Orange Dreamer's Postcards :)

Brazil - Railway Curitiba - Paranaguá

2009-05-28T22:01:00.000+03:00

I'm sorry for not making any updates on my blog for quite a long time. When my final exams finished, my Ukrainian friend came here for a week and we had a great time travelling in Poland (that was one of not very numerous opportunities to see some other cities in my own country for me) :) Today I'm going to take my favorite 24 hours train trip in about 2 hours... So, like it or not, it's a railway day on my blog! :) I decided to take you on a train trip on 5 continents... And I hope you'll enjoy it at least a bit :) I understand that some of you may not enjoy travelling by trains as much as I do, but I really feel there's something fascinating about the railways and I want to share it with you :)

Actually, I saw this card for the first time on Ana's blog. I'm not one of those people who must have what others have, but in this special case I decided to ask Karina from Brazil if she had one more card like this ;)

Of course, Ukrainian raliways aren't so breathtaking... But I'm looking forward to taking an Ukrainian train tomorrow very much,it's always a great pleasure for me :)) I'm sure I'll enjoy my stay in Kyiv... But first I have to catch the Polish train to get to the border (just 520 kms away from here) ;) So see you next week! :)

Australia - Pichi Richi Railway (AU-41145)

2009-05-28T22:00:00.000+03:00

It's already 2nd Australian train in my postcards collection :) Actually, when I was choosing cards for this update yesterday, I thought I had to write that I receive really wonderful (and fitting my wishlist very well) cards from Australia - including maps, flag cards and trains, but I still don't have any view card from this country :) But this has already changed, as I found a beautiful and rare viewcard from Australia in my mailbox today :) I'll show it to you later :) Today you can enjoy this card showing the Pichi Richi Railway :)

AU-41145

According to the sender, Pichi Richi Railway is now a tourist train that runs during school and public holidays. It closes in summer as the grass by the railway line gets so dr that the sparks from the engine might start a grass fire.
By the way, I really love the name of this railway :) It is believed to come from the native plant, pituri, which grows in the area, and was traditionally chewed by Australian Aborigines.

Japan - A train (JP-67606)

2009-05-28T21:59:00.000+03:00

I received this wonderful card showing a Japanese train just a few days ago and it was a great surprise (that's what I love about the official postcrossing) :) Of course, Japan is better known for the modern trains, which belong to the fastest one in the world, but it's very interesting to see, what were the Japanese railways like many years ago :)

JP-67606

There's some information about this train on the back side of this card, but unfortunately I can't understand or even translate it, because it's written in Japanese :( I just guess that "1936" means that this locomotive was created in that year? I would be very thankful, if anyone of my dear readers could help me with this text:

Thanks in advance!

USA - Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad

2009-05-28T21:58:00.000+03:00

I received this card in the railway tag, which unfortunately isn't very popular. It's a pity that I can't find any card showing trains here, but this tag allows also sending cards showing railway stations and it really helps me :) Still, I wouldn't like anyone to be dissapointed by the cards I send (and myself I prefer receiving cards showing trains much more than railway stations), so I've participated in this tag just once so far. It shows the Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad in Ohio, USA.

Hocking Valley Scenic Railroad is located 1 mile South of Nelsonville, Ohio. This tourist attraction operates throughout the summer months on Saturdays, Sundays and major holidays.

The Netherlands - Medemblik Family and trains (NL-162481)

2009-05-28T21:57:00.000+03:00

I find this Dutch card very interesting, because I like old photographs, papers and of course trains (that's the reason to place this card in today's update) ;) Unfortunately, I'm not sure what it shows. The text on the back side of this card tells that it's about the Medemblik Family, which is presented in several museums, including Museumstoomtram Hoorn - Medemblik (This text was bold, so I guess it must be the name of railway museum? My knowledge of Dutch is very limited) :(

NL-162481

Of course, I tried to google for some information about the Medemblik Family, but I just found out that Medemblik was the name of municipality in the Netherlands. So I still wonder, if that was a family, which enjoyed travelling by trains very much (that's the version I want to believe in) or if "Medemblik Family" is just a common name for people that used to live in Medemblik? Anyway, the railway was definitely important for them and that's what matters :)

Hong Kong - Mong Kok (HK-3459)

2009-05-16T13:47:00.000+03:00

Here's my first card from Hong Kong! :) Receiving cards from new countries or territories as officials is the most exciting for me, because it's always so unexpected :) Hong Kong was already included in the number of countries and territories that I have postcard from I told you last week, so it's still 68 :) I'm expecting a card from one more country, but who knows, maybe I'll get so nicely surprised by another official again? :)

This card shows the entrance to Ladies' market in Mong Kok area. It's one of the most popular night markets of Kowloon (it's a peninsula and urban area in Hong Kong) , where one can buy almost everything from exotic lingerie to sophisticated electronics. My first thought about this card was that these crowded streets are something very typical for Hong Kong (the skyscrapers and crowd are the first things that come into my mind when I think of this territory). Today I was googling for some more information about the Mong Kok area and I learned that it was the place with highest population denesity in the world! 130 000 people per km2 - can you imagine that?!

HK-3459

Mong Kok or Mongkok (Chinese: 旺角; the English name is a transliteration of its older name 望角 or 芒角 which is pronounced "Mong Gok". Its present Chinese name "旺角" is pronounced "Wong Gok") is an area in the Yau Tsim Mong District on Kowloon Peninsula, Hong Kong, China.

The name in Chinese means "flourishing/busy corner". Recent road works revealed some antique potteries, indicating that there might be settlements that early as Jin Dynasty (265-420).

The district is characterized by a mixture of old and new multi-story buildings, with shops and restaurants at street level and commercial or residential units above. Major industries in Mong Kok are retail, restaurants (including fast food) and entertainment.

Croatia - Samobor

2009-05-16T13:46:00.000+03:00

I received this beautiful card from Rumiko in the Slavic countries RR :) I haven't heard of Samobor before, but it seems to be a nice and cosy town, although it's very close to Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. According to the sender, Samobor is famous for Croatian cakes called kremšnite, made of custard and flaky pastry - that's where they come from :)
And I have one more reason to like this card... You want to guess what it is? ;) Of course, I love the old train that they have in Samobor! :)

Thank you very much, Rumiko, for sending me this card:)

To the east of Zagreb is the town of Samobor, established in the 13th century. The narrow cobble stone streets and the beautiful Trg Kralja Tomislava main square are great places to stroll and sightsee. Although the town has a long history, a fire in 1797 destroyed large sections and many buildings. Consequently most of the architecture is from the 1800s. The fortress ruins on Tepic Hill known as Stari Grad, date to the late 13th century. Samobor grew up at the base of the fortress. Today Samobor is a popular getaway destination for locals and travelers who enjoy hiking and good food. It is regarded as one of the best centers for Croatian gastronomy.

Finland - a painting by Martti Ranttila (FI-519535)

2009-05-16T13:45:00.000+03:00

I'm a complete ignorant when it comes to art, but I find it interesting to see pieces of art from different countries sometimes. It gives me a bit better idea about this country's culture and sometimes also history. Unfortunately, sometimes it's hard to find any further information about the artists (like in this case), probably because they're not really known outside their countries.

FI-519535

The only info I could find about this card is that it's a painting called "Maisema" (according to the google translator it means "landscape" or "scenery"). It was painted by Martti Ranttila in 1944 and can be found in the Riihimäki Art Museum.

Czech Republic - Prague

2009-05-14T23:39:00.000+03:00

This card, received in the Slavic countries RR, shows one of the most beautiful cities I've ever been to. I've visited Prague for 3 or 4 times (I'm not sure now) and I hope to go there again soon. I'd like to show this wonderful city to my Ukrainian friend, who is going to come here for several days next week. Actually, it's much closer to Prague than to Warsaw from my city. I live only 216 kms away from the Czech capital (I know it exactly thanks to postcrossing - I've sent an official to Prague once) ;)

This city has a really unique atmosphere and it's even hard to describe it. I just love it's narrow streets, hills, old churches, houses, bridges... Sometimes, especially during the summer, there are way too many tourists, many of them coming from Japan, but it's not strange - Prague is definitely one of those cities you really should visit, if you decide to go to Europe. It's much more beautiful than many famous West European cities, at least in my opinion. I hope this card, showing the Prague Castle, will encourage you to visit this city, if you ever have such opportunity :)

Prague Castle (Czech: Pražský hrad) is a castle in Prague where the Czech kings, Holy Roman Emperors and presidents of Czechoslovakia and the Czech Republic have had their offices. The Czech Crown Jewels are kept here. Prague Castle is one of the biggest castles in the world (according to Guinness Book of Records the biggest ancient castle) at about 570 meters in length and an average of about 130 meters wide.

The castle buildings represent virtually every architectural style of the last millennium. The Prague Castle includes gothic St Vitus Cathedral, Romanesque Basilica of St. George, a monastery and several palaces, gardens and defense towers. Most of the castle areas are open to tourists. Nowadays, the castle houses several museums, including the National Gallery collection of Bohemian baroque and mannerism art, exhibition dedicated to Czech history, Toy Museum and the picture gallery of Prague Castle.

Brazil - Brasília

2009-05-14T23:38:00.000+03:00

I received this fantastic card in a swap from Karina :) As I've written in my previous post about Brazil, most of cards coming from this country show São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro and that I'm always glad to see another Brazilian cities :) But Brasília isn't just another "not so popular" place in Brazil - it's actually the country's capital!

I find this city very interesting, because it was planned and built to be the capital of Brazil. The previous capital of Brazil was Rio de Janeiro (until 1960), but the government decided to relocate the capital to the interior of the country to increase population of that area. Brasília was supposed to be a nearly ideal city - it's shape resembler a bird, butterfly or airplane, when seen from above. Even the streets were planned in such way that there would be no need for traffic lights and transit would flow smoothly. In fact, now there are traffic lights, because the city grew quicker than it was expected. Some people criticize the city, because it's plan was an utopia not meeting the real needs of people and find it boring, even though it's a city with quite high quality of life. On the other hand, building a new city, designed to be a capital, was a very interesting experiment and therefore Brasília was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Brasília is the capital of Brazil. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 (3,599,000 in the metropolitan area), making it the fourth largest city in Brazil. It is listed as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

As the national capital, Brasília is the seat of all three branches of the Brazilian government. The city is a world reference for urban planning. The locating of residential buildings around expansive urban areas, of building the city around large avenues and dividing it into sectors, has sparked a debate and reflection on life in big cities in the 20th century. The city's planned design included specific areas for almost everything, including accommodation.

The city was planned and developed in 1956 with Lúcio Costa as the principal urban planner and Oscar Niemeyer as the principal architect. In 1960, it formally became Brazil's national capital.

UK - Hitchin (GB-74207)

2009-05-14T23:37:00.001+03:00

It's always nice to receive cards from places that aren't very well-known, because it's a good opportunity to improve my knowledge in geography and history :) Well, I've already written my final exams in these subjects, but I hope I'll never lose my desire to learn something new :)
According to the sender, Hitchin is a little town with lots of live music, pubs and places to eat. Hitchin is also known for the Rhytms of The World festival, which takes place there every year.

There are two more things that I really like about this card - the orange frame and wonderful railway related stamp :)

GB-74207

Hitchin is a town with 30,000 inhabitants 35 miles north of London in the county of Hertfordshire. Hitchin is an old market town first mentioned 1,000 years ago.

Hitchin has its own character and several historic buildings can be found around the town centre, historic market place, Bancroft, Bucklersbury and Sun Street. Although this part of Hertfordshire is fairly heavily populated there is still plenty of scenery with rolling hills, lots of small villages and single track lanes to be found.

Ukraine - Donetsk

2009-05-12T23:56:00.001+03:00

I usually choose cards that may be interesting for the readers of my blog (at least I hope so) for the top of my updates :) This time some of you may think that I've chosen card that isn't very special in any way... But for me it's very special and I can explain you the reasons ;) I received this card from Aleksandra, who has made her best to find a nice postcard showing her city.

I was just 13 years old when I fell in love with Ukraine and obviously I wasn't allowed to go abroad myself. Therefore I was visiting just West Ukraine, because that's where Polish people usually go, if they decide to visit Ukraine. I also went to Kyiv once. But when I was 17, I decided it was already the right time to travel myself and to discover some new places in Ukraine. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to go to Donetsk (even though a very good friend of mine lives there, so I felt absolutely safe) because I had some stereotypes concerning East Ukraine, connected with political, historic and language issues. But I don't regret going there at all and I hope I'll be able to visit this city again :)

If you're interested in the boring story on "What happens if Orange Dreamers goes to East Ukraine", you can read it below. If not, just enjoy this card showing the Central Indoor Market and the Orthodox Cathedral in Donetsk (this photo was taken in 2002 - now the cathedral is already completed).

What happens if Orange Dreamer goes to East Ukraine?
(This story is 100% true and based on this blog's author's real experience)

If you're never been to Ukraine and don't know much about this country, but you'd like to go there at least once, I wouldn't recommend you visiting East Ukraine. If you want to have some general idea about Ukraine, it's history and culture - visit Kyiv. If you'd like to see an old city, which has been on crossroads of different cultures and religions for many centuries - visit Lviv. If you'd like to have nice holidays on the seaside, with Mediterrean climate and mountains just next to the sea - visit Crimea. If you love mountains and unspoiled nature - you should choose the Carpathian Mountains. If you're not really interested in Ukraine, a trip to Donetsk won't tell you much about this country and it's beauty. It's just a big city with approximately 1 million inhabitants, not very old (it was founded in 1869, if I remember well) and it's the centre of a large industrial region called Donbass. There are many coal mines and steelworks.

Orange Dreamer also wasn't really planning going to Donetsk. She was more than satisfied with her trips to West Ukraine. When she went to Kyiv for the first time (she was 16 at that time) and looked at the Dnipro river, which is said to divide Ukraine into Eastern and Western part (that's connected with history - Ukraine used to be divided between Poland and Russia, the border was on Dnipro) she thought that there was nothing really worth her attention on the East bank of that river. She had some stereotypes and her attitude to East Ukraine wasn't really good, because people spoke Russian and voted for pro-Russian politicians there (oh yes, she was - and still is - very interested in politics). And she thought nothing could change it. But in November 2008 she was talking to her friend from Donetsk on ICQ (they had met before in Poland) and she joked that maybe she should go to this city. That was supposed to be a funny joke :)) But, as it often happens in our lives, jokes may become reality, so be careful while joking! ;)

On 19 January 2009 she took a train from Ternopil (West Ukraine) to Donetsk. Fortunately, Orange Dreamer loves trains almost as much as she loves Ukraine, otherwise it would be hard to stand this 22 hours long trip. There was an elderly lady from Ternopil sitting next to her. She was going to visit her son, who lived in Donetsk. Orange Dreamer told her that she was going to East Ukraine for the first time.
- Be careful - the lady said very quietly - This train is owned by the Donetsk Railways, so we have to speak quietly. Remember not to say any of the things I'm telling you now in East Ukraine. They can throw you down to the river from 19m high bridge, if you tell the truth! And don't even try to speak Ukrainian there! In the best case they'll just ignore you, but much worse things can also happen!
Then she started telling her theories on how Russians and Jews are planning to destroy Ukraine and then whole Europe. She advised Orange Dreamer not to talk to dark-haired and dark-eyed people. Her views started to seem similar to the nazi ideology and finally she said "If uncle Adolf won that war - we would have order here!" Orange Dreamer realized that there was no point in continuing this conversation and she went to sleep. Next morning she decided to pretend she was sleeping as long as possible. But before her train arrived in Donetsk, she had to get some final advices.
- I'm going to Donetsk just for 4 days, because the air is so polluted that staying there any longer is very dangerous. Remember not to talk to anyone about the things you've heard from me. And call me, if you get into trouble!
Orange Dreamer was very sceptical about all the theories of that lady, but as the train was reaching it's final destination, she felt some fear and actually wasn't sure if she should get out of the train or wait until it goes back to West Ukraine. But she didn't have ticket for the way back anyway. As the train stopped, she realized there was no way back. She was in East Ukraine. Her friend, who was already waiting on the platform, was unfortunately black-haired. The lady from the train noticed it, so she asked Orange Dreamer to talk to her alone for a while.
- Remember, if you get into trouble, you know my phone number! - the lady seemed to be rather sure that there would be some trouble. Orange Dreamer decided not to lose her faith that there are good people everywhere and that nothing bad should happen.

Orange Dreamer was right. Actually, she's always right, just not everyone realizes that ;) She saw a big and modern city, which was not scary at all (And there was no 19m high bridge... Or she just didn't see that one). People were speaking Russian there, but each time she was talking to them in Ukrainian (for example at the post office), they were answering kindly in Ukrainian :) Orange Dreamer went also to Svyatohirsk, an Orthodox sanctuary located on picturesque hills next to a river, about 140km north from Donetsk. There was a lot of snow and it was one of the most beautiful landscapes that Orange Dreamer still has in her memory. Then she was finally able to say that she really loves Ukraine - not only it's Western part. She hasn't changed her political views, but she understood that sometimes it's better just not to touch some topics that have been reasons of conflict for many years. It's a pity that many people in Ukraine still follow stereotypes and don't trust each other. Orange Dreamer hasn't noticed any real difference between people that live in Lviv and Donetsk. Political, ideological, religious and language differences are not what really matters. The people that she has met in different regions of Ukraine are probably the nicest people on this planet and going to East Ukraine hasn't changed her opinion about this country :)

She still prefers Lviv and Kyiv, just because she loves cities with long and fascinating history and because she can hear Ukrainian language more often in those cities, but she's already looking forward to going to East Ukraine again :) Her plans include visiting some new cities - perhaps Kharkiv and Dnipropertovsk :)

China - Fragrant Hills in Beijing

2009-05-12T23:55:00.000+03:00

This card is one more proof that participating in the postcrosing forum activities is a good way to receive wonderful card :) Actually, I really love the idea of official postcrossing, the surprise factor, the thrill each time I request a new address... But I've noticed that the cards tht I receive in unofficial exchange (froum & private swaps) are often of much better quality and that people put more effort to choose a card fitting my wishlist and to write a nice message. Of course, I've received many wonderful officials too and I like the huge majority of them, but some are a bit disappointing. I wonder, what's the reason... Maybe it's beacause unofficial exchange isn't so anonymous and people would be ashamed to send some trash to someone that they've agreed on swap with? Or maybe because people participating in the unofficial exchange are more serious about collecting cards? Anyway, I'm not going to give up sending officials, because that's what's actually postcrossing about, the forum is just a nice addition. And just because I love being surprised :)

I love this card, because I generally find mountains and hills in autumn time very beautiful. And the elements of traditional Chinese architecture hidden between the trees give some Asian feeling to this view :)

The stamps are also very interesting :) I still don't know, if it's just normal in China that you always get many huge stamps with a whole variety of pictures or if Chinese postcrossers are so kind to look for nice stamps, when they send cards abroad :) But I've already received quite a lot of Chinese cards sent by different people, so I think that getting nice stamps on China Post must be much easier than here :)

Fragrant Hills Park (Xiangshan Park; simplified Chinese: 香山公园; pinyin: Xiāngshān Gōngyuán) is a public park at the foot of the Western Mountains in the Haidian District, in the northwestern part of Beijing, China. It covers 1.6 km² (395 acres) and consists of a natural pine-cypress forest, hills with maple trees, smoke trees and persimmon trees, as well as landscaped areas with traditional architecture and cultural relics.

