Every now and again some remarkable picture, eloquent and unusual, makes its way around the world. One of the latest is this one, showing human overcrowding on Mount Everest, the world's highest mountain. It was taken by Ralf Dujmovits, an experienced mountaineer who had turned back from the summit of Everest because of dangerous conditions, only to be "astounded and horrified" by the site of this long queue of tourist or hobby climbers trudging upwards.
He says the sight gave him the "oppressive feeling that some of the people in the picture would soon be dead." Four of them were. Others ended up crowding the hospitals of Kathmandu being treated for hypothermia and frostbite.
Dujmovits describes the craze to ascend Everest at any cost a "mass hysteria," and has pleaded with the Nepalese government for stricter regulations.
Kate Connolly wrote about the picture and the photographer at The Guardian.
P.S. As regular readers know, I'm a big fan of outstanding nonfiction writing. Mountaineering boasts an extensive literature, the excellence of which might account in part for those long lines on Everest (although most of us are content to remain armchair adventurers). Two of the very best books of the genre that I can heartily recommend are British climber Joe Simpson's 1988 book Touching the Void , an absolutely gripping biographical account of a near-disaster that will have you on the edge of your aforementioned armchair; I'll just warn you, don't start this one unless you have time to finish it. It was an extraordinary worldwide bestseller (here's the U.K. link ). More pertinent to this photograph is of course Jon Krakauer's extraordinary Into Thin Air, a first-person account of the events of May 1996 on Everest by a man who started out as a journalist (for Outside magazine) who meant to write an article about an ascent, and who ended up being one of the primary participants in an appalling disaster that made news all over the globe. The book has one of the most disturbingly unsettled endings in literature, which is of course very appropriate; the new edition linked here contains an account of the ongoing controversy and Krakauer's continued struggles with the ghosts of his past. Undoubtedly one of the greatest mountaineering books ever, and among the true masterpieces of nonfiction literature of recent decades. Not to be missed (although Touching the Void is a shorter, easier, and, in terms of its ending, more satisfying read).
At least read the short book description of Into Thin Air at Amazon.
Featured Comment by John Nollendorfs: "This picture from the Chilkoot Pass during the Klondike gold rush is much more interesting! At least those fools were after something tangible, like gold!"
Featured Comment by Darin Boville: "Tilted image? Sure looks like it to me."
Featured Comment by expiring_frog: "To address the question of 'why,' I strongly recommend Rob Macfarlane's book Mountains of the Mind , an eminently readable cultural history of how climbing mountains captured the public imagination. Two other classics worth mentioning are Maurice Herzog's Annapurna , possibly the most famous mountaineering book ever (about the first ascent of an 8000m peak and subsequent horrific retreat), and Reinhold Messner's The Crystal Horizon (first solo Everest climb, without oxygen). Messner's climb is particularly pertinent because he was the only person on the mountain that day, with only his girlfriend and a liaison officer at base camp, the polar opposite of the current tourist logjam."
Featured Comment by Peter: "As a climber myself I have always advocated that Everest should have the top 500 meters blown off by a big bomb. Then K2 would be the highest mountain in the world and you cannot drag tourists up there!"
Featured Comment by Avi Joshi: "Being a Nepalese, this makes me sad. Sadder still to think that no regulation change is likely to happen when the country is in such a political disarray."
Question from Alan Farthing: "Mike, what's your view on the tilted image?"
Mike replies: I searched for the picture and was not able to find a larger JPEG online; it doesn't appear to be on Ralf's website. Virtually all the instances I was able to find (500+, only four pages of which I looked at) reproduce the same angle as the one at the top of this post. The image appears to originate from an Outside magazine article that also shows the same angle of tilt. At least, they seem to be the most reputable publication publishing it. If that's the case, then they should be the ones taking editorial responsibility for the photograph (As you probably know, the web is not good at determining primacy of publication.) I haven't had much luck asking publications questions like this, because often the people who know the answers are tough to locate, and then once you locate them they're not sure if they have permission to speak to you or not. This makes some sense if you consider that you're essentially asking them if their publication misrepresented the facts, which is not an easy question to get a straight answer to (although a strong denial can be worth something).
Enlarging the image as best I can, it appears from the degree of uprightness of the climbers that the slope shown in the picture is indeed somewhat exaggerated—not as much as Darin suggests (they're clearly not on a flat plain or they'd all be pitching over forwards), but maybe eight or 10 degrees. The figures are just not quite distinct enough to tell for sure. However, our perception might be skewed somewhat by the fact that they would all be carrying large, bulky packs.
The picture rotated 10 degrees counterclockwise looks subjectively about right to my eye when I enlarge it to enough to see the climbers better; possibly a little less might be better, and I can't really tell what's most accurate.
Enlarged detail at CCW 10 degrees. Look at the figures in the middle, remembering that they have bulky packs on their backs.
As several people have suggested, he might simply have tilted the camera to get the greatest number of people in. If his point was that there are too many people on the mountain, showing more of them would be more important information that showing the angle rectified. I'd guess it's possible he was using a very small fixed-lens camera; we know he's not going to be carrying a DSLR and a zoom lens on the way back from a summit attempt. According to reports there were 300 people on the mountain that day, and there aren't 300 people in the picture.
If someone who speaks German would like to try to contact Ralf and ask him, that would probably be the best way to get to the bottom of it. As someone who does this kind of research all the time I'd guess our chances of getting a substantive answer would be on the low side—Ralf appears to be a busy man of action who probably has better things to do and probably doesn't spend a lot of his hours at the computer—but it might be worth a shot. To avoid peppering him with many questions, why doesn't someone volunteer to me? We'll delegate one TOP translator. He might be more likely to answer if he gets one query as opposed to twenty or whatever.
Darin adds: After further research it appears that the original image that Mike posted isn't a still image per se but a still frame of a video. In the link they show the line of climbers in two cuts. The first part looks right in terms of tilt. However, the second part starts off right but then rotates—at least that is my judgement. This can be seen most easily if you grab the video and advance it frame by frame—about halfway in the rotation is most obvious. I tried to use stitching software to position but not distort a selection of screen grabs from the video but my software insists on stretching parts of the image. Maybe someone else has the skills to make a few measurements or to use stitching software more to this purpose.
"My take home points so far on this are: 1) The image is tilted to a pronounced degree. More, I think than Mike's version but less than mine. 2) Given the sweep of the video--the arc of his arm had to travel—this is probably nothing more than heavy clothing getting in the way and pulling the camera out of level at the right extreme. 3) However, the chosen still frame is still misleading—and at the same time not misleading. The ground was nowhere near as tilted at the spot where the hikers were packed most dramatically—misleading—but there were indeed many, many hikers coming up the steeper parts of the trail and on the mountain in general, as the rest of the video shows. I'll leave it to others to debate the ethics here."
But now others can judge for themselves...good find!
This seems to be a deliberate (?) quote of some of the classic images from the Klondike Gold Rush? I guess any two pictures of a line of people on a snow covered slope are going to look pretty much the same, but still. It definitely evokes a sense of folly and madness by way of the connection, which makes it the quotation an excellent idea.
I don't see any hotdog stands in the picture. Now THAT would make me want to sign up as well.
Given the tone of the Guardian article, it's somewhat disturbing that Google Ads is serving up links to Everest base camp tours. In fairness, the tour company at least makes reference to participants being in good physical shape and having experience climing in the Himalayas.
All year long people die out in Colorado because of this kind of stupidity. They head up into the mountains without adequate preparation or knowledge of the risks involved and are under-dressed and carry the wrong (or no) equipment. Then, they get lost or stuck on some rock face and whip out their cell phone expecting to be rescued as though they had parked their car with valet service. The rescues are dangerous for the responders and costly to the rest of us. Many people just die out there. It makes me really angry. Some jurisdictions have at least started billing these morons for the cost of their own rescues.
