St. Brelade, Jersey

Well, this is how the update was supposed to look yesterday....brought to you with a 24 hour delay :)

With the first card coming from Jersey...and no, not the US New Jersey....but Jersey in Europe...of which existence i had no idea until i started this postcard-exchange thing. And id be happy to know i wasnt the only ignorant one out there :)
Jersey, or the Bailiwick of Jersey, is a British Crown Dependency off the coast of Normandy, France. But its not a part of UK nor EU, but rather a separate possession of the Crown.
If one year ago, i had a million dollar question about where on Earth is Jersey, make sure i would have gone home totally penniless. In order to make it more clear to you about where Jersey is, here comes the map:

 
Jersey itself is divided into 12 parishes, and all of them have access to the sea. They are all named after the saints to whom their ancient parish churches are dedicated. And on this card in particular, you can see an image from somewhere in St. Brelade, which occupies the southwestern part of the island and is the second largest parish of the island.
The name St. Brelade is derived from a 6th century Celtic or Welsh "wandering saint" called Saint Branwalader or Saint Brelade, who is said to have been the son of the Cornish king, Kenen. He is also said to have been a disciple of Samson of Dol, and worked with this churchman in Cornwall and the Channel Islands.      

Well...proud to have this card...and yes, it is indeed a new country in my collection...with some great lighthouse stamps you can see below :)

these two awesome stamps were issued in 2003, coming from a total set of 6 commemorative stamps, called "Jersey lighthouses" (second series).

Kentucky, USA

Here is a great map card, and my first one representing Kentucky actually. Unfortunately, it lacks the *facts and figures* info on the back, so ill have to try summarize some stuff together from the front of the card.

lets see...
- State Bird: The Kentucky Cardinal (didnt know there was such a cardinal...)
- State Flower: The Golden Rod

and Kentucky is also known as the Bluegrass state...but when you mention Kentucky to me, the first thing that comes to my head is KFC, or better known as Kentucky Fried Chicken...Im not some fast food fan....i almost never eat at fast food restaurants, but there...i dont know if its the media or something of the sorts, but this has got incorporated in my head well enough to actually be my first association when it comes to Kentucky...and i dont really feel proud of it now when i take a look at the map and see a bunch of other, probably very significant things to know about....
What particularly gets my attention, are the Ruins of Karnak in the Mammoth Cave, the Indian Burial Wickliffe, the Abraham Lincoln National Historical Park, the Audubon Original Prints at Audubon Memorial State Park.....there is so much to learn about Kentucky, and all i can think of when it comes to it, is KFC...big shame on me for this one...i promise to fix this by the next Kentucky postcard.

this card came along with a number of others in an envelope...and the envelope was simply lovely...why...you can see from the stamps...they are just too cute, and bring the child in me back to life :) I think that the Dumbo one is my favourite...probably coz out of all these characters, he is my favourite one as well...ever since i was little :) If i could, i would keep him as a pet at home.....without his friend mouse if possible :)

Litomyšl, Czech Republic

Lets end the day with a UNESCO card, coming from Litomyšl....I really hope im pronouncing it right...

Litomyšl Castle was originally a Renaissance arcade-castle of the type first developed in Italy and then adopted and greatly developed in central Europe in the 16th century. Its design and decoration are particularly fine, including the later High-Baroque features added in the 18th century. It preserves intact the range of ancillary buildings associated with an aristocratic residence of this type.
This chateau complex was included on the UNESCO whs list in 1999. The castle dates from the years 1568–1581. The buildings of the castle precincts are not only exceptional for their architectural refinement but have also inscribed themselves in history as the birthplace of the Czech composer Bedřich Smetana.The exquisite interiors of the castle, especially the baroque castle theatre, the amphiteatre in the castle park and Smetanas’ house, all offer varied programmes of concerts and theatrical performances and thus enrich the life of the town throughout the year. In 1994 the meeting of the seven Central European presidents took place at the castle.

