Madagascar

Wow!! Just now i realized that it has been a week actually since my last post! Where did the time go??!! I cant recall doing something so extraordinary which would have consumed my time, and still it flew away....

Well, lets begin than with something a lot of you will hate me for...a map card! And look what a cool map card! And look what a rare country! Yeah, im a bragger sometimes...and even though this map wasnt mailed directly from Madagascar, it still makes a fantastic addition to my map card collection and due to its authentic shape, gave me some trouble scanning....but i still hope it looks ok :)

Madagascar....have you watched it? If not, i highly recommend it...esp. Part 1

here is a trailer to it



i watched it just last year honestly, and loved it...absolutely hillarious and i must say that they had chosen the right voices for the characters...esp. David Schwimmer...I mean, knowing his personality from Friends, he just so much clicked in representing the giraffe here...their characters were sooo much alike :)))

Torres, Brazil

A very nice card that came as a surprise from Sandro....ahh, i so much long to be at some beach right now...by the ocean, by the sea....or even by the lake...just as long as im out of here....

The card shows Ilha dos Lobos, or the Fur Sea Island, which is the smallest ecological reserve in Brazil. Every winter fur seals and sea lions come from Patagonia (Argentina) to stay at Ilha dos Lobos. It is located on the Atlantic coast of Torres.
In case you decide to come here, you should know that this place is protected by federal laws and visitors are not allowed to disembark without authorization.

Since I mentioned Patagonia...Im still in in hope that someday I will receive a postcard showing this fantastic place...I just love it!

there are two nice stamps on the card...the left one was issued in 2004 in a set of 5, representing paintings by Candido Portinari, one of the most important Brazilian painters, while the other stamp was issued in 2009, in a set of 6 stamps, representing Exuberant Brazilian birds....the one here is called Paroaria coronata

muito obrigado Sandro!! And i still sooo much admire your handwriting!

Australia

A flag card for my collection, which i ended up receiving twice...within just a week time or so...the first one arrived as a swap, the second one as an official...who could have guessed :) And i only have 2 officials received from Australia so far....

AU-72352

The Australian flag is composed of 3 parts:

• The Union Jack (British flag) in the top left corner,
• The 'Star of Federation' in the bottom left corner, and
• The Southern Cross, taking up the right half of the flag.

The Union Jack shows that the first colonisation by Europeans was by Britain. In case you didn't know, Australia started as a penal colony. The Star of Federation is a seven pointed star. They came to the number seven, by giving each state (six in all) a point on the star, and having one more point for Australia's territories (of which there are several). There are two mainland territories, and several overseas, including two in Antarctica. The Southern Cross is a constellation that can be seen from all of Australia's states and territories.

the stamp on both cards was the same, with the same airmail label next to it...so im included just this one which was cancelled actually, and comes from the swap card....it was issued in 2008 in a set of 4 stamps representing waterfalls...and these are the Russel Falls in Tasmania.

Stockholm, Sweden

My last card for today is a very nice panoramic one of Stockholm...I tried to put this at a bigger size so you can actually get an idea of the size of the card...plus it gives a nicer overall view of it...

the back of the card gives just one sentence...High above the Old Town and the Royal Palace...
And speaking of Royal Palace, one of the latest newsworthy events was the marriage of the Swedish Princess Victoria....who chose an ordinary guy to be the man by her side for the rest of her life...no prince, no duke, no king...but just an ordinary guy who was her fitness trainer..by many supported, by many condemned...her dad was surely not the happiest with the choice...understandable...but the wedding goes with all the Royal ceremonies...huge amounts of money spent...and of course, whether seen or not, all that is paid by the ordinary people....
As for the princess's choice...if it is really love we are talking about, then I admire this...but the big problem with the people who are rich and famous is that you can never know why people really love you or why they really want to be your friends if you are filthy rich...and we are living in a world of such hypocrisy...as for me, im not even close to being rich..so I guess I have nothing to worry about....or maybe I do?

