10 de Maio de 2019.
Carnival donuts, “Osterbock” and Christmas cookies In Austria, we have lots of traditions throughout the year and for every festivity, there’s a special kind of food. We love to get together and have delicious meals. From the first day of carnival (the 11th of November) onwards, you can buy our delicious carnival donuts called “Faschingskrapfen” at the bakeries and in supermarkets. Round pieces of dough, pretty similar to donuts without a hole, that are fried in oil, filled with apricot jam and covered with powdered sugar. We serve them at the carnival parties or parades, where they give them out to the best costumes. The next big traditional festival we have is Easter. It’s especially the week before Easter Sunday […]
8 de Maio de 2019.
Geólogos ainda procuram na costa portuguesa a origem do sismo de 1755. A procura pela resolução do enigma da fonte do terramoto de 1755 levou um investigador português a confirmar uma anomalia na crosta terrestre ao largo da costa portuguesa que pode explicar por que ocorrem sismos violentos numa zona aparentemente calma. João Duarte, da Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, disse à agência Lusa que, a confirmar-se, a descoberta muda a percepção sobre o risco sísmico ao largo da costa portuguesa, que vem de uma zona chamada “planície abissal da Ferradura”, situada a 250 quilómetros a sudoeste do cabo de São Vicente. “É o local de início de um processo de subducção, em que uma placa cai por […]
8 de Maio de 2019.
Dutch people do not celebrate Christmas as much as their neighbors Many holidays are celebrated worldwide and while the holidays might be international, every country has its own traditions. In the Netherlands, Easter is usually only celebrated by children who excitedly explore their gardens in the hope of finding sweets and chocolates and getting a glimpse of the Easter bunny. While Christmas is a holiday that is very popular in many western countries, Dutch people do not celebrate it as much as their neighboring countries. The streets are decorated with many lights, Christmas trees are sold and many gifts are bought. But most of these gifts are unwrapped on the 5th of December instead of the 25th. In the Netherlands […]
7 de Maio de 2019.
Relatório divulgado esta segunda-feira mostra um impacto das alterações climáticas sem precedentes. Será o mais triste marco na miserável história dos danos causados pela civilização moderna no mundo natural Não há boas notícias no relatório apresentado esta segunda-feira por 145 cientistas de 50 países e que foi aprovado por 130 países. As actividades humanas e, consequentemente, as alterações climáticas, estão a ter um impacto brutal e sem precedentes no meio natural. Nunca a destruição foi tanta e tão rápida. O relatório divulgado pela Plataforma Intergovernamental de Política de Ciência sobre Biodiversidade e Serviços do Ecossistema (IPBES, na sigla em inglês) refere que há hoje um milhão de espécies em risco de extinção. E, avisam os cientistas, só uma rápida e […]
6 de Maio de 2019.
Fake Christmas trees and a lack of snow. Christmas 2018 will always be a curious memory for me. Since Christmas is always associated with snow and beautifully decorated Christmas trees, this year Christmas on Madeira was quite different from what I’m used to. In Austria, the main celebration of Christmas takes place at the 24th, whereas here the people care more about the 25th. Usually, we buy a Christmas tree around the 22nd and decorate it on the 24th. Afterward, we go to church, eat some Fondue and receive presents. To be honest, nothing too special. My favorite Christmas habit is called “Christbaum loben” it if a funny thing to do and works as follows. After you served your time […]
4 de Maio de 2019.
Dados da Direcção-Geral de Estatísticas da Educação indicam que há menos cinco mil alunos nas escolas públicas do continente. Queda na natalidade e subida da emigração justificam diminuição neste ano lectivo. É a maior quebra dos últimos três anos no número de inscritos do 1.º ciclo de escolaridade (crianças entre os seis e nove anos) e basta fazer contas para se constatar que este é mais um dos efeitos dos anos da troika. Os dados agora divulgados pela Direcção-Geral de Estatísticas da Educação e Ciência ainda são provisórios, mas no essencial pouco mudarão. E o que eles dão a ver é que por comparação a 2017/2018 houve uma diminuição de cerca de cinco mil alunos nas escolas públicas do 1.º ciclo do continente. O total de inscritos neste […]
3 de Maio de 2019.
Finnish traditions are very different from many other countries! Christmas traditions in Finland Finland is the home of Santa Claus and Christmas Land. That is one reason why Christmas in Finland can be truly memorable especially for visitors. Finnish traditions are also very different from many other countries and regions in the world. They have some similarities with neighboring Scandinavian countries and some traditions are shared among other Christian households around the world. The first Sunday in December is called the First Advent and it is the start for the Finnish Christmas season. Many children – and why not adults also – use advent calendars for counting down the days until Christmas Eve. Those calendars come in many forms from […]
2 de Maio de 2019.