there are two nice stamps on the card. The one on the left was issued in 2000 and is called Virgin, symbolic drawing of sign of the Zodiac. The stamp on the right was issued in 2006, under the name "Beauties of out Country (UNESCO): The Capstones Formation in the Kokorinsko Area".

thanks to the senders for the great cards, and to you for reading of course :)

Kenya

Well...i intended to make my update today in a rather different way, but something that arrived in my mailbox made me change my plans big time...usually, when i had already decided which cards to post, i go along with it, even if i receive something special in my mailbox, like a new country or so...i usually post those in the upcoming update...and i already have a number of new cards to show to you, so another one arriving shouldnt be such a big deal...well, unless it is actually an official card, which in the world of postcrossing drastically changes value when you receive it, compared to getting it from a swap or so....and my mailbox today was specially treated with an official card from nowhere else, but as the title tells you, KENYA!
No..i still cant believe it honestly....and all day long i just go around bragging about it...i only need to hire one of those small planes and write the message in the sky....

KE-97

its definitely the smallest ID number i had ever received...the smallest one until now was actually four digits, coming from Denmark...but this one had surpassed it all :) And ive never really been particularly lucky with getting some diversity in the official cards...i even sort of got used to the fact of them coming from the same countries over and over again...but this one just brought a real real refreshment and i think that for a while now i wont be complaining about the official cards i receive, unless its some piece of cardboard calling itself a postcard.
And i want to make something clear, since i know this is a huge issue....many people complain how they receive only FI/DE/US/NL etc....and i also do as well...but this is not coz i hate these countries....i actually love the Finnish postcards, and i often eagerly swap with people from all these countries...the thing here is that people (incl. me) crave for some diversity...and thats not only about the cards i receive, but also the ones i send....i just really want to send to as many different countries as possible, and receive as well...coz thats the thrill of the official site in a way...if you keep sending to the same countries over and over again, it can get a bit tedious....some of the latest countries i had sent an official to, are Belarus, Switzerland and Spain...and i was really excited since ive never sent an official to these places before, though ive sent regular swaps and such many times....so i hope you get my point...and Finland, i really love you, please know that :)

huhh, i really dont know what to tell you about Kenya, i just cant sit still ever since i received this card.....and that i was the lucky one for this person to get my address and send me an official card...and hence today's update is gonna be with just this card only...but i really had to post it today...and show off, i admit :)

as for the stamp....i checked a number of places and googled for it, but unfortunately, no luck....so if you have any, this is where you step in....thanks in advance :)

thanks for dropping by...and ill see you tomorrow...hopefully :)

Siem Reap, Cambodia

Morning everyone!! And its a real morning indeed...about 8:30 am at the time of writing this! And it might not be a big deal...i have been awake at this hour other times as well..but not days and days in row...at least not in the past years. But im telling you, my holiday had had a great effect upon me, and this waking up early actually comes from there...in general, i would go back to the same old habits once im home but for some reason, i keep waking up at an early hour even in Skopje (which ranges between 6 and 9am!!!).
And you know what....i feel good about it! Im not in the, oh God please let me sleep for 5 more minutes!!! Im amazing myself sometimes, really. I know when many people go on holiday they actually go there to rest and get enough sleep, but personally i love getting up early and going to the beach, instead sleeping till noon, and going to the beach at 3pm...plus due to a number of schedules i had to get up early, once even at 5:30am, but oh, it was all so worthy!
And yeah...back to the postcard....sorry for usurping the space with something else...as usual :)

I got this lovely surprise from my dear Zarah, who is not just my postcard buddy, but also my Rafael Nadal-supporter buddy :D :D :D I honestly love discussing tennis with her, esp when Nadal plays and while the match is on, she and i just ramble about it, get overjoyed or get frustrated....its just fun to have someone to share it all with  :))
Oh yeah...back to the postcard :)
I think the water brings some great summer-holiday motifs....it may not be a sea or ocean, but it still seems lovely. And this is actually a floating village in Siem Reap! Hmmm...i dont know if i had seen a floating village before....im trying to figure out how it would be to live in one, and what are the daily struggles these people need to go through....
Siem Reap is a province located on the shores of the Tonlé Sap Lake in northwestern Cambodia. In Cambodian, Tonlé Sap means "Large Fresh Water River," but is more commonly translated as "Great Lake". It is the largest freshwater lake in South East Asia and is an ecological hot spot that was designated as UNESCO biosphere in 1997. Well, to avoid some confusion that might arise...UNESCO whs and UNESCO biosphere protected areas are two different things, so i cant label this one as UNESCO, since its simply not on the whs list....in case you wondered :)  or i can do it??

