The Aa ... ahhhh! Bredaaaaa!

The name 'Breda' came from the phrase 'de Brede Aa', or 'the Wide Aa' (from 'breed', which sounds like 'braid', you get the English word 'broad), and the Aa is the River Aa, on the banks of which Breda was founded.  Of course, like all pre-medieval cities, it didn't have any fancy trappings at the start.  It was already mentioned in historical records as early as 1125 but the castle wasn't built till much later in that same century.

This area, where hubby and I took a stroll today, is right by the ancient banks of the Aa and it is still wetland -- swampy, muddy, the ground simply soaked through, just like countless other areas in the country before serious land reclamation began.  That is actually the reason the Romans didn't really consider conquering the 'LOW countries' way back then -- it would have meant having to deal with the swamps and marshes that dominated the entire landscape.  Fancy trying to deftly maneouvre your 4-wheel-drive chariot through all that mud!

A beautiful sunny day today.  As I post this, I'm updating my Flickr albums with some more India shots and hubby is heating up dinner.  After dinner, it'll be my turn with the dishes, then probably some genealogy and poetry.  I guess yesterday's blip has given me enough motivation.

India - Album 5: Sikranda where you have the tomb of the Mughal Emperor Akbar (granddad of Shah Jehan of Taj Mahal fame) and a little further, in Agra, the tomb of I-Timad-ad-Daulah, his pop-in-law.

THANK YOU all for dropping by this past week!  Hopefully, you're all enjoying the weekend!