Volkswagen Kombi

Volkswagen Type 2

The Volkswagen Type 2, known officially (depending on body type) as the Transporter, Kombi or Microbus, or, informally, as the Bus (US) or Camper (UK), is a panel van introduced in 1950 by the German automaker Volkswagen as its second car model. Following - and initially deriving from Volkswagen's first model, the Type 1 (Beetle) - it was given the factory designation Type 2.

As one of the forerunners of the modern cargo and passenger vans, the Type 2 gave rise to forward control competitors in the United States in the 1960s, including the Ford Econoline, the Dodge A100, and the Chevrolet Corvair 95 Corvan, the latter adopting the Type 2's rear-engine configuration. European competition included the 1960s FF layout Renault Estafette and the FR layout Ford Transit.

Like the Beetle, the van has received numerous nicknames worldwide, including the "microbus", "minibus", and, because of its popularity during the counterculture movement of the 1960s, "Hippie van".

Brazil contained the last factory in the world that produced the T2. Production in Brazil ceased on December 31, 2013, due to the introduction of more stringent safety regulations in the country. This marks the end of an era with the rear-engine Volkswagens manufactured (after the 2002 termination of its T3 successor in South Africa), which first originated in 1935 with their Type 1 prototypes.

See: wikipedia

Sint-Janskerk

Sint-Janskerk

The St. John's Church is a Gothic church in the historic center of Maastricht. The Protestant St. John is next to the Roman Catholic Saint Servatius at the Vrijthof.

History

The St. John's Church was in the Middle Ages one of the four parish churches of Maastricht. The church takes its name from John the Baptist and was ± 1200 founded by the chapter of Saint Servatius to be the parish church of Saint Servatius parish, making the St. Servatius solely as a collegiate church and pilgrimage church. The St. John's Church was first mentioned in 1218. The present church dates from the 14th and early 15th century. In 1414 the Gothic baptistery was added. The original tower collapsed on June 8, 1366 after a violent storm. The current tower was completed after a long recovery in the second half of the fifteenth century.

In 1632, after the conquest of Maastricht by Frederik Hendrik, the church finally passed into Protestant hands, after having briefly been claimed by the Protestants earlier. From 1633 the church belonged to the Dutch Reformed Church. The former sacristy and served as a vestry. The wall paintings in Catholic representations disappeared under a layer of white lime and only emerged in the early 20th century after a restoration.

The tower has not always had the striking red color, in writings mention is made of the colors yellow (early 18th century) and white (early 19th century). The church has been restored several times, in the years 1713 (by city architect Gilles Doyen), 1774, 1822, 1844, 1877 to 1885 (led by Pierre Cuypers) 1909-1912 (led by Willem Sprenger) and the period 1981-1985 (led by W. Dingemans) . During this last restoration (1984), the tower was painted red again.

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Museum Coluna Prestes, designed by Oscar Niemeyer

Coluna Prestes

The Coluna Prestes (or Coluna Miguel Costa-Prestes) was a social rebel movement between 1925 and 1927 in Brazil, with links to Tenente revolts. The ideology of the movement was diffuse, but the principal issues were dissatisfaction with the República Velha, the institution of the secret ballot, and the defense of public education.

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Oscar Niemeyer

Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (December 15, 1907 – December 5, 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer, was a Brazilian architect who is considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was best known for his design of civic buildings for Brasília, a planned city which became Brazil's capital in 1960, as well as his collaboration with other architects on the United Nations Headquarters in New York City. His exploration of the aesthetic possibilities of reinforced concrete was highly influential on the architecture of the late 20th and early 21st centuries.

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Palmas, Tocantins

Palmas (Palm trees) is the capital and largest city in the state of Tocantins, Brazil. According to IBGE estimates from 2011, the city had 235,315 inhabitants.

Palmas is located at the state geographic centre, at an average altitude is 230 m. The city is located between these hills and the Tocantins River. In the east Palmas is bordered by the Serra do Lajeado.

Palmas was founded in 1990, with the purpose of being the capital of the newest Brazilian state Tocantins, which was established after the promulgation of the new 1988 Brazilian Constitution. The city has a well-designed road system, and its urban zoning is modelled on that of Brasília. It has a symmetrical park in the city centre. In 2002, the Lajeado Hydroelectric Power Plant reservoir was completed, at which point the city gained many river beaches, and also the huge Ponte da Amizade Presidente Fernando Henrique Cardoso, which crosses over 8 kilometers over the reservoir, connecting Palmas with the major highway BR-153.

The Palmas Airport connects Palmas with many Brazilian cities.

The city is also home to the Federal University of Tocantins.

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Letterbox

Zaanse Schans

Zaanse Schans is a neighbourhood of Zaandam, near Zaandijk in the municipality of Zaanstad in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It has a collection of well-preserved historic windmills and houses; the ca. 35 houses from all over the Zaanstreek were moved to the museum area in the 1970s. The Zaans Museum, established in 1994, is located in the Zaanse Schans.

The Zaanse Schans is one of the popular tourist attractions of the region and an anchor point of ERIH, the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The neighbourhood attracts approximately 900,000 visitors every year.

See: Wikipedia