Anyway,Tonlé Sap is unusual for two reasons: 1) its flow changes direction twice a year, and 2) the portion that forms the lake expands and shrinks dramatically with the seasons.
For most of the year the lake is fairly small, around one meter deep and with an area of 2,700 square km. During the monsoon season  however, the Tonlé Sap river, which connects the lake with the Mekong river, reverses its flow. Water is pushed up from the Mekong into the lake, increasing its area to 16,000 square km and its depth to up to nine meters, flooding nearby fields and forests. The floodplain provides a perfect breeding ground for fish.
Hmm, pretty unusual, but very interesting as well nevertheless...

and here comes the stamp...its not my first written and stamped Cambodian card, but it feels like a real treasure to have written and stamped cards from there!
the bad thing....except that it was issued in 1998, i couldnt find info about this...not even in a number of philatelic blogs i had searched...so your input is more than welcome on this one. Thanks in advance!

And thank you Zarah...both for the card and for the Nadal companionship :P

Lahemaa, Estonia

A really nice card from Janek...though i had no idea what Lahemaa actually was until i searched the info for it. On the first glimpse, it reminded me of a summer resort i went to when i was in the 1st grade :)

But Lahemaa is the oldest and largest national park in Estonia, representing the nature and cultural heritage, typical of this country. And on the card you can see the Sheds for fishing nets at the Altja fishing village. It is an example of the fishermen village and life style as it has been in the old days and as it is now, Altja is so-called living coastal village and it dates back from the 15th century.
There is one place i came across, where the farmhouses in this village are said to remind of *gingerbread houses from fairyland*. Cute description :)

and here come two great stamps, where the one on the right is just fascinating!
The small stamp on the left was issued in 1996 and shows an Icebreaker called Suur Tõll, which is the only surviving steamship from Estonia’s prewar period of independence, a symbol of the continuity of Estonian seafaring.
The huge stamp on the right is from the 2004 EUROPA issue, simply called Holiday, representing the sport of Windsurfing just as one of the many leisure activities you can do while on holiday.
I have a story to share with you regarding the Macedonian EUROPA issues...but ill leave it for some other post with a EUROPA stamp...its not a nice story anyway...though i think it needs to be shared, esp. with all those stamp collectors out there who are particularly interested in the EUROPA issues.
Thank you Janek, for the great card and the fabulous stamps!

Cape Bonavista, Canada

This last card today comes from Glenn...it came along with that huuuuuge envelope with all those rare countries! And its a really lovely lighthouse....and i ESPECIALLY love the dark skies on the picture...brings such a thrill and some unique atmosphere...you can just feel the breeze and the rain coming...wish we had rain coming here as well btw. I also really love the contrast of white against the dark gloomy sky...it has always fascinated me, and sometimes i see it here as well...white buildings against it...or white birds flying in the sky....it has some special touch of colours when those two get together...

