Germany - Upper Middle Rhine Valley

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)

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 :)

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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)

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 :)

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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)

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 :(

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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)

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 :)

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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

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)

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.

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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

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

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)

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.

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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)

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 :)

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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

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

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)

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 :)

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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)

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... ;)

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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.