Saturday, November 18, 2006

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Lonely Planet - Swiss - Geneve::Berne::Interlaken

Just visit my Yahoo!Photo by clicking the title!

Flew over the lake geneve before touched down. Arrived in Geneve airport at 1530hrs and headed straight to the railway station next to the airport. So convenient to travel. Purchased the 2nd.class ticket which was 49 swiss franc and boarded the train at 1536hrs sharp. Reached exactly 1526hrs at Berne train station and greeted by Pak , the Malaysian ambassador's driver. Met another friend who just arrived from Venice. We, then went straight away to the Malaysian ambasador's residence. Greeted by the ambasador when we arrived at the residence. The weather was nice.

Next whole day, we spent our time walked around Berne City. The World Heritage City declared by UNESCO. Took more than two hours to discover the city. Berne, in Swiss means BEAR. She got the name because of the bears used to roam the place long time ago. So BEAR become the mascot of the city. Went to the Bear Pit, where there were three wild bears being kept and protected by the city. The city is old and wow! beautiful. She is a capital city of Switzerland. Serve as political city to the country. Around two o'clock, i met with This and his friend, Pete, from California. Till, the brother of This could not make it to meet me because he has to organize a concert that night in Zurich. Well, i was delighted to meet This since the last meeting was in 2001 when Till, Eva and This came to Kuala Lumpur. We spent a couple of hours and have coffee at the nice place in Berne. Then, i have to excuse myself to go back to Embassy of Malaysia.

Today, spent half day in Interlaken. Nice view all the way to Interlaken. Interlaken is a place where two lakes meet. Beautiful country side and i can see the snow-covered mountain fro afar. Great view! The lake water so clean and the river too. Blue greenish water flowing down from the mountains.

Well, tomorrow i will fly back to Newcastle. I will discover Geneve city before flying at night. Pheeewwww! What a beautiful experience!

Sunday, November 05, 2006

5th. of November

Guy Fawkes Day
The anniversary of the famous Gunpowder Plot


November 5th marks the anniversary of the Gunpowder Plot, a conspiracy to blow up the English Parliament and King James I in 1605, the day set for the king to open Parliament. The anniversary was named after Guy Fawkes, the most famous of the conspirators.

The unfortunate conspirator Fawkes appears before his intended victim.
Uprising of English Catholics


It was intended to be the beginning of a great uprising of English Catholics, who were distressed by the increased severity of penal laws against the practice of their religion. The conspirators, who began plotting early in 1604, expanded their number to a point where secrecy was impossible.

The group included Robert Catesby, John Wright, and Thomas Winter, the originators, Christopher Wright, Robert Winter, Robert Keyes, Guy Fawkes, a soldier who had been serving in Flanders, Thomas Percy, John Grant, Sir Everard Digby, Francis Tresham, Ambrose Rookwood, and Thomas Bates.

Brought to Light by Anonymous Letter

Percy hired a cellar under the House of Lords, in which 36 barrels of gunpowder, overlaid with iron bars and firewood, were secretly stored. The conspiracy was brought to light through a mysterious letter received by Lord Monteagle, a brother-in-law of Tresham, on October 26, urging him not to attend Parliament on the opening day.

The 1st earl of Salisbury and others, to whom the plot was made known, took steps leading to the discovery of the materials and the arrest of Fawkes as he entered the cellar. Other conspirators, overtaken in flight or seized afterward, were killed outright, imprisoned, or executed.

Fireworks, Bonfires in England

Among those executed was Henry Garnett, the superior of the English Jesuits, who had known of the conspiracy. While the plot was the work of a small number of men, it provoked hostility against all English Catholics and led to an increase in the harshness of laws against them. Guy Fawkes Day, November 5, is still celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires, on which effigies of the conspirator are burned.


The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2005, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.

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