thanks for following...hopefully i wont take again this long until the next posting, when there arent really some particular reasons for it....enjoy your rest of the weekend...there is a day off in Wimbledon...i can finally get my nerves back together :)

Tallinn, Estonia

21st June apart from being the first day of summer, is also the day with the longest daytime. Well here is one card especially dedicated to 2st of June

In Tallinn, the northern part of the sky doesnt get completely dark during nights from the 10th of May until the 2nd of August, but the time of "white nights" - the time when the whole sky stays luminous even at midnight (except if it is very cloudy) - begins in the last days of May and lasts until the middle of July. In summer, the astronomical midnight (the darkest time of the night) in Tallinn is at 1.21am (timezone GMT+ 3). Nights are the brightest for about 10 days before and after summer solstice (21 June)
This phenomenon has fascinated me since i was a kid....how some countries have months of daylight only and then months of darkness...though im not sure id prefer the total daylight time, since im more a night kind of person.

Speaking of the first day of the summer...it was soooo summerish here....raining all day long and just freezing...crazy....last week i was melting in the unbearable heat and now we have something that feels like late late autumn...but ok, i rather have this than the last week's 40 degrees....I just wish it didnt rain too often coz I need to go to the PO sometimes :)

As for the card itself, it portrays the St. Olaf's Church at midsummer midnight.
This church is nowadays 123.7m high. From 1549 to 1625, when the upper part of its tower was higher than today, St. Olaf's church was the tallest building in the world, 159m.

the stamp is from the EUROPA's astronomy issue of 2009.
Well I received this card last year but since I was out of town, I couldnt post it on the exact date, and felt it was inappropriate to post it at any other day...so here it is now!

And im really sorry for posting just one card today but im really in no state of mind to post more...after yesterday's events im still in some sort of utter disbelief of everything that happened, and im really out of focus. No no, its nothing bad...actually yesterday was sooo damn good that today, reality feels so depressing ...I wish i could have days like yesterday more often...they really bring me to life....

Cartagena, Colombia

In case you are wondering whether you had already seen Colombia at my blog or no, answer is: Nope! This is my first Colombian card ever, with the greatest thanks of course to Glenn and his recent cruise trip he went to

The card shows the Popa Monastery. It is a 400-year-old monastery, built in the early 17th century, (under the direction of Fray Alonso de la Cruz), It remains inhabited by monks, and was used at various times in its history as a fort because of its excellent location. The monastery is seen from any unobstructed location in the city of Cartagena.
Inside the interior of Convento de la Popa, there is a colonial museum and a chapel dedicated to the Virgin of Mullein, who is the patron saint of Cartagenan people. Additionally, a statue of the Virgin of Candelaria, credited with delivering the city from the ravages of disease and pirates, is seen at the main alter. Pilgrimages are held on February 2nd with candle bearing processions winding their way to the monastery in honor of the Virgin's feast day. The history of de la Popa and the monastery's meaning to Colombians has spread throughout the world to many religious sectors.

there are three lovely birds stamps on the card, issued this year in a set of 6 stamps if im not mistaken

thank you Glenn, as always :)

Madeira, Portugal

This card also came as a surprise, this time from Janek and his not so long ago made trip to Madeira

An absolutely cool map card of Madeira! I just wish I was more savvy in scanning round cards....I never seem to manage the right angle...and there always seems to be a cut at the bottom line with anything that doesnt have a straight regular bottom line.
As for Madeira, it is a Portuguese archipelago that lies in the north in the Atlantic Ocean and it is one of the Autonomous regions of Portugal. Madeira is actually part of the EU as the outermost region of the European Union.
Well, this is where Madeira is in case someone didnt know

yeah, it is obvious even the stamp is not scanned at the right angle :)
It is a great stamp showing Robert Schumann, issued in a set of 4, this year, commemorating the Bicentenary of Birth of Chopin and Schumann.

