Seven Wonders of the World

There have been a few versions of the "seven wonders of the world."  The oldest list, known as the "classic" seven wonders were located around the Mediterranean and the Middle East.  Of the classic wonders, only one, the Great Pyramid of Giza, still exists.

1.  Great Pyramid of Giza in El Giza, Egypt.
2.  Colossus of Rhodes, was located in Rhodes, Greece.
3.  Hanging Gardens of Babylon, in Babylon, Iraq.
4.  Lighthouse of Alexandria, in Alexandria, Egypt.
5.  Mausoleum at Halicarnassus in present-day Turkey.
6.  Statue of Zeus in Olympia, Greece.
7.   Temple of Artemis in Ephesus, Turkey.   

Next month, we're off to Kuşadasi for a week and will visit Ephesus.  I'll get to see what's left of the Temple of Artemis and will be the only item on the classic list I'll have seen.

The Seven Wonders of the Middle Ages include:
1.  Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa in Alexandria, Egypt.
2.  Colosseum in Rome, Italy.   
3.  Great Wall of China, in China.
4.  Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Turkey.
5.  Leaning Tower of Pisa in Pisa, Italy.
6.  Porcelain Tower of Nanjing, in Nanjing, China.
7.  Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England, UK.

So far I've managed to see four of seven from this list.  I missed out on going to Nanjing during my Shanghai trip due to rain.

In 1994, the American Society of Civil Engineers paid tribute to the what they thought were the greatest civil engineering achievements of the 20th century by releasing their list of Seven Wonders to the Modern World.

1.  Channel Tunnel, between the UK and France.

2.  CN Tower in Toronto, Canada.

3.  Empire State Building in New York City, USA.

4.  Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California, USA.

5.  Itaipú Dam between Brazil and Paraguay.

6.  Delta and Zuiderzee Works in the Netherlands.

7.  Panama Canal in Panama.

From this list I've been to the Empire State Building and the Golden Gate Bridge.  Toronto's been on my list of places to visit for years but who knows when I'll get a chance to visit Canada.

In 2001, a New Seven Wonders of the World was released.  The Great Pyramid of Giza didn't make the list but was added later as an honorary mention.

1.  Great Wall of China.

2.  Petra in Jordan.

3.  Christ the Redeemer in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

4.  Machu Picchu in Peru.

5.  Chichén Itzá in Mexico.

6.  Colosseum in Italy.

7.  Taj Mahal in India.  

From this list I've been to the Great Wall, Petra, Christ the Redeemer, and the Colosseum.  Back in 2007, Steven and I were getting our MBAs from Georgia State University.  We did a two-week study abroad programme in Argentina and Brazil.  One of my favourite memories is of us in a helicopter flying around Jesus's head in Rio.

Ephesus for sure will be the next place from all of these lists that I'll see.  Beyond that, who knows?  The Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramid are both on my bucket list.  Stonehenge would probably be the easiest to visit.

Brno City Break in 2023

Last year, Time Out magazine published their list of the 16 best city breaks in Europe for 2022.  Brno came in second place.  

This year Brno made the list again but fell to seventh place.  A few spots lower but still in the top ten.

The write up for Brno was pretty much exactly the same as last year.  

Here are the top 18 places.  Several of these are still on my list of places to visit.

1. Marseille, France
2. Sheffield, UK
3. Buhać, Bosnia and Herzegovina
4. Milan, Italy
5. Bilbao, Spain
6. Arles, France
7. Brno, Czech Republic
8. Liverpool, UK
9. Kaunas, Lithuania
10. Oslo, Norway
11. Hamburg, Germany
12. Dublin, Ireland
13. Inverness, UK
14. Trikala, Greece
15. Rotterdam, Netherlands
16. Freiburg, Germany
17. Turku, Finland
18. Valencia, Spain

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Brno City Break in 2022

A couple of weeks ago, Time Out magazine published their list of "The 16 best city breaks in Europe for 2022."  Brno came in second place.  While it's great for Brno to get the recognition I kind of hope that it retains its status as a hidden gem.  They even mentioned my favourite cafe for breakfast.

Here's what the article said about Brno.

