Europe Adventure

We recently got back from an Adventure in Europe. We first packed, then we drove to a bus station. At the bus station we parked and got on the bus to Boston. We got off at the airport and discovered someone had taken our bag. We went to terminal E and took a Aer Lingus flight to Dublin that lasted about 5 hrs & 20 minutes. We did not have that one bag, but the bus company was searching for it. In Dublin we took a taxi to a fishing village , saw a castle there and ate at a cafe. We had about 4 hr layover so then we took another taxi back to Dublin airport. The currency in Ireland was Euro's but they drove on the left side of the road. So they had a bit of English culture left from the time Britain ruled Ireland. The taxi drivers did not really like England and one played a Irish rebel song when we asked him his favorite Irish music. We took another Aer Lingus flight from terminal 2 to Inverness Scotland. That flight was only an hour and a half. In Inverness we got a Mercedes rental car that turned off when you stopped ! We drove towards Skye after we got some food from a market. There were sheep and green hills everywhere!

 We stopped on our way and hiked up a hill and had a picnic on it. There were many small rivulets running through the hills too. We saw plenty of sheep on our way to Skye. We stopped at some castles like Eileen Donan and Urqhart

.  We also went to a town called Strontian, where strontium was discovered. In Skye we slept in a cottage, and explored many places, including Portree ( the capital ), and the fairy springs                  

next to the Cullens ( a mountain range ). Then we went down to Stirling, and saw Stirling Castle. After this we went down to Edinburgh and the surrounding towns. We saw Edinburgh Castle

and went to church in DalKeith. We also went through a flower field ( around North Berwick )                        

. We hiked up a The North Berwick Law ( or just the Berwick Law ), in North Berwick , it is a hill that has a whale's Jawbone ( now a replica , added in 2008, after one rotted away , and was removed in 2005 )  on the top. It also has ruins of an Iron age hill fort and military bases of many wars, including the Napoleonic and WWII. I got lost on it but, We found each other later. After this we had a Flight booked for London, but when we stopped on our way to the Airport , Our Sister's lip got slashed on the concrete. We went to the airport , and they told us that we should get it stitched, ( by the way the medical agent there was not very helpful ) But they couldn't do it, and there was a hospital 7 miles away or so. So we went to St Johns hospital and waited forever in the emergency room. Then after some more waiting in a patient's room, there came a facial surgeon and he stitched our sisters lip up. We had missed our flight from Edinburgh airport, and drove around, after getting some food at Tesco's, to find a hotel to sleep for the night. We went to hotel one hotel, they said no, then another ( that they recommended to us ), that said no , and another ( that they recommended to us ) , that said NO. But , finally we found one that said yes! and we slept there during the night. There was a deal if you book flights the day before them , before midnight, then they are cheaper. Our dad booked our flight to London , like 2 minutes before Midnight. We slept there that night, and then had a Breakfast there , for they had breakfast served there. That day we flew to London, we had lost some time, so we did not go to Oxford. But we took a bus tour of London, and saw Big Ben's tower              

, Parliament , and other buildings. We then flew to Bergerac, France, and then drove to Beynac.

There we slept in an old ( about medieval ) stone cottage of the hill that had the castle. The Cottage was refurbished on the inside for modern needs. We explored much of the Dordogne

, and some of the castles around it, I got my Sword in one of the Castles.

After this we drove to Paris in a rental car we had gotten in Bergerac airport. We lost a wallet at one of the tolls, but finally, after some 6 hours, we made it to Paris. In Paris we explored

, and saw Notre Dame

 ( there was a statue of Charlemagne near it, and many pigeons  ) , The Louvre and the Eiffel Tower

( I touched the base of this one ). From here we flew to Dublin, and after a 2 hour layover ( that was delayed some more ), we flew to Boston. It was great to be home, and we had a great time in Europe.