Thank you very much Janek :)

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Well, without the real intention to make this update as such, here comes another great card I received as a surprise, this time from dear Sissel...uhmm, i sometimes wonder why i unconsciously end up making some sort of pattern when picking cards for an update

The back of the card says: The dynamic skyline of Kuala Lumpur affirms its position as the national capital of Malaysia.
And probably one of the most famous landmark of Kuala Lumpur, if not the most famous one, the Petronas Twin towers. Wrote about it here once which was my first ever card from Malaysia.
I dont know about then, but Petronas reminds me more of Sauber Petronas, than twin towers...I wonder if the name of the towers does come from the Malaysian Petronas indeed, since Petronas is actually a Malaysian-owned oil and gas company that was founded on August 17, 1974, wholly owned by the Government

If you take a closer look on this card, you will notice something which to me looks like a park and which i find amazing...offers hours and hours of fun and exploring.

again something to confuse me in the stamp part, more precisely the big cancellation....i have received it on several cards coming from Malaysia and still havent figured out its right purpose.
As for the stamp, it is a definitive issued in 2005 in a set of 8 stamps, depicting birds.

Thank you Sissel for all the times youve brightened up my mailbox!

Germany

Well, lets end it with an official card

DE-434204

There is a nice short explanation on the back, but in German

Kurz vor der Elektifizierung der wichtigen Hauptstrecke Leipzig-Saalfeld-Nürnberg (1991 bis 1995) verkehrten Intercity-Züge mit Diesel-Lokomotiven. 232 213 hatte am 12. Mai 1994 vor der Kulisse der Dornburger Schlösser die Aufgabe, den IC Berlin - Garmisch-Partenkirchen zwischen Leipzig und Probstzella auf dem noch nicht elektrifizierten Abschnitt zu befördern.

hmmm, here is the bad thing...I do understand what the text says, but despite having achieved the best result on the exam I had in German recently, I still dont dare to translate things publicly, nor write in German...even though I urge to do so...so if possible, youd forgive me for now....

some very familiar German stamps...the first two come from a sheet of 10 stamps (3 designs) issued in 2007, while the last one is from a set of 4 definitives issued in 2006.

thank you for following :)

Port Elizabeth, South Africa

Well....having in mind that the World Football Cup is taking part in all its glory (or maybe not) it feels sort of natural to post a card from South Africa during this time.

Well, i am not watching the events taking place, I honestly dont feel drawn to it at all this year and either way, Macedonia is not playing, so even a less reason for me to watch and get glued by the screen for 90 minutes...one more thing which puts me off is that notorious thing called Vuvuzela....that thing makes such an annoying monotonous sound and on top of that, it is claimed that its decibel are very harmful for your hearing.....and as usual, there will be one side who will post warnings and who will complain about this 'anthem' of the WC...and on the other side are the mass of people who will go and have it as the latest trend and as something that is a must-have since its IN.
This is the latest article I came across regarding the so popular and a-match-cant-go-without-it Vuvuzela...

Of course, another perfect business...just makes me wonder, once the WC is over, what you are going to do with your Vuvuzelas?? Where are you going to use them? Will they become an integrated part in every single football match in every single league in every single country??? ¡Por el amor de Dios! ¡Por favor, NO!

This reminds me a lot to prom dresses...you buy that very special outfit for that very special night and in general thats the first and last time you wear it, even though you had spent quite a good fortune.
Same with vuvuzelas in this case...there is this whole euphoria going around them and once the WC is over, they will most probably be catching dust in some of your cardboards....with the only difference...Vuvuzelas are sold for around 5 dollars.....remember the cost of your prom outfit?

This Vuvuzela thing really distracted my attention and i didnt get to say a word about the card, which shows Port Elizabeth and as the back of the card says, Port Elizabeth numbers many wide white beaches, sophisticated shopping malls and good hotels and restaurants.