The situation on Everest is even worse in that it is motivated by the greed of the expedition operators, and greed compromises judgment when it comes to decisions regarding whether to go for the summit or turn back. Don't want to get a reputation for not getting people to the summit, do we? Sadly, Everest has turned into a frozen morgue with hundreds of bodies along the ascent route, and a garbage dump with piles of used oxygen bottles and garbage piling up. Perhaps they should have Disney manage it; they have a better track record for running amusement parks.
Sorta weird, these little human specks trying to prove things to themselves about themselves for the betterment of them selves and then croaking because they left the lines in McDonalds only to find some other lines to wait in. And all the while they still have to go to the bathroom, all over that hill.
Many people have died on Mount Washington in New Hampshire, the highest peak in the Northeast. Although only 1917 meters high, it has particularly vicious weather, and hikers are very often unprepared for the changes in temperature at different altitudes and with the onset of weather fronts. The website lists dozens and dozens of deaths from many causes, several of which involve lack of preparation or casualness about inexperience.
They should put an escalator in there.
A few years ago an attorney told me that he was expecting a large payout and would use the money to climb Mt. Everest. Write a brief, win a case, climb the Earth's highest mountain. So simple.
Why? I always ask that, ever since the first human climbed it and proved that humans are capable of it, why do it again? Ok, maybe there was something special about the first guy, maybe he was superhuman, but after the first ten!? These days, even a 76-year old grandma can do it, so why bother proving you can do it? And waiting in line!? What's up with that? Soviet times nostalgia?
I've always held the Eiger in higher regard partially for this reason.
The rescues are dangerous for the responders and costly to the rest of us. Many people just die out there. It makes me really angry. Some jurisdictions have at least started billing these morons for the cost of their own rescues.
1) The whole "dangerous for the responders" thing is a canard. No one makes anyone do it. Many of these rescues are just practice for the SAR volunteers who otherwise would be out practicing on healthy volunteer "victims". So the expense to you is largely the same anyway, unless you just disbanded SAR entirely, or had them not practice, which would be the worst of both worlds. If the SAR folks don't want the danger, they don't have to sign up for it. The first duty of rescuers is don't be a victim.
2) Many more people would die if you started charging for rescues. If people knew they were going to get hit with bankrupting bills (heli rescues aren't cheap), they simply wouldn't ask for a rescue at all. So, more dead morons, or as I like to call them 'fellow citizens'. Not rescuing them works until one of those morons' dying 911 call makes the loop on Fox News and senators start having hearings.
3) 99% of all rescues aren't of climbers or extremophiles, they're simply average people who went out for the usual hike in shorts and t-shirts, took a wrong turn, or got caught out by unexpected (to them) weather. If you've never done that, then you don't get out much. I don't know anyone without a story like that. Usually with the ending of "I spent a cold night out", or "I found the trail at 3am," but sometimes with "I got rescued." I can certainly sympathize with that. I've gotten back to the car in the dark more than a few times, and I've had a few unplanned bivies. Sometimes it's an idiot who did something stupid or didn't check the weather, and it makes the news. Sometimes the weather forecast is just wrong. That's why it's called the news. It's uncommon.
I'm speaking as one of the morons. Never been rescued yet, but have often been in the mountains pushing my limits with what you would consider inadequate gear, but what I would call "alpine style".
The US could go to the European model, where everyone buys rescue insurance, but then you get a lot more rescues - the "fine is a price" effect. If you're paying for rescue insurance, you have fewer qualms about calling for a rescue.
And for what it's worth, there are no rescues on Everest. My suspicion is that everyone in that picture knows that, having already stepped over the dead bodies, and decided to take their chances anyway.
To me, using oxygen at all is defeating the purpose. And if you must use it, pack the tanks out. As an aside there is a movie of my favorite mountaineer (Reinhold Messner 1st to summit Everest without oxygen) directed by Werner Herzog called The Dark Glow of the Mountains. Worth checking out. It's not about Everest but more about the motivation behind the climbers.
Two enjoyable books about Everest during earlier times are "Into The Silence: The Great War, Mallory & The Conquest of Everest" by Wade Davis and "I Take Pictures for Adventure" by Tom Stobart. The latter includes a section on filming the first successful Everest climb with Hillary and Tenzing. The book is out of print but readily available via the web. Mallory's body, of course, was found not too long ago, fairly well preserved.
On close inspection, I see the photo is tilted almost 45 degrees clockwise. The small orange dots in the lower right are tents and it's very unlikely they'd be on such a steep slope. Also, climbers would be more spread out on a slope that apparently steep. I have mountaineering experience and would never be on a mountain with a crowd that size. Do any of those hordes really care about the mountain's danger and intrigue? Or just bragging rights back home? This illustrates a sad state of mind on a large scale.
Agreed about Into Thin Air -- I read it in the heat of summer, and I found myself shivering.
As Mike says, there has been a lot of good writing on mountaineering, mostly by mountaineers. My favorite is Bill Tilman. A great stylist (and extraordinary mountaineer) whose sardonic wit and understatement might lead those who have not climbed themselves to underestimate his accomplishments. His most famous books have been reissued as compilations by Diadem/The Mountaineers as "The Seven Mountain-Travel Books" and "The Eight Sailing/Mountain-Expedition Books". Strongly recommended.
Is anyone else bothered by the angle of the snow in that picture. I am certainly no expert but it seems strange the angle that the tents are at. Too steep to be useful for holding supplies or sleeping in? Maybe they are dug out flat but my impression is that most of the camps are in relatively flat areas. Did the picture editor crop the picture at an angle to make the line of people go diagonally from one corner to another. It might be interesting to try to recrop it to look flatter.
I'm a regular bushwalker (around 30km per week) and a small group of us joined a tour to walk the Inca Trail to Machi Picchu. It's an easy 3 day trek when you've got porters carrying all the food and tents, etc. Keep in mind that the porters find this kind of work a "good job" and the treks represent a tourism industry for the locals.
Some of my bushwalking group also did a trek to the Everest base camp, as part of another tour. I had work commitments and couldn't join them. I can't be bothered now; I'd rather do a trek like this with some of the bushwalking gang.
But the idea of scaling Mr Everest is an entirely different ball park. To me it's like an Olympic standard event and you need years of experience and training.
Mike, Joe Simpson's book is great. However, you really need to locate copies of two of David Robert's first books. "Mountain of My Fear" and "Deborah: A Wilderness Narrative". These two are among the best mountaineering books ever written. They were a major departure for mountaineering literature.
David- You managed to summarize the entire human condition from cradle to grave in two sentences!
I just dug up a link to the original "Into Thin Air" magazine article for a friend. I had to go to the Wayback Machine to find it.
If you like the article the book is even better. It explores the climbers and their motivations in more depth. Krakauer's "Into the Wild" is actually an even better book, because he isn't so emotionally involved in the subject.
Lack of exxperience & equipment & training is a problem afflicting many outdoor sports these days - from simple hiking through more adveturous stuff like mountaineering, mountain biking, scuba diving. As access & equipment improve the bar lowers for starting on these activities. The skill, experience & motivation that used to be required are needed less.
And so, sights like this one are the result. It is sad, really. Too many are getting hurt doing the things I love to do due simple failings.
Thanks, Mike, for the interesting article.
There's a recent three or four part video documentary available on DVD that covers one of these commercial guided climbs. It is appalling to watch; I should think the definitive turn-off for anyone considering joining one. The group became part of a queue which stopped and waited for two hours or more in poor weather at one bottleneck (the Hillary Step, I think). Those behind were unable to communicate with those blocking the way, or budge them along. With toes and fingers turning wooden as time dragged on.
And being led up a fixed rope is not climbing. It's a mis-use of the word.
And I agree that Joe Simpson's book Touching the Void is an un-put-down-able read. The documentary film on DVD is excellent, too.
Don't forget about the film "Touching the Void". Done incredibly well with first hand interviews and beautiful re-enactments. Aron Ralston tried for years to have "127 Hours" made the way this film was: (He settled for the narrative take that Danny Boyle ultimately made.) Truly great documentary filmmaking: Sometimes the film is as good as the book.
There is a wonderful BBC documentary "Century of the Self" that posits that modern life has evolved into this manic pursuit of personal fulfillment and achievement. This photo –- a high altitude Conga line of egomaniacs with little regard for the impact of their actions -- reminds me of that documentary.
