Saturday, September 11, 2010

And Now - The Answers

Well, for those who think that the United States single-handedly won World War II, it might surprise you to know that the Potsdam Conference, held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam from  July 17th to August 2nd 1945 was officially hosted by the Soviet Union. Hence the red star planted in the garden.

To Honor The Host


Now, who was there? Well, Joseph Stalin, the Communist Party General Secretary was there. President Franklin D. Roosevelt, however, had died and it was President Harry S. Truman who represented the United States. And, although Winston Churchill was present, he lost the 1945 general election in the United Kingdom, much to his surprise and disgust. So it was the newly elected Prime Minister Clement Attlee who represented the United Kingdom. Churchill, bitter after his defeat, pretty much refused to participate at all.

See kids, you can tell your parents you read this blog because of its educational value.

Now why, although the Czech Republic is in the European Union, do they still use the Czech Crown as their official currency? In a nutshell, even if you are a member of the European Union you still have to meet certain requirements before you are allowed to shift to the Euro as your official currency. These requirements have to do with your economic stability, primarily your budget deficit. In 2010 the Czech Republic was told they had to cut their budget deficit in half by 2013 if they wanted to adopt the Euro as their official currency.

By the way, does anyone remember when a dollar was worth more than a Euro? Way back from 2000 to 2003 that was the case. At one point a Euro was worth only about 85 cents. Today it is worth about $1.27, still though, down from $1.60 a couple of years ago.

Have to run now, Bloody Marys being served in the lounge,  Just to warm us up for our lunch, complete with wine, and a beer tasting later this afternoon.  Got to love cruising with Viking.  I think the axe throwing and deflowering of maidens is later tonight.

1 comment:

......................................Marty Freeman said...

quit stalin, the euro's won't cash czech's... it's truman!