Although sandwiched between Prague and Vienna, self-confident Brno is no middle Child.  Once a powerhouse dubbed the "Moravian Manchester", the laidback Czech second city has repositioned itself as a post-industrial science and tech hub.  But you'll find plenty of clues to Brno's layered past at a clutch of offbeat underground attractions, including the mysterious brick cisterns at. Žlutý Kopec, communist-era nuclear bunker 10-Z, and the "Denis" bomb shelter under the cathedral.  The food and drink scene is reinventing itself to, from contemporary international at Element to Výčep na Stojáka, a modern take on a trad pub.

The perfect day:  After breakfast at Café Momenta, head up to Špilberk Castle and grab lunch at Cafe Placzek.  Explore the historical centre before dinner at Atelier Bar &Bistro and a nightcap at Rotor Bar.

Plan your trip:  The Industrial project celebrates Brno's manufacturing tradition, with several former industrial buildings opening to the public for the first time in 2022.  Káznice, a Habsburg-era prison, is also being redeveloped and will host events in the summer. --David Creighton

Here are the rankings.

1. Arles, France
2. Brno, Czech Republic
3. Kaunas, Lithuania
4. Odense, Denmark
5. Bihać, Bosnia and Herzegovina
6. Ljubljana, Slovenia
7. Turku, Finland
8. Inverness, Scotland
9. Valencia, Spain
10. Sheffield, England
11. Trikala, Greece
12. Oslo, Norway
13. Rotterdam, Netherlands
14. Liverpool, England
15. Milan, Italy
16. Freiburg, Germany

A few of these spots have already been on my list of places to visit.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to do a bit more travel in 2022.

Update: 2023 rankings.

Post-Brexit EU Trade Deal

Thanks to Brexit, the UK is no longer part of the single customs union.  The UK and the EU did manage to agree on a last minute trade deal right before Christmas.  The impact of which is already starting to be felt and I believe that more problems will continue to pop up as Brexiters begin to realise the implications of voting to leave the EU.

The deal maintains the Good Friday peace deal so there is no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland.  In order to do this, Northern Ireland remains in the EU single market for goods, which means that Northern Ireland has to follow the EU's customs rules.  So now there's a customs border in the Irish Sea which basically separates the UK, between Northern Ireland and England/Scotland/Wales.

All goods moving between Great Britain and Northern Ireland now require a customs declaration, and additional certification on some goods and products, just as it does between the UK and any other EU-member country.

There's no more unlimited freedom to work and live between the UK and the EU.  UK citizens are free to visit Europe but have to follow the Schengen rules which means they can only be in the EU for up to 90 days in a 180-day period.  Any stay over 90 days will require a visa.

Not that there's a whole lot of travel now due to COVID-19 but when arriving in the EU, UK citizens no longer get to use the EU/EEA queues.  They have to use the non-EU citizen queues.

There are now additional customs duties, import fees and VAT when you purchase something online from the UK.  EU consumer protection rules no longer apply to purchases made from the UK.  So I won't be buying anything any longer from Amazon.co.uk.  I need to switch to Amazon in Germany. 

Mail will be more complicated.  Both from the UK to the EU and vice versa.  All customs fees, duties and taxes need to be paid in order to pick up any packages.  Some shipping companies have already increased their fees to cover the cost of the extra paperwork required.

The UK has set new tax rules where taxes must be collected at the point of sale which means that a business in the EU must collect taxes on sales made to UK customers which means a lot of tax headaches because now the EU firm must establish an account with the UK tax authorities and keep up with ever changing UK tax laws.  There are already cases where EU firms are no longer selling goods to UK customers.

I'm still not sure what's going to happen with surcharge-free roaming.  I have no idea what I'll pay to use my mobile whenever I actually make it back to the UK for a visit.

Booze cruises to the wine shops in Calais, France, were popular because there was an unlimited allowance on alcohol.  That comes to an end because now, there's a limit on the amount of alcohol allowed from the EU for personal consumption.  UK citizens can now only take back home up to 42 litres of beer, 18 litres of wine and 4 litres of spirits, plus up to 200 cigarettes.

On top of all of the this the UK still has to settle a £25 billion ($X) divorce bill by 2057.  It will be interesting to see what other unintended headaches pop up as a result of Brexit

Here are a few short videos already showing up on YouTube showing some of the consequences of the post-Brexit trade deals.