I can't recall a specific book, but the stories of British rock climbers in the 50s are full of colourful characters. Climbing had previously been the preserve of wealthy Cambridge types. Joe Brown and Don Whillans spring to mind, plumbers both. They put up terrific new rock routes, invented "nuts", and went on to do impressive new climbs in the Himalayas.
I'm sure Whillans would have a delightfully caustic comment to make about that image. My favorite tale is where he was giving a talk and a streaker ran across the stage. Whillans said, "Well I'll be buggered," and after a moment, "and so will he if I get my hands on him."
I always thought a big part of the climbing experience was the remoteness, empty spaces and self sufficiency - thats what always attracted me. Obviously Everest doesn't! Firstly, I have no interest in crawling up a crowded rope fixed by sherpas and guides and secondly if I climb a mountain I want it to be a pleasant experience with very good odds of getting home again.
As a climber, I'd just point out that the Krakauer account of the 1996 SE ridge expeditions is largely derided in much of the guiding world, for inaccuracies in details and being written with an agenda in mind.
The Frontline documentary "Storm over Everest" also tells the story of the '96 disaster (it's a cheap iTunes download). Seeing the survivors and hearing them tell their stories is all you need to know about the danger.
- the dismissive use of the descriptor 'tourists' is pretty distasteful. Surely the key difference is that the people in the queue have paid their own fares to be where they want to be at the time?
- Martin Doonan's comment is meaningful. I've walked and run on the UK's fells from childhood and have a few 'stories', but as the activity became more fashionable the level of preparedness of the participants fell. I remember observing that someone would die in an 'Adventure' Race' before long a few years ago and it was only a matter of months before a fatality occurred on an open water canoe section. I do wonder if we are less prepared or aware of the risks than in the past.
- Also, the skills and mentality for survival are not immediately transferable. I took part in a sailing and fell running race during which the weather deteriorated. I was entirely comfortable with the risk level on the cold and windswept Paps of Jura, as I and my running partner had a good knowledge and experience of the conditions and how to manage if one of us were to be injured. Back on the boat, shipping water off the Mull of Kintyre in a strong South Westerly I was as frightened as I've ever been.
Now that very few special skills are required to climb mountains, thanks to modern-day technology, it appears everyone can be a mountaineer if they can afford the cost.
One of the other participants in that "Disaster on Everest" of John Krakauer's was Beck Weathers a hobby climber who was gunning for the "Seven Summits" and in the title of his book was Left For Dead.
A propos blowing the top of Everest and the seven summits; it is a known fact among mountaineers that the second highest mountains on each continent is a much harder set to bag.
"Tilted image? Sure looks like it to me."
Yes, tilted for dramatic effect, but not by 45 degrees as some have suggested. Unless humans no longer try to walk upright on a slope, the photo is tilted by 15-20 degrees. Level areas on Everest are hard to come by... and, yes, you can sleep in a tent on a slope - you grade the snow!
Another great mountaineering book: The White Spider.
And if you want to understand how one goes about doing really big routes in good style, it's hard to do better than Twight's Extreme Alpinism. The Foreward, Preface, and first chapter can be read for free at Amazon.
Regarding the "tiltedness" of the image, I suspect the photographer tilted the camera in order to fit the line into the frame. In other words, had it not been tilted, he would not have been able to get the head of the line on the left, and the camp on the right. Rightly or wrongly, I'm guessing that getting the length of the line seemed more important than getting the horizontals correct.
Well, I guess there's something to that song by Those Darn Accordions: "Dumbass On The Mountain."
Interesting. My only exposure to mountain climbing was reading "Climbing Mount Improbable" by Richard Dawkins.
"the dismissive use of the descriptor 'tourists' is pretty distasteful."
From what I've read, it's also an accurate word. People, some with very limited climbing experience, some with no Himalayan climbing experience, sign up and pay for package tours that guarantee them a shot at the top of Everest, arrange the support, and provide them with guides.
"1 to 1 Sherpa Assistance on Summit Day. On your summit day you will have a dedicated Sherpa to carry your extra bottles of oxygen for you. This support along with the guides gives you the best possible chance of success and greatly increases safety."
"Meals on the Mountain: We prepare all your meals in every camp and throughout the entire trip. Many companies require you to cook at different camps on the mountain. This is a laborious task that often requires several hours of work to melt snow and cook meals."
I don't think "tourist" is a dismissive word. It's a descriptor for people who go on tours. QED.
Ralf Dujmowits' photo shows a line climbing up the Lhotse Face (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lhotse#Lhotse_Face) which is a pretty steep wall of ice. I think that the angle in the picture is correct.
Yes, the photo is tilted. I suspect that Mr. Dujmovits was trying to record as much of the queue as he could by going from corner to corner.
Some of the comments seem to imply that there's some kind of attempted deception going on, which I don't think is the case at all.
Re tilting - looks like a fairly easy snow route, well made, heavily used trail. The effect of the photo seems greatly exaggerated. How many people have attempted a 45degree slope? I can assure you that is not easy. Even 20 degrees certainly cannot be walked up as these people appear to be doing.
Sorry - one more comment. Mountain literature would be incomplete without "The Ascent of Rum Doodle"
Soon we'll reach the point (if we aren't there already) where most of the people climbing Everest are lawyers and orthodontists, rather than mountaineers. It's like big game hunting: a rich man's sport.
Krakauer's Into Thin Air is great; but you might also want to read Anatoli Boukreev's rebuttal, The Climb.
I just watched practically every documentary on Everest that's available on NETFLIX and I'm fairly certain that this picture was not tilted much.
You'll see the steepness of the gradient of the Lhotse face and the location of camp III. It's said Ralf too the photo from South Col, so this most likely would be camp III at the bottom of the photo. From what I remember from the various documentaries, it's pretty dang close to a vertical climb up that part of mountain.
"Into Thin Air" is the perfect morality tale. It should be required reading in high school. It reveals greed, stupidity, selfishness, terror, courage, dumb luck, selflessness, serenity, and heroism. The entire human condition in one read.
Absolutely a great rendering of a remarkable human event.
@Anurag: I'm embarrassed to say I haven't read that book, though I've wanted to visit the inner Sanctuary forever. Thanks for the recommendation.
I hope to stand on the top of Mt Rainier for the third time next week with my G11. My climbs are nothing compaired to what these climbers experience. I do understand why they do it. Getting to the top of Everest is no small feat, so give these climbers some respect.
Try Maurice Herzog's, Annapurna (1952), if you haven't already read it. It is an account of the first ascent of Annapurna in 1950 - remarkably from reconnaissance made in the same expedition and without oxygen - during which both Herzog and Louis Lachenal lost their toes to frostbite and Herzog lost his fingers too when he dropped his gloves on the summit while taking photographs at the summit.
"Mike, Try Maurice Herzog's, Annapurna (1952), if you haven't already read it."
I haven't read it, but I have it. I will get to it, assuming I live long enough.
Climbing comes up sometimes in surprising contexts. The memoirs of mathematician Karl Gustafson discuss rock climbing and the Zen-like effect of cleaning and simplifying the mind: "The Crossing of Heaven: Memoirs of a Mathematician" (Springer, 2012; ISBN 978-3642225574).
Here is a quote from the memoirs: "I stopped rock climbing at age 50 after a dangerous pendulum off-route on a high peak exactly three weeks after my girlfriend had died on a climbing trip to Peru."
Thank you for your comments. I am still not sure. From my, very limited experience of mountains, skiing in the Alps, the snow scape seems the be too steep. Also when I look at the figures I can see very few leaning forward, assuming they are travelling right to left; in fact most seem to be leaning backwards? The figures in the Gold Rush images are all leaning forward, at least their tops are, carrying their heavy loads.The tents really do look odd!
However I have to agree that the level of detail is not enough to make a better judgement.
Tilting.- Not need to look at the people climbing. When I saw the first photo, I thought: "what a dangerous Site Camp". Look at the snow, ready to fall down over the yellow tents camp. Much less avanlanches danger in the second one by Darin Boville.
I don't know if its been mentioned yet, but Touching the Void was adapted into an excellent and gripping (excuse the pun!) documentary film, with narration by the two mountaineers involved.
I care little for climbing or mountaineering but this amazing story had me captivated. Highly recommended.
Into the Silence is a fantastic read about WW1, Edward Mallory and the "conquest" of Everest. Highly recommended!
A commenter above has mentioned this - but the tents are the best indicator of the tilt. They are at about a 45 degree angle.


