London vs. Berlin

By Pia

Although a river flows through both of them, London and Berlin are two cosmopolitan cities with their own characteristics and histories.

When taking a first look at London coming from Germany, there aren’t too many differences to Berlin one is able to realize. People are busily walking around, the traffic is bad, tourists are blocking the footpaths all over the place, and the whole atmosphere is nothing else but hectic. Those are characteristics that London and Berlin share, but when you take a second, closer look  at London, there are more differences than one would have thought in the beginning.

The first rather obvious difference are the buses and taxis. Many tourists get attracted by the look and system of the buses since they are double deckers, but the system is the same in Berlin; so, that doesn’t draw a lot of attention. However, the colour does. London is famous all over the world for its red buses.  In Berlin, the buses are yellow. Also, the look of taxis  differs from the one in Berlin. While in Berlin they are a kind of yellow and don’t need to be a specific type of car, the taxis in London are all black and from the same company.

Another difference are the older buildings. During the war, most of Berlin was destroyed, which caused the population to build new apartments but also buildings for public use. Therefore, Berlin has much newer and higher building than London.

In general, people seem to be more dressed up and wearing business clothes in London while in Berlin, clothing is more casual even in the business district.

Another point which makes the cities differ is that London is known for its great musicals while Berlin isn’t a musical city at all but well known for theatres.

Another characteristic to mention is that Berlin has far more parks and forests within the city and even downtown than London.  London does have its green areas just not as many.

One of the biggest differences between Berlin and London is probably that the United Kingdom still has a monarchy while Germany doesn’t. In London, you see pictures of the Royal Family in almost all the stores while in Berlin, it’s just not part of the society.

All in all, one can say that although both cities are well known in the world, are the capitals of their countries and have citizens who seem to have the same daily life, they still have their own individual characteristics which make them both interesting and important in their own way. 

The River Thames vs. Lake Van

By Alara

Do you know the River Thames and Lake Van? They are located in different countries, and one of them is a river and the other one is a lake. I will give more details about them and compare them to each other. What are we waiting for?  Let’s learn more about them.

Firstly, I am going to start with the River Thames. It is a river that flows through southern London. At 215miles (347km) in length, it is the longest river in England. Its name from Sanskrit means ‘dark’, and the water is often dark and cloudy. Another school of thought is that it is named after the Roman ‘Tiam’ meaning ‘wide’.  The source of the water is the Thames’s Head. There are 50 bridges that cross the Thames, and four of them are very famous. They are:  Tower Bridge, Millennium Bridge, London Bridge and Westminster Bridge. Also, from the sea, it is estimated that the Thames carries over 300,00 tons of sediment each year. More than 100 fish species have been recorded in the Thames over the last 30 years and many of these in the River Thames within London.

Secondly, I am going to give you more information about my country’s longest lake. It is the largest lake in Turkey, and it lies in the far east of the country. It is in the provinces of Van and Bitlis. It is a saline soda lake that receives water from numerous small streams that desend from the surrounding mountains. This lake borders Vann, Tatvan, Ercis and Ahlat. The length of the lake is 11km. Lake ‘Van’ is derived from Chayon, the name of an old capital of the Urartian Kingdom. In the biggest sodium water lake in the world, there are 103 types of phytoplankton.

Lastly, River Thames is bigger than Lake Van, and I will now compare them. My first comparison is the about the difference in their appearance. Lake Van in enclosed by land, and the River Thames is exposed more. The colour is different too. The Thames is brown and looks dirty. Lake Van is not connected to the sea like all lakes, and it is clear. Another difference between Lake Van and the Thames is the movement. River Thames basically runs and flows along, and it often flows in one direction. This is different compared to Lake Van. Lake Van is immobile. It appears that Lake Van flows very slowly, and most of the movements are influenced by the wind.

There is so much to compare when thinking about their history and how they changed the lives of people around them. There is so much more to learn about both of these bodies of water.  This is just a start.