I bow down to the postal worker who had put the airmail label OVER the stamp! *Clap clap clap*
I really dont get it how it is possible for postal workers to be so careless about the items they are handling...shouldnt they actually be aware about philately and that these stamps are valuable to someone? To me they often appear as people who have absolutely no interest in the thing which is actually a part of their job...i dont say all postmen and all postal workers should be philatelists...but they SHOULD treat cards and letters with care...they SHOULD put nice postmarks and cancellations...they should know that you DONT put airmail stickers over stamps...they should know that you DONT write with a pen over the stamp...they MUST use stamps instead those plain white/red stickers...they shouldnt bend/twist/bite the mail they are carrying....but seems like im living in a postal world where things are the total opposite.
btw, its from a set of 4 stamps issued in 2009 representing Gemstones of Africa - this is the Rodochrosite

Finland

A Finnish dosage now with some nice Finnish maps.

FI-517257

This map here gives me a summer impression, it feels happy and lively, and has....mhm mhm mhmm strawberries! And everything is so nicely green...i had my doubts between spring and summer but due to the strawberries, summer prevailed.

a nice round-shaped stamp issued in 2009 in a set of two, under the subject of Melting Glaciers.

FI-671803

If the one above showed summer, this one reminds me of autumn a lot....feels like the summer colours have faded away, and its time for harvesting....the colour of the grass feels more autumn-ish than summer-ish or spring-ish.

A lovely Auroras stamp...issued in 2009 in a set of 3, representing Northern lights....well, of course...

FI-705894

And here comes the winter...this one cant be interpreted any other way :)
Funny, but all these three cards came as officials actually...thanks to 3 different considerate Finnish postcrossers!

the stamp is a Christmas one, issued in 2008 in a set of 2 Christmassy stamps :)

Qingdao, China

A very cool card from China.

My first received signs' card is here...and so far my favourite so far....
This one here is extra cool as well, and comes from Qingdao, the city which during the 29th Olympic games was the host to the Olympic Sailing competitions. The signs posts on the card point to all the directions in the world where the sister cities of Qingdao are located, specifying their geographic positions and distances from Qingdao.
Anyone wanna take a guess which of these sister cities is highest on my list? Its not that hard...you should know by now :)

three nice Chinese stamps where the first one dates back from 1992, issued in a set of two, representing the year of the monkey....hey thats me thats me!!! I wonder if the sender really knew this or this was by a lucky chance.
The second stamp is from 2004, from a set of 4, under the subject of New year Taohuawu, while the last stamp is from 1998 from a sheet of 8, representing fish
Im extremely thankful to the Chinese for printing the years on the stamps in a language I can understand

Jordan

Lets kick off today with a map card!

And it is a pretty worthy one, showing the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan!
I know I know what goes on in your minds now....ohhh, another map card?? *evil grin*
:D
Well, let me warn you...i have PLENTY of other fantastic maps to show, so they will be coming up here sooner or later so dont say i didnt warn you :)
I was once supposed to get 4 cards from Jordan but the guy was kind enough not to send them to me...thank you very much if you are reading this....I hope your neighbours dog ate the one I sent you...Im not gonna bring up any names in here but from what ive noticed, you tricked some other people as well....well, CONGRATULATIONS!  Thanks to people like you, my eyes have been opened and ive started being much much more cautious....sometimes even too cautious probably...once beaten twice shy..
Anyways, had to get that off the chest....and lately ive been having some talks with some people regarding this subject, and now this card also came, and it sort of just clicked...
thanks to my dear Norwegian lady for thinking of me and sending me this card....it is thanks to her why I have now Jordan in my collection :))))  

Moscow Metro Stations, Russia

Some of you know it rather well, some dont...for those who didnt know by now...I have a soft spot for several kinds of cards...and the Metro Stations in Moscow are very high on the list...but im talking here about the older cards, as the ones you can see here, with the yellow/golden touch....ive seen some new ones and they just dont have the charm of these older ones....
I have some posts about some of the metro stations....here is part 1 and here is part 2...guess this one could be considered as part 3....and eventually one day part 4 and part 5 will follow...and maybe 6 and 7 and 8 etc...depending on how this collection of mine grows...

