Thank you for choosing the Rocky Mountaineer as the site for the diner! Vinnie will have to dress up a bit![swg][(-D][(-D]
I have never seen that particular video of the Mountaineer. Thanks for posting it.
Thank you to all the well wishers on Canada’s 150th birthday, and an early Happy 4th of July to those of you south of the border!
If my math is correct, the good old US of A is 241 years old. How old are the countries (officially anyhow) that the rest of you are from? Ulrich? JaBear? Others?
Dave - that´s not an easy question to answer. Legally, the Federal Republic of Germany is a mere 68 old, but “German” history begins with the “Holy Roman Empire of German Nation”, which was established in 962 AD and lasted until 1798 AD. You could call that the “First Reich”, with member states being mainly (in the final years) the kingdom of Prussia, Austria, Saxony, Hannover (the king of Hannover was also the king of GB) and various principalities and duchies. The “Second Reich” began on January 19th, 1871, when Wilhelm, King of Prussia, was proclaimed German Emperor in Versailles, after the Prussian army had defeated the French forces under Napoleon III and suppressed the uprising of the French “Commune” in Paris (re. Victor Hugo´s famous novel “Les Miserables”). The Second Reich ended in November 1918 with the proclamation of the German Republic, which in turned died after Hitler took over and established the infamous “Third Reich”.
Quite complicated matter, isn´t it! Whichever way you want to look at it, Germany is either a young nation or a really old one!
Gidday Zoe, if I’m going to bore the Diners patrons to tears, at least the drinks should be on me![B] [D] [C]
**Warning!!!**The Bears boring potted history of New Zealand.
In the big scheme of things New Zealand is relatively new. Current thinking has the Maoris discovering and settling New Zealand from 1280 AD. (I can almost hear Ulrich having a chuckle, the Holy Roman Empire had already been in existence for around 300 years, and some of the Germanic tribes had given three Roman legions a right kicking 900+ years prior to that!!).
In 1642, the Dutch explorer, Abel Tasman, came, had a scrap with some Maoris, in which he lost 4 of his men, named his landfall, Murderers Bay, and promptly departed.
Sounds a bit like Italy. I was surprised to learn fairly recently that Italy as a unified country dates back only to 1861 when the various city/states formed the Kingdom of Italy. After WWII it replaced the monarchy with a republic. So Italy too is both very old and very new.
I think that Signor Garibaldi, who fought the French as well as the Austrians and drove them out of the northwest of Italy, Venice, the Trentrino and Triest, inspired Otto von Bismarck, Prussian chancellor to push forward his idea of reinstating the old German “Reich”, this time without the Austrians, who strictly disliked the idea of having a Prussian on the throne. It took a series of wars (Prussian/Danish war, Prussian/Hannoveranian war, Prussian/Bavarian and Austrian war and, finally, the Prussian French war of 1870) before old Kaiser Bill could climb up the ranks. Strange thing is that the Bavarians fought alongside of the Austrians against the Prussians, got a terrible beating and turned sides, now marching against the Austrians. The Austrians still hate the Bavarians for that, and the Prussians still don´t trust the Bavarians to this day! The only positive thing was that crazy Ludwig II famous Neuschwanstein Castle was finished - with Prussian money!
Looking at wo fought whom for what reasons in Europe makes you understand why a European Union is bound to fail.
For the train buffs it may be interesting to know that there were three reasons why the Prussian Army was so successful in those days.
They were the first to
employ railroads in moving men and material
had modern guns vs. old muzzle loaders
had modern canons vs. old muzzle loading cannons
Following the war of 1871, a series of strategic railroad lines were built in the German Reich to move troops even faster. One of those lines, which never really saw revenue traffic, was the line to the famous bridge at Remagen.
I have, on occasion, busied myself by deleting the oldest threads that have no replies. But that’s a slow, tedious process that can’t be done in bulk. Since many of those older threads contain still relevant information (historical prototype information, evergreen modeling tips, etc.), it wouldn’t be prudent to simply delete threads en masse based on their age.
And the reunification of East and West Germany was even more recent, in 1990. So in a way Ulrich is from one of the youngest nations in the Diner. [:)]
Also, even though I suggested Philadelphia, the fact that this is a more significant milestone for Canada (150 years) than for America (241) makes a Canadian locale a much more appropriate choice.
technically speaking, it was not a reunification. After the former GDR provinces developed into states on October 2nd, 11.59pm, they joined the already existing Federal Republic of Germany (FRG) a minute later, so that does not count. To make things worse, the German Reich legally never ceased to exist, turning today´s FRG into nothing else than an administrative body on part of the territory once constituting the German Empire, i.e including those territories which have been illegally annexed by the former Soviet Union, Poland and the former Czechoslovakia. The matter is a highly complex one, so for most historians, 1871 is the date for modern day Germany, which makes the country 146 years old - a little younger than Canada.
NYBW-John
I was surprised to learn fairly recently that Italy as a unified country dates back only to 1861 when the various city/states formed the Kingdom of Italy.