Fragrant Hills Park is recognized as one of the major tourist attractions in Beijing. When autumn arrives, the natural scenery in the park turns spectacular, with fiery red smoke tree leaves covering the mountain side. Every year, thousands of tourists ride the cable cars through the park in order see the hills in autumn colors. The grand opening of the annual Red Leaf Festival of Beijing takes place there.

Finland - Oulu Cathedral (FI-513587)

2009-05-12T23:54:00.000+03:00

It's definitely time for anotherFinnish postcard on my blog :) I haven't had any card from Oulu in my collection before, although it's the biggest and most important city of Northern Finland with population of 137,360. This card shows the interior of Lutheran Oulu Cathedral, which was originally built in 1777. The church that you can see in Oulu now was built in the 19th century in neoclassical style. I like this interior, because it seems to be very bright. I think it's neccessary in Northern Finland, because there's probably not enough light during the winter (Oulu is not so far away from the Arctic Circle).

FI-513587

The Oulu Cathedral (in Finnish Oulun tuomiokirkko) is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral and the seat of the Diocese of Oulu, located in the centre of Oulu, Finland. The church was built in 1777 as a tribute to the King of Sweden Gustav III of Sweden and named after his wife as Sofia Magdalena's church.

The wooden structures burned in the large fire of the city of Oulu in 1822. The church was built again on top of the old stonewalls with famous architect Carl Ludvig Engel as the designer. The restoration works were completed in 1832, but the bellfy was not erected until 1845.

Malaysia - Kuala Lumpur

2009-05-11T13:38:00.001+03:00

I received 3 wonderful Malaysian cards in a private swap from imajica :) This one is my first card from Kuala Lumpur, the capital of Malaysia. Did you know that the name of this city means "muddy confluence" in Malay language?

More precisely, this card shows the Sultan Abdul Samad Building, which was designed by Anthony Norman and constructed in 1897. It features a 40-metre high clock tower which is flanked by two smaller towers that each contains a winding staircase. I've seen some potos of this buildign taken in the daylight, but I must say that it looks even more beautiful at night :)

The Sultan Abdul Samad Building is located in front of the Dataran Merdeka - literally the Independence Square - and the Royal Selangor Club, by Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The structure takes its name from Sultan Abdul Samad, the reigning sultan of Selangor at the time when construction began.

Topped by a shiny copper dome and a 40m high clock tower, it is a major landmark in the city. It serves as the backdrop for important events such as the National Day Parade on August 31 and the ushering in of the New Year. The Sultan Abdul Samad Building now houses the Commercial Division of the High Court of Malaya.

Germany - Upper Middle Rhine Valley

2009-05-11T13:37:00.000+03:00

Here's another wonderful card received in the UNESCO tag, which can be very addictive :))) And when this one is inactive for a while, I try another tags, because I tell myself that they require sending less cards than the Round Robins, but in fact it's not true, because I can't help the temptation to tag more than once :))

These views of Upper Middle Rhine Valley look really breathtaking, with all these castles and forests. According to the sender, the Maus Castle is now a home for falcons and eagles. And of course Rhine is a very beautiful river with many meanders. I think I've already told you that I swam in Rhine once, but that was in Switzerland, where this river is still quite clean :)

The 65km-stretch of the Middle Rhine Valley, with its castles, historic towns and vineyards, graphically illustrates the long history of human involvement with a dramatic and varied natural landscape. It is intimately associated with history and legend and for centuries has exercised a powerful influence on writers, artists and composers.

The Middle Rhine Valley is an outstanding example of an evolving traditional way of life and means of communication in a narrow river valley. The terracing of its steep slopes in particular has shaped the landscape in many ways for more than two millennia. However, this form of land-use is under threat from the socio-economic pressures of the present day.

Estonia - Tallinn (EE-45017)

2009-05-11T13:35:00.000+03:00

I've received this interesting official card from Estonia last month and realized that the only Estonian city views I have in my collection come from Tallinn :) I'm not complaining about it, as all these cards are different and Tallinn is definitely a beautiful and unique city (therefore it's centre is a UNESCO site), but I wonder, what do other cities and towns in Estonia look like :)

EE-45017

This card shows two important churches in Tallinn - the Orthodox Aleksander Nevski Cathedral (I already have another card showing this cathedral in my collection) and Lutheran Kaarli (Charles) Church. I find it very interesting that you can find churches of different denominations in one city, which has been on crossroads of cultures for many centuries. You can also find Catholic, Orthodox and different Protestant churches in my city, but for example the Orthodox and Greek Catholic cathedrals in Wroclaw are actually former Catholic churches built in gothic style, which is quite a strange mix :) But in Tallinn you still can compare churches of different denominations in their original form :)

Åland - Map card (FI-541354)

2009-05-09T23:32:00.000+03:00

Finding this card in my mailbox yesterday was one of the best postcrossing surprises I've ever received :) Actually, it's an official card from Finland, but it was sent in an envelope together with 2 other wonderful cards, also fitting my wishlist just perfectly! :) Finnish postcrossers are usually very kind and generous and I really don't understand, why do some people complain so much about the amount of Finnish cards that they receive :)

But this card, though it was sent from Finland, won't be labeled as Finland, because it's actually my first card from Åland Islands :) I'm not sure, if this autonomous province of Finland should be treated as an separate territory in my collection, because on the world map that I update each time I receive a card from new country or territory there's no Åland on the list. On the other hand, this territory has a wide autonomy, it's own flag, internet domain (.ax) and they also issue their own stamps, as far as I know. Not surprisingly, my decision is to count Åland separately and therefore I already have cards from 68 different countries/ territories :)

FI-541354

The Åland Islands (Swedish: Åland, Finnish: Ahvenanmaa) form an archipelago in the Baltic Sea. It is situated at the entrance to the Gulf of Bothnia and forms an autonomous, demilitarized, monolingually Swedish-speaking administrative province, region and historical province of Finland. It is the smallest province of Finland, comprising 0.5% of Finland's population and 0.49% of land area.

The islands consist of the main island Fasta Åland (literally "Firm Åland"), where 90% of the population resides, and an archipelago to the east that consists of over 6,500 skerries and islands. Fasta Åland is separated from the coast of Sweden by forty kilometres (twenty-five miles) of open water to the west. In the east, the Åland archipelago is virtually contiguous with the Finnish Archipelago Sea. Åland's only land border is located on the uninhabited skerry of Märket, which it shares with Sweden.

Taiwan - Alishan Forest Railway (TW-39314)

2009-05-09T23:31:00.001+03:00

My collection of railways related cards keeps on growing :D I've even found a railway tag on postcrossing forum :) Fortunately, it's allowed to send cards showing railway stations there, as I haven't seen any with trains in my area... And I doubt if such ones could be issued here in the nearest future, because there are no special or old railways in my area. People probably wouldn't be interested in buying and sending cards showing regular Polish trains :))) But I don't complain, as I understand that collecting cards showing trains isn't a very popular hobby. I'd be satisfied if I could buy real map and flag cards here... Am I asking for too much? :))

This card shows the Alishan Forest Railway in Taiwan. It was listed by Taiwan's government as a potential UNESCO site, but of course it can't be accepted, as Taiwan doesn't belong to United Nations and it's independence isn't recognized by most of countries... That's why there are no World Heritage Sites in Taiwan, just because of a political issue :(

TW-39314

The Alishan Forest Railway (阿里山森林鐵路) is an 86 km network of narrow gauge (2 ft 6 in (762 mm)) railways running up to and throughout the popular mountain resort of Alishan in Chiayi County, Taiwan. The narrow gauge lines were originally constructed by the Japanese Colonial Government in 1912 to facilitate the logging of cypress and Taiwania wood, however today the line caters mostly to tourists. Passenger carriages were first added to the trains in 1918.

Unlike the national rail system administered by the Taiwan Railway Administration, the Alishan railway is managed by the Forestry Bureau. The system is currently operated using diesel locomotives, although there are occasional special public runs using the old steam powered Shay locomotives.

The Netherlands - Zeeland (NL-145638)

2009-05-09T23:29:00.000+03:00

This wonderful multiview comes from Zeeland - a region of the Netherlands that I've been to for several times :) I can even recognize some places from this card :) I used to visit Belgium quite often and each time I wanted to go to the seaside, I preferred going to the Netherlands rather than to the Belgian coast, because it was much nicer and more peaceful, while it was not much farther away. That's why I have many good memories connected with Zeeland :)

NL-145638

Zeeland, also called Zealand in English and Zeelandic, is a province of the Netherlands. The province, located in the south-west of the country, consists of a number of islands (hence its name, meaning "sea-land") and a strip bordering Belgium. Its capital is Middelburg. With a population of about 380,000, its area is about 2930 km², of which almost 1140 km² is water.

Large parts of Zeeland are below sea level. The last great flooding of the area was in 1953. Tourism is an important economic activity. Its sunny beaches make it a popular holiday destination in the summer. Most tourists are Germans. In some areas, the population can be two to four times higher during high summer season. The coat of arms of Zeeland shows a lion half-emerged from water, and the text "luctor et emergo" (Latin for "I struggle and I emerge").

Macedonia - Ohrid

2009-05-08T23:59:00.000+03:00

I received this wonderful card in the Slavic countries RR from Anja (So there are already 2 active postcrossers in Macedonia!) :) It's partially written in Macedonian language, which makes me even more happy, because I realize that I understand it :D Of course, there are some words that I don't know, but I understand the general meaning of all sentences and even the grammar isn't as complicated as it might seem to be (probably that's because I have some very basic knowledge of Bulgarian, which is a bit similar to Macedonian).

According to Anja, there are around 365 churches in Ohrid - one for each day in the year. I didn't know that! This card shows 2 of those - Church of St. Zaum and Church of St. Naum.

Ohrid (Macedonian: Охрид) is a city on the eastern shore of Lake Ohrid in the Republic of Macedonia. It has about 42,000 inhabitants, making it the seventh largest city in the country. The city is the seat of Ohrid Municipality. Ohrid is notable for having once had 365 churches, one for each day of the year, and is referred to as the Macedonian Jerusalem. The city is rich in picturesque houses and monuments, and tourism is predominant. It is located southwest of Skopje, west of Resen and Bitola, and east of Elbasan and Tirana in Albania.

In 1980, Ohrid and Lake Ohrid were accepted as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

Australia - A big country! (AU-39042)

2009-05-08T23:58:00.000+03:00

I received this great card from Mundoo, the main administrator of postcrossing forum! :) I find it very interesting, because I didn't realize Australia was so big! Of course, I knew the shape of this country, I knew the main cities and I could show them on a map, but I didn't realize it's size, simply because it's usually on a separate map :) I also like these flags (althought I can't indentify some of them) and I've even found the Polish flag there :)
The area of Australia is 7,686,850 km2 and it's the 6th biggest country of the world.

AU-39042

But I wouldn't be myself, if I didn't notice one slight mistake on this card ;) Dear Aussies, I know your country is much bigger than the West Europe, but Europe doesn't end on the Eastern border of Poland! You forgot about the 2 biggest countries of Europe (as well as about Scandinavia and Baltic countries, but of course I've immediatelly notices the lack of Ukraine on this map) ;)
Anyway, this card is one of my absolute favorites! :)

France - Children from Lorraine in traditional costumes

2009-05-08T23:57:00.000+03:00

I received this card some time ago in the World Languages RR, written in Ukrainian :) It's always a great pleasure to receive a card written in Polish or Ukrainian from people that live in some other countries. I doubt if any Slavic language might become an international one, because their grammar is just too complicated, but still it's so nice to see people trying to learn them :)
This card shows children from Lorraine region in traditional costumes.

Lorraine is one of the regions (another one is Alsace) that used to be a contested territory between Germany and France. I haven't been to Lorraine, but I've spent several days in Alsace and I've noticed a huge influence of German culture there. Even the names of streets in Strasbourg have double names: in French and some dialect of German. So I guess that the culture of Lorraine may also be some mix of French and German influences :)

South Africa - Robben Island

2009-05-07T23:58:00.000+03:00

Tomorrow morning I'm going to write my geography exam (just 3 exams left!), so I think it's a good reason to make a short trip to a country, which is far away and is very interesting for many reasons, including it's geography, but also history, cultural and linguistic variety... Yes, it's South Africa :) Of coruse, I'm not able to go there now and in the foreseable future, but having a postcard I can use my imagination to travel :) I think that compared to the other African countries, South Africa isn't so "hard to get" when it comes to the postcards, but I still don't have many cards from there and I was extremely happy to receive 2 South African UNESCO cards in an envelope this week :)
This one shows the Robben Island, which now looks very beautiful, but it used to be a prison island, where many political prisoners spent many hard years during the era of apartheid.

Robben Island (Afrikaans Robbeneiland) or Penguin Island is an island in Table Bay, some seven kilometres off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa. The name is Dutch for "seal island". Robben Island is roughly oval in shape, 3.3 km long north-south, and 1.9 km wide, with an area of 5.07 km² . It is flat and only a few metres above sea level, as a result of an ancient erosion event. The island is composed of Precambrian metamorphic rocks belonging to the Malmesbury Group. It is of particular note as it was here that former South African President and Nobel Laureate Nelson Mandela and incumbent South African President Kgalema Motlanthe, alongside many other political prisoners, spent decades imprisoned during the apartheid era.

Finland - Winter landscape (FI-535562)

2009-05-07T23:57:00.000+03:00

As you may have already noticed, I've been showing you Finnish cards every 2nd update :) I really have a big variety of Finnish cards waiting in the queue now, so it's never just a random choice :) I've decided to choose this beautiful winter landscape for today's update for 2 reasons: first of all, it reminds of of the winter, which is already over (By the way, my summer holidays are going to begin in a week, but I honestly doubt, if it can make the summer come here earlier) and for the contrast with the card that you can see above :) I love both winter and summer and I was never able to answer the question about my favorite season. I think that the winter in Finland (and other northern countries) is especially beautiful.

FI-535562

I love the frost on the trees and I'm trying to save in my memory some beautiful winter landscapes that I've really seen, as it doesn't happen very often. It seems to me that when I was a child (it was not really long time ago) ;) the winter was usually real, with lots of snow and frost. But maybe it's just such impression, because people usually remember only the best moments from their childhood... If the grass was greener, maybe also the snow might have been whiter and more frequent then? Anyway, the last time I saw a wonderful landscape with trees and hills covered by snow was in January... And I remember it very well for sure, because it was in Ukraine :)

Vatican - Saint Peter's Square (IT-38813)

2009-05-07T23:56:00.000+03:00

It's already my 2nd card from Vatican, but this time it was sent from Italy (the previous one was indeed sent from Vatican) :) I guess that most of postcards from this country show the Saint Peter's Square, simply because there's not much more space in Vatican :) It's the smallest formally independent country in the world (it's area is just 0.44 km2 or 0.17 sq mi) and I think this record is unbeatable, unless you recognize the indpendence of "countries" like Sealand :)

IT-38813

I've been to one of those tiny European countries, but it was the biggest one of them - Luxembourg, which can actually be considered a normal country, with different towns, villages and distances that you can't walk in a hour :) I find it difficult to call Vatican a real country, it's rather a relict of some political system that used to exist in the past, because it's too small and in fact strongly dependent on Italy. But still, having a country with a territory much smaller than 1 square kilometer in this world is something very interesting :) As I've already written before, Vatican is also an important place for me as for Christian, but I don't really feel like going there, just because I don't enjoy crowded places.

Japan - Byōdō-in Temple in Kyoto

2009-05-05T22:25:00.001+03:00

I must tell you that I enjoy receiving Asian cards more and more :) I've never been to Asia and I'm not even very familiar with Asian culture, traditions and mentality, but they all seem to be so different from what I've seen in Europe and that's why they fascinate me. I hope to go to Asia someday and I can't tell exactly, which country would I visit, if I could choose just one. Perhaps Japan, Thailand or Malaysia... I would also not refuse to visit North Korea, but it's more for because of my interest in politics and the influence of propaganda on the society. Oh yes, it reminds me of my social science exam that I'm going to write tomorrow ;) Anyway, I would be more than happy to visit any Asian country and I believe that everything is possible :)

This wonderful card, which I received in the UNESCO tag, shows the Byōdō-in Temple in Kyoto, which has been a World Heritage Site since 1994.

Some of the stamps on this postcard are very old (1967 and 1970) :) I wonder, if they're still valid and you can use them now or if the sender just added them to make this card look even more beautiful, while only the new "50" stamp is valid? I received another card from Japan today and the postage was 70 (with new stamps), so I guess the old stamps must be valid! In Poland it would be impossible, we've had too large inflation since that time :))

Byōdō-in (平等院) is a Buddhist temple in the city of Uji in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. It is jointly a temple of the Jodo Shu (Pure Land) and Tendai sects.