RU-68282

well, for starters today, here is the map plan of the Moscow metro...there are 11 lines shown, plus one is said to be under construction...the lines are: Sokolnicheskaya, Zamoskvoretskaya, Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya, Filovskaya, Koltsevaya, Kaluzhsko-Rizhskaya, Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya, Serpukhovsko-Timiriazevskaya, Kalininskaya, Liublinskaya and Kakhovskaya. If im right, the one here referred to as Under Construction is supposed to be Butovskaya....in total there are 180 stations.

and of course, i wont forget the stamps...here is a stamp from a set of 4 definitives issued in 2003 representing Sculpture art.

First station for today is Aviamotornaya. It is a station on the Kalininskaya line and was opened on 30 December 1979.The station is built in a three-vault configuration 53 metres (173 feet) underground. The central hallway contains a sculpture made out of anodised gold pyramids and tetrahedra.The theme of Aviamotornaya is aviation and flying. The columns holding up the ceiling are glazed in a light marble tone. The floor is made up of granite plates coloured in different shades of grey. The wall at the end of the central hallway is faced in a metal sculpture. There are decorations mentioning and detailing the main constellations.

some great stamps....well, they were put both above and below the address, so hence the two parts....starting from the ones above...the first one is from a set of 15 definitives issued in 2008, portraying animals. This one shows a hare. The one next to it was issued in 2001 and it is from the EUROPA series, from the Water-theme. The stamp below is from 2007 from a set of 3 showing Russian first native trucks. This one is ZIS-5V, 1942.

Next is the Kropotkinskaya station which is on the Sokolnicheskaya (or the red) line.

It was opened  in 1935 as part of the original Metro line.The station was originally planned to serve the enormous Palace of the Soviets, which was to rise nearby on the former site of the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour. Kropotkinskaya was therefore designed to be the largest and grandest station on the first line. However, the Palace project was cancelled by Nikita Khrushchev in 1953, leaving the Metro station as the only part of the complex that was actually built.

Since it was to serve as the gateway to the Palace of Soviets, great care was taken to make Kropotkinskaya suitably elegant and impressive. The station has flared columns faced with white marble which are said to have been inspired by the Temple of Amon at Karnak. Contrary to popular opinion, the marble used in the station did not come from the demolished Cathedral. The spacious platform is covered with squares of gray and red granite and the walls, originally tiled, are now faced with white Koyelga marble. The station is illuminated by concealed lamps set into the tops of the columns.

and here is an interesting "stamp"....which has remained a mistery to me until today...I really dont understand the meaning of this and why was it used, and the most confusing part for me is that the card was mailed from Russia..so why is there Return to Budapest? Anyone knows?

The last one shows the vestibule of the Park Pobedy station. (or the Victory Park)

It is a station on the Arbatsko-Pokrovskaya Line of the Metro. At 84 metres underground, it is the deepest station in Moscow. It also contains the longest escalators in Europe, each one is 126 metres long and has 740 steps. The ride to the surface takes approximately three minutes.
Park Pobedy is actually a cross-platform complex with two separate, parallel platforms, though only the inner pair of tracks is presently used.

Trains arriving from Kievskaya stop at the northern platform to drop off passengers before going into reversal sidings and coming back to the southern platform to pick up passengers for the trip back. This is the only Metro station where all passengers board and exit trains in different locations. A further complication: only the southern (inbound) platform has an entrance vestibule, so passengers arriving at the outbound platform must change platforms before exiting. (confusing indeed)

The two platforms work of architects Nataliya Shurygina and Nikolay Shumakov are of identical design but have opposite colour schemes, which creates a striking effect. The pylons of the outbound platform are faced with red marble on the transverse faces and pale grey marble on the longitudinal faces. The inbound platform is exactly the reverse. The station is adorned with two large enameled panels by Zurab Tsereteli depicting the Patriotic War of 1812 (at the end of the inbound platform) and the Great Patriotic War (on the outbound platform).