The Cape Bonavista lighthouse was built in 1843 using the lamps and reflectors from the Bell Rock Lighthouse in Scotland.The lighthouse was replaced by a steel tower in 1966 and the original lighthouse has been turned into a museum. It is believed that this is where John Cabot sailed into in 1497 and discovered Newfoundland.
Now im was thinking something, and i realized that i actually didnt see a lighthouse while in Montenegro....i dont know if its coz there wasnt any, or coz i just didnt notice it...hmm, now i feel like going there immediately to find out....yeah yeah, i know...excuses excuses :P

and here comes a part which i personally consider breathtaking...the stamps!! There are 6 different stamps used on this envelope, one more beautiful than the other! This envelope definitely enters in my top favourite ones ever! I can just keep staring and staring at it, and i dont know why, but looking at it calms me down! I dont know if its coz of the colours or the pictures, but it certainly has a positive effect upon my complicated complex mind.
I wont go into details about each and everyone....i honestly just want to enjoy them :)
Thanks Glenn, for the millionth of time! :)

Doha, Qatar

Lets start the day with showing off a new country in my collection...from where i actually now have 3 postcards, not just one...its insane, isnt it :) Though i wouldnt mind if for all my newly received countries, i end up getting one more postcard from there...i can never get enough of postcards in the first place.

i think i have a particular short story to share with you, when it comes to Qatar, but ill leave it for another Qatar postcard, since this one already depicts something particular, and i dont wanna bother you with information that dont really belong here, though its nothing surprising for me to do it :)The card shows "The Ardah" which is a traditional dance related to the Saudi Folk Music, performed by men on some festive occasion in Doha, the capital of Qatar, and they are also dressed in traditional clothes. The the thing they wear on the head is only used in Qatar, while other colours and designs are worn in UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and Bahrain.
As you may know, traditional dances and clothes have never really been my strong side, though i think that many of them are a real state of art and i really dont give them the credit they deserve to get. And probably if i start talking about them, i would just end up in some dead-end street due to my unfamiliarity with it...but now this makes me thing how i would like to actually put cards of this kind on my wishlist too...they surely get to teach you a lot!
I would like to show you some videos i came across regarding this...as you can see, the sword is the crucial element of this dance.















did you happen to notice some intruders in the videos?

and getting down to the stamp...which i have to say is some special sort of favourite to me, due to that 'missent' stamp on it :))  I know many of you may hate to get such a 'ruined' stamp but for some reason, it has a great value of me and makes it just unique :)
I dont know how my card managed to get to Indonesia first, there is not much of a resemblance between Macedonia and Indonesia, except for the last two letters, but i hope it has enjoyed its stay while being there...
The stamp was issued in 1998 and belongs to a set of 20 stamps, on the subject of Insects. This here is a Rufous Bombardier Beetle...

Berlin, Germany

Ok...i need to make myself another cup of coffee before i get down to this post...i seem to have finished my first one way too soon...will be back shortly.

mmmm, some coffee, and the world immediately seems to feel better!

I fell for this card the first moment i saw it...coz of the way it "shows" the Berlin Wall...very cool idea, and you know how much i like cool cards!
The only real memory i have about it, is from when i was little, and when there was this breaking news on TV, showing how they are knocking it down and how people from one side cross on the other and vice versa...i was little, so i didnt really get the whole fuss about it...to me back then it just seemed as a 10 metre wall being flatted down, and i couldnt possibly figure out why didnt just go the round way and pass by it if they so much wanted to go on the other side?! I mean, 10 metres is not much to walk....well, it was the mind of a 9 year old speaking....thinking if people on the east side coudlnt actually go shopping on the west one....
well, you all know the significance the Berlin Wall has and the whole story behind it, or at least what it represented back then.
It was, what it is called, the Iron Curtain between Western Europe and the Eastern Block...people who were caught trying to cross it, were usually killed, and it was people from East Berlin who were trying to go to the western part...
I like how the card represents the West allies on one side and the East (the Soviets) on the other...which is how Berlin was divided some time after the WWII. The white line in the middle represents the famous Berlin Wall, which was actually 140 km long...(and not just 10m. as the little me had thought).
It just funny to actually think that someone needed a passport/visa to be able to cross on the other side of their own city (if they were allowed to cross in the first place).
There is much to talk and talk about the Berlin Wall, of course, with both sides having their own versions of the facts, but still, its a really interesting read...and if i ever get a card showing the Berlin Wall for real, i will get into some more insight about it.
For now, here is just a small map of Berlin, showing the border and the checkpoints from where you could go on the other side...there certainly is a huge difference between the blue and the red dots.