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Q: How to set PR_MESSAGE_DELIVERY_TIME in outlook 2010 for Outlook DocumentItem I have an add-in in Microsoft outlook. I tried to set Received value of outlook DocumentItem using below method.
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I have checked with Outlook 2013, 2016 and 365. It is working fine but in outlook 2010 I am not able to change the date. It will throw an exception Error: The operation failed.
Can anyone have idea how to solve this problem?
Thanks

A: This property must be set before posting document items to public folders. So, I'd suggest setting the property before the item is saved.
Another aspect is that the Outlook object model may set its own business rules and prevent such operations from running. In such cases, you need to use a low-level API on which Outlook is built on. Or just use any third-party wrappers around the API such as Redemption.

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Review: Mr. Peabody & Sherman
Starring: Ty Burrell, Max Charles, Stephen Colbert, Ariel Winter, Allison Janney
Who to see it with: Someone with nostalgia for the cartoon and doesn't care about the most accurate history.
In Mr. Peabody & Sherman, the cartoon made popular by the Rocky and Bullwinkle show gets a feature-length film. Peabody, a supremely brilliant and talented dog adopts Sherman and teaches him about history by going back in time. Peabody, as the overconfident, overprotective parent, feels the need to take care of Sherman completely, which translates well with what occurs in the cartoon. In the cartoon, Peabody lectures Sherman and holds his hand throughout their adventures; however, in the movie, he must learn to let Sherman be more independent if he's going to grow up.
The animation is beautiful and Dreamworks has done a great job translating the original, hand-drawn cartoon (and much of the original story) into a computer generated movie. They've also made the time machine itself, and those sequences utilizing it, much more impressive than what occurred in the cartoon. Much of the film takes place in the past. Although history buffs might not enjoy that aspect of the film, I thought that it provided fun glimpses of history. Additionally, these short takes on historical events might encourage some of the kids (and adults) watching it to do their own research and learn about the past. These sections are not the most accurate depictions, and plenty of them are highly stereotypical, but for a cartoon I thought it did a pretty good job of entertaining while introducing these historical time periods. The place where the movie shined were the jokes. There was plenty of humor for both young and old to enjoy, and plenty of jokes that kids aren't going to get but will have adults laughing out loud. The best animated movies can be enjoyed by all moviegoers and this is no exception. Additionally, although the film touches on some good lessons for kids to learn, such as bullying and family. I wasn't expecting great things out of this film, and if I could I would go back to tell myself to give the movie more credit. Mr. Peabody & Sherman is a perfect example of Hollywood translating a beloved old property into a modern, and enjoyable movie.
Labels: Mr Sherman & Peabody, Reviews, See it
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Cerebral venous thrombosis: a practical guide
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Direct oral anticoagulants in treatment of cerebral venous thrombosis: a systematic review
Gauruv Bose et al., BMJ Open, 2021
Current endovascular strategies for cerebral venous thrombosis: report of the SNIS Standards and Guidelines Committee
Seon-Kyu Lee et al., Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery, 2018
Time to recanalisation in patients with cerebral venous thrombosis under anticoagulation therapy
Antonio Arauz et al., Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2015
Dural arteriovenous fistulas as a cause of intracranial hypertension due to impairment of cranial venous outflow
Christophe Cognard et al., Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 1998
Cerebral venous thrombosis: comparing characteristics of infective and non-infective aetiologies: a 12 - year retrospective study
Pat Korathanakhun et al., Postgraduate Medical Journal, 2015
Intracranial venous collaterals in cerebral venous thrombosis: clinical and imaging impact
Miguel A Barboza et al., Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2015
Headache as the only neurological sign of cerebral venous thrombosis: a series of 17 cases
R Cumurciuc et al., Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2005
The woman without a history
Joshua Dean Horton et al., BMJ Case Reports, 2015
Acute subdural haemorrhage complicating cerebral venous thrombosis in a patient with protein C deficiency
Elvin Yuan Ting Lim et al., BMJ Case Reports, 2020
Recanalisation therapies for acute ischaemic stroke in patients on direct oral anticoagulants
David J Seiffge et al., Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry, 2021


To see more Flats & PSK's that are available please click here.
A very rare opportunity! This trailer has been fully refurbished for a contract that didn't materialise. It is a beautiful looking trailer with a great specification.


LOT OF 100 DELL POWEREDGE R710 SERVERS WITH 2x E5530 2.40GHZ QUAD CORE CPUS 24GB MEM 1x 250GB SATA HDD. LOT OF 100 DELL POWEREDGE R710 SERVERS. EACH HAVE THE FOLLOWING CONFIGURATION. 2.40GHZ QUAD CORE CPUS WITH 8MB CACHE. 24GB (6 x 4GB) MEMORY. 1x 3.5 250GB SATA HARD DRIVE. PERC 6i RAID CONTROLLER WITH 256MB CACHE. DOES NOT INCLUDE FRONT BEZEL. DOES NOT INCLUDE RACK RAILS. PLEASE CONTACT ME IF YOU NEED A CUSTOM CONFIGURATION. ONLY INCLUDES WHAT IS SHOWN IN PICTURES. NO SOFTWARE OR O/S INSTALLED ON THIS UNIT. DOES NOT INCLUDE ANY ACCESSORIES OR SOFTWARE. SERVERS ARE PROFESSIONALLY FOAM PACKED. Please be sure to include your full address and whether your location is commercial or residential and if it has a loading dock. The item "LOT OF 100 DELL POWEREDGE R710 2x E5530 2.4GHZ QUAD CORE CPUS 24GB 1x 250GB SATA" is in sale since Monday, September 14, 2015. This item is in the category "Computers/Tablets & Networking\Enterprise Networking, Servers\Servers, Clients & Terminals\Servers".


An ordinary university student found everywhere, Hirasawa Kazuki, was in possession a game characters body when he came to his senses. Moreover, it was Harold Stokes, the storys most hated figure who held the title 『King of Trash 』. For him, tons of landmines appearing like death flags are in his surroundings! Can Kazuki evade the mountainous amount of death flags and advance through the survival route !?


It was a 12 hour race overnight in the Contin woods near Strathpeffer in the Highlands of Scotland.
For 2011 we may go to a 24 hour format and run it in the winter to make it even more interesting.
got a link for the full results?
Just out of my own curiosity, does it say who was on a 29er and 26"? I'm assuming most were on 26".