I think that Signor Garibaldi, who fought the French as well as the Austrians and drove them out of the northwest of Italy, Venice, the Trentrino and Triest, inspired Otto von Bismarck, Prussian chancellor to push forward his idea of reinstating the old German “Reich”, this time without the Austrians, who strictly disliked the idea of having a Prussian on the throne. It took a series of wars (Prussian/Danish war, Prussian/Hannoveranian war, Prussian/Bavarian and Austrian war and, finally, the Prussian French war of 1870) before old Kaiser Bill could climb up the ranks. Strange thing is that the Bavarians fought alongside of the Austrians against the Prussians, got a terrible beating and turned sides, now marching against the Austrians. The Austrians still hate the Bavarians for that, and the Prussians still don´t trust the Bavarians to this day! The only positive thing was that crazy Ludwig II famous Neuschwanstein Castle was finished - with Prussian money!
Looking at wo fought whom for what reasons in Europe makes you understand why a European Union is bound to fail.
For the train buffs it may be interesting to know that there were three reasons why the Prussian Army was so successful in those days.
They were the first to
employ railroads in moving men and material
had modern guns vs. old muzzle loaders
had modern canons vs. old muzzle loading cannons
Following the war of 1871, a series of strategic railroad lines were built in the German Reich to move troops even faster. One of those lines, which neve
King Georg V, Czar Nicholas II of Russia and Wilhelm II, German Emperor, were cousins, the latter one being Queen Victorias favorite grandson.
Until the outbreak of WW I, the British royal family´s surname was von Sachsen Coburg Gotha, which then was changed to the rather artificial name of Windsor.
Even in today´s British royalties, there is hardly a drop of British blood in their veins, with Prince Philipp being of Holstein-Sonderburg-Glücksburg and Battenberg origin. Battenberg was changed to Mountbatten at the same time the Sachsen Coburg Gothas changed their name to Windsor.
For centuries prior to industrialization, Germany´s biggest export was people of blue blood to the monarchies of Europe.
I didn’t know that about the name Windsor. Sounds very British. Maybe we should call the future king Prince Wilhelm. As for Charles, the guy is 68 years old and may be well into his 70s before he becomes king. When most of us are retired, he will be just beginning his career.
Years ago (must have been in another life) I had the chance to meet HRH The Prince of Wales while negotiating the rights on a few of his paintings tio be used as CD covers for a classic music label. Charming chap, back then, and fluent in German without a trace of an accent - just like his dad, with whom he shares his sense of black humor.
In his age, I doubt that he wants to resume the responsibility of being a king. Unfortunately, the British constitution does not foresee a king or a queen to retire. All he could do is either appeal to the House of Commons to allow him to abdicate, or simply die.
I am a poor man, but not for all the money in the world would I love to have his job, nor being married to Camilla (Godzilla).
The name Winsor was chosen from nearby Windsor Castle, which has been a favorite summer resort in those days, when Balmoral Castle was more than a day´s travel away.
It has happened before that the Crown Prince/King has decided that he couldn’t rule. Prince Charles’ Great-Uncle (Edward VIII) being a very good example. He abdicated because he loved Wallis Simpson, a divorcee. His brother, George VI, wasn’t expecting to rule. IIRC, Edward VIII was “exiled” to Jamacia as the Royal Govenor. As an aside, some historians feel that if Germany had invaded Great Britian and conquered it, they would have put Edward VIII in as a puppet ruler. (And yes, I had to punch up some of the information. I couldn’t remember Edward VIII but I did remember Wallis Simpson. Go figure.)
Extra strong Italian roast coffee in a UNION PACIFIC mug, please.
***Ulrich, beautiful photos. [Y][8D] I lived in Washington state for a dozen years or so. I thought it was one of tne of the more beautiful states. Location is everything for routinely growing particular fruits & nuts. Last year I had tons of peaches. Mother nature had other plans this year. Oh, thanks for sharing the interesting bit of history with those names.
Edward VIII did abdicate so would Charles need the HofC to approve his abdication? I have no idea what the British Constitution says about that. I read recently, and I can’t remember exactly where, that none of the younger royals has any desire to become the monarch. Since I can’t remember where I read that, I have no idea how reliable a story that is. If true could it mean the monarchy might be disolved? It seems a rather quaint tradition and it is more ceremonial than anything else. The Brits seem to want to keep it around for some strange reason.
I think being king would be a way cool job. Mostly indoor work with no heavy lifting. I’m sure there are aspects of it that would be a royal pain, pun intended.
One of my favorite photos of the young royals is when they visited the US and went to a Cleveland Cavaliers basketball game and afterward met Lebron James. Apparently Lebron didn’t know or didn’t care that one is not supposed to touch the royals
But if he wanted one, who would tell him he couldn’t have one?
Didn’t see that movie but I do remember it. I don’t see many movies when they first come out. I usually wait until they come to cable. Sometimes I don’t see them until 20 years later.
One movie I don’t want to wait for is Dunkirk. I hope they don’t get so carried away with the computer graphics that they forget to tell what was a great story. One of the most disappointing movies I ever saw was Pearl Harbor. They took one of the most important events of the 20th century and turned it into a soap opera and to make it worse went over the top with the special effects. Tora, Tora, Tora made about 30 years earlier without the benefit of modern technology was so much better because they focused on the story.
Very busy day. Work on the hobby barn continues. The underground utility contractor showed up this morning and Installed the conduit from my house to the house by barn. It did not go smoothly. First thing happened is they hit Rick and had to jack hammer about 30’ through rock and then they hit the underground service from the transformer to the house. It took four men from 9am to 1:30 to install the conduit and install the “mule tape” or pull string.