Some more great stamps. The one in the middle is from 2007 from a set of  4 showing Native horse breeds. This one shows the Vladimir breed. The one on the left is from 2008 from a set of 3 representing the World Natural Heritage - Central Sikhote, Alijn. And the last stamp is from 2002 from a set of 5 definitives, showing architecture, with this one showing Kuskovo Palace.

I LOVE the metro stations. I have a few others in stock, but if you have some for trade, let me know...you might have something im missing :)

Colorado, USA

One more map card for today.

What is said about Colorado: Highest state in the nation: 54 peaks over 14,000 feet above sea level. Major industries: tourism and recreation, agriculture (ranching and farming), natural resources (oil and gas and minerals mining), high technology manufacturing.

State:  August 1st, 1876 - the 38th state
Area: 104, 100 Sq. Mi.; 8th in size
Capital: Denver
Bird: Lark Bunting
Flower: Columbine
Tree: Blue Spruce
Animal: Bighorn sheep
Fossil: Stegosaurus
Slogan: "Centennial State"
Colorado: Spanish word for *red*

I dont know about things at your end, but here we are having unbearably hot days....someone take me to Greenland please!

Hell, Cayman Islands

Woohooooo wohoooooooo wohoooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!! New country new country new country!!! And WHAT a country!!! Not more, not less, but CAYMAN ISLANDS!!! Yippieee!!

And it is sent directly from Hell where Glenn decided to spend a part of this trip. Well, apart from the Hell we all know about, you know, the one you will go to if you havent been good on Earth :D, there are also two other Hells (third luck charm)...one is in Norway, which i had already posted about here, and the other one is in the Grand Cayman....which you can see here.
And I actually have both Hells thanks to Glenn since the other card was sent to me on his behalf by Sverre. In case there is a volunteer to send me the third Hell, let me tell you that im not really in an urge to complete my collection :)

Well, there is a nice description here on front of the card, so i will just write it down, instead looking for the info from wikipedia or so...

All about "Hell", Grand Cayman

In the early 1930's a Commissioner from England visited our district of West Bay and shot a bird amongst the large patch of pointy black rocks and missed and said "Oh Hell" and from that date onward this place has been known as Hell.
The rocks are a bed of limestones and dolomite that has undergone extreme erosion due to activities of small tropical organisms. Its more proper name is Phytokarst. "Phyto" meaning plant and "Karst" meaning eroded form that consists of formation of holes and pockets. Limestone forms due to the accumulation and consolidation of limey muds, calcium-carbonate rich sands and shell fragments. This usually occurs on the ocean floor. Similar to limestone is dolomite, which consists of the constituents but also contains magnesium. Dolomite can form in the same way as limestone and often forms along with it. Through the passage of time (thousands to millions of years), the ocean waters grow shallower exposing the limestone/dolomite. As this formation sets in shallow water it is covered with tiny sea organisms, better known as Algae which eat away at the limestone/dolomite and removes only the calcium. By the removal of the calcium, the formation is more dolomite than limestone. The result is Pock-marked pointy forms. The algae stains the rock thus the black colour. The actual rock is snow white in colour. Most of the algae need water to stay alive, so all of the areas of Phytokarst that sets above the water are no longer being eaten away by algae but you can see fossilized remains of the algae. Limestone can also be eaten away simply by the actions of the moving water. If you like to scuba-dive you might see the caverns and tunnels formed in limestone by the action of the tide.

The picture at the bottom shows the Devil's hangout gift-shop Hell, which is the coolest shop in Hell where you can find Hell T-shirts, caps, post-cards, spoons, mugs, wide selection of other Hell souvenirs and visit the rock formation.

And here is the stamp....the precious precious stamp to show this was directly postmarked from the Cayman Islands. It is a definitive from a set of 12 issued in 2006, representing birds.

Thank you Glenn!!! Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!!!!!