text:
The Plague (Tā'ūn) and Contagious Diseases (Wabā') ―The sayings of the Prophet, the Sahābah, Ibn Al-Qayyim and An-Nawawi ―What should a person do when it afflicts a land?
30th March 2020 Abu Khadeejah Abdul-Wahid Health, Medicine 0
Imām An-Nawawi (rahimahullāh) stated: "Plague (Tā'ūn) refers to blisters that appear on the body, under the armpits, the elbows, or on the hands, the fingers and elsewhere on the body. These are accompanied by swellings and severe pain. These blisters appear with a sensation of burning fire and whatever surrounds them becomes blackened, or green, or red, or reddish-purple like pearls alongside palpitations of the heart and vomiting." (1)
And there occurs in the narration of 'Ā'ishah (radiyallāhu 'anhā) that she asked the Prophet (salallāhu 'alaihi wasallam): "What is a plague (Tā'ūn)?" He replied: "It is a [swollen] gland like the gland of a camel which appears in the tender region of the abdomen and the armpits." (2)
Ibn Al-Qayyim (rahimahullāh) explained the connection between a plague (Tā'ūn) and an infectious/contagious disease (Wabā') in that there is between the two terms, similarities and differences. So every plague is contagious (if Allah's wills it) but not every contagious disease is a plague. And likewise with general illnesses (known as Al-Amrād), of which plague is just just one example.
Then Ibn Al-Qayyim, after this, stated: "Plague causes ulcers, wounds and malignant swelling. These are the outward symptoms of the plague because this is what the physicians observe which leads them to consider it to be a plague. The plague is known by three affairs:
Firstly: The outward symptoms that we have stated and this is what the doctors mention.
Secondly: The death that comes about to those afflicted. And that is what is intended by the hadeeth: "Death from plague is martyrdom for the Muslim." (3)
Thirdly: The reason behind the outbreak of this plague which is reported in the authentic hadeeth: "It is the remnant of a punishment that was sent to the Children of Israel." (4)
It was described in another hadeeth as, "It is from the painful stab of your enemies from the Jinn." (5).
It was also reported that Mu'ādh (radiyallāhu 'anhu) said regarding the plague while he was in Syria: "It is the mercy of your Lord and the supplication of your Prophet." (6)
The physicians cannot refute the reasons we have cited as to why plagues occur, even though they feel there is no physical (tangible) evidence that supports these reasons. The Messengers of Allah ('alaihimus-salām) have informed us of the Unseen matters while the skill of the physicians deals with only the outward symptoms." (7)
Be sure to read this article: "How to gather between the Prophet's negation of contagious diseases and his forbiddance of entering a land which has a contagious disease, and mixing with afflicted people ― Shaikh Ibn Bāz."
A person asked Sa'd bin Abī Waqqās (radiyallāhu 'anhu) about the plague, whereupon Usāmah bin Zayd (radiyallāhu 'anhu) said: "I will inform you about it. The Messenger of Allah (salallāhu 'alaihi wasallam) said: "It is a punishment or afflication which Allah sent to a group of the Children of Israel or to the people who came before you. Therefore, if you hear of it in a land, do not enter it and when it has broken out in your land, do not leave it attempting to run away from it." (8)
Ibn Al-Qayyim (rahimahullāh) stated:
"The prohibition of entering a land which has been afflicted by plague has a number of rulings connected to it:
Firstly: Avoiding the means that lead to harm and to be distant from them.
Secondly: Preservation of well-being (al-'āfiyah) which is the provisions of this life and the next.
Thirdly: So that the people do not inhale the spoiled, corrupted and polluted air and then become afflicted with the sickness.
Fourthly: Avoiding close contact with those afflicted with the plague such that they too are not afflicted with the same sickness (by Allah's permission).
Fifthly: Protecting oneself from falling into belief in evil-omens, superstitions and in the false belief that the disease transmits itself from person to person (which is the assertion of the disbelievers).
[Meaning: that one must guard himself against these two false beliefs: 1. Belief in evil omens and superstitions. 2. The belief of the people of jāhiliyyah (pre-Islamic ignorance) who held that diseases spread by themselves.]
"So in general, the forbiddance of entering a land that is afflicted by the plague is a command for one to beware and to safeguard themselves ―and there is also a prohibition from exposing oneself to the means that may lead to harm.
And the forbiddance of leaving a land that is afflicted by the plague is a command to have reliance (tawakkul) in Allah and to yield and submit (tasleem) to the Decree and Will of Allah. So in the prohibition of entering there is disciplining and teaching―and in the prohibition of leaving, there is yielding and submitting to Allah's Decree (whatever that may be).
Abdullah Ibn 'Abbās (radiyallāhu 'anhumā) said: 'Umar bin Al-Khattāb (radiyallāhu 'anhu) departed for Shām and when he reached Sargh, the commanders of the Muslim army, Abu 'Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrāh (radiyallāhu 'anhu) and his companions met him and told him that an epidemic (wabā) had broken out in Shām. 'Umar (radiyallāhu 'anhu) said, "Call for me the early emigrants (muhājiroon)." So 'Umar consulted with them and informed them that an epidemic had broken out in Sham. They differed in their opinions. Some of them said, "We have come out for a purpose and we do not think that it is proper to give it up," while others said to Umar, "You have along with you others and Companions of Allah's Messenger (salallāhu 'alaihi wasallam) and it is not advisable to take them to this epidemic." 'Umar said, "Leave me now." Then he said, "Call the Ansar for me." I called them and he consulted them and they followed the way of the emigrants and differed as they did. He then said to them, "Leave me now," and added, "Call for me the elders of Quraish who emigrated in the year of the Conquest of Makkah." I called them and they gave a unanimous opinion saying, "We advise that you should return with the people and do not take them to the epidemic."
So, 'Umar (radiyallāhu 'anhu) made an announcement, "I will ride back to Madinah in the morning, so you should do the same."
Abu 'Ubaidah bin Al-Jarrāh (radiyallāhu 'anhu) said, "Are you fleeing from what Allah had decreed?" 'Umar said, "Would that someone else had said such a thing, O Abu 'Ubaidah! Yes, we are running from what Allah had decreed to what Allah has decreed. Don't you see that if you had camels that went down a valley having two places to graze, one green and the other dry, you would graze them on the green side according to Allah's decree? And if you went to the other side, you would graze them on the dry one also by Allah's decree?" (i.e. both are by Allah's decree)
Then 'Abdur-Rahmān bin 'Awf (radiyallāhu 'anhu), who had been absent because of some of his needs, came and said, "I have some knowledge about this. I have heard Allah's Messenger (salallāhu 'alaihi wasallam) saying, 'If you hear about it (an outbreak of plague) in a land, do not go to it. But if the plague breaks out in the land where you are staying, do not flee away from it.'" 'Umar thanked Allah and returned to Madinah. (9, 10)
Also, read this article: If a person has a contagious disease, what should be done? By Shaikh Ibn Bāz
And all praise is due to Allah, Lord of all creation.
See Sharh Saheeh Muslim of an-Nawawi 14/204, 'Umdatul-Qāri 21/256, Al-Muntaqā 7/198, Fathul-Bāri 10/180.
Musnad Imām Ahmad 6/145, Al-Haythami stated in his Majma' az-Zawā'id, 2/315, that the narrators in the chain of Ahmad are all reliable, so the narration is authentic.
Al-Bukhāri, Al-Fath 10/180, and Muslim 3/1522, narrated by Anas bin Mālik.
Al-Bukhāri, Al-Fath 6/513, narrated by Usāmah bin Zayd.
Ahmad 4/395, Al-Hākim 1/50, narrated by Abu Moosā al-Ash'ari, authenticated by Al-Hākim and Adh-Dhahabi agreed.
Ahmad 5/240, and cited by Al-Haythami in Majma' Az-Zawā'id 2/311, ascribing it to Ahmad stating that the chain of narration is connected and all the narrators of Ahmad are reliable.
See Zād Al-Ma'ād 4/38.
Muslim, no. 2218.
Reported by Al-Bukhāri, no. 5729.
See Zād Al-Ma'ād 4/44-45, slightly abridged.
entering a land of plague
waba
"The Day Allah Will Carry The Heavens On One Finger, And The Earths On One Finger": A Refutation Of The Ash'aree Creed
14th November 2014 Comments Off on "The Day Allah Will Carry The Heavens On One Finger, And The Earths On One Finger": A Refutation Of The Ash'aree Creed
What is Hajj? An introduction, some rules and virtues (Islam 2.7)
Does Vomiting break the Fast? (Ramadān)
A Tremendous Admonition from Mu'ādh Ibn Jabal: His Amazing Life: The Status of Knowledge and its Fruits (eBook)
31st January 2020 1
An-Nawawī and Al-Albānī: on seeking forgiveness for the deceased non-Muslims
8th June 2016 0
Ahmad an-Najmee's Kitaab at-Tawheed Chapter 3: Fear of Falling into Shirk
21st December 2013 Comments Off on Ahmad an-Najmee's Kitaab at-Tawheed Chapter 3: Fear of Falling into Shirk
Kitāb at-Tawhīd: An amazing authorship and journey into the history of Saudi Arabia and Muhammad Ibn Abdul-Wahhāb: Part 1
The Life of this World and the Hereafter (1.4 Islam)
The Amazing Reward of Giving Sadaqah and Being Charitable: A Noble Trait of the Prophet
1st September 2015 2
"Opposing the Sunnah, the Evil of Innovations and Abandoning the Truth after Knowing it" from "Fadlul-Islām" of Al-Imām Muhammad bin Abdul-Wahhāb―notes from Imām Ibn Bāz
8th July 2020 0
Why do these militant Khawārij look upon the rest of humankind and see them as worthless scum who can be killed without regard?
Disrespecting The Qur'aan By Placing It Under A Chair May Lead A Person To Kufr. By Allaamah Ahmad an-Najmee
7th August 2014 Comments Off on Disrespecting The Qur'aan By Placing It Under A Chair May Lead A Person To Kufr. By Allaamah Ahmad an-Najmee
Respect for the Scholars: Mu'āwiyah stood up and said, "Where are your scholars? Where are your scholars?" Ibn 'Asākir: "The flesh of the scholars is poison.."
3rd October 2017 0
Shaikh Rabee' Al-Madkhali: Ya'qūb b. Shaybah (d. 262H) Was A Great Scholar, Then He Innovated And Fell
4th December 2013 Comments Off on Shaikh Rabee' Al-Madkhali: Ya'qūb b. Shaybah (d. 262H) Was A Great Scholar, Then He Innovated And Fell
The Corrupt Principles and Innovations of Abu Usamah Khalifah Ath-Thahabi (Al-Jarh wat-Ta'deel) Part 1
27th November 2013 Comments Off on The Corrupt Principles and Innovations of Abu Usamah Khalifah Ath-Thahabi (Al-Jarh wat-Ta'deel) Part 1
1996: Ali Tamimi and JIMAS attempts to Hijack the Salafi Da'wah
18th December 2013 Comments Off on 1996: Ali Tamimi and JIMAS attempts to Hijack the Salafi Da'wah
The Prophet's safeguarding the purity of Tawheed and closing every avenue that leads to polytheism: Kitābut-Tawheed, Ch. 22.


Sandra: I understand. But how can the desertification of Uzbekistan be stopped at all as long as drawing water for cotton production isn't restricted by law?
Larisa: See? That's exactly the problem!
Yes we are, thank you very much. This world will be ours next- we are concerned over its misuse.
Ignorance is better than false knowledge. A group of people who care passionately about something but lack the critical faculties to accurately assess a need and achieve a practical solution is far more dangerous than a group of indifferent, self-absorbed first-worlders. When Donald Trump tells the world that autism is caused by vaccines, for instance, he does far more harm by assigning false causality than he does good by raising autism awareness in that same breath. Sadly, this is the reality of the modern "social justice warrior" archetype — all passion, no science.
I see your point, but staying ignorant and indifferent means that no one will ever be able or willing to act. And being badly informed is or at least should be the first step to being well informed. Especially when speaking out about it brings your lack of knowledge to the attention of others.
The damage only ever is done or at least irrevocable when they insist on their flawed views after being provided with better information. Which happens often enough, I agree. But in many cases people actually revise their opinion after being shown proof. Which they would have never stumbled upon without them starting a discussion.
And that's the point I've been leading towards: Discussions are a good way to teach people. And better they learn this way, being a bit obnoxious until they did, than they be indifferent and ignorant for life.
Naiveity in this variation is still preferable to ignorance. While Sandra and Larissa may not be experts in this field they are still talking about it and that is ultimately what matters. Public awareness is what pushes these experts to focus on a solution and implement it. So yeah, good job girls. You may not have all the answers but if you talk about the issue people will listen and may spread the word.
Apologies if this post has grammar or formatting issues. My fingers are nimble enough for a normal keyboard, but smartphones… Yeah not so much.
The damage only ever is done or at least irrevocable when they insist on their flawed views after being provided with better information. Which happens often enough, I agree. But in many cases people actually revise their opinion after being shown proof.
Hate to disagree, but the whole of human history and even a rudimentary study of psychology would prove you wrong. Illogical as it is, human beings see opposing viewpoints, regardless of evidence, as a challenge of their knowledge, intellect and/or culture and will dig in even more staunchly to support their views than if never chalanged, even if they secretly harbor doubts about their own beliefs. It's just human nature to reject that which would show us to be wrong.


text:
Het leven van de heilige Thaïs van Alexandrië (4e eeuw) vertoont meerdere overeenkomsten met dat van de heilige Pelagia van Antiochië die haar feest op dezelfde dag, 8 oktober, heeft.