The viking sword and Exploration

The Viking sword +ULFBERH+T
 We recently learned about the +ULFBERH+T sword. It is a sword that has crucible steel in it. It is a steel that has very few dots and slags as they call them in it. It is better then other steel of its time. To make it you would have to heat the iron and coal to a very high temperature, and in Europe it seemed that no one could do it. But in the middle east there was swords made with crucible steel. This means that the Vikings must have gone to there and got the Crucible steel. Historians think that they went on the Volga trade route. This is a route from Sweden to Iran it is mostly on water. It goes along the Volga river and lakes. Then it goes to the Caspian sea and past it into modern-day Iran and Iraq. Vikings might have got Crucible steel from here. I think they did and so do others. Then they would have gone back to Scandinavia in small rowboats. There they would shape the steel into the sword. But the inscription of +ULFBERH+T is still a mystery. No one knows who Ulfberht was. Christian Abbots and Popes put a cross in front of their name. Maybe this was a Christian Abbot who had made it. But the Christians were forbidden to Trade with the Pagan Vikings. Maybe a Christan viking had made it. Or maybe just a Viking had made it. Or it was a brand name. But it showed that the sword was made with Crucible steel. Other Ulfberht swords were made but they did not have Crucible steel in them. They were fakes. They had the letters +ULFBERHT+ on them. Someone was trying to copy +ULFBERH+T. If you had a +ULFBERH+T sword you would be highly honored as a great and rich warrior. +ULFBERH+T Swords were like the best kind of weapons. 

Exploration
The Vikings who originated in Scandinavia, explored from North America to Pakistan.
They were great explores on sea. They were not the best on land though. Proof that they had gone to North America and Pakistan is real. A viking ruins was found in North America and Statues of Buddha were found in Viking graves. The Vikings also went to Greenland, Iceland, Newfoundland,  Israel, Constantinople, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Russia, France, England, Ireland,Greece, Iraq and Iran. Like you probably know Vikings did not have horns on their helmets and there are also peaceful and economic vikings.

