Time flies even faster

1

No, I don't have a cold. Nor is it that cold in the Netherlands. Nowhere near what it should be. Thank you global warming. However, there are places where the temperatures are a bit lower. And me and my parents visited one such place on Sunday.

2

Now, you may remember the sand sculptures we visited during the summer. Beautiful art made out of sand. This time around it wasn't sand however, it was ice. And as you don't want the ice to melt within two days, you make sure it is cold. Very cold. Freezing in fact. So much so, that it was on occasion hard to take a photo as I could hardly feel my fingers!

3

But I managed. The battery held out as well and the photos were (mostly) recognisable. They will pop up during weeks to come, but I thought I would show you some now. 

4

The show was called Travel through Time, which in Dutch sounds a lot better (Rijs door de tijd) as it is a play on words. Either way however, I think the photos tell the story. 

5

Photo 1 is of one of several dinosaurs, but this one was definitely the cutest of the lot. Photo 2 shows cave art by the first humans. It was one of my favourites. Photo 3 is of Stonehenge. We didn't get it immediately, as your eyes focus mostly on the figures of the human and the two pigs either side. 

6

We were not traveling at a snail's pace in any case, because the next period (photo 4) was of the Egyptians and then the Romans. Although to be honest, I am not quite sure what photo 5 should really be about. It's not a Viking as I first thought, perhaps a Gaul (like Asterix or Obelix)? 

7

On we went and straight into the middle ages. Not sure whether they did serve Jägermeister (photo 6) back then, but you could actually buy a drink! My fingers and toes were frozen enough as they were thank you very much. 

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Someone who wasn't that bothered about cold (ahem) was the lady in photo 7. Witch burning, plague and other nastinesses did not make that an age I would have wanted to live in.

9

Then on it was to the more modern times. Not necessarily better times though, even if Leonardo da Vinci (photo 8), Shakespeare and Rembrandt did their best. A few years on from them and revolutions (photo 9), wars and bloodshed were common place again. 

10

It wasn't only Dutch/European history though. We went across the pond as well: all the way to the Wild West (photo 10). Where there were plenty of hazards like rattle snakes and deserts and Indians. They must have been a hardy bunch.

11

Next period was nearly our own time. Discoveries were made thick and fast, from steam engines to trains to large factories (photo 11) bellowing out thick disgusting smoke and soot. 

12

On we went. And if you thought by now we would have made the place a bit nicer for ourselves: think again. Photo 12 shows you what can so easily happen.

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Photo 13 is of something a bit more upbeat: the breaking down of the (Berlin) Wall. It hasn't solved everything and probably created some new problems, but the power of the people shone through. 

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So, what does the future hold? Will it be aliens (photo 14) and space travel? Or will it just be same old same old? 

Unfortunately none of the sculptures had any maker's names, nor did I see them anywhere. So, my thanks to all those talented artists who worked that snow and ice and made all this beautiful art.