Ook Thaïs was van rekkelijke zeden, maar dan meer officieel: ze fungeerde als deftige prostituee aan het hof. Ze bekeerde zich na het horen van een preek van de woestijnvader, de heilige Paphnutius van Heraklea, of volgens anderen de heilige Bessarion of de heilige Serapion. Ze liet zich daarna vrijwillig opsluiten in een kluis om boete te doen voor haar zonden. Na drie jaar vonden zowel een engel als de heilige Antonius de Grote dat het mooi was geweest. Ze verliet haar kluis, getuigde tegen iedereen die haar wilde horen van Gods liefde en overleed veertien dagen later.

Jules Massenet componeerde een opera op haar leven die in 1894 zijn première beleefde. De opera was een bewerking van de roman Thaïs van Anatole France uit 1890.

Heilige in het christendom
Egyptisch heilige of zalige
Alexandrie
Alexandrie
Persoon in de 4e eeuw

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Sant Sebastià de Talarn és una ermita de la vila de Talarn, pertanyent al terme d'aquest nom, del Pallars Jussà. Està situada al nord-oest de la vila i al sud-est de l'Acadèmia General Bàsica de Suboficials, dalt d'un turonet entre la llau dels Sabarissos (est) i la llau de les Maçanes (oest). És una obra inclosa a l'Inventari del Patrimoni Arquitectònic de Catalunya.

Descripció
Ermita, molt modificada, d'una nau de planta rectangular amb laterals adossats i tres portes, una per cada cos a la façana principal a llevant, amb ull de bou i campanar d'una sola obertura. Els murs són de carreus reblats i han estat arrebossats i repintats d'un blanc llampant. La coberta és de teula àrab.

Referències

Esglésies de Talarn
Ermites del Pallars Jussà
Patrimoni monumental de Talarn


text:
Warkworth ist der Name verschiedener Orte:

 Warkworth (Neuseeland), auf der Nordinsel von Neuseeland
 Warkworth (Northumberland), im County Northumberland im Vereinigten Königreich
 Warkworth (Northamptonshire), in der Grafschaft Northamptonshire im Vereinigten Königreich
 Warkworth (New South Wales), in New South Wales, Australien
 Warkworth (Ontario), in der Provinz Ontario, Kanada


I don't know how I feel about this colour. It is one of the four nail polishes from the "Gossip Girl" line. It's a little sheer for my liking, but I think if I use white as a base coat, the colour that you see in the bottle will come out. This is the colour with a clear base. The picture wasn't taken in the bets light or with the best camera – the colour is a sheer baby blue with hexagon and micro glitter. It sort of reminds me of Cinderella's dress.


Stay in your vehicle and wait for the officer to approach you. Exiting your vehicle doesn't make the officer's job easier; it makes it more dangerous. The officer must make sure both of you are out of traffic and safe.
When stopped, have your drivers license, vehicle registration and proof of insurance available for the officer.
Don't argue with the officer on the street. If you disagree with the summons or the officer's demeanor, contact the police chief or appear in court to voice your objections. An attorney is always recommended.


text:
Q: Как перевести JS скрипт в Php скрипт? Всем доброго времени суток такой вопрос: Возможно ли конвертировать JS скрипт  в Php скрипт

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59-2006 - Duty to support patients; recovery; demand; time limitation; voluntary payments; compromise and settlement; bar to future recovery, when; contracts with attorneys or with debt collection agencies for collection services authorized, requirements; "state institution" defined; minor patient support rights assigned to institution.
59-2006b - Basic maximum rate of charge for treatment of patients in certain institutions; computation; publication; judicial notice; "state institution" defined.
59-2006c - Same; appeals to secretary for aging and disability services from decisions compromising or refusing to compromise claim.


Visiting St. Petersburg was the main reason for this entire trip and it didn't disappoint. We had spectacular weather - cool and windy but clear and sunny every day. The Tour Guides kept telling us how lucky we were and we didn't disagree. Because we didn't have Russian Visas, we could only go on organized tours arranged by the cruise ship, but as this was our first visit, we were OK with that. Surprisingly, our visit to the Hermitage Museum, which we visited twice, wasn't the highlight of our visit. Who knew ? There's a lot more to see than just The Hermitage.
Our first trip was to the Peterhof Palace, which is about thirty miles outside the center of the city. Visiting the Palace is really a two part process. First, you tour the incredible interior. Then you walk around the park. For good reason, it's sometimes known as the "Russian Versailles". Sadly, no photographs are allowed inside the palace.
The first view of the entrance to the Peterhof.
Gleaming gold spires and of course, it really is gold - gold leaf.
And yes - we really were there.
The Palace was occupied by the German army during World War II and when they left, they destroyed it.
Restoration started immediately and the place was re-opened in 1947. However, some restoration continues to this day.
Once outside, of course, we could take as many pictures as we liked of the grounds and the many fountains. So we did!
The gold leaf has recently been renovated so it was gleaming in the sunshine.
After about an hour wandering the grounds, we left the Peterhof for our next stop, the Peter and Paul Fortress, in downtown St. Petersburg.
The cathedral is the burial place of all Russian tsars from Peter I to Alexander III, with the exception of Peter II and Ivan VI. The remains of Nicholas II and his family and entourage were re-interred there, in the side St. Catherine's Chapel, on July 17, 1998, the 80th anniversary of their deaths. Toward the end of 2006, the remains of Dowager Empress Maria Feodorovna were brought from Roskilde Cathedral outside Copenhagen and reinterred next to her husband, Alexander III.
We were then taken to see the Church (or Cathedral) of the Saviour on Spilled Blood. The "spilled blood" was that of Emperor Alexander II who was assassinated at this exact spot in 1881. The church was finished in 1907.
When we visited, it was closed for renovation so we only got to see the exterior.
The Church was closed the day we visited so this interior shot is not my photograph.
The final stop of the day was ANOTHER cathedral, St Isaac's Cathedral, the largest Russian Orthodox Cathedral in the city and the fourth largest cathedral in the world. It was big! It was built between 1818 and 1858 and the dome is 333 feet high. During the communist era, it was used as a museum but after the fall of communism, it was restored as a church.
And that was the end of our first day in St. Petersburg.
Catherine's Palace was the summer palace of the Tzars and is about 15 miles south of St Petersburg. It opened in 1756. It was built by Empress Elizabeth, who preceded Catherine. Catherine did not like the architectural style chosen by Elizabeth so she hired a Scottish architect, Charles Cameron who refurbished parts of the palace and added a private wing for Catherine's use.
The palace fell out of use after Catherine's death and was gutted by the Germans when they left after World War II. Parts of the Palace are still unrestored.
The Great Hall of the Palace, where important events such as balls, formal dinners and masquerades would have taken place. It was lit by hundreds of candles (696 in all) placed in front of mirrors (see below).
You would think it would have been a bit smoky, as well as hot.
But gold was the predominant color and of course gold meant "gold". In most cases the shiny stuff was real gold - gold leaf usually.
More than 100 kg of gold, worth $3,500.000 at 2015 prices was used in the decoration of the palace.
Here you can see a whole series of doorways leading into the distance - each one a different room with a different purpose. One of those rooms is the "Amber Room" which was stolen by the Nazis during WWII and is still missing. It was reconstructed over 25 years and was completed in 2003. Photography is not allowed in the The Amber Room, so this is not my photograph.
The (reconstructed) Amber Room. It didn't look this large in reality.
Of course, outside the building is equally impressive, with a beautiful garden and the Hermitage Pavilion .
The Hermitage Pavilion. The Pavilion was used for more intimate dinners, so the dining room was on the first floor and the food was prepared on the ground floor.
The entire dining table was then raised from the ground floor to the first floor using a series of pulleys. This enabled the diners to enjoy their meal without being overheard.
Time for a rest. All this sightseeing takes it out of you!
From Catherine's Palace, we went on to The Hermitage, in central St. Petersburg. We actually visited twice, in the afternoon of the second day and the morning of the third day. We had expected to see different parts of the palace on the two days, but in the end, we saw the "highlights" twice. Given how crowded the place was, this wasn't a bad thing. Both visits are illustrated here.
Waiting for our "early morning sneak peek" into The Hermitage on the second day.
And a Rembrandt : " Return of the Prodigal Son"
Commissioned by Empress Catherine II in the late 1780's the Raphael Loggias are a copy of the Gallery in the Papal Palace in Vatican City.
A highly painted ceiling in one of the galleries.
That was the end of day 2. On day 3, we went back to the Hermitage and did the highlights tour again. Those photos are incorporated above. We finished at the Hermitage around noon and went back to the ship for a relaxing afternoon. The ship was supposed to leave at 4:00pm but high winds made maneuvering difficult so we didn't get away until almost 7:00 pm.