I really really love this card!

Kemi, Finland

Well, i coudlnt take it anymore and had to cool myself somehow and had to post this snowy snowy card....its just getting too hot here, and im getting frustrated with it...i just cant and dont function in such heat...i idle and do nothing smart all day long...there are so many things i need to do, but for some reason im getting apathetic again, and just dont feel like doing anything...i often think that i really need to move out from here...i dont know where, no one guarantees that its gonna be different and ill feel much better, but on the other hand, i feel like i need that change in my life...and that i need to be away from a certain number of things and people that surround me here...boy, this sounded so xenophobic! But well, dont worry...it most probably doesnt refer to you, since that  number of people doesnt really read this...at least i think so :)

This is Kemi...a small city in Finland, located in Lapland. One of the things this small town is famous for, is that it actually claims to be the home of world's largest snow castle (reconstructed every year with a different architecture). You can see it on the bottom left picture.
I love those snow/ice sculptures people make...sand as well, but i think that ice and snow are much more delicate since they have the ability to melt...so to be able to make an object of snow or ice, which wont change its shape, is really fascinating to me, and due to the characteristics of the ice, they always just look magnificent...
In the Kemi castle you also have a restaurant, a hotel and a chapel....im pretty sure that its a feeling one of a kind to be the guest of such a hotel and to eat in that restaurant...something which i would love love love to visit one day! I dont really know how all that snow endures the lights and how they have the heating issue solved....but you know, i think im gonna tell you all about it one day, from the face of the place :)

and here is my favourite Kimi stamp....this is funny though, a Kemi card with a Kimi stamp...Kemi - Kimi, Kimi - Kemi......hehehehehehehehheee!!!

ok, im off to another attempt to clean my room....lets see how far i get this time...

Opening the doors towards the world...and Happy PFF! :)

Well, as many of you already know, Friday is PFF reserved, and im usually trying my best to squeeze in as well and dedicate a post to it...so after some time, here comes another Friday on this blog, dedicated to doors this time (not the band, sorry :P), coz  i think that hey have a pretty symbolic meaning.

Just as the sender of this card (Ana) wrote on the back, i wholeheartedly agree...sending and receiving letters and postcards has opened so many doors to the rest of the world. Each person you get to know, shows you the path to a different door, behind which there is a whole new world to explore, a whole lot of new things to learn about...not just about culture, history, religion, but to get to know a whole new person as well, since each human being is a world, different from the rest of the 6+ billion people inhabiting this planet.
There are ALL sorts of doors that you can open...big ones, small ones, some are very modest, some look very fashionable, some are easily opened and let you inside their world with no problems, some are more stubborn and take their time before they decide to give you the key to their world, some are determined to remain unopened forever, and some unfortunately have lost their key and seem to be lost and forgotten by everyone else...though if you blow the dust from them, im pretty sure you'll find another fascinating world to get into.
Im really thankful to all those people out there for giving me the chance to have a peek behind their door and take a look inside their unique worlds....with each world i get to learn about, i feel richer as a person, and honestly, happier.

Happy PFF and Happy Belated Birthday to Postcrossing as well! It surely has opened way too many doors for me, from all sizes, shapes, kinds....and after blowing the candles and having a slice of cake, go to Marie's for the other interesting PFF entries :)

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Well, good day to everyone....and regardless how unbelievable it is to you, this IS indeed a Mexican postcard, written and stamped and addressed to ME!!! Sounds surreal, no? Yeah, to me too...especially since i got this card as a total surprise sent by Glenn's son, since Glenn had asked him to send me a postcard. Muchas gracias to both of them :)