Dribiling on ice 2

They were awarded the British Ilse Cup . The next Day they took a plane to Brazil, where the qualifacations would be held. They were in Group A with Belgium , Macedonia , Serbia And Algeria . There were going to Play Algeria First. This was going To be Easy, thought Nam. They played in Fortaleza . At the 5th Minute Scotland scored . Nam had a volley that went in. At half Time it was 6 - 0 . But the Algiers subbed all of their Defense And moved midfield down. Scotland could only Score 1 more Goal  before The match was over. 7-1 . They were going To Play Serbia next .The game was at rio di zanero . Scotland started with it. The game began . Ben gave it to aberfoyle . Aberfoyle thought that he could score on S. Handovock . He couldn't . Handovock gave it to Stjepan a Serbian scorer . Stjepan dribbled up and was blocked by Coe. Coe dived the wrong way as Stjepan shot. But Stjepan shot it off target. Coe took the goal kick to Scott. Scott gave it to Ben . Ben dribbled up and just before the defense tackled him he gave it to Nam. Nam short dribbled toward S. Handovock . Handovock dived but Nam passed it to Aberfoyle and Aberfoyle scored. The game was pretty uneventful until the 77th minute. Stjepan scored a cheap goal on Coe that should have been off-sides. But Scotland came back at the 89th minute . Nam Bian volleyed it into the net as Scott gave it to him . The game was over that second. Scotland was relived. The day after they played Belgium. Belgium had won that group for many years and that was why they played the final. Belgium was famous for their defense. Nam, Scott , Aberfoyle and Ben tried to get past Kompany and Vermaelen. But Belgium's poor offense could not score on Coe. The game was a Tie . On the final you need to go to penalties . On this Scotland might win . Belgium took the first kick. It was a save by Coe . But he hit his arm against the post and was injured . Gordon , Scotland's other keeper had to go in. Ben shot on Thibaut ( Belgium's keeper ). Ben Scored ! Then Belgium scored on Gordon.1 minute later it to Scotland had scored all 5 goals and Belgium had minus one. The game was over. Scotland had qualified for the world cup!!! The team they were going to fight first was France. They played in Southern Argentina. It was colder their. Just how Nam liked it. The game was on. Rie berry gave it to Benzima. Benzima thought that he could score on Scotland. Coe had recovered from his injury. So he saved it. He gave it to Ben. Ben dribbled up and gave it to Aberfoyle. Aberfoyle dribbled down the line and crossed it to Ben who had run up . Ben Shot... But Llorris saved it. Nam followed it up . It was in. Rie berry scored at the 47th minute. Ben got a red card when he Kicked Llorris in the head. Llorris was out and France put a new keeper in. Ben did it on accident but it helped Scotland. Aberfoyle had a goal at the 68 minute. But France scored two more goals when Coe's arm hurt again. Gordon could not save Benzima's shots. Scotland had lost. 2 - 3. Nam was sad and mad. They had lost Ben and Coe for their next game and they lost the first game. But if Scotland won the next two games they could go to the quarter finals. How could Scotland win without their best keeper and Forward? The next game was versus Ghana. They were one of the best teams in Africa. Kwasi ( a Ghanaian forward ) gave it to Acquah. Acquah dribbled up and crossed it too Gyan. Gyan shot on Gordon and missed. Gordon gave it to Nam. Nam dribbled up and crossed it to Scott. Scott lost the ball and ran back on D. Kwasi had a run and scored on Gordon. It was looking bad for Scotland. At the 77th minute Aberfoyle scored . The offender that Scotland had for Ben was Adam. At the 87th minute Scotland subbed Coe in for Gordon . This was crucial, for Kwasi had another shot at the 89th minute but Coe saved it with his uninjured arm. Coe punted it all the way to Amoako the keeper for Ghana . Amoako dropped the ball and Adam slid it in at the last second. Scotland had won. Their next match was against Turkey. Nam gave the ball to Adam. Adam lost it. Şükür ( a Turkish striker ) Dribbled up , then passed it to Oktay .  Oktay shot and Gordon saved it. Gordon gave it to Aberfoyle . Aberfoyle passed it to Nam and he scored on Kırıntılı. The game's final score was 3 - 1. Scotland had won. They were in the quarter finals.  There first game was against Denmark.Victor ( on Denmark ) started with it. He gave it to Tomasson . Tomasson dribbled up and was stopped by Scott . Scott Hit it long to Nam . Nam shot and beat Schmeichel ( the Danish keeper ). But Tomasson had a goal to. The final score was 1 - 2 for Scotland. Chile was up next . Nam gave it to Adam. Adam dribbled up . Then shot but Bravo ( the Chilean keeper ) saved it. He gave it to Salas. Salas ran up and crossed it to Vargas . Vargas shot ... and Coe saved it. Coe gave it to Nam and he scored by lofting it over Bravo. The Game ended with no other goals.  They were in the Semi-finals! There next game was versus Italy! How could they beat the second best team of all time ! The day of the Game was finally here. Pirlo gave it to Balotelli. Balotelli dribbled up and crossed it to Gilardino. But Coe intercepted it . Coe punted it long. De Rossi picked it off. He passed it to Pirlo. They passed it around in the midfield until Pirlo gave it to Gilardino. Gilardino Shot ... and scored! Nam was overcome with grief. At the 44th minute he had a shot but Buffon had an amazing save. It was half time. Italy was certain they would beat Scotland. Nam devised a strategy with  Aberfoyle , Ben , Adam and Scott . Adam would give it to Scott on the kick off. Scott would draw the defender and then pass it to Aberfoyle on the wing. Aberfoyle would draw another defender and give it to Ben on the left side of the net. Meanwhile Nam would run up to the other side. Ben would fake a Shot on Buffon and then pass it to Nam. Nam would then score. It was that simple. It went alright until it was Ben's turn .  Ben shot instead of passing it and Buffon saved it. Nam was so mad. Then they scored another goal. It was 2-0. They tried it again . This time It went in. 2-1 at the 78th minute. Scott had an amazing shot from mid-field but Buffon saved it.  Aberfoyle realized that Buffon was what stopped them from scoring. So he knocked him out. He obviously got a red card but at least Buffon was out. Marchetti was their other keeper. Ben scored on Marchetti . Marchetti was not a very good keeper and penalties came. Buffon had recovered but was injured badly. Cesare Claudio Prandelli his coach insisted that he should not play. But Buffon wanted to play. Balotelli was up. He shot put Coe saved it. Ben shot and Buffon barley saved it. When he hit ground his wound knocked him out. Nam had done a good job. Marchetti was in net . First Gilardino shot . He Scored. Then Nam scored. Pirlo did a Pirlo shot straight at the keeper. He Thought Coe would dive. Coe did not. He Saved it. Then Adam Barley scored. The end score was 4-2. Scotland was in the Final!!! This was farther then the team had ever gone. Nam was happy and sad that Aberfoyle could not play in the final. The Final was against Brazil. They played at Temuco Chile. Nam and the rest of the offense and mid-field did the trick again. Craig had gone in for Aberfoyle. They Did the Trick but David Luiz intercepted a pass. Then he gave it to Hulk. Hulk dribbled around a Scottish defender and then crossed it to Neymar. Neymar headed it and it was in. Scotland did the trick again But Thiago Silva and Dani Alves knew what hey were doing. They stopped it. Then gave it to Oscar. Oscar Dribbled up and then gave it to Jô. Jô then Scored. Scotland was getting beat. Adam Knocked Thiago Silva and David Luiz out in one hit. Adam got a red card . But then Brazil put two other players Maicon and Dante in for Thiago Silva and David Luiz. Scotland did the trick again . This time they scored. Half time had passed and they were coming towards the end. 2-1. Then Coe Punted it into their net. It was Amazing. Neymar tried a Last shot but missed it. Nam was running up with Craig on the side. Craig passed it and Nam scored at the 100th minute. The game was over and Scotland had won. 3-2. Scotland Got the World cup. They won !!!!!!!!!!!