©Al Jazeera

©9 News Australia

©Sky News

There was speculation that with the UK out of the EU, that English would no longer be an official EU language.  Every country gets to put up an official language and Ireland chose Irish and Malta chose Maltese so now there's no EU country with English as its official language.  English is the most widely taught foreign language in the EU.  It appears that English will be kept on as an official EU language.

©Euronews

Update:  Here's a short story on Brexit's impact on the music industry.  I never even thought about this one.  What a mess.

©Euronews

Cockney Rhyming Slang

I've been working with Brits, pretty much on a daily basis, for almost a decade so I've picked up quite a bit of what they call "real English".  This includes what is known as Cockney rhyming slang.

It was invented in the 1840s by East London market traders to disguise what they were saying from customers.  Criminals used it as a secret language to  keep the police from knowing what was going on.  Over the years, many of these slang expressions have become pretty common across the UK.    

A rhyming expression is substituted for the word that you really want to say.  For example, "dog and bone" rhymes with "phone" so you instead of saying "pick up the phone" you say "pick up the dog and bone".

Many times expressions are shortened and the rhyming part isn't even used.  For example, "butcher's hook" rhymes with "look".  But 'butcher's' is usually dropped so if you want to have a look at something so say "let's have a butcher's".  It can sometimes get a wee bit confusing but using the expressions makes you less of an outsider.

There are lots of them but here are a few of the most common ones I've come across.
Adam and Eve = believe.  Can you Adam and Eve it?
Apples and pears = stairs.  Head up the apples and pears.
Barney Rubble = trouble.  I don't want any Barney Rubble.
Bees and honey = money.  Where's my bees and honey?
Bubble and squeak = Greek.  It's all bubble to me.
China plates = mates.  Going out with my China plates.
Duke of Kent = rent.  I need to give the landlord his Duke of Kent.
Jimmy Riddle = piddle.  After many beers you need to Jimmy Riddle.
Rosie Lee = tea.  Have a cup of Rosie.

In the USA, kids will say "put up your dukes" for a fist fight.  I never knew that this expression came from "Duke of York" which rhymes with 'fork' and is Cockney slang for "fist".

Here's a video about it that I found out on YouTube.

©Anglophenia

Many of these expressions also work in Ireland.  But I'm pretty sure that the Irish have a few of their own.

The London Mastaba

On Sunday, we made a quick day trip from Dublin to London to see the Mastaba.  The Mastaba is a temporary art project on display at London's Hype Park from 18 June to 23 September 2018.  It is made of 7,506 barrels stacked horizontally on a floating platform on Lake Serpentine.

Christo, a Bulgarian artist, managed to escape to Vienna, via Prague, in 1957.  He moved to  and eventually married Jeanne-Claude Denat de Gullebon who many thought to be just his manager but it was later revealed that she was his co-artist.  In 1973 Christo became an American citizen.

For almost 50 years they have collaborated on grand but temporary works across the world.  Their projects tend to be large and sometimes controversial.  They include wrapping the Berlin Reichstag and Pont-Neuf bridge in Paris and curtains in New York City's Central Park.  She passed away in 2009.

I believe that this is his first public work on display in the UK.  The Mastaba is entirely funded by Christo through the sale of his work.  Public money is never used and he doesn't accept sponsorship, so that outside influence can't influence his artistic vision.

Hyde Park is 140 hectares (350 acres) located in Central London.  It is the largest of the four Royal Parks.  Henry VIII established the park as a hunting ground in 1536.In 1637 it was opened to the public.

The Mustaba was impressive!  Plus London is always a great place to spend a nice sunny Sunday.  Here's a short video I found out on YouTube about Christo and Jeanne-Claude.

©Quartz

2018 Manchester Pride

We had so much fun at last year's Pride in Manchester that we went again this year.  It is one of the longest running Pride events in the UK.



The theme this year was the "Circus of Acceptance".  The parade this year had about 150 entries and with more than 4,000 participants.  With tens of thousands coming out to watch and join in the festivities in the Gay Village.


Well over £161,000 (about $205K) was raised for local Manchester LGBT charities.

It was such a nice weekend.  Even with a bit of Sunday rain.  I wonder what next year's theme will be?

Bee in the City

We were back in Manchester over the weekend for Pride.  Manchester was the first industrialised city and the work bee has long represented the Mancunian work ethic.