well, after so much whining about how much i want/need to have a postcard from Mexico, i think that i should finally shut up and dont annoy you with it anymore (which doesnt mean im putting a ban on Mexican postcards, no no no...:)))
hmmmm...I know many of you had probably been wondering why so much persistence on Mexico, when all the time i was saying that my favourite country in the world is Norway, followed by Iceland and so....and Mexico is not only on a total different side of the continent, but is totally different in many aspects as well, starting from the climate...you have a literal cold-hot extreme here....well, just as i love Nordic mythology, i respect Mexican history a lot, and i really think its fascinating, but the real itch for the Mexican postcard(s) is far more sentimental and deep, since, well, Mexico is my undestined future-home-to-be. Unfortunately, if i take a look at the current situation (and look back to it as well), im pretty doomed to end up living somewhere else, and have Mexico remained as something to keep longing for or something to haunt me as a memory....but well, the Macedonia-Mexico relations have pretty much deteriorated lately, or better say, they have been like that for a long long time...well, 20000 km arent easy to manage, so its no surprise.
Who is to blame? I dont know...putting blames doesnt solve things nor makes one feel better....its just how it is and i guess one has to accept it.
The ironic part regarding postcards....it is ironic indeed to have someone live in Mexico and yet that someone never sends you a single postcard, even though he knows how much you love them.
But well, here is my Mexican postcard i so much longed for, and honestly, having it brings me some weird peace of mind...cant explain it.
Well, i think that now, the puzzle got a bit solved to you and has filled in many of those missing places where you were wondering, why the hell she so much cries for a Mexican postcard....now you know.

And here come the stamps which are really nice. I just need to tell you something regarding the Mexican Postal service...Glenn told me that his son was in Mexico in April, but if you take a look at the stamps, they are postmarked June...where has it been in the meantime, no one knows, but im more than glad that it arrived eventually....as they say it, better late than never ;)
There is just something that confuses me about the stamps. As you can see, they have the date of 2008, but when i searched for the info, it said that they were issued in 2005, with the 2005 date on them...so im not really sure where im heading to here, and if this is some sort of re-issue, or something else.
However, both of the stamps belong to a set of 18 of Fine Arts, depicting Handicrafts, where the one on the left shows a Tin Cockerel (Sculpture) while the one on the right shows a Vase (Ceramic and Glass).
Thanks again a lot to Glenn and his son for this extra special postcard!

Minnesota, USA

The thoughtfulness of people sending official cards and sending me something which perfectly fits into my wishlist and of course, increases the number of map cards i have!

US-429682

No Facts and Figures on the back of the card....there are some on the front, in case you can manage to read them.
here is what it says:
- State Flower: Moccasin Flower  (first time i hear about it...)
- State Capital: St. Paul (im honestly AWFUL with the US-capitals issue)
- Motto: State of the North

Well, not much info given here, except that it also says its the Land of 10,000 Lakes. Thats something fascinating. But I have to say that my knowledge about Minnesota is really ignorant...the only times i actually come across it, is when sometimes i happen to hear on the news something about NBA and they mention something about the team.
Hmm, ive found some nice facts about Minnesota, but id rather spare them for some other time, in case i receive another different Minnesota map card, which would have those on the back.

I think ive already mentioned some of these stamps here, but this time i think that the one in the top right corner is worth mentioning, especially since it shows Alaska :)
Its a really nice stamp, issued in 2001, coming from the Scenic American Landscape-series, featuring Mt. McKinley.

Brasilia, Brasil

For a long time i lived with the ignorance that the capital of Brasil is Rio de Janeiro or Sao Paulo. But surprise surprise, its Brasilia. And even after all this time, i still cant get used to it :)
I mean, first of all, Brasilia sounds much more like a country name, than a city one.
Second, i dont know if its the same with the rest of the world, but the majority of things Brazil related i get to hear, are about Rio or Sao Paulo, and its incomparable to the amount of things i get to hear about Brasilia. So, no wonder i still find it hard to comprehend that Brasilia has the honour to be the city's capital.

Hmm, ive seen this bridge on other postcards, from a different angle, and i have to say that it didnt look as appealing to me as on this card. I dont know if its coz of the aerial view, but it just seems so fascinating to me! I LOVE it!!
This is the Juscelino Kubitschek Bridge, also known as the President JK Bridge, named after a former Brazilian president,Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, who in the late 1950s decided to build Brasília as the new capital of the country.
It consists of three 60m (200ft) tall asymmetrical steel arches that crisscross diagonally. With a length of 1,200 m (0.75 miles), it was completed in 2002 at a cost of US$56.8 million. The bridge has a pedestrian walkway and is accessible to bicyclists and skaters.

