World Cup Statistics

Source: Finanz und Wirtschaft

Roland: I totally love useless statistics, and right now I am really having a lot of fun: the 2014 World Cup in Brazil is a few days old now, but we can already find many entirely fascinating and utterly useless statistics out there in the intersphere. So here is a collection of my favorites!

1. If you want to win a game you better concede the first goal. At the time of writing this nine games were finished, and five of them were won by the team that went behind 0:1.

2. Within the people of the 32 countries that play the World Cup there are two obvious correlations:
a) the less religious the people are the richer they are!
b) the more beer they drink the more uniformly distributed their income is!
Undeniable proof can be found here (sorry it's in German).

3. Brazil is the country where the most butt lifting jobs are executed, while in no other country more people are killed by their lawnmowers than in the United States (proof here: sorry, German again).

4. Brazil will win the World Cup: using a complex statistical forecasting method the website FiveThirtyEight predicts that Brazil will win the World Cup with a probability of 43% (followed by Argentina 13%, Germany 11%, Netherlands 7%). At the moment of writing this Holland already beat Spain 5:1, and now Spain's chance of winning the Cup is at 0%. I would not bet my fortune on that!

5. Brazil will win the World Cup: YouGov provides an analysis of polls in 19 World Cup countries asking who will win the cup. The result: 16 countries believe in Brazil, the Gauchos believe in Argentina, the Spanish in Spain and the Americans... in the United States! Unfortunately there was no poll done where the most clueless fans can be found...

6. Germany will win the World Cup: The most convincing of all statistics has been developed by a highly regarded scientific company called Electronic Arts. They found an extremely difficult, but unbeatable algorithm under the name of "Fifa World Cup Soccer 2014" that undeniably predicts Germany to win the final against Brazil with 2:1 after conceding the first goal (reference to statistics 1). Miroslav Klose will score the match winner with his 16th WC goal and becomes the player with most scores in the history of World Cup. Now this is proof that cannot be argued with!

A formerly moated Castle and the Dutch Mountains

Sonja: We had spent a long weekend in in the Rhineland, for Roland to visit a concert in Cologne, and for both of us to spend some time with our friends and family.

Not far from were my mom lives lies castle Lüntenbeck. The castle can be dated back to the early 13th century, and is a former residence of the knights of Berg.

In past times the castle had been moated but the area got drained later, and only a small pond behind the building remained. The manor is in private hands today, and has been carefully restored by the owners.

Main building

Parts on the premises are rented out. Naturally the picturesque venue attracts artists and wellness providers. Also, a restaurant can be found in the main building, offering an eclectic choice of (mostly) vegetarian dishes.

Mill

During Christmas time a handcraft Christmas Market is held in the yard. The market is known for its authenticity and atmosphere, especially since the artisans will be traditionally dressed up in costumes from the middle ages.

The temperatures were mild and we saw definite signs of spring.

Saturday we ventured out towards Aachen to visit friends in the area. We were a bit early and decided to take a detour to the city of Vaals in Holland. The Vaalser Mountain (323m or 1,059 ft) belongs to the foothills of the Ardennes, and marks not only the highest (!) point in the Netherlands, but also the border triangle of Germany, Netherlands and Belgium.

We climbed the watch tower to admire the panorama.

A view towards Germany.

 Now overlooking Belgium.

And a panoramic shot of the famous Dutch "mountain range".

So, we have learned today, that the Netherlands are not completely flat.

Sunday noon we left after a brunch celebration of a family member's birthday and drove 400km south again. It was warm and sunny… and would have been a good day for a ride, too...

72F

A Refuge between Borders

Het Zien is the name of a nature reserve situated at the mouth of Westschelde between Cadzand Bad, Netherlands (right side) and Knokke-Heist, Belgium (on the left).

In past times a tidal channel served as access for Bruges port but over centuries the waterway silted, and it came to a definite end as a shipping route.

The salt marsh area, the dunes and sand plains then became a refuge for birds and salt-loving plant life, and was made a natural reserve in order to protect wildlife.

The flow of the low tide water left ephemeral ripples in the sand. 

