The Thai Garden in The Valley

The south edge of the Emerald Valley also has a Thai Garden. Only 15 minutes by car from Morau, or 40 minutes by minibus by a highway, and then a secondary road from Waldihnok.

The Valley's Japanese Park

Just north of Morau, on the edge of the Emerald Valley there are many theme parks. This is the Akashi Asagao Komyoji Pond in the Japanese Park.

Where highways intertwine

The view from the north, just south of the Waldihnok pass . The natural and agricultureal vegetation of the Emerald Valley is so precious that it is extremely complicated to expand the transportation netwrok in the area. The highways are forced to be constructed high up in the air.

The never ending bloom of the Valley

On of the smaller valleys branching off the Emerald Valley - the same abundance of flowering grasses

The expressways of Miklasgard is a mixture of orange and green pasta

The city uses two types of expressways. They all use US numbering system, where north-south freeways are odd-numbered, and east-west are even. Long distance, major expressways have numbers divisible by 5. Expressway branches going through a city and rejoining the expressway are numbered with a three-digit number, the first digit being even, the last two being the number of the original expressway. Non-loop branches have an odd digit in their three-digit number.

Freeways are numbered on orange shields, are free or have minimal flat-fee tolls, usually for crossing a major bridge, a tunnel or the Mielborg-Yngeborg-Kingstad Royal Territory.

Expressways proper are numbered with green shields, and are always straighter, wider, have more lanes and higher speed limits. Many of these expressways are military, since the military is the original inventor of the concept. Such expressways always have the "YIELD TO MILITARY VEHICLES. STAY IN THE RIGHT LANES" signs posted at every entrance ramp. These expressways are have distance-based toll system. As with all toll systems in Attland, they automatically scan vehicle's license plates.

Some freeeways turn into expressways as 55 outside the city, or when turning into a shortcut or a tunnel, as is the case with 10, 22, 24, 314.

Some of the expressways have freeway branches, as 69's 369, 6's 106 and 306, 51's 151.

Miklasgard's subway system is actually a railroad network

The region's suburban railroad (similar to German S-bahn), intercity railroads, broad gauge (7-foot) the 770 Express network, the dual track, regular subway, the monorail (also similar to a guideway rail), and the suspended monorail system IS the city's rapid transport system which works like a railroad network of a medium-sized European country.

Miklasgard's places of interest also include parks

Miklasgard municipality and the Queen have stipulated any body of water inside the city should have vegetation covering at least 40% of its shore length. This rule, plus the requirement that there must be parks for every 50,000 people, make Miklasgard's urban sprawl very green. Many of museums are also required to have a green zone, as the Green Belt separating Miklasgard City from the city of Karolinga (see the green band in the north).

Monkey (troll) bats and fjords

These paintings capture the true spirit of the North and its environment - the gloomy dusk robbed of sunlight early in the day by high cliffs and giant pillars, and the ubiquitous troll bats.

A forbidding fjord at night

This fjord looks majestic and especially forbidding at dusk. The painting shows how the fjord colors can obscure the old structures and castle-like buildings. When sunlit, the fjord looks like these fjord cities, but more classic, since the buildings are at least 120 years ago.

Wolf Dolgrynd: expelling gang culture is never racist

During a press conference, the Chancellor was asked to explain how his government's move to expel its Hispanic population is not racist.

I definitely saw and heard the Chancellor say that he exercised his authority in affirming his government's decision to expel individuals that are not, and refuse to be residents who are responsible and abiding by its laws. It is never racist to expel individuals that obstruct justice, foster narcotics trade, abuse social support system, and spread culture based on anti-family values.
Any organization or individual who arrogantly ignores these basic morals, and continues to exert this deceitful political pressure, while hiding behind the racism excuse, may find himself in violation of Attland's laws against subversive activities.

Meanwhile, only a handful of Hispanic population remains (2,000-3,000) throughout Attland, all staying in Eldorado, a city that has become a part of the Marlborough megalopolis.

HMS Torbay sinks and embarrasses the pompous Royal Navy.

Another incident leading a cold war -like stance with UK was the mysterious sinking of a British SSN, S-90 HMS Torbay, was most likely caught off guard about 120 miles NNW of Attland. Both countries are keeping mum about the circumstances of the sinking. What is known is that many British sailors were rescued by Attland's Navy, but many were, according to UK government, suspiciously incapacitated, or died soon afterward. The captain's condition worsened to a point where he could not communicate with Red Cross officials. He was returned to the UK by way of Morocco only in 2008, after having been kept, unacknowledged, in a medical facility.

The most serious and heavyweight notice to other navies was issued after this incident, where Attland's temporary rotation chancellor warned that in order to protect the island's coastal security, his Navy was ready to fire first on any military vessel acting in an unfriendly manner.