This temple was originally built in 998 in the Heian period as a rural villa of Fujiwara no Michinaga, one of the most powerful members of the Fujiwara clan. This villa was changed to a Buddhist temple by Fujiwara no Yorimichi in 1052. The most famous building in the temple is the Phoenix Hall (鳳凰堂 hōō-dō) or the Amida Hall, constructed in 1053. The only remaining original building is the Phoenix Hall, surrounded by a scenic pond; additional buildings making up the compound were burnt down during a civil war in 1336.

Brazil - Curitiba

2009-05-05T22:24:00.000+03:00

I've been receiving many cards from Brazil recently and it gives me a chance to learn more about this country :) I've noticed that most of Brazilian postcrossers live in São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro, so I receive cards from these cities quite often, but sometimes I also have a chance to see less known Brazilian cities, like Curitiba that I really haven't heard of before :)

This postcard shows the Federal University of Paraná, Botanic Garden, Tanguá Park and Oscar Niemeyer Museum. Many thanks to Karina for showing me another part of your country! :)

By the way, I've learned that the State of Paraná (Curitiba is it's capital) has the largest Ukrainian community in Brazil! :) So, if I ever have a change to visit Brazil, I'll go to Paraná State for sure :D

Curitiba is the capital city of the Brazilian state of Paraná. The city has the largest population and also the largest economy in Southern Brazil. The population of Curitiba numbers approximately 1.8 million people (7th largest nationwide).

The first ten years of the 16th century marked the beginning of a war of conquest of Europeans (Portuguese colonists) against the indigenous peoples who inhabited the area of the city. Waves of European immigrants started arriving after 1850, mainly Germans, Italians, Poles and Ukrainians. In 1853, the south and southwest of the province of São Paulo were separated, forming the new province of Paraná, and Curitiba became its capital.

During the 20th century, especially after 1950, the city rapidly increased in population and consolidated its position as regional hub for trade and services, becoming one of the richest cities in Brazil and a pioneer in urban solutions.

Germany - East Holstein map (DE-318993)

2009-05-05T22:23:00.001+03:00

I think I've already told you that I love these German map cards :) They're very informative and immediatelly give you some idea about the region they show. Of course, not everyone likes maps, but I've always been into geography, so I find them really interesting :) Have you known that German name of Baltic Sea was Ostsee, meaning East Sea? I wonder, what's the reason for using absolutely different name than in other languages :)

DE-318993

The sender of this card wrote only that it showed a part of Schleswig Holstein federal state in Germany. There's also no specific information about it on the back side of this card, but after some googleing (or, more precisely, wikipediaing) ;), I found out that it's a map of East Holstein distcrict, including Wagrien peninsula and Fehmarn island.

Norway - The Geiranger fjord (NO-21420)

2009-05-03T23:48:00.001+03:00

One of the reasons for making daily updates on my blog earlier this week was that now I may not have so much time... Tomorrow my final exams begin (I decided to take exams in Polish language, which is obvious, history, geography and social science). These exams are usually taken very seriously in Poland, even their name is "matura" meaning that you can only consider yourself mature after passing them :) And they're neccessary, if you want to study at any university in Poland. My situation is a bit better, because I don't need these exams to study in my favorite country, I just need to have high school education, which I've finished one week ago. And if I ever decide to study in Poland - I'll be able to take these exams once again. So, I'm treating them just like another test and I'll try to make my best just not to disappoint myself. As I don't want to become too serious about it all (I think that it doesn't help - at least I have better results on tests, when I'm relaxed), so I'll try to make updates here once a several days :) I'll have the last exam on 15th of May, but I think you'll hear from me earlier ;)

And here's a wonderful UNESCO card from Norway, sent by the most acctive Norwegian postcrosser ;) I've chosen this peaceful view of Geiranger fjord for today's update to make myself believe that my mood before the exams is the same... ;)

NO-21420

The Geiranger fjord (Geirangerfjorden) is a fjord in the Sunnmøre region, located in the southernmost part of the county Møre og Romsdal in Norway. It is a 15km long branch of the Storfjord (Great Fjord). At the head in the fjord lies the small village of Geiranger.

The fjord is one of Norway's most visited tourist sites and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, jointly with Nærøyfjord, since 2005, although this status is now threatened by the disputed plans to build power lines across the fjord.

The Geirangerfjord is under constant threat from the mountain Åkerneset which is about to erode into the fjord. A collapse would produce a tsunami, hitting several nearby towns including Geiranger and Hellesylt in about ten minutes.

Turkey - The Underground Cistern in Istanbul

2009-05-03T23:47:00.000+03:00

This interesting card, which I received from Gökçe, shows the Underground Cistern (also called the Basilica Cistern), which I had no idea about before. The first things that come into my mind when I think of Istanbul are the bridges connecting Europe with Asia and of course Hagia Sophia. But I know that it's an ancient city with lots of munuments that aren't so popular, but are definitely worth seeing. I know it's possible to go on a 4 days trip to Istanbul from Odessa (Ukraine) by ship, so maybe someday I'll try it. Of course, I would definitely prefer to go there by train, but ships are OK too :)

The Basilica Cistern (Underground Cistern) was built by Justinian I after the bloody Nika Revolt in 532, probably as an enlargement of an earlier cistern which was constructed by Constantine the Great. During the Byzantium Period, it was used as a reservoir for water storage for the Great Palace and other buildings in the First Hill. During the Ottoman Period, the water was used for Topkapi Palace and watering the gardens of it. However the cistern had its brighest days during the Byzantium Age.

The interior of Underground Cistern is excellent. It is 138 m, 452 ft long by 65m, 213 ft wide. There are 336 columns in the cistern in 12 rows. Most of the column capitals are either in Corinthian or Doric in style. At the far end of the Cistern, there are two heads of Medusa which are put upside down or side ways. The Medusa heads are taken from an ancient pagan site and the position in which they were placed suggests that the people who put them there, were Christians and did not want to remind a god from pagan period. The water inside the underground cistern is collected rain water. The carp in the water are decorative and an incidental protection against pollution. Some people even think that the Byzantines originally also raised fish in the cistern.

Finland - Helsinki (FI-513701)

2009-05-03T23:46:00.000+03:00

I hope you don't mind seeing Finnish cards on my blog so often :) To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the amount of Finnish and German cards that i was receiving through the official postcrossing, but now that I already have cards from many other countries (including some "rare" ones) I'm even interested in seeing the variety of cards published in Finland and Germany :)

FI-513701

That's already my 2nd card showing the Lutheran Cathedral of Helsinki (I just don't know what's the name of building, which is on front of the church), but I like this view with a boat very much :) If I had a chance to go to Finland, I would certainly love to visit Lapland (maybe not during the winter), but it would be great if I could go there through Helsinki :)

Philippines - Boracay island

2009-05-01T23:50:00.000+03:00

I received 2 wonderful cards from Philippines from Jane in just 2 days and therefore I already have cards from 67 different countries and territories in my collection :) Actually, the first card was sent in March and another one in April, but the one sent later arrived here one day earlier. The next day, I found this card on top of mailboxes in my block of flat. I guess it was delivered to a wrong address, so someone decided to leave it in a visible place, so that the real receiver could take it. Fortunately, I found this postcard and brought it home safely, before anyone else could take it (I guess that some people would like to have a card from Philippines, even if they're not real collectors) :) It would be a pity to lose such card. It shows Boracay, a small, but very beautiful island.

Boracay is a tropical island located approximately 315km (200 miles) south of Manila and 2km off the northwest tip of the island of Panay in the Western Visayas region of the Philippines. It is one of the country's most popular tourist destinations.

It was only in the 70s when, it is said, a foreign movie crew accidentally "discovered" this island paradise. Others maintain that it was the German traveler, 'Jens Peters' book, which included rave reviews of Boracay that changed the island’s pace from that of being a quiet secret to eventually being voted as having the best beach in the world.

In a span of a mere 10 years, the whole world, it seemed, discovered Boracay and the once, nearly deserted stretch of beach became a teeming vacation and leisure spot for upscale tourists from all parts of the world.

Portugal - Porto

2009-05-01T23:48:00.001+03:00

I received this card in the UNESCO tag and it's already my 2nd card from Porto :) It's even a bit similar to the previous one, because I can recognize some buildings, but still this one is different (because it shows a wider view) and I like it very much. I learned that this postcard shows the Ribeira district of Porto located on the bank of Douro river. I've never been to Porto (actually, I haven't been to Portugal at all), but it seems to me that this place has the special "medieval" atmosphere, which I really love :)

The alluring district of Ribeira is made up of medieval streets and seedy alleyways. It is a crumbling but fascinating place, ending at a riverfront square ("Praça da Ribeira").

With photogenic traditional boats floating at the quayside overlooked by colorful ancient houses, this is the most picturesque spot in the city and the place everyone loves -- UNESCO did too, and declared it a World Heritage Site.

If you leave the city without visiting Ribeira, you have not experienced Oporto.

Austria - Carinthia (AT-31809)

2009-05-01T23:46:00.001+03:00

It's been quite a long time since I received mylast "extreme-multiview" card. Even though I've added many new types of cards to my wishlist, I still like these very much :) So if you have any multiviews with over 15 pictures available for trade - I'll be glad to swap :)
This one (with 24 pictures!) shows the region of Carinthia, which is the southernmost land of Austria. According to the sender, there are many lakes and mountains as well as interesting fauna and flora.

AT-31809

Carinthia (German: Kärnten, Slovene: Koroška) is the southernmost Austrian state or Land. Situated within the Eastern alps it is chiefly noted for its mountains and lakes.

The people are predominantly German-speaking with a unique (and easily recognizable) Southern Austro-Bavarian dialect typical of which is that all short German vowels before double consonants have been lengthened ("Carinthian Vowel Stretching"). A Slovene-speaking minority (2.38% of a total population) is concentrated in the southeast of the country.

Carinthia's main industries are tourism, electronics, engineering, forestry and agriculture. The multinational corporations Philips and Siemens have large operations there.

Ukraine - Chernihiv

2009-04-30T23:59:00.000+03:00

I received this wonderful card from Helen in the Slavic countries RR :) It shows the Transfiguration cathedral (which is called "The Saviour Cathedral" on the English Wikipedia. I just wonder, which version is correct?) in Chernihiv, which is on my list of Ukrainian cities that I certainly have to visit :) Actually, this list is very long (perhaps it's limited only by the total number of cities and towns in Ukraine) but Chernihiv has been on top of this list for quite a long time. The problem is that I don't know anyone from Chernihiv and that it's too close to Kyiv :) It may sound strange, but I find it much easier to travel between Ukrainian cities, if the distance is something between 400 and 700 kms. Then it's possible to take a night train and to sleep well on the way to another city :) But I'm sure I'll find a good way to go to Chernihiv, as this city is definitely worth visiting :)

Chernihiv, (Ukrainian: Чернігів), is a historic city in northern Ukraine. It is the administrative center of the Chernihiv Oblast (province). The estimated population of the city is around 299,000 (as of 2006).

Chernihiv was first mentioned in the Rus'-Byzantine Treaty (907) (as Черниговъ), but is considered to have existed at least in the ninth century, as uncovered by archaeological excavations of a settlement which included the artifacts from the Khazar Khaganate. Towards the end of the 10th century, the city probably had its own rulers.

Chernihiv's architectural monuments chronicle two most flourishing periods in the city's history - those of Kievan Rus (11th and 12th centuries) and of the Cossack Hetmanate (late 17th and early 18th centuries.)

The oldest church in the city and in the whole of Ukraine is the 5-domed Saviour Cathedral, commissioned in the early 1030s by Mstislav the Bold and completed several decades later by his brother, Yaroslav the Wise.

USA - Map of Mississippi (US-372995)

2009-04-30T23:58:00.000+03:00

I'm still very far away from having map cards of all states of the USA (it's my 5th card showing the map of whole state), but I'm always glad to receive a new one :) This time it's a map of Mississipi state, also called The Magnolia State.
Here some information about the Mississipi state taken from the back side of this card:

Capital: Jackson
State flower: Magnolia
State bird: Mockingbird

US-372995

Mississippi is a state located in the Deep South of the United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The state's name comes from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, and takes its name from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi ("Great River"). The state is heavily forested outside of the Mississippi Delta area. Its catfish aquaculture farms produce the majority of farm-raised catfish consumed in the United States. The state symbol is the magnolia tree.

The state of Mississippi is entirely composed of lowlands, the highest point being Woodall Mountain, in the foothills of the Cumberland Mountains, only 806 feet (246 m) above sea level. The lowest point is sea level at the Gulf coast. The mean elevation in the state is 300 feet (91 m) above sea level.

Finland - Porvoo Cathedral (FI-507799)

2009-04-30T23:57:00.000+03:00

I've been receiving a lot of Finnish official cards (just today 3 new ones have arrived here!), so I think I'll have to make updates with cards from this country even more often :) Now I have 10 Finnish cards waiting to be shown on this blog :) Some people complain about receiving too many Finnish landscapes, but, fortunately, I don't have this problem. I'm satisfied with the proportion of landscapes, city views, maps and cards showing people in national costumes in my collection of Finnish cards, which is getting really large :)

This card shows the Porvoo cathedral, which isn't very big (actually, I was surprised to read it was a cathedral), but is quite old - it was built in 15th century (some parts in 13th century).

FI-507799

Porvoo cathedral (Finnish: Porvoon tuomiokirkko, Swedish: Borgå domkyrka) is a cathedral in Porvoo, Finland. It was built in the 15th century, although the oldest parts date from the 13th century. It is used by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and is the seat of the Diocese of Borgå, Finland's Swedish-speaking diocese. The cathedral is also used for services by the Porvoo Finnish-speaking parish, which is administratively part of the Diocese of Helsinki.

The church has been destroyed by fire numerous times; in 1508 by Danish and in 1571, 1590, and 1708 by Russian forces. On May 29, 2006, the outer roof collapsed after arson, however with the inner ceiling undamaged and the cathedral interiors intact.

The Cathedral was the site of opening of first Diet of Finland March 28, 1809 where Finland was declared an autonomous Grand Duchy, with the Emperor of Russia as the Grand Duke of Finland.

Denmark - Jelling Church

2009-04-29T23:39:00.000+03:00

It's my first card from Denmark! :) Maybe it's hard to believe, but I hadn't had any Danish card until I received this one, although I've been to Denmark twice. My uncle lives in Copenhagen and I went there with my mother in 1996. I was just 5 years old then, so I don't really remember much. The 2nd time was in 2003, when I visited the Bornholm island on the Baltic sea and I remember it a bit better :) But I still wasn't a postcard collector at that time, so I didn't bring any Danish postcards home.

I received this card from Genek through the UNESCO tag :) The Jelling monuments were included in the UNESCO World Heritage List as symbols of the transitional period from paganism to Christianity.

Jelling Church was built around year 1100 and is the fourth church. Three wooden churches – the first, which was built in the eighth century by Harald Bluetooth as a sort of mausoleum for his father, Gorm the Old, burned down.

The Roman church was built in travertine. In the late Middle Ages, the low western tower was added.

In the beginning, the first Danish frescos were found in the chancel, clearly inspired by Byzantine art. They were, however, not found worthy of preservation and were destroyed in 1875 and the same year replaced by Magnus Pedersen copies. In 1926, the frescos were restored by Johan Thomas Skovgaard, who also did the frescos on the south wall.

The churchyard boasts some of Europe’s finest monuments from the Viking period: Denmark’s two largest grave mounds and two runic stones built by the kings Gorm the Old and Harald Bluetooth in the eighth century.

Uzbekistan - The Monument of Independence & Humanism in Tashkent

2009-04-29T23:37:00.000+03:00

Here's the 2nd of 3 cards that I received in a private swap from Valeriy :) It shows the Monument of Independence & Humanism in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan. This country is one of the 15 former Soviet republics and it became independent in 1991, just like Ukraine :) Also the name of the capital city's main square (Independence Square) is the same in Tashkent and Kyiv :)

By the way, I've noticed that most of Uzbek cards (I don't mean just the 3 that I have in my collection, but also the other ones that I've seen in other peoples' galleries) seem to belong to the same set. Perhaps there's one large postcards publisher in Uzbekistan, just like in Malaysia :)

The Mustaqillik (Independence) Square is the heart of Uzbekistan. The Monument of Independence and Humanism, erected at the Mustaqillik Square in 2005 upon the initiative and idea of President Islam Karimov, has been created by the renowned sculptor Ilkhom Jabborov. The monument is a unique complex, which reflects the peaceful policy of Uzbekistan, noble aspirations of the Uzbek people along the path of creation and progress, as well as its future. It has become a tradition to lay the flowers to the Monument during the nationwide holidays and other states festive events. The heads of states and governments of foreign countries, the representatives of various delegations and guests of Tashkent during their stay in Uzbekistan also lay flowers to it. The laying of flowers to the Monument of Independence and Humanism on the eve of the 16th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s Independence by heads of embassies and foreign countries is also a symbol of high respect to the Uzbek national traditions.

Germany - Bus 100 in Berlin (DE-307971)

2009-04-29T23:35:00.000+03:00

This interesting card gives you a good idea on how to sightsee Berlin, if you don't want or don't have enough time to walk around the city :) You can take the Bus 100 to see all the places depicted on this postcard. I've taken a sightseeing bus just once in my life in Brussels, but I still prefer the "traditional" way of sightseeing, even if I can't visit all the interesting sights this way :)

I read that the Bus 100 enters the Museum Island, which is a UNESCO site. I wonder, if any of the pictures on this card show buildings located on that island? I'm just curious if I can label this card as UNESCO :) I'll be very thankful, if you can help me :)

Berlin, nine times the size of Paris, is best explored on foot with the aid of the city’s excellent public transportation system. Of particular use to first-time visitors is bus line 100, a double-decker bus that passes by the major sights while connecting the two centers of this formerly divided city. Bus stops are numerous but for a good overview of the Mitte central district of Berlin take the bus all the way to the end terminus and alight at interesting sights on the way back.

