What's the difference between The Netherlands, Holland and The Åland Islands? Also, DID YOU KNOW that Australia was New Holland, and "New York City, as New Amsterdam" was the capital of the New Netherland (a Dutch colony)? Maximum cards from Åland Islands, showing The Eurasian Elk (Europe) (Alces alces), called The Moose in North America

In Romanian, Holland is Olanda. 

In Swedish, Åland is pronounced correctly as Oland.

But there are big differences...

"The moose (North America) or Eurasian elk (Europe) (Alces alces) is the largest extant species in the deer family. 

Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a dendritic ("twig-like") configuration. 

Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates."

"Moose are not usually aggressive towards humans, but can be provoked or frightened to behave with aggression. In terms of raw numbers, they attack more people than bears and wolves combined, but usually with only minor consequences. 

When harassed or startled by people or in the presence of a dog, moose may charge. 

Also, as with bears or any wild animal, moose that have become habituated to being fed by people may act aggressively when denied food. 

During the fall mating season, bull moose may be aggressive toward humans due to the high hormone levels they experience. 

Cows with young calves are very protective and will attack humans who come too close, especially if they come between mother and calf. 

Unlike other dangerous animals, moose are not territorial, and do not view humans as food, and will therefore usually not pursue humans if they simply run away.^[43] 

Like any wild animal, moose are unpredictable and should be given a respectful amount of space."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/European_elk

http://www.zazzle.com/now_where_was_i_before_i_got_interrupted_postage-172442505130559121?rf=238693463283865848

[How many stamps have you ever seen, that can be part of a written conversation?]

Holland is the Central-Western part of The Netherlands.

"In many languages including English, 'Holland' (Hollande, Holanda etc.) is a common name for the Netherlands as a whole. Even the Dutch use this sometimes. Strictly speaking, Holland is only the central-western region of the country comprising two of the twelve provinces, North Holland and South Holland (see figure) and thus linguistically a pars pro toto related to use of Russia for the (former) Soviet Union, and England for the United Kingdom. The use is sometimes discouraged. "

"Abel Tasman gave the name New Holland to the continent now known as Australia, a name it retained for 150 years until the United Kingdom renamed it in 1824. 

[MY NOTE: in Romanian or Spanish transliteration, Aussies seem to pronounce the name of the country like this: Astrailia :) ]

There was also a colony called New Holland in South America. 

Part of Lincolnshire is also known as Holland.

The Dutch colony centred on New Amsterdam (the modern New York City) was called New Netherland."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Netherlands_(terminology)

The Åland Islands, "where the Finnish are Swedish"

"The Åland Islands (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈoːland], Finnish: Ahvenanmaa) form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. They are situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and form an autonomous, demilitarised, monolingually Swedish-speaking region of Finland. 

The islands collectively constitute the smallest region of Finland, with only 0.49% of its land area, and 0.50% of its population."

"Most inhabitants have Swedish (the sole official language) as their first language: 90.2% in 2009, and 5.0% speak Finnish."

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Location%C3%85land.svg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%85land_Islands

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You saw the top image here, with the elk swimming in the blue waters of The Åland Islands, right?

Happy Blue Monday! (meme)

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