Heey, did you hear that?! Accessible to cyclists!! Mmmm, would love to go by bike over it, back and forth...

The main span structure has four supporting pillars submerged under Lake Paranoá, and the deck weight is supported by three 200-foot tall asymmetrical steel arches that crisscross diagonally. The decks are suspended by steel cables alternating at each side of the deck, interlacing in some kind of twisted plane (parabolic like).
From what i could read, the bridge has also received numerous awards, regarding architecture.Well, deserved i must say...its really amazing and just unique!

This stamp was issued in 2008, with its Primary Theme of Economy and Industry, portraying the 200th Anniversary of the Arrival of the Portuguese Royal Family in Brazil - Ministry of Finance

Greetings from Budva, Montenegro!! And yeah, im BACK :P

Yessss, im finally back home...and welcome back to me :D
I actually came back last Wednesday, but first it took me a few days to get back together, and settle myself and all my mail...and then i was also waiting for this card to arrive which i sent to myself, particularly intended for my come back post...and finally it arrived today, so i can get down to writing something...
And as you can see, i went to Budva in Montenegro...but i won give you facts and figures about it this time (i think ive already done it with my previous posts about Budva, and I still have a number of cards from there to dedicate them to history, geography, culture, and stuff like that. Ill just make a quick explanation for those who may not know...on the card you can see only the Old City....not the actual Budva where the hotels and holiday residences and people's houses are...and my guess is that this picture was taken in winter or so, since during the season, along the Old City Walls there are coffee-shops, and many people on the streets...oh, and you can take a glimpse of the numerous yachts parked at the dock...some really stunning :)
Ill use this card to tell you some bits and pieces about my stay there...i just fear that its gonna turn into a huge post...so i recommend a cup of coffee, good music in the background, comfy chair, and enough time ahead before you start reading :)