Análise a uma mandíbula com 160 mil anos sugere que os denisovanos (espécie humana extinta) foram os primeiros humanos a viver no tecto do mundo, como é conhecido o planalto do Tibete. É a primeira vez que se descobre o fóssil de um denisovano fora da Sibéria. Uma mandíbula com 160 mil anos encontrada numa gruta no planalto do Tibete pertencia a um denisovano, uma espécie humana já extinta. É a principal conclusão de um estudo publicado esta quinta-feira na revista científica Nature. Como é o fóssil mais antigo de um humano descoberto nesta região, isto significa que os primeiros humanos a viver no tecto do mundo foram os denisovanos. Sugere-se ainda que esta espécie humana se adaptou a grandes […]
1 de Maio de 2019.
Church services start at around six in the morning. Christmas and Advent is a very special and important time at my home. Winter is coming, the skiing season starts and it might snow a little. On the first of December, the Advent starts and every child is allowed to open the first door of their Advent calendar. Another tradition is the Advent wreath, it is a circle made of fir branches and with four candles on top. The last four Sundays before Christmas one candle is lit, and so on until Christmas day, when finally all four candles burn. Another typical thing is Rorate. These are church services which start at around six in the morning and end with breakfast […]
30 de Abril de 2019.
Para celebrar o 500.º aniversário da morte de Leonardo da Vinci, Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto vai promover uma “exposição única” do desenho “Rapariga lavando os pés a uma criança”, na quinta-feira. Contactado pela agência Lusa, o diretor do Museu da Faculdade de Belas Artes da Universidade do Porto (FBAUP), Luís Pinto Nunes, adiantou que a exposição de um só dia, na quinta-feira no Pavilhão de Exposições da faculdade, vai ser “única”, tendo em conta a “antiguidade” e “características” daquela que é a única obra do mestre italiano em Portugal. “Dentro de toda a obra que integra, este desenho é muito despreocupado dos que tipicamente conhecemos de Leonardo da Vinci porque revela a relação de uma mãe […]
6 de Agosto de 2018.
I need to plan what I will visit again or experience new. My project in Madeira ended after 10 months. I arrived in Madeira in late September with the start of a beautiful autumn. The island presented itself with a lot of sun, long days and a water temperature I found highly surprising for October. But despite all this, it was not as tropical as I expected it to be and although Madeira’s nature is impressive I could not find the jungle I dreamt of. During Christmas and New Year’s Eve, the capital Funchal started to glow, gleam and glint in every street due to its overwhelming decoration which made the darkest day of the year was a very shiny […]
3 de Agosto de 2018.
Something that a lot of people do in the summer in Madeira. The most popular way to travel is to rent a car and split the cost, making it quite cheap transportation. However it can be hard to drive in the mountains, and if you don’t have a great car and a lot of people you can get stuck on a hill. A bus is also an option, somehow they can easily drive on even the smallest and steepest roads, but it can be quite expensive to get a ticket. The last option is to ask for a lift on the road. It is actually pretty safe here so there is no problem with doing that, and it is free. […]
30 de Julho de 2018.
Open your eyes to catch all the beauty of Madeira A French guy in Funchal will give you, this month, some tips to prepare your summer, as you’re coming soon in Madeira Island. Take what you want, but just know that some little mistakes are hidden! To begin, Madeira is a very cold Island, because It’s climate is very fresh. That’s why people always need to have and/or to wear a pullover, some waterproof sneakers, a pair of short trousers, and a waterproof sun hat. However, if you like to go to the beach, you’ll enjoy coming to Madeira, so don’t forget to bring with you your swimsuit and to buy a ticket for Porto Santo, it will worth it! To go […]
27 de Julho de 2018.
The way there doesn’t even seem long because of the nice views. If I would have to describe the perfect summer day in Madeira, it would be something like this. Waking up before the sun is up, taking breakfast with me and going by car to Pico do Areeiro with a group of friends. There we would sit on the second highest point of Madeira and eat breakfast while watching the sunrise. After that, we would drive down the mountain through the beautiful Madeiran forest. Next stop would be Santana. There we would go visit the Madeira theme park. Of course, the park is pretty touristic, but spending a few hours there with friends could be fun. Seeing the typical […]
24 de Julho de 2018.
There you can see huge cliffs reaching out of the sea. This eastern peninsula of the island is from volcanic origins, it consists mostly basalt stone but also limestone sediment formations. Because of the pretty dry climate and the exposure to northern winds, there is low vegetation. It looks very different from the other parts of the island and this is what makes it so special. A nice fact is that the name of the vereda comes from the name of João Gonçalves Zarco’s caravel, São Lourenço. Zarco was one of the three discoverers of Madeira. For me, this walk is definitely one that you NEED to do when you are in Madeira, it’s one of the most beautiful walks […]
21 de Julho de 2018.
Let me give you some non-qualified tips for the months to come. To be honest, I have not been in Madeira during the hottest months of summer. My experience started in September what I would still call summer due to the heat. Madeira is very versatile and full of possible activities. That is the reason why I love this island. People who love the sea have several options to explore the Atlantic Ocean. Snorkeling and scuba diving let you discover the biodiversity of the sea dwellers. But not everyone likes to dive in the dark and deep ocean and some rather stay above the surface of the water, at least with their heads. There are still enough activities, such as […]