Dancing girls, Turkey

A lovely surprise that came from dear Pinar. And Im even more touched and honoured that she chose to send me this card...she knows why :)

The card shows Dancing girls from the Black-Sea region in Turkey. The dance itself is called Horon. The origin of the horon dances of the Black Sea coast is the ancient koron-horon of pagan worship. This word comes from hur-kor, meaning sun. Researchers have identified over fifty variations on the horon in a single region. These dances demand exceptional speed, agility and skill in the dancers, who are generally accompanied by the kemence. It is a dance style of Pontus, where pontian dance retains the aspects of Persian and Greek dance styles. A unique aspect of Pontian dance is the tremoulo, which is a fast shaking of the upper torso by a turning of the back on its axis. Many Pontian dances are almost identical in steps to Greek dances. Pontian dances also resemble Persian and Middle Eastern dances in that they are not led, with no single leader in the dance formation. This is different from Greek dances but is a widespread aspect of Persian and Middle Eastern dances.

The rapid shoulder and upper body movements from the waist is said to have evolved from the modern Turkish version dating to recent centuries. These movement are said to have derived from the shimmying of the little silver anchovy fish (Turkish: Hamsi) found in mass abundance in the Black Sea, which has worked its way into an inseparable part of northern Anatolian culture. As Pontian populations of a Greek and Persian mix were exposed to these dances later, it is said that long sea journeys and merchant exchanges, or perhaps throughout the migration of troops as far away as Ireland en route to the Holy Land were also exposed to these dance styles. It is thought the Irish jig and even its modern version, the River Dance, may have its roots from this exposure.

The stamps are more than beautiful as well! The come from a mini sheet of 4 stamps issued in 2008 representing Global Warming, in honour of the World Environment Day.

thank you Pinar once again!!! For thinking of me!

Šiauliai, Lithuania

The last card for today comes from Šiauliai in Lithuania. Yes, something that is not Vilnius or Kaunas or so :)

The card shows a view of the city and also the Sundial Square, where you can see the sculpture Shooter, which is a symbol of the city. This golden archer has been the city's landmark since 1986. He is also a pointer to the largest sundial in Lithuania. As the dial, the entire space in the metal figures are embedded. It is thought that out of Lithuania Šiauliai šaulys (Sagittarius) or Saul (Sun) are derived.

In order to clarify the word 'sundial'.....A sundial is a device that measures time by the position of the Sun. In common designs such as the horizontal sundial, the sun casts a shadow from its style onto a flat surface marked with lines indicating the hours of the day. As the sun moves across the sky, the shadow-edge progressively aligns with different hour-lines on the plate. Such designs rely on the style being aligned with the axis of the Earth's rotation. Hence, if such a sundial is to tell the correct time, the style must point towards true north (not the north or south magnetic pole) and the style's angle with horizontal must equal the sundial's geographical latitude.

Whats also really special about this card is that i received it from another Depeche Mode fan :D

The stamp is from the 2008 EUROPA series, from a set of 2, representing the Great Duchy of Lithuania. The subject in 2008 was Letters, and Lithuania in particular represented Letters of Gediminas for European Cities 1323

Grand Prix, Monaco

I have several cards from Monaco, so this one shouldnt be such a thing to be proud of....unless this card was actually sent written and stamped from Monaco itself!!

Yess yess yess!! Exactly! All the Monaco cards I have are actually cards I bought myself when I went there, and of course, i didnt even think to send one to myself....coz back then honestly i didnt pay so much attention about whether the card would be blank or sent written and stamped from the country of origin. But if nowadays I went to some rare country (rare in the terms of mail-wise), I think i kill just to mail a postcard with a stamp and a cancellation from 'the face of the place' :P
The card itself is perfect too...shows a map of the Grand Prix circuit! Even though I havent been following the F1 event this year, i still love F1 related cards. And I just checked....this year's Monaco event was held on 16th May, with Mark Webber from RBR-Renault being the winner, Vettel, also from RBR- Renault had come second, while the third place had gone to Kubica from Renault.
I also checked now the overall results (yeah, I am totally OFF from this year's F1), and Webber seems to be holding the 1st position, but the points within the first 5 places seem to be rather close. Im curious to see who's gonna grab the title in the end.
What just really surprises me is that the so much praised champion, Mr. Michael Schumacher, is 9th in the overall standings....whoah! Now thats something I didnt expect to happen, but I guess the competition did its job.
Funny thing is, Ive realized that a number of other devoted-to-the-core F1 fans, have given up on it this season....so something is really wrong in the F1 world.