text:
TOP STORIES / Culture
Stasi's pervasive footprint across two Berlins revealed
In the former prison where the East German secret police locked up dissidents, a museum has painstakingly mapped the vast web of locations through which the Stasi carried out social control — and planned coups.
After a day's work in October 1960, Heinz Brandt and a colleague decided to go to a bar in Charlottenburg, a well-to-do district in West Berlin. There Brandt met a young woman, Eva Walter. The encounter was by no means accidental: Both Walter and the colleague were informal collaborators in the Stasi, the East German secret police.
A plan was in motion to capture Brandt, a former employee of the Socialist Unity Party of Germany (SED), and repatriate him to East Berlin, the capital of the GDR. Within 18 months, the Stasi achieved its goal: Brandt was drugged in Walter's apartment and taken to the Hohenschönhausen detention center on the communist side of the city.
Read more: Former inmates recall life in Erich Honecker's GDR prisons
Over half a century later, that same prison, today the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial, is the site of a "Stasi in Berlin: Monitoring and repression in East and West" exhibition, the result of two and a half years of research into over 10,000 pages of official Stasi files.
Revealing stories like Brandt's, the research has also helped to create an unprecedented map of thousands of addresses across Berlin used by the GDR's secret police to monitor and prosecute dissidents. Moreover, it allows visitors to follow the destiny of individuals subject to surveillance measures, kidnappings and arrests on both sides of Berlin.
Berlin's former Stasi slammer
Old building with a dark history
In 1945 the Soviet occupying forces turned the former commercial kitchen compound into an internment camp. The cellar was converted by the prisoners into a remand center. Victims reported that they were tormented by sleep deprivation, beatings, kickings, being forced to stand for hours or subjected to water torture. Food, clothing, and hygiene standards were terrible. Some 1,000 people died.
Prison known as 'U-Boot'
In 1951 the newly-formed East German secret state police, the Stasi, took over the prison. During the 50s most inmates were those opposed to the communist dictatorship, such as reformers and strike leaders involved in the 17 June 1953 uprising. As there was never any daylight in the damp cells, the inmates nick-named the prison 'U-Boot," German for submarine.
At the end of the 50s a new building with more than 200 cells and interrogation rooms replaced the old cellar jail. Physical violence was replaced by psychological torture. After the Berlin Wall was built in 1961 most inmates were those who had attempted to escape or leave East Germany, but also writers and civil rights activists.
Disguised prisoner transports
In the 70s most prisoners were brought through the city to the jail in Hohenschönhausen in these Barkas B 1000 vehicles. Made to appear outwardly as fish or vegetable delivery vans, these vehicles had five tiny windowless cells, which meant inmates had no idea where they had been taken. The Stasi succeeded in pressuring 90 percent of inmates to make damning statements in their first interrogation.
Loneliness of a cell block
In prison every inmate was addressed not by name but by their cell number. To socially ostracize them they were often put into isolation cells for months, where even talking to the guards was forbidden. The only human contact was therefore with the interrogator - an insidious way to make inmates talk.
Up to three inmates were housed in the different sized cells. They were unable to see anything through the cell windows, which were made of glass blocks. A mirror and hot water was only made available as of 1983. During the day inmates were not allowed to lie on their cots, at night they had to assume the same position: lying on their backs, facing the door with their hands on top of the blanket.
Spy in the door
Inmates found being permanently watched in their cells through the spy hole in the door very stressful. Guards would keep a check on the prisoners even when they were washing or using the toilet. At night the lights would be switched on every ten to twelve minutes. Heating and light could only be controlled from outside the cells. This all served to make the inmates feel utterly powerless.
A wire was mounted along the walls of the cell block corridor. When a prisoner was taken from his cell to be interrogated, the guards pulled the wire, which made red warning lights light up. Any inmate in the corridor would then have to face the wall immediately. This was intended to prevent prisoners encountering one another.
Interrogation block
The cell block and the interrogation rooms where separated by barred doors. To this day the linoleum floor still smells of the disinfectant used in East Germany. All 120 interrogation rooms were equipped with double padded doors, behind which inmates where subjected to hours of questioning over several months. Prisoners were expected to incriminate themselves so that they could be sentenced.
Stasi police used elaborate psychological interrogation methods. Initially they would threaten the inmate with long prison terms or the arrest of their family members. Panic and uncertainty were intended to wear them down. Those who cooperated were promised an easing of detention conditions: medical attention, a book, or half an hour of yard exercise.
Prison yard
In these cell-like compounds inmates could see the sky and breathe some fresh air. They themselves called the yards "tiger cages." It was forbidden to talk, sing, stop, or to go anywhere near the four-meter (4.1-yard) prison wall. An armed guard was always on patrol above the wire mesh.
Memorial site
The fall of the Berlin Wall put an end to the Stasi remand center. But only few interrogators were ever made accountable for what had happened behind these walls, and none were sent to jail. As the prison buildings and the interior survived unharmed, today's memorial site of Hohenschönhausen gives an authentic insight into the former East German justice system.
Author: Elisabeth Jahn
"We were the first to make this map; not even the official apartments had been mapped," Jochen Krüger, one of the three researchers involved in the project, told DW. He added that every address in West Berlin that formed part of a vast surveillance network had to be rediscovered since the Stasi destroyed the relevant files.
The Ministry for State Security, or Stasi, was set up by the SED in 1950 under the direct guidance of the Soviet Union's secret police, and was charged with suppressing any "subversive" behavior. It maintained so-called local offices in major companies and universities, and carried out arbitrary arrests and mass blackmails while destroying reputations. When it was dissolved in January 1990, the Stasi had 91,000 official employees — about 40,000 in Berlin alone.
Read more: East German civil rights activists praised in Bundestag 30 years on
But few have known the details of the Stasi's specific "social control" apparatus in Berlin that utilized at least 4,200 locations, including 3,459 residences and so-called "conspiratorial apartments" where collaborators met with agents. Oderberger Strasse in Prenzlauer Berg alone hosted 11 such apartments.
The immersive display allows visitors to cross the Stasi map of Berlin by foot
Krüger explains that a lack of records, and the fact that addresses changed frequently, makes this labyrinthine Stasi network difficult to track. "There was a list of conspiratorial apartments, but we did not know exactly when they were used," he said. The research team therefore decided to only analyze sites used between 1988 and 1989.
The subsequent unearthing of documents, photos, videos, and audio has allowed the Berlin-Hohenschönhausen Memorial to create an interactive, multimedia exhibit in which visitors walk on a map of Berlin and explore, with the help of a tablet, the locations used by the Stasi in its operations.
Read more: 'Balloon' depicts miraculous escape from the GDR
Wiretapping and technology theft
The Memorial research highlights the Stasi's omnipresence on both sides of the Berlin Wall. Before the construction of the Berlin Wall in 1961, abductions of dissidents such as Brandt in the western part of the city were commonplace, with around 400 such cases recorded.
"Softer" strategies were later adopted, including espionage and the recruitment of informants in West Berlin's political and administrative spheres.
"The Stasi was quite familiar with West Berlin, but its activities considered the strong presence of Western counter-espionage and police," Jens Gieseke, a Stasi expert at the Center for Contemporary History in Potsdam, told DW. "Thus, it behaved with extreme caution."
The former Stasi prison in Berlin's Lichtenberg district, with its watchtower still intact, now serves as a memorial site
But dissidents in West Berlin were not beyond the Stasi's reach. "The Stasi wanted to prevent any kind of opposition. It went after dissidents even on the other side of the wall," explained Jochen Staadt, a Stasi specialist at the Freie University of Berlin. "It had people around them and infiltrated in their groups. It blackmailed and disturbed dissidents in any way possible."
The Stasi listened to telephone conversations in the West and even recorded calls between the local police and West German authorities, Staadt notes. "The Stasi in Berlin" exhibition shows how, even by the late 1980s, there were 25 monitoring stations in Berlin to record telephone calls. Between 400 and 600 of those calls were captured daily.