Well, i guess i should go to the very beginning or to the time before i departured actually.
I didnt really plan to go anywhere this summer...ive never been someone with the *i must go on holiday* itch...but one day while i was having a shower, i just had a moment of 'fuses connecting' and it was an instant decision that i MUST go somewhere...running away from reality? Well, probably...but sometimes you really have to do that in your life, when that reality starts choking you big time.
So, the initial decision was made, and then i had to get down to making a more particular one, like choosing my destination (n.b. choosing people wasnt involved from the very start coz i wanted to go all by myself....reasons for that? PLENTY).
The first thought about my destination was Budva...but then i also started considering Croatia (it simply remained my all time favourite part of the Adriatic Coast) and Turkey (Ive never been there, and even though i talked how i wouldnt want to spend my summer holiday there, i took it as an option this time). Ok, i also had Tenerife and Northern Cyprus on my list, but i realized that it would be better to leave them for some other time. After loads of consideration, my final decision fell on Budva....why? well, its much cheaper than Turkey and Croatia, i know the place, so i can get around very well (and for going alone, it was the most convenient option), plus it offers a lot things to see outside it....so, i made my decision, paid for the arrangement the next day, and after two days i left...yeah, a very last minute decision, which turned out as one of the best decisions ive made in my life...i think that when you have the least time to plan something and think about it and have your expectations, the better it turns out.
And i have to say, that from what i planned, barely anything turned out so. What I planned was to idle, relax, spend as much time on the beach as possible, write all my left-behind letters, visit one or two places around....but the circumstances dictated things a bit differently.
First of all, the weather wasnt really friendly the first days (and in some upcoming as well) so my plan to sit on the beach went downhill.
My plan for visiting places didnt turn out as initially expected as well...first, coz they offered many great places to be seen and i had to go to as many as possible (not just one as i thought). But due to the weather, my initial arrangement about it didnt quite turn out either...
and last, but not least, i met some really great people there... with whom it was really fun and cool to hang out with and spend time with, have coffee with, go to the beach with, play cards with etc etc.. (yeah, when it rains constantly for 3 days, you cant do much but play cards :))
Anyways, with all that, my plan to catch up with all my mail, read all that bunch of books i brought with me,  went downhill as well, since i had literally no time for that, but i didnt mind it one bit...
After the first half of my holiday, those great people left unfortunately, but thats why i had Anasty to make my second half just as great as my first one...what makes it so special, is that in my so long career of knowing people from abroad as my pen-pals or people i exchange postcards with, Anasty is the first one i met for real...Anasty from Russia...im sure that to many of you that name sounds more than familiar :)
Well, i accidentally, just before i left, found out she was going to Montenegro too, and i told her i was going there as well, and we said we had to meet...it would have been such a pity if after i came back i found out she was at the same place i was (she was actually staying 5 min. away from me) and that we didnt meet...so this was such a great thing to happen, which i still sometimes cant believe it, but i have the pictures to prove myself we really were there :) (Oh, if you are a regular reader and you havent seen the pics from the holiday but you would love to, just let me know, and ill send you the link :)
As i already mentioned above, i went on a bunch of excursions too, but i wont give you any details now...ill let you know about them through postcards and stories behind them. But these excursions also gave me the chance to meet some really really awesome people.
Speaking of postcards....i had sent out PLENTIFUL of postcards while being there....a real real lot, trying not to forget anyone...though i know someone might have slipped from the list (thats what happens when you send out 50 postcards)...and i know there is always this chance for a postcard getting lost....but in case you dont receive a postcard from me, and you feel you had deserved to get one, then i really apologize and will make it up to you one way or another...the last thing i would want is that someone feels left out when thats my last intention to do so.
Another thing regarding the postcards...when i went to send that huge pile, i actually had to put the stamps all by myself...so we had stamps for first category (Serbia, Bosnia, Macedonia), stamps for second category (rest of Europe) and third category (outside Europe). Can you imagine how it feels to be licking stamps in the middle of the post office for like 40 cards (the amount i sent the first time) and on top of that, to have to put one of those airmail stickers for each card in the 2nd and 3rd category??? and someone would say postcard sending is an easy thing to do...he he he ....well, not easy, but certainly a pleasurable one :)
Btw, i also tried to use that sponge they actually use in the post offices for the stamps...but didnt quite work out for me...i always ended up with a part of the stamp totally unglued, so i got back to the licking (even though they say its not really the healthiest approach).
So in case you receive a card from me, with a badly glued stamp, know that its my fault...and im sorry..
Hmm, well...what else can i tell you in this short summary....i think that this was one of the holidays that changed me a lot...for the good or for the bad, i dont know, but i feel changed on the inside...its a holiday which brought me my so longed for peace of mind while i was there...and which i feel is fading away now that im back....which just again proves this love-hate relationship i have with this town and this country and all...I really need to get away from here, and if that could be somewhere by the sea, it would be perfect, coz the sea calms me down...a lot..its an effect i cant explain, but its present.
So, in short-words, that would be it....there are plenty and plenty of other details to tell...but ill save some for my other postcards from this holiday...and some, ill selfishly keep to myself only...sorry :P

and i really like these stamps...not only coz of the blue background, but they are just lovely stamps (on the left one there is a trace from a pen, and i have no idea where it came from...)
this stamp is from a set of two issued in 2007, called simply Fauna...the other stamp in the set is from a 0.50 €, representing an eagle.

aahh, feels good to be able to make my first post here after a long while, though i must mention that while i was away i didnt miss my computer, the internet....ANYTHING....it even felt good to be able to live without them and not feel so dependent on them.
While i was away, i had received loads and loads of great mail, new countries as well, so hopefully, now that my come-back post is done, ill get back to the updates regularly, and show you all those lovely cards i had received.

thank you for reading, and for still being a part of this. Hope you are all enjoying your summer holidays!!

See Ya!