You can read more about the route of this bus here, if you're interested in visiting Berlin :)

China - Wu Hill

2009-04-28T23:59:00.001+03:00

This wonderful card was sent from Hangzhou city, the capital of Zhejiang province and shows the sunset over Wu Hill. It seems to be a beautiful place itself (I saw some other pictures on the internet), but the rays of setting sun make this view even more breathtaking.
I've noticed that I usually receive Chinese postcards with many different and interesting stamps. I wonder if you always get such variety of stamps without asking on Chinese post or I'm just lucky with Chinese postcrossers, who care to choose nice ones for me :) Anyway, I find one of these stamps really unusual: it's a Chinese olympics stamp showing... another olympics stamp from Portugal :) I wish Polish postage stamps designers had so great ideas too :)

Wu Hill situates at the end of hills around the lake, is made up of 10 or more peaks. It stretches for several miles and extends into the downtown. Besides, it is locally called Chenghuang Hill. There are a lot of odd-shaped rocks and inscriptions on the hill. A strange cluster of rocks which is known as the “Twelve Animal Stones” appears like the twelve animals in the Chinese lunar calendar. On the hill, there are many camphor trees . One of them, the oldest one, “Song Camphor”, is more than 800 years old.

On the top of Wu Hill, there is a pavilion where you can have a view of both Qiantang River and West Lake as the hill locates between Qiantang River and West Lake. Recently, Panoramic View Pavilion and Tea Aroma Tower were built on the Wu Hill. Furthermore ginkgo, Chinese sweet gum, pine tree and evergreen camphor were planted all over the hill to accompany the “Song Camphor”. All these create a more attractive appearance of Wu Hill because the new scene blends perfectly with the old.

UK - The Watercress Line Steam Railway (GB-67928)

2009-04-28T23:58:00.001+03:00

Here's something that I really love - trains! :))) I already have several railways related cards in my collection and I still hope to receive more showing trains (both old and modern ones) from different countries and continents :) Some people claim that the popularity of trains in Europe will decrease and that they'll remain only a tourist attraction, as more and more people have their own cars... But I strongly believe in the further development of raliways. Trains are safer and more comfortable than cars. Travelling by train may be faster than by plane (on distances under 1000km), because railway stations are usually located closer to the city center than the airports and you don't have to come to the railway station 2 hours before your train leaves :) Well, I doubt if anyone is going to try travelling by train just because of reading my blog, but I encourage you to do so anyway ;) And no, I don't work for the Polish railways and I don't get any profits for advertising... I'm just an honest enthusiast :)))

GB-67928

The Watercress Line is the marketing name of the Mid-Hants Railway, a heritage line in Hampshire, England, running 10 miles (16 km) from New Alresford to Alton where it connects to the National Rail network. The line gained its popular name in the days that it was used to transport locally grown watercress to markets in London.

In 1861 the Alton, Alresford and Winchester Railway Company was authorised to build a new railway to connect to the existing London & South Western Railway lines at Alton and Winchester. It was opened on 2 October 1865 as the Mid-Hants Railway. Trains were operated by the London & South Western Railway who eventually purchased the Mid-Hants Railway Company in 1884.

The section of line from Alresford to Alton that can be seen today was successfully purchased from British Rail in November 1975. Some of the structures that can be seen on the Watercress Line today were not part of the original railway infrastructure; they have been added to make the line serviceable again and to recreate the feel of a fully-operational steam railway.

France - Sacré-Cœur Basilica in Paris (FR-46699)

2009-04-28T23:57:00.000+03:00

I was very surprised to receive an official card from France written in Ukrainian! :) It was sent by an Ukrainian lady, who lives in Paris :)
I honestly doubt if I've seen the Sacré-Cœur Basilica during my only trip to Paris and I'm rather sure I haven't been inside it (otherwise I'd remember it). When I saw this card for the first time, I thought it was a very old church, but in fact it was completed 1914, which was not so long ago, as for Europe. It reminds me Orthodox churches a bit (although it's a Catholic basilica) and indeed it was built in Romano-Byzantine style.

FR-46699

The Sacré-Cœur Basilica (French: Basilique du Sacré-Cœur, "Basilica of the Sacred Heart") is a Roman Catholic basilica and popular landmark in Paris, France, dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The basilica is located at the summit of the butte Montmartre, the highest point in the city.

Sacré-Cœur is built of travertine stone quarried in Château-Landon (Seine-et-Marne), France. This stone constantly exudes calcite, which ensures that the basilica remains white even with weathering and pollution.
A mosaic in the apse, entitled Christ in Majesty, is among the largest in the world. The basilica complex includes a garden for meditation, with a fountain.
The top of the dome is open to tourists and affords a spectacular panoramic view of the city of Paris, which is mostly to the south of the basilica.

Finland - Aurora borealis (FI-504940)

2009-04-27T23:59:00.002+03:00

I think it's time to show you the 2nd card showing aurora borealis that I've received some time ago :) This one comes from Finland and actually I was almost sure that if I ever receive a card showing aurora borealis, it'll certainly come from Finland (and then I received 2 on the same day - from Finland and from Russia) :)

There's some information on the back side of this card. It says: "When the particles of the solar wind hit the atmosphere of the earth the oxygen of the air flares in green light". I understand the words, but still don't understand how it works. And I don't really think I want to understand it. I think that aurora borealis is beautiful even for people, who understand physics and astronomy very well, but I like the feeling that it's something mysterious, even if I know that in fact there is some scientific explaination. I read that auroras occur occasionally also in temperate latitudes, but I've never been lucky enough to see it :(

FI-504940

Aurorae are produced by the collision of charged particles from Earth's magnetosphere, mostly electrons but also protons and heavier particles, with atoms and molecules of Earth's upper atmosphere (at altitudes above 80 km (50 miles)). The particles have energies of 1 to 100 keV. They originate from the Sun and arrive at the vicinity of Earth in the relatively low-energy solar wind. When the trapped magnetic field of the solar wind is favourably oriented (principally southwards) it connects with Earth's magnetic field, and solar particles enter the magnetosphere and are swept to the magnetotail. Further magnetic reconnection accelerates the particles towards Earth.

The collisions in the atmosphere electrically excite electrons to take quantum leaps (a mechanism in which the electron's kinetic energy is converted to visible light); and molecules in the upper atmosphere. The excitation energy can be lost by light emission or collisions. Most aurorae are green and red emissions from atomic oxygen. Molecular nitrogen and nitrogen ions produce some low level red (pink) and very high blue/violet aurorae. The light blue and green colors are produced by ionic nitrogen and the neutral helium gives off the purple colour whereas Neon is responsible for the rare orange flares with the rippled edges. Different gasses interacting with the upper atmosphere will produce different colors, caused by the different compounds of oxygen and nitrogen. The level of solar wind activity from the Sun can also influence the color of the aurorae.

Brazil - Rio de Janeiro

2009-04-27T23:58:00.000+03:00

I received this wonderful card from Renato in the Slavic countries RR :) It shows the cable car of Sugarloaf Mountain in Rio de Janeiro, together with the Guanabara Bay and Copacabana beach, which is probably the best known beach of Rio, because even I've heard it's name for many times, even though I've never been to Brazil :) Sometimes I really regret this country is fo far away. And I love the places, where mountains are so close to the sea.

Sugarloaf Mountain (in Portuguese, Pão de Açúcar), is a peak situated in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from the mouth of Guanabara Bay on a peninsula that sticks out into the Atlantic Ocean. Rising 396 metres (1,299 ft) above sea-level, its name is said to refer to its resemblance to the traditional shape of concentrated refined loaf sugar. However, it is believed by some that the name actually derives from Pau-nh-acuqua (“high hill”) in the Tupi-Guarani language, as used by the indigenous Tamoios.

The mountain is only one of several monolithic morros of granite and quartz that rise straight from the water's edge around Rio de Janeiro. A glass-paneled cable car (in popular Portuguese, bondinho - more properly called teleférico), capable of holding 75 passengers, runs along a 1400-metre route between the peaks of Pão de Açúcar and Cara de Cão every 20 minutes. The original cable car line was built in 1912 and rebuilt around 1972/1973 in its current form. The cable car goes from the base, not the peak of the Babilônia mountain, to the Urca mountain and then to the Pão de Açúcar mountain.

Poland - Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

2009-04-27T23:57:00.000+03:00

Thanks to the UNESCO tag on postcrossing forum, I've received 2 wonderful cards showing UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Poland :) Actually, I was expecting to receive just one, so it was a great surprise to receive an anvelope with 2 different UNESCO cards! It was a shame to write here about my knowledge of my own country once, so I'm not going to repeat it ;) Writing about it is pointless, because I do absoutely nothing to change it - of course, I could spend my holidays visiting different regions of Poland and learning more about my homeland, but the temptation to go to another country (guess which one) is always too strong :)
I haven't been to Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, although it seems to be a very beautiful place, surrounded by forests.

Kalwaria Zebrzydowska park is a Mannerist architectural and park landscape complex and pilgrimage park, built in the 17th century as the Counter Reformation in the late 16th century led to prosperity in the creation of Calvaries in Catholic Europe. It is the best known sanctuary in Poland, after Jasna Góra in Częstochowa. The park, located near the town of Kalwaria Zebrzydowska, which took its name from the park, was added in 1999 to the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites.

Calvary or Golgotha are the English language/Western Christian names given to the site, outside of ancient Jerusalem’s early 1st century walls, ascribed to the crucifixion of Jesus. The word "Calvary" comes from Calvaria in the Latin Vulgate.

Norfolk Island

2009-04-25T14:16:00.002+03:00

Hosting a RR on the postcrossing forum often gives me opportunity to receive cards from very rare countries :) Honestly, I wouldn't believe it if someone told me that I was going to receive a card from Norfolk Island really sent from there. I think I had heard the name of this island before, but I didn't know anything more about it. I've been interested in geography since early childhood, but there are so many small islands on the Pacific Ocean that I just can't remember all of them. I only know the ones that are independent countries, because at age of 7 or 8 I decided to learn names of all independent countries and their capitals... And I still remember them :) But Norfolk Island is an external territory of Australia with population of just 2141 people, so I think it's not very surprising that not everyone knows it :)

This postcard shows the St. Barnabas Chapel, which was consecrated in 1880. According to Jillian, who sent me this postcard, the stained glass windows and the organ were all shipped out from England. It must have been quite a fear to get them onto the island, as there's no harbour!

Norfolk Island (Norfuk: Norfuk Ailen) is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. It and two neighbouring islands form one of Australia's external territories.

The Norfolk Island pine, a symbol of the island pictured in its flag, is an evergreen tree native to the island and is quite popular in Australia, where two related species also grow.

Norfolk Island is located in the South Pacific Ocean, east of the Australian mainland. Norfolk Island is the main island of the island group the territory encompasses. It has an area of 34.6 km² (13.3 mi²), with no large-scale internal bodies of water but 32 km of coastline. The island's highest point is Mt Bates (319 m above sea level), located in the northwest quadrant of the island. The majority of the terrain is suitable for farming and other agricultural uses. Phillip Island, the second largest island of the territory, is located seven kilometres south of the main island.

The climate is subtropical and mild, with little seasonal differentiation. The island is the eroded remnant of a basaltic volcano active around 2.3 to 3 million years ago, with inland areas now consisting mainly of rolling plains. It forms the highest point on the Norfolk Ridge, part of the submerged continent Zealandia.

Germany - Church of Our Lady in Nuremberg (DE-316163)

2009-04-25T14:14:00.001+03:00

This wonderful card shows the catholic Church of Our Lady (Frauenkirche in German) on the main square of Nuremberg. I used to travel quite often in different West European countries with my dad several years ago and at some moment we started joking that each time we visit a new city, we also visit another gothic cathedral or church :) In fact, some of them are really similar to each other, but this church catched my attention immediatelly, when I received this card. Maybe it's because there are many pinnacles (I still remember some names of architectural details) ;) or because of the nice solar clock? I haven't been to Nuremberg, but it's already my 2nd card from there and I'm convinced it's a very beautiful city.

DE-316163

Emperor Charles IV had the Church of Our Lady's (Frauenkirche) built here between 1355 and 1358 on the site of the destroyed synagogue of the former Jewish quarter (pogrom in 1349). It was the first Gothic hall church in Franconia, constructed as an Imperial court chapel with three aisles. Its builder was presumably Peter Parler, the master builder of the Prague St Vitus' Cathedral. The "Männleinlaufen" ("Running Men" clockwork at noon), created in 1509 by Sebastian Lindenast and Georg Heuß, is reminiscent of the proclamation of the Golden Bull of 1356: seven electors pay homage to Emperor Charles IV sitting on the throne. The main altar is the "Tucher Altar" which was the high altar in the Augustine Church up until 1487. In 1816, the Church of Our Lady's was given to Nuremberg's Catholic congregation.

The Netherlands - Summer snowflake (NL-149230)

2009-04-25T14:14:00.000+03:00

Christiane from the Netherlands sent me a card connected with her job. She works at the Utrecht University and the part of it are the botanic gardens. This card is something absolutely new in my collection and it made me search for some information about Leucojum aestivum (though I prefer it's English name - Summer snowflake) :) I can't tell you if I've ever seen such flowers, but I like the small, bell-shaped flowers very much :)

NL-149230

The snowflakes are native to southern Europe, from the Pyrenées to Romania and western Russia, but they have been introduced and have naturalized in many other areas, including the east coast of North America. They have narrow, strap-like, dark green leaves. The flowers are small and bell-shaped, white with a green (or occasionally yellow) spot at the end of each tepal. They have a slight fragrance.

Leucojum aestivum (Summer snowflake) has a natural range, taking in Europe, southwest Asia and northern Iran, and growing in wetter habitats including damp woodland, riversides and swamps. Despite its common name it also flowers from March to May, though slightly later than the Spring Snowflake. It is a taller plant than Leucojum vernum, growing to around 60 cm (2 ft), but its flowers are smaller and are carried in an umbel of between three and seven.

Thailand - The Temple of Dawn in Bangkok (TH-17979)

2009-04-23T14:13:00.000+03:00

The last time I received Thai postcards was in summer, so I was happy to find two new ones in my mailbox within a short period of time :) This one comes from Bangkok and shows the Buddhist temple (wat) in Bangkok called Wat Arun (The Temple of Dawn). It looks magnificent on the postcard and it's indeed great - it's height is reported by different sources as between 66,80 m and 86 m (I just wonder what's the reason of 20 m difference between those sources).

There are numerous followers of Buddhism and other Eastern religions in Poland, but the places where they meet for prayer usually aren't any special buildings. I doubt if there are any real Buddhist temples in my country, so receiving such postcard, apart from enriching my collection, lets me learn more about this religion.

TH-17979

Wat Arun (Thai: วัดอรุณ, Temple of the Dawn) is a Buddhist temple (wat) in the Bangkok Yai district of Bangkok, Thailand, on the west bank of the Chao Phraya River. The full name of the temple is Wat Arunratchawararam Ratchaworamahavihara (วัดอรุณราชวรารามราชวรมหาวิหาร).

The outstanding feature of Wat Arun is its central prang (Khmer-style tower). It may be named "Temple of the Dawn" because the first light of morning reflects off the surface of the temple with a pearly iridescence. Steep steps lead to the two terraces. The corners are surrounded by 4 smaller satellite prangs. The prangs are decorated by seashells and bits of porcelain which had previously been used as ballast by boats coming to Bangkok from China.

Have I already told you that I love the Thai writing system? No, I can't read it and I don't think I'll ever be able to learn Thai language, but these letters look just like flowers :)

Belarus - Nyasvizh Castle

2009-04-23T14:11:00.002+03:00

As many of my official cards got stuck last month, I decided to finally try tagging on the postcrossing forum :) UNESCO tag has immediatelly become my favorite one and I've already received several wonderful cards this way :) My goal of receiving cars showing 100 different UNESCO sites seems to be a bit closer ;)

This card comes from Belarus (And was written in Belarussian! I rarely have any opportunity to practise this language, so I'm always glad about it) and shows the main tower of Nyasvizh castle, which has been a UNESCO site since 2005.

Nesvizh Castle (Belarusian: Нясьвіскі замак, Niasvižski zamak) is a residential castle of the Radziwill family in Niasviž in Belarus.

The estate was owned by the Radziwiłł magnate family from 1533, when it was awarded to Mikołaj Radziwiłł and his brother Jan Radziwiłł after the extinction of the Kiszka family.
In 1582 Mikołaj Krzysztof "Sierotka" Radziwiłł, the Marshal of Lithuania, started the construction of an imposing square three-storey chateau. Although the works were based on a pre-existing structure of a mediæval castle, the former fortifications were entirely turned into a renaissance-baroque house. Construction was completed by 1604, and they added several galleries half a century later. The château's corners were fortified with four octagonal towers.

In 1994, the castle complex was designated the national historical and cultural reserve. Twelve years later, the castle complex was inscribed on the World Heritage List.

Finland - People from Lapland in national costumes (FI-503381)

2009-04-23T14:09:00.000+03:00

I'm glad to receive more and more cards showing people in national costumes :) Not surprisingly, most of them come from Finland and especially from Lapland, because this region is probably considered to be the most interesting one, when it comes to indigenous peoples' folklore and traditions.
In most European countries people don't wear the national costumes anymore, even in the villages. There are some groups of people, who want to save the unique folklore, so they wear their traditional costumes for some holidays and events. I wonder, if it's the same also in Lapland? Or maybe the old traditions are still and important part of Sami peoples' life?

FI-503381

By the way, are these animals reindeers? I've never seen a real one, although I used to dream of meeting them, when I still had no doubts in existence of Santa Claus :)))

New Zealand

2009-04-21T17:39:00.000+03:00

Believe me or not, it's my first card from New Zealand! :) I think it's just perfect, because it gives me some idea about the country's beauty and variety. I also love this type of multiview cards without borders, so that it seems to be one picture at the first sight :) I find New Zealand really fascinating because of it's maginificent landscapes and also because of the 17 000 kms distance. Maybe there are some small islands farther away from Poland, but New Zealand is definitely the farthest country. Here's the information from the back side of this card:

Beauty of New Zealand: This beautiful land of contrast, from snow clad mountains, fertile plains, magnificent fiords, perfect beaches, lush forest and active volcanoes is a paradise for those who want to visit her shores.