Recent Africa history

First explorations
Some of the first explorations were the Europeans rounding the cape of good hope. Then christian missionaries from Europe started exploring more into Africa. One of these was a famous explorer
named David Livingstone. He explored deep into Africa . When he got to Europe he wrote a book about his explorations. when he went back to Africa he was missing for 4 years. So a newspaper in America sent a reporter named Henry Stanley to look for him. He found him in Ujiji near lake Victoria .Livingstone stayed in Africa. 

First colonies
The first colonies in africa were near the coast. Britain , France , Portugal , Germany , Netherlands and others settled these first colonies . South africa was controlled by the Boers ( Dutch ) and the British . Angola and Mozambique were controlled by Portugal . France took Sierra Leon and other coastal places. Germany took the coastal parts of Tanzania and Namibia. Italy took some of Libya and Somali.  All these colonies gave the European powers more goods like gold, ivory and sugar.


The scramble for Africa 
During the late 1800s and early 1900s the scramble for africa took off. The European countries started to take more of the land inland . New European countries started to come like Belgium and Spain . Belgium took a giant part of africa in the Congo. Spain took land southwest of modern day Morocco. Britain took Ghana or the gold coast, Egypt, Sudan, Kenya, Botswana , Zimbabwe, Zambia and Nigeria. France took almost all of west Africa and Madagascar . Portugal took guinea bassu in northwest africa. Cameroon  and Togo were taken by Germany. Germany also took all of Namibia and Tanzania. Netherlands loses their land in Africa . Italy takes Eritrea . Ethiopia and Liberia are the only countries to survive the scramble of Africa .     



 sources: usborne  Timeline of world history , the story of the world.
 

Christianity in Britain

Before Rome fell, Christianity spread to all of Europe.

After Rome fell, even though the Roman Empire was gone, there was still Christianity in many places that the Roman Empire ruled over. One of the places that Rome ruled over, close to Britain, was Gaul.

One day that Pope was walking near there and he saw 3 slave boys, but they had blonde hair and in Gaul it was very odd to have blonde hair, most had dark hair. When the Pope asked the slave trader where the boys came, he told them they came from the island of Britain. So the Pope asked the slave trader if Britain was Christian and the slave trader said they hadn't even heard of Christianity. The pope asked what the boys people were called.

They said they were Anglos. The pope thought they looked more like angels because of their blond hair. Then the pope bought the boys so they wouldn't be slaves. Then he fed the boys and took care of him and sent them to school to learn about Christianity. Then he asked Augustine to take the boys back to Britain and to teach the people there about Christianty.

When Augustine arrived there the king of the Celts heard about their magic powers and came down and said he wouldn't let them enter his palace until they told about their powers. He was afraid they would cast a spell on him.

Augustine explained that he didn't have magic, just Christianity and he taught many of the people in Britain became Christian.