Obama's administration disappointed, but reassured with a clause from a mysterious treaty

Another interesting tidbit I caught on TV: when the news reported that the US was disappointed that the Chancellor wholly countered Obama's outreach to the Islamic world, the Chancellor's office stated that Attland is abiding by its mysterious agreement with the US. According to the agreement, Attland is assured of no political strings attached to its unlimited preferred trading status.

The treaty also provides for the assurance the USA gets in unconditional and discretionary support from Attland, discussed when needed according to a specific political situation, and agreed by on executive level in both countries. According to the agreement, Attland is also to provide any strategic, tactical and other military assistance which, at least, provide for a backyard defense while the US military is deployed overseas.

The (ghost) fjord that was

This fjord on the southern shore of the western half of the Northern Peninsula defies all scientists. Despite the indications that the world sea levels are rising, this fjord is drying up. Only 80 years ago ships like this were able to reach the end of this albeit shallow fjord, visible int he distance. The fjord's name is Havanna Fjord - the Harbor Fjord. The structure on the left on cliff sides is an ancient castle from the days of the Closed Kingdom (1300-1770). The banks of the fjord used to have fishing settlements. Most of the fjord bottom now is a salt marsh, rarely reachable by the strongest storms. Unlike the fjord cities, or the Three Giants Fjord, this one is a ghost fjord.

The Chancellor responds to Obama with the restatement of February announcement

Chancellor Dolgrynd reacted to Obama's Cairo speech by restating what the Chancellor said in February. I watched a summary of the response on TV and the gist of the Chancellor's message is that the grassroots of Moslem world are based on fanatical, primitive ego principles which instantly bestow disdain on any compromising partner, and exploit any opportunity, including duplicity and deceit, to pursue its goals in gaining new ground in Islam's spiritual, political, and territorial aspirations. Chancellor repeated, without mincing words, that except some Gulf countries, other Islamic countries belong to the new Evil Empire of the 21-th century, quietly sharpening knives at Jewish people, Israel, and the Western World.

Here's how they extract clathrate

There's more than just pillars, coal, gas, and oil off the northern shores of Attland. King Yarl had banked on the seafloor to have more than scientifically discovered amounts of clathrate. King Yarl was the first one to discover and confirm that clathrates under seaflor do contain hydrocarbons, and off Attland's shores, they contain propanes, butanes, pentanes, hexanes and sometimes higher hydrocarbon alkanes.
The Oilbelt Corporation's platform looks like it is an oil drilling type, but it is actually a clathrate extraction platform (note the absence of the rig.) Clathrate is heated and processed to separate hydrocarbons, which are concentrated and stored to be offloaded into the company service tankers.

A peek at the Chasm's natural arches

Most of the upper reaches of Yahalma and Glada rivers have naturally and mysteriously formed ledges and arches. This is a series of arches that have been finished as convenient bridges in the lower Chasm, over the Glada River.

Shortage of high-end diamonds causes Koborg to up the gold price

Shortage of high-end diamonds causes the Queen to up the gold price, and very wisely, thus increasing gold purchases which initiated chain reaction of upping the gold prices worldwide.

Koborg Bank and its Corporation, owned by the Queen, has been adhering to a specific formula for gold management where most (unspecified) of its gold is purchased with cut diamonds of more than 1 carat in weight, whereas most of the gold acquired for the Attland's national government is purchased with preferential barter privileges from Attland's gold producers. See gold prices in the Reference section on top right.

Giant vine trees serve as village cores

Attland's jungle is the northernmost of world's jungles, being on the same latitude with South Carolina. Due to the Northern Mountains drawing down cool rainstorm weather, which mixes with the warm, moist Gulf Stream air, creates unusual cases of wet rain shadows both north and south of the mountains.

The misty forests are home to Attland's indigenous trees, such as the vine tree (no connection to grapes). The tree is capable of reaching 100-200 meter in height in over 1000 years of growth, and be about 20 meter in diameter at its base, such as the famous Great Tree of the Tree Village, in the bottom picture. This tree is over 1800 years old. The nearby trees are about 1000 years old.

The trees in the first picture are about 100-200 years old, growing along Yahalma River.

How Treasures from Europe made their way to the island

These treasures are the reason there is still a heavy flow of European tourists coming to see or pay tribute:

Excalibur

Zulfikar, or Dhu L-fiqar

Falias, the coronation stone captured from Fál (Lia Fáil) or from the Hill of Tara in County Meath, attributed to wizard poet Morfesa or Fessus.

Gorias, the spear (sleg) of Lug, attributed to wizard poet Esras.

Findias, from wizard poet Wiscias sword (claideb) which belonged to Núadu No one ever escaped from it once it was drawn from its sheath, and no one could resist it.

Muirias or Murias, from wizard poet Semias, the communal cauldron (coire) captured from the Dagda

Paradise Falls of Emerald Valley

This is Paradise Falls of the northern Emerald Valley, on the Yahalma river, where the Braided Rivers region starts (see the Valley Gates, and here and here ).