Oh yes, I'd love to visit New Zealand and I know many people who dream of going there even more. I just hope that someday travelling overseas will be easier and cheaper, like it's now between the EU countries. I'm still very young, so I hope this day will come :))

Unfortunately, I don't have any information about the places depicted on this postcard (maybe someone could help me?), but I know that this sweet creature in the down left corner is kiwi - a bird that can be found only in New Zealand :)

A kiwi is any of the species of flightless birds endemic to New Zealand of the genus Apteryx. At around the size of a domestic chicken, kiwi are by far the smallest living ratites and lay the largest egg in relation to its body size. All kiwi species are endangered. The kiwi is also a national symbol of New Zealand. Kiwi are shy and usually nocturnal. Their mostly nocturnal habits may be a result of habitat intrusion by predators, including humans. In areas of New Zealand where introduced predators have been removed, such as sanctuaries, kiwi are often seen in daylight. Once bonded, a male and female kiwi tend to live their entire lives as a monogamous couple. During the mating season, June to March, the pair call to each other at night, and meet in the nesting burrow every three days. These relationships may last for up to 20 years

Germany - Bamberg (DE-310457)

2009-04-21T17:38:00.001+03:00

I have a lot of reasons to love this card :) First of all, it shows the town of Bamberg, which is a new UNESCO site in my collection (as I promised, I'm going to tell you, when I have 100 of them, but I still don't think it's going to be soon). It is also a map card and my first one with a city map. Morover, there's a beautiful train on the stamp. Last but not least, it's very orange :)))

I think I've already written it for hundreds of times, but it's always very pleasant to receive a card fitting my wishes so well not only because it enriches my collection, but also because it's nice to feel that people, who don't know me at all and get my address randomly care to make me happy :)

DE-310457

Bamberg is a town in Bavaria, Germany. It is located in Upper Franconia on the river Regnitz, close to its confluence with the river Main. Bamberg is one of the few cities in Germany that was not destroyed by World War II bombings because of a nearby Artillery Factory that prevented planes from getting near to Bamberg.

The Old Town of Bamberg is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage, primarily because of its authentic medieval appearance. The city established a documentation centre in 2005 to support World Heritage activities.

Estonia - Koguva village on the Muhu island

2009-04-21T17:37:00.000+03:00

I received this beautiful card from Janek in the World Labguages RR, written in Czech :) Koguva is one of the villages on the Muhu island (called Muhumaa in Estonian), which is the 3rd largest island of Estonia, with area of 198 km².

Together with neighbouring smaller islands of Kesselaid, Viirelaid, Võilaid and Suurlaid it forms Muhu Parish, the rural municipality within Saare County. The municipality has a population of 1,822 and covers an area of 206.12 km². The population density is 8.8 inhabitants per km².

Koguva was first mentioned in 1532 by Wolter von Plettenberg in document to grant freedom for peasant called Hansken and his son and their descendants. Hansken descendants became called by surname Schmuul later.

Koguva is a small, very peaceful rural village. There are many buildings that are centuries old, dating back to feudal times under Swedish rule, and are still in use today. The northern shore of Muhu, which is claimed to have the clearest water anywhere in the Baltic Sea, is only a short distance away.

Happy Easter! :)

2009-04-19T20:18:00.001+03:00

Actually, I wanted to make an Easter update on my blog on the day, when it was celebrated by the huge majority of Christians around the world, but it was impossible, because I decided to spend my Easter holidays in Ukraine :) But at least I have an opportunity to tell you that I celebrate Easter today :)

I know it may be a bit confusing, but I'll try to explain it :) Orthodox and Eastern Catholic churches still use the Julian calendar. In Catholic and Protestant countries, this calendar was replaced by the more correct Gregorian calendar introduced by the Pope Gregory XIII in 1582. The reason for this change was that Julian calendar gains a day every 134 years, which means that now the difference between the 2 calendars is 13 days (and it's going to be 14 days after 2100). The Julian calendar was used in Russia until 1917 and that's why we learn about the October Revolution, even though it was in November :) But the old calendar is still used by church and that's why we celebrate all the holidays with fixed dates 13 days later (for example, Christmas is on 7th of January and I can always take an additional day off then - sometimes it's good to belong to a minority) ;)

The situation with Easter is a bit more complicated, because it has to be on Sunday. That's why you can't just add 13 days to the date of Catholic/Protestant Easter to get the date of Orthodox Easter. The way of counting it is quite complicated and I don't want to bore you, so I'll just tell you that in 30% cases we celebrate Easter on the same day as West Christians, in 45% cases (like this year) it's one week later, in 5% cases it's 4 weeks later and in 20% cases it's even 5 weeks later. 2 or 3 weeks difference is impossible.

HU-18281

This year I've received just one Easter card (in Poland sending Easter card is just as popular as sending Christmas cards, but probably in other countries it's not) and it's a nice official from Hungary :)

I want to wish Happy and Blessed Easter to everyone, who celebrates it today! :) I hope that those of you, who celebrated Easter one week ago also enjoyed their holidays and spent them in a nice atmosphere :)

Христос Воскрес!
Христос Воскресе!
Хрыстос Уваскрэс!
Честит Велигден!
Wesołych Świąt Wielkiej Nocy!

Ukraine - Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv

2009-04-17T12:46:00.002+03:00

I'm sorry for not updating my blog for over a week :) I think I'll have to (and I want to) update in daily now, because I've been receiving many wonderful cards, many of them coming from absolutely new countries in my collection, so I just feel like making very frequent updates :)
So what was the reason of my absence? :) Maybe you'll try to guess? ;) ... OK, I know it's not a very hard task, because I'm really crazy about one certain country and I go there each time I have at least 4 days off (less than 4 would be not enough, because I live about 520 kms away from the border and I always go there by train). The Easter holidays in Poland last for 6 days, so I decided to go to Ukraine :) But this time I have a serious reason to justify myself - as I'm planning to study in Kyiv since September (I still can't believe I can do it, although I've been told at the university that I had great chances, just because I can speak fluent Ukrainian) so I had to go there.

I spent just one day in Kyiv this time, but I enjoyed this time very much and spent it as well as I could thanks to Katya, who is my new friend :) I received an official card from her in March and then we started corresponding and talking on Skype. I was very happy and thankful, when Katya offered to help me to find the right university building in Kyiv and to show me some interesting places in the city that I haven't seen yet. Here's one of the cards that I've received from Katya :) It shows the St. Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv, which is a UNESCO site.

Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kyiv (Ukrainian: Собор Святої Софії, Sobor Sviatoyi Sofiyi or Софійський собор) is an outstanding architectural monument of Kievan Rus'. Today, it is one of the city's best known landmarks and the first Ukrainian patrimony to be inscribed on the World Heritage List. The first foundations were laid in 1037, but the cathedral took two decades to complete. The structure has 5 naves, 5 apses, and (quite surprisingly for Byzantine architecture) 13 cupolas. It is surrounded by two-tier galleries from three sides. Measuring 37 by 55 meters, the exterior used to be faced with plinths. On the inside, it retains mosaics and frescos from the eleventh century, including a dilapidated representation of Yaroslav's family, and the Virgin Orans.

Finding the office for foreign students at the university was not so easy, as it might seem to be, because they had moved just a week before I came to Kyiv and first nobody wanted to tell us, where should we go... But then I went a bit angry ;) and I said that I travelled 1000 kms and that it was very important for me, so I finally got the right address :) I learned that I should come to Kyiv on 28th of August... It means that I'm going to have a really long summer (more than 3 months), but of course I'll be worried until they accept me there. I've been living in a big city since I was born, but Kyiv is just enormous for me (there are 3,5 mln inbitants in Kyiv, so it's twice bigger than Warsaw, the capital and largest city of Poland). Now I feel I could get lost there very easily, but I'm sure I'll get used to living there if I have such opportunity.

By the way, my new avatar is a photo taken next to the main post office of Kyiv on the Independence Square :))

Spending last Friday in Kyiv convinced me that postcrossing is not only a great project which lets you receive wonderful cards from around the world, but it also helps to meet very nice people and to make friends :) For me that was the first time to meet someone that I know from postcrossing in so called "real life" and that was a great experience :)

Катя, я не знаю, чи ти заглядаєш на мій блоґ, але якщо ти це читаєш - я хочу ще раз подякувати тобі за твою допомогу та за чудово проведений час у Києві :) Сподіваюся, що у нас ще буде нагода повторити це, можливо не лише у Києві та не лише в Україні ;) Мені справді дуже пощастило, що я познайомилась з тобою :) ДЯКУЮ! :)

Malaysia - Rubber plantation

2009-04-17T12:44:00.000+03:00

I received this interesting card in the Slavic countries RR. I love cards showing something typical for the country, which isn't a typical tourist attraction. According to Lay Hoon, who has sent me this card, Malaysia used to be the No. 1 rubber exporter in the world. I guess that now most of rubber we're using is synthetic, because it must be cheaper and easier to produce it. Working at such plantation is very hard, because the rubber tappers have to remove a thin layer of bark along a downward half spiral on the tree trunk each night or early in the morning, before the temperature rises. If it's done carefully and with skill, this tapping panel will yield latex for up to 5 years.

Rubber tapping is the process by which rubber is gathered. An incision is made in the bark of a rubber tree, which cuts through the latex vessels that flow between the bark and the cambium. The latex then drips into a vessel. This industry is prevalent in areas of tropical rainforest, such as Brazil in the Roraima area or Malaysia and generally grows within a band 10° north or south of the equator, which offers optimum growing conditions. In the rubber tree's native habitats, it is less destructive to the environment and rainforest and provides a renewable source of wood which can be used within the furniture industry. However, in Southeast Asia where it is non-native, it is grown in monoculture plantations created by felling large areas of rainforest.. Large scale plantations operate on a 20 - 25 year planting cycle to optimise the latex yield.

By the way, I've noticed that many Malay cards (from different regions) belong to the same set with white frame and writting "Malaysia" with the country's flag. I wonder, how many cards are there is this set and are they really so popular around the country? Maybe they're some kind of "official" Malay cards? I already have 2 such cards, my mother received other 2, when she was trying postcrossing and I've seen much more of them in other peoples' collections :)

Finland - Teijo church (FI-501032)

2009-04-17T12:43:00.000+03:00

This card shows the altarpiece of Teijo church, located in Salo region of Finland. I thought it would be impossible to find any information about it, but I found out that it was probably the smallest stone church in Finland. It was completed in 1830. And it was sent with a very nice Easter stamp :)

FI-501032

I like magnificient cathedrals, because they're interesting from the historic and touristic point of view. But I prefer the atmosphere of small churches, because it's so much easier to think, pray or just calm down there. I don't know, what does the whole Teijo church look like, but knowing it is a small stone building I suppose I would feel really good there :)

Brazil - Barra Lighthouse in Salvador

2009-04-07T09:14:00.000+03:00

Here's one of the 3 postards that I received in a swap from Karina yesterday :) I could choose them myself and this one was the first, which caught my attention and I immediatelly decided that I would like to have it in my collection :) I love this card especially because of it's contrast between the sea and land. And I like lighthouses, although they're not on my wishlist (I just don't want it to be too long). This lighthouse (Farol in Portuguese - I'm starting to like this language ;) First "salina" then "farol"... really nice words!) is located in the Barra neighborhood on Salvador city (the capital of Bahia state).

By the way, I'm glad I could choose the cards myself :) Sometimes I think I should create my own album with cards for trade. But the problem is that I actually rarely travel in Poland, so most of the cards would be from just one city (Wrocław) and from Ukraine :)) To be honest, I don't even keep many cards from Wrocław at home. I always have some typical city views for people that don't have any specified wishes, but in the other cases I'm trying to choose a card fitting someone's wishes after I get his/her address. I used to buy many cards and stamps at time, but later I decided that I prefer choosing the cards and going to the post office nearly everyday :)) But I'd like to know your opinion - do you prefer swapping with people that have albums with cards for trade?

Barra is a neighborhood located in the southern zone of Salvador. The Barra is one of the neighborhoods most traditional of Salvador, the capital of Bahia, belonging to Administrative Region VI, of the same name. It has a unique geographical location in the world, where you can see both the birth and the sunsets at sea, it occupies the apex of the peninsula is where the city. Salvador's "postcard" neighborhood, Porto da Barra boasts a mix of old and new Bahia.

Barra has good shops, cafes, restaurants, bars, nightclubs, residences, green areas, events and historic monuments. The neighborhood is subdivided in the following areas: Jardim Brasil, Porto da Barra, Chame Chame, Jardim Apipema, Avenida Centenário, Ladeira da Barra. Barra concetrates a large number of old people and persons from many parts of Brazil and the world.

The neighborhood of Barra is confined to the districts of Victoria, Grace and Bar Avenue (North), Ondine and Call-Call (the east), the Atlantic Ocean (the south) and the Bay of All Saints (east). This location makes the bar is one of the only places in Brazil where Continental is the sunset at sea.

France - Bourges Cathedral (FR-45552)

2009-04-07T09:13:00.000+03:00

This beautiful card shows the Bourges Cathedral, which has been a UNESCO site since 1992. I used to think that the gothic cathedrals in Poland are really great, until I went to Belgium and France and saw really enormous and magnificient churches. Actually, it doesn't mean that I like them more than the ones in Poland, because I still feel better and find it easier to pray in small churches. Anyway, when I travel, I always want to visit the cathedrals or other churches to see, how different they are in other countries. I haven't been to Bourges, but if I go there someday, I'll definitely visit the Saint Stephen Cathedral. I'm not good at architecture, but looking at this card I have an impression that this cathedral doesn't seem to be "heavy", even though it's really big. I'm not surprised that it was inscribed on the UNESCO list :)

FR-45552

Bourges Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Étienne de Bourges) is a cathedral, dedicated to Saint Stephen, located in Bourges, France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Bourges. Construction of Bourges Cathedral began in 1195, the same time as Chartres Cathedral. The choir was completed by 1214 and the nave was completed in 1225-1250. The west façade was finished in 1270. The architect was Paul-Louis Boeswillwald and the master builder was Philip Berruyer. The cathedral was added to the list of the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO in 1992. Bourges is notable for the unity of its design, seen in no other cathedral of the High Gothic era. It features two distinct horseshoe aisles that wrap around a central nave and choir). The inner aisle has a higher vault than the outer aisle. Each ambulatory/aisle has its own portal at the west end. The five portal entrance necessitated more careful design to create a more coherent façade. This also eliminated the usual cross-shaped transept design. The gallery is absent; instead the inner aisle has been raised. This gives the cathedral a pyramidal shape under the buttresses. The flying buttresses are very structurally efficient (particularly compared to those at Chartres, which is a contemporary structure) as the steep angle channels the thrust from the nave vaults and from wind loading more directly to the outer buttress piers.

Germany - Beautiful doors in North Germany (DE-307663)

2009-04-07T09:11:00.000+03:00

I like this card, because it's a multiview with a lot of pictures (more precisely - there are 20) and because it's so unusual. Many people just don't pay attention to such details, as the doors of houses that they're passing by. I don't know, who is the author of this postcard, but this person really had a great idea :) Honestly, I rarely notice such things, although seeing them on a postcard I must say they're really beautiful.

DE-307663

I doubt if I would ever care to have such garden and door, because it really takes a lot of time to make it look beautiful and I'm just too lazy ;) But it's nice to see that some people care and tha they achieve really good results :)

USA - Clearwater Beach, Florida (US-362398)

2009-04-05T10:08:00.000+03:00

The cards that I receive from Florida are always special for me in some way, because, as I've already written for many times, that's the only state in USA that I've been to. I can't say it's my favorite place on the earth or that it's my dream to come back there. But it was certainly an interesting experience, something exotic... and I'm glad I went there at 13, because now there are so many other problems and things to do that I would probably never go to America, even if I had a lot of money.

I haven't been to Clearwater Beach, but it reminds me some other beaches in Florida. The nature is really wonderful - sandy beach, all these small islands... But I think it would look better without all those houses. Well, I know that many people like such "civilised" places at the seaside :) I prefer "wild" beaches, without any buildings and with not so many people. But of course, I wouldn't complain if I could go to Clearwater Beach, especially during the winter :))

US-362398

Clearwater Beach is located on the Gulf of Mexico in Pinellas County on the west central coast of Florida in the United States. The geographic latitude is 27.57 N and longitude 82.48 W. The slogan, "The White Sand Paradise that is Clearwater Beach, Florida" has been used to describe the beach. It is characterized by its white sand beach which stretches for 2.5 miles along the Gulf. This subtropical beach is visited by many tourists annually. Clearwater Beach is approximately 20 miles from Tampa International Airport, Clearwater Beach offers entertainment such as parasailing, jet skiing, boat tours (with a common site of seeing dolphins in the Gulf waters), restaurants and bars within walking distance of the beach, fishing charter boats and pirate ship cruise tours.

Portugal - Salt ponds in Aveiro (PT-76912)

2009-04-05T10:07:00.001+03:00

When I received this card, I had no idea, what was depicted on it. The sender also didn't provide any information about it, but there was a Portuguese word "salinas" on the back side of this card, which made me believe that it must be something connected with salt, though I can't speak Portuguese :) Then I checked it on Wikipedia... and I was right :) The English name of "salina" is "salt evaporation pond", but "salina" sounds better (and simplier) ;)
I knew that such salt ponds existed, but I've never seen any and I thought they're used mostly in some exotic country. Thanks to this card, I learned that they can be found also in Europe :) By the way, I didn't know that it was possible to produce so much salt of sea water... But I think Baltic Sea isn't saline enough and evaporation would take too long in our climate, that's why there are no salt ponds in Poland.

