Portugal

Deus or dEUS

At the corner of a street in Coimbra with my friend Maya, we chanced upon a wall lined with posters advertising a free Deus concert in the same evening! Without any more information, we imagined that it was like those intimate concerts opened only to a handful of fans of the Belgian group. Excited, we rushed to the concert hall.

At the venue, the queue was long. We waited for quite a while, but when our turn finally came the tickets were fully sold out. However, Maya insisted on getting them as a gift for my birthday! The girls at the counter finally agreed to let us in with a seat at the back of the theater, which was packed full of people. Buzzing with anticipation, the curtains were raised and we realized that it was a Portuguese play named Deus (God in Portuguese).

Truly one of my memorable giggles.

February 2007

December 2010

Moments

Did you know...

- The area of Germany was over 50% greater during the Second Reich (1871-1918) and included nearly the half of the present-day Poland and part of Lithuania.

- Germans are the second biggest consumers of beer in the world (after Czechs), with an average of 107 liters per person per year in 2010.

- The Germans were the pioneers of the environmental movement and environmental policy. The first Green party in the world, Die Greens was founded in 1979-1980.

- Drachenfels (Siebengebirge) in Rhine NordWestphalie became the first nature reserve in the world in 1836.

- Weihenstephaner brewery in Freising, Bavaria, has not ceased to operate since its founding in 1040, making it the oldest brewery in the world.

- Germany had many capitals during its turbulent history, including (in chronological order): Aachen (from 794), Regensburg (seat of the Reichstag from 1663 to 1806), Frankfurt (site of the election and coronation German emperors between 1152 and 1792, seat of the Bundestag of the German Confederation from 1815 to 1871) Berlin (from 1871 to 1949 and 1990 to present), Weimar (1919 to 1933) and Bonn (1949 to 1990 West Germany only)

- German motorways are the oldest motorway network in the world.

- The Frankfurt International Airport holds the world record for most destinations served.