And, the stamp couldnt be more perfect! It was issued this year and it is dedicated to the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters tennis tournament which this year was held 10-18th April. And do you know who claimed the title?? Uhmm? uhm? uhm??? Oh yesss....Rafael Nadal! And not only he claimed the title, but he also set a record, becoming the first player in the open era to win this tournament 6 times in a row! You see how great Nadal is?

Spain

Well, since the latest events are calling for it, here comes a Spanish post....and *cough cough cough*....yeah, a bit more ramblings about Rafa....sorry :)

But I am soooo happy, that I just have to give this event a significance. Mr. Nadal won Roland Garros!!! Again!! For the 5th time!!! (If he didnt have the problems he had last year, I think right now I would probably say that he won it for the 6th time...but well, thats how it is).
Well, apart from winning Roland Garros, he also regaind the 1st place on the ATP South African Rankings!!! Wohoooooooooooo!!! That calls for a double celebration!! And one more thing I must mention is that throughout the entire RG tournament, Rafa didnt drop a SINGLE set! He won all the matches by 3:0!!
The final match itself maybe wasnt of the greatest quality...was tense at times but not as much as plenty of other matches ive seen....but at least it was Nadal who won. I feel sorry for Soderling....he lost the final here last year....and Nadal told him today he was sorry and that he had played his best tennis so that he could beat him...and he did! I was honestly rather scared, coz it was Soderling last year who stood in Rafa's way and eliminated him in the first rounds....something I think was a shock for everyone, coz it was RG we were talking about, it was clay....but eventually we realized that the disappointments would follow throughout the year....thats how he lost his number one ranking and eventually fell to number 4! But *knock on wood*...this season Rafa has been playing his best tennis, and im really happy coz of that and really proud of him!

Well Rafa is actually from Mallorca, Manacor, but unfortunately i dont have a postcard related to it (or i might have overlooked it), so I decided to post a card with the map of entire Spain, where you can also have a glimpse where Manacor is situated..it is on the right side of the map, between Ibiza and Menorca. So thats where Rafa resides...at home...unlike many other sports' players who eventually move to some more fancy place, like Monte Carlo for example.

and here is a nice interview, taken sometime during RG 2010

And the second card was sent written and stamped, so it would be a pity to neglect the stamps. The one on the left is from a set of 4 issued in 2009, representing Renewable Energy Sources, this one shows Hydro.
The other stamp is also from 2009, showing a butterfly.

Prišnjak, Croatia

An amazing view dear Agi surprised me with

And to be honest, this was the first time I heard about Prišnjak...*blush*...
The lighthouse Prišnjak is situated in the isle of Prišnjak. It was built in 1886 so the vessels would navigate more easily through the Murter archipelago during the night. The isle has dry stone wall all over the surface. Some wild figs, pines and some low bushes can be found there. By boat you can cruise around nearby isles. The lighthouse is located six NM away from the National Park Kornati. Lighthouse building is made of stone and it is only 15 metres from the sea. There is a big terrace with the fireplace that can be used as barbeque and a small mooring place for boats. Prišnjak is one of the lighthouses without a Keeper and is completely automated. Isolation is guaranteed since you probably will not come across a straying tourist here.... .
Since the isle has very high temperature values you can swim there until November.

the stamp itself is also showing a lighthouse, coming from a set of 3 issued in 2009. Here you can see the Stražica lighthouse.
Hvala ti puuuuuunoooo Agi!!!