Again we were blessed with mild temperatures and a blasting blue sky. What a beautiful winter day! One could walk for hours if it weren't for the fresh gale which was tiring us out after a while.

The poles serve as cutwater and protect the shore. We guessed that those might be buried three meters (10 feet) deep in the sand to be able to endure the tidal waves.

Aside from the practicality the barriers also make for a picturesque scenery.

Roland and mom goofing around.

It was early afternoon but we were already casting long shadows, and after a couple of hours walk in the sand we were ready again for a warming cup of tea.

Windmills and Lighthouses

Besides wooden shoes and cheese, what would the Netherlands be without its signature windmills (the old fashioned ones that is). There must have been ten thousands in the past centuries, and about one thousand of those are still around, some of them restored and used as a museum, and some even functional. There is no avoiding of those and they always come along pretty and photogenic. We stopped many times but those are the typical three construction variations used in the area.

Above: 19th century Smock Mill in Cadzand

Left: 19th century Tower Mill 'De Witte Juffer' with gallery in IJzendijke
Right: 17th century Post Mill in Retranchement.
Those windmills were likely used to mill grain.

As a country hugged by the North Sea the Netherlands also offers an abundance of light houses. They also come in all shapes and forms. Here is one captured in Breskens, while the other picture had been taken in Westkapelle.

There are also some other architectural gems we came across on our sojourn in Zeeland, such as this lovely beach hotel in Domburg. very likely outside our budget but sitting on the dunes overlooking the ocean it might well be a bit pricey.

We also visited Middelburg, in the Middle Ages a significant trading center, and today the capital of the province Zeeland.

The late gothic style former city hall was founded in the 15th century, and although looking pristine from the outside, the interior had been destroyed beyond restoration in the 1940 fire.

The town was very little decorated with Christmas ornaments and lights (until we discovered this Ape with a wreath on his roof). And it wasn't crowded either. Although Dutch celebrate Christmas, their gift giving traditionally happens on the eve of 5th of December. The actual holidays itself rather represent family time. Sinterklaas rings a bell? That would be Santa Claus for the English speaking part of the world.

A typical Dutch scenery, bicycles are everywhere.

The weather was a mixed bag of rain, wind and more rain but we weren't bothered. It was just nice to be able to wander around with no plans, without the hectic of gift shopping, just enjoying the day...

Extreme Beachcombing on Christmas Day

When a Dutch explorer by the name of Abel Tasman sighted a landmass in the southwestern Pacific back in the 17th century and called it Nieuw-Zeeland, it was actually named after the Dutch province of Zeeland. The name, although anglicized by James Cook stuck and became New Zealand.

Anyway, in our quest for a location involving beach and ocean we decided on a trip to 'Old Zealand', as New Zealand was just a tad bit too far away. Given the balmy temperatures of 11C (52F) we would probably be able to go swimming in the North Sea as well.

Zeeland is actually the westernmost province of the Netherlands bordering Belgium, a large river delta consisting of several islands and marshland turned into habitable land over centuries. Hence the name: Zeeland means 'sea land'.

We 'kidnapped' Sonja's mom for the holidays. And both being from northern Germany, like mother, like daughter, she loves the ocean as much as Sonja does.

Easy entertainment, Roland thought, while the ladies would comb the beach he could sit back comfortably in the cosy rental apartment, and watch telly. (As if said ladies would let him…)

The weather was a bit crazy. It was way too warm given that winter had just begun, and we felt overdressed for the occasion. The wind however was nasty, and the gales blew with 70 to 80 km/h.

As a matter of fact walking on the beach in the soft sand and leaning into the wind became quite the exercise. But that's exactly was what we wanted to clear the head and to get rid of some extra pounds we would certainly regain during the holiday feast.

With spending time outside walking against the storm there came the need for food and the warmth of a dry place.

Sonja's mom spotted a sign that looked promising, and so we found this lovely cafe pavillion in Domburg, overlooking the ocean.

It was just the perfect spot to enjoy a surprisingly good and creative lunch and spend the afternoon with a good cuppa while watching the waves pounding the beach.

 Live is good!