The Bee in the City trail runs this year from 23 July to 23 September with over a 100 super-sized bees located across the city.











It is sponsored by the Manchester City Council and at the end, the bees will be auctioned off to raise money for the Lord Mayor of Manchester's We Love MCR Charity.

Many of the bees are quite detailed and pay tribute to the city's history.  Quite similar to the Berlin Bears and the Innsbruck Easter eggs.

There's a mobile app available with a map and information about each of the bees.  It's kind of a shame that the bees are only a temporary feature.  I wonder how much money they will raise for charity.





Update:  In October the bees were actioned off and the city raised £1,1 million (about $1.4M) for charity.

London New Year's Day Parade

The big new year's event in London is the New Year's Day Parade.  The parade consists of over 8,000 performers from across the world.








This year my niece was selected as one of four cheerleaders from her high school to participate in the parade.  This was her first trip to Europe so, of course, Uncle Chris had to go see her.

In between practices, the girls had the opportunity to do quite a bit of London sightseeing including a performance of Wicked.

I did get the chance to take her out to dinner a couple of nights.  I was lucky enough to see her in July so two family visits in the same year is just awesome.  She is growing up to be quite the remarkable young lady and it was so fun to hear what she thought of her first visit to Euroland.

With over 8,000 performers, and packed London streets, I knew that there was little chance to actually see her in the parade.  But it was fun to try.

Next time, she needs to come visit Brno.  

Manchester, England

Manchester is in the north of England.  It is 56 km (35 miles) from Liverpool and 262 km (163 miles) from London.  Manchester has 541,000 residents while the Greater Manchester area is home to 2,79 million people.  People from Manchester are Mancunian (proper) or Manc (slang).

It was founded around 79 AD as a Roman fort.  Manchester was given a town charter in 1301 and it achieved city status in 1853.


Manchester was the world's first industrialised city thanks to the Industrial Revolution.  The city was a major player in the textile industry and was the world's largest marketplace for cotton goods.



In 2017 it became a UNESCO City of Literature.

Today it is the third-most visited city in the UK after London and Edinburgh.

The town hall was completed in 1877.

Beetham Tower was completed in 2006 and is currently the tallest building in Manchester.  At 169 metres (554 feet) is is the 10th tallest building in the UK.

The John Rylands Library was completed in 1899 and opened to the public in 1900.  It is now part of the University of Manchester Library and is open to the public.  Well worth a visit.



Manchester's Chinatown is in the city centre.  It is the second largest Chinatown in the UK and the third largest in Europe.




The Cenotaph was unveiled in 1924.  It was a WWI memorial but has been updated over the years for subsequent conflicts.



St. John's Gardens was established in 1932.  It was previously home to St. John's Church and a graveyard from 1769 to 1931.



The Opera House opened in 1912.  It closed in 1979 when it became a bingo hall until 1984 when it reopened as a theatre.






Manchester's Anglican cathedral was built from 1421 - 1882.  It is currently being renovated.




The Corn Exchange used to be just that, a corn exchange.  The market was bombed by the IRA in 1996.  It was later renovated and is a shopping centre.



The Museum of Science and Industry opened in 1983.  It sits on the world's first railway station.  There are some really interesting exhibits that range from locomotives to aircraft and textiles to computing.  Well worth a visit.

The National Football Museum opened in 2001 and moved to its current location in 2012.  I've lived in Euroland long enough that it's football; not soccer.

Canal Street is one of the busiest streets in the Gay Village.  Manchester Pride has been held every August since 2003.

At Sackville Gardens is the Alan Turing memorial which was unveiled in 2001.  Alan Turing is regarded as the "father of modern computing" whose work breaking codes during WWII is believed to have shortened the war in Europe by at least two years and saved more than 14 million lives.  In 1952 he was prosecuted for being gay and was subjected to chemical castration before he ultimately committed suicide.  He was posthumously pardoned by Queen Elizabeth II in 2013.

At Piccadilly Gardens is a statue of Queen Victoria.

This is also where I came across a Czech and Slovak food stand.  Just in case I was missing some Slovak halušky.

This was my first time in Manchester and I loved it.  Not just for Pride weekend, although it was a lot of fun.  The city has a great vibe to it and I'll for sure plan a return trip.