but also great of course. There are many pictures, sculptures and other things. So you have a big choice of art.
Then we had free time in Amsterdam and we split up into small groups. We had a lot fun in Amsterdam and most of us bought something. Someone in the group went into an expensive shop where a watch costs 600 Euros , but he did not buy the watch because he thought it was too cheap – I think he was joking!
On our last day in Doorn we all went to ‘Huis Doorn’, the last home of Wilhelm II . We learned about his life and the rooms which he had in his house. I thought the house was really smart and the chairs which he had were awesome . Unfortunately we could not sit on the chairs because our tour guide said it was’t allowed – of course she was right.
The last day ended with a visit to a pancake house near the school. We ate one big pancake each which were as big as a pizza. When we were all not hungry anymore , we went back to school and there we had to say goodbye to our new cool friends from the Netherlands.
I really enjoyed the trip to Doorn and I’m looking forward to going to other countries and having fun, getting to know new people and learning something about different cultures.
Thank you the Netherlands, thank you Revius Lyceum and see you next time......
I really enjoyed the trip to Doorn and I’m looking forward to going to other countries and having fun, getting to know new people and learning something about different cultures.
Thank you the Netherlands, thank you Revius Lyceum and see you next time......
A Journey to Side in Turkey
In the autumn holidays, I had a trip to Turkey with a good friend. We were in a small town at the coast called “Side”. We stayed there for 10 days. I had a lot of fun with him playing games like volleyball and table-tennis and lying on the beach. On the coast were many shops where we had to haggle a lot. Everyone there was really friendly and I had a lot of fun talking Turkish, too. Although Side is an ancient Greek city it´s on the southern Mediterranean coast of Turkey, a resort town and one of the best-known classical sites in the country. There are a lot of remains like old theaters and temples of Olympians. There´s a whole city of ruins left on the north of side.
The most impressive buildings are the theater and the colonnaded street. You can see ruin fields wherever you look and some interesting buildings protruding from the earth.
The most impressive buildings are the theater and the colonnaded street. You can see ruin fields wherever you look and some interesting buildings protruding from the earth.
Famous
sights in an overview:
Amphitheatre
Roman temples
Greek temples
Aqueduct
Nymphaeum
You see, there are so many interesting sights and views you can look for in “Side” and there's just so much to tell. I hope to go there again and meet all my Turkish friends so I can tell you more about this beautiful place. Watch this space!
Amphitheatre
Roman temples
Greek temples
Aqueduct
Nymphaeum
You see, there are so many interesting sights and views you can look for in “Side” and there's just so much to tell. I hope to go there again and meet all my Turkish friends so I can tell you more about this beautiful place. Watch this space!
Oh, I also tried out some cool sports like basketball and football but I don´t think I´ll become a professional player. You can see what I mean right here!