One of the several objectives of the Stasi's operations in West Berlin — and in West Germany as a whole — was to obtain information on politicians, parties and government officials dealing with East German affairs.
Read more: Study confirms that Stasi infiltrated Greens
"They [Stasi agents] wanted to know in advance what West Germany was planning and doing, especially for negotiations between the two countries," said Staadt.
Moreover, the East German authorities had economic motivations, using spies to gain access to industrial research institutions. "They gathered information and used it in East Germany's industries without permission," Staadt said. "They saved a lot of money by stealing technology."
Watch video 03:18
East German trauma lives on
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Wrongful imprisonment haunts Stasi victim decades later
Prelude to a coup
The GDR secret police infiltrated every aspect of citizens' lives in East Berlin, but few in West Berlin imagined they were undergoing similar surveillance.
With an East German company operating the busy Zoologischer Garten station in West Berlin during the divided years, the Stasi took advantage by having its agents running the ticket counters and booking offices. Furthermore, hundreds of secret agents took up prominent positions in bureaucracies in West Germany — and beyond.
Rainer Rupp was one powerful spy who worked at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquartered in Brussels. "From [there] he sent hundreds of secret documents to the East," noted Gieseke.
The Stasi's strong presence in West Berlin was also related to plans to militarily invade this last remnant of free market democracy in the East, including attacks on bridges, train stations and airports. "The last plan we found was from 1987," Staadt said.
He added the Stasi also kept an up-to-date list of political leaders, police officers, journalists and civil servants who would be detained after the invasion. But on the 30 year anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, one is reminded how such plans spectacularly backfired.
10 highlights of the Berlin Wall Trail
The Berlin Wall Trail
The Berlin Wall divided West and East Berlin for 28 years. Just as many years have gone by since reunification in 1990, progressively erasing the differences between both former cities. Still, one of the best ways to explore the remaining traces of the Cold War is the Berlin Wall Trail. This round tour covers some 160 kilometers, identified with the sign "Berliner Mauerweg."
The Berlin Wall Memorial
The tour can easily be started anywhere you want, as bikes can be brought on Berlin's public transport network. An interesting place to begin is the Berlin Wall Memorial. Following the Wall's former location on Bernauer Strasse along 1.4 kilometers, it shows how the border fortifications were set up and pays tribute to the people who fled East Berlin as well as to the victims of the death strip.
Cobblestone markings
These lines of cobblestones will help you recognize the exact former location of the Wall in the center of the city. However, it is not continuously documented this way throughout the urban part of the border, which covered some 40 kilometers. When the Wall came down on November 9, 1989, East and West Germans were eager to get rid of all traces of it.
The Brandenburg Gate
Following the bike path down towards Mitte, you will reach the government district by the Spree River and the Brandenburg Gate. This famous Berlin landmark landed in a no-man's land after the Wall was built. Although the Wall officially blocked it from West Berlin, a smaller wall also restricted access to the monument for East Germans as well.
Checkpoint Charlie remains the most famous former crossing point between East and West Berlin. Tourists now stop there to get their picture taken with actors dressed as military policemen and of a replica of the famous sign: "You are leaving the American sector." If ever you're tempted by a Red Army hat or a gas mask sold there, be aware that many rather see this spot as a Cold War Disneyland.
Watchtower near Potsdamer Platz
More than 300 watchtowers used to overlook the Berlin Wall, allowing border guards to catch people trying to flee East Berlin. Only a few were left standing, such as this mushroom-shaped surveillance platform near Potsdamer Platz, now listed as an historical monument. Larger, square towers later replaced this model from 1966. An example of this type of tower can be found near Treptower Park.
East Side Gallery
Another classic attraction that can't be missed on the Berlin Wall bike path is the East Side Gallery. International artists painted this 1.3-kilometer-long remaining stretch of the Wall in 1990, making it one of the longest open-air galleries in the world. This depiction of Leonid Brezhnev and Erich Honecker kissing is one of the most iconic paintings of the gallery.
The Glienicke Bridge
Beyond the urban section of the bike path, the route continues through the suburbs of Berlin. Just before reaching Potsdam is the Glienicke Bridge, where spies used to be exchanged during the Cold War. A 1962 trade of a KGB agent for an American pilot that took place here is featured in Stephen Spielberg's recent film, "Bridge of Spies." Many villas can be spotted in that area too.
Watchtower Museum in Hennigsdorf
Large parts of the bike route are in the middle of the forest, allowing you to realize how green Berlin and its surroundings still are. Right on the bank of the Havel River, this watchtower in Hennigsdorf, about 20 kilometers northwest of Berlin, houses a small museum on the history of the Wall and how it affected that town. It is free to visit.
Cherry tree avenue in Pankow
Returning to the city, you'll be greeted by a cherry tree avenue in Pankow, which is most spectacular towards the end of April, when the trees are in full bloom. The Japanese donated some 10,000 trees "to bring peace in the hearts of the people." They were planted in different sections of the former Wall. This avenue is right by Bösebrücke, the first crossing to open on the day the Wall came down.
Author: Elizabeth Grenier
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Nafplio. View from Palamidi Castle.
Nafplio. The old part of the city.
Ancient Theatre of the Asklepieion at Epidavros.
The Museum of Epidavros.
The Lion gate in Mycenae.
Olive grove in Greece
Monemvasia town and the Mediaval Castle rock.
View from medieval town of Monemvasia
The Town Hall of Sparta
Nafplio | Monemvasia | Sparta
Mythical East Peloponnese
World-famous archeological sites like Epidavros and Mycenae, amazing places like Monemvasia and Nafplio. A trip that creates unforgettable memories!
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City of Nafplio
Argolida. Nafplio.
Nafplio. Bourtzi Castle.
Nafplio. Palamidi Castle.
Argolida. Acronafplia.
Nafplio. View of the old part of the city.
Nafplio is a seaport town in the Peloponnese in the regional unit of Argolis. The city has expanded up the hillsides near the north end of the Argolic Gulf.
Sparta-The land of Leonidas
The theater of ancient Sparta
Statue of the king of Sparta Leonidas
Sparta. Site of the Menelaion.
Given its military pre-eminence, Sparta was recognized as the leading force of the unified Greek military during the Greco-Persian Wars, in rivalry with the rising naval power of Athens. Sparta was the principal enemy of Athens during the Peloponnesian War (between 431 and 404 BC), from which it emerged victorious.
[Worth visiting the most interesting 'Olive Oil Museum' and taste the authentic 'Greek gold', as Sparta area produces one of the finest qualities.]
Fortress of Monemvasia
The Monemvasia rock
The medieval town on Monemvasia rock
In the medieval town of Monemvasia
Joined to the mainland with a narrow strip of land, the small rock island of Monemvasia allows visitors through "moni emvassi", the one and only entrance -from which the town of Monemvassia derived its name.
Archaeological site of Mycenae
Mycenae in antiquity. Representation of 1887.
The Mask of Agamemnon, discovered at Mycenae.
Ancient mycenian plate
The Tomb of Agamemnon in Mycenae.
Mycenae is an archaeological site near Mykines in Argolis, north-eastern Peloponnese, Greece. It is located about 48 kilometers (30 miles) south of Corinth, built upon a hill rising 900 feet (274 meters) above sea level. A famous archaeological find at Mycenae, The Mask of Agamemnon, displayed in the National Archaeological Museum of Athens, has been described by Cathy Gere as the "Mona Lisa of prehistory".
Archaeological site of Epidavros
The town of Old Epidavros
Violinist L. Kavakos at the Theatre of Epidavros
Epidavros. Ancient civilization ruins in the water.
At the Ancient Theatre of Epidavros.
The Stadion in ancient Epidauros.
Ruins of the Roman Public Baths in Epidavros.
The ruins of the Abaton in ancient Epidavros
Epidaurus is the most important ancient place of worship of the god Asclepius. It is located in the area of the current city of Ligourio in the Peloponnese in the region of Argolida, about 30 km from the city of Nafplio, 20 km from Nea Epidavros and about 13 km from Old Epidavros. It has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1988.
Olive mill in Argolida
Olives are rich in antioxidants
Grapes at the stage of olive oil production
Olive mill stones in action
You will enjoy a carefree walk in nature, with a tour of the olive oil production sites. You will taste exquisite delicacies from olives and oil and you will have the opportunity to get the products of your choice, even cosmetics based on organic extra virgin olive oil.
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