Archive for the ‘Culture’ Category

Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands is one of the most popular visitor destinations in Europe, with about five million international visitors every year. The city was once one of the worlds leading trading and financial centres and continues to be an important industrial location. Many of the world’s top companies have their headquarters there.
Tourists to the city come for a variety of reasons. The city has a long and distinguished cultural history and is home to some great museums and art galleries including the Rijksmuseum, the Van Gogh Museum, the Stedelijk Museum,  and the Hermitage Amsterdam.
Amsterdam’s famous canals are another popular attraction.
The city’s Red Light District is not just for sex tourists. Many people visit it just to observe because of its notoriety.
Because of its liberal drug laws and the legal availability of cannabis in the city’s Coffee Shops Amsterdam has become a very attractive destination for young people. Many college students from all over the world go there and stay for a few months often engaging in casual employment to support themselves.
Hotel accommodation or renting apartments can be quite expensive in the city and young people and students often prefer the option of hostels in Amsterdam because they are relatively cheap and of good quality. There are over 50 hostels available with prices as low as €10.00 per night.
Amsterdam has quite a good public transport system which includes trams, buses and metro. The tram is probably the most popular. There are 16 tram lines in the city.
One of the best ways to get around is by cycling. Because The Netherlands is so flat cycling is easy and Amsterdam has lots of cycle lanes and bike racks to accommodate its half a million bicycles.
The city is famous for its night life and has numerous small bars and cafes as well as a wide range of restaurants of diverse ethnic origin. Night clubs, discos and music venues are dotted throughout Amsterdam.

Handel’s Day 13 April 2011 Venue: Temple Bar
A celebration of music and history in 18th century Dublin from 10am until 12 midnight. There will be lots of free activities going on in the Temple Bar Area. Handel’s Messiah was first performed on Fishamble Street in Temple Bar and will be commemorated with an outdoor event Messiah on the Street, as well as a special performance of A Global Hallelujah by three national schools in Dublin.
Featuring children’s vocals, instrumental music and percussion, Handel for Children will be performed by Harold’s Cross National School and Tullamore Classical String School.

International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival 2011 03 May 2011 – 16 May 2011
The International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival celebrates the great contribution of gay people to theatre down through the years.
The Festival was founded in 2004 on the 150th anniversary of the birth of Oscar Wilde and emphasizes new or recent works with a gay theme or relevance. This Festival draws a large attendance from Ireland and all around the world.

Dublin Dance Festival 13 May 2011 -28 May 2011
Dublin Dance Festival is dedicated to presenting contemporary dance from around the world. It offers a diverse programme of performance, films, talks, master classes, workshops and outdoor events at several venues around the city centre.
One of the highlights is the Cloud Gate Dance Theatre of Taiwan’s Songs of the Wanderers, in the Grand Canal Theatre Dublin for one night only on May 26th.
There will be a major focus on Asian choreographers and will also offer the work of many artists from Ireland, Europe and North America.

UEFA Europa League Final 18 May 2011 Venue: Aviva Stadium
Dublin will host its first major European club final on Wednesday 18 May 2011 at the Aviva Stadium. over 50.000 football fans will se two of the top European clubs battle for this coveted trophy.

The Carling Nations Cup 23 May 2011 – 27 May 2011 Venue: Aviva Stadium
The Carling Nations Cup will be the first senior international tournament played in Ireland. There will be six matches between the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.
Monday May 23: Republic of Ireland v Northern Ireland
Tuesday May 24: Wales v Scotland
Thursday May 26: Wales v Northern Ireland
Friday May 27: Republic of Ireland v Scotland

James Joyce Author of Finnegans Wake

A new edition of Finnegans Wake by Dublin author James Joyce has been published. The work which first appeared in 1939 is considered to be Joyce’s most difficult piece and the experimental language is often unintelligible to most people containing numerous classical, literary and historical references.

I have often thought that Finnegans Wake was meant for reading aloud as it is then that the sounds of Dublin come alive and the meanings of individual words become irrelevant as notes do in a musical piece. This is beautifully illustrated in the many fine and often comical readings from Finnegan’s Wake by the Joycean scholar, Senator David Norris.

The new edition contains about 9,000 minor amendments to the original text.

I’d like to get my hands on a copy but at €300 for the standard edition or the special edition for €900, I’ll have to wait a while – unless someone wants to donate a copy!

James Joyce is a favourite author of many and Ulysses is probably his most popular and well-known work.
One of my favourites is his short story “The Dead” from the collection “Dubliners”. This was made into a beautiful film  by John Huston and starred his daughter Angelika and the late Donal McCann. I have watched numerous times and highly recommend it.