PT-76912

Salt evaporation ponds are shallow man-made ponds designed to produce salt from sea water. The seawater is fed into large ponds and water is drawn out through natural evaporation which allows the salt to be subsequently harvested. The ponds also provide a productive resting and feeding ground for more than 70 species of waterbirds, including several endangered species. The ponds are commonly separated by levees. Due to variable algal concentrations, vivid colors, from pale green to bright red, are created in the evaporation ponds. The color indicates the salinity of the ponds. Micro-organisms change their hues as the salinity of the pond increases. In low to mid-salinity ponds, green algae are predominant. In middle to high salinity ponds, an algae called Dunaliella salina shifts the color to red. Millions of tiny brine shrimp create an orange cast in mid-salinity ponds. Other bacteria such as Stichococcus also contribute tints. These colors are especially interesting to airplane passengers or astronauts passing above due to their somewhat artistic formations of shape and color.

Finland - Helsinki Cathedral (FI-499853)

2009-04-05T10:05:00.001+03:00

I tried to make a variety on my blog by not posting cards from the same countries too often (my idea was to have just one card per country on each page, which contains 15 cards), which resulted in having almost 10 Finnish cards waiting to be posted. I think it's just impossible to stick to such rules if you exchange cards mainly through the official postcrossing system :) As I always visit postcard blogs / galleries of people that I sent cards to, I suppose that others can do the same and think that I dislike their cards, if they don't appear on my blog for a very long time. That's why I decided to "break" those rules a bit, at least for Finland :) I hope you don't mind it.

Now I have cards showing both cathedrals in Helsinki :) Not so long time ago I received one showing the Orthodox Cathedral and this one shows the Lutheran Cathedral. By the way, both Lutheran and Orthodox churches have national status in Finland, although only about 1% of Finns are Orthodox.

FI-499853

Helsinki Cathedral (in Finnish Helsingin tuomiokirkko or Suurkirkko, in Swedish Helsingfors domkyrka or Storkyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran cathedral of the Diocese of Helsinki, located in the centre of Helsinki, Finland. The church was originally built as a tribute to the Grand Duke, Nicholas I, the Tsar of Russia and until the independence of Finland in 1917, it was called St. Nicholas' Church. A distinct landmark in the scenery of central Helsinki, with a tall green dome surrounded by four smaller domes, the church was built in 1830-1852, in neoclassical style. Today the cathedral is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Helsinki. Annually more than 350,000 people visit the church, some of them to attend religious events, but most are tourists. The church is in regular use for both worship services and special events such as weddings.

China - Wangshi Yuan garden (CN-58310)

2009-04-03T22:24:00.000+03:00

I received this wonderful card last week and I would probably never guess it was showing a UNESCO site, if there wasn't a UNESCO WHS logo on the back side of this card with explaination in... Spanish :)) I was surprised to read "Vista interior de la Habitación Tiyun del Jardín Wangshi" on a Chinese card :) I wonder, if Spanish is considered to be a language of international communication in China or if there's any other reason, but it was quite complicated to check, which UNESCO site it was. I can't speak Spanish (and I also can't speak Chinese, I think that's not surprising for you) ;), but I understood it was a garden and it's name was Wangshi. Finally, I found out it was one of the 10 Suzhou gardens, which are listed as World Heritage sites.

There's a Japanese garden in my city (I guess that people from Asia could probably tell me many differences between the Chinese and Japanese art of designing gardens and I would be very thankful for such information, as it's often quite difficult to distinguish parts of different Asian cultures for us, Europeans) and I find it very beautiful, even though it's not big, there are just some plants typical for Japan and a bridge built in "Asian" style. Visiting a real Chinese or Japanese garden, designed so well, would be a great experience... Looking at this card I feel want to go through this door :)

CN-58310

The Master of the Nets Garden or Wangshi Yuan (simplified Chinese: 网师园; traditional Chinese: 網師園; pinyin: Wǎngshī Yuán) is among the finest gardens in China. Recognized with nine other Suzhou gardens as United Nations World Heritage sites, it demonstrates Chinese garden designers’ adept skills for synthesizing art, nature, and architecture to create unique metaphysical masterpieces. The initial garden was first constructed over 800 years ago and even though its physical form has changed drastically since, the name and spirit of the garden still remain intact. The Master of the Nets is particularly regarded among garden connoisseurs for its mastering the techniques of relative dimension, contrast, foil, sequence and depth, and borrowed scenery. While the garden’s primary uses have varied over time, its ability to inspire visitors intellectually and spiritual remains unchanged. Keen physical architecture combined with poetic and artistic inspirations makes the Master of the Nets garden a unique and incredible garden experience that has stood the test of time.

Australia - The Flag (AU-37976)

2009-04-03T22:23:00.000+03:00

Here's another card that fits my preferences very well :) Map cards with just one big flag and the name of country are just perfect for me :) There's some information about the Australian flag on the back side of this card:

The Australian national flag is the result of a competition held in 1901. The Union Jack, national flag of the United Kingdom, occupies the top left corner. Directly below is the seven-pointed Commonwealth Star. The right side of the flag depicts the Southern Cross, a constellation seen in Australia's night sky.

The sender of this card wrote that Australia became a nation on 1st January 1901 and that her grandfather was at the ceremony in Sydney as an 11 year old boy :) It's always interesting to read peoples' stories, then the historic events become more real :)

AU-37976

This stamp show sthe place, where the sender of this card lives :) It's making this card even more interesting :) By the way, I was surprised to read on the forum that in Australia you have to use special International stamps to send mail abroad. You can't use several domestic stamps with the same value. It's strange, because here (and in all the countries where I was sending mail) there are no specific "domestic" and "international" stamp. You can use any, as long as their value is enough to send mail to certain country.

I doubt if someone from Australia (or New Zealand, as this country has a very similar flag) reads my blog, but everything is possible, so I'd like to ask you one question: How do you feel about having a flag of another country (UK) on your flag? Would you like to change it, because UK is a foreign country for you, or you like your flag the way it is? I'm just curious :)

Italy - Le Langhe (IT-38984)

2009-04-03T22:21:00.000+03:00

I received this card as an official several days ago :) It's been a very good week, when it comes to my postcards collection: I've received 9 officials, 3 cards for RRs and 2 in private swaps :) Perhaps some of you receive much more mail, but currently I'm fully satisfied with the amount of cards I find in my mailbox. I joined Postrossing in May 2008 and I was glad to receive 2-3 cards a week. I used to think that people, who have received 200 or 300 cards just don't value them anymore, because receiving them becomes a daily habit. Now that I've received 247 officials (and at least 200 cards in unofficial exchange) I know it's not true :) Of course, I don't feel that euphoria, which I experienced, when I found the first 2 cards (from Finland and Germany) in my mailbox, but I'm always very excited checking the mailbox and I love the cards that I receive, even if they come from a very popular country, like Finland :) And of course I value my cards more and more! As Polish people say - "Apetyt rośnie w miarę jedzenia" ("Appetite comes with eating"), so probably the number of cards that I send and receive will keep on increasing :)))

IT-38984

This card shows the beautiful landscape of Le Langhe region of Italy. I like these green hills and mountains far away. Unfortuantely, the sender didn't write anything more about this card and Wikipedia also doesn't provide much information... But I must tell you I really love the stamp, because it shows Aosta Valley - the only region of Italy that I've been to :)

The Langhe (Langa from old dialect Mons Langa et Bassa Langa) is a hilly area to the south and west of the river Tanaro in the province of Cuneo in Piedmont, northern Italy. It is famous for its wines, cheeses, and truffles—particularly the white truffles of Alba. The countryside as it was in the first half of the 20th century features prominently in the writings of Beppe Fenoglio and Cesare Pavese, who was born here, in Santo Stefano Belbo.

Costa Rica - The National Theater in San José

2009-04-01T23:12:00.000+03:00

The results of my private swaps are much better than I expected! :) This is my first card from Costa Rica (and 2nd from Central America - I've already had one from Aruba) and it was actually sent from there with beautiful stamps by Shirley, who I met on the Postcrossing forum.
The building shown on this postcard is the National Theater of Costa Rica, located in San José, country's capital. Actually, it's quite similar to the ones you can see in Europe, but there's no doubt which country it is, because there's Costa Rican flag. By the way, I often confuse it with the Thai flag, they're quite similar, but I'm trying to remember that the flag of Costa Rica has red stripe in the middle, while there's blue one in the middle of Thai flag.

The Teatro Nacional de Costa Rica (National Theater of Costa Rica) is located in the central section of San José. Construction began on the theatre in 1891, and it opened to the public on October 21, 1897 with a performance of Faust. The Teatro Nacional is the maximum representation of economical stability of the nation, in a period of time when coffee exports were a round success. The use of this theatre is limited to high quality performances, undergoing a very selective process prior to admission for performing. The President of Costa Rica at the time, José Joaquín Rodríguez, to provide the nation with a theatre fit of that name, decided to put a tax to the coffee, the principal export product, to finance the project.

Taiwan - A railway (TW-39345)

2009-04-01T23:11:00.001+03:00

It was a very pleasant surprise to find 4 cards showing the trains or railways just after I had added them to my wishlist :) It's always nice to know that someone cares to read my wishlist and to choose a card that would certainly make my day. I've already shown you an Australian train and it's time for a Taiwanese railway :) I don't have any further information about this card (well, there is some Chinese text, but it may be some info about the publisher or anything else as well...) but does it really matter? :) I love railways, both the ones in use and unused. This one seems to be in use, but the ones that haven't been used for many years also have some charm, especially if there are already trees growing between the rails and the railway leads to a forest... There's something mysterious about it and I would never like to check on a map, where does such railway end. It's better to think that it's just endless, that it remembers some old and slow trains and that it dreams of being used again someday....

TW-39345

By the way, I wanted to ask you, what name of country do you write on postcard/envelope when you're sending it to Taiwan? There was a discussion on the Postcrossing forum (which was closed, as there was a threat that Chinese government would block the access to this site from P.R. China) about someone, who wrote "Taiwan, China" in the address. Actually, it's not about the addresses, but about the China - Taiwan issue and about the Taiwan's independence. Currently only about 20 countries have official diplomatic relations with Republic of China (Taiwan), but it's widely considered to be an independent country by people around the world. Personally, I always write only "Taiwan" in the address to show that I recognize this country's independence. And what's your opinion?

Finland - A girl from Satakunta in national costume (FI-495483)

2009-04-01T23:10:00.000+03:00

When I received my first card with national costumes (which was also from Finland, but from another region - Lapland), I wrote honestly that I could see no big difference between national costumes from different countries. Of course, I meant only the European countries, because there's no way to confuse them with African or Asian ones :) And I'm glad to write that Postcrossing has helped me to learn something now - now I know that there are hundreds of types of national costumes in Europe and that they're not as similar to one another as I used to think. I've already received several cards showing people in national costumes from different countries and soon they became one of my favorites. Therefore I've created a new category on my blog :)

FI-495483

This card shows a girl from Satakunta region of Finland in a national costume. Comparing this card to the one I received from Lapland before makes me sure that there can be a great variety of traditions even within one country with a small population. I doubt if there are many people wearing such costumes at least for some festivals nowadays, but it seems to me that folklore has been becoming more and more popular (maybe even fashionable, though I hate this word), so I think there's hope that national costumes will survive and that I'll receive many cards for this new category :)

Turkey - İstanbul

2009-03-30T23:33:00.000+03:00

I've received this (and other 2) wonderful card today from my new penpal Gökçe :) It shows the Sultanahmet Mosque and Haghia Sophia. I haven't been to Turkey, but I find İstanbul one of the most fascinating cities of the world and that's one of the places that I just must visit during my life! As a person, who is interested in history, I enjoy visiting old cities and towns, especially the ones which are older than my own city, so over 1000 years old. But İstanbul isn't simply an ancient city - it's a city which used to be the centre of different empires, different cultures and religions. The historic circumstances were changing, also İstanbul's name was changing, but it was always one of the most important cities in the world.

The history of Hagia Sophia is a good example of the city's history in general - it was built as a Christian patriarchal basilica in 4th century and was later turned into a mosque (and minarets were added). Now it's a museum.
The Sultanahmet Mosque, also known as the Blue Mosque, was built between 1609 and 1616 and is the national mosque of Turkey.

Last, but not least, as I've written in one of the posts about İstanbul bridges, I love all kind of borders :) So receiving a card, on which I can see both Europe and Asia, makes me very happy :))

Istanbul (Turkish: İstanbul; historically Byzantium and later Constantinople) is the largest city in Turkey, largest city proper and second largest metropolitan area in Europe, and fourth largest city proper in the world with a population of 12.6 million. Istanbul is the cultural and financial center of Turkey. The city covers 27 districts of the Istanbul province. It is located on the Bosphorus Strait and encompasses the natural harbor known as the Golden Horn, in the northwest of the country. It extends both on the Europe (Thrace) and on the Asia (Anatolia) side of the Bosphorus, and is thereby the only metropolis in the world that is situated on two continents. In its long history, Istanbul served as the capital city of the Roman Empire (330–395), the East Roman (Byzantine) Empire (395–1204 and 1261–1453), the Latin Empire (1204–1261), and the Ottoman Empire (1453–1922). The city was chosen as joint European Capital of Culture for 2010. The historic areas of Istanbul were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1985.

Germany - Zollverein Coal Mine (DE-303990)

2009-03-30T23:32:00.000+03:00

This card is something very special in my collection, not only because it has enriched my UNESCO collection (Don't even ask me, how many UNESCO sites do I have in my collection now... I'll tell you when I reach 100, but I'm afraid it's not going to be soon). It's special for some other reason - it's my first card showing a coal mine and the first showing the beauty of industrial objects. My opinion about the heavy industry has always been that we obviously need it for our civilisation, but it's not pretty at all - just spoiling the landscape and polluting the enviroment. And, of course, in most cases it is like that. But, as you can see, even a coal mine may be beautiful and may be a World Heritage Site. If all the constructors cared to make the industrial objects not only useful, but also look at least normal - the industrial regions wouldn't be the scariest parts of many countries :)

DE-303990

The Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex is a large former industrial site in the city of Essen, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It has been inscribed into the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since December 14, 2001 and is one of the anchor points of the European Route of Industrial Heritage. The first coal mine on the premises was founded in 1847, mining activities took place from 1851 until December 23, 1986. For decades starting in the late 1950s, the two parts of the site, Zollverein Coal Mine and Zollverein Coking Plant (erected 1957−1961, closed on June 30, 1993), ranked among the largest of their kinds in Europe. Shaft 12, built in Bauhaus style, was opened in 1932 and is considered an architectural and technical masterpiece, earning it a reputation as the “most beautiful coal mine in the world”.

The Netherlands - Leiden (NL-144278)

2009-03-30T23:30:00.000+03:00

I've never been to Leiden, but this card reminds me other Dutch cities (even Amsterdam, although the architecture is a bit different). These canals, boat trips, bridges that seem to low to go under them and a windmill in the middle of a city - it can't be any other country but The Netherlands :) According to the sender, there's a large population of students in Leiden and the country's oldest university is located there.

NL-144278

Leiden (in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands and has 118,000 inhabitants. It forms a single urban area with Oegstgeest, Leiderdorp, Voorschoten, Valkenburg, Rijnsburg and Katwijk, with 254,000 inhabitants. It is located on the Old Rhine, close to the cities of The Hague and Haarlem. The recreational area of the Kaag Lakes (Kagerplassen) lies just to the northeast of Leiden.

Leiden University (Dutch: Universiteit Leiden), located in the city of Leiden, is the oldest university in the Netherlands.The university was founded in 1575 by Prince William of Orange, leader of the Dutch Revolt in the Eighty Years' War. The royal Dutch House of Orange-Nassau and Leiden University still have a close relationship. The Queens Juliana and Beatrix and crown-prince Willem-Alexander studied at Leiden University. In 2005 Queen Beatrix received a rare honorary degree from Leiden University.

Today, Leiden University has six faculties, over 50 departments and more than 150 undergraduate programmes, and it enjoys an international reputation. The Academic Ranking of World Universities ranked Leiden University 71st worldwide for 2007, 20th in Europe, and second in the Netherlands. The Times Higher Education 2008 ranked Leiden University 64th in the world overall.

Egypt - The golden coffin of Tutankhamun

2009-03-28T23:15:00.000+02:00

I received my first card from Egypt yesterday and therefore I already have cards from 60 different countries/territories in my collection :) Just not all of them are on my blog yet, because I'm still late with uploading the cards that I received several years ago :)
By the way, this card travelled from Egypt to Poland in just 3 days, which was really surprising! :)

I love this card, because looking at it I can have no doubt, which country does it come from :) I remember all the lessons about the ancient Egypt at school... That was definitely the most fascinating one of the ancient civilisations we were learning about (though we were learning only about the ones, which were in Europe or very close to Europe, like Egypt) :) I also find the Egyptian hieroglyphs very interesting... I'm generally interested in different writing systems, even if I have no idea how to read them :) Out of the ones that are still in use I especially like the Thai alphabet, it looks like flowers :)
But, let's come back to Egypt :) This card shows the tomb of Tutankhamun, an Egyptian Pharaoh, who ruled between 1333 BC and 1324 BC, so over 3300 years ago.

KV62 is the tomb of Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings (Egypt) , which became famous for the wealth of treasure it contained. The tomb was discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter, underneath the remains of workmen's huts built during the Ramesside Period; this explains why it was spared from the worst of the tomb depredations of that time.

The tomb was densely packed with items in great disarray. Carter was able to photograph garlands of flowers, which disintegrated when touched. Due to the state of the tomb, and to Carter's meticulous recording technique, the tomb took nearly a decade to empty, the contents all being transported to the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Tutankhamun's tomb had been entered at least twice, not long after he was buried and well before Carter's discovery. The outermost doors of the shrines enclosing the king's nested coffins were left opened, and unsealed. It is estimated that 60% of the jewelry which had been stored in the "Treasury" was removed as well. After one of these ancient robberies, embalming materials from KV62 are believed to have been buried at KV54.

Ukraine - Monument commemorating the founders of Kyiv

2009-03-28T23:13:00.001+02:00

I received this wonderful card (along with 3 other ones from the same set) from Anya, whom I sent some official cards before :) I love this set of Kyiv cards, because it's of very good quality and unusual shape. Another advantage of these cards is that they show places that are not so popular and that you can't see on all the standard Kyiv postcards. I think these cards must be brand new, because I haven't seen such ones before :))
This card shows the monument to legendar founders of Kyiv - Kyi, Schek and Khoryv and their sister Lybid. There's a tradition of visiting this monument by all the newly-weds, who get married in Kyiv :)

Kyi (alt. sp. Kiy, Kij or Kyj), Schek and Khoryv (Ukrainian: Кий, Щек, Хорив) are the three legendary brothers, sometimes mentioned along with their sister Lybid (Lybed) (Ukrainian: Либідь), who, according to the Primary Chronicle, were the founders of Kiev (Kyiv) city - now the capital of Ukraine. The legend is widely recognized as a source of Kiev's mythology and urban naming.

Archaeological excavations have shown there indeed was an ancient settlement from the 6th century. Some speculate that Kyi was a real person, a knyaz from the tribe of eastern Polans. But the majority of scholars consider them as purely mythological.

The legend of Kyi, Schek and Khoryv, and their sister Lybid, can be interpreted as an example of a common mythological process whereby geographical names are personified and incorporated into the foundation myths of a place or people, often as eponymous ancestors.

During Soviet rule in the city, Kyi, Schek, Khoryv and Lybid were depicted (standing on ancient boat) in sculpture at the river-side Navodnytsky Park. The sculpture soon became symbolic for the city and has been massively re-used since. In 2000s another statue was installed at central Maidan Nezalezhnosti square.

France - Place du Tertre in Paris

2009-03-28T23:12:00.001+02:00

Here's the 2nd of 3 wonderful cards that I've received from Jerome :) The stamps are also very beautiful on each of these cards.
I'm not a stamp collector, although I have several albums with stamps that my parents used to collect before and that I received from my penpals. But I know there are some people, who know exactly, which stamps are valuable and which are worth nothing... And I'm not like that. I like receiving cards or letters with special stamps, especially the ones which give me some additional information about the country of their origin. I just want to be too serious about anything.
Last week I read on a philatelic website that you shouldn't overfrank the envelopes that you send to serious cover collectors, because then it's worth nothing! The value of stamps should be exactly equal the required postage... I felt a bit disappointed reading it, because sometimes, when I know that someone collects stamps, I try to choose the commemorative ones and I don't really care if their value is a bit bigger than required. And now I learn that my effort to choose more nice stamps could make the cover useless for some collectors. That's why I think it's better not to be extremely serious about anything :) It's the effort which matters and I'm very thankful for the effort that Jerome puts to send me so wonderful cards :)

I'm sorry for the offtopic :) I think I've been writing way too much recently :))
This card shows the Place du Tertre in Paris. Don't ask me, if I've been there, because I just don't remember. As I've written in my previous posts about Paris, I've been there only once and only for about 8 hours, very tired, as I was coming back from London... So I think I can't tell you much about Paris until I go there again :)

The Place du Tertre is a square in Paris' XVIIIe arrondissement. Only a few streets away from Montmartre's Basilica of the Sacré Cœur and the Lapin Agile, it is the heart of the city's elevated Montmartre quarter.

With its many artists setting up their easels each day for the tourists, the Place du Tertre is a reminder of the time when Montmartre was the mecca of modern art. At the beginning of the 20th century, many penniless painters including Picasso and Utrillo were living there.

L'Espace Salvador Dalí, a museum principally dedicated to the sculpture and drawings of Salvador Dalí, can be found a few steps from Place du Tertre.

Uzbekistan - Samarkand

2009-03-26T23:10:00.002+02:00

I was extremely happy to find 3 cards from Uzbekistan in my mailbox yesterday! :) Valeriy from Tashkent was very kind to answer my swaprequest and to send me 3 cards separately (written and stamped), even though I didn't ask him to do so :) Valeriy, I don't know if you read my blog, but if you do - I just want to tell you I'm very thankful for the wonderful cards you sent me! :) Спасибо большое!

I thought they would take a longer time to arrive here, but in fact they got here in just 10 days. Another nice surprise was that one of the Uzbek postcards has enriched my UNESCO collection :) Samarkand - Crossroads of Culture has been a World Heritage Site since 2001. By the way, I thought I live in an old city (1009 years old), but compared to Samarkand (2750 years old) the history of Wrocław and Poland in general seems to be so short...

One of my postcards related dreams is to receive at least one postcard from each of ex-USSR countries. There are 15 of them (or 17, if you count also Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but in my opinion they're not independent countries, at least not yet, so my goal is to receive cards from 15 countries) and I've already received cards from 8 of them (Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan), which is more than half :) But receiving cards from the missing 7 countries (Moldova, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Armenia, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan) will be much more difficult and I think it may take several years :) But don't you think it's good to have some goals that are hard to achieve? :)

Samarkand (Uzbek: Samarqand, Самарқанд, Persian: سمرقند, UniPers: "Samarqand"), is the second-largest city in Uzbekistan and the capital of Samarqand Province.The city is most noted for its central position on the Silk Road between China and the West, and for being an Islamic centre for scholarly study. The Bibi-Khanym Mosque remains one of the city's most famous landmarks. The Registan was the ancient centre of the city. In 2001, UNESCO inscribed the 2750-year-old city on the World Heritage List as Samarkand - Crossroads of Cultures.

Samarkand derives its name from the Old Persian asmara, Tajik Самарқанд, "stone", "rock", and Sogdian kand, "fort", "town".

Samarkand is one of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, prospering from its location on the trade route between China and the Mediterranean (Silk Road). At times Samarkand has been one of the greatest cities of Central Asia. Founded circa 700 BC by the Persians it was already the capital of the Sogdian satrapy under the Achaemenid dynasty of Persia when Alexander the Great conquered it in 329 BC Samarkand has been one of the main centres of Persian civilization from its early days.

UK - London

2009-03-26T23:09:00.000+02:00

I received this wonderful multiview in the World Languages RR, written in Polish :) I really love it, because it's so colorful and it has... *I'm counting*... 30 pictures :) The extreme multiview cards are always on my wishlist, but having received some I can say that making a good multiview card with a lot of pictures must be difficult. A card with 30 pictures must have a good contrast, the pictures must be different (day and night views, showing different types of buildings, people, landscapes). Otherwise, it's nearly impossible to notice all the pictures and even to count them, because they seem to be too similar. Of course, I'm not a designer and I don't know, how do the professionals make postcards, but there's something about this one, which makes me call it a perfect multiview.

I've already posted some cards from London on my blog, so I'm not going to copy any info from Wikipedia :) So I'll just tell you that I regret not visiting the London Eye. It's not my fault, I've been to London just once and it was a school trip (Have I already told you that I've always hated school trips and any organised trips?) but still I think the view from London Eye must be great, even though it's moving so slowly :)

Poland - Ogrodzieniec

2009-03-26T23:07:00.000+02:00

Here's another one of 6 cards that I received from Tomek :) And again, it shows a place that I've never been to (I think I'll have to show you some cards that I bought myself during my rare trips in Poland, not to seem a total ignorant when it comes to my own country).

By the way, I think it's an interesting topic. You see, Poland used to be a communist country before and it was quite difficult to go abroad, even to the other countries of communist block. Visiting West Europe was one of the biggest dreams of many people, but for some of them it never came true. I was born in 1991, so I don't remember those times and I'm glad about it. But even later, in my childhood, when Poland was already a democratic country, people didn't travel abroad often. I remember how happy my parents were, when they went on a trip to France, Switzerland and Spain in mid 90's. And I also remember how excited I was to cross the Polish-Czech border (which is about 100km away from my city) or to go to Germany for the first time in 2002. On the other hand, I used to travel within Poland more often and I always enjoyed visiting a new city, town or even a small village.

Now, travelling abroad is very easy and cheap. Thanks to the low-cost airlines, many people (and I don't mean only the rich part of society) can allow themselves to spend a weekend in London, Paris, Madrid... I'm not so much into flying (I'm afraid of it) and I don't feel any strong desire to visit all the famous cities, but I go to Ukraine each time I have such opportunity (For example, last year I went there for 6 times). Of course, that's a result of my own decision on how to spend my free time and it's mainly because I love Ukraine :)) But even when it comes to the school trips, students usually go abroad, because it's not so expensive anymore and also teachers think it's "more interesting" than travelling within Poland. Maybe they just want to see (and show to the students) the places that used to be out of their reach?

Of course, there's nothing wrong about going abroad and it's good we've been using the opportunities that European Union gives us. But, it's a bit strange feeling to realize that I know other countries better than my own, even though I've never lived abroad. It doesn't mean I'm going to do something about it... Still, I'm looking forward to having 6 days off for Easter and I'm not going to spend them in Poland... Just sharing my thoughts with you :) And I'd love to hear your opinion about it :)

I'm really sorry for this offtopic, I just felt I had to write it :) I'm coming back to the postcard from Ogrodzieniec :)

Ogrodzieniec is located in the Silesian Voivodeship (region) of Poland. It is noted for the extensive ruins of a medieval castle, damaged during the Swedish invasion of Poland in the years 1655–1660. That's what the English Wikipedia tells us. As I can read Polish, I can add some information ;) The first castle at that place was built in the 12th century and was destroyed during the Tatar invasion. A gothic castle was built there in 14th century and rebuilt in 16th century. As I've mentioned above, it was destroyed during the Polish-Swedish and wasn't rebuilt anymore. The last inhabitants left the Ogrodzieniec castle in 1810.

Russia - Aurora borealis in Chukotka

2009-03-24T23:56:00.000+02:00

Yesterday I wrote on my blog that I would love to receive a card showing aurora borealis and today I received 2(!) - from Russia and from Finland :) Isn't that funny? :) And no, they were not sent yesterday evening :) Actually, I received 14 postcards today, including these 2 with aurora borealis, 3 showing trains/railways, 3 from Ukraine and 3 from an absolutely new country in my collection, so it's been my best postcard day ever :)))

This wonderful card shows the aurora borealis in Anadyr (Russian: Анадырь), which is the administrative centre of Chukotka. Have you ever heard of this region? That's the most north-eastern one and actually it's close to Alaska :) The interesting thing is that the easternmost point of Russia is located on the Western hemisphere, but there are no big settlements. Anadyr is on the Eastern hemisphere (Coordinates: 64°44′N 177°31′E) and is the biggest town of Chukotka, with only about 11 000 inhabitants.

When Nastya, who lives in Anadyr, joined the RR that I host on postcrossing forum, I immediatelly asked her for swap, because Russia is one of the countries that I'm really interested in and Chukotka seems to be one of the most mysterious of this great country. I was really glad, when Nastya agreed to swap, but I'd never expect receiving such a brilliant card :) I think I don't have to tell you that it's going to be one of my all time favorites now? :)

Anadyr (Russian: Ана́дырь, Chukchi: Кагыргын, Kagyrgyn) is a town and the administrative centre of Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, the extreme north-eastern region of Russia. It is at the mouth of the Anadyr River, on the tip of the southern promontory that sticks out into Anadyrskiy Liman. At 177°30′E, Anadyr is the easternmost town in Russia and Eurasia. It was founded on August 3, 1889 as Novo-Mariinsk, and renamed on August 5, 1923. Town status was granted on January 12, 1965.

Chukotka is the most northeasterly region of Russia and, since the sale of Alaska to the United States, has been the only part of Russia lying partially in the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered on the east by the Bering Sea, part of the Pacific Ocean, and to the north by the Chukchi Sea and the East Siberian Sea, which are part of the Arctic Ocean. Chukotka has an area of 737,700 km2 (284,800 sq mi) and a population of 53,824 according to the 2002 Census. The principal town and administrative center is Anadyr.

Hungary - Székesfehérvár (HU-17593)

2009-03-24T23:55:00.000+02:00

This nice multiview shows the Székesfehérvár city in Hungary. Don't ask me, how to pronounce it :))) I think Hungarian is one of the most difficult languages, at least among the ones used in Europe. It's an Finno-Ugric language, so it belongs to the same group as Finnish and Estonian, but I can hardly see any similarity (of course, I'm not a linguist and I can't speak any Finno-Ugric language, so I can just compare some words and sometimes the pronouncation). The only languages that are considered to be really close to Hungarian are spoken in the region of Ural mountains in Russia.

HU-17593

Székesfehérvár, colloquial Hungarian: Fehérvár, is a city in central Hungary, located around 65 km (40 mi) southwest of Budapest. It is inhabited by 106,346 people (2001), with 138,995 in the direct vicinity, and is the centre of Fejér county and the regional centre of Central Transdanubia. In the Middle Ages the city was a royal residence and the most important city of Hungary. 37 kings and 39 queens consort were crowned, 15 rulers have been buried here, the diets were held and the crown jewels were kept here.

The city's name means "white castle with the chair/seat", and its translations to other languages (Latin: Alba Regia, Serbian: Столни Београд, Stolni Beograd, Slovak: Stoličný Belehrad, Czech: Stoličný Bělehrad, Croatian: Stolni Biograd, Polish: Białogród Królewski).

The word szék (meaning "seat" as "throne") is related to its important role in the first centuries of the Kingdom of Hungary: székhely means a (royal) residence, center. In accordance of the obligation from the Doctrine of the Holy Crown, the first kings of Hungary were crowned and buried here.

Austria - A painting by Joachim de Patinier in Museum of Art History, Vienna (US-336722)

2009-03-24T23:54:00.000+02:00

I receive art cards rather rarely and I think there's something good about it, even though I enjoy receiving them. My knowledge about art is very limited, I'm not one of those people, who often go to galleries and can spend a whole day there. I've been to several galleries so far, but when my brain gets too much information in a subject that I have no idea about (like art) - nothing lasts in my memory. I think in my case there's more use of receiving art cards sometimes :) You see, when I have just one painting, I look at it carefully, I'm looking for interesting details, then I google for some further information... And I think it actually makes me learn a bit more about art. The other reason which makes me like this card is that I like religious art.

This card was sent from the USA, but I decided to label it as Austria, because it was issued by the Museum of Art History (Kunsthistorisches Museum) in Vienna. This painting, called Baptism of Christ, was painted by Joachim de Patinier about 1515. He was Flemish Northern Renaissance history and landscape painter from the area of modern Wallonia.

US-336722

In this painting the religious scene in the foreground and the broad landscape that surrounds it share an equal importance. Landscape was Patinier’s favourite subject, but he felt compelled to justify it by the inclusion of the baptism of Christ in the foreground. The eye of the viewer is drawn as much to the bizarre rock formation in the middle distance, with the River Jordan circling round it, as it is to the figures depicted in the foreground. Despite the seemingly disparate themes of landscape and religious narrative, Patinier is able to unify them. The central rock formation occupies a spit of land that juts into the pictorial space from the left. The land formation provides a narratively separate space for the sermon of John the Baptist in the Wilderness. In the far distance, the view widens to a panoramic landscape. The overall blue tone of this portion of the landscape results from Patinier’s understanding use of aerial perspective.

I'm not sure if I should post also the stamps along with an art card, but in this case stamps are very nice and are not the standard ones, so I decided to share them with you too.

USA - State Flags

2009-03-23T23:41:00.002+02:00

This card is something that I absolutely love :)) I haven't received any card with so many flags on it before! Actually, this card is quite inspirating for me, because it makes me want to learn more about some states, about their history and the origin of flags. I read all the names of states and the only one which doesn't sound familiar at all is Delaware. But no, it doesn't mean that I know the geography of United States so well... I know the location of some 15 or 20 states. The other names I know... probably from the American movies. I nearly never go to cinema and I rarely watch TV, but most of movies that I've watched in my life were American, so the names of states just stayed in my memory.
Maybe I should try to collect cards from all the 50 states? I'm not sure if I'd ever reach this goal, but at least I'd learn US geography much better :)

Some offtopic: As it was my birthday yesterday, my granny gave me 2 big photo albums (300 photos each) to store my postcards, at least the ones of standard size :) Can you image, how happy I am about it? :)) I spent several hours putting my cards into the albums (and I haven't finnished yet) and now I can clearly see that these 2 albums won't be enough very soon :) I want to thank everyone who has helped me to fill these albums with postcards and made me smile each time I found cards in my mailbox :)

Finland - The Uspenski Cathedral in Helsinki (FI-492921)

2009-03-23T23:41:00.000+02:00

I think I've already told you before that I like receiving city views from Finland :) In fact, I haven't received any Finnish card that I wouldn't like so far, but I prefer the city views just because the Finnish cities are less known than the landscapes. Still, there's something about the Finnish nature that I would like to see on a postcard :) I mean the northern lights (aurora borealis). I know that it's typical not only for Finland, but I think that probablity of receiving such card from Finland is higher, than from any other country, just because of the number of Finnish postcrossers :)

Dear reader of my blog, if you live in Finland (or any other country, where it's possible to get a card showing the aurora borealis), I would be really thankful if you agreed to exchange cards from me! :)

But let's come back to this card, which I find really beautiful and interesting as well :) It shows the Orthodox Uspenski Cathedral in Helsinki. It's considered to be the biggest Orthodox church in West Europe. Well, I wouldn't call Finland a West European country, because I live West from Finland and I'm proud of being East European :))) But I think the division into West and East Europe is based mostly on historical, political and cultural reasons. So I think that Finns are right in some way... And it's always nice to have something biggest in your country :)

FI-492921

Uspenski Cathedral (Finnish: Uspenskin katedraali, Swedish: Uspenskij-katedralen, Russian: Успенский собор) is an Eastern Orthodox cathedral in Helsinki, Finland, dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos (the Virgin Mary). Its name comes from the Russian word uspenie, which denotes the Dormition. Designed by the Russian architect Alexey Gornostaev (1808-1862), the cathedral was built after his death in 1862-1868. The Cathedral is set upon a hillside on the Katajanokka peninsula overlooking the city. On the back of the cathedral, there is a plaque commemorating Russian Emperor Alexander II, who was the sovereign of the Grand Duchy of Finland during the cathedral's construction. Main cathedral of the Finnish Orthodox Church in the diocese of Helsinki, Uspenski Cathedral is claimed to be the largest orthodox church in Western Europe, although Finland is normally included into Northern Europe.

Switzerland - Matterhorn

2009-03-23T23:38:00.000+02:00

It seems that I've been receiving many cards sent from somewhere else that the country of their origin last weeks. I don't mind it at all, it even enlarges the surprise factor, especially in the unoffical exchange, where I think I know what to expect :)

For example, this card was sent from Germany (I received it in the World Languages RR, written in Polish), but shows Matterhorn, which is probably the most famous mountain of Switzerland. I've been to Alps once and I spent most of time in France (more precisely, in Chamonix) and I also visited Italy (only the Aosta Valley - and it's been my only visit to Italy so far, but I can always say I've been to this country) and Switzerland. Of course, I haven't climbed Matterhorn (I doubt if I could climb any hight mountain) and I haven't even seen it, but the landscape shown on this card reminds me those several days that I spent in Alps :)

The Matterhorn (German), Cervino (Italian) or Cervin (French), is a mountain in the Pennine Alps. With its 4,478 metres (14,692 ft) high summit, lying on the border between Switzerland and Italy, it is one of the highest peaks in the Alps and its 1,200 metres (3,937 ft) north face is one of the Great north faces of the Alps. It is also one of the deadliest peaks in the Alps: from 1865 to 1995, in fact, over 500 alpinists have found their death on its faces. The mountain overlooks the town of Zermatt in the canton of Valais on the north and Cervinia in the Aosta Valley on the south. Although not the highest mountain in Switzerland, the Matterhorn is considered as an iconic emblem of the region of the Swiss Alps.

Macau - The Statue of Mazu (A-Ma) (GB-63866)

2009-03-21T11:00:00.001+02:00

This card was sent from the UK, but actually it comes from Macau and therefore it's my first card from this territory :) This increasement of the number of countries/territories that I have postcards from was totally unexpected, so I was really excited to find this card in my mailbox :)
It shows the statue of Mazu (also called A-Ma) goddess, 19,99 meters high, in Macau. According to the sender, A-Ma is a goddess of particular importance in Macau. People believe that she saves the sailors.

GB-63866

Mazu (simplified Chinese: 妈祖; traditional Chinese: 媽祖; pinyin: Māzǔ; Wade-Giles: Ma-tsu; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Má-chó·; literally "Mother-Ancestor"), also spelt Matsu, is the indigenous goddess of the sea who protects fishermen and sailors, and is invoked as the goddess who protects East Asians who are associated with the ocean. Her mortal name is Lin Moniang (Chinese: 林默娘; pinyin: Lín Mòniáng; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lîm Be̍k-niû).

According to legend, Lin Moniang was born in 960 AD (during the early Northern Song Dynasty) as the seventh daughter of Lin Yuan (林愿) on Meizhou Island, Fujian. She did not cry when she was born, and thus her given name means "Silent Girl." There are many legends about her and the sea.

After her death, the families of many fishermen and sailors began to pray to her in honor of her acts of courage in trying to save those at sea. Her worship spread quickly. Much of her popularity in comparison to other sea deities resulted from her role as a compassionate motherly protector, in contrast to authoritarian father figures like the Dragon Kings.

Czech Republic - Brno

2009-03-21T10:59:00.000+02:00

I received this wonderful multivew in the World Languages RR, written in Czech :) I've never been to Brno, although I had an opportunity to go there (and to Vienna) on a school trip several years ago. But as I've always hated the school trips (and organised trips in general), I didn't go and I hope I'll have another opportunity to visit Brno myself :)

Brno is the second-largest city in the Czech Republic. It was founded in 1243, although the area had been settled since the 5th century. Today Brno has 403,304 inhabitants and is the seat of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Supreme Court, Supreme Administrative Court, Supreme Prosecutor's Office and Ombudsman.
Brno is located in the southeast part of the country, at the confluence of the Svitava and Svratka rivers. The city is a political and cultural hub of the South Moravian Region (estimated population of 1,130,000 for the whole region). At the same time, it represents the centre of the province of Moravia, one of the historic lands of the Bohemian Crown. It is situated at the crossroads of ancient trade routes which have joined northern and southern European civilizations for centuries. Due to its location between the Bohemian-Moravian Highlands and the Southern Moravian lowlands, Brno has a moderate climate.

Germany - a forest near Rechtenbach (DE-294060)

2009-03-21T10:58:00.000+02:00

I received this card as an official from Germany some time ago. Even though it doesn't show anything very unusual and I actually couldn't tell, which country it is just looking at the card, I like it because of it's colors and contrast (I'm not sure if you can see it here, especially because my scanner isn't a very good one). According to the information on the back side of the postcard, it's a forst near Rechtenbach in Bavaria.

DE-294060

I used to spend a lot of time in forests during the summer holidays before. My grandparents live in a region with many forests, lakes and hills, but which is a very famous tourist destination, which makes it a very nice and peaceful place to spend holidays. I especially enjoyed going on bike trips and picking the mushrooms :) Now I don't spend my holidays there anymore, but if I have an opportunity to go there for a few days, I always go for a walk to the forest. It really calms me down.

Ukraine - The Independence Square in Kyiv (UA-6101)

2009-03-18T19:14:00.005+02:00

As you can see, I've received my 2nd official card from Ukraine! :) I'm starting to think I'm very lucky! :) This one shows the Independence Square (Майдан Незалежності - Maidan Nezalezhnosti) in Kyiv. It's the main square of the Ukraine's capital and is also known for the Orange Revolution, which took place there in 2004. Now I don't associate it with politics anymore, but still, that was the moment when I became interested in Ukraine :)
I went to Kyiv for the first time in 2007 and it was a great feeling to see the Independence Square :) I was a bit surprised, because on the TV it looked much bigger than it is in fact. I love going to Maidan each time I'm in Kyiv. The main post office of Kyiv is located there, so I just couldn't miss any opportunity to go there :D

UA-6101

This card was sent in an envelope, but here are the stamps:

Maidan Nezalezhnosti (Ukrainian: Майдан Незалежності, literally: Independence Square) is the central square of Kiev, the capital city of Ukraine. One of the main city squares, it is located on the Khreschatyk Street. The square was known under many different names but it became prominent as simply the Maidan due to the political events of great significance that took place there in the recent years after the Ukrainian accession to independence.

"Maidan" literally translates from Ukrainian as square; this word originally came from Persian. It received its current name in 1991 in the aftermath of the Ukrainian accession to independence. Nezalezhnist (independence) commemorates the Ukrainian independence achieved in 1991 in the aftermath of the collapse of the Soviet Union.

France - Normandy

2009-03-18T18:47:00.008+02:00

I received this wonderful card (with really interesting and unusual stamps!) in a swap from Jerome :) By the way, you can visit his blog and send a postcard or letter to his 6 year-old daughter, who collects stamps from around the world :) Her dad, Jerome, makes donations for Kiva (a project, where you can lend money to people from poor countries so that they can develop their business) for each 50 stamps they receive. I think it's a great idea to help the girl to develop her interest in philately and the people, who need some money to change their lives, so don't hesitate to visit this site: http://untimbreundon.blogspot.com/ :)

This card shows different towns in Normandy region of France. I've been to Etretat and Le Mont Saint-Michel last year. I found both places very beautiful, especially Le Mont Saint-Michel is a real masterpiece of architecture, the view is breathtaking. By the way, Le Mont Saint-Michel and Le Havre are UNESCO sites. I have another card that I bought there and of course I'm going to show it to you as well :)

Normandy (French: Normandie, Norman: Normaundie) is a geographical region corresponding to the former Duchy of Normandy. It is situated along the coast of France south of the English Channel between Brittany (to the west) and Picardy (to the east) and comprises territory in northern France and the Channel Islands. The territory is divided between French and British sovereignty. The continental territory under French sovereignty covers 30,627 km². It is divided for administrative purposes into two régions: Basse-Normandie and Haute-Normandie. The Channel Islands (referred to as Îles Anglo-Normandes in French) covers 194 km² and comprise 2 bailiwicks: Guernsey and Jersey, both under British rule.

The name of Normandy is derived from the settlement and conquest of the territory by Vikings ("Northmen") from the 9th century, and confirmed by treaty in the 10th century. For a century and a half following the Norman Conquest of England in 1066, Normandy and England were linked by Norman rulers, but following 1204 the continental territory was ultimately held by France.

Australia - Mile End Railway Museum (AU-37394)

2009-03-18T18:26:00.004+02:00

This postcard shows the South Australian Railways Locomotive No. 93 at the Mile End Railway Museum in Australia. As I read on Wikipedia, this museum was closed in 1988, but a new one was opened in Port Adelaide. Several weeks ago I added trains and railways to my wishlist, because I've always loved travelling by train and I decided it would be very interesting to see the trains from other countries and continents :) But I haven't even dreamed of receiving a card showing an Australian locomotive! I really love this card and I'm so thankful to the sender for choosing a card from my wishlist!

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You may ask, why do I like trains so much? It's difficult to answer such question. When I was a child, I used to travel by train quite often, because I have relatives in different cities and my parents didn't have a car. I always enjoyed these trips very much, although it seemed to me that 350 km was a very large distance :)) That was because I didn't have opportunity to travel abroad (I used to visit only Czech Republic, which is about 100 km away from here) at that time. Now that I visit Ukraine quite often, I know what it feels like to spend 24 hours in a train from Wrocław (my city) to Kyiv or 22 hours from Ternopil (Western Ukraine) to Donetsk (Eastern Ukraine). For me it's never boring! Even though nowadays it's much quicker (and often also cheaper) to travel by plane, I always choose the train (by the way, I'm afraid of flying, although I've already travelled by plane for 28 times). I just love the sound of wheels moving slowly on the railway, sleeping in a night train, looking through the window... In some countries (for example in Ukraine) many people tend to be very talkative in trains and I've had many interesting conversations during my trips :) I hope you can understand me... :)

Turkey - Cappadocia (TR-16107)

2009-03-16T20:10:00.004+02:00

I received this wonderful card as an official from Turkey. According to the sender, these natural "fairy chimneys", located in mid-Turkey, were created by wind. Some of the caves used to be inhabited. I guess that living inside these caves was very hard, but now it's a really interesting view. It also shows the great power of wind and water, which cause erosion and give the rocks so unusual shapes. The Rock Sites of Cappadocia region are also a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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In a spectacular landscape, entirely sculpted by erosion, the Göreme valley and its surroundings contain rock-hewn sanctuaries that provide unique evidence of Byzantine art in the post-Iconoclastic period. Dwellings, troglodyte villages and underground towns – the remains of a traditional human habitat dating back to the 4th century – can also be seen there.

Poland - Częstochowa

2009-03-16T19:51:00.003+02:00

I thought it was strange to have a collection of postcards from different countries all around the world and not to have any cards from my own country :) So, I decided to improve it. Thanks to Tomek, I have 6 beautiful cards from different places in Poland that I haven't been to and I decided to buy some cards myself during my weekend trip to Northern Poland. I'm going to show you the ones that I've bought myself later and here's first of the cards that I've received in a swap.

I've never been to Częstochowa (to be honest, I travel abroad more often than within my own country). It's known mostly for the Jasna Góra Monastery, which is probably the most important place of pilgrimage for Polish Catholics.

The Jasna Góra Monastery (Polish: Jasna Góra, English: Bright Mount, Hungarian: Fényes Hegy, Latin: Clarus Mons) in Częstochowa, Poland is the most famous shrine to the Virgin Mary in Poland and the country's greatest place of pilgrimage - for many its spiritual capital. The image of Black Madonna of Częstochowa, to which miraculous powers are attributed, is Jasna Góra's most precious treasure. Founded in 1382 by Pauline monks who came from Hungary at the invitation of Władysław, Duke of Opole. The monastery has been a pilgrimage destination for hundreds of years, and it contains the most important icon of the Virgin Mary in this part of Europe. The icon, depicting the Mother of God with the Christ Child, is known as the Black Madonna of Częstochowa or Our Lady of Częstochowa, which is widely venerated and credited with many miracles. Among these, it is credited with miraculously saving the Jasna Góra monastery during a siege that took place at the time of The Deluge, a 17th century Swedish invasion. Although this event was of little military importance, the event stimulated the Polish resistance. The Poles could not immediately change the course of the war but after an alliance with the Crimean Khanate they repulsed the Swedes. Shortly thereafter, in the cathedral of Lwów, on April 1, 1656, Jan Kazimierz, the King of Poland, solemnly pronounced his vow to consecrate the country to the protection of the Mother of God and proclaimed Her the Patron and Queen of the lands in his kingdom.

The Netherlands - The Peace Palace in The Hague (NL-143081)

2009-03-16T19:39:00.004+02:00

This beautiful card shows The Peace Palace in The Hague. I love this kind of Dutch cards, I have similar one from Rotterdam (I just haven't posted it yet, as I usually post the cards that I receive now and I'm a bit late with posting the cards that I received from my penpals several years ago). This palace seems to be built in neogothic style. I like some neogothic buildings, for example churches, palaces, the railway station in my city... But, there are also some schools and hospitals built in this style and they seem very scary at the first sight :) I've been learning at such school (built in neogothic style about 1900) and I couldn't get used to it for several months. But, in my opinion, this palace is an example of really good architecture.

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The Peace Palace ("Vredespaleis" in Dutch), situated in The Hague, Netherlands, is often called the seat of international law because it houses the International Court of Justice (which is the principal judicial body of the United Nations), the Permanent Court of Arbitration, the Hague Academy of International Law, and the extensive Peace Palace Library.

In addition to hosting these institutions, the Palace is also a regular venue for special events in international policy and law.

The idea of the Palace started from a discussion in 1900 between the Russian diplomat Friedrich Martens and the American diplomat Andrew White, over providing a home for the Permanent Court of Arbitration (PCA), which was established through the first Hague Peace Conference in 1899. White contacted his friend and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie about this idea. Carnegie had his reservations, and at first was only interested in donating money for the establishment of a Library of International Law. White however was able to convince Carnegie, and in 1903 Carnegie agreed to donating 1.5 million dollars needed for a Peace Temple that would house the PCA as well as to endow it with a library of international law.

Latvia - Sigulda

2009-03-13T10:34:00.003+02:00

Here's my first card from Latvia! :) Guntra was very kind to send it to me after receiving an official card from me. This card shows the beautiful landscapes of Sigulda, which is a town in Vidzeme region. I especially like the picture showing the Gauja river valley. Unfortunately, I haven't been to any to Latvia yet, but I think it would be very interesting to take a trip to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia. My friends went on a bike trip to these countries 2 years ago, but I'm not so much into sport, so I think that would be to hard for me. Anyway, there are many other ways of travelling (with the train being my favorite), so I think there's something I can do myself to visit the Baltic countries :)

Sigulda is a town in the Vidzeme Region of Latvia, 53 km from the capital city Riga.

Sigulda is situated on a picturesque stretch of the primeval Gauja river valley. Because of the reddish Devonian sandstone which forms steep rocks and caves on both banks of the river, Sigulda has been called the "Switzerland of Vidzeme".

After the restoration of Latvian independence in 1991, an emphasis was placed on conserving Sigulda's public monuments and parks as well as improving the town's tourist sector. Supported by the town council, a traditional Opera Festival takes place in an open-air music hall in the castle ruins each summer. A Town Festival is celebrated in May when cherry trees blossom, while Sigulda is known for the colors of its trees in autumn. Sports such as skiing, bobsledding, and the luge are popular in wintertime and bungee jumping is practiced during the rest of the year.

Taiwan - Taroko Gorge (TW-34228)

2009-03-13T10:21:00.004+02:00

This beautiful card shows the Taroko Gorge, located in the Taroko National Park in the East of Taiwan. I read a bit more about this country several days ago, when I got a Taiwanese address to send an official card to (of course, that's not the first one, but sometimes I don't notice interesting things immediatelly). I found it a bit strange that most of big cities and main roads are located on the West coast of Taiwan. Then I learned, that there were high mountains with wonderful landscapes in the Central and Eastern part of the island. I may know all the countries and their capital cities, but I'm still a bit ignorant, when it comes to physic geography of continents other than Europe. But I'll improve it, I promise :)

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Taroko National Park (traditional Chinese: 太魯閣國家公園; pinyin: Tàilǔgé gúojiā gōngyuán; Taiwanese POJ: Taroko kok-ka kong-hn̂g) is one of the seven national parks in Taiwan and was named after the Taroko Gorge, the landmark gorge of the park. It spans the counties of Hualien, Taichung, and Nantou on the island of Taiwan.

The name, Taroko, means the "magnificent and beautiful". Long ago a tribesman of the Truku aboriginal tribe saw the beauty of the azure Pacific when he walked out of the gorge. Astonished by the elegance of the scene, he cried: "Taroko!". And so it became the name of the place, in fashion not dissimilar to how the island, Formosa, got its name.

Finland - The National Flag of Finland (FI-479175)

2009-03-13T10:08:00.005+02:00

That's already my 2nd flag card from Finland, but this one is even better, because I especially like the ones with just one flag. Still, I really appreciate any kind of flag cards and they're always on top of my wishlist, along with the map cards :) I already posted some info about the National Flag of Finland with the previous Finnish flag card, so today I'll just write about my impression, that Finns have a really good mix of colors on their flag. Blue and white separately don't belong to my favorite colors, but together they look really beautiful and I can see it especially on this card.

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USA - Cactuses in Arizona (US-351997)

2009-03-11T09:34:00.005+02:00

Last time I feel like making updated on my blog more frequently, that's why I decided to make smaller ones (probably with 3 cards instead of 5 each time), but more regularly. I'll also post stamps together with the cards (of course, not every card that I receive is stamped and some of them have the usual stamps - like the ones with flowers from Germany, but I think that some stamps are really worth sharing). Of course, I can't guarantee that I'll stick to the new "rules" for a long time, because I'm not one of these people, who like organising and planning all their activities :)

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Although cactuses weren't on my wishlist, this card immediatelly became one of my all-time favorites, when I received it :) Sometimes you just have to see something to know that you'd like to add it to your wishes. I like cactuses and I have 2 at home (of course, much smaller ones and I doubt if they'll grow alot) :) I've seen such desert landscape with enormous cactuses in some American movies... I find it much more interesting than a simple desert :) By the way, acording to the sender, native Indians call these cactuses "saguaro", which means "people", because at night tall cactuses look human.